The best gaming VPN in 2024

As a frequent traveler and a passionate gamer, I’m always on the hunt for ways to keep my connection smooth, stable, and secure no matter where I am. Thankfully, there is a solution to this – a gaming VPN.

But, you may wonder how exactly can a VPN improve your gameplay? Isn’t it supposed to slow down your network and mess with your connection?

Well, yes, if you don’t know how to use it properly. But just like in gaming, having the proper setup can make all the difference. But, finding your holy grail can be difficult and time consuming.

Thankfully, here at Tom's Guide we've done all the research and testing for you, to make sure you have the best VPN for your gaming sessions.You can be sure that our recommendations not only offer top-notch security but also keep latency low, giving me that crucial edge during clutches.

In this guide, I’ve tested some of the best VPNs out there, rating them based on performance, ease of use, security, pricing, and one other key factor that matters to me and/or my fellow travelers – the number of server locations and countries.

Ready to level up your gaming with the right VPN? Let’s dive in.

The best gaming VPNs at a glance

1. NordVPN – the best gaming VPN overall
NordVPN is my favorite VPN to use for gaming, combining some of the best speeds I've measured with tons of servers and impeccable privacy and security tools. It's a bonus that there are knowledgeable customer support assistants at hand 24/7, too, to answer any queries and help you customize your set-up for gaming. Plans start at less than $3.50 per month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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2. Surfshark – the best cheap gaming VPN
Surfshark is my #3-rated VPN overall and delivers a potent combination of privacy, speed, and value for money. It's the fastest service I've ever tested and has intuitive apps on a wide variety of devices. The biggest draw is the price – less than $2.50 per month and the fact you can have unlimited simultaneous connections. As with the competition, you'll get a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test it out.

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3. ExpressVPN – the easiest gaming VPN to use
ExpressVPN offers arguably the simplest VPN experience, meaning you can get protected and back to your game in seconds. Whatever platform you're using it on, ExpressVPN is extremely straightforward to use. The pricing remains quite high – you're looking at $6.67 per month with its annual plan. But you do get three months extra free and a choice of servers in 105 countries.

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The five best gaming VPNs in 2024

1. NordVPN: The best gaming VPN overall

Topping Tom's Guide's overall list of best services, NordVPN also holds the number one spot in my chart of gaming VPNs.

My NordVPN review found the Panama-based provider delivered some of the fastest speeds we've tested, and you'll have a network of over 6,400 servers in 110 countries to pick from. That means no matter where you are, you're pretty much guaranteed a connection that will work stably on your regular internet line.

Previously, NordVPN suffered from slightly unreliable speeds, but in our last testing it proved to be much more stable. It's proved itself as one of the very fastest VPNs on the market, topping out at a blistering 950 Mbps when its proprietary protocol NordLynx is toggled on. This makes it a brilliant choice as one of the best Warzone VPNs.

I'm always impressed by just how many security tools NordVPN manages to pack into its plans. You'll get battle-tested encryption and Nord's very own NordLynx protocol – which is based on WireGuard. This combination of speed and security means you can avoid bandwidth throttling that some ISPs enforce. Plus its Threat Protection Pro service (for "Plus" and "Ultimate" level subscribers) is a seriously impressive alternative to antivirus, with leading anti-phishing and anti-malware tools.

Nord's apps are very stable, meaning you won't be going back and forth to check on it, and you can also set it up on a router to cover your consoles. Plus, in my testing it was able to unblock every single streaming service I tried it with, so it's perfect when you want to put down the controller, too.

My only real gripe with NordVPN is that the map-based interface on mobiles is a little busy. But I'm willing to admit that this is personal preference, and others don't mind navigating the world map to find their ideal server location.

Finding it difficult to find any other cons to this service, my overall verdict is that NordVPN is the very best gaming VPN you can download right now..

2. Surfshark: The best cheap gaming VPN

Despite being launched as recently as 2018, Surfshark remains among the top VPNs for gaming on our list, mostly due to its impressive speeds and tempting price.

In all fairness, speed has never been an issue for Surshark, which continues to be impressively fast, as confirmed after our latest round of testing. It consistently clocked 950Mbps+ on both local and US servers, day or night – something neither Nord VPN nor Express VPN were able to match. As a reference, both of these counterparts also reached those speeds at times, but not as consistently.

Surfshark’s speeds were noticeably slower with OpenVPN compared to WireGuard. Still, it continues to deliver the fastest OpenVPN speeds in our tests, achieving 460Mbps. However, it’s worth noting that this marks a drop from the 640Mbps recorded in our previous round of tests.

Despite this slight dip, you shouldn’t expect any drop in your gaming performance, as Surfshark remains well ahead of the pack, at least when it comes to OpenVPN. In fact, its OpenVPN speeds are significantly faster than those of our top-rated gaming VPNs, NordVPN and ExpressVPN. While NordVPN tops out at 173Mbps and ExpressVPN at 220Mbps, Surfshark stands atop them with its 460Mbps download speed.

Price-wise, Surfshark remains one of the best cheap VPNs in 2024, allowing unlimited connections for $2.19 on a 2-year subscription. But if you think that a lower price compared to major competitors means trade-offs must be made, particularly in areas such as security or privacy, you’d be mistaken.

It uses AES-256 encryption to protect your data, ensuring that your sensitive information remains secure from anyone trying to interfere with your gaming or browsing experience. It will also hide your IP address, making it far more difficult for hackers to pinpoint you. This provides added protection against DDoS attacks – which makes it a great choice for fellow gamers pursuing the best Valorant VPNs.

Combine this with its no-logs policy, and you can be confident that Surfshark isn’t monitoring your gaming sessions or browsing activities.

Gamers should also make note of Surfshark's Alternative ID technology. Included with all Surfshark subscriptions, this feature lets users generate a new identity and email to use online. If for example, you're a PC gamer, you're probably sick of giving out your email address to every different launcher out there. Steam, Origin, Game Pass, Battle.Net and more all need users to make an account to use. If you're worried about your data on these sites, then use Alternative ID to generate a new persona and fake email that you can link to your real email address. Surfshark also has a similar feature for phone numbers, Alternative Number, that creates a functional virtual burner phone, but you'll have to pay extra for the add-on.

Our previous tests showed some minor bugs with the kill switch, a feature that cuts your internet connection in case your connection goes down. However, this isn’t a worry anymore, as Surfshark has since improved this functionality with an update.

While I admit this isn't as critical for gaming, I find it essential for privacy and unintentional data leak prevention, especially when using a VPN for online banking (in-game purchases) or browsing.

No, the apps don't have quite as much configuration as others, and yes, the support system is marginally slower. But if you're happy to stick with the recommended settings, evade throttling, access tons of Netflix libraries and more, then this is the best-value way to do it.

Since my last test, Surfshark has risen a notch, now taking 2nd place on my list. While there’s been a slight dip in OpenVPN speeds, I won’t hold it against them – Surfshark has improved its kill switch functionality and finally launched a dedicated Apple TV app. To me, these changes show they’re not just keeping pace but pushing forward, making Surfshark a solid contender in the VPN space.

3. ExpressVPN: The easiest gaming VPN to use

ExpressVPN is a solid VPN with top-notch security. But when you stack it up against NordVPN and Surfshark, it's a bit of a lightweight in the features department, which led to it dropping to 3rd place after our latest round of testing.

The thing you'll notice over and over again in my ExpressVPN review is just how intuitive this service is to use. Whether on desktop or smartphone, its apps are ridiculously easy to operate. You're never left in any doubt as to what the clients are up to, how to change server or where to toggle settings on and off. And if you do come across any issues, the 24/7 live chat will be able to sort you out in minutes.

As a gaming VPN, it's set apart by its dedicated router VPN app, which means you'll be able to avoid throttling and stay secure even on consoles that don't natively support VPNs – there's no special treatment for the PC gamer here. Plus, while it doesn't offer encryption, Express's MediaStreamer Smart DNS tool will allow you to switch locations on your PlayStation or Xbox to watch geo-blocked content.

Outside of gaming you'll also be able to unblock pretty much any regional Netflix library, as well as access restricted sites like BBC iPlayer in the States.

So, why has it fallen to number three in this chart?

ExpressVPN has always been solid on speed – more than average, but never the best. In our latest tests, we noticed a slight dip in performance, especially with OpenVPN, which dropped from 201Mbps to 176Mbps. That’s still faster than NordVPN but noticeably slower than Surfshark, which clocks in at nearly three times the speed.

To be fair, though, 176Mbps is more than enough to stream in 4K with hardly any buffering, and we only noticed a few minor hiccups during testing. On the bright side, ExpressVPN’s Lightway protocol reached an impressive 898Mbps, which is especially strong for a TCP-based protocol.

Despite its reliable performance across a range of networks, ExpressVPN still trails both NordVPN and Surfshark, which consistently hit 950Mbps+, leading to its drop to 3rd place in our rankings.

It would be remiss of me not to mention ExpressVPN's biggest downfall, which is its cost. At twice the price of NordVPN, I believe "reassuringly expensive" is the phrase.

Overall, ExpressVPN is an excellent gaming VPN, especially if you're looking for a no-fuss choice. But I can see why you might end up choosing to go for something a little more affordable.

It may have dropped out of our #2 slot and the premium pricing will put many off, but ExpressVPN remains an extremely capable gaming VPN. It combines ease-of-use with a slew of handy features, offers genuinely useful 24/7 customer support and you can test it out with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The best of the rest

Proton VPN delivers more than just a gaming VPN – it's a very private service that's great for streaming, too.

First up, connection speeds are a must, and Proton VPN does hold its own here. When connected to the nearest server, ProtonVPN held its own alongside NordVPN and Surfshark, consistently hitting 950+ Mbps.

However, long-distance testing from the UK to the US on WireGuard saw a minor drop – from 700 Mbps in our last round to just 630 Mbps this time around. OpenVPN speeds also declined, slipping from 400 Mbps down to 220 Mbps, which takes our subjective impression down a notch from "great" to more of a "just okay" level.

But even with these dips, these speeds are more than enough to handle virtually any online gaming activity, and beyond, with ease.

If you've run into issues with bandwidth throttling in the past, and want to avoid being slowed down by your ISP, Proton VPN can help you out. In addition to top-notch encryption that'll keep your data and devices safe, the provider is an audited no-logs service – which is good news for anyone looking for a torrenting VPN, too.

Outside of gaming, Proton VPN is still remarkably capable. It matches the likes of NordVPN and ExpressVPN for the variety of Netflix libraries it can access, and it unblocks just about every other streaming site we test for.

Proton's apps are intuitively designed and the whole service is a pleasure to use. However, if you do ever run into issues, it's worth noting that this provider is a little way behind the rest when it comes to support. Its website has advice guides and helpers, but they're not always that usefully written and seem to target expert users rather than beginners who are likely to need the help more. And the sooner it brings in 24/7 support, the better.

Proton has also just introduced a few new anti-censorship tools that might help gamers out, including bringing its Stealth protocol (that hides the fact that you're even using a VPN) to Windows.

Traditionally, Proton VPN has been priced higher than some of the competition. And while it still can't match Surfshark (very few can, to be fair), the provider has shown signs of making it a more competitive proposition and much more in line with NordVPN's pricing.

In short, it's one of the very best gaming VPN services on the market and we highly recommend it. And if you like what you're reading, you can always give it a try with Proton VPN's unlimited data free tier.

PrivadoVPN has developed a large, loyal user base thanks to its excellent free option – indeed, it currently sits at the very top of our best free VPN rankings.

As explained above, one of the priorities when searching for gaming VPN is connection speed – you don't want anything that may slow down your connection and interrupt your sessions. And this is one area in which PrivadoVPN excels, with WireGuard speeds up around the 950 Mbps-mark when I measured them on my 1 Gbps line.

In our latest tests, PrivadoVPN clocked a surprising 806 Mbps, though the results were a bit inconsistent. This is something we'll be watching closely in future rounds.

That's by no means sluggish, but may mean you start seeing the effect if you live or work in a crowded building where lots of other people are using the internet or your rig is a distance from your router. Plus, for Apple users, that's what you'll be stuck with, as PrivadoVPN doesn't make WireGuard available on Macs.

PrivadoVPN hosts many virtual locations, but we noticed some are pretty far from their intended regions. For example, the Mumbai server appears to be based in Amsterdam. While this might sound unusual, it can actually be beneficial. In areas with less reliable internet infrastructure, hosting servers elsewhere can result in faster and more consistent speeds. So, rather than being a drawback, such a solution could improve connectivity in regions where a local server might struggle to deliver a smooth gaming experience.

OpenVPN speeds are, of course, significantly slower – more like 200 Mbps. That's by no means sluggish, but may mean you start seeing the effect if you live or work in a crowded building where lots of other people are using the internet or your rig is a distance from your router. And, for Apple users, that's what you'll be stuck with, as PrivadoVPN doesn't make WireGuard available on Macs.

Testing its unblocking prowess for my PrivadoVPN review, I found that it has come on leaps and bounds in recent times. It now gets you access to a huge range of overseas streaming content, including foreign Netflix catalogs, Prime Video shows, and local services like BBC iPlayer in the U.K. and 10 Play in Australia.

It's plain to see the work that has gone into producing an attractive, intuitive set of mobile apps. So it's a bit disappointing that the provider doesn't make all of its tools available across all of its platforms. Aside from the lack of WireGuard on Mac mentioned above, it's also noteworthy that there is no kill switch on either of its the Android or iOS app. And features like split-tunnelling, multi-hop and auto-connect that are staples of other providers are absent from PrivadoVPN's list of options.

That lack of basic functionality may put some VPN hunters off. But if they seem like trivial niggles to you, we suggest that you give this VPN a try with that impressive PrivadoVPN Free plan.

How to choose the best gaming VPN

If you’re planning on using your chosen service as a gaming VPN, speed will be a priority – but you shouldn't neglect privacy, either. The best gaming VPN today is NordVPN, thanks to its excellent speeds, low ping times, plus strong security features and powerful apps for all sorts of devices. That's a winning combination.

If you want to access geo-blocked games or play on different regional servers, making sure your VPN has a wide network is essential. NordVPN's 6,000+ servers across a total of 111 countries is unmatched by the competition.

However, some other providers might prove to be a better fit for you. ExpressVPN is a close second, and we think it's marginally better if you've never used a VPN before and want the most straightforward experience possible. It has excellent router suability, too, meaning that it's handy if you want your games console to channel your VPN connection.

Surfshark is another terrific alternative, and has that eye-catching price tag and simultaneous use on as many devices as you wish. NordVPN is by no means expensive, but Surfshark is probably the best value provider around.

How we test

Testing VPN services is a complex process and takes up a significant portion of the VPN team's time here at Tom's Guide. We've got a full explainer on how we test VPNs, but here's a quick overview.

We always get hands-on with the VPNs we review and never take marketing claims at face value. We test on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux, and dig into the settings and code to find any faults that could put you at risk.

A VPN provider claims it’s reaching 950Mbps+ with OpenVPN? You can bet we’ll put it through 120 tests before we publish our findings. We rigorously check streaming performance across platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, and even regional services like BBC iPlayer and 10 Play.

We go undercover to scrutinize the support system to ensure it’s helpful and even evaluate functionalities beyond the core VPN product (ad-blockers, malware, Multi Hop servers). All of this is done with one goal in mind – to provide you with the most accurate and comprehensive assessments possible.

VPN speed testing – my results

Nobody wants to invite more lag and slowdown into their life, and you shouldn't have to sacrifice speed to shore up your security. Performance is a massive influencing factor in my rankings, and I make sure to check all of the top VPN services regularly (using different servers and protocols) to see just how quick they really are.

I put VPNs to the test on a 1 Gbps line and record speeds with a variety of tools, like the Ookla SpeedTest website and CLI, nPerf, Netflix's Fast, and others. I'll then take the average (median) of each VPN's results to generate a clearer picture of their performance. To keep things as accurate as possible, I'll run these tests again in the morning and evening. Below, you'll find the most recent results as per my latest round of testing:

Best gaming VPN FAQ

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