Sarah Tew/CNET
In the bustling virtual private network market, finding the right provider to use with your Xbox can be difficult. There are dozens of VPN providers out there — not all of them support Xbox’s platform, not all of them offer competitive speeds, and only some are able to work with video streaming.
After enduring a battery of reviews, however, we think three major VPN providers are worth checking out if you’re looking to keep your connection speeds up, overcome geoblocking, and protect your gaming privacy.
For help getting your VPN up and running on your console, check out How to set up a VPN on Xbox.
ExpressVPN
Number of IP addresses: 30,000
Number of servers: 3,000-plus in 94 countries
Number of simultaneous connections: 5
Cost: 3 months free with 1-year plan
When you’re gaming, speed is key, isn’t it? ExpressVPN consistently bests the biggest VPN providers in the industry, in both our own speed tests and those of other review sites. Yes, it’s more expensive than the other two options listed here, but for the extra dollar per month you’re getting insane speeds. The use of any VPN can typically cut your internet speed by half or more, but when we ran speed tests on ExpressVPN, we found it reduced our overall internet speeds by less than 2%.
Like the other two providers on this list, ExpressVPN imposes no data caps and offers unlimited server-switching among its 100% RAM-disk network. That last bit is a major security boost if you’re looking to keep nosy internet service providers out of your business. If that’s you, it’s also worth pointing out that ExpressVPN’s no-logs policy was put to the test back in 2017 when Turkish authorities demanded the VPN hand over usage logs during the investigation of an ambassador. Having kept no logs, ExpressVPN had nothing to offer when its servers were seized.
Unfortunately, ExpressVPN only offers five simultaneous connections compared to NordVPN’s six and IPVanish’s 10.
NordVPN
Number of IP addresses: 5,000
Number of servers: 5,200-plus in 62 countries
Number of simultaneous connections: 6
Cost: $3.49/month (75% discount) for a 3-year plan
If you want a VPN whose connection isn’t going to drop out on you mid head-shot, go with NordVPN. Known for its vast, reliable network and competitive speeds, NordVPN’s bang-for-buck ratio simply can’t be beat right now.
Though not as fast as ExpressVPN in our speed tests, NordVPN only cut our internet speed by a third, while most VPNs reduce it by half or more. Nord’s Singapore servers, however, left every other provider in the dust.
Despite a security breach reported last year, NordVPN is also a strong bet on security. The limited nature of the breach, the rapid call for a full-network security audit, and the prompt move to switch all of its servers to exclusively RAM-disk (a much more secure operation) has allowed it to keep its reputation as a valuable tool for the privacy-minded among us.
Like all the VPNs listed here, NordVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
IPVanish
Number of IP addresses: 40,000
Number of servers: 1,300-plus in 75 countries
Number of simultaneous connections: 10
Costs: $3.99/month and $48 for a year
IPVanish has grown more competitive with speeds in the past year, and is surging ahead of other mid-tier VPN providers to become known as a solid, low-latency provider with tiny ping times and an extended international server network.
This VPN uses less than half the total number of servers held by ExpressVPN, but about 10,000 more IP addresses to stay ahead of the race. Its fun, configurable interface allows you the option of choosing the speediest connection at any given moment to hop from country to country.
IPVanish walked out of our review with fewer marks for privacy than the above competitors, but for the purposes of bypassing geo-blocked streaming services like Netflix, it gave us no trouble at all. Perhaps best of all, IPVanish offers up to 10 simultaneous connections on its basic account. The more the merrier.
