Best VPNs for League of Legends to Enhance Your Gaming Experience
League of Legends players are all-too familiar with lag from crowded servers or ISP throttling, but you can solve both problems by using a VPN. Thanks to the power of encryption and virtual location variability, you can anonymize your connection and reroute your traffic through servers locations all over the world, unblocking LoL games and preventing latency with ease.
When League of Legends came out, many people didn’t see the appeal. A DoTA-style (MOBA) game with cartoonish graphics and intuitive gameplay didn’t seem like the best fit. However, LoL has surpassed all expectations, having been one of the internet’s favorite games for the best part of the past decade. As a result, many gamers are looking to enhance and improve their gaming experience by using a VPN.
Reduce lag and enhance your privacy while playing LoL using these VPNs:
- NordVPN – Best for Online Gaming – VPN performance is directly related to server quality, and NordVPN’s got the best network in the industry. Enjoy lag-free League of Legends matches with true anonymity.
- Surfshark – Modern encryption protocols, responsive network infrastructure, and advanced protections against surveillance and blocking.
- ExpressVPN – VPN split tunneling, blazing fast network, built-in speed test, and lightweight apps.
- CyberGhost – Dead simple to use effectively, even for privacy noobs.
- PrivateVPN – A truly private and privately owned server network, with low encryption overhead and great performance.
- PureVPN – Used extensively in regions where government censorship is at its worst. Good server reach in terms of country IPs available.
In this article, we’ll explain what to look for in a VPN for League of Legends. We’ll also explain why you may want to avoid free services and how a VPN improves your gaming feel and performance. Most importantly, we’ll give you some of the best VPN deals on the whole web, so make sure you read all the way through.
Essential gaming VPN features
League of legends might look cartoonish, but playing it at a high level requires an excellent Internet connection. Here are some of the things to look for in a VPN if you want to play LoL.
- Latency – latency measures how long it takes for a data packet to reach you after it’s been sent. Low latencies mean seamless game experiences with no lag. High latencies mean lost frames, jerky movements and playing with a significant delay.
- Connection speed – a high VPN connection speed means you can enjoy a high-quality gaming experience, even when you’re using VoIP while on LoL. Conversely, slow connections can slow the game down to the point it’s impossible to play.
- Server network – a VPN provider with a large server network can help you connect to any LoL servers you choose. This can help you choose the language you want to play in, and the people you can game with and against.
- Encryption – strong encryption means everything you do online stays private. Also, some encryption protocols are slower than others. Look for OpenVPN’s UDP and TCP technologies, which are cutting edge and excellent at both speed and security.
Now that you know which features are important for a VPN, let’s talk specific providers.
Fastest VPNs for lag-free League of Legends games
The prospect of boosting Internet speeds while enhancing your privacy online is attractive to any gamer, and you can get both with the best VPN for League of Legends players. We’ve tested the market, and recommend the following providers to bring your game to the next level:
1. NordVPN
NordVPN is an excellent choice for anyone playing LoL in countries with strong censorship, like Russia and China. It’s also a wise choice for gamers who want to protect their data, identity, device and connection. But don’t think that security is all NordVPN does. With over 5,500 servers in 58 countries, the service will give you high speeds and low latencies no matter where you (or your target servers) happen to be. Moreover, NordVPN has specialty servers – like Dedicated IP and Anti-DDoS – which are great for gamers. For example, the latter can help you control your LoL reputation by making sure you have an IP that nobody else uses. These features, combined with no bandwidth or speed restrictions, make NordVPN a good all-around choice.
In terms of privacy and security, NordVPN uses military-grade 256-bit AES encryption that’s also popular with many national armies. This includes OpenVPN’s UDP and TCP, as well as high-speed L2TP and censorship-busting SSTP. The logging policy is one of the best in the business; no records of your traffic, IP address, timestamps, bandwidth or browsing history are ever kept. There are extra cybersecurity features, like an ad blocker and a security toggle, that provide extra security and peace of mind.
Last but not least, the service itself is based in Panama, which is exempt from the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes international surveillance agreements. If you’re looking to stay safe while gaming, NordVPN may be the VPN for you.
Read our full NordVPN review.
- Servers optimized for unblocking Netflix
- No bandwidth caps
- Connect up to 6 devices at once
- No logs and encrypted connections for total privacy
- Great support (24/7 chat).
- Can't specify City or Province in App.
2. Surfshark
Surfshark is practically made for gaming, with its modernized server network, updated encryption methods, and great overall performance. Indeed, more and more League of Legends players are turning to Surfshark to reduce their ping, access foreign servers, and avoid DDoS and doxxing.
There are 800+ RAM-only servers located in 50 countries worldwide, allowing you to spoof IPs virtually anywhere without leaving a trace of your activity behind. Indeed, Surfshark guarantees zero tracking across their entire network. Furthermore, 256-AES-GCM encryption shrouds your connections in unbreakable cryptography for total privacy.
If you need to get through harsh censorship, try out one of the static IP or multi-hop connections. Failing that, Surfshark will automatically kick on their Camouflage or NoBorders modes to counter any site blocks or surveillance by your ISP or government.
- Break through harsh censorship to securely access social media and foreign news sites
- Every server is a speciality server
- No questions asked money back guarantee
- Zero logging policy ensures your activity can't be used against you
- Support staff manned by actual human beings 24/7.
- Connection speeds won't impress users of other high-end VPNs
- Young VPN still has plenty of room to grow in terms of advanced functionality.
Read our full Surfshark review.
3. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is best known for its speed, just like the name suggests. Its vast server network of 3,000+ proxy servers in 94 countries means that you can get a low-latency, high-speed connection no matter where you are – and no matter where you want to get an IP from. There are no restrictions on speed or bandwidth, meaning you can play League of Legends without ever worrying about your connection getting slow. There’s even a built-in speed test to help make sure that connections are fast. As a cool extra, ExpressVPN uses OpenVPN’s high-speed encryption protocols – UDP and TCP – but also offers L2TP, which is very fast but a little less secure.
In addition to offering fast online connections, ExpressVPN is fast to install and easy to manage. It comes with a suite of intuitive apps that make getting started a breeze. Compatible devices run the gamut from macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS to video game consoles and many routers. Even better, ExpressVPN gives you up to 3 simultaneous connections. Whether you want to play LoL on multiple devices, stream, torrent, or simply enjoy the internet, you can do so without having to log out or worry about running out of bandwidth. Moreover, ExpressVPN conveniently accepts PayPal, plastic cards and cryptocurrencies, meaning you can pay quickly using your preferred method.
Read our full ExpressVPN review.
- Unblocks US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Amazon Prime
- Superfast servers (minimal speed loss)
- AES-256 encryption
- No logs for personal data
- Great support (24/7 chat).
- Expensive month-to-month plan.
4. CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a VPN service that combines powerful features with an easy-to-use interface. Unlike most VPNs where you have to configure everything manually, CyberGhost just gives you 6 configuration profiles – including surf anonymously and other, more gamer-friendly options – and does the thinking for you. If you’re a more advanced user, you can also take advantage of the many extra toggles, like “data compression” and “extra speed”, to enhance your gaming experience. Between these features and speedy encryption options like UDP and L2TP, CyberGhost is both easy to use and fast: perfect for playing LoL.
In addition to the above, CyberGhost is brilliant when it comes to security. Its encryption protocols also include PPTP, which can help beat censorship in countries like China. The logging policy is immaculate, with virtually nothing – not even your e-mail – being stored by the provider. Extra features include an ad blocker and a kill switch, which ends your LoL connection if your VPN gets disconnected.
With so many features and powerful security in an intuitive interface, it’s easy to see why many gamers use CyberGhost. The apps for the service are compatible with macOS, OS X, Linux, Windows, Android and other devices, so you can play LoL with CyberGhost no matter which OS you’re using.
Read our full CyberGhost review.
- SPECIAL OFFER: 79%OFF
- 3,600+ servers, 55+ countries
- Located in Romania (out of 14 eyes)
- Strict no-logs policy
- Money-back guarantee.
- IPv6 WebRTC leak in macOS
- Can’t unblock some other streaming sites.
5. PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN is a unique provider with a different way of doing things and an all-inclusive set of subscriptions. Keen-eyed comparison shoppers may at first glance notice a relatively small number of servers: a little over 150 servers in 60+ countries. However, this provider compensates by equipping each server with a 1 Gbps connection or more, meaning that each server is 10-20 times more powerful than a standard one. Thanks to this, PrivateVPN performs very well for LoL gamers, streamers, torrent users, and others. One thing that makes it particularly suited for gamers is built-in DDoS protection. So long as you’re using a PrivateVPN connection, other players and criminals won’t be able to attack your device, data or connection – and you’ll play on in peace.
PrivateVPN is also strong on technical features. Security-wise, 2048-bit encryption (with AES-256) requires hackers to try more keys than there are atoms in the known universe. Between this and a strict no-logging policy, what you do online is safe from third parties including governments and corporations. Encryption features include SOCKS5, which lets you play LoL from China, and 6 protocols (including OpenVPN’s).
As an added bonus, PrivateVPN users get a free remote setup on any device and up to 6 simultaneous connections. This means you can use your VPN on a desktop device, mobile device, router, video game console and multimedia box and still have one left over.
Read our full PrivateVPN review.
6. PureVPN
PureVPN might cover the most countries of all available services with its server network: 2,000+ nodes in over 140+ countries. If you want full control over which servers you play on, this is the provider for you. Moreover, the large network means that connections are fast and latencies – low, no matter where you’re connection from. Bandwidth and speed are both unlimited, meaning you’ll never run out of traffic or experience any slowdown. Last but not least, PureVPN can even help you defeat ISP throttling (wherein your service provider slows down your connection manually) which may make it the fastest service on this page, period.
In addition to being fast, PureVPN has some cool, unique features that make it fun and easy to use. There’s a suite of apps that makes installing LoL on any device a cakewalk. If you have any trouble while using the service, 24-hour live chat support is on hand to help you out immediately. If you want to use a VPN for things other than gaming, you’ll be happy to know that there are dedicated streaming servers – and that PureVPN is P2P and torrent-friendly. There are other features too, like the Ozone security add-on that protects your device and identity 24/7. All in all, if you want to get a lot of features and functions in one package, PureVPN is hard to go wrong with.
Read our full PureVPN review.
Why play LoL with a VPN?
At first glance, gettting a VPN for playing League of Legends can seem counterintuitive. After all, a VPN usually decreases your maximum download speed – so why slow yourself down when gaming? Turns out, there are several rebuttals. For starters, while a VPN may decrease your download speed, a fast VPN provider can actually improve your LoL connection. Here’s why: many ISPs tend to place limits on certain types of Internet traffic. As gaming is a particularly bandwidth-intensive task, you are more likely to experience an artificial slowdown affected by your ISP, known as throttling. A VPN encrypts your traffic, making it impossible for your ISP to determine what is going on behind that layer of cryptography, thereby fooling the throttling algorithms to let you game on at full speed.
In addition to this, a VPN can give you a foreign IP which is helpful for a variety of reasons. For example, if you want to play with friends from back home while abroad (whether traveling or in permanent residence) you can do that with a VPN. You can even overcome powerful censorship blocks like the Great Firewall of China. Alternatively, you can simply choose servers that you believe are superior, or frequented by the kinds of people you want to play with. For example, many people prefer to use Californian IPs to play with East Coast US servers and players.
Last but not least, VPNs can be a great aide to competitive players for security reasons. For example, most VPNs come with anti-DDoS protection which can shield servers and gamers from gametime attacks. Another example: getting a new IP each time you play using your VPN can make you extremely hard to target. This is probably the main reasons high-level gamers frequently use VPNs for League of Legends and other MOBA games.
What about free VPNs?
If you’re researching VPN options for yourself or your household, you’re probably seeing a bunch of free VPNs on the market. Moreover, you may have seen that many of them have some of the same features we mention in this article: OpenVPN encryption, the ability to give you a foreign IP, and more. So why not just save yourself some money and get a free VPN? Great question. The truth is, technologically, free VPNs are often decent. They may not have quality user interfaces, but they work fine.
READ ALSO: Free VPNs you can actually trust
The problem is this. Every VPN provider needs to pay for servers, traffic and other costs. This includes free services. The difference is that free services get money to cover their costs by doing things like showing you ads, selling your personal browsing data, and even using your processing power for criminal botnet attacks (that’s a true story). In the very best-case scenario, a free VPN will cut you off in the middle of a game to prompt you to upgrade to the full, paid version. If you’re like most people, it’s easier to just pay upfront and get a top-quality service and peace of mind. After all, competition has driven down VPN prices across the board.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve read the article, you know what to look for in a VPN provider, which services are the best, and how a VPN can improve LoL for you.
Looking for more information on gaming with a VPN? Read our full guide on the best VPNs for gaming to learn more.
How’re you going to use your service when you’re not gaming? Did we miss any important tips or pieces of information? Write below and let us know; we love getting your feedback!
If you need a VPN for a short while when traveling for example, you can get our top ranked VPN free of charge. NordVPN includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. You will need to pay for the subscription, that’s a fact, but it allows full access for 30 days and then you cancel for a full refund. Their no-questions-asked cancellation policy lives up to its name.
