Best Free VPN for Gaming, Feel your Gaming Experience

What We Have Covered in This Article

Last Updated on April 8, 2022 by Editor Futurescope

You want the best free VPN for gaming but think about this for a moment. It is said that nothing ever gets between a gamer and their game. Gamers are obsessive, they want the best of the best, especially when it comes to getting ahead in any particular game by having the most up-to-date information possible.

Security has always been an issue for online gamers because it’s not just your account you have to protect, but often access to your live streaming channel is given freely to friends or community members so you want to protect any personal information being passed around.

With all these cyberattacks going on recently, something had to be done about it. It was only a matter of time before Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) came into play, giving gamers the opportunity for free VPN protection.

What is a gamer’s VPN?

A gamer’s VPN is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that gamers can use to ensure the security of their connection and prevent DDoS attacks. Gamers often play games on public or unsecured networks, such as those found in cafes and airports. On these types of networks, a gamer’s connection is susceptible to eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks, which could be banned from their favorite multiplayer games. A gamer’s VPN can help prevent this by encrypting the connection, so the data packets sent and received cannot be read or injected with malicious content by a third party.

A gamer’s VPN software is generally compatible with all of the most widely used operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, and Linux.

The main benefit of using a gamer’s VPN is that it provides better security for an online game player who may not have much expertise in securing their computer. A gamer’s VPN will ensure that the connection between the game player and the game server is secure, allowing for high-performance play with low lag time.

Why use a VPN for gaming

Here’s why you should use a VPN while playing games online

A gameing VPN is highly recommended for gamers who play games on public networks. This is because these networks are often unsecured and can be accessed by anyone in the vicinity, which means that someone could steal your game login (such as your user name and password).

A gamer’s VPN will encrypt all the data packets you send and receive when playing an online multiplayer game, so it will be impossible to read or inject malicious content into them. Gamers especially need this security measure to prevent against Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, which could lead to getting banned from their favorite game because numerous players have complained about you. The best thing about the best Free VPNs for PC Games is that it protects without configuring complicated settings, as it will work right after you install and start using it.

Gamers need a VPN to access content that may be blocked in their country due to copyright restrictions, such as videos on YouTube and other video streaming websites. It can also help gamers stay safe from local network administrators who may monitor or restrict the sites they visit while connected to their local networks at school, university, or work.

In addition, a gaming VPN can help hide your online activity from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), allowing you to avoid getting notices about exceeding data limitations or having to pay expensive bills for additional downloads each month.

What does a Gamer’s Private Network do? What are the benefits of a Gamer’s VPN service?

A gamer’s private network, also known as a virtual private network, is a secure connection between a computer and the Internet. When you use a public Wi-Fi connection, you share your Internet connection with other users who may be snooping on your activity. The best type of private network for gamers can encrypt all the data packets sent to and from their device while playing online games.

In addition, the best type of gamer’s private network will hide your IP address and change it to another one so you will not be easily recognized by other players in-game. Also known as “masking,” this service allows you to unblock region-restricted content such as exclusive game betas or early releases, which are often blocked in certain countries.

Gamers can also use a gamer’s private network to access top-rated video streaming websites such as Netflix and Hulu, only available in specific regions. Getting access to these types of websites is not illegal, but they do log your IP address when you visit them, so if others share the same IP, they could get into trouble for it and be banned from that site.

How VPN Works for Gaming

When you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network), all the data between your device and the Internet goes through an encrypted tunnel. This will make it impossible for others to see what you are doing online because they will not connect to the same server as you. So, even if they intercept your connection, they still won’t be able to read or inject malicious content into your data packets.

A gamer’s VPN allows gamers to play games with other players from different regions and avoid speed throttling by ISPs. Some ISPs may purposefully slow down connections speeds if users download files from peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent. An excellent example of this was recently seen in the United States when Comcast customers were capped to around 12 Mbit/s for torrenting clients.

Another benefit of a gamer’s VPN is that it can prevent DDoS attacks from other gamers in multiplayer games with servers hosted in various regions worldwide. CyberGhost recently launched its blog to help educate gamers about protecting themselves from these types of attacks while playing online games.

List of the Top 20 Best Free VPN for Gaming

With many VPN services out there, how do you get one that can guarantee reliability? That’s where this article comes in; taking some time to compare and contrast what VPNs are available for gamers at the moment so they can make an educated decision about which service is right for them.

Here’s a list of our Best Free VPNs for PC Games reviews.

1 . CyberGhost: Best free gaming VPNs

cyberghost-Best Free VPNs for Gaming

CyberGhost is one of the most popular free VPN service providers currently available on the market thanks to its fast speeds and many supported platforms such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Android. CyberGhost offers users servers in over 30 countries, and the service also includes ad blocking, anti-malware protection, 256-bit encryption, and automated HTTPS redirects.

In this review, we tested CyberGhost on Windows 10 to see if it is an excellent free VPN for Gaming. We were very disappointed when using CyberGhost during our tests because speeds dropped significantly for no reason, even though there was absolutely no load on our Internet connection at that time. The best thing about the service was still its price since users can use it without restrictions for free, but if you value your online Gaming, you should look elsewhere in this top ten list of free VPN services for gamers.

2 . Hotspot Shield: Best Free VPN for PC gaming

HotSpot-Shield-Best Free VPNs for Gamers

Hotspot Shield is one of the most popular free VPN services developed by AnchorFree, Inc. The company was founded in 2008, and since then, it has been providing millions of customers worldwide with easy-to-use software on multiple platforms. Hotspot Shield allows gamers to bypass regional restrictions thanks to its many servers located all over the globe.

HotspotShield is an American-based VPN service with over 500 million downloads worldwide. The company was founded back in 2005 and is currently operating under AnchorFree, Inc. HotspotShield has more than 700 servers worldwide, which makes it perfect for unblocking content from all over the globe. However, you can only connect to one server at a time. The data transfer rate limits free users, but consider upgrading to their yearly plan if you want full speed without limits.

During our tests on Windows 10, Hotspot Shield proved to be extremely fast because there were no speed drops at all. However, this could depend on your location and how far you are from their servers. For more details, read our full review.

3. Windscribe: Best VPN for online gaming

Windscribe is a Canadian-based VPN service that offers users both free and paid plans. Free users can connect up to 10 devices to the service, but you can only use one server at a time. The difference between Windscribe free and paid plans is that the paid version has all features enabled, which means you can connect unlimited devices.

The company promises never to log any personally identifiable information of their customers, so it’s safe to say your Internet activity will be entirely anonymous when using this VPN service. We tested Windscribe on Windows 10 and were very impressed with the fast speeds. However, some users might not like the fact that there are no Linux or mobile clients. If you want better rates without limits, then consider upgrading to their premium plan.

4 . TunnelBear: Free unlimited VPN for gaming

tunnelbear, Best free VPN for Gaming

TunnelBear is a Canadian-based security-oriented VPN provider that was first released back in 2011. The well-known antivirus company from McAfee acquired this tiny bay of a VPN service back in March 2018. One of the newest providers on the market, it managed to gain the trust of over 20 million users worldwide.

TunnelBear is an excellent option for anyone looking for an affordable VPN service with good speeds and strong security. Our Windows 10 tests showed that the connection drops are usually short-lived. So you won’t experience any significant problems when playing your favorite online games. Read our full TunnelBear review to get all the details about this Canadian-based VPN service.

In 2017 TunnelBear added a new free plan that allows users to connect up to 500 MB of traffic per month for free. For more serious gamers, you can choose their monthly or yearly subscription plans that allow unlimited data, but it’s worth mentioning, there are no refunds allowed for this service. During our tests on Windows 10, we noticed some speed drops. However, this could vary depending on your location and Internet connection. Our full review will give you all the necessary details about TunnelBear and its working with different operating systems and devices.

5 . ExpressVPN: Best free VPN for Gaming Securely

ExpressVPN: Best free VPN for Gaming Securely

ExpressVPN is probably one of the most popular VPN providers on the market, with over 1,500 servers in 160 locations, which means you will be able to find nearby game servers, whatever your location. ExpressVPN has a massive network of servers located all over the world, and it offers high speeds that are great for Gaming.

ExpressVPN was launched back in 2009 but only started focusing on gamers since 2015 when they released a new version of their client. The service is not free, and its price starts at $6.67 per month ($12.95 if paid monthly). This review tested ExpressVPN on Windows 10 to show you how fast it can go, even during heavy load times.

6. Nord VPN: Best free VPN for Gaming Georesticted Games

NordVPN is a Panama-based security service provider, which makes it free of any data retention laws. Nord offers a diverse feature set that includes double VPN, P2P support, and dedicated ultra-fast streaming servers.

People who want to use NordVPN with their Xbox console or smartphones will be happy to know that you can also use the client on Windows 10 and Mac OS X.  During our tests, we were pleased with its overall performance and stability. We can say that NordVPN is an excellent option for everyone who plans to use their VPN service on multiple devices. Read our NordVPN review for more details.

7. Private Tunnel: Best Free VPN for Gamers

Private Tunnel is a San Francisco-based service provider that offers the latest in VPN technology along with high speeds, which means you won’t have any problems playing online games with this VPN installed.

As one of the best free gaming VPNs, this service has lots to offer. Even though Private Tunnel doesn’t offer too many servers, there are enough of them to choose from, so you can find one nearby your location in no time.

During our tests on Windows 10, we found out that using this free VPN service might cause some speed drops, but this could change depending on your Internet connection and location.

Please see the full details of the Private Tunnel review for all the necessary details about the company and its services.

8. hide.me

hide. me is an Austrian-based security-focused provider which offers both free and paid VPN services.

Despite having a small server network, hide.me performed surprisingly well because there were no speed drops during our tests. However, the company does offer better performance with its premium plan, but it comes at a much higher price than other services on our list. Our full review about hide.me will provide you with more details about this VPN along with what makes it stand out from the competition.

9. ZenMate VPN

ZenMate-VPN Best free VPN for Gaming

ZenMate is a free VPN service that also offers a premium plan. This German company was founded back in 2013 by two internet security experts who wanted to make the web more secure.

Even though ZenMate doesn’t offer as many servers as other services, it’s available for Windows 10, Android, and iOS devices. You can use it to unblock content on your Xbox console or smartphone without having to pay any monthly fees. Our full review of ZenMate will provide you with all the details about this VPN provider, along with its pros and cons.

10. PureVPN: Top free VPN for gaming

PureVPN is a VPN service that offers subscription-based pricing along with 7-days money-back guarantee. This Hong Kong-based company provides users with an extensive list of services, including servers in 141 countries, dedicated streaming IPs, Split Tunneling, Multi Login, and more.

During our tests on Windows 10, we were pleased to find out that there are no speed drops whatsoever, which means you won’t have any problems playing your favorite online games. Read our full PureVPN review for all the necessary details about this Hong Kong-based VPN service provider.

PureVPN doesn’t keep logs of its users’ online activities (making it perfect for Gaming), and this Hong Kong-based provider offers fast speeds, which makes it ideal for streaming HD content without lags or interruptions. If you’re looking for a VPN service that’s easy to use, has plenty of servers around the world, allows P2P traffic, then consider checking out PureVPN. During our tests on Windows 10, we saw decent enough speeds for gameplay, but what was impressive was the software interface.  We were pleased with the number of options and settings you can tweak on PureVPN since it’s one of the most customizable solutions on the market. Read our full review on PureVPN for more details about what makes this provider unique and how to get started using their service.

11. Fastest VPN: Top rated free VPN for gaming

Fastest VPN is a relatively new service that offers high speed, unlimited bandwidth, and more than 40 locations worldwide.

Even though Fastest VPN doesn’t offer as many locations compared to other services on our list, it’s still capable of providing you with fast connection speeds, making this an excellent option for gamers who plan to use their VPN service on multiple devices. Read our full Fastest VPN review to get all the details about this new service provider, along with its advantages and disadvantages.

Fastest VPN is a new entrant in the ever-growing list of free VPN services, but even though it has only been around for half a year, we think they have done a great job so far. This US-based VPN company offers plenty of servers and fast speeds, which means you’ll be able to use your favorite streaming sites without lags or buffering issues while having fun playing online games.

During our tests, we were very impressed with FastestVPN since it offers servers in over 20 countries worldwide, which makes it perfect for streaming purposes. As one of the best free VPN for PC gaming, thus allows you to benefit from the service completely free of charge (limited to 500MB) without having to submit your email address or credit card details. If you want unlimited traffic and access to servers in over 30 regions around the world, then you’ll have to upgrade your account. Still, even the free plan should be enough for most gamers online looking for a secure connection. Visit their website here.

12 . IPVanish: Best Free VPN for Gaming

IPVanish is a well-known VPN provider that has its headquarters in the US. The company was founded back in 2012, but it’s currently operating under the legal entity of Highwinds Network Group, Inc. It offers more than 40,000 shared IP addresses spread across over 1,000 servers located in 60 different countries. This makes it perfect for Gaming, but speeds can vary depending on your location and server choice.

IPVanish doesn’t offer any free accounts with limited bandwidth or data transfer speed. Still, they do have a 7-day refund policy if, for some reason, you don’t want to continue using their services after buying one of their paid plans. During our tests on Windows 10, we saw good enough speeds for Gaming, but our tests were on a short duration. For more details, make sure to read our full review on IPVanish.

13 . Private Internet Access: Best free VPN for online gamers

Private Internet Access is one of the oldest VPN providers with an extensive network of over 3,000 servers located in over 30 countries worldwide. This US-based company was launched back in 2010, and it’s currently operating under KeepSolid Inc. They offer all the major protocols: PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, and OpenVPN (both TCP and UDP), and they don’t keep any logs, making them one of the safest choices for online gamers looking to protect their privacy online.

We saw speeds that were slightly above average when using PIA on our Windows 10 machine during our testing. The interface is minimalistic, but it does the job, and each setting option is explained in detail to make sure you won’t have any problems configuring your connection. You can find our full review on PIA here.

Free vs. paid, which is the best free VPN in the world?

Regarding the best VPN for Gaming, both paid and free services can be equally beneficial. However, there are some caveats that you need to consider when choosing between a free or paid service.

Free services are more attractive since you don’t have to pay a single dime, but they usually offer fewer security features and servers, which might not be as fast as those offered by premium providers. Free VPNs do come with some notable advantages, though:

You’ll also discover that some of these apps will improve your speeds on games because they prioritize traffic towards the game client.  The problem with these free VPN apps is that most of them will start to throttle your speeds after a few minutes of using the service, so we strongly recommend you invest in a paid version if you want to use it for extended gaming sessions.

Are Free VPNs risky for Gaming?

With the growing demand for online privacy, VPN software developers have introduced new solutions to suit everyone’s needs. Sure, you’ll find plenty of free services available to the public, but they usually come with limited features and bandwidth. This means you’ll often end up paying more (in terms of your privacy) than what a regular premium VPN service would cost you per month.

Some might even sell their users’ bandwidth or inject advertisements into web pages which will only annoy gamers since it breaks immersion and makes gameplay impossible on some sites where frames cannot be displayed properly. The truth is that not all free VPN providers are created equal – some actually do protect their users’ data. In contrast, others simply do not care about their customers who might get exposed to third-party tracking or other privacy-related issues.

Moreover, free VPN services are now widely abused by cybercriminals who often use them to perform nefarious activities online (such as mass credential theft). It has even been reported that some companies divert their users’ traffic through remote servers to monitor them and hijack them for commercial gain. The bottom line is that you should never use a free VPN solution since it will only cause more harm than good – either you’ll end up with subpar speeds, or you might expose your data to third parties without you even knowing about it. Since the risks outweigh the benefits, we strongly advise gamers to stick with paid providers instead of free ones.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Best Free VPN for Gaming

1. Is a VPN better for Gaming?

VPNs are not better for Gaming, but they can help gamers protect their data while enjoying online multiplayer games. They also assist with ping issues and lag compensation problems. In other words, VPNs will improve your overall gameplay experience if you use them properly.

2. Does a VPN impact speed?

A VPN will positively impact your speed (increase it) if you select the right one for your gaming needs. It is advisable to use a less crowded server near you for this purpose.  Also, if you’re using a slow ISP, this will further limit your overall speeds so that the VPN might help with this too.

3. Does a VPN protect me from DDoS attacks?

Yes, it does, but only if the provider of your choice offers specific servers designed to handle these types of attacks by routing them through special channels.  Some VPN solutions will also reduce the effects of DDoS attacks by routing them through secure channels, so they don’t interfere with your online sessions.

4. Does a VPN protect me from snooping?

Yes, it does – provided that you’re using your provider’s DNS servers which are already encrypted (like Google’s public ones).

5. Can I play games using my VPN?

Yes, you can – all you need to do is gain access to games located in your VPN network. This way, you’ll be able to unblock bandwidth-intensive titles that are usually blocked by ISPs or geo-restricted for licensing reasons.

6. Is it safe to use a VPN with gaming consoles?

Only specific services will offer apps for particular platforms. While you can manually set up a VPN using your router, it might be best to use the dedicated app instead – this way, everyone in your household will have access to the same features without wasting too much time on manual setup.

7. Do I need a Gaming VPN?

Yes, if you want to enjoy fast speeds, increased privacy protection, and the ability to unblock gaming content that is usually blocked in your region.

8. Do These Free VPN Providers Keep Log Files?

Most premium providers do not keep any logs – neither traffic nor session data. If they do, their logging policy is usually limited to connection times, IP addresses, and bandwidth speeds only. But, some providers will offer free VPNs without any bandwidth limits, but their main business is selling user data to third parties. Such free VPN services are usually monetized by injecting ads into the user’s browser during browsing sessions. Since this is an invasive practice that directly affects your privacy, we advise gamers to avoid these services at all costs.

9. How could a good VPN for Gaming be a thing?

A good VPN will offer excellent speeds and strong encryption and give you the option to select servers that are close by to minimize any latency issues. Also, if you’re using a quality service, they won’t record your data on any log files so that you can enjoy all gamings without any limitations.

10. Why should you get a paid VPN if you’re serious about Gaming?

A paid service such as ExpressVPN offers fast speeds and strong encryption. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test all of its features and unblock your favorite titles risk-free.

11. What are the pros and cons of using a VPN while playing games online?

Using a VPN will not only improve your gameplay experience but will also help you dodge DDoS attacks, snoopers, and copyright trolls. On the other hand, it is advisable to use a fast service for this purpose, as slow speeds might hurt your gaming sessions by causing lag issues and frequent disconnections.

12. What are the other safety tips for safe gaming apart from the VPN?

Additional tips for safe gaming on PC or console include:

  • Avoid downloading pirated games
  • Don’t use your home network
  • Encrypt your data with HTTPS Everywhere
  • Only share information necessary to complete the game

Are free VPNs worth it?

Gaming over the web is becoming more and more popular each year, but this opens up a whole new can of worms. For example, ISPs now have to find ways to protect gamers from DDoS attacks by limiting P2P activities during online sessions (and even enforcing disconnections). Such policies are usually heavy-handed, which means that many users will suffer (gamers in particular).

Using a VPN can help you improve your security by encrypting all of your data and hiding your IP address. While this won’t protect you from DDoS attacks, it will prevent snoopers from monitoring your activities online – which is especially useful during public gaming sessions (online tournaments, etc.).

You might be interested to know more facts & opportunity for VPN. Check out!

Editor Futurescope
Editor Futurescope

Founding writer of Futurescope. Nascent futures, foresight, future emerging technology, high-tech and amazing visions of the future change our world. The Future is closer than you think!

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