Technically speaking, all VPNs no matter the brand will slow down your default internet speeds. Cheap or low-end VPNs will slow down your speeds considerably, while premium VPNs will only reduce your connection speeds by 5% to 6%.
But it’s not because you’re using a cheap VPN that’s taking a toll on your connection speeds. There are multiple reasons that may contribute to your slow VPN connection speeds. Let’s take a closer look at some of the prime suspects behind slow VPN speeds:
- Server location:
The prime reason why you’re experiencing slow speeds is because you’re connected to a VPN server that’s too far away from your actual location. For instance, if you’re located in the Middle East and connect to a U.S server, you’re going to notice a significant speed drop. That’s because it takes packets of data longer to travel between you and the VPN server.
- Bandwidth caps
Some VPN providers cunningly use bandwidth caps to prevent a user from extensively using their service. So, if you use VPNs to download large torrent files or stream HD movies, your VPN provider can throttle your connection speeds.
- VPN encryption & protocol
Other culprits behind slow speeds are VPN encryption and protocols. With overhead encryption, your VPN speeds are going to suffer. The most common protocol know to cause slow speeds is OpenVPN. It is the most secure protocol around however it is considerably slower than PPTP which is significantly faster. But then again, PPTP is less secure as it uses less encryption.
I performed a speed test whilst connected to VPN, and my speed was over 30 Mbps. However, I noticed that my speed test results varied drastically once I was off a VPN server.
How come?