Best VPN for Gaming in 2025

Editors' note, Feb. 22: We're currently retesting and overhauling reviews of our top picks. To ensure we have a full picture when making comparative recommendations, we're saving a complete update of this page until we've concluded the testing. In the meantime, you may see some discrepancies between this page and our review pages; for the most up-to-date information, check out our reviews of each VPN service.

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for gaming right now, thanks to its impressive speeds, excellent privacy protections and expansive global network of servers.

NordVPN is another top VPN for gaming because it’s one of the most reliable VPNs available, delivers on speed and privacy, and includes unique features that can enhance your gaming experience.

Surfshark is a solid alternative for anyone on a budget, because its WireGuard speeds are lightning fast, it’s easy to use, has a wide selection of servers all over the world and is cheaper than most of the competition. 

Proton VPN is the best free VPN for gaming, with its zero-cost tier that doesn't sell your data or plaster your screen with ads. Additionally, Proton offers a superb premium plan, which boasts a large server network and top-notch privacy.

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are mainly designed to give you privacy online, but they can also be useful for a number of other reasons. When you use a VPN, your online activity is hidden from your ISP and websites and apps are unable to view your actual IP address. The IP address websites and apps see is the IP address (and, therefore, location) of the server you're connecting to. You may be staying in a place like New York City, but connecting through a Spanish server using your VPN provider, websites and apps will see your internet traffic coming from Spain.

A VPN can level up your gaming sessions by reducing latency (ping), resulting in a more responsive online play experience. This might not seem immediately intuitive, as your traffic will be passing through an intermediary VPN server on its way to the game server or another player. However, there can be a benefit here: All of your internet traffic is encrypted. This means your ISP can’t tell which servers you’re connecting to or what type of traffic you’re sending. Therefore, they can’t throttle your connection even if they have a policy of de-prioritizing gaming traffic. Be aware, though: not every online game out there will be happy with you using a VPN for gaming. Make sure you check the terms of service before you log in to make sure you’re allowed to use a VPN. You should also be aware that connecting to VPN servers that are geographically distant from you is likely to cause connection speed penalties that cancel out any boosts you’ll get from evading ISP throttling.

VPNs also provide protection against various threats you might encounter while gaming. Some game services expose your IP address while connected, especially if you’re using P2P matchmaking. Although it’s rare, you can end up encountering another player who wants an unfair advantage by DDoSing your home IP address, knocking you offline and potentially keeping your whole household’s internet connection down for hours at a time. Because your public IP address remains hidden while using a VPN, virtual private networks can guard against DDoS attacks.

Our experts at CNET have spent years thoroughly testing VPNs to cut through all the marketing noise in order to highlight the best software options to fit your needs. While selecting the top VPNs, we mainly considered PC gaming -- on Linux, Windows and MacOS. That said, nearly all VPN providers offer Android and iOS apps for mobile gaming. You’ll even find streaming boxes and apps, including Apple TV, Android TV and the Amazon Fire Stick. Consoles like the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch don’t usually come with their own VPN apps -- instead, you’ll need to use a host PC or configure your internet setup for a whole-home VPN.

Whether you want to reduce ping while connected to a game server, boost online protection against DDoS attacks or circumvent throttling limits, a virtual private network can take your game to the next level. But you’ll need to check specific game's terms of service to ensure you’re not violating subscriber agreements. Let’s dive into the best VPNs for gaming so you can keep playing your favorite titles.

Mullvad

With its exceptionally low 13.5% average internet speed loss, Mullvad is one of the fastest VPNs we tested. Accordingly, Mullvad is an excellent VPN for gaming, where snappy speeds and low latency are paramount. At just $5 per month, Mullvad is pretty cost-effective, undercutting much of the competition. Its combination of wallet-friendly pricing, blazing-fast connectivity and cutting-edge privacy features makes Mullvad a solid option for gamers with serious privacy concerns. Previously, Mullvad offered port forwarding, which is a godsend for gamers trying to host game servers over their VPN. This feature has since been cut by Mullvad, citing security concerns, so be warned: While Mullvad is ideal for privacy, any feature that could potentially compromise the Mullvad team’s vision might end up on the cutting room floor.

Its network of 687 servers in 49 countries falls well below the thousands of servers in 90 to 100 countries you'll get with many VPN rivals, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Proton VPN, Surfshark and PIA. Because of its comparatively small server network, Mullvad isn't ideal for international travel. Plus, Mullvad isn't great for streaming -- in our testing, it worked fine for Netflix and Disney Plus, but not Amazon Prime Video. In all fairness, Mullvad pitches itself as a privacy service first and foremost, so any streaming sites you get access to are just a nice bonus on top of a rock-solid VPN. Still, if you've got serious privacy concerns but need a fast yet budget-friendly VPN for gaming, Mullvad is an excellent choice.

Read our Mullvad VPN review.

IPVanish

IPVanish is OK for for casual users, but its high 44% average internet speed loss makes it unsuitable for serious gamers. (IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) The monthly plan sets you back $13 per month. You’ll pay $40 for your first 12 months of service on the annual plan, then $90 per year after that. A two-year subscription goes for a fairly cheap $53 for the first 24 months of service and renews at $90 per year billed annually. While many VPN providers restrict the number of devices you can use at once, IPVanish flaunts unlimited simultaneous connections. 

IPVanish’s apps are uncomplicated, working equally well for beginners and seasoned tech enthusiasts alike. With a VPN enabled, IPVanish’s speed loss is significantly higher than ExpressVPN and NordVPN -- its unpredictable speeds make it a tough sell for video gamers who demand low lag. But IPVanish’s servers pepper 108 countries, which is in line with providers like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton and Surfshark. Once promotional pricing runs out after a year or two (depending on your plan), IPVanish's prices are underwhelming, considering its uneven upload/download speeds. With its middling connection speeds and average pricing, other VPN providers outstrip IPVanish for gaming -- and general use.

Read our IPVanish review.

Private Internet Access (PIA)

Private Internet Access is a capable budget-friendly alternative to Surfshark. If you’re looking for something even cheaper than Surfshark, but still a decent option for most gaming situations, then PIA is a good way to go. PIA’s speeds were slower than ExpressVPN and NordVPN -- we measured a 49% average download speed loss in our testing -- but it's hard to complain for the price. You’ll get access to a robust network of servers spanning 91 countries -- which is slightly fewer than ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Proton VPN and Surfshark.

We also like how customizable the PIA app is. If you like to tinker with software and customize your experience to your exact specifications, you’ll be right at home with PIA. You can tailor how much information related to your connection you want the app to display. But what’s even more useful to gamers is that you can tweak the level of encryption for your connection, so you can dial in the perfect balance of speed and privacy for your gaming session. As a gamer, the features we're most excited about from PIA are the dedicated IP add-on and access to port forwarding. PIA lets you anonymously buy a token, which you can redeem for a dedicated IP address. This gives you the benefits of a static IP that only you can use while still maintaining privacy and security through PIA’s server infrastructure. When combined with port forwarding, other gamers can connect to any service you host through PIA’s network, including game servers. While NordVPN offers similar functionality by allowing you to enroll other players through Meshnet, the difference with PIA is that you can host a public game server that anyone can connect to for long periods of time without needing to update your IP address. PIA works well across all major platforms, including Linux. In fact, PIA is amongst the few VPNs that offer a fully-fledged GUI Linux client, which keeps feature parity with Windows and MacOS. It's also very affordable compared to most VPN providers, at $12 per month or $40 for the first year (then $50 annually upon renewal) or $79 total for three years.

Read our PIA review.

Though we ran a series of hands-on gaming tests for this list, our evaluation of the best VPNs for gaming was based predominantly on our extensive research and previous testing of the services listed above. The scope of the online gaming universe is simply far too vast for us to be able to develop a testing protocol that would do justice to every little corner of online gaming. We’ve spent years testing VPNs and researching what they can accomplish for virtually any online activity, so we’re confident in our capacity to deliver a sound and trustworthy evaluation of gaming VPNs. We took into account each provider’s speeds, usability and features, platform compatibility, server network, privacy protections, and customer support to come up with our list of the best VPNs for gaming.