VPN
Cybersecurity

The best VPNs for gaming focus on security, not speed

They're not totally necessary unless you're really worried about certain cyberthreats or geo-restrictions.
By Haley Henschel  on 
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Our Top 4 Picks

NordVPN (Standard) (opens in a new tab)

Best for the average user

This user-friendly industry giant offers a plethora of advanced security features at a reasonable monthly rate on a multi-year plan.

The Good

  • Relatively affordable if you opt for a long-term plan
  • Split tunneling
  • 24/7 live chat
  • Cross-platform support (with a list of recommended VPN routers)
  • Built-in malware protection and ad/tracker blocker

The Bad

  • Gets expensive after your introductory term
Pros & Cons

ExpressVPN (opens in a new tab)

Best premium pick

It's a tad expensive, but ExpressVPN earns major props for its slick design and massive server network (with more U.S. locations than NordVPN).

The Good

  • Recently redesigned apps look great
  • Great customer service (highest Trustpilot score for providers on this list)
  • Large and widespread server network
  • 24/7 live chat
  • Split tunneling
  • Cross-platform support; also sells its own VPN router
  • Built-in tracker blocker and Speed Test tool

The Bad

  • Expensive
  • Gets *more* expensive after your first term
Pros & Cons

CyberGhost VPN (opens in a new tab)

Best budget pick

An incredibly good deal with a long-term subscription, CyberGhost VPN is an ultra-transparent provider that supports up to seven simultaneous connections.

The Good

  • Issues quarterly transparency reports
  • Rare free trial
  • Large, diverse network
  • Long money-back guarantee
  • Cheapest multi-year plan

The Bad

  • Split tunneling only available on Android
  • Gaming-optimized servers only available for Windows
Pros & Cons

ProtonVPN (Premium) (opens in a new tab)

Best for PC gaming

ProtonVPN has an industry-leading commitment to privacy, but its lack of router support and limited split tunneling tool mean console gamers should pass.

The Good

  • Open-source apps
  • Built-in ad blocker
  • Up to 10 simultaneous connections
  • Free features from other Proton services (Mail, Calendar, and Drive)
  • Cheapest monthly plan

The Bad

  • No router client — can only be used with a console via hotspot
  • Small-ish server network
  • Split tunneling only available for Windows and Android
Pros & Cons

Endorsements from big-name streamers have put VPNs (or virtual private networks) on many gamers' radars. Billed as closed, secure connections that protect you from common cyberthreats and unblock restricted titles, they sound as OP as a Blasphemous Blade or a Blue Shell. But there are some important caveats to be aware of before you download one for your PC or console (via router or hotspot).

Here's what you need to know about picking the right VPN for gaming.

What is a VPN, exactly?

A VPN is a service that routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to one of its private servers before it's sent out over the internet. This scrambles any data you send or receive and hides your Internet Protocol (IP) address, or the unique number associated with your geolocation that's assigned to your device when it's connected to the internet. In a nutshell, a VPN makes it extremely difficult for anyone (from hackers to your internet service provider, or ISP) to see who you are, where you're logged in from, and what you're doing on the internet.

This anonymity has its advantages: It allows you to bypass firewalls, evade geo-restrictions on streaming services and movies, torrent safely, and work remotely without putting company data at risk.

Do VPNs really help with gaming?

For gaming specifically, using a VPN has two notable benefits:

  1. You can protect yourself from distributed denial-of-service(opens in a new tab) attacks. DDoS attacks happen when a bad actor looks up your unconcealed IP address and overloads your gaming server or network with a ton of requests, making you lag badly or booting you offline completely. This is an increasingly popular(opens in a new tab) kind of cyberthreat that affects gaming companies and players alike, and it's super easy for griefers and salty rivals to pull off if you're not using a VPN.

  2. You can bypass network or geo-restrictions on games. With a VPN running, your traffic will appear to originate from the remote server you're connected to. Hiding or "spoofing(opens in a new tab)" your true location in this way makes it possible to play games from places where they're otherwise blocked or unavailable (like at work or school).

Despite what many providers claim, running a VPN while you game is not a foolproof way of lowering your ping. Connecting to a remote VPN server across the continent or world can actually increase latency, since your encrypted data is traveling a longer physical distance. This is an especially big problem for gaming, since split-second delays can be the difference between you and a death screen. To minimize a VPN's impact on your connection speed, pick a provider that lets you choose the specific servers you connect to, and opt for ones that are relatively close to your location IRL. You can also look into an advanced feature called split tunneling, which will let you "split" your gaming and non-gaming traffic between the VPN and the open web to conserve bandwidth. (Some premium providers offer it.)

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you look over your game publisher or platform's terms of service before running a VPN — some use cases will get you in trouble. Skirting regional pricing with a different IP address is technically a bannable offense under Steam's Subscriber Agreement(opens in a new tab), for example. The potential security or remote access benefits ultimately aren't worth losing a character or account you've had for years.

The TL;DR of all of this is that VPNs aren't absolutely necessary for gamers — in fact, there's a good chance their overall impact on your gaming experience will be negative. But they can serve practical purposes for some.

Read on to learn more about the handful of VPNs we recommend for gaming. Note that all pricing was accurate at the time of publication.

Best for the average user
Credit: NordVPN
Specs
  • Most recent external audit: Late 2022
  • Jurisdiction: Panama
  • Support options: 24/7 live chat, email, online help center
  • Network size: Over 5,500 servers in 60 countries
  • Simultaneous connections: 6
  • Split tunneling: Yes
  • Kill switch: Yes
  • Money-back guarantee: Yes (30 days)
  • Pricing (Standard plan): $3.49-$11.99/month

I hate to co-sign Mr. Beast(opens in a new tab), but NordVPN(opens in a new tab) truly is a well-rounded pick that offers a plethora of advanced security tools and a reasonable monthly rate on a multi-year plan. Users have access to advanced features like split tunneling and Double VPN (or "multi-hop"), which routes your traffic through two VPN servers to encrypt it twice, as well as built-in threat protection — that includes malware, ad, and tracker blockers. For a few bucks more per month, you can upgrade from a Standard subscription to its Plus or Complete plans and get a cross-platform password manager, a data breach scanner, and 1TB of cloud storage. (That's probably overkill for gaming, but it's nice if you plan on using your VPN for other purposes — one NordVPN account supports up to six simultaneous connections.)

NordVPN offers clients for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Android TV, and routers, with helpful(opens in a new tab) tutorials(opens in a new tab) for installing it for gaming consoles. It also maintains a recommended list of VPN routers, in case you don't want to deal with that setup process.

Read our review of NordVPN.

Best premium pick
Credit: ExpressVPN
Specs
  • Most recent external audit: 2022
  • Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
  • Support options: 24/7 live chat, email, online support center
  • Network size: 94 countries
  • Simultaneous connections: 5
  • Split tunneling: Yes
  • Kill switch: Yes ("Network Lock")
  • Money-back guarantee: Yes (30 days)
  • Pricing: $6.67-$12.95/month

It's a tad expensive, but ExpressVPN(opens in a new tab) earns major props for its slick design(opens in a new tab) and massive network; it currently maintains servers in over 90 countries, including 24 throughout the U.S. to help you minimize lag while gaming. (That's nine more than NordVPN has there.) Its suite of premium security features includes split tunneling and a Threat Manager that prevents the apps and websites you're using from sharing data with trackers. It also offers a unique Speed Test tool that (allegedly) pinpoints specific server locations with low latency and high download speeds, though YMMV in practice.

ExpressVPN offers clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and routers, with support for up to five simultaneous connections across your devices. It's also developed its own VPN-enabled WiFi 6 router called the Aircove, which retails for around $190 on Amazon(opens in a new tab).

Read our review of ExpressVPN.

Best budget pick
Credit: CyberGhost VPN
Specs
  • Most recent external audit: 2022
  • Jurisdiction: Romania
  • Support options: Live chat, online support center
  • Network size: Over 9,100 servers in 91 countries
  • Simultaneous connections: 7
  • Split tunneling: Yes, but only for Android
  • Kill switch: Yes
  • Money-back guarantee: Yes (14 days with monthly plans, 45 days with long-term plans, ); free 24-hour trial
  • Pricing: $2.11-$12.99/month

CyberGhost VPN(opens in a new tab) is an incredibly good deal if you're interested in a long-term VPN subscription, offering support for up to seven simultaneous connections for under $3 a month on a two-year plan. It maintains an impressive network of servers across over 90 countries, with the option to sort the list by distance and ping. It's also a standout on the privacy front, issuing quarterly Transparency Reports(opens in a new tab) about its infrastructure and any data requests it receives from authorities. (Spoiler alert: It's unable to comply with them because it doesn't store any user data; there's that no-logs policy in action.) The only catch is that some of CyberGhost VPN's better features are exclusive to certain platforms: Its gaming-optimized servers(opens in a new tab) are only accessible through its Windows client, and the split tunneling feature is Android-only.

CyberGhost VPN is available for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, FireTV, Android TV, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, and routers. You can try it risk-free: It offers a rare 24-hour free trial and a 45-day money-back guarantee on all long-term plans.

Read our review of CyberGhost VPN.

Best for PC gaming
Credit: ProtonVPN
Specs
  • Most recent external audit: Early 2022
  • Jurisdiction: Switzerland
  • Support options (Premium plan): Live chat, email, online support center
  • Network size (Premium plan): Over 2,500 servers in 67 countries
  • Simultaneous connections (Premium plan): 10
  • Split tunneling: Yes, but only for Windows and Android
  • Kill switch: Yes
  • Money-back guarantee: Yes (30 days)
  • Pricing (Premium plan): $4.99-$9.99/month

ProtonVPN(opens in a new tab) doesn't offer a router client and limits its split tunneling feature to Windows and Android, so console gamers should probably pass. However, its strong company commitment to transparency(opens in a new tab) and 100% open source apps (meaning anyone can inspect the code) make it a great option for PC players in search of industry-leading privacy. It offers a decent free tier, but we recommend its Premium plan for access to a bigger server network, support for up to 10 connections, live chat help, advanced security tools (like multi-hop and ad/malware protection), and some features from Proton's other services — that includes Proton Mail, Calendar, and Drive. For commitment-phobes, it has the cheapest month-to-month plan out of all the providers on this list at $9.99.

ProtonVPN is currently available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Chrome, and Firefox.

Read our review of ProtonVPN.

More in Cybersecurity

How we tested

We've hands-on tested and extensively researched eight popular VPN providers: ExpressVPN, NordVPN, CyberGhostVPN, ProtonVPN, TunnelBear, Private Internet Access (PIA), PureVPN, and IPVanish*. Our gamer-friendly picks were based on the following criteria:

  • Trustworthiness. The vast majority of VPN providers will tell you they don't keep records of user activities or account information, but you have good reason to be skeptical: Some of these "no-logs policies" haven't held up in court. Any VPN provider worth its salt should undergo regular external audits in addition to maintaining a robust, transparent privacy policy. They shouldn't be making headlines for shadily saving customer data or hyperbolic advertising.

  • Network size and geographic diversity. The more servers a VPN provider has in its network, the less chance you'll run into bottlenecks (when there's too much user traffic for a given server to handle). Bonus points if that network is scattered across the globe: Servers close to your true location can minimize the VPN's impact on your connection speed, while farther servers are useful for accessing geo-restricted content.

  • Jurisdiction. The physical location of a VPN provider's headquarters matters as much as its servers'. Some countries fall under the jurisdiction of the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances, including the U.S., the UK, and Canada, and any provider within their borders can be forced to collect and share user data with authorities. (It's pretty unlikely, especially if you're not engaging in any criminal activities, but the VPN market is so overcrowded that you can afford to be picky.) Privacy-friendly countries that don't belong to any "eyes" alliance include the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Switzerland, and Romania.

  • Customer support. You'll want options in case you ever run into connection issues.

  • Cross-platform support. Most VPN providers have dedicated clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, but none exist for Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch. To get your VPN to work with those consoles, it needs to have a client that you can install on your router. You can also set up a VPN-protected computer or phone as a hotspot.

  • Number of connections. Many VPNs will let you connect multiple devices simultaneously on the same account, though you really need just one for gaming.

  • AES-256 encryption. This is an extra-secure, military-grade encryption standard that's virtually uncrackable. No hacker is getting through to your data if your VPN uses it.

  • Useful features. VPNs are subscription-based services that typically go for around $10 to $12 per month, but you can lower that price by opting for a longer-term plan. Either way, make sure you're getting some bang for your buck. Good-to-have features for a gamer's purposes include:

    • Split tunneling. As mentioned, separating your gaming and regular browsing traffic can lessen the VPN's impact on your ping.

    • A kill switch. This feature will immediately disconnect your device from the internet if the VPN drops out.

  • Money-back guarantees. Few VPN providers have free trials (CyberGhost VPN is one exception), but most offer money-back guarantees so customers can try their service before committing to a long-term plan.

*Editor’s note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, Mashable's publisher. Any IPVanish products or services featured on Mashable are covered independently by our team.

Frequently Asked Questions


We wouldn't recommend using a free VPN for gaming — or any other purpose, for that matter. Most come riddled with annoying ads and malware. Many will sell or share your data with third parties. (They have to make money somehow.) In other words, true anonymity will cost you.


A relative newcomer to the VPN space, Surfshark(opens in a new tab) is making waves for its slick apps, reasonable pricing, decent-sized server network, and support for unlimited simultaneous connections; it recently passed its first independent no-logs audit. We've also got our eyes on Mullvad(opens in a new tab), a longtime Reddit favorite with a strong commitment to transparency. We're in the process of reviewing both providers, so stay tuned to see if they earn spots on a future version of this list.

Mashable Image
Haley Henschel

Haley is a Mashable shopping reporter based in Chicago. Before joining the team, she covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote about exotic pet ownership for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and blogged for several Jersey Shore stars. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). You can follow her on Twitter at @haleyhenschel(opens in a new tab) or reach her via email at [email protected](opens in a new tab).


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