The best VPN for Valorant is NordVPN, thanks to 5/5 speed in our database and servers in 104 countries. But let’s be clear about what a VPN does in Valorant before you buy one. It won’t move your account to another region, and on a good connection it usually adds a few milliseconds of ping rather than removing them. It helps in specific situations: bad ISP routing, DDoS attacks, and networks that block or throttle games.
What a VPN can’t do in Valorant
It won’t change your account region
This is the most common misunderstanding. Riot ties every account to a Region of Residence and a “shard” (the server cluster you play on). According to Riot’s account transfer FAQ, both are “based on your physical location when you created your account.”
Connecting to a VPN server in Tokyo does not move your EU account to Japan. Your shard stays the same, and you’ll just be routing your traffic to Europe via Japan, which makes your ping worse.
Riot does allow region transfers, but only to match where you physically live, and only once every 90 days. Some data doesn’t carry over, including current ranked season progress and match history (transfers between NA, LATAM and BR keep everything). Riot’s own FAQ warns players to “be extra careful when playing from a VPN,” because changes must reflect your real location.
It usually won’t lower your ping
A VPN adds a step between you and Riot’s servers. If your ISP already routes you efficiently, that step can only add latency. Anyone promising “lower ping with a VPN” for every player is overselling.
What a VPN can do for Valorant players
Fix bad routing
Sometimes your ISP sends game traffic on a long detour, for example through another country, before it reaches Riot’s servers. A VPN server close to the game server can give you a more direct path. You’ll only know by testing: check your in-game ping with and without the VPN, at the same time of day. Our article on VPNs and gaming ping explains how to test properly.
Protect against DDoS attacks
In ranked games and on streams, a frustrated opponent who gets your IP address can flood your connection and knock you offline. With a VPN, attackers only see the VPN server’s IP, which is built to absorb that kind of traffic. If you stream on Twitch or play high-ranked games, this alone can justify a VPN.
Stop ISP throttling
Some ISPs slow down gaming or peer-to-peer traffic at busy times. A VPN encrypts your traffic so the ISP can’t tell what it is, which makes targeted throttling much harder.
Play on restrictive networks
University halls, office networks and some public Wi-Fi block game traffic outright. A VPN, ideally with obfuscation, gets you a normal connection. Check the network’s rules first.
Riot’s rules on VPNs
Riot doesn’t ban players simply for using a VPN, but it doesn’t guarantee a good experience either. Two things to keep in mind:
- Don’t use a VPN to fake your location for a region transfer or account creation. That goes against Riot’s stated requirement that your region match your physical location.
- Vanguard runs at kernel level. Riot’s anti-cheat, which launched with Valorant in 2020, starts with your computer. Well-known VPN apps don’t conflict with it, but obscure “gaming accelerator” tools sometimes do. Stick to mainstream providers.
The best VPNs for Valorant
Speed is the criterion that matters most. All scores from our database.
| VPN | Overall | Speed | Server countries | Bypassing restrictive networks | Money-back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 4.63/5 | 5/5 | 104 | 4/5 | 60 days |
| Surfshark | 4.08/5 | 5/5 | 65 | 2/5 | 30 days |
| Proton VPN | 4.24/5 | 5/5 | 65 | 2/5 | 30 days |
| Mullvad | 4.04/5 | 5/5 | 37 | 4/5 | 30 days |
| ExpressVPN | 3.72/5 | 5/5 | 94 | 3/5 | 30 days |
1. NordVPN: best all-round gaming VPN
NordLynx, NordVPN’s WireGuard-based protocol, keeps the overhead low, and with servers in 104 countries you can usually find one close to your Valorant data centre. Obfuscated servers help on blocked networks, and the 60-day guarantee gives you time to test your ping properly.
2. Surfshark: fast and good for many devices
Surfshark scores 5/5 on speed and supports WireGuard. If you also play on console or share the subscription with housemates, its device coverage is excellent (5/5).
3. Proton VPN: fast, private and with a free plan
Proton VPN scores 5/5 on speed. Its free plan is a cheap way to test whether a VPN improves your route at all before you pay, though free servers can be busy in the evening.
4. Mullvad: for privacy-focused players
Mullvad scores 5/5 on speed and has a flat price of $5.50 a month, no long-term plan needed. Fewer server countries (37) mean you may not find one right next to every Riot data centre.
5. ExpressVPN: reliable but pricey
ExpressVPN is fast (5/5) with 94 server countries, but at $99.95 a year in our pricing data it costs more than the others for the same gaming benefit.
Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.
How to set up a VPN for Valorant
- Install the VPN on your PC and choose a WireGuard-based protocol.
- Connect to a server in the same country or city as your Valorant data centre, not your home country if they differ.
- Launch Valorant and check your ping in the settings. Compare it with your ping without the VPN.
- If it’s worse, try a different nearby server, or use split tunnelling to keep Valorant outside the VPN and protect everything else.
- Decide on the kill switch. It stops your real IP from leaking if the VPN drops, which matters for DDoS protection, but it also cuts your game connection until the VPN reconnects.
Valorant on PS5 and Xbox
Valorant is also available on consoles. PlayStation and Xbox don’t run VPN apps, so if you want the same DDoS protection or routing fix there, you have two options: install the VPN on your router, or share a VPN connection from a computer. Both add complexity, and on a good home connection the benefit is usually small. Our PS5 and Xbox VPN guide covers the setup.
Testing your ping the right way
Don’t judge a VPN by one match. Ping changes through the day, especially in the evening when everyone in your area is online. A fair test looks like this: turn on Valorant’s network stats overlay, play a few deathmatch rounds without the VPN, then repeat on two or three VPN servers near your data centre, all within the same hour. Look at average ping and packet loss, not just the best number you saw.
If the VPN only helps at certain times of day, use it then and leave Valorant out of the tunnel the rest of the time with split tunnelling.
When you should skip the VPN
If your ping is already low and stable, you don’t stream, and no one has ever knocked you offline, a VPN won’t make you play better. Keep it for public Wi-Fi and everything else, and use split tunnelling to leave Valorant out. If you play other shooters too, our best VPN for Warzone guide covers Call of Duty’s specific quirks.
A VPN won't change your Valorant region and usually won't cut your ping. It's worth it if your ISP routes you badly, if you stream or play high-ranked games and want DDoS protection, or if your network blocks games. For those cases, NordVPN is our pick: 5/5 speed, servers in 104 countries and a 60-day guarantee to test the difference yourself.