Security is the most important factor to judge a VPN
by, but speed is close behind. When ranking the best VPNs
, I consider speed to be a security asset for one simple reason: nobody wants to use an app that makes their internet slow. The more a VPN drags down your browsing speeds, the more often you'll decide not to use it in situations that might be dangerous.
Despite what you'll see in their ads, a VPN almost never makes your internet faster. Your internet service provider (ISP) gives you the speed you pay for, and the VPN can't change that. On the contrary, since a VPN adds extra steps into the process of getting online, using one always slows you down at least a little. When I talk about the fastest VPNs, what I really mean is the VPNs that slow your internet down the least.
In my continuing quest to help you find a VPN you'll be happy with, I've organized a list of my favorites according to how well they performed in my speed tests
. These aren't the only four VPNs with usable speeds by a long shot — but they are the only four fast enough that the speed itself is something to write home about. I've found that the average VPN cuts download speeds by about a quarter; these four keep speed losses between 5 and 13 percent.
The fastest VPNs in 2026
Surfshark
Platforms:Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Apple TV, Fire TV, routers | Average download speed drop:5.4 percent | Server locations:141 in 100 countries | Notable features:Dynamic MultiHop, Everlink, IP rotator, unlimited simultaneous connections, CleanWeb, NoBorders mode | Best price:$53.73 for 28 months
Read our full Surfshark review
Surfshark is the fastest VPN in just about every location, and definitely the fastest on average. Across my six testing spots, it dropped my download speeds by a mean 5.4 percent. I use a standard Wi-Fi setup for testing, with a speed that generally hovers around 60 Mbps. With Surfshark, it never dropped below 50.
Surfshark is not only fast, it's fast everywhere in the world. Its worst performance was in Johannesburg, which I tested because lots of VPNs seem to have trouble working in Africa. There are clearly some routing difficulties plaguing the entire continent, but Surfshark hasn't let that get them down — its South Africa server only lowered my speeds by 11 percent.
This dominant performance is likely due to Surfshark's Nexus project, which links its VPN servers much more closely than a traditional network does. Thanks to Nexus, requests sent through Surfshark servers have a lot more options for efficient routes. This also grants it the nifty ability to change your assumed IP address regularly while you're using it.
- Very fast speeds
- Split tunneling on all apps
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- Single-month pricing is excessive
- Lots of popups on desktop
- NoBorders Mode useful but can turn on needlessly
NordVPN
Platforms:Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, AndroidTV, tvOS routers | Average download speed drop:6.4 percent | Server locations:153 in 117 countries | Notable features:Double VPN, Onion over VPN, obfuscated servers, P2P servers, Threat Protection, Dark Web Monitor | Best price:$83.43 for 27 months
Read our full NordVPN review
NordVPN is a close runner up to Surfshark in my speed tests. It actually puts up slightly better latencies, indicating that it might do a better job of balancing loads between servers. There's a lot of noise in ping tests, though, so I put a little more weight on download and upload speeds.
Here's what I can tell for sure: although a tad slower than Surfshark, NordVPN's speed test results are incredible. Its average drop of 6.4 percent hides some excellent results — I only lost 3.9 percent connecting from the west coast to New York, 5.5 percent connecting to Stockholm and 5.1 percent going all the way to Hong Kong. As long as your unprotected speed gives you at least 30 Mbps, NordVPN is quick enough to stream high-quality video from anywhere.
- Excellent download speeds
- Useful exclusive features
- Extensive server network
- Clunky interface choices
- Collects device info by default
ExpressVPN
Platforms:Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Android TV, Apple TV, Firestick, routers | Average download speed drop:6.9 percent | Server locations:164 in 105 countries | Notable features:Threat Manager tracker and malware blocker, Ad blocker, Parental controls, Aircove router | Best price:$139.72 for 28 months
Read our full ExpressVPN review
ExpressVPN is a high-quality VPN service that I'm especially keen to recommend to beginners, given how well it strips out all the crap and focuses on the fundamentals. That includes a dedication to good infrastructure, reflected in an average global speed drop of just under seven percent.
Digging into the details, ExpressVPN nearly matches Surfshark and NordVPN by keeping its servers efficient everywhere in the world. Its worst showing was in Singapore, where it lost only 10.2 percent of my starting download speeds. Even its latencies are good, with a global average of less than 300 milliseconds. It's even sharing some steep discounts lately, removing my typical objection that it's overpriced.
- Fast download and upload speeds
- Unblocks Netflix everywhere
- Easy-to-use apps
- Few extra features
- Some plans are expensive
Proton VPN
Platforms:Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Chrome, Firefox, Android TV, Apple TV, Firestick, routers | Average download speed drop:12.5 percent | Server locations:154 in 62 countries | Notable features:NetShield ad blocker, Secure Core servers, Tor over VPN | Best price:$107.76 for 24 months
Read our full Proton VPN review
Proton VPN is a great VPN overall, with a mission to protect user privacy that it's repeatedly backed up with real action. It offers forgiving apps on a wide range of operating systems, plenty of features that innovate without bamboozling the non-technical, good customer service and cheap pricing overall.
In short, Proton VPN has enough going for it that I picked it as the best VPN even though it's not quite as fast as the other three providers on this list. It claims to speed up connections through a "VPN Accelerator" that processes traffic in parallel. It's apparently working pretty well, keeping Proton VPN's average speed drop to 12.5 percent — more than enough that you won't notice it on most connections.
- Very fast with no data caps
- Free kill switch and obfuscation
- Eight free servers
- Can't choose server on free plan
- Best features are paywalled
The elements of VPN speed
In case you haven't read any of my VPN reviews (I've linked the relevant ones here), here's a refresher on my usual speed testing procedure. I choose six physical server locations: the one closest to me, one on the other side of North America and one each in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. I test each one several times until I'm confident I have a representative average, then I see how speeds decrease and latencies increase with the distance.
I expect latency to increase with distance, since that measures how fast one data packet can travel between servers. However, download and upload speeds shouldn't depend as much on distance, since they mainly measure a connection's capacity to exchange data after it's already established. Even so, it's common for VPN servers to do worse on speed tests when they're farther away from your real location.
So what gives? If VPN servers on the other side of the world slow down your internet, it's likely because of inefficiencies in the process of routing your requests. A VPN may be able to choose a quick path from Portland to New York, but when faced with getting all the way to Singapore, it falters. It takes constant vigilance and upkeep to prevent worldwide speeds from declining, so a VPN that manages to stay fast is likely a product built and maintained with great care.
You can test your VPN's speed yourself by going to speedtest.net . Test your speed without connecting to the VPN, then connect to a server you regularly use and test your speed again. If you have a good service, the ping shouldn't do more than double, and download and upload speeds should decline by less than 10 percent.
