How to Use a VPN for Only One Application on Windows

7 min · Updated October 16, 2026

Windows has no setting that sends one program through a VPN and leaves the rest of your PC alone. Most VPN apps are a single switch for the whole computer: everything goes through the tunnel, or nothing does. This guide shows how to route only one application on Windows with OmnixVPN: you pick the program, give it a country, and every other program keeps using your regular connection. It also covers the reverse case (everything through the VPN except one program) and the situations where a website rule works better than an app rule. For the general idea across all platforms, start with how a VPN for specific apps works.

What Windows can and can’t do on its own

No per-program VPN switch for regular users. Windows 10 and 11 only offer per-app VPN on company-managed devices configured through MDM, and only for the built-in VPN client.
Windows Firewall can block, not route. You can stop a program from using a network adapter, but you can’t tell it to use a different one without a second connection and manual rules for each program.
Most VPN apps route the whole PC. Some offer split tunneling by program, usually on the desktop app only and often with a single exit country for everything you include.

The practical answer is a VPN app that makes the per-program decision for you. That is what the rules below do.

Three ways to route one application

When you add a rule in OmnixVPN on Windows, you choose one of three tabs:

App: the program itself. Pick it from the list of installed programs, the same list Windows shows under Programs and Features. Every connection that program opens goes through the country you choose, whatever site it talks to. Use this for games, desktop clients like Spotify or Discord, work tools, and anything that is not a browser.
Domain: a website or service, like example.com. Any program that connects to that site goes through the rule’s country, and the rest of that program’s traffic stays local. Use this when the thing you care about is one site, especially inside a browser, which talks to hundreds of sites at once.
IP: a single address or a range, for a game server or a company system you know by address.

Rules are checked in this order: app first, then IP, then domain. Anything that matches no rule stays on your normal connection.

Download the installer from the Windows download page and run it. Windows asks for administrator permission: the app needs it to create its own network adapter.
Open OmnixVPN and sign in. The 7-day trial starts when you sign in. No card required: you only pay if you choose to subscribe.

Step 2: Switch to Smart split

At the top of the main screen there are two modes: Smart split and All apps. Choose Smart split. In this mode nothing is routed until you add a rule, so your PC keeps using your regular connection for everything.

Step 3: Add the application

Under Select App Per Country, add a new rule.
Keep the App tab selected and choose the program from the list. Type part of its name to search.
Pick the country the program should appear in.
Save the rule. It appears in the list with the program’s icon and the country’s flag.

Want a second program in a different country? Add another rule and pick another country. Each rule runs at the same time through its own tunnel. This is multi tunneling, and it is included in every plan.

Step 4: Connect and check

Click Connect.
Open the program you routed. Its traffic now leaves from the country you chose. Everything else on the PC still uses your own connection.
To confirm, open what is my IP address in your normal browser. It should still show your real location, because the browser has no rule. Most games and streaming apps show their region in settings, so check the routed program there. For a full check with leak tests, see how to verify your VPN is working.

The reverse: everything through the VPN except one program

Sometimes the goal is the opposite: the whole PC through the VPN, with one program left on your real connection. A banking app that locks your account on foreign logins, a printer tool that needs the local network, or a game you want to keep on your home ping.

Switch to All apps and choose a country. Every program now goes through the tunnel.
Under Excluded, add the program (App tab), a site (Domain tab), or an address (IP tab).
Click Connect. The excluded program keeps using your real connection while everything else goes through the VPN.

When a domain rule is the better choice

Browsers. A browser opens every site you visit, so an App rule on Chrome or Edge moves all of them. A Domain rule on the one site you need moves only that site and leaves the rest of your browsing local.
Services with both a desktop app and a web version. One Domain rule covers the service no matter which program opens it.
Sites you only need in one country. A Domain rule is also the simplest way to keep a single site in a fixed country permanently.

More on this in per-domain VPN on desktop. The full per-app routing setup guide covers macOS, Android, and iPhone.

Troubleshooting

The program is not in the list. The list comes from the programs Windows knows are installed. A portable app (a .exe you unzipped somewhere) may not appear. Install it properly, or route the sites it uses with a Domain rule.
The rule does not seem to apply. Close and reopen the program after adding the rule so its new connections are matched. Then recheck in the program’s own region settings.
The program updated itself. OmnixVPN matches the program by its executable and falls back to the executable’s name, so normal updates keep working. If you moved the program to a new folder, remove and re-add the rule.
The network blocks VPNs. OmnixVPN tunnels over QUIC on port 443, the same protocol and port as HTTPS, so office, hotel, and campus networks that block other VPNs generally let it through. See VPN that works through firewalls.

Frequently asked questions

Does Windows have built-in split tunneling for a VPN?

Not for regular users. Per-app VPN in Windows is a management feature for company devices set up through MDM, and it only applies to the built-in VPN client. For a personal PC, the VPN app has to do it, which is why OmnixVPN includes App, Domain, and IP rules on Windows.

Can I route one program through one country and another program through a different one?

Yes. Each rule has its own country and they run at the same time. A game in Germany, a streaming client in the US, and your browser on your local connection can all be active together. Multi tunneling is included in every plan.

Do app rules cover games and voice chat?

Yes. An App rule applies to both TCP and UDP connections the program opens, so game traffic and voice chat follow the same rule as the program’s other connections.

Which Windows versions work?

Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. The app asks for administrator permission once, when it creates its network adapter.

Do I need a card for the trial?

No card required: you only pay if you choose to subscribe. The 7-day trial starts when you sign in on the Windows app.