Best gaming VPN 2023

The best VPN for gaming will help to completely revolutionise your experience in games like Call of Duty: Warzone, FIFA, and League of Legends. They can help to reduce ping, give you access to easier lobbies, improve download speeds, protect you from DDoS attacks, give you access to regional exclusive content, and much more.

While virtual private networks are known to slightly lower download speeds, that’s not always the case. Internet service providers often throttle your speeds when you engage in bandwidth-heavy activities such as gaming, but since the best gaming VPN hides what you’re doing from prying eyes, ISPs are none the wiser when you’re connected to one. They also keep your IP address private, which is an important step towards maintaining your internet anonymity.

However, not all VPNs are built equally, and free VPN services don’t always provide what you need. Fortunately, you can offset the cost of the subscription by using the VPN to hunt for better deals on games that are cheaper in other regions. You’ll get more for your money if you subscribe in bulk, as a year costs less overall than the monthly subscription – and if you’re still not convinced, you can try them out with no strings attached, as some of them have a VPN free trial.

Here are the best gaming VPNs:

• ExpressVPN – best for gaming
• NordVPN – best for WireGuard protocol
• Surfshark – best for unlimited devices
• PureVPN – most private choice
• IPVanish – best for encrypted storage space
• CyberGhost – best for streaming
• VyprVPN – best zero-logs policy
• Private Internet Access (PIA) – best cheap option

1. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best gaming VPN overall and is around $6.67 (£5.56) per month.

ExpressVPN overview:

Pros:

• Servers available in 94 countries
• IP addresses refreshed regularly
• Lightspeed protocol delivers speedy performance

Cons:

• A little pricier than other providers
• Fewer individual servers than other providers

With a lot of countries to choose from, ExpressVPN is the best service if you’re looking to play with your friends overseas or have your eye on a regional deal that’s otherwise unavailable to you. Of course, the potential for improved speeds can also stop you from losing games due to lag.

It’s one of the pricier services on this list, but you certainly get what you pay for with 24/7 live chat customer support and quick connections. Few others refresh their IP addresses as frequently as ExpressVPN, too, meaning you’ll pretty much always be able to unblock just about everything in most countries – including Japan. You can always cancel within the first 30 days and you’ll get your money back if you are not satisfied.

ExpressVPN is also known for refreshing its servers’ IP addresses on a more regular basis than many other VPN services. This will come in handy if a game you play ever blocks one of its servers because it shouldn’t be too long before the IP is refreshed and it can get back in there.

2. NordVPN

NordVPN is the fastest VPN and its pricing works out as $3.29 (£3.39) per month.

NordVPN overview:

Pros:

• Fastest VPN
• NordLynx encrypts data more quickly than other protocols

Cons:

• On the more expensive end of the pricing spectrum
• Fewer simultaneous connections than others

There aren’t many VPN providers that can beat NordVPN. With 5,400+ servers under its belt and fast download and upload speeds, you’ll find everything runs much quicker than with other providers. On top of that, it uses an adapted WireGuard protocol that it dubs NordLynx, which encrypts your data more swiftly than other protocols and comes with less of a performance tax.

The only slight chink in its armor (other than being one of the slightly more expensive VPNs) is that an allowance of six simultaneous connections isn’t actually that much. It might serve you just fine, but if you want to protect a whole household of gamers, who all have multiple devices to cover, it may not be quite enough.

You can leave NordVPN running in the background on up to six devices at once, forgetting it’s on with a ping that rivals and sometimes beats your untouched connection. And with support for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, you can use it to protect yourself from being DDoSed in Rainbow Six Siege and relocate yourself in Pokémon Go.

Read our NordVPN review to find out more.

3. Surfshark

Surfshark is the best gaming VPN with unlimited devices and its pricing works out at $2.30 (£1.85) per month.

Surfshark overview:

Pros:

• Allows unlimited simultaneous connections
• Offers a week-long free trial

Cons:

• Slightly smaller server total
• Fewer server locations available

Surfshark is many things, but one feature stands out more than any other: unlimited connections from a single account. It’s no longer the only VPN service to let you plonk it on any and every device, but it was the first to remove the cap, leading the market in a better direction. Most others have yet to take note, making Surfshark one of the best VPNs for gaming, and one of the few that can simultaneously be your PC VPN, laptop VPN, iPad VPN, mobile VPN, smart TV VPN, and whatever else you want it to be.

Its upload speeds are just shy of NordVPN and it doesn’t quite have as many VPN servers to choose from, but it packs incredible value for money and you’ll still maintain a lean ping. It also unblocks a range of streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+.

If you fancy taking it for a spin and seeing how well it works with your games and your set-up, you’ll be pleased to hear that it offers a week-long free trial. This is something of a rarity in the VPN world, with many providers simply offering a 30-day money-back guarantee (which Surfshark also has), so it’s nice to be able to try this one out with absolutely no strings attached.

4. PureVPN

PureVPN is the most private gaming VPN and is $2.08 per month.

PureVPN overview:

Pros:

• Allows ten simultaneous connections
• Third-party privacy audits
• Decent server selection and range

Cons:

• Limited router support
• Can cause a bit of latency on Windows

PureVPN is still going strong since its 2007 debut, racking up more than 6,500 servers to choose from across 78+ countries. It regularly accepts audits from third-party services, too, so you can rest assured that it really is the most private VPN and not just making baseless claims.

Though its download speeds aren’t too bad, it can cause a slight increase in latency on Windows devices, which is understandably going to be a bit irritating for gamers. Meanwhile, if you want to connect your router through the VPN, you’ll only be able to do so with the PPTP and OpenVPN protocols.

Still, PureVPN is definitely still a good VPN. It allows you to have up to ten simultaneous connections which, while still a cap, is definitely in the upper echelons of caps. This should easily cover most of the devices in your house, even if you’ve got several gamers living under one roof.

5. IPVanish

IPVanish is the best VPN for encrypted storage space and is $3.33 (£2.59) per month.

IPVanish overview:

Pros:

• Can provide up to 250GB of encrypted storage space
• Allows unlimited simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Smaller server total when compared to others
• Fewer server locations than others

Unlike most other services, IPVanish runs its own network and infrastructure, meaning there are fewer cogs in the chain and your privacy is pretty much guaranteed. As a gamer, you’ll benefit most from its ability to sort servers by ping, guaranteeing you the fastest connections available, although manually hunting for one can improve ping in certain games.

It’s worth mentioning that this provider has a smaller server selection and range than many of the other key players (with only just over 2,000 in just over 50 countries). This is still a respectable selection, but it is notably lower than you’ll get from the likes of NordVPN or ExpressVPN.

It’s the only service on this list to follow in Surfshark’s footsteps by offering unlimited simultaneous connections. To sweeten the deal, IPVanish offers 250GB of SugarSync encrypted storage for new subscribers – you could use this to store your library of downloaded games, or perhaps any fan-mad mods that you may have discovered over the years.

6. CyberGhost

CyberGhost has the best VPN money-back guarantee, and its pricing works out as $2.11 (£1.85) per month.

CyberGhost overview:

Pros:

• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Lower price
• Broad streaming service compatibility

Cons:

• Slower than other top providers
• Middling simultaneous connection allowance

A name that carries as much weight as our top picks, CyberGhost is notable because it has the longest money-back guarantee. From the moment you put your card details in, you’ll have a month and a half to get a refund if you’re not happy with the service, or continue with one of the cheaper plans on this list.

You can even dip a toe in the water for a day without putting your information in at all. This should be enough time for you to check its performance with a selection of your favorite video games. Although it would be nice to have a longer trial before having to give them any payment details.

You can choose from an ample selection of servers that unblock most streaming platforms out there, and games shouldn’t suffer from a lack of speed. CyberGhost may not be quite as quick as NordVPN, but it’s as stable as they come, offering great ping if you select the right location.

7. VyprVPN

VyprVPN is the best Swiss VPN and is around $5 (£4.50) monthly.

VyprVPN overview:

Pros:

• Allows up to 30 simultaneous connections
• Based in Switzerland
• Spans 70 countries

Cons:

• Expensive
• Small server count
• Slower than others

A VPN’s base of operations plays an important part in just how secure the service is because it’s at the behest of that country’s privacy laws. But while the parent company Golden Frog is based in the US, VyprVPN is safely nestled in Switzerland, which is far more privacy-friendly. It also conducts regular independent audits of its zero-logs policy, which is the cherry on top.

VyprVPN features its own Chameleon protocol, as well as the newer WireGuard – both of which are secure and don’t have too much of a performance overhead. Although it packs enough punch to play games, it’s worth noting that VyprVPN is often the slowest service we recommend.

Still, on a positive note, VyprVPN essentially allows for an infinite number of simultaneous connections. While it technically won’t allow you to have more than 30 connections at once, we imagine that very few households are going to want or need to have it applied to so many devices – some won’t even own 30 devices that connect to the internet.

8. Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access (PIA) is the best cheap VPN and its pricing works out as $2.11 (£1.63) per month.

Private Internet Access overview:

Pros:

• Low price exclusive for our readers
• Large selection of servers
• Up to ten simultaneous connections

Cons:

• No free trial
• A little slower than other picks

With over a decade’s worth of experience, Private Internet Access (otherwise known as PIA) unsurprisingly prides itself on privacy. Tools like a kill switch should your VPN connection cut out and a no-logs policy to keep your data from being recorded are commonplace, but PIA is one of the only ones to prove this in a court of law.

Gamers benefit from a low monthly asking price when you subscribe for a few years in bulk, gaining access to more servers than any other provider on this list. It’s also pretty zippy, albeit a little slower than our top picks.

There’s not a lot that can be said against Private Internet Access other than it having slightly slower download times. If we really had to think of another way that it’s lacking though, we’d say that it would be nice if it could have a free trial. It does have a 30-day money-back guarantee that lets you test it out without much risk, but it is understandable that many gamers would rather test it without first having to pay.

How we chose the best gaming VPN

We put this list together by carefully considering the strengths and weaknesses of different VPN providers and comparing them against the needs of different groups of PC gamers. While ExpressVPN gets our strongest recommendation, we recognize that each of them might be best for different people, with all offering a chance to enhance your gaming experience – you may even be able to access some games sooner, rather than waiting for the staggered rollout to reach you – much like Call of Duty: Mobile, which was available in Australia three months before anywhere else.

For more recommendations, have a look at our guide on the best VPN overall. If you’re after a bargain, also take a look at our VPN deals page, where we list the best prices on all the big brands.