Which VPN is best for gaming? The five best gaming VPNs today
- ExpressVPN. The best gaming VPN on the market. Specifications. …
- NordVPN. Privacy-first gaming VPN. Specifications. …
- Surfshark. Seriously good value gaming VPN. Specifications. …
- Hotspot Shield. Unbelievable speeds mean lagless gaming. Specifications. …
- IPVanish. Excellent gaming VPN functionality.
Which is the best VPN for gaming?
Right now we rate ExpressVPN as the best option out there. It boasts tonnes of server locations, reliably fast connection speeds, and various security protocols (including its very own Lightway option). It’s wonderfully easy to use on desktop and mobile and is also fantastic at unblocking TV services for when you’re streaming.
Is a VPN good for gaming?
It depends. Opt for a poor VPN service and you risk ending up with a bit of software that slows down your connection and isn’t as secure and anonymous as you’d intended. But choose one of the best gaming VPNs and you can trust your data will be encrypted and, in some cases, the service’s ability to get around ISP throttling may actually speed up your gaming!
Is NordVPN OK for gaming?
Yes, NordVPN is great for gaming. It offers anonymity and security. It’s excellent against bandwidth throttling, malware attacks, and DDoS attacks. Also, NordVPN is fast and has nice server coverage, which can help you access geo-restricted gaming servers.
Which VPN is best for gaming for free?
The Best Free VPNs for Gaming (Updated October 2021)
- ExpressVPN — Superfast Servers for Zero Lag While You Game. …
- Cyberghost — Tons of Servers to Access Games From Anywhere. …
- Windscribe – Free 10GB of Data Every Month. …
- PrivateVPN – Completely FREE 7-Day Trial. …
- Hotspot Shield – Great Combination of Speed and Security.
Do gamers need VPN?
It doesn’t matter what type of game you enjoy, if any of the games you play (on any platform) connect to the internet, it’s a good idea to use a VPN to maintain your privacy and security. A premium VPN may also improve your gaming experience.
Can VPN help gaming?
By encrypting your internet connection and hiding your IP address, using a VPN for gaming can potentially help you in several ways — granting access to different servers, improving ping and reducing lag, or even protecting you against DDoS attacks.
How do I use a VPN for gaming?
Use a VPN to improve your gaming experience with these 5 simple steps:
- Sign up for a VPN service, like VyprVPN. …
- Download VyprVPN and launch the application on your preferred device(s).
- Choose a server location. …
- Click Connect and connect to your VPN.
How do I use a VPN for gaming?
Subscribe to ExpressVPN and download its apps for computers, smartphones, and tablets—whatever your favorite devices are. For game consoles, use the ExpressVPN app for routers. Not ready for a VPN router? Your Mac or Windows computer can be used as a “virtual router” instead.
In addition to keeping your data and files safe within an encrypted network, ExpressVPN also protects you from potential DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks while gaming. You can also use our VPN to lower ping times between various gaming servers by connecting to locations closer to the network hosts.
If your ISP (internet service provider) is intentionally throttling certain kinds of network traffic, a VPN can bypass these restrictions and restore your network speeds to their default levels. In some instances, users have even reported faster gaming speeds.
The best VPN’s for gaming
These are three of the best VPN’s to use while gaming:
- ExpressVPN: The best and most stable gaming VPN.
- Surfshark: High-speed VPN that allows you to game limitlessly and cheaply.
- CyberGhost: The most user-friendly VPN for gaming without lag.
Do you also want to stay safe and anonymous while playing your favorite online games? Then try one of these VPNs. You can read more about the services below or check out our general review about the top 10 best VPN.
ExpressVPN: the most reliable gaming VPN
ExpressVPN is ranked #1 by us, making it the best VPN provider we tested. The connections are fast and stable. Moreover, ExpressVPN has thousands of servers in almost a hundred countries around the world. so you have more than enough servers to choose from. In addition, it’s easy to find the fastest option for you to enjoy ExpressVPN’s protection while gaming online.
If you want to unblock a specific game that is not available in your location, ExpressVPN also offers the solution. Simply choose a server in the country that wél access to the game. Once your VPN connection is active, you can still play the game.
ExpressVPN is slightly more expensive than most other VPN services, but in return you get full online protection with numerous options and fast speeds. ExpressVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can use this to test out the service without getting locked into a subscription right away. Want to know more about ExpressVPN? Read our detailed review about ExpressVPN here.
Surfshark: high speeds at a low price
Our tests showed that Surfsharkééis one of the fastest VPN’s on the market and it is one of the fastest VPNs on the market. Surfshark is a relatively new provider that has become very popular in a short time. The software is clear and easy to use. Moreover, Surfshark works on many different devices.
Because the speeds of Surfshark are so fast, you never have to wait long for your games to load. Surfshark’s ping results are especially good, both for local and US servers. If you want to use a VPN for gaming, Surfshark offers you the perfect protection without causing delays.
The biggest advantage of Surfshark is the price. A subscription costs only a few euros per month, which is incredibly cheap compared to other providers. This great value for money makes Surfshark a more attractive option. If you want to learn everything about this provider we advice you to read the Surfshark review to find out everything about them.
Like ExpressVPN, Surfshark offers a 30-day not-good-money-back guarantee, so you can test the service before signing up. If you want to read more about this newcomer, check out our full Surfshark review here. Click the button below to go directly to Surfshark’s website.
CyberGhost: unlimited gaming with easy-to-use software
A third good VPN for gaming is CyberGhost. This provider also scored very well in our speed test. No matter where you are in the world, ééone of CyberGhost’s thousands of fast servers will keep you safe online while gaming. CyberGhost is, in our opinion, the second best VPN we tested, right after ExpressVPN.
CyberGhost’s servers are not as fast as Surfshark’s or as reliable as ExpressVPN’s, but the difference will hardly be noticeable. After all, CyberGhost’s results are still incredibly good. With this provider, you can play games from all over the world without lag. Moreover, this VPN is also quite cheap.
The CyberGhost software is easy to work with. Therefore, we think this VPN is the most user-friendly provider we have come across so far. While you’re gaming, CyberGhost will dutifully protect you in the background. Want to know more about this VPN? Then read our detailed CyberGhost review. If you prefer to get started right away, click the button below to go directly to the VPN’s official website.
What should you look for when choosing a VPN for gaming?
If you want to use a VPN for gaming, there are several things to consider. A good VPN for gaming should work soó that it doesn’t negatively impact your gaming experience. Here are some considerations you’ll probably want to make before choosing a VPN service.
High speed and stability
Most gamers value a fast and stable connection. A VPN connection that can provide this is especially essential for online multiplayer games. You may have heard gamers complain or brag about their ping. This has to do with their internet speed.
Ping refers to the latency between the player’s system and the game server. The numbers refer to the time in milliseconds that information takes to travel between servers. The lower the ping, the smoother your online game will run.
A higher ping can cause lag, which is very annoying if you’re in the middle of a competitive online game. Some games will even disconnect a player if their ping is too high to function properly. This is why we selected our three best VPN’s for gaming mainly based on their high speeds and stable ping.
To ensure that the speed of your connection doesn’t suffer too much, it’s best to connect to a server that’s close to you. Often this will mean working with a local server, although German, French and Belgian servers usually work very well too. The further away the server, the slower your connection will be.
Online security
Not all VPN’s are equally secure. A good VPN encrypts your online data and sends it through a secure tunnel. This means your online activities are no longer visible to others, including hackers, your internet service provider and the government. Your IP address is hidden, meaning your location is safe and not revealed.
Some VPN’s, however, do not provide this protection or misuse the information you entrust to them. For example, what if they resell your data to other companies? Or if they use the information they have collected about you for marketing purposes? You could also accidentally download a cracked VPN which could be dangerous for yourself and your device.
Whether you’re gaming or surfing, you need a VPN you can trust with your data. That’s why our top 3 only includes VPN providers that have proven to provide good online security and keep their users’ data safe and anonymous.
Unblock capabilities
Some game developers launch new games only in ééone country or specific part of the world. This is often the case when they want to gauge audience reaction and get bugs out of their game. If you live in a country that doesn’t have this early access, you might think you can’t play the game. Yet you can: a VPN provides the solution.
In addition, some countries ban certain games, for example because of violent or sexual content. Fortunately, there is a way to get around this kind of censorship . If you’re in a country where games are censored, but you still want to play those games, you can bypass these restrictions with a VPN.
Many VPN providers have servers in a large number of countries. By connecting to a server in another country, you bypass any restrictions that apply to your geographic location. You can then access the Internet as if you were in another country.
Not all VPN’s are able to unblock games and other content. A VPN with a large server network will likely be able to unblock more content than a VPN with only a few VPN servers. In addition, websites may choose to block access for IP addresses from VPN providers. The VPN’s we chose for our top 3 are juggernauts when it comes to unblocking and give you the chance to play foreign games as well.
Test period
Most VPN providers have a trial period or not-good-money-back guarantee, so you can test their services before committing to a subscription. We recommend using this trial period, especially if you’re looking for a gaming VPN. If you find that the VPN you’ve chosen doesn’t perform as well as you’d like, don’t hesitate to cancel your subscription and try another service.
At VPNGids, we test VPN providers from our office using our own connection. However, the results of a VPN can vary depending on your location, internet speed and countless other factors. So it may be that a provider performs very differently than during our tests. So use the testing period to see how the service performs in conjunction with your favorite game. That way, you’ll have the best chance of finding a VPN that works perfectly. All the VPN providers we recommend in this article offer plenty of time to try out their service.
Why a VPN for gaming?
A VPN gives you a better gaming experience because it helps you play games more freely and securely. As mentioned earlier, not all games are available worldwide. A VPN helps you access games that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to play.
A VPN can also make a big difference when it comes to security. Whether you’re just browsing or playing an intense multiplayer shooter, there are always risks’s on the Internet. A VPN offers protection from all kinds of online dangers by encrypting your data and anonymizing your online activities.
In really intense and competitive online games, an opponent may try to launch a DDoS attack on you and your team. This means that they send a lot of traffic to your server in an attempt to flood it. If they send enough ‘fake traffic’ to deplete your bandwidth, you can no longer play the game and the other side wins.
Other similar attacks commonly used in online gaming include locking users out of their accounts and deleting databases. With a VPN, you can protect yourself from these nasty tactics. In short, if you want access to countless games from around the world while protecting yourself from online attacks, a VPN is the answer.
Setting up VPN on your gaming device
It’s very easy to install a VPN on your gaming device. Whether you’re using a desktop, laptop, smartphone or other device, a VPN can protect you online. The easiest way to install a VPN on your computer is to download the program from the VPN service’s official website.
Follow these steps to install a VPN on your laptop or desktop:
- Go to the officialële website of your chosen VPN provider and create an account.
- Download the VPN software from the officialële website.
- Install the VPN software by following the steps outlined in the installation wizard.
- Log in to the VPN software with the account you created in step 1.
- Choose the VPN server you want to use. If your virtual location doesn’t matter, choose the server that is closest to you. This will probably give you the least amount of lag during gaming.
- Turn on the VPN and enjoy your game. You are now protected by the VPN.
If you are used to gaming on a different device, read on the following pages’s how to make a VPN work on that too:
- Set up a gaming VPN on your Android smartphone.
- Set up a gaming VPN on your iPad or iPhone.
- Install a gaming VPN on your router (for other internet-connected devices).
Conclusion: the best gaming VPN
If you want to use a VPN while gaming, we d recommend ExpressVPN, Surfshark or CyberGhost . These VPN’s offer fast connections, stable servers, lots of options for unblocking content and protection from online attacks.
It may not sound logical to use a VPN while gaming. Yet it is actually essential. Many games are played online these days. Everything you do on the Internet can be used against you by hackers, for example. Some VPN services can slow down your connection, which is far from ideal, especially while gaming. The three VPN’s mentioned in this article can still maintain your online security without causing violent delays.