Best VPN for MLB.tv in 2024: No More Baseball Blackouts (2024)

Key Takeaways:

• ExpressVPN is the best VPN for MLB.tv because of its blazing-fast speed and excellent performance, but NordVPN comes in a close second.
• When it comes to long-term plans, Surfshark is the cheapest MLB.tv VPN, and it offers a rich suite of advanced features.
• PIA offers the best network of servers in the U.S., making it the best for bypassing local blackouts.

Major League Baseball (MLB) blackouts have been a niggling issue for years. Despite persistent complaints by MLB.tv subscribers, the MLB won’t stop the blackouts because they help fund teams in the league. Instead of complaining about the absurdities of the blackout restrictions, you can install the best VPN for MLB.tv on your device to avoid them altogether.

ExpressVPN is the number one MLB.tv VPN, and it tops our best VPN list, too. It enables you to change your IP address to watch MLB games that are inaccessible because of local or national blackouts. This way, you cut the cable cord and get the opportunity to cheer on your hometown team, all with only your MLB.tv subscription.

In this article, we’ll discuss ExpressVPN and four other VPNs that meet our predefined criteria for the best MLB.tv VPN. So read on to find a solution that can unlock MLB.tv to feed your fervent eagerness to engage with the sport you love. Even better, we’ll show you how to install the virtual private network (VPN) on your device to gain unfettered access to MLB games.

What Makes the Best VPN for MLB.tv?

When picking the best MLB.tv VPN, we considered various factors, such as price, usability and compatibility. On top of that, we evaluated each service through the lens of functionality. First, here’s a sneak peek into our top five services:

1. ExpressVPN — Blazing fast and unlocks numerous MLB.tv streaming channels
2. NordVPN — Solid security and extensive VPN server network in the U.S.
3. CyberGhost — Inexpensive and dedicated streaming servers
4. Surfshark — Affordable and wide array of advanced features
5. Private Internet Access — Extensive VPN server network and customizability

Since MLB games are subject to blackout restrictions, a good VPN for MLB should have an extensive server network. With a well-distributed server network, you’ll have tons of options to change your location to bypass local and national MLB.tv blackouts. Our top five VPNs offer an impressive network of servers that can get past tough geo-restrictions.

You also need a VPN with solid digital security and privacy to conceal your internet activity. Privacy is particularly crucial because the MLB can terminate your subscription if they notice you’re circumventing or attempting to bypass blackout restrictions. Our top VPNs guarantee strong security and privacy, and as you’ll find out, some even earned a spot on our most secure VPN list.

Fast speeds and unlimited bandwidth are also essential. You need a high-speed VPN to stream live MLB games without buffering or video breaks. On top of that, because live MLB games use a lot of data, you need a VPN that offers unlimited bandwidth. All of our picks earned a spot on the fastest VPN list, so they should be fast enough to support lag-free streaming.

The Top 5 VPNs to Watch MLB Games Online

Now that we’ve gone over what it takes to be the best MLB.tv VPN, let’s take a closer look at our five suggestions. ExpressVPN is our top VPN provider, so let’s dive straight in.

1. ExpressVPN

More details about ExpressVPN:

• Pricing: $6.66 per month (15-months plan)
• Provider Website: www.expressvpn.com

ExpressVPN tops our list of the best MLB VPNs thanks to its speed. Its servers are optimized for speed to enable you to stream MLB games without any slowdown. Even when you travel abroad, you can connect to any U.S. server and still enjoy buffering-free streams. There are no data caps, either, so you don’t have to worry about getting cut off in the middle of a nail-biting MLB game.

The service works seamlessly on Android TV, Apple TV, PS4, Xbox One, Chromecast, Roku and the MLB At Bat app. What’s more, being the best VPN for streaming, ExpressVPN’s ability to get into streaming channels in the United States is unparalleled. It unblocks Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu, giving you infinite options to watch MLB games, including the World Series and playoffs.

Bypass MLB.tv Blackouts With ExpressVPN

Beyond speed, ExpressVPN gives you over 3,000 servers in 160 locations. It offers servers in 14 cities in the U.S., so you can find a location close to you but still beyond the blackout area. In the case of national blackouts, you can connect to a server anywhere in the world and still get high-quality streams.

ExpressVPN’s price is a little higher than other VPNs on our list and offers no free trial or free plan. However, its annual plan comes with a 35 percent discount and three months free, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our ExpressVPN review to learn more.

In a nutshell, ExpressVPN is the best VPN for watching MLB, thanks to its lightning-fast speed, top-notch security, eight simultaneous connections and unparalleled ability to get into streaming services. It also shields your data, giving MLB.tv zero chance to know you’re using a VPN.

2. NordVPN

More details about NordVPN:

• Pricing: $3.39 per month (two-year plan)
• Provider Website: www.nordvpn.com

NordVPN, one of the best VPNs for sports, is great for bypassing local MLB.tv blackouts, thanks to its 1,970 servers in more than 15 cities in the United States. Regardless of your location, you can find a server that’s geographically closest to you for a fast streaming experience. Plus, NordVPN allows you to pick a specific server in the U.S. to mask your location and bypass MLB restrictions.

NordVPN isn’t as fast as ExpressVPN, particularly when connecting to servers over longer distances (read our ExpressVPN vs NordVPN throwdown to learn more), but it still delivers lag- and buffering-free performance when streaming Major League Baseball games.

Stream MLB Games With NordVPN’s Specialty Servers

Have you ever tried to watch an MLB game only to get: “Media Error. This game is temporarily unavailable.”? This means MLB.tv recognizes you’re using a VPN and is deliberately blocking you out. In this case, you can use NordVPN’s obfuscated servers to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN. Besides, the Double VPN feature — which cloaks your IP address twice — can help you sidestep MLB.tv spying and snooping.

NordVPN is available for as low as $3.39 per month on the two-year plan, with discounts of up to 68 percent. Each plan offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and allows six simultaneous connections but has no free trial. Read our NordVPN review to learn more.

NordVPN offers excellent features that make it a strong contender for first place. It has no throttling nor bandwidth caps, and the app provides a server network that extends coast to coast in the U.S., so you can find an optimal server. However, it’s slightly slower than ExpressVPN over longer distances, a fact that confines NordVPN to second place.

3. CyberGhost

More details about CyberGhost:

• Pricing: $2.37 per month (two-year plan)
• Provider Website: www.cyberghostvpn.com

CyberGhost is another of our favorite MLB.tv VPNs. The service has around 7,800 servers, including around 1,150 servers distributed across 11 cities in the U.S., making it ideal for bypassing local MLB blackouts. If you’re a New York Yankees fan based in New York, you can connect to one of the 255 servers in Washington to watch all of your team’s home games.

It is slower than ExpressVPN, though, as you’ll learn in the ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost guide. However, when we tested it out by connecting to servers in the U.S. and outside the U.S., it delivered high-quality streams, devoid of lags or video breaks.

Avoid Getting Caught Bypassing MLB.tv Blackouts

When you use CyberGhost, you get much more than just the opportunity to bypass MLB blackouts. The VPN combines solid encryption with secure protocols to make sure you don’t get caught bypassing MLB.tv blackouts. You also get a kill switch, which automatically disconnects your devices in case your VPN connection drops.

CyberGhost’s three-year plan is one of the cheapest on the market, plus it comes with three months free. You can give CyberGhost’s free trial a try for one day or use the generous 45-day money-back guarantee to weigh your options. Read our CyberGhost review to learn more.

CyberGhost is an affordable yet reliable VPN that’s effective for unblocking local blackouts, thanks to its extensive server network in the United States. However, compared to our top two picks, CyberGhost is still a work in progress, as you can read in our NordVPN vs CyberGhost showdown. Some of its aspects could be better, particularly speed over long-distance servers.

4. Surfshark

More details about Surfshark:

• Pricing: $2.49 per month (two-year plan)
• Provider Website: www.surfshark.com

Surfshark is a reliable service for MLB.tv that offers more than 500 servers in the U.S. While its server count in the U.S. isn’t as impressive as our top three picks, it has the best server distribution. Surfshark servers are spread across 24 cities in the country, making it easy to find a server outside of your blackout zone but close enough to stream MLB games without buffering.

Though our top three VPNs beat Surfshark in various areas, such as speed and server network, Surfshark redeems itself with a rich suite of privacy and security features. For example, it offers MultiHop, a feature that routes your traffic via two servers to keep your online privacy intact. If you want to get into MLB.tv on an old smart TV that doesn’t support the standard VPN app, Surfshark’s Smart DNS has you covered.

Enjoy MLB.tv on All Your Devices

Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections, making it one of the best VPNs for multiple devices. With one Surfshark account, you can protect all the devices in your household and watch Major League Baseball games on mobile, even when you travel out of state or abroad. It’s one of the best VPNs for Samsung and iPhones.

Surfshark is a budget-friendly VPN that works on various devices, including all PC and smart TV operating systems. Its two-year plan costs you $2.49 per month, though its monthly plan is one of the more expensive ones. You can read our Surfshark review to learn more.

Surfshark is proof that a cheap VPN doesn’t have to compromise on functionality, as the service packs a real punch in advanced features, such as split tunneling. However, its speeds are subpar, and customer support could be better. As a result, despite its best effort to outshine our top three picks, Surfshark has to settle for fourth place.

5. Private Internet Access

More details about Private Internet Access:

• Pricing: $2.19 per month (three-year plan)
• Provider website: www.privateinternetaccess.com

Private Internet Access (PIA, for short) is a good service for MLB.tv. It has nearly 30,000 servers, including a whopping 15,055 servers across the U.S., though they’re located in only 14 cities. PIA is still a good option for bypassing national MLB blackouts, but it’s slower over longer distances.

By pairing WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, PIA offers solid encryption to secure your data and online activities. It doesn’t keep any logs, either, so if privacy is essential, PIA has you covered.

Enjoy Peace of Mind as You Stream MLB Games

Online ads take your eyes off the game and are an annoyance at best during a live MLB game. PIA MACE allows you to clamp down on the pesky pop-up ads, thus ensuring you don’t miss any moment of the game. The feature blocks trackers and malware, too, keeping you safe online as you watch your favorite sport.

PIA is another cheap yet reliable VPN on our list. Its three-year plan costs $2.19 per month, putting PIA in the same echelon as CyberGhost and Surfshark; plus, it gives you two extra months at no cost at all. If PIA sounds like an ideal VPN for you, read our Private Access Internet review to learn more.

PIA offers the most servers in the U.S., though only in 14 locations. It’s also cheap, making it great if you want to bypass local MLB blackouts on a strict budget. However, when it comes to circumventing national MLB blackouts, PIA may not cut it because it’s slow over longer-distance servers.

How to Bypass MLB.tv Blackouts

If an MLB game is blacked out in your area, it’s not available for streaming on any MLB.tv product, including the MLB At Bat app and the MLB Network. This is where a VPN comes in handy. A VPN helps you bypass MLB.tv blackout restrictions and watch MLB games online, including your hometown team’s home games.

How to Watch Major League Baseball Games Online With a VPN

It’s easy to use a VPN to change your IP address and trick MLB.tv into believing you’re outside of the blackout area. Follow these quick steps to watch MLB online.

1. Download and Install a VPN

   Download and install a VPN app on your PC, MacBook or smart TV. We recommend ExpressVPN, which is what we’ll use in this example.

2. Sign in With Your VPN Account

   Open the VPN app and select “sign in’‘ to enter your login credentials.

3. Choose a Server

   Pick a server location outside the MLB blackout zone and hit the “connect” button.

4. Watch MLB Games on MLB.tv

   Head over to your browser and open MLB.tv. Enter your login credentials and click “login” to stream MLB games.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you’ve found a VPN that best meets your needs and learned how to install the VPN on your device. So next time you don’t have to miss the Yankees vs Red Sox game, no matter where you are.

If you’re still struggling to pick your best VPN provider, we highly recommend getting started with ExpressVPN. This excellent VPN never disappoints when it comes to bypassing MLB blackouts, as it delivers a great streaming experience free of buffering, thanks to its blazing-fast servers and unlimited bandwidth.

ExpressVPN is also the best VPN for ESPN and other sports streaming services, just in case you decide to watch MLB games on MLB.tv alternatives. Not to mention that it’s the best VPN for smart TVs, just in case you watch MLB.tv on Apple TV, Android TV and other smart TVs.

Which VPN do you use to get around MLB blackout restrictions? Let us know in the comment section below. Thanks once again for reading.

FAQ

• Yes, you can use a VPN with MLB.tv on the MLB app or other devices, such as computers, smart TVs and game consoles.

• Yes, NordVPN works seamlessly with MLB.tv. When you install NordVPN on your preferred devices, such as a PC or smart TV, you can change your IP address and watch blacked-out games.

• Yes, one of the best ways to bypass MLB.tv blackouts is to use a VPN. A VPN tricks MLB.tv into believing you’re watching a game in an area where blackout restriction doesn’t apply.

• To watch MLB with a VPN, you first have to install the VPN app on your device. Alternatively, you can also install a VPN browser extension. Then, connect to a server that’s outside the MLB blackout regions. Lastly, go to MLB.tv and watch the game.