Updated on: April 24, 2024
Short on time? Here’s the best VPN for Call of Duty in 2024:
- 🥇ExpressVPN: Maintains lightning-fast speeds while playing Call of Duty, comes with excellent gaming security features, and has easy-to-use apps for all devices, including for routers. It includes a strict and audited no-logs policy, full leak protection, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I love playing Call of Duty online, but there are a few issues — I never really know if my privacy is safe, if my internet connection is secure, and if my internet service provider (ISP) is throttling my connection speeds.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to solve all of my concerns — using a VPN. This service allows you to play CoD safely and anonymously from anywhere in the world without your personal data being leaked and without your ISP purposely slowing down your speeds because you’re gaming online. Plus, using a VPN is the easiest way to get into bot lobbies.
Unfortunately, many VPNs are just downright terrible for playing Call of Duty — most of them have very slow speeds, causing me to get lower scores and to lose to my opponents. Other VPNs have buggy apps and lack essential security features that don’t protect you from Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, which can disrupt your game and internet connection.
However, all the VPNs on my list are great for gaming — my #1 pick is ExpressVPN due to its blazing-fast speeds, very strong security features, and extremely intuitive apps.
Quick summary of the best VPNs for Call of Duty in 2024:
- 🥇 1. ExpressVPN — Best overall VPN for playing Call of Duty in 2024 (dedicated router app for PS and Xbox).
- 🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Excellent for playing Call of Duty on mobile (highly customizable Android and iOS apps).
- 🥉 3. CyberGhost VPN — Low-ping dedicated servers for gaming & massive server network for reliable speeds.
- 4. NordVPN — Fast VPN with high-end security features for gaming safely on all servers.
- 5. Surfshark — User-friendly VPN apps for playing Call of Duty + offers very affordable plans.
- Plus 2 more!
🥇 1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Call of Duty in 2024
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for playing Call of Duty. It has the fastest speeds on this list, easy-to-use apps for all devices (including a native router app), and top-notch security features.
In my tests, it provided me with smooth Call of Duty sessions — I didn’t experience crashes, and my connection to the gaming servers never dropped after multiple rounds, ensuring that I kept my rank.
ExpressVPN has very fast speeds thanks to Lightway — its proprietary protocol that’s faster than other popular protocols like OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec. I connected to gaming servers almost instantly on my PC, and I always had low ping (even on distant servers).
I really like how ExpressVPN has user-friendly apps. It takes just a few minutes to download and install ExpressVPN on your Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS, and I was able to install it on my router in less than 5 minutes so I could play CoD on my Xbox and PlayStation. If you don’t want to deal with the router app, ExpressVPN even has its own router (Aircove) available for purchase that includes built-in VPN benefits and fast and reliable Wi-Fi connections.
I also like how ExpressVPN supports cloud gaming services, which stream video games to portable devices like smartphones and tablets. I was able to seamlessly play Call of Duty on my smartphone through Xbox Game Pass while connected to ExpressVPN’s servers. ExpressVPN also works with other top cloud gaming services like Amazon Luna.
What’s more, ExpressVPN has split-tunneling, which lets you choose which apps use your local network and which apps use the VPN. In my tests, I played Call of Duty while connected to one of ExpressVPN’s servers and excluded all other apps from the VPN to get even faster gaming speeds. It also comes with built-in leak protection against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC on all apps, which also help protect you against DDoS attacks.
In addition, ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming and torrenting. It works with all of the popular streaming services, and it allows torrenting on all of its servers in 105 countries.
ExpressVPN has monthly and yearly plans and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN is a little pricier than some of the other top VPNs, but with our exclusive 49% discount, you can get it for only $6.67 / month.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for Call of Duty in 2024 — it has extremely fast speeds for gaming, is very secure, and has easy-to-use apps (including a router app and its own router). It supports cloud gaming, comes with cool extra features like split-tunneling, has excellent streaming and torrenting support, and backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full ExpressVPN review
🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Excellent Mobile VPN for Call of Duty
Private Internet Access (PIA) is great for playing Call of Duty on Android and iOS devices due to its highly customizable mobile apps. For example, I really like how you can easily change protocols, encryption levels, proxy settings, and connection options, including whether to connect to untrusted Wi-Fi networks for gaming in order to protect your personal data from third parties.
This flexibility allowed me to easily switch to WireGuard from OpenVPN and choose 128-bit AES encryption (instead of 256-bit AES) for faster gaming speeds while playing CoD. Also, I enabled port forwarding, which connected me to more Call of Duty gamers for faster speeds.
In my gaming sessions, PIA always maintained a low ping and fast speeds when I played Call of Duty. While it’s a little slower than ExpressVPN, I didn’t experience any interruptions during my games on local servers and most distant servers.
When it comes to security, I really like how PIA has full leak protection as well as open source apps, which allow anyone to inspect the software code to make sure there are no holes in its security.
Additionally, PIA comes with split-tunneling, an ad blocker, and Identity Guard, which checks if your email or passwords have been involved in a data breach, including your gaming login credentials for Call of Duty. It also works with all of the popular streaming sites, and it allows P2P traffic on all servers.
Unfortunately, PIA doesn’t have a native router app like ExpressVPN, but it provides step-by-step guides that show you how to configure its service on your router. On the plus side, all of its apps are user-friendly, and the VPN allows unlimited connections, so you can use it to game on as many devices as you want.
Private Internet Access has affordable plans, which start at only $2.03 / month, and all plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access provides fast speeds and low ping while playing Call of Duty, has very user-friendly and customizable mobile apps, allows unlimited connections, and provides strong security. It has open-source apps, includes extra features like split-tunneling, and backs each of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Private Internet Access review
🥉 3. CyberGhost VPN — Dedicated Gaming Servers + Massive Server Network
CyberGhost VPN has 90+ gaming servers in 4 countries (the US, the UK, Germany, and France), which provide faster downloads and gaming speeds than its regular servers — in my tests, these servers provided me with speeds that were about 8-13% faster than regular servers. While I like using the gaming servers, I think ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access are more convenient because all of their servers are optimized for the fastest gaming speeds.
I love how easy it is to find CyberGhost’s gaming servers — there are separate tabs on the side of the main menu for all dedicated servers (streaming, torrenting, and gaming). And with a massive network of 11,528 servers in 100 countries, users can easily manually connect to any of CyberGhost’s regular servers and play Call of Duty online from anywhere in the world.
Speaking of ease of use, CyberGhost VPN is great for people who are new to VPNs. There’s an intuitive design, allowing you to easily navigate its apps and find all settings, and all of the features and settings have short definitions so you always know what they do.
CyberGhost also comes with strong security features. One of my favorites is Identity Guard, which alerts you if your login credentials are compromised.
CyberGhost VPN offers plans that start at $2.03 / month and backs all yearly plans with a lengthy 45-day money-back guarantee (the monthly plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee).
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated gaming servers, really secure apps, and really good speeds for playing Call of Duty. It covers all long-term plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full CyberGhost VPN review
4. NordVPN — High-End Security Features for Gaming
NordVPN has all the advanced security features you’d expect from a top-notch VPN, like full leak protection, RAM-only servers, and an audited no-logs policy. But it also has extra security tools to keep you safe while playing Call of Duty. For instance, Its Dark Web Monitor will notify you immediately if your CoD login credentials turn up on a shady gaming site.
NordVPN also includes one of the best ad blockers I’ve tested, Threat Protection, which was especially helpful for watching Call of Duty guides uninterrupted. It blocked the majority of ads and annoying pop-ups while also preventing me from going to suspicious websites. Unlike most ad blockers, it even remains active while the VPN is off, which makes it very helpful for all users.
You can even use NordVPN to create your own local area network (LAN) with up to 60 devices anywhere in the world. You can improve your security by letting in only other CoD players you trust while at the same time improving game speeds.
NordVPN has fast speeds for gaming, but it’s still not as fast as ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access. I was able to maintain stable ping on nearby and distant servers, and I only experienced very minor lag while gaming on very distant servers.
NordVPN comes with affordable plans that start at $3.09 / month. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN keeps you extra safe while playing Call of Duty via high-end security features like Dark Web Monitor and Threat Protection. It also provides the ability to create your own secure virtual LAN games. It maintains fast speeds and backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full NordVPN review here
5. Surfshark — Very Affordable & Easy to Use
Surfshark has super cheap plans, making it a good pick for anyone who’s looking for a good gaming VPN and is also on a tight budget.
In addition, the VPN is great for beginners. All of its apps are easy to install and use, and I really like how you get helpful explanations for all settings and features. Plus, there’s a quick-connect feature that automatically connects you to the fastest server for your location, so you can use it to start playing Call of Duty right away. Also, Surfshark allows unlimited connections, which is great.
Surfshark also provides good security for gaming. Its no-logs policy has been independently audited, and there’s IP Rotator, which regularly changes your IP address without disconnecting you from the VPN server — this makes it harder to target you with DDoS attacks.
The provider also has good speeds for gaming, but still slower than ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. In my tests, I had good ping on nearby servers and stable ping on distant servers, I only experienced minor lag while gaming, and large game updates downloaded pretty fast.
Surfshark’s prices start as low as $2.29 / month, and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee for all purchases.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark is great for gamers on a budget due to its super cheap prices. Also, it comes with very intuitive apps, it allows unlimited connections, it provides strong security, and it has good speeds. It also backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Surfshark review here
6. Proton VPN — Advanced Security + Good Free Plan
Proton VPN is one of the only free VPNs that has unlimited data, allowing you to play Call of Duty as much as you want. The free plan allows 1 connection and access to servers in 5 countries (in the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Japan, and the US). I still had pretty fast gaming speeds and didn’t experience any lag playing Call of Duty on its free servers. However, the free plan doesn’t support streaming or torrenting.
Upgrading to one of Proton VPN’s paid plans gives you more perks, including up to 10 simultaneous connections and access to 4692 servers in 91 countries — this allows you to connect to a local or a nearby server for the fastest speeds and lower ping (but it’s still slower than ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access). You also get really good streaming and torrenting support.
Proton VPN comes with full leak protection and extra features like split tunneling (but not on macOS), an ad blocker, and Secure Core servers, which pass your data through 2 servers before leaving Proton VPN’s network for an extra layer of protection. But I don’t recommend using Secure Core servers for gaming as they significantly slow down your speeds due to the added encryption.
Proton VPN has monthly and yearly plans that start at $4.99 / month and come with a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN has a really good free plan that includes good security, unlimited data, and fast speeds. The paid plans have the fastest speeds, give you access to 65+ locations, allow up to 10 connections, support torrenting and streaming, and have a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Proton VPN review
7. PrivateVPN — Good VPN for Beginners
PrivateVPN is a very simplistic VPN for playing Call of Duty — there’s a minimalistic dashboard, there aren’t a lot of features or settings to worry about, and it’s very easy to navigate the app and connect to a server.
I like how the Windows app has Simple View and Advanced View modes. The Simple View is perfect for new users because the only options you have are connecting to a server and accessing live support and your account — the Advanced View provides users with more customization.
All of the servers display the ping, and the ping speed is indicated by a color-coded system (green for good, yellow for average, and red for slow), so I was always able to quickly find the fastest gaming servers. PrivateVPN also lets you change your encryption level and allows port forwarding in the Advanced View.
That said, PrivateVPN has slower speeds than ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. On distant servers, I experienced a bit of lag on distant servers, but I had excellent speeds on nearby servers. It’s also missing WebRTC leak protection, so if you like to game via your web browser, you’ll need to use a third-party app to prevent WebRTC leaks.
PrivateVPN has affordable plans that start at $2.00 / month and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
PrivateVPN is very user-friendly, making it a great Call of Duty VPN for beginners. It’s also very secure, comes with DNS and IPv6 leak protection, has an intuitive interface, and backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full PrivateVPN review
Comparison of the Best VPNs for Call of Duty in 2024
Testing Methodology: Comparison & Ranking Criteria
I followed our tried-and-true testing methodology to choose and rank the best VPNs for Call of Duty. I’ve tested each with Call of Duty on different devices to evaluate their ease of use, security and privacy, and speed performance, among other things. Here’s a more detailed look at the criteria I used:
- I made sure each VPN offers anti-DDoS protection. VPNs protect you against DDoS attacks by hiding your IP address (hackers can’t use it to DDoS your network). A DDoS attack is when another user routes large amounts of traffic to your network, forcing you offline, disconnecting you from the Call of Duty server, or creating lag to slow down your connection. Most of the VPNs on my list also have anti-DDoS protection on their servers. This way, you’re protected even if someone decides to DDoS the VPN server you’re connected to.
- I looked for VPNs with great security features. Every VPN on this list comes with industry-standard VPN security features (bank-grade 256-bit AES encryption, kill switch, and a no-logs policy), strong leak protection, and secure protocols.
- I prioritized VPNs with large server networks. A large server network allows you to connect to a nearby location for the fastest possible speeds or any location you want to get into bot lobbies in Call of Duty and avoid peak hours.
- I tested each VPN’s speeds. All VPNs slow down your speeds because they encrypt your data, but good VPNs minimize the speed loss. The VPNs on this list didn’t cause any lag or slowdowns when I played Call of Duty. ExpressVPN has the fastest gaming speeds.
- I checked their ease of use. The VPNs on this list have easy-to-use apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS with intuitive interfaces and 1-click connections. They also have router support so you can connect your Xbox and PlayStation consoles to a VPN server.
- I considered every VPN’s overall value. I only recommend VPNs that allow multiple connections, offer affordable plans, and back each purchase with a money-back guarantee.
Why Use a VPN With COD
A VPN is the best and easiest way to get into bot lobbies in Call of Duty. Bot lobbies offer an easier matchup because they have players with skills that don’t measure up to yours or those you typically match with. These players might be new to the game and/or have very low kill/death averages.
Call of Duty’s matchmaking system appears to use a Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) algorithm (there’s no official confirmation), that pits you against players of a similar skill level. This way the system promotes fair play in the game, but it also makes advancing or winning more challenging as it consistently matches you with tough competitors.
The matchmaking system in the game also looks at your geographical location and time zone. Since matches are ideally created based on the availability of players fitting the matchmaking criteria in your region, playing during peak times in your area could mean tougher competitions due to a larger pool of players.
A VPN solves all of these “problems” by changing your IP address, which shows your geographic location.
Connecting to a server in a different country, where the overall skill level is lower than in your location, can not only put you in matches more favorable in terms of competition but also lets you find games at times when your local player base is less active. For example, playing from the US during local evening times can be more competitive due to a higher player count. Connecting through a VPN to a server in a region where it’s off-peak hours, like the UK, during their early morning hours, can result in less competitive matches.
This also means you can use a VPN to improve your overall skills in the game by facing a different caliber of opponents and experiencing different game dynamics based on regional play styles.
I recommend using a VPN for Call of Duty to protect your security and privacy in-game. For example, being connected to a VPN means a sore loser won’t be able to directly DDoS you and force you offline.
What’s more, your ISP won’t be able to throttle your speeds when you play Call of Duty if you’re connected to a VPN. Some ISPs slow down your speeds if they detect heavy-bandwidth activities, like playing Call of Duty, to minimize network congestion. Since VPNs encrypt all of your traffic, they can’t see what you’re doing online, and in turn, can’t throttle your Call of Duty speeds.
Finally, a lot of the VPNs I listed here support port forwarding, which you can use to securely smooth out your connection while playing Call of Duty. This is because port forwarding lets you to configure your network to explicitly allow internet traffic to and from specific ports used by Call of Duty and achieve an “Open” NAT type. This means less interference from your network’s security mechanisms, leading to better connectivity with a wider ranger of players and fewer matchmaking issues.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- Hola VPN. Hola VPN has fast speeds for Call of Duty and is free, but it doesn’t use encryption, keeps user logs, and has leaked user IP addresses. Hola VPN also uses a P2P model, which means that you use another Hola VPN user’s IP address and they use your IP address. This is dangerous because someone could use your IP address to commit cyber crimes.
- SlickVPN. SlickVPN is secure, but it has a small server network, has very slow speeds for playing Call of Duty on distant servers, there are no mobile or router apps, and its desktop apps are not user-friendly.
- Perfect Privacy VPN. Perfect Privacy VPN is secure, with fast speeds on local servers and unlimited device connections. However, its server network is small, it has noticeable slowdowns on distant servers, it doesn’t offer split-tunneling, its customer support is terrible, and its Windows app is buggy. Overall, the VPNs on this list offer a much better value for playing Call of Duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best VPN for Call of Duty?
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for Call of Duty in 2024 — it has excellent security features (including protection against DDoS attacks), maintains very fast speeds while playing Call of Duty, has very intuitive apps, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Do you need a VPN for Call of Duty?
Yes, I strongly recommend using a VPN when you play Call of Duty online. A VPN provides extra layers of security and privacy for gaming. All of the VPNs on this list have industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, good leak protection, DDoS attack protection, and strict and transparent no-logs policies.
How do I install a VPN on a gaming console?
To use a VPN on your gaming console, you’ll have to configure the software on your router. Gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox don’t natively support VPN software, so there’s no direct way to set it up on them.
The steps you need to follow to configure the VPN on your router vary based on the type of router you have and the VPN provider you use. In most cases, you’ll need to download the VPN files to a computer, remotely access your router and upload the VPN files. Once the VPN is set up on the router, all you’ll have to do is connect your gaming console to the router network and launch Call of Duty.
All VPNs I recommend here can be set up on a VPN-compatible router, but only ExpressVPN has a dedicated router app you can directly install on your router.
Can you use a free VPN for Call of Duty?
Yes, you can use a free VPN for playing Call of Duty, but I usually don’t recommend this. Most free VPNs lack important security features, log your traffic, are slow, limit how much data you can use, and have glitchy apps.
Instead, I strongly recommend that you purchase a low-cost VPN like ExpressVPN. It’s extremely secure, provides fast speeds for playing Call of Duty, has intuitive apps for most platforms, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
What’s the fastest VPN for Call of Duty?
In my tests, ExpressVPN provided me with the fastest speeds for playing Call of Duty (I only experienced a 20% slowdown) — I connected to gaming servers instantly, I always had low ping, I didn’t experience lag, and large updates downloaded really fast.
