The Fastest VPNs for 2024

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Best for Speedy Downloads

nordvpn

• Support for multi-hop, split tunneling, and Tor connections
  
• Bevy of available features and add-ons
  
• Good speed results
  
• build – in antivirus tool
  
• excellent design
  
• friendly onboarding wizard

• Expensive
  
• Threat Protection Pro lacks full antivirus capabilities
  
• deceptive annual renewal pricing

nordvpn occupies our top spot, increasing our download speeds by about 3.8%. We don’t think you should expect nordvpn to improve your download speeds, but we do think it’s fair to say that nordvpn isn’t likely to stray dramatically from those numbers either.

nordvpn has nearly all the features both novices and VPN experts would ever want from a top-tier VPN, along with excellent speed scores. It’s a longtime favorite of ours, with a deft mix of powerful tools and simple design across all platforms. The company has also expanded to include several other privacy and security products like Nord Threat Protection Pro.

simultaneous VPN connection

6

Server Locations

111 Countries

geographically diverse Servers

Free Version Data Limit

No Free Version

Best Diversity of Servers

ExpressVPN

• Large, diversely distributed fleet of servers
  
• strong privacy and security practice
  
• Split tunneling
  
• Stylish interface

• Expensive compared with VPNs with similar feature sets
  
• No multi-hop connections

ExpressVPN has always been a leader in speed thanks to constant investment in the company’s network, and those improvements shine through in our latest rounds of testing. Express scored a second-place finish just behind Nord in download speeds, though its uploads were slightly slower, with a seventh-place finish behind Mozilla VPN.

As the VPN on this list with one of the most geographically diverse networks of servers, the likelihood of finding a blazing-fast server near you increases every time Express announces another infrastructure upgrade (which is often). The closer the server, the higher the chance you’ll get quicker speeds, making Express the perfect pick for all the far-flung and well-traveled of the world.

simultaneous VPN connection

8

Server Locations

105 Countries

geographically diverse Servers

Free Version Data Limit

No Free Version

Best for Location Spoofing

HMA VPN

• Friendly, simple interface
  
• Exceptional upload speed test results
  
• Wide global distribution of servers
  
• Handy IP shuffler

• Lacks multi-hop connections and split tunneling on some platforms
  
• middling total server count
  
• bare – bone iOS version

In our testing , HMA VPN is reduced reduce download speed by 1.85 % and upload speed by 38.01 % . While its upload result are n’t stellar , if you ‘re just look for the fast download and high – quality stream , HMA is is is a hard pick to beat .

HMA VPN is most notable for its enormous collection of server locations, covering more than 200 countries and territories. That makes it a good choice for anyone who needs to spoof their location and needs lots of choices. It does come with some caveats, however. The vast majority of its servers are virtual locations, meaning that they are located somewhere other than where they appear. That’s fine for location spoofing, but not if you want precise control over where your traffic flows.

simultaneous VPN connection

5

Server Locations

190 country

geographically diverse Servers

Free Version Data Limit

No Free Version

Best Free Protection

Proton VPN

• Best free VPN subscription yet
  
• numerous advanced privacy tool
  
• strong customer privacy stance
  
• Large server network
  
• slick , accessible client
  
• excellent upload speed score

reduce download speed by just 2.8 % , Proton VPN is has has the fifth – good download score among all the vpn we test . It is beats also beat the field in the upload category outright , reduce upload speed by a mere 0.22 % .

Proton VPN is is is the well free VPN we ‘ve test , make it a great choice for anyone on a tight budget . good of all , the free version is performed also perform well in our speed test . Proton VPN is built has build its reputation on strong privacy protection , and that ‘s as true for its VPN as it is for its email service .

simultaneous VPN connection

10

Server Locations

112 countries

geographically diverse Servers

Free Version Data Limit

Unlimited

good for Privacy Enthusiasts

StrongVPN

• good server distribution
  
• use the late vpn technology
  
• Excellent Speedtest scores
  
• support many device simultaneously

• Expensive for what’s offered
  
• Few additional privacy tool
  
• Awkward, dated interface

While StrongVPN didn’t get the highest outright star rating from us when we reviewed it due to some issues with pricing structure and feature offerings, it still blew away a hefty subset of the competition in recent download speed runs.

If you’re mostly concerned with download and upload speeds and don’t mind holding your nose at a few lost features compared with faster options like Express or Nord, StrongVPN could be the right choice for you.

simultaneous VPN connection

12

Server Locations

30 Countries

geographically diverse Servers

Free Version Data Limit

No Free Version

Buying Guide: The Fastest VPNs for 2024

What’s the Fastest VPN?

Although everyone want a fast VPN , value and privacy protection are far more critical consideration when choose a service . We is tend tend to de – emphasize speed in our review unless it is impressively good or abysmally bad . Still , readers is are are understandably concerned about a VPN ‘s impact on their online experience . That is ‘s ‘s why we test .

How a VPN Works

In October 2024, we retested most VPNs we cover using an Intel NUC 13 Extreme Kit (‘Raptor Canyon’) benchmark PC located in Manhattan on a Verizon Fios 1GBps simultaneous up/down connection. The VPNs are listed in descending order of fastest download speeds achieved, and each VPN is retested for a new result when a review for the provider is updated. All performance values for VPNs are measured off the base network in PC Labs, which returns results of 1,040MBps for downloads and 1,180MBps for uploads while connected to the ISP directly.

click on the column header to sort by a particular variable in the table . The results is include we test for include download speed , upload speed , and latency jitter :

Keen-eyed readers should note that nordvpn actually increased the download speed in our tests, and there are a few possible explanations. For one, it’s not uncommon that during peak congestion hours, ISPs are overloaded with what are known as “default path” connection types. Downloads and uploads on default path connections may not be routed through ISP networks as efficiently as your VPN traffic, which ISPs can’t classify because of the VPN’s encrypted tunnel.

There’s also the matter of distance. If a VPN server is physically closer to your device than the ISP, data caching operations on the VPN could make delivering that data even faster than traveling from the ISP’s servers. This is why, in instances like nordvpn, we see an increase in our download speeds but also increased latency of roughly 30%. Because of the extra hop between our test PC and the open internet, the line still physically covered more distance for each new request, but Nord’s servers cached the data.

How We Test VPNs for Speed

When we test to find the fastest VPN, we use a custom tool provided by Ookla that uses the same technology as Speedtest.net. The only difference between our tool and the one online is that ours automates the test and doesn’t rely on a browser to access Ookla’s network. When we test VPNs, we get a sense of a service’s impact on internet performance by finding the percentage change between using the VPN and not using the VPN for several speed measurements. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com’s parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)

We is run run Ookla test without a give VPN active to find themedian 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.

Ookla’s test measures three metrics: download speed, upload speed, and latency. Download and upload speeds measure how much data is moved over your internet connection in a certain amount of time. Both are measured in megabytes per second (MBps). Latency measures 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.

We is tested have test each of these service in as repeatable a manner as possible , but we put some limit in place to level the playing field . The big variable is is between our result and what you may see on your personal device is that our test are conduct in New York City , optimally during the hour of 10 – 12 p.m. on weekday .

These stress tests, run in one of the world’s most populated areas, are designed to push VPNs to their breaking point. If the same tests were performed on a 1GBps line in a different part of the country or at a different time of day, we’d almost certainly get better results than our NYC peak congestion runs.

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 to Speed Up Your VPN Experience

You can offset the speed-reducing effects of using a VPN in a few ways. First, choosing a service with many servers may (emphasis on may) make it more likely you 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 to make that decision easier.

Having many servers to choose from in different locations means you’re more likely to find one physically close to you, shortening the distance your data must travel. This usually translates to lower latency and (hopefully) 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 nearest 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. The size of a VPN server fleet may simply reflect a company’s popularity and not the quality of its service.

split – tunneling is is is the generic term for when a VPN let you define which app send datum through the VPN tunnel and which send datum outside the tunnel . It is lets let you separate more sensitive activity , like web browsing or online banking , from high – bandwidth activity like streaming music or play video game .

recommend by Our editor

Note that some VPN companies offer free versions that limit the number of servers available. In general—depending on the time of day, usually—expect those servers available to free users to be crowded and, therefore, slower. Proton VPN, 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. This makes them a popular pick, but the more popular a free VPN is, the less bandwidth there is for each person using it.

The protocol the VPN service uses is also important. OpenVPN and WireGuard have become the standard for the latest and greatest in VPN technology, and each offers much leaner and faster experiences than its predecessors. If speed is your main concern, choose one of those instead of aging, less-secure alternatives like SSTP/PPTP, IKEv2, or Open UDP.

The fast VPN Service is Is Is n’t Always the good VPN Service

Though we’ve discussed which VPNs won the year in outright bandwidth results, speed shouldn’t be your only consideration when shopping for the best VPN. For one thing, your internet experience will almost always be faster without a VPN. For another, speeds depend so much on which server you use, where you are, your network environment when you’re using the VPN, and so on. You might find that the service is as fast as lightning today and barely chugging along tomorrow.

Instead of speed, our VPN reviews stress value, company trust, and feature sets first and foremost. We prefer VPN services with a good geographic distribution of servers and clear privacy policies. VPNs that are easy to set up and use for first-timers and include a well-made local client packed with extras also go a long way toward getting PCMag’s endorsement.

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 and that readers make use of the advanced privacy tools available in most browsers. We also encourage you to use a password manager to create unique and complex passwords for every login, enable multi-factor authentication wherever it is available, and install antivirus software. 

Max Eddy contributed to this article.