A VPN for gaming? Surely that’s a daft idea, you might well think to yourself, given that using even one of the best VPNs – encrypting traffic and routing it through a server – can potentially affect performance, with the danger of a higher ping time and a slower connection in general.

And we’re not going to argue with you in terms of these possible pitfalls, but that said, there are a number of good reasons why you might want to use a VPN for playing games online.

One of the more obvious ones is unrestricted access. A VPN allows you to unblock games that are geo-restricted, access servers locked to other regions and play anything freely from any part of the world.

There’s also the ever-present consideration of security. Using a VPN can increase your protection against DDoS attacks, and it’s not unheard of for these to be used as a weapon against online opponents, particularly when it comes to competitive gaming.

And there’s always a chance that the VPN connection will actually reduce your ping time and improve download/upload speeds, which all affect the responsiveness of your game (although ping is by far the most important consideration). Of course, it’s difficult to state this categorically, and everyone’s mileage will vary, but in some of our VPN testing, we’ve actually found our connection to be faster with the VPN turned on compared to our standard rates.

How to choose the best VPN service for gaming

There are a couple of things you need to pay attention to if you want to muster the best gaming experience from a VPN service. The more servers the firm has available, the better, as this will increase your chances of finding a fast connection.

Speedy performance levels are obviously important, as is having a stable and reliable connection. Finally, be on the lookout for handy bonus features like DDoS protection and dedicated gaming servers.

Now that we’ve made all that clear, below are our five top choices for the best VPN for gaming.

1. IPVanish

Number of servers: 850+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: 40000+ | Maximum devices supported: 5

Great server coverage

Excellent performance

Slightly pricier than others

No free trial

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IPVanish runs its own network and infrastructure, and this shows in terms of performance – in our testing, we found this service up to five times faster than some rivals over short hops, with excellent download speeds all-round.

This provider also offers a good number of servers in over 60 countries, and it’s easy to find a solid server – indeed you can sort by ping time, and usage options which allow you to hunt specifically for servers tailored for gaming.

The drawback here is pricing, as IPVanish is a bit more expensive than your average VPN. There’s no free trial either, but subscriptions do come with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Out of the three available plans, the 1-year plan offers the best value-for-money. The packages available are:

2. VyprVPN

Number of servers: 700+ | Server locations: 70+ | IP addresses: 200,000+ | Maximum devices supported: 3-5

Superfast speeds

Free trial

Expensive monthly billing

No refunds

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VyprVPN is also a tier-1 network with its own servers and infrastructure, offering some impressive performance levels as a result. Indeed, in our tests we found our download rates increased by a factor of 2.5 with this VPN.

The service features a worldwide server network with plenty of locations and 200,000+ IP addresses, plus there’s a NAT firewall to block unrequested inbound traffic and a host of easy-to-use apps for almost every device.

One point to bear in mind is that VyprVPN doesn’t do refunds on any grounds, but you can test the service with a free three-day trial (there’s also a 500MB/month free plan, although that’s of limited use here).

There are only two subscription plans to choose from: Basic or Premium, and you can subscribe on either a monthly or annual basis. The Basic plan offers three connections while Premium gives you five and is generally the better option. The packages available are:

3. ExpressVPN

Number of servers: 1000+ | Server locations: 145 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 3

Good choice of servers and locations

Quality mobile apps

Above-average prices

No free trial

With 145 different locations across 94 countries, ExpressVPN should allow you to find a swift server from anywhere in the world. The service excels in the mobile department by offering intuitive custom apps, in particular for Android and iOS. Naturally, all of that means nothing without solid speeds and this VPN certainly delivers in that regard with very good performance levels overall.

ExpressVPN costs more than most VPNs and there’s no free trial available to get a sneak preview. If you opt to sign up, the 1-year plan is the most affordable choice, plus you get a bonus three months. However, if you’re not satisfied with the service, you can contact customer support within 30 days of your purchase and get a full refund, no questions asked. The packages available are:

4. NordVPN

Number of servers: 1328 | Server locations: 61 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 6

Extensive server network

Tight security

Monthly billing is expensive

Trial is hard to find on the website

We found that this Panama-based VPN service delivered impressive performance levels in our testing, with speeds nearly matching our regular (non-VPN) rates. Doubtless the fact that NordVPN boasts some 1,300+ servers in 60 countries helps when hunting for a fast and stable connection. 

Gamers have a wide range of smart native clients at their disposal – Windows, Mac, iOS and Android – with tutorials for a variety of other devices and platforms.

This provider is particularly strong on the security front, offering ‘double VPN’ functionality (where traffic is sent through two separate VPN servers), the option of a dedicated IP, and DDoS protection on selected servers. NordVPN is adamant that none of your private data, online activity or browsing history is being tracked, collected or revealed.

The service offers a free trial but you wouldn’t know it from NordVPN’s homepage. In actual fact, it’s buried deep in the site – find it here. While monthly billing is expensive, things get far more affordable if you commit for longer, and indeed the two-year subscription represents very good value for money. The packages available are:

5. Buffered VPN

Number of servers: N/A | Server locations: 46 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5

Impressive low latency

Good refund policy

One of the pricier VPNs

No mobile apps

With servers in 37 countries, Buffered VPN offers decent global coverage, but it’s the performance which is of most interest here – specifically the low latency offered. In our tests, this provider actually gave us slightly lower ping times than our normal connection, with fast upload speeds to boot (although download speeds weren’t so hot).

That said, if you’re into mobile gaming, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere as the service doesn’t have any native mobile clients (setup instructions are given for configuring smartphones and tablets, though, for the more tech-savvy).

Buffered VPN is among the pricier providers, even if you opt for a 12-month plan which is the best option. At least there’s a sterling refund policy here, allowing you to get your money back as long as you haven’t gone over any of the following limits: 10 hours, 100 sessions or 10GB of bandwidth. The packages available are: