Best Free VPN For Gaming – Our Guide

So, what is the best free VPN for gaming? It’s a wide and diverse world out there, and there are dozens of services all competing to be at the top of the VPN game. There are a few of them that offer completely free services, albeit with their individual restrictions. In this guide, we’re taking a look at that concept and trying to zero in on the best free VPN for gaming. If you’ve been looking for an effective VPN but don’t want to break the bank, then this is the walkthrough for you.

It’s worth stressing straight off the bat that free VPN services do have quite a lot of limitations. It’s often advisable to invest in a paid-for solution, simply because those restrictions and limitations are often lifted entirely. But with that being said, there’s nothing wrong with using a free VPN for gaming, provided you’re not looking to move mountains with it.

Let’s take a closer look at the free VPNs on offer out there and answer once and for all – what is the best free VPN for gaming?

Are Free VPNs Dangerous?

If you’re using the right service, there’s nothing inherently dangerous about a free VPN. In some cases, the top-tier VPN platforms out there will offer free trials or solutions that don’t require a subscription, so you know that you’re relying on a safe, reputable service – even if it’s free. It’s certainly a good idea to invest a little money in the best VPN for gaming, but when you don’t have any funds or you’re not willing to set up a subscription, there’s nothing truly dangerous about using a free solution.

In truth, VPNs are very simple applications, even if the benefits they may offer are substantial. They’re just ‘spoofing’ your location, routing your traffic through a server in a country that you’re not in, making it seem like you’re somewhere you’re not. It’s that simple – at a high level, of course. There’s a lot of technology that goes into making the infrastructure work effectively, and some VPNs offer various advantages over their competitors, but ultimately, they’re very, very similar in what they do and how they do it.

That’s why free VPNs aren’t often dangerous – they’re doing what everyone else is doing, only they’re not charging for it.

However, there are a few things that you should be looking out for when using a free VPN for gaming:

Make sure the VPN has good ‘P2P’ (Peer-to-Peer) connectivity – this is vital for multiplayer gaming
Make sure the VPN isn’t tracking or logging your data – this is a security risk
Make sure the VPN has good reviews and is trusted by other users
Make sure free really is free – if they’re asking for credit card details, there will likely be a catch involved

Best Free VPN for Gaming

So, what is the best free VPN for gaming? There are plenty out there, but which of them really tries their best to stand out from the crowd?

Let’s find out.

ProtonVPN

Device Limit1

Bandwidth LimitNo limits

Speed RestrictionNo restrictions

Country Limit10

Paid Upgrade Available?Yes

ProtonVPN is one of the strongest free VPN services out there, offering a limited platform to users for the total cost of absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter what device you’re using, you can set up a free account using ProtonVPN and get connected – anonymously. However, the limitations are quite substantial – you can only connect one device to the VPN and you can only spoof your IP through three countries (Netherlands, United States, and Japan).

But with that being said, it’s still a fantastic product. It offers a ‘no-logs’ policy from standard, and if you’re convinced that it’s a top-tier service, it doesn’t cost all that much to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Windscribe

Device LimitUnlimited

Bandwidth Limit10 GB per Month

Speed RestrictionNo restriction

Country Limit10

Paid Upgrade Available?Yes

Windscribe is one of the fastest free VPNs for gaming but it has a bandwidth limitation that can be hit quite fast, depending on what you’re doing. Fortunately, there are no limitations on the connected devices that you can link to the application, and you can connect to ten countries for no upfront cost. On Windscribe’s website, it’s stressed that you can access 2 GB of bandwidth for free – and you can upgrade that to 10 GB a month if you verify your account.

However, it does get better – if you represent Windscribe on Twitter, you’ll get another 5 GB per month. If you refer friends, you’ll get more bandwidth, and there are regular giveaways offered on Windscribe’s Subreddit and Discord servers.

Hotspot Shield

Device Limit1

Bandwidth LimitUnlimited

Speed RestrictionUp to 1Gbps

Country Limit1

Paid Upgrade Available?Yes

Hotspot Shield claims it’s the fastest free VPN online, which makes it a contender for the best free VPN for gaming. It’s almost bizarrely good, and while there are limitations to the free plan, there are also heaps of advantages. For instance, Hotspot Shield will only allow you to connect one device, but it offers ‘military-grade’ encryption, eight hundred servers, up to a 1 Gbps connection, and no bandwidth limits.

It gets better when you pay for a subscription, as you’ll unlock more locations, more device compatibility, and up to twenty-five devices, and you’ll find that Hotspot Shield becomes ‘optimised’ for gaming. It’s still a great free VPN for gaming, though.

Before You Get Started…

It’s worth bearing in mind that many of these free VPN services will only work for mobile devices (if they have an application) or PCs. There are almost no free VPN offerings that’ll allow you to mask your IP and go anonymous with a console like an Xbox or a PlayStation.

Also, consider that some games frown upon the use of VPNs – free or not. There are ways to detect people using a VPN, but we won’t dive into the technical process behind it – but some publishers and developers may issue bans or suspensions if you’re logged in using a VPN.

Read More: WSOW Rocked By Allegations of VPN Usage

Finally, if you’re going to stray outside of our suggestions above, be sure to make sure that the platform you’re using is reputable and safe.