Valorant is an extremely popular team-based FPS game by Riot Games. It has over 20 million active players worldwide! But despite the fact that the game is well-loved, users run into several obstacles.
From voice chat blocks to speed throttling to DDoS attacks — Valorant is not without its issues. On top of that, due to the use of regional servers, players can’t connect with those outside their area.
Want to fix these issues? Start using a VPN! With a high-quality VPN, you can change your virtual location, find better speeds, and bypass all sorts of restrictions. We review the best VPNs for Valorant in this article.
The 5 Best VPNs for Valorant
Not every VPN is suited for Valorant. Some VPNs don’t have a big enough server network to let you play with people from all over the world. On top of that, not every VPN can guarantee a lag-free gaming experience, especially if you’re using a free VPN service.
That’s why we tested 20+ top-rated VPNs to recommend you the best VPNs for Valorant. Here’s our rounded-up top 5:
- NordVPN: The best VPN for Valorant
- Surfshark: Affordable, premium VPN for Valorant
- Proton VPN: Free VPN for Valorant with premium option
- CyberGhost: Cheap VPN with gaming servers
- Private Internet Access (PIA): Valorant VPN with many servers
Is a VPN Bannable in Valorant?
No, you won’t get banned for using a VPN in Valorant to reduce ping or improve your security. Riot Games does not mention VPN use in their Terms of Service.
As long as you’re not using your VPN to violate the guidelines in any other way, for example for abuse, harassment or hate speech, you won’t be banned for using a VPN service while playing Valorant.
The Best VPNs for Valorant – Pick Your Agent
Ready to play Valorant? Have a look at our selection of best VPN providers for Valorant and see how the features of each VPN compare to one another.
1. NordVPN: The best VPN for Valorant
Features:
- High-speed servers to enjoy Valorant
- Secure AES encryption and top-notch features
- Huge server network: 6441 servers in 111 countries
- Affordable plans, starting at $ 3.39/month
The best VPN for Valorant is NordVPN. From our speed tests, we know that NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs in the world! With a low ping count, NordVPN manages to keep up to 96% of its speeds. You won’t have to deal with lagging or buffering if you’re connected to this VPN.
Moreover, NordVPN is the perfect VPN to change your Valorant location. Thanks to the size of its server network, you can connect with players worldwide and get an IP address from almost any location you could wish for. Choose the best server, no matter where you are.
NordVPN is also top of the list when it comes to security features. Thanks to its Threat Protection feature, you can block ads and keep malware at bay whenever the VPN is enabled.
You can use NordVPN for 30 days and get a full refund if you’re not satisfied! Though, if you claim the current discount and take 72% off, you’ll be getting a lot of bang for your buck.
For more information about this exceptional VPN service, you can read our extensive NordVPN review.
2. Surfshark: Affordable, premium VPN for Valorant
Features:
- High-speed servers for an affordable price
- Global coverage: servers in 100 countries
- Fantastic security features incl. malware protection
- One of the best VPNs for Windows
Surfshark is the perfect Valorant VPN if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option. You won’t have to spend tons of money on this VPN, but you’ll get a premium set of features and lightning-fast speeds.
In speed tests, Surfshark never lets us down. Maintaining at least 94% speed, it’s one of the best gaming VPNs you can get, especially if you’re gaming on a Windows system. The ping remains comparatively low even on very faraway servers.
When it comes to features, Surfshark can certainly compete with NordVPN. You can browse the web without being pestered by annoying ads or having to worry about malware infecting your device. Surfshark is one of the most user-friendly VPNs and has a great look to it, too!
Thanks to the 30-day money-back-guarantee, you don’t have to commit to anything when trying out Surfshark VPN for Valorant.
Want to know more about how Surfshark fared in our testing rounds? Read our full Surfshark VPN review to see the results.
3. Proton VPN: Free VPN for Valorant with premium option
Features:
- Free plan with five server locations
- Uses very fast WireGuard protocol
- Audited no-logs policy
- Premium features available (30-day money-back-guarantee)
Want to use a free VPN for Valorant? Generally, we don’t recommend free VPNs for gaming (scroll down to read more!) but if you are set on it, Proton VPN is probably your best bet. The free plan offers very decent features — though, you may upgrade to premium for the best experience.
With Proton VPN Free, you’ll be able to change your region on Valorant to a few select locations: United States, Japan, Netherlands, Romania and Poland. If you use Proton Premium, however, you’ll have access to 4,500+ servers in 90+ countries.
Thanks to Proton’s solid zero-logs policy, your data is in safe hands. You won’t have to worry about being tracked, either, thanks to the 256-bit encryption on all VPN connections.
Try Proton VPN for free today or get a limited discount of 64% on Proton VPN Premium!
We discuss everything that Proton has to offer in our Proton VPN review. You can also see how Proton VPN compares to our #1 recommendation NordVPN in our NordVPN vs. Proton VPN comparison.
4. CyberGhost: Cheap VPN with gaming servers
Features:
- Dedicated servers for gaming
- Huge server network: 11700+ servers in 100 countries
- Ad blocker to prevent online threats
- 45-day money-back-guarantee!
Another cheap but premium VPN to use for Valorant is CyberGhost. This VPN has a huge server network, [with servers provider_id=”323257″] servers worldwide. Thanks to its optimized servers for gaming, you can frag with your friends, no matter where you are in the world.
With CyberGhost, you get a secure zero-logs VPN that won’t leak any of your data, whether you’re gaming, browsing, or streaming. In terms of speed, CyberGhost is not the fastest VPN around but still does really well!
In comparison with Surfshark, CyberGhost is not as feature-rich, but an added bonus feature is CyberGhost’s ad blocker which keeps you protected against online threats. With plans starting at only $ 2.19, it’s certainly worth checking this VPN provider out.
Check out our extensive evaluation of CyberGhost’s services in our CyberGhost review.
5. Private Internet Access (PIA): Valorant VPN with many servers
Features:
- Largest global server network: 35000 servers worldwide
- Impressive speeds for gaming and streaming
- Get a dedicated IP address
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
Last but not least, we recommend the VPN with the largest server network in the world: Private Internet Access (PIA). PIA has 35000 available worldwide, so changing your Valorant location becomes a piece of cake.
On top of that, PIA allows unlimited simultaneous connections. This allows you to share your account with others and lower the — already cheap — subscription costs even more.
When it comes to security features, PIA offers an automatic kill switch, dedicated IP addresses, and much more! For speeds, you can expect a smooth, lag-free connection that’s certainly good enough for gaming!
Have a look at what our expert testing team thinks of this provider in our Private Internet Access review.
How We Tested These Picks
We tested 20+ different VPN services to filter out which ones are compatible with Valorant and give you the best recommendations. Here are some factors we paid specific attention to:
- Latency: For anyone who plays competitive shooters, low latency is extremely important to ensure you can game without lag. We kept an eye on the ping for each VPN while playing Valorant on different servers. Remember, even with a VPN, connecting to servers across the globe will still increase your ping, especially on far-away servers.
- Server network: In order to game with Valorant players in different regions, it’s important that your chosen VPN has a wide server network.
- Performance and stability: Of course, we make sure to recommend VPNs with an overall impressive performance and stable connection speeds.
- Windows compatibility: Since Valorant is currently only available on Windows systems, we made sure these VPNs are compatible.
- Costs: Finally, we understand you don’t want to spend too much money on a VPN service. Affordable, premium VPNs are our favorites!
How to Play Valorant With Someone in Another Region
In order to play Valorant with someone located in another region, you need to change your IP address with a VPN. This will allow you to virtually locate yourself elsewhere. Here’s how to do it:
- Subscribe to a reliable and fast VPN provider. Our top pick for Valorant is NordVPN, which has lightning-fast servers and is currently available at a discount of 72%!
NordVPNOur choiceDealSave big with up to 72% off a two-year subscription!
From$ 3.399.3- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
- Download and install the VPN on your gaming rig.
- Connect to a VPN server in your chosen location.
- Create a new Riot account in this region — this is a key step! Make sure your new account location matches your VPN server’s location.
- Log in with your shard-specific account and show your friends how to click some heads!
To illustrate, if you are in Europe and want to play with friends on US servers, you need to create an account for the North America (NA) shard.
We recommend connecting to a VPN server that’s closest to Valorant’s server on the East coast. Since this is closer to Europe, it should give you a better ping than the server on the West coast. Use NordVPN’s interactive map or search bar to pick specific servers.
Pro Tip!
Within Valorant, you can enable connection performance monitoring to keep an eye on your ping, network round trip time, and packet loss. Go to Settings > Video > Stats. If input feels off, or the stats are high/irregular, try a different VPN server for your next match.
Best VPN Locations for Valorant
With Valorant’s Server Select option, Agents won’t be able to change their shard, but they can change the server. We’ve created an at-a-glance overview of servers per region:
| NA | LATAM | BR | EU | KR | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US West (Oregon) US West (N. California) US East (N. Virginia) US Central (Texas) US Central (Illinois) US Central (Georgia) | Santiago Mexico City Miami | Sao Paulo | Frankfurt Paris Stockholm Istanbul London Warsaw Madrid Bahrain | Seoul | Hong Kong Tokyo Singapore Sydney Mumbai |
Pro Tip!
If you want the best results, we recommend choosing a server location where your ping remains below 100 — otherwise, you’re going to notice it while playing Valorant. The higher your ping, the more difficult it is to hit people, so we also advice choosing a weapon/Agent that offers more precision.
Can I Play Valorant With a Free VPN?
Yes, you should be able to play Valorant with a free VPN service. However, there are a few reasons why we advise against it:
- Slow speeds: Unfortunately, free VPNs can’t offer the same high-quality connection speeds as paid VPNs. You’ll likely experience lots of lagging and interruptions, which will hinder your gaming.
- Not enough servers: Most free VPN services only offer very limited server locations. This makes it more difficult to play Valorant in a different region.
- Security risks: In contrast to premium VPNs, free VPNs are a lot more vulnerable to cyberthreats.
- Data sold: Free VPNs tend to collect and sell your private data to other parties.
If you do want to try a free VPN for Valorant, we recommend using Proton VPN. This VPN has decent free features and an affordable premium plan available if you decide to switch.
Why Should I Use a VPN for Valorant?
A VPN can be very beneficial for Valorant players! Here’s why:
- Play with Valorant gamers in other regions: Right now, you can only play Valorant on servers available within your ‘shard,’ or region of residence. You can use a VPN to change your virtual location and play on different servers.
- Access voice chat: In some countries, the Valorant voice chat feature is banned, due to censorship. A VPN will let you use VoIP, even in countries where these features generally don’t work.
- Avoid DDoS attacks: Protect yourself and your team against DDoS attacks by changing your IP address with a VPN.
- No ISP speed throttling: A VPN with high speeds can help you avoid speed throttling by your internet service provider.
- Bypass IP bans: Is your IP address blocked? With a VPN you replace your blocked IP with a few clicks!
Recap: Using a VPN for Valorant
If you use a VPN for Valorant, you can play with friends all over the world, protect yourself against DDoS attacks, and find high-speed servers for lag-free gaming.
After extensive testing, we recommend NordVPN as the best gaming VPN for Valorant. You won’t be disappointed by NordVPN’s speeds and huge server network. Right now, you can get 72% off your NordVPN subscription (30-day trial period applies!)
For more information about gaming with a VPN, have a look at our related articles:
- The Best Gaming VPN: Our Top-Level Picks
- How to Lower Ping for Better Multiplayer Gaming
- Best VPN for Diablo 4: Protect Yourself From DDoS Attacks
Do you have any questions about using a VPN for Valorant? Check out our FAQ below for some quick answers!
The best VPN for Valorant is NordVPN, which has very fast servers for lag-free gaming and the ability to let you change your Valorant shard from anywhere.
No, you’re allowed to use a VPN on Valorant as long as you don’t use it for harassment or abuse.
Yes, a VPN can help you with ping in Valorant: connect to a fast, low-ping server for better results.
You can play Valorant with someone in another region (shard) by using a VPN. This will allow you to connect to a VPN server in a different region and get a new IP address from that region.
Yes, NordVPN can help you stop DDoS attacks in Valorant if your real IP address is being targeted. With NordVPN, you can change your IP with a few clicks.
