Best Free Gaming VPN? There Aren't Any – Here's Why… (2024)

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If you’re looking for the best free gaming VPN, you can stop now –there are NONE. 99% of free VPNs are utter trash and, in some cases, down right dangerous. Here’s what to do instead…

There’s loads of very good reasons to use a VPN for gaming, from reduced ping time to accessing geo-restricted content. But you definitely DO NOT want to use a free VPN for anything –let alone gaming.

Why? Here’s the four main reasons:

1. Data Caps: Free VPNs often come with tight data limits, cutting your gaming marathons short right at the climax.
2. Speed Slump: Expect the digital slow lane, where server congestion turns your gameplay into a slow-motion disaster.
3. Security Sketch: Some free services are like inviting a data thief to dinner, potentially leaving malware or snooping around your files.
4. Server Scarcity: Free VPNs have limited servers which means they’re slow, your ping time will likely increase, and performance is terrible

So, what’s a gamer to do? Simple: use a proper VPN.

With a premium –meaning paid-for, not expensive –VPN, you get access to dedicated servers that are optimised for gaming, military-grade encryption, and access to thousands of servers all around the world.

On top of this, VPN services built with gamers in mind offer things like ultra-fast 20Gbps connections which, obviously, you don’t get with free VPNs.

The bottomline here is simple: if you want to use a VPN for gaming, you’re going to have to pay for one –free VPNs just don’t cut the mustard.

And beyond this, they’re actually pretty damn insidious in how they operate and make money. If you’re interested, we’ll discuss this more below.

With Free VPNs, You –Meaning Your Data – Are The Product

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If something is free online, it means you’re the product: your data, your content, whatever. No company in the history of business has ever done anything out of the goodness of its heart –and free VPN services are no exception.

From selling your data to undesirables on the dark web to installing malware on your computer, free VPN services –in the vast majority of cases –simply cannot and should not be trusted.

Free VPNs & Malware

And if you still thing you’ll be the exception to the rule, the person that won’t get burned by using a free VPN to access the web or a certain streaming platform, check out what happened to this guy:

I have been looking for free or cheap VPNs, because I think paying anything more than $7/mo for a VPN is insane. many popular sites claimed that Avira had a “100% free” VPN. I installed it because I have heard about it before.

Installed and wow! A 500. MEGABYTE. LIMIT. what is this? 2002? So I uninstall it because it is false advertising. Some weird error in the uninstaller. So I go to the file explorer. Permissions denied. I had to install a third party “force file remover” to get it gone.

It’s been about 2 weeks now, and all has been fine. UNTIL YESTERDAY. Google claims that I have malware and doesn’t let me sign in. Check my extensions and a bunch of Avira sh*t that I never installed. They tried hiding it from me too.

Some Unlucky Dude From Reddit

What’s The Moral of The Story Here?

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In case you missed it: free VPNs are not safe, your data is at risk using them and, in some cases, they can infect your PC with malware. If you value your personal data and your PC’s health, do not use them.

What VPN is Best For Gamers?

My advice? If you’re going to use a VPN, go with a respected and vetted brand like PureVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, or ExpressVPN. These guys are big players and cannot afford any negative headlines, so they tend to run very tight ships.

For a gaming-specific VPN, I’d recommend PureVPN because it has the most servers and supports ultra-fast 20Gbps connections. It’s also significantly cheaper than the aforementioned VPN services which means its a double win in this context.