The simple answer to the question ‘how to watch Hotstar in Australia?’ is a Virtual Private Network – or a VPN. There’s more to it, though: the step-by-step process. If you don’t follow it, you’re busted, mate.
What is Disney+ Hotstar?
Launched in 2015 originally as Hotstar, it was relaunched in April 2020 as Disney+ Hotstar when Disney started operating outside the US. It’s still shortly referred to as Hotstar.
However, this partnership between Star India and Disney garnered the entire content both these giants individually produced to a single platform. The content streamed on Disney+ Hotstar now includes movies, TV shows, live media, and extras.
With over 300 million active and about 18.5 million paid users, Hotstar is one of the world’s most significant VOD streaming services.
How to Watch Hotstar in Australia?
Although Hotstar is available in many countries, Disney+ Hotstar (the Indian version) is geo-restricted to India only. An exciting cure to this is a Virtual Private Network or VPN.
A VPN technically converts your local Australian IP address to an Indian one, thus giving you access to the stellar content everyone seems to love a lot. Go through this process one-by-one, without missing a step:
- Subscribe to a trusted VPN service – like ExpressVPN.
- Request a connection with an Indian server from the VPN app.
- Start streaming Disney+ Hotstar.
Nobody can make this process anymore shorter; I can bet. Just be careful that you need to keep the VPN connection at all times; while downloading and while streaming for optimal performance.
Buying the Best VPN for Hotstar Australia
With that said, we’ve established that there’s no way forward without a premium VPN service. Let’s now look at some specifics of our ideal VPN (the must-haves).
- Encrypted, secure and fast data transmission to prevent hacking attacks and buffering when streaming Disney+ Hotstar in Australia
- A huge web of servers across the world, especially India
- Run 24/7, with reliable servers
- Ability to connect multiple devices to foreign servers in one subscription
- Market trust for being legitimate and handling data well
- Affordable with zero hidden prices
- Goodwill offers like moneyback, free-trial, and cancel anytime
These specifications themselves explain why they’re necessary. VPNs are typically paid for a whole year in advance as the annual package mostly offers a $3-4 monthly discount, which totals to $40-50 – a decent saving.
So, which VPN is the best to stream Hotstar in Australia? I’ve got four options for you, all excellent and tried. Have a look at them:
1. ExpressVPN (Recommended)
ExpressVPN is the market leader and the choice of every VPN-educated person out there.
What makes it stand out is the most comprehensive yet most organized network of servers. With the highest and most secure level of encrypted data transmission, it dominates the market deservingly.
Other than Disney+ Hotstar, you can also stream Indian geo-block streaming services such as Voot and Zee5.
The only snag is the pricing that is relatively higher than other VPNs. But given the amount of security, it’s a small price to pay.
Offers 30-day money-back guarantee!
2. NordVPN
NordVPN and ExpressVPN are like Ronaldo and Messi – far ahead of everyone, the GOATs. Nord, alongside ExpressVPN, provides the rich performance we all crave. The videos load super fast; the security is unbelievable.
And the price is where it completely takes the lead. NordVPN is highly affordable.
Offers 30-day money-back guarantee!
3. Surfshark
Second to none, Surfshark is a king in its realm. Surfshark is known for its P2P sharing servers that allow fast torrenting. Surfshark is the perfect pick if you’re looking at affordability, with the lowest monthly costs at $2.49/mo.
Offers 30-day money-back guarantee!
4. PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN is a rising talent. Although its number of servers is nowhere near that of Nord or Express, it’s got high speeds and secure web surfing. It has the exciting feature of directly streaming your desired service without manually connecting to servers.
Downloading the Disney+ Hotstar App in Australia
Offers 30-day money-back guarantee!
Although it should be reasonably comfortable, there’s a little technique to it. So, if you even lookup the ‘disney+ Hotstar app’ on Play Store with or without using a VPN, you won’t find it there. The reason is that your Gmail account being used on Play Store is of your original location AKA Australia.
To bypass this restriction, step one is to create a Gmail account (Indian). For this, you have to enter an Indian address, that you can easily find on Google, and enter your phone number. Once verified, you’ll be tagged as an Indian user.
Pro tip: Keep your VPN connected to India all this time. It will give Google the impression that you’re an Indian, rather than an Australian trying to create an Indian Gmail.
Now sign in to the Play Store and look up the app to download it. There’s nothing much after this other than to start watching.
Best Hotstar Channels to Watch in Australia
What sets Disney+ Hotstar apart from Hotstar is the variety of content. On Disney+ Hotstar, you cannot only watch English and Hindi shows/movies, but you can also enjoy other content that has been very well-praised, like Tamil and Telugu films.
Hopefully, by now, your Disney+ Hotstar is going great. Now that we’ve broken in, here’s a list of TV shows, movies, and channels to stream:
Channels
- Star Plus
- HBO
- ABP News
- 9XM
- Star World
- Star Sports
- Hotstar Specials
- Star Bharat
- Star Parvah
Movies & TV Shows
- Kingsman
- Raid
- Watchmen
- Independence Day
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Koffee with Karan
- Big Boss
- Total Dhamaal
- Big Little Lies
- Black Swan
Watch these, and I promise you, you’ll know you’ve spent your money right. If you want more suggestions, let me know in the comments!
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions I might’ve not answered while explaining the process; let’s go!
Is VPN legal in Australia?
Yes, VPNs are legal in most countries in the world except for a few. The reason why VPNs are legal is that they provide user privacy with safety and security. And since everyone has a right to privacy, most governments have no option other than to allow VPNs to function.
How to play Hotstar in Australia?
The process is short and straightforward, but you should follow it unmistakably:
- Get an ExpressVPN subscription and connect to the Indian server.
- Create an Indian Gmail and login into Play Store to download Hotstar India.
- Buy a Hotstar subscription and start streaming.
Risks? Zero. Just be careful with the steps so that you don’t have to re-do any of them.
How can I buy Hotstar premium outside India?
You can either ask a friend of yours in India to do this for you, or you can hire a freelancer over Fiverr to do this for you. And, of course, you can use PayPal (India) to do this. All in all, it’s easy, and there isn’t much fuss about it.
Can I use free VPN for Hotstar Australia?
Of course, you can, but the question is wrong. The right question is SHOULD I use a free VPN for Hotstar Australia?
And the answer to this is: NO, you shouldn’t. The reason to not use free VPNs is that they’re businesses too, and businesses need to sustain themselves. When we don’t pay them for their service, they sell our data to advertisers and profit from it.
Does it still sound like a good idea?
Conclusion
We started from the bottom. Now we’re here!
At the beginning of this article, you were clueless if Hotstar can ever stream in Australia or not. But, now you know all ins and outs. Feels great.
The content these industries are producing is excellent, and it’s painful to feel left behind when others can access it, and you’re not. To watch Hotstar in Australia, you can safely use VPNs and continue to access the web anonymously.
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