The Fastest VPNs of 2024, Speed Up Your Internet Instantly with These Top Choices

While VPN tools protect your privacy and security, it's not uncommon for them to compromise your internet speeds. This can be annoying when you're gaming, streaming, or torrenting. To help you make good use of this tool, this article highlights some good VPN services that will speed up your internet. Get to learn the pros and cons of each and what affects a VPN's speed.

The 10 Fastest VPN Services in 2023

This list reveals ten of the fastest VPN services in the market today. They have been tested using the fastest protocols to give you these results.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN has impressive speeds because of its Lightway protocol. When most VPN providers were using Wireguard to enhance their speeds, Express VPN chose to go above and beyond and created its own open-source protocol called Lightway. This led to increased speeds without compromising privacy and security.

Besides having important VPN features like kill switch and split tunneling, it also offers a Threat Manager that blocks malicious activities. Since it has VPN servers in about 100 countries, it's a great option for anyone who travels a lot and wants to maintain a lower latency by connecting to nearby servers.

This VPN provider is also simple to install and unblocks many Netflix locations and streaming sites like HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video, and Hulu.

In recent tests, ExpressVPN registered an average global connection speed of 176 Mbps, making it good enough for data-intensive activities like HD streaming, gaming, torrenting, and video conferencing.

NordVPN

NordVPN has certainly ensured being on the map thanks to its impressive connection speeds and marketing ploys range. With over 5600 servers in more than 59 countries, users can bypass region locks and internet censorship. Its proprietary protocol, NordLynx, has been built around WireGuard protocol, ensuring enhanced security and speeds.

Regarding average speed across the globe, NordVPN registered 196 Mbps. At such speeds, users can stream HD videos, games, torrents, and do other heavy-duty tasks that require high internet speeds.

Atlas VPN

Although a newcomer in the game, it has quickly become a favorite among users thanks to its affordability and impressive connective speeds. With that said, it has limited features, and its customer service could be better.

Atlas VPN is great for streaming as it can unlock most streaming sites, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and Hulu. Also, the great connection speeds give you a seamless streaming experience.

When it comes to global download speeds, Atlas VPN registered 252 Mbps, making it a fantastic option for streaming HD videos, file sharing, gaming, and torrenting.

Surfshark

Surfshark is one of the most affordable and best VPNs on the market. It offers a few tunneling protocols, like OpenVPN, UDP, WireGuard, and IKEv2. It has servers in about 100 countries and offers a great internet connection regardless of where you are.

It has great security features, one of which is that it doesn't keep logs of your online activities. Your downloads, browsing history, and any other activities remain private. Aside from security, it's great for streaming HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, and Netflix, and users get live chat support at all times.

With an average global download speed of 188 Mbps, this VPN is great for gaming, streaming HD videos, and torrenting.

ProtonVPN

Popular for its email service, ProtonMail, the company has expanded its offering to a VPN service. It uses security features like kill switch, DNS protecting measures, and split tunneling, giving users enhanced security and access to geo-blocked content.

With over 2970 servers in 68 countries, finding a server close to you makes it easier to prevent people from eavesdropping on your activities. You can also stream on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Disney + without any restrictions.

While ProtonVPN stands out by offering several layers of protection, it lacks features like a smart DNS connection, a dedicated IP address, and around-the-clock customer support, which other providers offer.

ProtonVPN's average global download speeds reached 320Mbps, making it great for torrenting, streaming, and gaming.

CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost is among the biggest VPN service providers. It gives you access to most geo-restricted services like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. This service provider has adopted WireGuard protocol, contributing to improved internet speeds.

Other features include a dedicated IP option, specialized servers, and a 45-day money-back guarantee. It also has DNS leak protection, reliable switch kill, and solid AES encryption. This makes it great for online privacy, whether using a private or public network. It also blocks trackers, ads, and malware, improving page load times and keeping you safe.

However, it's not all roses, as the iOS and macOS VPN apps have low speeds. Considering that CyberGhost has 9700 servers in 91 countries, it could be better.

CyberGhost registered average global download speeds of 296 Mbps, making it great for gaming, streaming, and torrenting.

VyprVPN

Vypr is another capable and safe VPN service provided on the market. With strong data encryption and stable connection speeds, users can safely torrent and access geo-restricted streaming sites like HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video.

One of the biggest selling features of VyprVPN is the dynamic server switching capabilities. If it detects you're connected to an overcrowded server which can lead to slower speeds, it automatically connects you to another server that's less crowded in the same region.

Its encryption meets several security standards, and the no-logs policy keeps your online activities private. It also comes with fast protocols like IKEv2 and Wireguard. With over 700 servers in more than 60 countries, you have many opportunities to hide your location.

This veteran VPN provider delivers average global download speeds of 215 Mbps, making it a good option for data-intensive tasks like streaming, gaming, and torrenting.

Mullvad VPN

Mullvad VPN is a great VPN service provider that doesn't get the attention it deserves. Its features include a zero logs policy, shadowsocks obfuscation, solid kill switch, DNS leak protection, and AES encryption, giving you enhanced online security and privacy.

The VPN allows torrenting thanks to its split tunneling feature. It also comes with ad blocking, MultiHop connections, and malware filtering, giving it more features than many VPNs covered in this article.

This VPN provider has about 667 servers across 43 countries, and they actually show you the server list, including where they own and have rented servers. That said, it isn't the best for unlocking different geo-restricted streaming sites.

As the company charges a monthly flat fee of €5, it's ideal for when you want to go on a vacation and need VPN services. However, when it comes to a long-term solution, it can be quite costly compared to other recommendations.

With an average global download speed of 666 Mbps, Mullvad is great for streaming 4k videos, gaming, and downloading large files.

IPVanish

IPVanish is a user-friendly VPN with many features to increase your online privacy and security. It uses WireGuard tunneling protocol which combines security and speed, giving users an enhanced experience. One of the key features of IPVanish VPN is that it can be installed on a Wi-Fi network or router so that all devices using that network are protected.

This VPN service has about 2200 servers across 75 locations, so you can use it in various parts of the world.

It's available on Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS with features like AES encryption, solid kill switch, DNS leak protection, and XOR obfuscation. Unfortunately, it lacks malware filtering, ad blocking, and tracker blocking.

Another downside is that it's not exactly the best for streaming geo-restricted international streaming services. Fortunately, their 30-day money-back guarantee allows you to test it and see if it's a VPN for you.

With average download speeds of 268 Mbps, this VPN is great for gaming and torrenting, video conferencing, and streaming in 4K and HD.

PrivateVPN Review

Private VPN is quite underrated because it's a small company and not quite as famous. Still, it competes well with companies like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. This use-friendly VPN tool offers apps for Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS, plus software for Linux.

Private VPN's security feature includes stealth VPN, kill switch, IPv6, and DNS leak protection. Unfortunately, it lacks split tunneling, meaning you can't enable certain websites or apps to bypass the VPN's protection. Also, the kill switch feature isn't available to MacOS users.

Although this tool lets you unblock geo-restricted streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and Peacock, you may have challenges with Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer. It also has fewer servers, 200 of them across 63 countries.

As the company is located in Sweden, this isn't a great location for privacy as the country belongs to the 14-Eyes surveillance alliance. And with Sweden's data retention laws, ISPs can store user logs for up to two years. The company claims it doesn't keep logs. Still, in their terms and conditions, they state that personal data isn't stored longer than necessary, which might mean some data is stored even for a short period.

The global average download speeds are not as high as the other VPN services, as this one registered 77 Mbps for streaming and torrenting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any fast VPN services for free?

There are fast VPN services for free, but they aren't as fast as their premium counterparts. So, which VPNs increase internet speed? Premium VPNs are likely to boost your internet speeds.

Do VPNs affect internet speed? How?

VPNs affect your internet speeds by routing traffic through a VPN server. While this protects your online activities, it reduces your speed. So, how much speed loss is normal when using a VPN? Speed loss of 10 to 20% is considered normal since VPNs prioritize privacy and security over speed.

Can VPNs increase internet speed? How?

VPNs can't increase your internet speed beyond the bandwidth available to you unless your ISP has set a kind of block that limits your speed. In such cases, it can bypass the throttle, giving you good internet speeds.

How can you increase your VPN speed?

You can speed up your virtual private network by connecting to the nearest VPN server. The further away you're from a server, the slower your connection will be because there's a lot of latency. Also, ensure you're using the latest version of whichever VPN tool you have.

What causes slow VPN connections?

Many things can cause slow VPN connections, but it mostly happens when many people use one server. This issue is common among free VPNs or those with few servers that can't accommodate many users. Using premium VPNs can prevent slow VPN connections.

Will these VPNs throttle my speed or bandwidth?

VPNs won't throttle your speed or bandwidth. They might actually prevent throttling if your ISP limits your speed by filtering your activities. Your ISP won't tell which activities you're doing, allowing you to browse freely.

Why is my internet faster with a VPN?

Technically, your internet speed isn't faster with VPN. But can you use a VPN to boost internet speed? Certainly. In cases where your ISP provider is throttling your bandwidth, using a VPN will increase your internet speeds.

What is the minimum internet speed for VPN?

The minimum speed for VPN will depend on the online activities you plan to do. For simple tasks like sending emails and web browsing, 5 to 10 Mbps will do. For advanced tasks like gaming, streaming, and video conferencing, the minimum speed is about 20 Mbps. And if you're downloading or uploading large files, over 50 Mbps will suffice.

How can you see if your VPN is slowing down your internet speed?

To find out if your VPN is slowing down your internet speed, you'll need to turn it off and then run an internet speed test. Once you're done, turn it on and rerun the test. If the upload and download speeds are lower with the VPN off, then it's slowing down your internet speed.

Final Thoughts

The VPN services we have mentioned can help speed up your internet connections. However, keep in mind that VPNs can also lead to internet speed loss, but this loss is hardly noticeable when using solid VPN services.

Although there are free VPN services that claim to be fast, they're often congested, which can significantly slow down your speed. We recommend using premium VPNs that will speed up your internet connections while keeping your connections private and secure. Speed Up Your Internet Instantly with these Fastest VPNs of 2023!

The responses below are not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any financial entity or advertiser. It is not the advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.