There are several VPN protocols that can help you mask your IP and help you unblock restricted content. But the question is which one of them is good for gaming purposes.

It can be a bit difficult to answer this question without knowing about each protocol.
Let’s say you just read the Surfshark review and still want to know about the protocols in detail then you have landed in the right place.

In this article, you’ll not only learn about which one is best for gaming but also you’ll get to know about all the protocols together.

Which VPN Protocol is Best for Gaming?

Well, that’s not all, you’ll also learn which protocol is best for torrenting and what are the differences between OpenVPN UDP vs OpenVPN TCP.

So, let’s just head into the topic without wasting much of your time.

VPN Protocols

Before knowing which protocol is best for you it’s also important to know what the protocols are. 

Let me tell you one thing protocols are not the same as VPN service providers, so don’t get confused by seeing the names of different virtual private network service providers in this article.

There are three main types of VPN protocols:

• PPTP
• L2TP/IPSec
• OpenVPN

Point-to-Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP)

This protocol is most commonly used on old devices like Windows 7 and older versions of operating systems.

But now if you are using Windows 10 or any other modern OS then there is no chance for this VPN protocol to work properly.

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP/IPSec)

This is also an old protocol but it still works pretty fine with modern-day’s OS like Windows 10 and macOS (high-end devices only though).

OpenVPN

This is the latest one and is considered as best VPN protocol of all time. This protocol uses UDP and TCP both but here in this article, we’ll only talk about UDP because it’s faster than TCP.

Now that you have learned a little bit about VPN protocols let’s head over to the best VPN protocol for gaming.

VPN Protocol for Gaming

VPN protocols are not just limited to masking your IP or unblocking restricted content. There are several other things that you can do with a VPN and one of them is to use it for gaming purposes.

There might be several other reasons but this is what gamers prefer the most. So, let’s know about which VPN protocol is best suited for gaming purposes!

The best VPN protocol for gaming is OpenVPN UDP. It’s faster than TCP and provides the best gaming experience. However, if your device doesn’t support OpenVPN then you can also use L2TP/IPSec protocol but it won’t be as fast as UDP.

Let’s head over to the differences between OpenVPN UDP and OpenVPN TCP.

OpenVPN UDP vs OpenVPN TCP

In layman terms, you can consider these VPN protocols as different versions of the same protocol with some minor differences. This may sound a bit confusing but let’s take an example to grasp this properly.

In Netflix's case, their content library is more for US users while the rest
of the world must rely on VPNs to get access to the US library.

Now let’s say you are using OpenVPN UDP and trying to watch Netflix from a country that doesn’t have access to the US library. In this case, your VPN will work pretty well and give you a smooth streaming experience but what if Netflix detects that you are using OpenVPN traffic to stream their content.

They will simply block that IP and you’ll have to change your IP again in order to use the service. However, if you are using OpenVPN TCP then it’s not easily detectable by Netflix servers so you can enjoy uninterrupted streaming with the same VPN server.

Last Minute Thoughts

There are many protocols out there and as a beginner, it may be a bit difficult to decide which protocol to choose for online gaming.

As mentioned above, the OpenVPN protocol is one of the most advanced and secured protocols that will help you get the most out of your online gaming experience.

However, if your device doesn’t support OpenVPN then you can also use L2TP/IPSec protocol but it won’t be as fast as UDP. So, make sure your device is compatible with OpenVPN before making a purchase.

That’s all for this article!