The Best VPNs for Gaming

While connected to a nearby ExpressVPN server, we recorded an average ping of 8ms. To put this to the test, we used ExpressVPN while playing Valorant and Halo Infinite across multiple days and at different times, including peak hours.

We didn’t experience any lag on Halo Infinite while connected to ExpressVPN.

In our experience, we never experienced any lag or FPS drops with ExpressVPN and our hit detection was unaffected.

You can use the chart below to see how ExpressVPN’s ping time compares to other top-rated VPNs over a period of five years of testing:

As the data above shows, ExpressVPN has consistently remained below 10ms for over 5 years.

We also recorded impressive download speeds, with an average speed loss of just 3% while connected to local ExpressVPN servers and 15% loss on international connections. This is sufficient for online gaming and 4K streaming on consoles.

ExpressVPN is compatible with all devices, thanks to its dedicated router app. Gaming consoles without native VPN support, such as Xbox and PlayStation, can connect to the router directly and benefit from ExpressVPN’s encryption, speed, and server network.

It only took us a few minutes to set up ExpressVPN’s router app and connect our Xbox.

You can also install ExpressVPN’s well-designed apps on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. All of its apps are quick to install and only require one click, or tap, to start using.

In particular, we found it easy to start using ExpressVPN on Xbox by setting up a mobile hotspot with its Windows app.

If you want to unblock geo-restricted content on your games console, you can also use ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS tool MediaStreamer. While this won’t encrypt your connection, it spoofs your geo-location with ease.

ExpressVPN’s network consists of over 3,000 VPN servers across 106 countries. This ensures there’ll always be a server near to your real location which minimizes any latency.

This also allows you to connect to regions with easier lobbies and avoid SBMM on online games such as Apex Legends and Overwatch 2.

In our own testing, we used ExpressVPN’s server network to bypass IP bans on our account and regional restrictions on games like the PUBG Mobile ban.

While impressive, ExpressVPN still lags behind NordVPN’s coverage with VPN servers in 111 countries.

In our most recent tests, we registered an average ping of 8ms while connected to a local US NordVPN server. This is a great ping time and it’s consistent with the results we’ve recorded over the last few months.

As part of our evaluation, we connected to NordVPN and played multiple matches of competitive games such as CS:GO and Rainbow Six Siege. Across several hours of testing, we never detected any lag or sudden framerate drops with NordVPN.

Our ping never exceeds 4ms on NordVPN servers.

Even while connected to distant server locations, like Egypt or New Zealand, our connection to the match remained stable and gameplay was smooth.

We were also impressed by NordVPN’s fast network speeds. While connected to a set 100Mbps broadband, we recorded an average download speed of 95Mbps locally, and 86Mbps internationally.

You can install NordVPN on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. All of its apps are consistent in design and include the split tunneling feature. This lets you designate specific apps for the VPN tunnel, like Steam or a mobile game, while leaving the rest of your device’s traffic unaffected.

Unlike ExpressVPN, NordVPN does not have a dedicated VPN app for routers, but you can still install it on compatible routers. Alternatively, we found it straightforward to set up NordVPN on our PS4 by using a mobile hotspot.

You can also use NordVPN’s Smart DNS tool to change the online location of your console. Smart DNS doesn’t encrypt your traffic, but it reroutes your traffic to unblock geo-restricted content

Aside from HMA, NordVPN offers servers in more countries than any VPN we’ve tested. For example, it has servers in 11 more countries than CyberGhost and 20 more than Private Internet Access.

Coupled with an average download speed loss of just 13% across all locations, you’ll always have a server nearby with low latency.

We personally used NordVPN’s New Zealand server to bypass SBBM on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This put us in a match with players far below our ELO rating as the matchmaking algorithm prioritized filling the lobby over matching skill level.

Despite the distance, our game never lagged or disconnected us from the lobby, thanks to NordVPN’s consistently low ping.

Our ping remained at 9ms while connected to a close-by Surfshark server. We found this low enough for casual and competitive gaming alike, including fast-paced battle royale games like Fortnite and PUBG.

We didn’t notice any lag and our framerate was consistent on PC and console across hours of testing.

On longer-distance connections, our ping increased as high as 407ms. This is awful, especially compared to ExpressVPN and NordVPN, so we advise against using Surfshark for accessing easier game lobbies in distant continents.

We recorded a superb download speed of 95Mbps on a local Surfshark server which dropped to 67Mbps while connecting to a South Africa server.

Surfshark has fully-featured apps for PC, macOS, iOS, and Android. Its mobile apps in particular include advanced features such as GPS spoofing which allows you to bypass regional bans on games.

We were able to use Surfshark on games consoles by installing it on our router or sharing its VPN connection from a computer. In fact, Surfshark is the only VPN we tested that’s able to share its connection on Mac, via ethernet.

We shared our Surfshark connection with our PS5 while playing Helldivers 2.

That said, we’d like Surfshark to create a dedicated router app to make installation quicker and less technical.

Surfshark offers access to VPN servers in 100 countries, with city-level options in 11 of those. As such, you’ll always have a server you can connect to — even during hours of peak usage.

We connected to a Surfshark Argentina server to access easier lobbies on COD: Warzone Mobile. Thanks to Surfshark’s GPS spoofing tool, our real US location wasn’t detected by the game service.

That said, Surfshark does experience high ping across long distances, so we recommend only connecting to servers in your own region or neighboring countries.

Our latest speed tests with PIA on a New York server measured an average ping of just 6ms.

As a result, PIA adds very little latency to your connection which is consistent with our experience of using the VPN.

We could play on a shared Minecraft server with PIA running and it didn’t affect our gameplay at all.

For instance, we never detected any framerate drops while connected to PIA and our gameplay was smooth and lag-free.

We recorded fast download speeds with PIA, including a speed loss of just 5% on nearby servers and a respectable 14% for international connections.

PIA’s fast speeds are partly due to its port forwarding feature which allowed us to forward incoming requests from gaming servers, minimizing latency. We found this particularly useful for online games that use P2P connections instead of dedicated servers, like GTA Online.

You can install PIA on PC, macOS, iOS, and Android. Its apps use an attractive design but we found them slightly more complicated than competing VPNs, like ExpressVPN.

To use PIA on games consoles, you can manually install it on most routers or you can share its connection from your PC.

We were disappointed by PIA’s ineffective Smart DNS tool which often failed to spoof our geo-location on console.

With 18,651 servers covering 91 countries, PIA has the largest VPN server count available.

To put this into context, we’ve compared PIA’s server network to other top-rated VPN services in the table below:

As the table above shows, PIA covers less locations than NordVPN, but has more servers to connect to. This guarantees that you’ll always have an available server nearby, reducing latency.

We recorded an average ping of 5ms while connected to a nearby Windscribe Free server, from a baseline of 1ms. This is an exceptional result, better than most paid VPNs, and makes lagging unlikely.

As expected, our ping increased while connecting to further away servers such as 75ms in the UK and 98ms in Germany. This is still low enough for most online games and matches the results we recorded with top-shelf VPNs, like NordVPN.

We used Windscribe ourselves across several Minecraft servers without any framerate drops or rendering issues.

We didn’t experience any lag on Minecraft using Windscribe Free.

Though Windscribe Free isn’t as fast as paid VPN services, it’s still fast enough for online gaming.

On our fixed 100Mbps bandwidth, we recorded an average download speed of 90Mbps while connected to a nearby Windscribe server — a 10% decrease. This is fast enough for multiplayer games and streaming in 4K on your games consoles.

Windscribe Free provides apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows. We found it seamless to set up and start using for gaming, especially on mobile.

Sadly, you can’t install Windscribe’s free tier on routers which makes it much harder to use the VPN on games consoles, like the Xbox Series X or PS5. Windscribe does have a Smart DNS tool called Control D, but it costs $20.00 a year.

To use Windscribe on your games consoles, you’ll need to create a mobile hotspot or use an ethernet cable via your computer.

Windscribe Free provides servers in 11 countries, which is good for a free VPN but significantly less than its paid competitors.

For example, you can connect to 53 countries with IPVanish and 100 countries with CyberGhost.

While Windscribe has multiple servers in Europe and North America, it only has one location in Asia, and none in South America or Africa. If you’re based in these continents, you’ll experience slow speeds and lots of lag.

It’s also impossible to switch regions to find easier PvP lobbies as Windscribe lacks the necessary server locations.