
There are many incentives to change Steam region. As you’re likely away, Steam pricing is region-based, so users in specific regions pay way less for games. Prices aren’t the only reason to change region on Steam. We’re also looking at different discounts and sales that make the experience quite distinctive.
This allows you to get AAA games, even those from 2026, for a fraction of the price. At the same time, you can save tremendously on older classics and spend as little as a few dollars per game. So, how to change region in Steam and take advantage of regional pricing? This Steam Region Change guide explains it all.
How to Change Steam Region: Guide for 2026
- Obtain a VPN subscription. Our #1 option is NordVPN with 135 countries and a 70% discount for the 2-year Basic plan that you can claim below.
- Set up the VPN by installing it and signing in to the app with your credentials.
- Connect to a server in the country whose Steam region you want and keep the VPN ON.
- Open Steam, sign in, and add a game to your cart.
- Change the currency from the Country dropdown menu.
- Provide a payment method from the new country to confirm your Steam region change.
How to Change Region in Steam With VPN: 2026 Tutorial
Many Steam users know that it’s possible to change their location or region. However, changing Steam country takes a few steps to complete, and it’s not as simple as it sounds, given Valve’s policies regarding this process. We’ll discuss them and important things to know when changing your Steam country.
For now, let us guide you through the steps you’re here for:
1. Subscribe to a VPN and Install It (Our Recommendation: NordVPN)
Before we discuss how to change Steam country, we need a Virtual Private Network. That’s because a VPN lets you change your IP to another country, which also changes your online location. As a result, the platforms and sites you use see this country as your real place of residence. For this, we recommend NordVPN.
It has servers in 135 countries, offers more than 9,200 servers, and works flawlessly with Steam. Besides, it has a worthy 70% percent discount for all 2-year plans, backed up by a 30-day money-back guarantee, which lets you test and use the VPN risk-free for a month and possibly get a refund if you don’t like it.

Once you subscribe to NordVPN, install the application on your computer and sign in using the credentials you provided upon registration. These steps should be simple even for a beginner.
2. Connect to a VPN Server
With that complete, your task is to decide on which Steam country you want to get. Many people want to know how to change the Steam region to India, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia. These countries currently have the lowest prices on games when compared to the UK and US (up to 60% lower prices).
It’s simple: connect to a VPN server in any of these countries. Click the desired country on the list, and NordVPN will connect in seconds. Notice the Connected message up top. This is the sign that it works.

⚠️ From here, keep NordVPN ON all the time, as it’s needed to change Steam region until the very end. If you disconnect, Steam will recognize your original IP and prevent you from succeeding.
3. Open Steam and Sign In to Your Account
Since you want to know how to change a region on Steam, you already have an account. In that case, open your Steam client and sign in to your account. If not, sign up for a new one, as it takes a few minutes.
4. Add a Game to Your Shopping Cart
It’s time for the two most important steps. First, to change your Steam country, you need to add a game to your shopping cart. Steam offers general software as well, so it doesn’t need to be strictly a game. For example, you can add Wallpaper Engine. It will work as long as you have at least something in your cart.
Now, you need to check your shopping cart, where you’ll see the price that corresponds to your region. Above the product in the cart, you’ll see your country and an arrow that points down next to it.

Click on it, and you’ll open a drop-down menu that lets you change your Steam region to the country you’re connected to with NordVPN. In our case, that was Kazakhstan.
5. Change Your Steam Account Region
If you click on a new country (Kazakhstan or any other), Steam will open a new menu called Convert Store and Wallet, where you can choose your location. Normally, you’d choose the new one, and Steam will automatically change the prices that correspond to that country. However, the process isn’t complete here.

Steam requires you to have a payment method from the selected country to prove that it’s your real location. Unfortunately, you must provide a new payment method to successfully change your Steam region. Gift cards won’t work unless you verify that your payment method is in the new country.
Keep in mind that gift cards are currency-locked and not region-locked, so purchasing one for the new region won’t work, unless you first prove you’re really there with your credit card information. In our example, we first must prove that we use Kazakhstani Tenge to use a gift card for the Kazakhstani Steam region.

If you don’t have a payment method from the new country, ask a friend or choose another country where you may have one. Steam made the process a lot more bulletproof, all in a bid to prevent gamers from exploiting its regional pricing, the main goal when trying to learn how to change Steam region.
⭐ What to Know About the Steam Store Region Change Process?
Changing the Steam country might not be very difficult, but there are some things you must know beforehand. Steam isn’t very happy about you trying to save money by buying games from a different region. If you check its Terms & Conditions, you’ll see that using a VPN or a proxy for this purpose is prohibited.
More alarmingly, it can lead to a permanent ban on your account. If you’re hell-bent on changing your Steam store region, do it at your own risk. Another important thing is the frequency of changing countries on Steam. For obvious reasons, Steam allows you to change your region once every three months.
However, it’s vital to know that you can also contact Steam directly and request a region change. But from our experience, their support isn’t very fast to respond, and they won’t fulfill your wish without proof of moving to another country. We’ll again stress that you need a credit card that corresponds to the new region.
Is Steam Region Change Worth It? Yes, Here’s Why
The main driver behind changing your Steam country is saving money on games and other purchases. But how much can you actually save in May 2026? Can you make significant savings on even the top AAA games? To see if this is the case, we changed Steam countries to some of the cheapest regions.
We compared a few popular AAA games and their prices across different regions, and were blown away by what we found. In short, you can make huge savings that often go way above 45% on the newest, most popular, high-end games. Here are the price differences compared to the US Steam account:
| 💲 US Price | 💰 Kazakhstan Price | 💰 Vietnam Price | 💰 India Price | |
| Crimson Desert | $69.99 | $58 (-17%) | $52 (-25%) | $48 (-31%) |
| Resident Evil 9 | $69.99 | $53 (-24%) | $55 (-21%) | $47 (-32%) |
| Nioh 3 | $69.99 | $61 (-12%) | $55 (-21%) | $52 (-25%) |
| Forza Horizon 6 | $69.99 | $63 (-10%) | $56 (-19%) | $59 (-15%) |
| Elden Ring | $59.99 | $38 (-36%) | $37 (-38%) | $38 (-45%) |
| Baldur’s Gate 3 | $59.99 | $29 (-51%) | $37 (-38%) | $32 (-54%) |
5 Best VPN for Steam Region Change in 2026
Using a VPN with Steam is beneficial for bypassing geo-blocks and buying games at lower prices. Not every VPN is great for this purpose, but in our experience, the following five VPNs will work flawlessly:
8922 servers
129 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.8 /10
3000 servers
105 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.4 /10
12000 servers
100 covered countries
45 days money-back guarantee
7 simultaneous connections
9.2 /10
4500 servers
100 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
Unlimited connections
9.1 /10
27000 servers
91 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
Unlimited connections
8.7 /10
1. NordVPN: Best VPN to Change Steam Region

Pros
- Servers in 130 countries
- Plenty of security features
- Superb speeds and low latency
- Unlimited data
- Great for streaming and torrenting
- Supports all gaming platforms
Cons
- Complex UI for beginners
- Higher renewal price
NordVPN is the best VPN for changing your Steam region. With a huge 9,200+ servers in 130 countries, you’ll be satisfied with the selection of locations. This satisfaction should carry over to NordVPN’s overall quality. We’re talking about a fast VPN with exemplary performance for gaming, downloading, and streaming on Netflix.
Security-wise, NordVPN will shower you with different features, such as a kill switch, NordLynx (WireGuard), DNS leak protection, and split tunneling. A feature we appreciate is Double VPN, which doubles your encryption and solidifies your security and privacy. We also like obfuscated servers for bypassing censorship,
Threat Protection Pro in the Plus plan blocks malware, ads, and trackers. Meanwhile, NordVPN is based in Panama, so it stores no logs, making it a great VPN for gaming privately. Its applications are easy to use, and it supports one-click connections for added convenience.
Furthermore, it allows ten simultaneous connections, more than enough for multi-platform gamers. NordVPN’s main appeal is the price of about three quid. According to its users, the VPN is very affordable for the overall quality, performance, and reliability. A 30-day money-back guarantee is there if you change your mind.
2. ExpressVPN: User-Friendly VPN for Steam Country Change

Pros
- Fast gaming VPN
- 160+ VPN locations
- DDoS protection for gamers
- It blocks trackers and ads
- Support for PC and consoles
- Beginner-friendly apps
Cons
- Light on features
- Higher renewal costs
ExpressVPN is another great gaming VPN that you can use to change Steam region. It has 3,000+ servers in 105 countries, giving you a large selection of locations. Moreover, the VPN is known for some of the fastest speeds, vastly outperforming other similar VPNs like CyberGhost and Surfshark (but not NordVPN).
This means that downloading games from Steam will be blazing-fast, as well as gaming itself, thanks to low latency and dependable connections. One thing we must mention is its security, a staple of a great gaming VPN. ExpressVPN has bank-grade encryption, protecting you from DDoS attacks for safe and anonymous sessions.
To that, we should add a no-logs policy that ensures that no personal info leaks to the public. The VPN also works with Netflix and is great for torrenting safely. It supports all devices and platforms, so you can change your Steam region on any platform you want, without having to do everything from your computer.
Besides, there are up to 14 simultaneous connections and 24/7 live chat support that make this VPN even better. Oh, and don’t forget the 73% discount and four months free for the 2-year Basic plan. With a 30-day money-back guarantee, it’s totally risk-free to try to alter your Steam region in seconds.
3. CyberGhost: Cheap Steam Country Change VPN

Pros
- 12,000+ servers globally
- Fast for Steam downloads
- Powerful 256-bit encryption
- Cheap two-year plan
- Gaming servers for low latency
Cons
- Not the most intuitive app
- No obfuscation
If you can’t change your Steam region and you don’t know how, try out CyberGhost. With it, changing your online location is a breeze thanks to 12,000+ servers in 100 countries. CyberGhost even has dedicated gaming servers. However, you can also use P2P and streaming servers to make these experiences better.
While not faster than NordVPN, CyberGhost offers great performance. Stable connections mean lag-free gaming, all while keeping download speeds high. CyberGhost is a very affordable VPN, and its low price doesn’t adversely influence the level of security, encryption, protocols, and other essentials.
Similar to NordVPN, it stores no logs and comes with native applications for all desktop and mobile platforms. CyberGhost is one of the best VPNs for Windows computers that works just as well on iOS and Android. Its seven simultaneous connections are sufficient, but aren’t going to reinvent the wheel.
Reliable 24/7 support is another advantage. Accompanied by the ability to unblock Netflix and its huge 45-day money-back guarantee, CyberGhost is a VPN to look out for. Besides, its cheapest plan will cost you far less than $2.20 a month, so it shouldn’t be too much even for those on a tight budget.
4. Surfshark: Low-Cost VPN for Gaming and Steam Region Changing

Pros
- Over 4,500 servers globally
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- Advanced security features
- Antivirus in the Surfshark One plan
Cons
- Rare lag during gaming
- The Starter plan lacks some features
If you want to change your Steam country quickly, check out Surfshark. It’s a simple, affordable VPN with 4,500 servers in 100 countries. This will be enough for selecting a new country and saving money on future game purchases. We like Surfshark’s dedication to security and privacy, which gamers will value as well.
256-bit encryption will secure your traffic, and with a kill switch, you’ll prevent IP/DNS leaks for good. Surfshark is gaming-friendly thanks to 10 Gbps server ports and WireGuard, which optimizes your speed and latency. The provider offers unlimited simultaneous connections, one of its main features.
It works on all devices, which means you can change your Steam region even on Android or iOS phones. Above all, the provider has a no-logging policy verified by Deloitte for those seeking online anonymity. DDoS protection prevents envious gamers from ruining your gaming session.
Much like CyberGhost, this service is very affordable, and while it has a few downsides, such as the average performance and some lacking features in the Starter plan (like antivirus, for example), the VPN is great overall. At the moment, the VPN costs $1.99 per month if you decide on its 2-year Starter plan.
Before you ask, a 30-day money-back guarantee is here too, if you want a refund. But if we’re honest, we think that won’t be the case. Check our Surfshark review for more information.
5. Private Internet Access: Best Privacy-First Gaming VPN

Pros
- Multi-hop servers
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- DDoS protection
- Customizable security features
Cons
- No native app for Fire TV Stick
- Occasionally slow speeds
- Antivirus is paid additionally
PIA VPN is comparable to NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and other top picks. This VPN embodies its affordable nature, costing similarly to CyberGhost, and offering exciting features. You can access over 30,000 global servers, all with 10 Gbps ports and capable of using WireGuard to get the best speeds for gaming.
We love this provider for flexible security, with 128-bit and 256-bit GCM encryption, Multi-hop servers, and a Shadowsocks proxy that helps to bypass censorship. PIA VPN even has SOCKS5, which helps gamers with connection stability and lower latency. Privacy-wise, it’s fantastic, with an audited zero-logs policy.
Private Internet Access works on all gaming-supported systems, so Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android apps are available. PIA is also a solid Linux VPN, and with router support, you can set it up on non-VPN-friendly devices like gaming consoles. DDoS protection is included in all plans, which gamers will like.
However, they’ll also like PIA VPN’s affordable antivirus and dedicated IPs that can be used to host a gaming server. Like the rest of the pack, the VPN is fully refundable in the first 30 days and has a special discount on its biennial plan. Save 83% on PIA below, and obtain the service for about two monthly dollars.
Can I Change My Steam Country With a Free VPN?
Yes, you can do that, but there are many caveats to using one. Free VPNs have limited data and slow speeds, which steers the entire experience toward dissatisfaction. Having poor performance when downloading and gaming isn’t great. But your data is limited to 5 or 10 GB each month, which worsens the situation.
Since we’re talking about changing countries, know that free VPNs offer very few locations to choose from. They also don’t have servers in countries like Kazakhstan or Indonesia, where you can usually find the cheapest games. Another thing worth talking about is the lack of strong enough security and privacy.
Weak encryption and deceptive logging practices are not something you want. Aside from violating your privacy, they also won’t function as intended, so using a free VPN for this purpose makes no sense. Instead, consider NordVPN or other affordable alternatives for a swift Steam region change in 2026.
How to Change Steam Region: Final Verdict
Changing a Steam region isn’t too complicated. Our recommendation is to use NordVPN, given its huge number of virtual locations. Once you connect to its server, Steam will offer you the option to change your store region. By doing so, you can gain access to geo-restricted games and save money on future purchases.
Be aware of Steam’s terms and conditions before trying out this solution.
Steam can ban your account if it detects certain discrepancies. However, if you use NordVPN and follow all the steps carefully, you shouldn’t have any problems. If you’re scared of trying this workaround, you can make a new account and test it instead. You’ll avoid risking your profile and losing everything if you get banned.
Frequently Asked Questions
💾 What is the best download region for Steam?
The best download region for Steam is the one closest to you. For instance, if you're in the USA, the best download region will be the US. In Southeastern Europe, it's Croatia or Bulgaria, and in Asia, that's typically China. You have to experiment and see which one works best for you and offers the best speeds.
⚖️ Is buying Steam games from another country legal?
Yes, it is. No one ever ended up in jail for buying a Steam game from another country. However, in its T&C, Steam clarifies that changing your location with a VPN to a country with lower prices is against the rules. Logically, this means that they can terminate your account if they confirm their suspicions.
⛔ Why can't Steam change my country?
You can’t change your Steam country because your billing information doesn't match the new location. If you decide to change a region, provide a payment method from that new region. Changing your location can be done once every three months, so if you violate that, it may be why you can't do it.
🤑 What are the best regions for cheaper Steam games?
The best regions for cheaper Steam games are Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Mexico, India, China, Vietnam, and Brazil. While their prices differ, as a whole, games in those countries are much cheaper than in Western countries. For instance, Elden Ring costs $59.99 in the USA, but it's only $38 in Kazakhstan (36% off).
🗺️ How to change Steam region without VPN?
You can change your Steam region without a VPN only if you move to another country and have a corresponding payment method. For instance, if you move to the USA and want to buy a game from there, you must provide a US credit card or PayPal. You can change your Steam store country once every 3 months.