What is the Fastest VPN? Our 2023 speed test winners revealed

In today’s digitally connected world, VPNs are the linchpin of a secure and private online experience. Still, they come with a catch: they often slow down your internet connection. But does it have to? You’re not alone if you’ve endured frustrating lags while streaming your favorite shows or waited endlessly for downloads, all in the name of security. We’ve been there, and we decided to tackle this challenge head-on.

After rigorous research and extensive testing, we’re here to unveil the best VPN experience that optimally balances speed with security. Plus, we’ve unearthed some powerful yet straightforward tweaks to elevate your online speed, without costing you a dime.

Delve deeper, and we’ll show you our meticulous VPN speed testing protocols and the distinctive strengths of individual providers.

But, for those in haste, seeking the best VPNs for blazing-fast downloads or uninterrupted streaming, glance through our top curated picks right here:

These are the fastest VPNs based on our speed tests:

1. Mullvad: The fastest VPN in 2023. Mullvad is as fast as it is secure, but doesn’t work with most streaming services.
2. ProtonVPN: Good internet speeds for users who also value their privacy.
3. Bitdefender: A fast VPN from a reputable antivirus maker.
4. CyberGhost:  Beginner-friendly service that’s great for streaming. No logs and strong encryption.
5. Atlas VPN: A newcomer with high speeds that’s great for streaming.
6. IPVanish: High speeds on a Tier-1 network. Private, secure, and easy to use. Unlimited simultaneous connections.
7. HideMyAss: A solid VPN with decent speeds, security, and unblocking ability.
8. TunnelBear: An easy-to-use VPN with fast connection speeds and a limited free tier.
9. VyprVPN: A veteran VPN provider that works in China and can unblock most streaming services.
10. NordVPN: Huge speed improvements thanks to a new protocol dubbed NordLynx. The best all-rounder for speed, streaming and privacy.
11. Surfshark: Budget performer with unlimited simultaneous connections. A recent upgrade to Wireguard more than doubled its speed.
12. ExpressVPN: The new Lightway protocol vastly improves bandwidth. It can access streaming services, uses strong security, and works in China.

Fastest VPNs in 2023

Below we’ve listed our top fastest VPNs tested in the last year, out of dozens premium providers. Our speed tests factor largely into this list, but other non-quantifiable parameters based on our personal experience are also taken into consideration. These include how well they stream HD video and games online.

Note that the evaluations of speeds disclosed aren’t necessarily indicative of the performance you’ll experience on your device and are only intended to provide context between providers.

1. Mullvad

Sep 2023

Mullvad is easily fastest VPN we’ve tested in 2023, with an average global download speed of 666 Mbps in our tests. That’s enough to stream 4K video on multiple devices, play online games, and quickly download large files.

On top of that, Mullvad boasts extensive security features to keep your online activity safe and private. Mullvad doesn’t store any logs of what you do online. It even works in China and other censorship-heavy countries.

The downside is that Mullvad doesn’t work well with streaming services. It works with US Netflix, but if you plan to unblock anything else, then you might want to keep reading.

Mullvad makes apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and some wi-fi routers. You can connect up to five devices at once.

FASTEST VPN:Mullvad boasts nearly double the bandwidth of the next-fastest VPN, plus top-notch security. It comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full Mullvad review.

2. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a provider mainly known for its high standards of privacy and security, but the service is fast, too. It shot up the ranks by reaching an average of 320 Mbps globally in our speed tests. Several tiers of service are on offer. Security is airtight thanks to leak protection, a kill switch, and military-grade encryption.

ProtonVPN works with US Netflix but isn’t great at securely accessing other region-locked streaming services. It allows peer-to-peer filesharing and never logs any of your online activity.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

FAST AND PRIVATE:ProtonVPN is a solid option for users who want speed without sacrificing privacy or security. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full ProtonVPN review.

3. Bitdefender VPN

VPNs made by antivirus companies have fallen short of our standards in the past, but when it comes to speed, Bitdefender punches with the heavyweights. Its global download speed averaged 310 Mbps in our tests. It employs the proprietary Hydra Catapult protocol, which is also used by Hotspot Shield and a few other VPNs.

Bitdefender has a no logs policy and, as you would expect from an antivirus maker, good security and encryption. Unfortunately, it’s not consistent at unblocking streaming sites.

You can connect up to 10 devices on a single Bitdefender VPN account, including Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android devices.

FAST AND SECURE:Bitdefender lets you secure up to 10 devices at once on its super-secure VPN network. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full Bitdefender VPN review.

4. CyberGhost

CyberGhost recorded an average download speed of 296 Mbps across all locations and times tested. Much of its improvement is thanks to the adoption of Wireguard, a faster and more efficient VPN protocol that doesn’t sacrifice security.

CyberGhost is great for streaming region-locked content from abroad. It works with Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, and more. And with speeds like this, you can enjoy viewing everything in 4K UHD resolution.

CyberGhost adheres to a no-logs policy and uses strong encryption to keep your online activities private.

You can connect up to seven devices at a time on a single plan, with apps available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Fire TV, and Linux.

FAST ALL-ROUND VPN:CyberGhost is the one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested, and it doesn’t skimp on streaming or security, either. It comes with a risk-free 45-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full CyberGhost review.

5. Atlas VPN

This newcomer impressed us with its fast speeds and ability to access a huge range of streaming services. It averaged 270 Mbps in our latest tests. As with most of the other VPNs on this list, it defaults to the Wireguard protocol. A single plan covers an unlimited number of simultaneous connections.

Atlas is still a bit bare when it comes to features, doesn’t work in China, and its customer service could use some improvement. But if you just want a fast VPN that can stream anything from (almost) anywhere, it’s a solid choice.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

STREAM FAST:Atlas VPN is a great choice if you want to stream high quality video from region-locked services. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full Atlas VPN review.

6. IPVanish

IPVanish’s recent upgrade to the Wireguard protocol resulted in massive speed improvements. It averaged 277 Mbps in our tests, which is more than enough for even the most bandwidth-intensive activities like video conferencing and live streaming in HD and 4K. IPVanish doesn’t put a limit on how many devices you can connect at once, either.

In addition to speed, IPVanish boasts good security. It’s leak proof, meets all of our encryption standards, and doesn’t keep any identifying logs.

IPVanish isn’t the most adept when it comes to accessing streaming services. It works with US Netflix, but you’ll want to test it out using the money-back guarantee before committing if you plan on streaming other services.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and Fire TV.

FAST AND PRIVATE:IPVanish outperformed the competition in our latest round of speed tests without compromising users’ privacy. Try it out with a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee.

Read our full IPVanish review.

7. HideMyAss

HideMyAss made significant gains in our latest round of testing, which pegged it at an average speed of 238 Mbps. Although we ran into a couple of slow servers, bandwidth was more than enough on the whole.

HideMyAss had its privacy issues in the past but has since overhauled its privacy policy and logging practices. It uses strong encryption and keeps no identifying logs. On the downside, it doesn’t work in China.

HMA is great for streaming the majority of your favorite video services from abroad. It offers live chat support and lets you connect up to five devices at once.

FAST DOWNLOADS:HideMyAss offers a solid all-round service with fast speeds at a low cost. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full HideMyAss review.

8. TunnelBear

TunnelBear has risen in the ranks of the fastest VPNs with an average download speed of 222 Mbps. It’s the only VPN on this list with a free version, though it’s capped at 500 MB per month. This is a novice-friendly VPN with easy-to-use apps for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, plus a handy Chrome extension.

TunnelBear employs strong encryption and sticks to a strict no-logs privacy policy. It doesn’t reliably work with streaming services like Netflix, but it’s a solid option for torrenting, private browsing, and bypassing censorship in places like China. You can connect up to a maximum of five devices at once.

FAST BEAR:Fast and easy to use, TunnelBear comes with a seven-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full TunnelBear review.

9. VyprVPN

VyprVPN is a veteran provider that averaged 215 Mbps globally in our most recent tests. It made our list largely thanks to the adoption of the Wireguard protocol, which vastly improved its speeds over the aging OpenVPN.

Vypr is a reliable go-to VPN for users in China. It works pretty well for unblocking region-locked streaming services.

VyprVPN’s encryption meets all of our security standards. And it has an updated no-logs policy to ensure your online activity is always private.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. You can connect up to five devices at once.

FAST EVERYWHERE:VyprVPN works everywhere even in China, allowing users to stream and download without interruption. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full VyprVPN review.

10. NordVPN

NordVPN pegged an average download speed of 196 Mbps across all times and locations tested. Its fast speeds can be attributed to the launch of NordLynx, a custom VPN protocol built on Wireguard that delivers data more efficiently without impacting security or privacy. NordLynx nearly doubled NordVPN’s throughput in our latest tests.

NordVPN performs well in other areas, too. It works well with a wide range of streaming services including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video. This provider’s security consists of uncrackable military-grade encryption, an app-specific internet kill switch, and airtight leak protection.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and Fire TV.

ALL-ROUND FAST VPN:A well-rounded VPN that outperforms most of competition by a wide margin in our speed tests. Best combination of speed, features, security and value for money. Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full NordVPN review.

11. Surfshark

Surfshark’s latest adoption of the Wireguard protocol has resulted in huge speed improvements. It averaged 189 Mbps in our tests. This budget-friendly VPN allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, making it a great option for a family or group of housemates with lots of devices.

Surfshark’s security meets all of our standards, and it keeps no logs. It’s great for streaming Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+, among others. Live chat support is available around the clock.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and Fire TV.

FAST ON A BUDGET:Surfshark always makes our list of the fastest VPNs and is one of very few that allows unlimited connections. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full Surfshark review.

12. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN’s average global download speed fell to 193 Mbps in our latest tests. While still fast, that’s quite a drop from when we last tested it.

Many VPNs jumped on the Wireguard bandwagon to increase their speeds, but ExpressVPN aimed higher. It created its own open-source protocol dubbed Lightway, which has resulted in huge speed increases, double the bandwidth of OpenVPN, without sacrificing security or privacy.

ExpressVPN is a great all-round VPN. It works with a wide range of streaming services including Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu. It works in China. Robust security includes strong encryption, data leak prevention, and a kill switch. ExpressVPN keeps no identifying logs. Live chat support is available 24/7, year-round.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Fire TV, and certain wi-fi routers.

FAST VPN:ExpressVPN is the one of the fastest VPN we've tested yet, and it performs well on all other fronts, too. Try it with a risk-free, 30-day, money-back guarantee.

Read our full ExpressVPN review.

VPN speed test results 2023

You can see the average global download speed for every VPN we’ve tested in the past year below (click to enlarge):

Our VPN speed test methodology

Each VPN’s speed test result is an average of nine tests: three times of day spread at least four hours apart, and across three different locations: North America (nearest), Europe, and Asia. Exact locations depend on each VPN’s available servers. We also measure the speed at each time without a VPN connection as a control.

The results of these nine tests are averaged to get the average figures in the graph above.

All tests are performed using the provider’s Windows app from the USA on a minimum 1 Gbps connection. Speeds are measured using the Speedtest.net desktop app. Outliers are thrown out and retested if they are more than three standard deviations away from the mean result.

We only report download speed. We do not test latency, as this is more an indicator of our proximity to the server than the VPN’s available bandwidth. We also do not test upload speed.

We always advise readers to take VPN speed tests with a big grain of salt. Too many variables are at play. And we’ve also stated as clearly as possible, there is no such thing as the “fastest VPN,” no matter how many companies make such a claim.

VPN speed is one of the most difficult factors to accurately quantify because we can’t test every server in every location every hour. We always run speed tests as empirically as possible when we review a VPN provider, but the fact of the matter is that the fastest VPN for where you live is not necessarily the fastest VPN for where I live. The fastest VPN for streaming video might not be the speediest for online gaming. Even the fastest VPN service at noon probably isn’t the quickest at midnight.

Note that some providers could not be tested alongside the other VPNs due to technical limitations, but scored well in separate speed tests.

Peak versus average speed

In the 2017 State of the Internet report from Akamai, the average peak connection speed across both North and South America is 44.6 Mbps, but the global average internet connection speed–not peak–is a mere 7.2 Mbps. That’s just one-sixth of the peak average. So what does this mean for VPN providers?

We all share the internet, and we can’t all get the maximum speed advertised by our Internet Service Providers every second of every day. Network congestion plays a huge role in your download speed both on and off the VPN, but it’s twice as likely to take a toll when connected to a VPN.

When you download a file from a server without a VPN, there’s a chance you will encounter network congestion, most likely on your nearby ISP network or at the download server itself. When you use a VPN service, you add a third potential bottleneck to the route. Whether because of server load or congestion on the network surrounding the server, there’s a higher chance that your speed will be affected while connected to a VPN.

When choosing a VPN server, take these factors into consideration. VPNs are subject to the same peak-versus-average conundrum as everyone else. If possible, choose a VPN server in a time zone that’s in off-peak hours. Some VPN apps have built in speed tests or show the current server load in real time, which can give you an indication of whether you’ll be able to max out your allotted download speed.

Security versus speed

Adding security to a VPN connection inevitably results in a loss of speed. Using a stronger encryption algorithm, for example, means it takes longer to encrypt data traveling through the VPN and longer to decrypt it once it arrives at its destination. Similarly, more secure VPN protocols tend to be slower than less secure ones. PPTP, despite being the oldest protocol, it still offers significantly faster connections than OpenVPN or L2TP/IPSec. However, it also has known security vulnerabilities.

You don’t necessarily need the strongest available security all the time when using a VPN, but there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed in order to increase speed. We recommend against using PPTP and advise readers to opt for a protocol that uses SSL (OpenVPN) or IPSec encryption (L2TP, IKEv2).

Most VPN providers don’t give you the option, anyway, but don’t disable encryption altogether. Additionally, 128-bit AES is the minimum strength encryption necessary for a VPN to do its job and keep your data safe. It’s effectively un-crackable and is slightly faster than 256-bit AES encryption, which is also common. A handful of VPNs use Blowfish encryption, which tends to be slower than its AES counterpart. We recommend at least 448-bit Blowfish encryption if you go that route.

How much of a speed boost you’ll get out of tweaking encryption and VPN protocols depends on your hardware. More powerful devices will be able to encrypt and decrypt data more quickly.

UDP versus TCP

When using the OpenVPN protocol, many VPN apps will give you the option of using either the TCP or UDP protocol. TCP is the protocol that you normally use to browse the web and download files. UDP is more common for streaming applications such as video, music, and gaming. The difference is in how computers and servers send network packets, the unit of data used to exchange information over the internet.

A common misconception is that UDP is always faster than TCP. While this is often the case, it’s more of a guideline than a rule.

TCP uses error protection and guaranteed delivery to ensure that every data packet is identical to the original and sent in the correct order. If there is an error, the flow of internet traffic is stopped until the previous packets are sent successfully. This is important if you’re downloading a file or loading a web page.

UDP doesn’t have these protections. Collisions, errors, and missing packets are all common, and sometimes packets arrive out of order. The emphasis is on speed, not being perfect. It is preferable to miss a packet than delay all of the other packets following it.

So, if you use your VPN primarily for online gaming, streaming video, or listening to music, then switch to UDP. Otherwise, stick to TCP.

Stability trumps speed

In our humble opinion, the primary performance factor when choosing a VPN service shouldn’t be speed. It should be stable. More often than not, it’s volatility that brings down test scores rather than a slower overall download rate.

Every VPN will occasionally have a bad day or just a few bad hours where service is slow on a particular server or set of servers. Some VPNs have more high traffic periods or downtime than others. These are the ones to be avoided. Unfortunately, the test period for our reviews rarely lasts more than two weeks, so it’s difficult to predict what VPNs will encounter more issues in the long term at the time of writing.

That being said, the boxplot below (from some older tests) can give some indication of how volatile a VPN’s performance is. A larger blue box means more volatility, even if the mean (red dot) and median (thick black line) download times are low, a lot of volatility will probably cause more frustration than a slightly slower connection.

Unless you’re on a fast (100+Mbps) internet connection, the chances of maxing out the bandwidth available is pretty slim. Almost all VPNs these days advertise unlimited bandwidth.

Speed shouldn’t be your only consideration when choosing a VPN. Depending on what you plan to use it for, you may want a VPN that’s best for torrenting or streaming Netflix or gaming. Those aren’t necessarily the fastest, and they don’t need to be. They just have to be fast enough.

VPN alternatives

VPNs secure your traffic and route it through an intermediary server so it can’t be traced. But if privacy is not of chief concern to you, then there are other alternative proxy methods that offer faster speed. A SOCKS proxy, for example, does pretty much the same thing as a VPN without encryption. Without having to encrypt and decrypt traffic, SOCKS proxy users can get faster connections and still mask their IP address.

Read more: SOCKS5 Proxy vs VPN – What’s the difference? Which should you use?

Then there are smart DNS proxies. These proxies only re-route your DNS requests to make it appear as though you are in a different physical location, rather than all of a device’s traffic. This means you still get the full benefit of a direct internet connection, but not the privacy or security of a VPN.

Fastest VPN FAQs

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