Security tools often force users to make trade-offs between convenience on one hand and security on the other. This is especially true for VPNs, as using one of these tools almost invariably slows your uploads and downloads and increases the latency of your internet connection.
VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for your web traffic, making it much harder for anyone snooping on your network to see what you’re up to. But their drag on performance can hamstring your online activities so much that you might make the ultimate trade-off and simply turn off the service, sacrificing security for ease of use.
Rest assured, though, some VPNs have a smaller effect on performance than others. Here are the services that perform best in our speed testing, followed by details of our test procedures and the actual performance measurements we observed with each service. We’ve arranged our list of VPNs by their download speeds, in order from fastest to slowest.
(Editors’ Note: IPVanish and StrongVPN are owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.)
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More About Our Picks
Best for Fast Downloads
Bottom Line:
Mozilla VPN protects your privacy, and your subscription fee supports a proponent of a free internet. It’s approachable and has useful privacy features, such as multi-hop and split tunneling options, but it’s more expensive than the service that underpins it.
Pros
- Helps support nonprofit Mozilla
- Powered by privacy hawk Mullvad
- Simple, snazzy design
- Multi-hop and split tunneling
- Excellent Speedtest scores
Cons
- Few server locations
- Expensive, limited compared with Mullvad
Why We Picked It
Mozilla VPN boasts the second-best download score of the services we’ve tested, reducing download results by just 1.12%. It has strong scores across the board, reducing upload results by just 10.25% and increasing latency by 12.23%.
Who It’s For
Mozilla VPN has all the features you’d expect from a modern VPN, packed into a svelte package. Although it borrows the infrastructure of Mullvad VPN, Mozilla VPN costs significantly more, and requires the use of a Firefox Account. However, every dollar you spend goes to supporting a storied champion of the open internet. If you want to feel warm and fuzzy about your VPN bill, this is the choice for you.
Best Fast and Free Protection
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN offers the best free subscription tiers we’ve seen, and its paid tiers provide access to numerous privacy tools at a reasonable price.
Pros
- Best free subscription
- Numerous advanced privacy tools
- Strong customer privacy stance
- Slick, accessible client
- Excellent Speedtest scores
Cons
- Awkward Chrome OS implementation
- Complicated pricing structure
Why We Picked It
Reducing download results by just 2.9%, Proton VPN has the third-best download scores among all the VPNs we tested. It beats the median in the other two categories as well, reducing download results by 15.6% and increasing latency by 12.5%.
Who It’s For
Proton VPN has built its reputation on strong privacy protections, and that’s as true for its VPN as it is for its email service. Proton VPN, part of a larger suite of products including encrypted email and cloud storage, boasts all the features of a high-cost VPN but at a lower cost.
Proton VPN offers the best free VPN we’ve yet seen, making it a great choice for anyone with a tight budget. Best of all, we found that the free subscription performed extremely well in our speed tests.
Best for Fast Uploads
Bottom Line:
NordVPN packs numerous privacy features into a slick client, and continues to innovate by rolling out new tools to customers. It’s a privacy juggernaut, but at a premium price.
Pros
- Uses WireGuard VPN technology
- Multi-hop, split tunneling, and Tor connections
- Numerous server locations
- Unique Meshnet features
Cons
- Expensive
- Poor malware-blocking results
- Occasionally cramped interface
Why We Picked It
While NordVPN doesn’t have the best overall download scores, it comes very close by reducing download results by just 3.4%. It does have the best upload score, reducing upload results by 4.4% and increasing latency by just 1.7%—an exceptionally good score. It may not be the winner in each category, but it’s an unbeatable overall performance.
Who It’s For
NordVPN has all the features you want from a top-tier VPN, along with excellent Speedtest scores. It’s a long-time favorite, with a deft mix of powerful tools and simple design across all platforms. The one downside is that it’s among the most expensive VPNs we’ve reviewed. It’s an excellent overall choice for anyone can afford it.
Best for Low Latency Connections
Bottom Line:
Surfshark VPN has a pricey monthly plan, but it more than proves its worth with a large and expanding collection of privacy tools, an excellent app, and unlimited simultaneous connections.
Pros
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- Large global server presence
- Multi-hop and split tunneling tools
- Intriguing potential in Surfshark Nexus
Cons
- High monthly price
- Privacy policy needs clarification
- Confusing long-term subscription pricing
Why We Picked It
Surfshark VPN performed exceptionally well in our testing, reducing download results by 8.5% and upload results by 16.6%. Surfshark VPN had the best latency results, appearing to reduce latency by 3.1%. We don’t think you can expect that performance, but its impact on latency was minimal.
Who It’s For
With a strong selection of privacy features and a large international collection of servers, Surfshark VPN is a strong choice. Although it is expensive, it makes a good value argument by placing no limit on the number of devices that you can use simultaneously. It’s a choice option for travelers and those who need to protect a lot of devices.
Private Internet Access VPN
Best for Speed and Customization
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access offers a robust VPN service with advanced network and privacy tools packaged into a clever interface. A new third-party audit helps build trust, but its rising price gives us pause.
Pros
- Split tunneling and multi-hop
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Numerous server locations
- Good Speedtest scores
- Completed third-party audit
Cons
- Expensive
- No free version
Why We Picked It
Private Internet Access VPN did well in our testing, reducing download speeds by 10.9% and uploads by 19.4%. It increases latency by 30.7%, which is still well below the median across all the VPNs we’ve tested.
Who It’s For
Private Internet Access VPN has all the features we want to see in a top-tier VPN, and it goes further by offering a wide array of server options and allowing customers to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously—double the average. It also offers fine-grained customization options, which will appeal to anyone who wants total control over their networks.
Best for Choosing Speedy Servers
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost offers the largest VPN server network we’ve seen, accessed by a snazzy client, and powered by the latest VPN technology. All that helps offset the service’s hefty price tag, but it doesn’t include all the privacy features found among competitors.
Pros
- Large, well-distributed server fleet
- Allows up to seven simultaneous connections
- Several add-ons, including antivirus
- Outstanding speed test scores
Cons
- Expensive
- No third-party audit
- Confusing privacy policies
Why We Picked It
CyberGhost VPN’s results in our testing were below the median in each category, reducing download results by 13.3% and uploads by 26.7% while increasing latency by 11.2%.
Who It’s For
CyberGhost VPN is among the most expensive VPNs we’ve reviewed. It does much to justify that cost, but leaves out some features—such as multi-hop connections—and only allow seven simultaneous connections, which is better than most but not spectacular. The service does, however, offer the highest server count of any service we’ve reviewed and covers 90 countries, giving customers lots of opportunities to find just the right server for their needs.
Best for Speeds on the Cheap
Bottom Line:
It’s not the most polished we’ve seen, but Mullvad’s excellent VPN secures your connection and protects your privacy for an unbeatable price.
Pros
- Requires no email or account information
- Extremely affordable
- Radically transparent
- Some advanced features, including multi-hop and port forwarding
Cons
- Awkward desktop interface
- Servers in a small range of countries
- Pay-as-you-go system may confuse some customers
Why We Picked It
Mullvad VPN is best known for its developer’s rabid pro-privacy stance, but its Speedtest scores are also impressive, reducing download results by 15.5% and uploads by only 4.9%, the latter of which falls just short of the best upload score notched by NordVPN. It doesn’t beat the median for latency, instead increasing it by 93.2%.
Who It’s For
Mullvad VPN breaks all the rules. It provides all the key features of the best VPNs and offers its services for only 5 euro per month, making it by far one of the most affordable VPNs we’ve reviewed. It’s an excellent choice for bargain shoppers. Despite its low price, the company is also serious about privacy, using a special account number system that protects your identity. Mullvad VPN even accepts cash payments sent to its HQ.
Best for Families Needing Fast Browsing
Bottom Line:
StrongVPN has servers in underserved regions and allows a whopping 12 simultaneous connections with one subscription. Unfortunately, it is held back by an awkward interface, and it hasn’t released a public third-party audit.
Pros
- Good server distribution
- Uses the latest VPN technology
- Excellent Speedtest scores
- Supports many devices simultaneously
Cons
- Expensive for what’s offered
- Few additional privacy tools
- Awkward, dated interface
Why We Picked It
Strong VPN reduces download results by 15.6% and upload results by 25.1%. It increases latency by 100%, which does not beat the median for that category.
Who It’s For
Strong VPN is missing many of the features we want to see among the best VPNs, such as multi-hop connections and split tunneling. But by allowing up to 12 simultaneous connections for a price that’s just a little over the average, it’s a good choice for anyone who needs basic protection for many devices or many people.
(Editors’ Note: StrongVPN is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company.)
Best for Fast Browsing and Static IPs
Bottom Line:
TorGuard VPN can help protect your privacy online with its robust network of servers and support for the latest VPN technology, but the company could stand to be more transparent with its customers.
Pros
- Affordable
- Numerous servers spread across the globe
- Offers minimum of eight simultaneous connections
- Highly customizable subscriptions
Cons
- No public audits
- Few additional privacy features
- Vague privacy policy
Why We Picked It
TorGuard VPN reduced download results by 19.3% in our testing, and lowered upload results by 40.4%—just a hair better than the median for that category. Its latency score doesn’t beat the median, increasing latency by 57.3%.
Who It’s For
While it lacks the privacy features we like to see in the best VPNs, TorGuard VPN will appeal to anyone who has the urge to customize. Whether its adding static IP addresses to a subscription or tweaking the VPN settings, TorGuard VPN provides flexibility for anyone willing to learn.
Best for Good Speeds With Flexible Subscriptions
Bottom Line:
IVPN boasts a unique approach to multi-hop connections and a privacy-first account system in addition to affordable, flexible prices. Although its collection of servers is small, it’s an excellent VPN service.
Pros
- Flexible, affordable pricing
- Unique multi-hop system
- Privacy baked into its account system
- Strong stance on transparency
Cons
- Offers few server locations
- Multi-hop and Account ID might confuse some users
Why We Picked It
Last but not at all least is IVPN, reducing download results by 22.6% and upload results by 27.1%, both of which are better than the median for those categories.
Who It’s For
Like Mullvad VPN, IVPN uses a privacy-protecting account number system and accepts cash payments mailed to its HQ. It does cost quite a bit more than Mullvad VPN, but it’s still very near the average we’ve seen across VPN services. Where it distinguishes itself is with its flexible subscriptions, which start at $2 a week and scale up from there. If you want lots of subscription choices, this is the VPN for you.
Speed Isn’t Everything
Because this is an article about the fastest VPNs, we naturally focus on speed. Although speed is important, factors such as value and privacy protections are far more critical to your choice of a VPN provider. In fact, we tend to de-emphasize speed in our individual reviews, unless it is impressively good or abysmally bad. Still, readers are understandably concerned about the impact a VPN will have on their web browsing experience. And that’s why we test.
How a VPN Works
Which VPN Is Fastest?
With all that in mind, the results of all our testing to date are presented in the chart below. We’ll continue to update the chart as we go, adding new results for products as we test them. Note that the table below shows the services sorted by their effect on download speeds, as does the list at the top of the story. You can click on the top headers to sort by a particular column you’re interested in.
COVID-19 Changed How We Test VPNs
Back before COVID-19, we here at PCMag would run back-to-back speed tests on all the VPN products we planned to review over the course of a week or two. That’s no longer feasible.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has meant that the entire staff of PCMag has been working from home since March of 2020, and most continue to do so. Our homes don’t have the super-high-bandwidth internet connection we enjoyed in the PCMag Labs. Testing VPN speeds from our homes wouldn’t be comparable to the data from previous years and would introduce all sorts of messy variables. For example: Did this VPN perform particularly badly because it’s a bad product, or was it because a spouse was on a video call at the same time?
Rather than forgo VPN speed testing altogether, our solution has been to test VPNs in small batches and release the results as we go. This allows us to reduce the risk to our analysts but still conduct the same rigorous testing we have always done.
This rolling model also lets us provide fresher speed test results and gives us a chance to more easily update the results for different products throughout the year to see whether they still compete.
It’s humbling to see how this global health catastrophe has impacted our own operations and the extent to which it has affected every aspect of our working lives. We will continue to adjust our approach, ensuring both the safety of our colleagues and the integrity of our work.
How We Test VPNs for Speed
When we review VPNs, we use a custom tool provided by Ookla that uses the same technology as the Speedtest.net(Opens in a new window) tool. The only difference between our tool and the one online is that ours automates the test. There are some situations in which we use the online test as well.
(Editors’ Note: Ookla is owned by PCMag’s publisher, Ziff Davis.)
Ookla’s test measures three metrics: latency, download speed, and upload speed. Latency is a measurement of the time between when your computer sends a request and when it receives a response. It’s also called ping time. Many things can affect latency, such as the distance your data physically travels. Latency is measured in milliseconds, however, so even a seemingly large number for the increase may not be noticeable to the average user. Latency is important when playing video games over a VPN, as lower latency means a more responsive experience with less lag.
Download and upload speeds measure how much data is moved over your internet connection in a certain amount of time. These are both measured in megabits per second (Mbps). This is the metric ISPs and wireless companies tout when they claim their connection is “fastest.”
When we test VPNs, we try to get a sense of the impact a service has on internet performance by finding the percentage change between using the VPN and not using the VPN for several speed measurements. We run ten Ookla tests without a given VPN active and find the median of the results. We then do the same thing, but with the VPN active.
By comparing the median results with and without the VPN, we find a percent change between the two. The bigger the change from the baseline performance, the more impact the VPN has on your internet speeds. We repeat this process for every VPN we test.
We have tested each of these services in as repeatable a manner as possible, but there are limitations inherent in our testing. The biggest issue is that our testing is carried out from the PCMag Labs in New York City. If we performed the same tests on a similar network in a different part of the country, we’d almost certainly get different results.
Networks are fickle things and even small changes can greatly affect the results of a speed test, so while we have controlled for as many variables as we can, it’s hardly a sterile network environment. This is partly intentional; our tests need to be both controlled and representative of readers’ home environments.
We think of these tests as snapshots of performance that establishes a replicable metric for measuring each service. The goal is to compare the services rather than to evaluate individual speeds. Your experience with these services will almost certainly vary from ours.
You can read a lot more about how we test VPNs and, importantly, how our testing has changed over the years in How We Test VPNs.
How We Interpret Our Data
We test dozens of VPNs and have to winnow down the glut of data this testing produces. Above all, our final list should be meaningful and easy to understand. To do this, we look at each category (download, upload, latency) and take each product that meets or exceeds the median result for each. We then drop all the services that only meet or exceed the median in one category, order the remaining products by download speed results, and take only the top ten products.
We’ve used this approach for years, because it gives products the chance to make the list by excelling in at least two out of the three categories. Most of the time, the results are all clustered, providing a well-rounded selection. However, it does mean that it’s possible for a product to make the list and still have subpar performance in one area—usually latency. In this most recent round of testing, IVPN, Mullvad VPN, Strong VPN, and TorGuard VPN have latency scores that are higher than the median for that category. We highlight this both as a word of caution and to demonstrate just how difficult it is to find a VPN service that can truly deliver fast speeds.
Here’s the breakdown of all the products for each category:
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CyberGhost VPN, Mozilla VPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access VPN, Proton VPN, and Surfshark VPN score better than the median in all three categories.
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IPVanish VPN, IVPN, Malwarebytes VPN, Mullvad VPN, Strong VPN, and TorGuard VPN all beat the median in two categories.
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Avast Secureline, AVG Secure VPN, Hotspot Shield VPN, HMA VPN, PureVPN, and TunnelBear VPN all beat the median in one category.
IPVanish VPN and Malwarebytes VPN don’t clear the top-10 requirement.
The chart below breaks down the results from the ten products, for easy comparison.
Unusual Results
For the first time in many years, we’re seeing a few products that produce Speedtest results that are better when the VPN is running than when the VPN is off. You might think that these would be our top picks, but they’re uniformly not.
Let’s give them some credit first. Avast Secureline performed 6% better than the baseline result for download speeds. Surfshark VPN and HMA VPN beat the baseline for latency, by 3.06% and 0.24%, respectively.
However, there are some important nuances to these results. We found that Avast Secureline VPN had a median download baseline of 816.38Mbps and a 865.49Mbps median download with the VPN active. That’s significant and persisted despite our rerunning these tests to confirm the results. But it’s not indicative of Avast Secureline’s overall performance. That product increased latency by a whopping 2,774.9% (3.75ms median baseline latency versus 107.91ms median VPN latency).
For Surfshark VPN and HMA VPN, the improvements become minute when you look at the actual numbers. The former had a median baseline latency of 4.05ms and a VPN median latency of 3.92ms. HMA was even closer: a median baseline latency of 4.66ms against a median VPN latency of 4.65ms.
We don’t think it’s fair to expect these products to actually notch network speed improvements. We do think it’s fair to say that in some categories, these three should have minimal impact on your surfing performance. If anything, the results seem indicative of improving VPN technology and infrastructure. At this point, we might sometimes be measuring the size of the pipe rather than performance.
Recommended by Our Editors
Cheating and Data Compression
Because we report how we test VPNs and because we use one of the most popular speed test tools available, there’s some obvious concern that a disreputable company might attempt to game the results. A nefarious VPN company could, perhaps, detect when an Ookla test is running and return bogus results.
We spoke with the engineers at Ookla when designing our tests, and they share our concerns about gaming their tests. They’ve told us that the company takes active measures to fool would-be cheaters. We defer to the experts at Ookla to prevent companies from juicing the results.
Because we make our methodologies public, it is also possible that VPN companies could tweak their networks to obtain better results. For example, a VPN company could endeavor to rent server space as close to our offices as possible, hoping that the shorter distances will yield better speed test results. There’s little we could do to prevent a company from doing this. That said, speed testing is only a small part of our reviews, and even an outstanding speed test result wouldn’t do much to raise the score of an otherwise mediocre product.
It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure Online
Speed Up Your VPN
There are a few ways you can offset the speed-reducing effects of using a VPN. First, choosing a service with many servers may (and we really want to emphasize may here) make it more likely to find one that isn’t crowded with other people all trying to use the same bandwidth. Some VPN services let you select specific servers and show you the current load on those servers.
Having many servers to choose from in different locations means you’re more likely to find one that’s physically close to you, shortening the distance your data must travel. This usually translates to lower latency and perhaps better overall performance. A few VPN clients include a ping test to help you zero in on the closest option, but it’s unusual for a VPN client to do anything other than automatically select the closest server.
A word of caution: A VPN with more servers is not necessarily better. Consider that a VPN service likely needs more servers to support more subscribers, and we don’t know how those servers are allocated among those subscribers. This means that the size of a server fleet may simply reflect a company’s popularity and not the quality of its service.
Split-tunneling is the generic term for when a VPN lets you define which apps send data through the VPN tunnel and which send data outside the tunnel. This lets you separate more sensitive activities, like web browsing or online banking, from more mundane but higher-bandwidth activities, like streaming music or playing video games. This is especially useful because Netflix blocks VPN use, as do other services. You can simply route these apps outside the VPN to avoid this problem.
Note that some VPN companies offer free versions that limit the number of servers available. We’d expect those servers available to free users to be crowded and therefore offer slower speeds. ProtonVPN, for example, limits the number of servers available to free users but notably does not limit the amount of data a free subscriber can use.
Also important is the protocol the VPN service uses. OpenVPN and IKEv2 have long been the standard for the latest and greatest in VPN technology, but that is changing. More companies have begun deploying WireGuard, a new open-source protocol designed for greater security, easier deployment, and higher speeds. With more and more VPN companies rolling out WireGuard to customers, we’ll be looking to see if it can really deliver on its promised speed.
Is the Fastest VPN Always the Best?
Simply put, speed shouldn’t be your only consideration when you’re shopping for a VPN. For one thing, your internet experience will almost certainly be faster without a VPN (our unusual outliers notwithstanding). For another, speeds depend so much on which server you use, where you are, what your network environment is like when you’re using the VPN, and so on. You might find that the service that’s as fast as lightning today is barely chugging along tomorrow.
Instead of speed, our VPN reviews stress value and trust. We prefer VPN services with a good geographic distribution of servers. VPNs that are easy to set up and use for first timers and include a well-made local client go a long way toward getting PCMag’s endorsement. We also pay close attention to the efforts each VPN takes to protect its customers and their data. And, of course, price is a major issue. The average price among VPNs we’ve tested is around $10 per month. If a VPN is charging more, it had better offer something compelling.
It’s important to remember that while VPNs are an easy way to improve your privacy, they do not protect against every ill. We highly recommend that readers install a standalone tracker blocker such as the EFF’s Privacy Badger(Opens in a new window) and that readers make use of the advanced privacy tools available in most browsers, particularly Firefox. We encourage readers to use a password manager to create unique and complex passwords for every login, install antivirus software, and enable multi-factor authentication wherever it is available.
Speed will always matter to some extent. Just remember that there are many other factors to consider when selecting a VPN service.
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