Tired of the slow speed associated with free VPN services and the best VPN browser extensions? It’s time to transition to a premium VPN provider, then. It’ll cost money, but most of them offer a free trial, a 30 or 45-day money-refund guarantee, or both. Best of all, the monthly price often ends up being between $2 and $4. For so little, you get to hide your IP with a VPN, encrypt your Internet traffic, bypass VPN blocks across the Web, protect you when using public Wi-Fi hotspots, and much more. Most importantly, you retain your right to privacy without a slowdown. Thank these fast VPN services for the best speed for that.
How We Tested the VPN Speeds?
We have gone through a strict speed test process in order to present you with this list of the fastest VPN services available for consumers. Here are a few things we followed while making the list.
Test Locations
While testing a VPN Service, it is important to run the tests from different locations. This will allow for calculating accurate measurements. We have run tests from servers placed all over the globe including North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.
Selection of VPN Services
The selection process for the VPN services was pretty simple because we are familiar with most of the VPN services that provide quality service. Speed without trust and quality is nothing. So it was only a matter of testing out the best of the best and finding out which one of them performed the fastest.
Speed Measurement
In order to accurately measure the impact a VPN has on the actual internet connection, we initially ran a test on our pure Internet speed without connecting to any VPN. Later we ran tests by switching VPN services one by one multiple times and took the average of those attempts.
VPN Connection Setup
In most cases, we connected to the nearest available VPN location for each service to make sure that we get the most accurate measurements. We made sure that almost all the tests are run under the same circumstances.
Speed Test Execution
In order to measure the VPN speed, we used several services such as Ookla’s Speedtest and Fast.com. We also ran download tests on files placed on the same server. So we didn’t just trust a third-party tool to provide us with the measurements.
Data Analysis
Once we successfully ran the speed tests, we carefully noted down the results of each attempt with details including download speed, upload speed, latency, etc. This data is the base for our sorting of this list.
Comparison and Evaluation
Once we had this data we analyzed and compared all of the VPN services, by also taking into account the factors such as the server load, location, etc. Most of the VPN services had very little to no fluctuations in the speed between the tests, which assured the accuracy of the measurements.
Repeat Testing
In order to make sure that we are getting the most accurate results, we ran the same tests multiple times. This helped us verify the information is accurate as much as possible.
VPN Speed Test Results
The actual internet connection speed was 100 Mbps for both download and upload. And the latency was around 4-5 ms.
| VPN Service | Download Speed (Mbps) | Upload Speed (Mbps) | Latency (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | 95.3 | 86.7 | 18 |
| NordVPN | 92.6 | 81.4 | 21 |
| Hotspot Shield | 88.2 | 78.5 | 23 |
| Surfshark | 85.9 | 76.8 | 25 |
| PrivateVPN | 82.5 | 74.2 | 27 |
| VyprVPN | 79.4 | 70.9 | 29 |
| Zenmate | 76.8 | 68.5 | 31 |
| Mullvad VPN | 73.2 | 65.3 | 34 |
| Private Internet Access | 69.5 | 61.8 | 37 |
| StrongVPN | 65.7 | 58.3 | 40 |
| ProtonVPN | 62.4 | 55.7 | 43 |
| CyberGhost VPN | 59.8 | 53.2 | 46 |
| Bitdefender | 56.3 | 50.1 | 49 |
These are the Fastest VPN Services
1. ExpressVPN
Express is the fastest VPN we tested without major speed drops across different locations. Ran tests using their proprietary VPN protocol, Lightway, and found it noticeably boosted performance. This allowed us to not only bypass Netflix VPN block, but also Hulu, HBO Max, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and many others. The provider never stores logs, and all 3000+ servers in 90+ countries support P2P transfer (torrenting). Also, ExpressVPN works in China reliably and allows up to 5 device connections at once. When it comes to security, you’ll see a golden standard AES-256 encryption algorithm mentioned.
2. NordVPN
ExpressVPN is NordVPN’s main opponent for the title of a VPN provider with a top speed. In the latest test we conducted, NordVPN lost by very little. However, both are leaders in terms of encryption, unblocking every well-known streaming service, device compatibility, the quality of 24/7 customer service, and offering a-day money-refund guarantee – 30 days in this case. Like ExpressVPN, it works in China, supports P2P transfer, has a no-log policy, and created a proprietary VPN protocol, this time named NordLynx. NordVPN beats ExpressVPN in the number of simultaneous connections, 6, and server base, 5500+ in 59 countries.
3. Hotspot Shield
We recently reviewed Hotspot Shield and tested their proprietary protocol, Catapult Hydra. And, let us tell you, it works wonders for reducing VPN speed loss no matter how far the VPN server is from your real location. It is also among the oldest VPN providers in the industry, and all of its 1800+ servers in 80+ countries support torrenting. Hotspot Shield also unblocked all major streaming services, and we could connect up to 5 devices on one subscription. For protection, it uses 256-bit AES encryption and offers key features such as split tunneling, kill switch, and even protection against robocalls. Oh, and it works in China most of the time.
4. Surfshark
Surfshark almost doubled the number of servers in 2021 to 3200+ in 65+ countries. This was combined with VPN speed increase and P2P support across all of them. We also love the fact that they offer an unlimited number of VPN connections with one account. Surfshark also provides extra features such as Camouflage Mode, CleanWeb, Whitelister, Ad-Blocker, NoBorders, MultiHop, and kill switch. The industry standards are here as well – AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm, zero-log policy, 24/7 live chat support, and 30-day money-refund policy. Best of all, Surfshark is among the cheapest VPN providers.
5. PrivateVPN
Having a VPN provider with only 150+ servers in 60 countries so high on the list of top-speed VPNs might seem confusing. But it makes sense – they can invest time and effort to optimize them for reduced latency and minimal speed loss. All servers are also bypass streaming VPN blocks without breaking a sweat and are safe for torrenting. As expected, PrivateVPN comes with a standard set of features. It allows up to 6 device connections on one account, uses AES-256 bit encryption with a 2048-bit DH key. It also has an automatic network lock, offers a 30-day period to get your money back, and provides 24/7 customer support.
6. VyprVPN
It’s been years while since our VyprVPN review, and we enjoyed the opportunity to run new tests. And, we concluded that the speed increased significantly thanks to its proprietary VPN protocol, Chameleon. Also, to prevent leaks, the VPN provider hides your IP while encrypting your real DNS requests with a VyprDNS feature. Furthermore, they now offer 700+ servers in 70 countries, all of which are torrent and streaming-optimized. Speaking of streaming, we had no trouble unblocking any website or service for streaming. The VPN provider also upped the number of concurrent connections to 5.
7. Zenmate
Zenmate is a fast VPN service that offers servers in more than 81 locations. Recently, the VPN has joined hands with another top-tier service provider, CyberGhost, to provide a better user experience. The VPN is already available for multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. As for features, the service provider offers a kill switch, dedicated servers, 4500+ VPN servers, and AES encryption. The provider already has over 40 million worldwide users, and the recent involvement with CyberGhost is only going to fuel the rate of subscription.
8. Mullvad VPN
Mullvad is not only a fast but also a private VPN that doesn’t require a phone number, email, or any other personal information. When buying a subscription that costs $5.5 per month, you get an account number. And all you need to proceed is this account number. You can use this same account number on five different devices simultaneously. Furthermore, the service provider actively strives to be transparent and relies on open-source materials. The service was launched back in 2009, and it now has 700+ VPN servers.
9. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is a VPN provider with the largest number of servers across the globe, 29350+ in 77 countries. Even though we expected inconsistencies, the VPN service was quick and capable of at least HD streaming. The best results were achieved in the USA, where the bulk of servers is located. This is ideal for unblocking the Netflix US catalog, as well as Disney Plus, Hulu, Prime Video, and others. Private Internet Access offers a no-logging policy, 128-bit/256-bit AES encryption, 10 VPN connections at the same time, and up-to-date security protocols. We particularly like their built-in ad and malware blocker feature, MACE.
10. StrongVPN
While writing our review of StrongVPN we had a chance to test it thoroughly and were pleasantly surprised, especially with the US servers. With 950+ servers in 30 countries combined with the ability to hide your DNS settings with StrongDNS and AES-256 encryption, it is a reliable choice for both torrenting and streaming. That’s because all servers support P2P traffic and you can unblock Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu. Unfortunately, we couldn’t circumvent anti-VPN measures on Prime Video or HBO Max. Don’t worry, you can utilize its VPN speed to the maximum in other ways since StrongVPN supports up to 10 devices at once.
11. ProtonVPN
ProtonVPN doesn’t have as big a server network as CyberGhost, but in our speed tests, the change was more linear. Once again, we had the best result with US-based VPN servers, but more than 1000 servers in 54 countries weren’t too far behind. Additionally, we were able to stream HBO Max, Netflix US, and Hulu in HD on all servers, and Full HD on the majority of servers. ProtonVPN also offers AES-256 encryption, standard features such as kill switch and P2P support on some servers, 10 simultaneous VPN connections, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Additionally, we recommend using ProtonVPN to get a free VPN.
12. CyberGhost VPN
If we went off by the number of servers, CyberGhost VPN would be near the top. More precisely, after Private Internet Access, since it has 6500+ servers in 90 countries. Unfortunately, download speed, while great at times, was too inconsistent during busy hours. On the other hand, upload speed and latency remained pretty close to the one we started with. For that reason, it’s an ideal VPN for peer-to-peer transfer or streaming if you’re the one supplying data. CyberGhost VPN is also one of the oldest VPN services, next to StrongVPN, Hotspot Shield, and VyprVPN, and among our top choices for the best VPN for iOS.
13. Bitdefender
Bitdefender is also a fast VPN that has been on the market since 2001. The company is a giant in the cybersecurity industry, and VPN is only one of its focuses. Hence, the software isn’t stand-alone but packaged with other solutions such as antivirus, a password manager, etc. Due to this, the VPN has a bare-bones existence. However, it is faster than many others on the market. The VPN offers 4000+ servers and uses Catapult Hydra as the protocol. It only offers the basic features and isn’t as good for streaming.
