Mark, 34, from Utrecht, was staring at his monthly bank statements the way we all do sometimes: with a mild grimace. €13.99 for Netflix Standard. "It's not a lot," he told himself, "but it's not nothing either." Then he stumbled onto something streaming fans have been whispering about on Reddit for years: Netflix doesn't cost the same everywhere.
The shocking numbers
Netherlands: €13.99 · Turkey: ~€3.80
That's a ~72% discount on the exact same plan — same shows, same movies, same four screens.
Why is Netflix so much cheaper in Turkey?
Netflix (and Spotify, and YouTube Premium, and Disney+) uses something called regional pricing. Put simply: in countries where the average salary is lower, the subscription is cheaper too. Otherwise nobody there would be able to afford it — and Netflix wants everyone.
Turkey, Argentina and India have been sitting at the bottom of the pricing table for years. A VPN lets your computer pretend (and Netflix believe) that you're currently sitting in Istanbul, while in reality you're just lying on the couch in Utrecht.
How Mark did it (in 4 steps)
- 1
Cancel your existing subscription
Sounds scary, isn't: your account stays alive, only billing stops. Watchlist and profiles remain intact.
- 2
Turn on the VPN and connect to Turkey
Mark picked a provider with stable Turkish servers. Log in, pick country, done. Took 30 seconds.
- 3
Start a new subscription on netflix.com
The price showed up neatly in Turkish lira. Paying with a credit card or PayPal worked fine — Netflix looks at your IP, not your bank.
- 4
VPN off, shows on
After signing up you don't need to keep the VPN on. Netflix will keep recognising you as a Turkish customer, as long as you don't 'move' to another country.
€10.19 saved every month — €122 per year.
Enough for a year of good coffee, a weekend trip, or… another streaming service on top. Mark went with the coffee.
The fine print (because there is some)
Netflix technically may block accounts that switch regions. In practice it almost never happens — but 'almost never' isn't 'never'.
Interface defaults to Turkish. Two clicks in settings switches it back to English.
The catalogue varies slightly per region. Turkey has mostly the same lineup, with a few things extra and a few missing.
Formally, this violates Netflix's terms of service. Legal consequences? Basically zero. Ethical trade-off? That's on you.
Pro tip: pick a VPN with stable Turkish servers
Not every VPN has reliable servers in Turkey. In our comparison, look for providers with a large server network, strong privacy and — crucial for streaming — high speeds.
Is this legal? The honest answer
Using a VPN is entirely legal in the Netherlands (and most countries). Netflix's terms say you should subscribe from your country of residence, so you're breaking their contract, not the law. The worst-case penalty: Netflix could cancel your account. Fines or a knock on the door? Nope.
Mark's summary after six months: "I'm watching the exact same shows for a third of the price. Netflix hasn't sent an email, my credit card still works, and I've bought myself an espresso machine with the savings."
Disclaimer: this article is informational. We're not actively encouraging you to break streaming providers' terms — we're just explaining what's technically possible and what people actually do. You make your own decisions. And your own coffee.