10 Best VPNs for Gaming in 2023 — Fast & Secure

Tim Mocan

Updated on: June 9, 2023

I tested the top VPNs in 2023 to find the best ones for gaming. I did that because I always use a VPN while gaming, either to secure my traffic or to avoid DDoS attacks.

Unfortunately, I learned that many VPNs are pretty bad for gaming — some have very slow speeds, causing lag, stuttering, freezes, and frequent disconnects, while others have buggy apps that are complicated to use.

Still, I managed to find a handful of really good gaming VPNs. All the VPNs on this list provide really fast speeds for gaming, have easy-to-use apps on all platforms (one even has an app for routers), include excellent security features, and are affordable. But my favorite is, by far, ExpressVPN.

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🥇 1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Gaming in 2023

ExpressVPN is the best gaming VPN on the market — it has the fastest gaming speeds on this list (and on the market), easy-to-use apps, including a native router app, and excellent security features.

In my tests, I had very enjoyable gaming sessions — I didn’t experience crashes, my connection to the gaming servers never dropped, and I was even able to bypass an unfair IP ban. Plus, ExpressVPN provides access to 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries, so it’s really easy to game on nearby servers to get the fastest speeds.

Also, ExpressVPN barely slowed down my speeds when I used Lightway ( ExpressVPN’s proprietary protocol that’s faster than OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec). I connected to gaming servers almost instantly on my PC and I always had low ping — even when I used distant servers.

I love how user-friendly ExpressVPN’s apps are — installing them takes 1–2 minutes and the interface is simple to navigate (even if you’re new to VPNs). There’s a quick-connect feature that automatically connects you to the fastest server, but it’s also easy to manually find and connect to a server.

And on top of mobile and desktop apps, there’s also a router app. ExpressVPN’s router app is very easy to install, and there are helpful setup tutorials — it took me less than 8–9 minutes to set up the app on my router. I was able to game on my console, PC, and smartphone while connected to any one of ExpressVPN’s server locations. Another option is Aircove, which is the provider’s own router that comes with the app preinstalled.

And I really like how ExpressVPN supports cloud gaming services, which stream video games to portable devices like smartphones and tablets. ExpressVPN works with popular cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, Amazon Luna, and more.

ExpressVPN has split-tunneling, which lets you choose which apps use your local network and which apps use the VPN. In my tests, I played video games while connected to one of ExpressVPN’s servers, but I browsed the internet while connected to my local network. This provided me with faster speeds for each online activity.

You also get advanced security features, such as:

• TrustedServer Technology — ExpressVPN’s servers only write data to the RAM memory, not the hard drive. That way, all data is wiped from the server every time the server gets rebooted.
• Perfect forward secrecy — This feature changes your encryption key for each session, preventing hackers from getting access to past or future encryption keys.
• Full leak protection — ExpressVPN has built-in leak protection against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks on all apps.

Also, ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming and torrenting. It works with all of the popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, and it allows torrenting on all 3,000+ of its servers.

ExpressVPN has monthly and yearly plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s a little pricier than some of the other top VPNs, but with our exclusive 49% discount, you can get it for only $6.67 / month. And ExpressVPN frequently gives away 3 free months, so you can get a total of 15 months for the price of 12 months, which is a great deal in my opinion.

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🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Good for Stable Ping & Ease of Use

Private Internet Access (PIA) consistently maintains stable ping while gaming on all servers. I always had low ping while connected to local and nearby servers — my ping was higher on distant servers, but it still didn’t negatively affect my gaming sessions.

In my speed tests, I also had really fast connections — it never took me more than a few seconds to connect to a gaming server, and I was able to download large 10–15 GB updates in just 11–12 minutes, which is really good. Also, PIA has servers located in 80+ countries around the world, so it’s very easy to find a nearby server to get fast gaming speeds.

PIA has user-friendly apps for most devices (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux) — the interface is very easy to navigate and you get 1-click connections. There are also automation options available, so you can configure the VPN app to automatically connect to a VPN server when you game on public Wi-Fi. Plus, PIA supports unlimited connections. PIA doesn’t have a native router app like ExpressVPN, but it provides step-by-step guides that show you how to configure its service on your router.

There’s no cloud gaming support (like you get with ExpressVPN), and PIA doesn’t guarantee it will work with cloud gaming platforms — that said, I was still able to use this VPN to game on platforms like GeForce Now and Amazon Luna.

PIA’s no-logs policy has been independently audited and verified, and it’s also been proven true many times in court documents. You also get advanced security features like full leak protection and open-source apps (anyone can inspect the code). And there’s also PIA MACE, which is the best VPN ad blocker in 2023 — in my tests, it always got rid of ads on gaming sites, which made them load faster, and prevented me from connecting to shady websites that host online games.

PIA is a really good torrenting VPN — it allows P2P traffic on all servers, works with top P2P apps like uTorrent and Vuze, has port forwarding (connects you to more peers to get faster downloads), and provides SOCKS5 proxy support, which changes your IP address like a VPN but doesn’t use encryption, so you get much faster speeds. I tested PIA’s port forwarding and SOCKS5 proxy and was able to download large games faster than without them.

Private Internet Access has affordable plans, which start at only $2.11 / month. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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🥉 3. CyberGhost VPN — Dedicated Gaming Servers & Great Automation

CyberGhost VPN provides access to 9,400+ servers in 90+ countries, out of which there are 70+ gaming servers in 4 countries (the US, the UK, France, and Germany) — those servers provide faster downloads and gaming speeds than its regular servers.

When gaming with CyberGhost VPN, I always had fast speeds — online matches never dropped and I downloaded large updates pretty fast.

I also like how there are apps for all platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. There’s no router app (like ExpressVPN has), but you can perform a relatively quick manual setup on your router if you follow the provider’s tutorials. Also, CyberGhost VPN’s apps are very intuitive — I especially like that the dedicated gaming servers have their own category, which makes it very easy to find and connect to them.

And I’m a big fan of the Smart Rules feature, which is a feature that lets you customize your VPN preferences. For example, I used Smart Rules to set CyberGhost up to automatically connect to the fastest server whenever I opened Steam on my PC.

Unfortunately, there’s no cloud gaming support (like ExpressVPN has) — however, CyberGhost VPN worked without issues when I tried using it with services like Amazon Luna.

You also get strong security and privacy, as the no-logs policy has been independently audited. In addition, there are RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and full leak protection. There’s also Content Blocker, which is good at protecting you from shady gaming sites — but it can’t get rid of ads as well as Private Internet Access’s PIA MACE can.

I also like the Identity Guard feature, which alerts you if your email address and passwords have been leaked on the dark web — that helps you keep tabs on your gaming accounts to keep them safe.

CyberGhost VPN also has dedicated streaming and P2P servers — it has servers for 50+ streaming apps in 20+ countries and allows torrenting on 8,000+ servers in 70+ countries.

CyberGhost VPN has monthly and yearly plans that start at $2.11 / month. It also backs all yearly plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee (the monthly plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee).

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4. NordVPN — Secure Connections + Fast Speeds

NordVPN includes a range of advanced security features like full leak protection, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy. Its no-logs policy has also been independently audited (like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access), and it was also proven true when a data center that housed one of its servers suffered a data breach, and no user data was compromised.

My favorite thing about NordVPN is its Meshnet feature — it lets you create a secure, private network and link up to 60 devices over encrypted VPN connections. This helps you host virtual LAN parties securely so you can game with all of your friends.

I also really like how fast NordVPN is. During my tests, NordVPN allowed me to connect nearly instantly to gaming servers. I also downloaded a 10 GB game update in around 5 minutes and had a consistent connection speed and ping during my games whether I was connected to a nearby server or one that was more distant.

NordVPN protects you from DDoS attacks, but it lacks anti-DDoS protection (like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN have). So, an upset gamer could DDoS your VPN connection to disconnect you from the provider’s servers.

NordVPN offers monthly and yearly plans starting at $3.49 / month. It also has subscriptions that offer access to extra services like NordVPN’s password manager and encrypted cloud storage. NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.

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5. Surfshark — Super Affordable VPN for Gaming

Surfshark has some of the cheapest plans on the market. So I think it might be a good pick if you need a decent gaming VPN and are also on a tight budget.

The provider also has user-friendly apps that make it extremely simple to find and connect to a VPN server to start gaming. What’s more, it has apps for all major platforms and allows unlimited connections.

It also has decent speeds, but it’s still not as fast as ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. In my tests, I was able to connect to gaming servers instantly, and I sometimes experienced high ping while gaming on distant servers.

Surfshark also comes with really good security features — it includes an ad blocker and IP Rotator, which regularly changes your IP address to make it harder for someone to track your location and DDoS you. It has advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy — however, unlike ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access, it doesn’t have full leak protection.

Surfshark has monthly and yearly plans starting at just $2.30 / month, and it includes a 30-day money-back guarantee with all plans.

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6. Proton VPN — Best Free Gaming VPN

Proton VPN has the best free plan for gaming (and also one of the best free plan on the market) — it’s one of the only free plans that allows unlimited data, so you can use it to game as much as you want.

The free plan limits you to servers in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan, so most users won’t be able to use a nearby server to get fast speeds. Even so, I enjoyed good speeds when connected to these servers from my location (Romania). Plus, I love how the free plan includes VPN Accelerator, a unique feature that boosts speeds on distant servers using speed-enhancing technologies — in my tests, it increased my speeds by a whopping 45%!

While the free plan limits you to 1 device, you can use Proton VPN on your router to cover all devices, including consoles. Unfortunately, there’s no router app (like you get with ExpressVPN), but there are useful tutorials that make the setup process pretty simple.

Upgrading to Proton VPN’s paid plans adds more perks, including 10 simultaneous connections, streaming and P2P support, and 1,900+ servers in 60+ countries. You also get faster speeds — I maintained average ping on distant servers and didn’t experience random crashes or dropped connections. But I did experience minor lag while connected to very distant servers, though it wasn’t game-breaking. That said, there was no lag when I used ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, or CyberGhost VPN.

Proton VPN’s paid plans start at $3.99 / month, so they’re pretty affordable. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee, but it’s prorated.

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7. IPVanish — Good for VPN for Torrenting

IPVanish provides access to good P2P support, as it allows torrenting on all of its servers, works with top P2P apps, and has SOCKS5 proxy support.

It also maintains fast speeds, despite having just 2,000+ servers in 50+ countries (which is a smaller coverage than what ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN). In my speed tests, online games downloaded in less than 10 minutes, and I never had very high ping, so I was never randomly disconnected and I didn’t experience stuttering while gaming.

Plus, I like how IPVanish has support for cloud gaming platforms — I never experienced any issues while using this VPN to game on GeForce Now.

And IPVanish has easy-to-use apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. The apps aren’t as sleek as ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN, but they’re still intuitive — there’s a quick-connect feature, it’s simple to manually connect to a server, and almost all settings have helpful short explanations. The provider also supports unlimited connections.

IPVanish has monthly and annual subscription plans that start at $2.96 / month. Plus, the yearly plans come with a VIPRE antivirus subscription for protection against malware attacks (but only for Windows and Macs). IPVanish backs its yearly plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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8. VyprVPN — Very Fast Gaming VPN

VyprVPN is really fast and provides great security features. Despite only having 700+ servers in 60+ countries (which is a smaller network than ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN), I maintained fast gaming speeds on local and distant servers and didn’t experience high ping or lag.

I also like that it allows a whopping 30 simultaneous connections — and that’s perfect for large households that love to play video games.

VyprVPN has user-friendly apps on most platforms. It also works with routers, but it doesn’t have a router app, like ExpressVPN, which is much easier to install. Still, VyprVPN offers comprehensive guides on how to make the VPN work on different types of routers, which is convenient.

When it comes to security, VyprVPN has both standard and advanced security features, including perfect forward secrecy, a strict no-logs policy that’s been audited, and encrypted DNS servers (for preventing DNS leaks). It also claims to have 300,000 IP addresses to help prevent DDoS attacks.

Unfortunately, there’s no official support for cloud gaming (like ExpressVPN and IPVanish have), so VyprVPN can’t guarantee that its service will work with those platforms — though it did work in my tests. There’s also P2P support on all servers, but the provider can’t access Disney+.

VyprVPN has monthly and yearly plans that start at just $5.00 / month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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9. PrivateVPN — Decent Minimalistic VPN for Gaming

PrivateVPN’s iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS apps have a minimalistic design, as there aren’t a lot of features and settings to change, so gamers new to VPNs won’t feel overwhelmed when using them. And the few settings that are available come with helpful explanations.

You can also use the VPN on your router, but there’s unfortunately no router app (like you get with ExpressVPN) — luckily, the manual setup is not very difficult since there are step-by-step tutorials available, some of which even include screenshots.

PrivateVPN only has 200+ servers, but they’re located in 60+ countries, so it’s easy to game on nearby servers to get fast speeds. In my tests, I always had stable ping even when gaming on distant servers, and I never experienced random disconnects or crashes while gaming.

There’s no support for cloud gaming platforms, but the provider still works with these services most of the time. You also get strong security features, including an app-based kill switch that shuts down selected apps (like video games) if your VPN connection drops. Also, P2P traffic is allowed on all servers, you can access all top streaming sites, including Netflix.

PrivateVPN has very affordable plans that start at $2.00 / month. It also backs each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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10. TunnelBear — Good Beginner-Friendly VPN for Gamers

TunnelBear is good for beginners because its apps are very fun to use. The interface is simple to navigate, and you can even use a digital map to connect to VPN servers — and when you do that, an adorable digital bear digs a tunnel to the server’s location (on iOS and Android, it even roars when you connect to the server).

And like Surfshark, TunnelBear allows unlimited connections. While you can use TunnelBear on most devices, it unfortunately doesn’t have router support (like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN) — so you can’t use it while gaming on your consoles. It also doesn’t have support for cloud gaming platforms, but it does work with them most of the time.

TunnelBear only has servers in 45+ countries, but has decent speeds — I enjoyed stable ping, my connections to the gaming servers didn’t drop, and I only experienced minor lag, which wasn’t game-breaking. But I still think ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provide much faster gaming speeds.

You also get strong security features, including full leak protection. In addition, P2P traffic is allowed on all servers, and the provider can access most top streaming sites (except Disney+).

TunnelBear has a free plan, but it limits you to 2 GB per month, so it’s not good for gaming — instead, I recommend getting its affordable plans that start at $3.33 / month. Unfortunately, there’s no money-back guarantee.

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Bonus. Hotspot Shield — Really Fast Speeds & Good Security

Hotspot Shield has really good speeds for gaming — I always maintained low ping on nearby servers and stable ping on distant servers, and it usually took me only 7–8 minutes to download 10 GB games. You also get access to 1800+ servers in 80+ countries.

The provider doesn’t guarantee that its services will work with cloud gaming platforms (like ExpressVPN and IPVanish do) — even so, I was able to game with Hotspot Shield on platforms like GeForce Now pretty much all the time.

Hotspot Shield has user-friendly apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux, but it lacks a router app (like ExpressVPN has) — to use this VPN while gaming on your console, you’ll need to perform a manual setup. Luckily, there are setup guides that show you what to do.

You get really good security features, including perfect forward secrecy and full leak protection (but it’s only available on Windows). There’s also P2P support on all servers, and the provider works with popular streaming sites like Netflix and Disney+.

Hotspot Shield’s paid plans start at $2.99 / month. There’s also a free plan, but it’s not good for gaming (it limits you to 1 device, 1 server location in the US, and 500 MB per day). The paid plans are covered by a 45-day money-back guarantee.

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Comparison of the Best VPNs for Gaming in 2023

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How to Choose the Best VPNs for Gaming in 2023

• Look for a VPN with strong security. I only recommend VPNs with industry-standard VPN security features, such as 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy (to prevent the VPN from logging your data), protection against IPv6, DNS, or WebRTC leaks, and a kill switch, which disables internet access if the VPN disconnects to prevent data leaks.
• Check if the VPN has Anti-DDoS protection. VPNs protect you against DDoS attacks by changing your IP address (hackers can’t use it to DDoS your network). A DDoS attack is when another user routes tons of traffic to your network. The overload of traffic on your network can force you offline, disconnect you from the game server, or create lag to slow down your connection. Almost all the VPNs on my list also have anti-DDoS protection on their servers. This way, you’re protected even if someone decides to DDoS the VPN server you’re connected to.
• Select a VPN with fast speeds. Keep in mind that all VPNs will cause some speed loss due to data encryption, but the best VPNs are those that minimize this impact. Fortunately, the VPNs on my recommended list have consistently delivered fast speeds, even while gaming. With these VPNs, I never had to deal with dropped connections, high ping rates, or frustrating lag issues.
• Pick a VPN that is easy to use. A great gaming VPN should have easy-to-use apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS with intuitive interfaces and 1-click connections. ExpressVPN, my top pick, also has a router app.
• Choose a VPN that offers good value. The VPN should allow gaming across various devices (for example, Private Internet Access and Surfshark allow limitless connections) and give you bonus features, such as split-tunneling. I also suggest going for VPNs that have reasonable, flexible pricing, accept a variety of payment methods, and either offer a free plan or have a good money-back guarantee.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best VPN for gaming?

ExpressVPN is my favorite gaming VPN in 2023 — it has excellent security features, provides very fast speeds while gaming, has very intuitive apps (including a router app), includes support for cloud gaming platforms, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Do you need a VPN for gaming?

Yes, I strongly recommend using a VPN when gaming online. A VPN provides excellent security and privacy features for gaming.

In terms of security, VPNs encrypt your traffic, making it completely unreadable — so, nobody can spy on your gaming traffic. That means your internet service provider can’t throttle your bandwidth (slow down your speeds) when you enjoy long gaming sessions over the weekend or at night.

When it comes to privacy, a VPN replaces your IP address with an IP address from a different location, essentially hiding your actual IP address. This protects you from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Also, it helps you bypass IP bans and geo-restricted websites so you can game on servers abroad.

If you want to use a VPN for gaming, I recommend ExpressVPN — it provides excellent security features, has the fastest speeds on the market, has support for cloud gaming platforms like GeForce Now, and comes with very intuitive apps (including a router app).

How do you use a VPN for gaming?

You can start using a gaming VPN in just 3 quick and simple steps:

1. Pick a good gaming VPN. Choose a VPN that is secure, fast, and easy to use — I recommend ExpressVPN.
2. Download and install the VPN app. The installation process takes about 1–2 minutes.
3. Connect to a VPN server. Open the VPN app, and either use the quick-connect feature (it connects you to the fastest server for your location) or manually scroll through the list of available locations and pick a server. And that’s it — you can now game securely and privately.

Can you use a free VPN for gaming?

There are free VPNs out there, but I don’t recommend using them. Free VPNs usually lack important security features, log your traffic, are slow, limit how much data you can use, and have glitchy apps.

But if you want a good free gaming VPN, I recommend Proton VPN’s free plan — it comes with unlimited data, high-end security, a strict no-logs policy, and “medium” speeds. However, it limits you to 1 device and access to only 3 server locations (the Netherlands, Japan, and the US).

Honestly, I strongly recommend that you purchase a low-cost gaming VPN like ExpressVPN. It’s secure, provides fast gaming speeds, has intuitive apps for most platforms, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What’s the fastest VPN for gaming?

In my tests, ExpressVPN provided me with the fastest gaming speeds (which isn’t surprising, as this is the fastest VPN on the market) — I connected to gaming servers nearly instantly, I always maintained good ping across all servers, I didn’t experience lag, and large updates downloaded really fast.

But I also had fast speeds with all the top VPNs on this list.

Best VPNs for Gaming in 2023 — Final Score: