How To Watch American Netflix in Nigeria

You have been able to access Netflix in Nigeria since the company’s global expansion in 2016. The service looks and feels the same as it does in the US but with one significant difference, the volume of content available is a lot less than we get at home. So it’s a good job there are ways to watch American Netflix in Nigeria.

According to Finder.com, the US has 1,326 TV shows and 4,339 movies. Nigeria has just 207 TV shows and 486 movies. If I was paying the same kind of subscription in Nigeria as I was in the US, I would feel very unhappy. That is one of the smallest catalogs of any country!

If you’re living or working in Africa, there is a way to watch American Netflix in Nigeria. You use a VPN.

VPNs in Nigeria

As far as I can tell, Nigeria doesn’t have anything against using VPNs. I would say that any American living or working there should use one anyway to make sure their traffic remains secure. The ability to watch American Netflix at the same time is a real bonus.

How does a VPN help you watch US content from anywhere?

A VPN works by creating an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. All your traffic travels through this tunnel to an exit node somewhere on the VPN provider’s network. Your traffic is decrypted at that final exit node, given the IP address of that node and sent onto the internet. By selecting a US exit node, your traffic is given a US IP address. As far as the internet is concerned, your traffic came from the US and not Nigeria.

As the VPN network is private and your traffic is encrypted, there is no real way for Netflix to know you’re not in the US. The company does try to identify VPN server IP address ranges and block them but if you work with the right provider, they know this and work around it by assigning a new IP address to each server when that happens.

This is a game of cat and mouse and as long as both parties play the same game, there is always a way around the situation. So that’s the how, now let’s explore the who.

Watching American Netflix in Nigeria

Each of the VPN providers listed below currently work in Africa and currently work with Netflix. Nothing is guaranteed forever but for now, any of these will let you watch American Netflix in Nigeria. Each offers strong 256-bit encryption for security, an app that will work on most devices and works to keep Netflix available to all users.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a leading VPN provider with a huge network to back it up. The provider has thousands of VPN servers across 94 countries which should allow you to use a local VPN server for local content as well as American ones for Netflix. The app is intuitive and connects quickly, the network is fast and the price is competitive.

NordVPN

NordVPN is another favorite of ours. It also has a huge network that is fast and secure. With over 5,000 servers across 60 countries, it can also provide local content as well as Netflix. NordVPN also has a cool double hop feature where you jump from one VPN server to another while still encrypted. This is useful if you really, really want to stay anonymous.

PureVPN

PureVPN has over 2,000 servers across the globe and works to maintain access to Netflix like these other providers. The provider also has a fast network, secure app that’s easy to use and connects quickly and a neat traffic split feature where you can divide your traffic between the VPN and open internet so you could split Netflix to the VPN and your normal browsing to the local internet.

VyprVPN

VyprVPN uses what it calls it’s Chameleon technology to hide the fact it’s a VPN. It’s no guarantee but it’s an extra layer of protection. The provider also has hundreds of VPN servers but it owns them rather than rents them. This gives them more control over speed, traffic and security which may make a real difference. Chameleon comes at an extra cost though.

IPVanish

IPVanish is my final recommendation as a VPN to watch American Netflix in Nigeria. It has over 1,300 VPN servers in 75 locations across the world. It’s fast, secure and offers access to Netflix as well as other geoblocked content. It compares well to these other services in terms of price and performance.

These are not the only VPN providers out there who make Netflix available globally but they are some of the best. If you’re looking for a reliable provider, you could do a lot worse than one of these!