How to Watch Hulu in Canada (2024)

Hulu is a subscription-based streaming service owned by The Walt Disney Company. It offers a wide variety of TV shows, movies, and original programming.

However, Hulu is not officially available in Canada due to geo-restrictions that limit its availability only to the US and other parts of Japan. If you want to access Hulu in Canada, be sure to subscribe to a VPN provider.

Table of Contents

Why Can’t I Watch Hulu in Canada?

Unfortunately, viewers from Canada can’t stream directly on Hulu as it has regional locks on its content library. The regional lock means no one outside the US can view anything on Hulu. All the digital content on Hulu has this streaming restriction, and if you’re in any other country, you’ll have to find an alternative to watch Hulu for your evening entertainment. Hulu.com utilizes an ‘IP identification’ process to block you from accessing the platform. The ‘IP-ID’ determines your geographical location, and if you’re IP is from outside the United States, it rejects your request.

Will Hulu be Coming to Canada?

Yes, as of February 2021, a limited version of Hulu is finally available in Canada!

Disney Plus recently introduced a new offering called “Star” which includes some Hulu shows and movies. The offering is limited because a large amount of original content and Hulu favorites are still spread across various providers, such as Crave and Amazon Prime.

Its library became even more accessible to Canadian viewers in late 2024 with the partnership between Disney Plus and Hulu, which promises to merge all of the two platforms’ content into one app.

How to Select a VPN to Watch Hulu in Canada?

There are dozens of VPN providers available online in order for you to watch Hulu in Canada. They offer similar services, so how do you know which company offers you the best VPN to unblock the Hulu app? Here’s everything you need to consider when choosing the best VPN service provider for your streaming needs.

Server Speed and Latency

When you’re setting up your VPN, run a speed test and check the latency of the server locations to the Hulu platform. You’ll be connecting within the United States from Canada. Therefore, you shouldn’t experience much latency or a slowdown in your download speed.

The Number of Server Locations

Since you’re looking to access a US company, you’ll need to ensure your VPN provider has multiple server locations across the United States. Look for VPN providers offering you servers on the West Coast of the US, preferably as close to California and LA as possible.

User Interface

You would need a VPN that’s easy to activate, with simple settings and a clean user interface. Your provider should allow you to set your defaults, connecting you to your preferred server location in the US at the click of a button. Also, mobile VPNs are available for download to Apple and Android devices for an affordable monthly subscription.

No Session Logging

Session logging is a task conducted by most ISPs. The company logs every location you visit online during your session. VPNs must have a no-logs policy to protect your online activity. Just make sure that your service provider offers you a no-logs policy in its terms and conditions.

No Advertising In-App

Your VPN provider should provide a clean, ad-free experience. The provider should also have specific terms stating they don’t sell your data to third parties.

Router Setup

Most top VPN products are available for configuration on your router. With VPN router installation, you get complete, “always-on” protection of all devices connecting to your home network. It’s a bit more challenging to set up, but you never have to worry about turning on your VPN before you log onto Hulu.

Pricing and Satisfaction Guarantee

Most top VPNs cost you around $12 per month for the service. However, we recommend you look into an annual or two-year package for your subscription.

VPN providers offer significant discounts for the longer 12-month and 24-month subs, and you could end up saving up to 60% to 70% on the costs of the monthly subscription price. Most VPNs offer a 7-day to 30-day period after purchase to claim a refund if you’re not entirely satisfied with the VPN’s performance. So, you’re essentially getting a risk-free trial of the VPN thanks to the money-back guarantee.

The Best VPNs to Watch Hulu in Canada

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the market leader in Virtual Private Networks. The firm has a huge server network, available in 160 locations across 94 countries. You get superior performance with easy setup on your device or router. This fast and secure VPN offers you instant access to Hulu and other streaming services available online.

Unlike many other VPNs, ExpressVPN allows torrenting, and the company ensures you get a no-logs policy. ExpressVPN tracks when you log on for your session, but doesn’t track what you’re doing online. The company also confirmed this claim through an audit.

The VPN offers good connection speeds, and there’s minimal latency in connection when using US-based servers from Canada. This VPN comes with clients for any device and excellent user support.

However, it is one of the more premium VPN choices. We recommend looking out for discount codes and taking a longer plan to reduce your subscription costs.

PrivateVPN

This VPN provider is another great choice to watch Hulu from Canada. The company offers you a smaller server network than Express VPN, with just 150 server locations across the globe. However, the company does have west coast data centers, and it’s ideal for watching Hulu from Canada.

PrivateVPN has dedicated torrenting servers, as well as port forwarding and a functional kill switch. It’s also one of the most affordable VPN options, with subscription plans as low as $1.98 per month. You also get a free 7-day trial of the VPN.

This Swedish-based VPN provider is one of the few VPNs active in China, circumventing the “Great Firewall.” It also has a zero-logs policy, which means it won’t track any of your session data. However, customer support isn’t as good as ExpressVPN.

As far as speed, it carries more latency than ExpressVPN, so users might want to consider that when deciding between the two.

CyberGhost

This VPN provider is another great choice for watching Hulu in Canada. This company has a large server network with more than 500 locations worldwide. You get seven active connections available with port forwarding and a kill switch. However, CyberGhost is yet to undergo an audit. Therefore, while it claims to have a zero-logs policy, there’s no way to confirm it right now. It’s also the most expensive option, with lower discounts on the extended annual and two-year subscription packages.

If you sign up for any plan over the monthly, CyberGhost gives you access to its secure “NoSpy” servers, ensuring better online security when browsing, downloading torrents, or streaming.

Surfshark

Our final option to watch Hulu in Canada is SurfSharkVPN. This firm has one of the lowest cost offers and a great server network, with 3,200 servers operating in 65 countries. The network is huge, and you get unlimited device connections included with any plan. There’s a user-friendly interface with a handy kill switch, and SurfShark has one of the most reliable, low-latency connections to US servers from Canada. It’s an ideal choice for streaming Hulu and any other US-based platform.

SurfShark comes with the standard military-grade encryption we see in all the other VPN options, and you get a low-latency connection for streaming and gaming without any buffering problems. Best of all, SurfShark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on your subscription purchase.

How Will a VPN Help Me Stream Hulu Canada?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers you the only method of accessing Hulu from outside the US or Japan. If you try to log into the Hulu platform and create an account, the system’s AI registers your device’s IP address as Canadian. As a result, you won’t be able to create an account. So, why does Hulu do this? It’s simple: Hulu has licensing agreements on its content that prevent them from airing it outside of its approved markets in the US and Japan.

To bring the content to an international audience adds huge costs to the company, and they simply can’t afford to run a sustainable business model while paying these licensing fees. So, you end up missing out on Hulu content if you live in Canada.

However, there is an easy way to help you circumvent these platforms’ controls and create a Hulu account. Sound interesting? The secret to accessing Hulu is through using a VPN. When you log onto your VPN, the connection routes through a VPN server.

The server switches out your IP address for an IP in the country you set, and the Hulu platform AI believes you are not in the country you have set your IP to. The VPN also encrypts your connection, so Hulu, your ISP, and anyone watching you can’t see what content you’re streaming or downloading online. Essentially, you turn “invisible” to anyone monitoring your connection. As a result, you get unfettered access to the Hulu app; all you need to do is connect to your VPN and set your location IP as an American address; it’s as easy as that.

Set up your account and buy a gift card online to pay for your subscription, so you don’t use a Canadian debit or credit card for your payment option.

Can I Use a Free VPN to Stream Hulu in Canada?

Some might be wondering how they can get their hands on a VPN right now. We recommend you go with one of the tested providers mentioned earlier in this post. Then some might also be thinking why they should pay for a VPN when there seem to be plenty of free options available in the Apple App or Google Play Stores. That’s a valid concern, but it also has a simple answer.

According to research on free apps available for your Android or Apple device, most free VPNs, don’t encrypt your connection. You might as well not use a VPN at all. In some cases, free VPNs can also present a security threat. The operator might log your sessions or sell your data to third-party advertisers.

The reality is that all the opt-in terms and conditions we get when we download an app go unread, and you have no idea what the company is doing with your data after installing the free VPN app on your device. Free VPNs might come with the right “price tag,” but it could cost you if you try to use them to access Hulu.

The Hulu platform AI has a list of all the free VPN IPs and proxies used by these services, and the chances are that it will block access to Hulu if it detects you’re using any of these IPs. With a professional, paid VPN service, you’re getting what you pay for. There’s no in-app advertising and no logging of your session activity. You get complete encryption of your connection, with no chance of the Hulu platform sniffing out a fake IP or your real IP address.

Hulu Canada Overview

Are you thinking about subscribing to Hulu? We don’t blame you since Hulu has some of the best original content, along with popular movies and TV shows. Since its launch in 2007, Hulu has established itself as one of the premier streaming services in the United States, collecting over 48 million subscribers to its platform. The founders, Jason Kilar and Beth Comstock headquartered the company in Los Angeles, California. Hulu is now part of the Disney Plus brand, another hugely successful platform in the streaming market.

Hulu content consists of new TV shows and original content from a range of broadcasting networks and movies from Hollywood and independent studios. Users get the advantage of the fast release of top-trending content without waiting months for them to show up on their feed. Hulu also launched its offline content service in October 2019, allowing viewers to download up to 25 of their favorite titles. However, you’re going to run into issues with the platform’s geo-blocking software if you want to watch Hulu in Canada.

Hulu is currently only available in the US and Japan. Canadians won’t get to access the platform directly from their home country unless they use a VPN as mentioned earlier in this post.

How Much Does Hulu in Canada Cost?

Hulu offers several affordable and flexible membership tiers, such as basic plans, bundles, and add-on subscriptions, to appeal to different types of users. The pricing of each package is detailed below, quoted in USD.

Plan	Monthly Price	Simultaneous Screens	Video Resolution
With ads	$7.99	2	720p to 4K
Student plan with ads	$1.99	2	720p to 4K
Ad-free	$14.99	2	720p to 4K
Hulu + Live TV	$69.99	2	720p to 4K
Disney Bundle Trio Premium	$19.99	2	720p to 4K
Disney Bundle Trio Basic	$12.99	2	720p to 4K

How Do I Sign Up for Hulu in Canada?

If you don’t have a Hulu account yet, here are a few different methods that you can utilize to get a Hulu subscription in Canada.

Ask A Friend in The US

This is the easiest way to get a Hulu account in Canada. If you have any friends or family in the USA, ask them to share their Hulu account with you. If they don’t have an account, you could ask them to sign up for a new account and pay them back or offer to share some of your Canadian streaming accounts with them.

Use Gift Cards

Hulu accepts a variety of payment methods, including gift cards. Several retailers offer a Hulu gift card at various prices. These include PayPal, Walmart, and My Gift Card Supply. Once you buy your gift card, you can visit the Hulu website from your browser and redeem the card by entering the code you got earlier.

Use a Virtual Card

The third option for getting a Hulu account by using a virtual card. Many providers allow individuals to pay for US streaming services and apps from various parts of the world — including Canada — such as the StatesCard.

What Devices Can I Use to Watch Hulu in Canada?

Hulu is available on all standard devices. This means you can stream your favorite content virtually anywhere, whether staying at home or riding the subway.

Some of the most popular devices you can use to stream are listed below:

1. Apple Phones, Tablets, and Apple TV
2. Android Phones, Tablets, and Android TV
3. Gaming Consoles, including Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch
4. Select Smart TVs
5. Amazon Fire Tablets and Fire TV Stick

What Are The Best Shows and Movies on Hulu Canada?

Hulu has a wide variety of shows and movies that are very popular amongst viewers, so it’s no surprise Canadians are interested in watching Hulu in Canada.

Some of the top TV shows and movies Hulu offers include:

This is just a small set of examples, as Hulu has over 1,500 shows and more than 2,500 films available to its users, so it’s safe to say there is something for everyone!

What Are the Best Alternatives to Hulu?

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of using a VPN or proxy but still want to access Hulu’s content, then you might want to check out some of the leading services out there. Check out the following platforms to see if they suit your entertainment needs better.

Netflix

You can stream original content and some of your favorite older movies and shows on Netflix. While Netflix has countless popular original programming under its belt, the global leader in streaming still has the priciest membership plans that start at CAD$5.99. Do note that Netflix Canada also limits its content options, and you don’t get the same variety as you do with the American version.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is another great alternative to Hulu. We think it has a good offering of top-quality movies, series, and TV shows, with original and licensed content, topped with shopping benefits on the Amazon e-commerce platform. Prime Video offers you the service for CAD$9.99 per month, or pay upfront for a year at CAD$99.99.

Disney Plus

The launch of Disney Plus saw the platform skyrocket in subscriber volumes in the first few months of its release. Disney Plus offers you top-quality entertainment from the leading Hollywood production companies. Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise are all onboard with Disney, and you can bet this platform will have some of the best animation and fantasy content online. Disney Plus is available for a monthly subscription cost of CAD$11.99, or choose the annual package with a CAD$119.99 upfront payment.

Max

Max offers some of the best series and movies available online such as “Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us,” and “Sex and the City,” and many more. Unlike other streaming services, HBO Max relies on past content to attract future subscribers. Warner Bros has no plans on releasing Max to Canadians at the moment, but a VPN can solve your issue.

Other Top Streaming Services

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service owned by Google that offers a good selection of local and international channels varying on your location. Unlike other platforms, YouTube TV boasts exciting features, such as the ability to record shows and watch them later. However, it is only available in the United States, though you can bypass this restriction using a VPN service.

Discovery Plus Canada

Discovery Plus Canada is a great way to watch your favorite shows, movies, and documentaries, including channels like Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, and many more. You can watch Discovery Plus in Canada by visiting their site and signing up for an account or using a Canadian version of the app released in October. If you want to watch the American version of Discovery Plus, you can also use a VPN.

Hotstar

Hotstar is the popular Indian video streaming service owned by the Star network, rebranded to Disney Plus Hotstar in early 2020 after Disney took over Star India. With more than 100,000 hours of content in nine languages, they have a wide selection of content, including live cricket matches and all major sporting events. The Canadian version offers a limited selection of shows and movies, but VPNs are a great way to get around regional restrictions.

Sling TV

Sling TV is a live streaming service that provides access to select channels for a monthly fee. The service offers various packages, such as ESPN, AMC, TNT, HGTV, HBO, and Cinemax. You can watch Sling TV outside of the US by using a VPN that will allow you to stream its content without any restrictions.

ESPN Plus

ESPN Plus gives you access to world-class sporting events and live streams across a variety of sports, while the main ESPN channel has the best coverage for NHL, MLB, and NBA. ESPN Plus also excels in its coverage of niche sports such as MMA, Boxing, Lacrosse, Canadian Football, and many more. Sadly, ESPN Plus is not currently available for Canadians.

Peacock TV

Peacock TV is a video streaming service based in the United States, owned and operated by NBC Universal, that offers popular shows like 30 Rock and exclusive access to sports coverage like Premier League soccer matches. Sadly, for now, the Peacock TV service is only available in the US, but users outside of the US can still use a VPN to get a US IP address.

Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus is a great choice for your streaming service portfolio if you’re into top-rated content. You get a range of top-rated movies and shows with the option for an ad-free viewing experience. Paramount Plus is available on Amazon Prime Canada. It’s a great way to watch movies and TV shows online, with a library of titles that includes new and classic releases. Plus, you can access Prime Video content with supported devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which VPNs Don’t Work with Hulu?

We tested various free and paid VPNs to see if they work with Hulu. The following VPNs don’t work with the streaming service:

1. Zenmate
2. Hotspot Shield
3. Hola
4. IPVanish
5. CactusVPN
6. Tunnelbear
7. IronSocket
8. CactusVPN
9. Unotelly
10. Buffered

How do I Stream Hulu to my Smart TV using my VPN?

Since Smart TVs only work with the relevant apps produced by the manufacturing company, you would need to set up the VPN on your router and use it to access Hulu. You also have the option of streaming from devices like the Amazon FireStick.

Does my VPN Allow me to Access other Streaming Services?

Yes, your VPN will work as well on any other streaming service.

You can use the VPN to get around geo-blocks on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Max, and many other popular streaming services.

Is Hulu Free with Amazon Prime Video?

No, Hulu is not free with Prime Video. In the United States, users can opt to avail of a Hulu add-on with their Prime Video membership. However, this add-on is not available for Prime members in Canada.

Which is Better: Netflix or Hulu?

Netflix and Hulu are undoubtedly both great streaming services. But the real question is, which one is the best?

Netflix is available in over 190 countries and has over 200 million subscribers. It offers a wide variety of TV shows and films, as well as original programming. Hulu is available in the United States and Japan and has over 40 million subscribers. It also offers a wide selection of TV shows and movies, as well as original programming.

So which service is better? Netflix or Hulu? It really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want a wider selection of TV shows and movies to choose from, then Netflix is the better option. If you’re mostly interested in watching original programming, live TV, and sports events, then Hulu is the better option.