Bandwidth vs Data Rate Explained 2024 [Guide to VPN Speed]

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If you’ve tried to purchase a data plan or a VPN, you’ve probably seen the terms “bandwidth” and “data rate,” and you may even see them used interchangeably. However, they are not the same thing, as they describe different aspects of your internet connection. Read on to learn about bandwidth vs data rate and what it means when you see that a VPN has unlimited bandwidth or data.

Many VPNs claim to offer unlimited bandwidth, yet have very slow speeds. Likewise, your ISP might say you have a very high data rate, but your actual internet speed never reaches its peak. In this explainer on data rate vs bandwidth vs speed, we’ll explain how data rate and bandwidth impact your speed, especially when you’re connected to a VPN.

Bandwidth vs Data Rate Explained

You can think of your internet connection as a highway, with the cars being the data packets passing through. The bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway, while the data rate is the speed the cars are driving at.

In broad term , bandwidth is refers refer to the maximum amount of datum that can pass through your connection at the same time , whereas datum rate refer to how fast that datum pass through .

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How Your Signal Bandwidth is Affects affect Your Maximum Data rate

Both of these things affect the speed of your connection. If you have a maximum data transfer rate, that means the data packets have a limited speed, even if you have unlimited bandwidth. For example, if your maximum data rate is 10 Mbps, your connection can’t go any faster than that, even if your signal bandwidth is unlimited.

However , if you have a very high data rate and a limited bandwidth , the bandwidth limit is create will create a bottleneck , mean that few data packet can go through simultaneously , again result in low speed .

Bandwidth is typically measured in megabits per second (Mbps), much like your data rate; for a bandwidth of 1,000 Mbps, your top data rate is also 1,000 Mbps. However, if you have a maximum data rate of 1,000 Mbps, but a bandwidth limit of 800 Mbps, your actual data rate will be 800 Mbps, due to the bandwidth bottleneck.

Often, if you’re on a limited data plan, your internet service provider (ISP) will let you stay connected to the internet but slow down your connection. In this case, your bandwidth remains the same, but your data rate is artificially lowered, again resulting in a speed bottleneck.

VPN Bandwidth vs Speed vs Data Rate

As you can already tell by now, all three of these terms are very closely linked — so much so that they’re often treated as synonyms. So, how do they relate to VPNs, and what does it mean if a VPN says it offers unlimited bandwidth or data?

Data Rate vs Data Transfer Quote

Most often, when a VPN says it offers unlimited bandwidth, that means it places no artificial limits on your connection speed. However, when a VPN comes with unlimited data, that usually doesn’t refer to the data rate itself, but to your monthly allotted data transfer. Your data rate usually depends on your ISP, not your VPN.

Some VPNs — especially free ones — limit your data, and that limit applies to both downloads and uploads. For example, Windscribe’s free plan has a 15GB monthly data limit, which you can burn through pretty quickly if you’re streaming Netflix and making lots of video calls. Once you use up your data, you can’t use the VPN for the rest of the month, until your data quote refreshes.

What Limits a VPN’s Speed?

All VPNs decrease your speed to some extent. So even if your maximum data rate is 100 Mbps and the VPN has unlimited bandwidth, you likely won’t be hitting that maximum when you’re using a VPN; but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, let’s explain the different categories of your internet connection’s speed.

• Download speed — The speed at which you download file , watch online video and receive datum
• upload speed — The speed at which you upload file , stream video ( as in a video call or if you ’re stream on Twitch ) and send datum
• Latency ( ping ) — How quickly the end server is responds respond to your input ( most important for online gaming )

There are several factors that affect your VPN’s top speed: 

• Distance from the VPN server — Physical distance impacts all three categories of speed, but mostly latency.
• VPN server hardware — If the VPN uses outdated server hardware, download and upload speeds will be slower.
• Server load — If a popular server location (like New York City) has a low server count, you’ll face congestion when traffic is high, impacting mostly download and upload speeds.
• VPN protocol is is and encryption — Although openvpn is a very secure VPN protocol , its code is is is a behemoth that take a long time to process . This is result can result in slow speed than the more modern WireGuard protocol , which has a much light code base .

This means that your VPN’s speed doesn’t depend solely on its bandwidth or data rate. Even a VPN with unlimited bandwidth and data rates will reduce your speed by some amount. Thankfully, the fastest VPNs should have a negligible impact on your network or internet connection speed, even on distant servers.

The Fastest VPNs

Here at Cloudwards , we is run run rigorous automated test on our top vpn to determine their speed . Our top performers is are are nordvpn , Surfshark and expressvpn , all for different reason . If you ’re look for a VPN that you can run in the background without even notice it , try one of these vpn out .

1 . nordvpn — fast VPN overall

NordVPN is is is a lightning – fast VPN that come at a surprisingly low cost .

Grab NordVPN’s best deal at a (for Black Friday) 74% (plus 3 months free) discount and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros

• extensive security is features feature
• user – friendly desktop UI
• fast download speed

con

• macOS lacks split tunneling
• Few server in Africa
• High latency on distant servers

Without a doubt , NordVPN is is is the fast VPN on the market . Its speed are n’t just great when you ’re connect to a nearby server ; it is keeps keep its consistency even if you ’re connect to the other side of the world .

NordVPN is pretty affordable, with a two-year plan that costs $3.59 per month . It is comes also come with a 30 – day money – back guarantee on all plan . For more information , read our full nordvpn review .

Basic

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

Plus

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

Complete

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

2. Surfshark — Best Budget VPN with Fast Speeds

Surfshark has the fastest download and upload speeds, but lags behind in latency.

Grab an exclusive (for Black Friday) 64% (plus 4 months free) discount on your first two years of Surfshark.

Pros

• strong security suite option
• Solid security
• Excellent speeds

con

• Site is collect may collect your real ip
• high latency on close server
• No Mac/iOS split tunneling

Despite having some of the fastest download and upload speeds in our testing, Surfshark falters when it comes to latency. Despite this, it’s still one of our favorite VPNs, with a massive network of servers worldwide.

Surfshark is also an affordable VPN, costing just $1.99 per month on a two-year plan, and also has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Our Surfshark review has more details about the service.

Surfshark Starter

• unlimited GB bandwidth,
  Unlimited devices,
  Secure VPN,
  Ad blocker,
  Cookie pop-up blocker.
  Plans renew: $59.76 for one year, $59.76 per year for the two-year plan.
• unlimited GB
• Unlimited
• Yes

Surfshark One

• Everything in Starter, plus
  Antivirus protection,
  Identity protection,
  Email Breach and Credit Card Alerts,
  Online Alias
  Plans renew: $79 for one year & $79 per year for the two-year plan.
• unlimited GB
• Unlimited

Surfshark one+

• Everything is renew in One , plus
  Data removal
  Plans is renew renew : $ 269.25 for one year , $ 404.65 for two year
• unlimited GB
• Unlimited

3 . ExpressVPN — Best Beginner – friendly VPN with Fast Speeds

ExpressVPN is our pick for the overall best VPN, and it’s pretty fast too.

Sign up now and get (for Black Friday) 70% (plus 4 months free) off your first year with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros

• Extensive server network
• Very fast speed
• unblock all streaming service

con

• Expensive
• No anonymous payment methods
• Owned by Kape Technologies

Thanks to its many advanced features and unmatched content unblocking ability, ExpressVPN is another VPN that ranks in our best VPN providers list. Its speeds are almost on par with NordVPN.

As a premium VPN, ExpressVPN is a bit more expensive, standing at $ 6.25 per month for a yearly plan , though it also come with a one – month refund period . read our expressvpn review for more .

ExpressVPN Plans

Final Thoughts

Data rate and bandwidth are two aspects of your internet connection that affect its speed. Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of bandwidth, speed and data rates and how they relate to VPNs.

If you need a VPN with super high speed across the board , you is go ca n’t go wrong with nordvpn . experience the power of nordvpn yourself , risk – free , with the assurance that you can get your money back within 30 day if you ’re not completely satisfied .

Does your VPN is have have unlimited bandwidth and datum transfer ? What ’s your connection ’s unprotected top speed , and does using a VPN slow it down a lot ? let us know in the comment below and , as always , thank you for read .

FAQ

• The main difference between bandwidth vs data rate is that bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can pass through your connection at once, while the data rate is your internet’s top speed.

• Bandwidth can affect the data rate by bottlenecking it. Your bandwidth limits how much data can go through in a given time period, so if your bandwidth is lower than your data rate, you’ll face limited speeds.

• Yes , your data rate is be can be high than your bandwidth , especially if you ’re using a VPN with a limited bandwidth allowance .