Using a free VPN can help you reduce lag and ping in games and also offer seamless streaming sessions with no buffering.
Without a doubt, a premium VPN is worth the money since it can secure your online browsing and unblock websites.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a good free VPN with no lag for your devices when it comes to gaming and streaming.
It’s not exactly easy since there are numerous free VPNs on the web, especially for Android, iOS, Firefox, and Chrome.
You could easily get lost in the rabbit hole and end up getting a free VPN that does more harm than good.
However, we handpicked what we believe are the best free VPNs with zero lag for Windows 10. Before proceeding, know that zero ping isn’t possible.
But you can still find a fast VPN service that delivers a stable Internet connection so that you won’t notice any lag when gaming or buffering when streaming.
We purposely excluded any VPN apps for mobile or VPN extensions since there are too many to count.
Plus, we left out VPNs with free trials since we’re not interested in services that stop working after a while unless you start paying for the premium version.
What are the best free VPNs with no lag?
1. Private Internet Access – best overall
Private Internet Access is a resourceful VPN app that ensures amazing in-game connections, with reduced latency.
It’s a premium VPN service, but you can try it out for free, as it offers a money-back guarantee. During this trial period, you can benefit from all the premium features.
These include a 35 000+ server network with locations all around the globe. It’s a good option if you want to play multiple different games that are hosted in different places.
PIA also has powerful AES 256-bit encryption, so your online data stays private. Combined with the unlimited bandwidth, you’ll be sure to bypass any ISP-imposed restrictions and get fast Internet every time you connect.
When it comes to steaming, PIA has dedicated servers that are optimized to bypass regional restrictions on Netflix, HBOMax, and other platforms.
We must also mention that this is one of the VPNs with the lowest one-month subscription price. So whilst it’s not completely free, it’s on the budget-friendly side, and its state-of-the-art features are worth it.
Private Internet Access
Enjoy online games free of lag or high ping!2. NordVPN – best for geo-locked games and streaming platforms
Not only is NordVPN great for speeding up your connection, but due to its large server network and advanced encryption, it’s capable to unlock geo-restricted gaming servers.
This VPN is capable to circumvent even the most restrictive platforms, thanks to its advanced obfuscation. This feature routes your VPN traffic twice, masking the fact that you use a VPN in the first place.
This VPN service is not completely free of charge, but you can try it out for free and test its capabilities. It offers up-to-standard features like AES 256-bit encryption, split tunneling, and easy-to-use apps.
NordVPN
Mask your IP and connect to the best server for your game!3. Surfshark – unlimited connections
For those of you that want to secure your entire household without restrictions, try Surfshark. This modern VPN service offers unlimited bandwidth and lets you connect as many devices as you want with one account.
Surfshark is a zero-logs VPN that lets you connect to multiple server locations in the entire world. It has powerful encryption, protecting your online data.
Even though it’s newer as compared to other mentions on this list, Surfshark has a solid user base, thanks to its fast servers and premium-level security that includes an emergency killswitch and public Wi-Fi protection.
To reduce lag and ping we suggest you connect Surfshark to a server that’s close to your game’s server and activate the split tunneling feature.
This way, you will prioritize your traffic towards the game, and browse locally at the same time. It can help boost up speed even more.
You can try out Surfshark for free as it provides a 30-day money-back guarantee. The service lets you test out all its capabilities, and if you are not happy with it, you will get a refund, no questions asked.
Surfshark
Watch your favorite shows in HD and play without latency with this user-friendly VPN!4. CyberGhost – most beginner-friendly
Next, we have a VPN with simple-to-use dedicated apps that are suitable for beginner and advanced VPN users alike.
It gives you the possibility to pick your favorite VPN server yourself, but it also has an auto-connect feature for those of you that are not sure how to properly configure your VPN for streaming or gaming.
It has over 8 000 servers located in the entire world, so you will be able to circumvent geo-blocks and watch your favorite shows from anywhere in the world.
This VPN also has split tunneling, so you can prioritize your traffic toward your game. Plus, you can enjoy risk-free public Wi-Fi because CyberGhost has advanced security features that don’t let you connect to suspicious networks.
Note that the CyberGhost free trial version is only available for a limited period of time. After that, you will have to get a subscription.
Nevertheless, the free version includes all the features, making CyberGhost a great VPN to reduce lag and enjoy streaming.
CyberGhost VPN
Enjoy Internet freedom at high speed with top-level VPN technology!5. ProtonVPN – truly free and fast VPN
Designed by Proton Technologies AG, ProtonVPN is a VPN solution compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
It offers a free version that only requires you to sign up with an email address. Sadly, it has few VPN servers and doesn’t bring the best possible connection speed.
On top of that, ProtonVPN Free doesn’t work with Netflix. Nevertheless, it’s a decent free VPN for a no-lag experience when it comes to gaming and streaming.
If you’re curious about ProtonVPN’s premium version, you should know that it offers various plans with different features.
For example, you can opt for 10 simultaneous device connections with the highest speed (up to 10Gbps). It has dedicated servers for unblocking Netflix and other blocked content, including torrenting.
Proton VPN
Eliminate latency and buffering when gaming or streaming, thanks to this VPN6. Windscribe – unlimited VPN connections
Created by Windscribe Limited, Windscribe is a Canadian VPN service that genuinely offers a free version for all platforms, without having to use your credit card.
You just have to sign up with an email address and confirm it, which grants you up to 10Gb monthly data, unlimited connections, and access to over 10 countries.
We managed to lower our ping when playing in other regions by connecting to the Windscribe servers. It’s a pretty cool free VPN that delivers a no-lag experience for gaming and streaming.
Although the premium version of Windscribe has Netflix servers (Windflix), we gained access to Netflix US through one of the free US VPN servers.
Suffice it to say, Windscribe is pleasantly surprising. Plus, it supports OpenVPN and public DNS servers such as Google Public DNS, in order to speed up your Internet connection.
Another crucial aspect is that Windscribe is one of the few good VPNs left that works with Windows XP and Vista. Check out the best VPNs for Vista to find out more.
If you decide to purchase the premium version, you will take advantage of unlimited monthly data and access to VPN servers in more countries.
Windscribe
Get fast VPN connections in games with this up-to-date free VPN!7. TunnelBear – free obfuscation mode
Owned by McAfee LLC, TunnelBear is also a Canada-based VPN service with a free version that doesn’t ask for credit card details.
It’s limited to 500Mb monthly data. You can set it up on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. To get started, you just have to create a free email account and verify it.
TunnelBear has a limited server count and doesn’t work with Netflix, Hulu, or other streaming services.
Despite this, you can still use the free VPN for a safe no-lag experience while streaming or gaming, thanks to its support for the OpenVPN protocol with 256-bit military-grade encryption.
TunnelBear is one of the few VPNs that support obfuscation mode (GhostBear). It’s practical for accessing websites that typically block VPN traffic by making it look like regular Internet data.
If you fall in love with TunnelBear, you can get the paid version to unlock unlimited data. One paid account covers 5 simultaneous connections.
TunnelBear
Enjoy a no-lag experience for gaming and streaming using this dependable VPN.Do free VPNs lower ping and reduce lag?
Free VPNs can lower ping and reduce lag if you connect to a suitable server. Generally speaking, the closer you are located to the server of your game, the better your connection will be.
So if you want to reduce latency, a VPN that lets you connect to the locations where your game is hosted should help you with that.
The downside of using a free VPN however is that it can get slow at times, especially when a large number of users connect at the same time.
In that case, you can try switching to a different VPN server, if your free app allows it. Otherwise, for a better overall experience, unlimited bandwidth, and unrestricted access to servers, use a premium VPN.
If you play online games on a regular basis, a VPN is a good investment because it protects you against DDoS attacks and helps you boost speed. We suggest Private Internet Access because it’s up-to-date and has tons of servers.
To recap, you can’t compare a free VPN with a paid VPN since the premium version will always be better.
However, if you can’t really decide what’s the fastest service for Windows 10 or which VPN can improve your ping, it’s a good idea to start with a free VPN.
Did we leave out any of your favorites? Leave us a comment in the section below and let us know about your personal experience with a free VPN for no (or minimal) lag.