The Fastest VPN Providers | Top 9 Reviewed and Compared for 2024

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The fastest VPN is your ticket to a buffer-free streaming, gaming, torrenting, and browsing experience — however, with ample options, finding a fast VPN provider that ticks all the right boxes for you is no easy feat. Keep reading to see how to get the most out of your VPN, plus common reasons it may not be performing as it should.

With a focus on speed, security, and affordability, we’ve compiled and reviewed the market’s top 9 fastest VPN services — from the almighty NordVPN and ExpressVPN; we explore the best fast VPNs in-depth, so you can make an informed decision.

The 9 Fastest VPNs in 2024 | Quick Answer

We’ve tested dozens of VPNs to confidently conclude that NordVPN is the best fast VPN on the market right now. Not only does NordVPN average a solid 417 Mbps, but it also comes with industry-leading encryption and security, phenomenal unblocking power, and a boatload of server options. Here’s what our testing concluded to be the top 9 fastest VPNs:

1. NordVPN — The Best Fast VPN in 2024 with Consistent Speeds Across the Board | Get Up to 75% Off and Take Advantage of the Month-Long Money-Back Guarantee.
2. ExpressVPN — Popular Fast VPN with the Lowest Speed Drop of Just 2% | Try it Now With the Risk-Free 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.
3. Private Internet Access —Fast VPN with the Best Value | As Low as $1.67/month + a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.
4. Surfshark —Fastest VPN for Covering Unlimited Devices on 1 Subscription.
5. PrivadoVPN —The Fastest Free VPN | Offers a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee with Paid Options.
6. CyberGhost —Quick VPN for Optimized Streaming | Comes with a Whopping 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee.
7. IPVanish —Excellent Fast VPN for Gaming | Test it With the 30-Day Guarantee.
8. PrivateVPN —The Fastest VPN for Torrenting | Has Affordable Packages + a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.
9. VyprVPN —Best VPN for Consistent Speeds and Strong Geo-Restrictions.

The Best Fast VPN Providers in 2024 | In-Depth Reviews

We’ve taken the list of the fastest VPNs above and created a series of reviews below to give you a better idea of what these VPNs can do for you and how they differ.

1. NordVPN — The Best Fast VPN in 2024 with Consistent Speeds Across the Board

NordVPN is certainly one of the most popular and, of course, among the fastest VPNs on the market hence why it’s backed by ambassadors such as PewDiePie and Casey Neistat, who use the product for their online businesses.

In terms of speed, NordVPN averages an impressive 417Mbps and offers you over 5,600 servers in 60+ countries around the world. This is the key to their (speed) success, as is their unique NordLynx protocol.

This protocol offers quicker tunnels and phenomenal speeds and stability — something NordVPN thrives in time and time again in independent tests. Throughout the speed tests that were run, NordVPN rarely saw more than a 50% drop compared with standard speeds.

There were several locations where it excelled, with Asia and, in particular, Singapore, impressively boasting just a 30% drop off in speed. With NordVPN, you can use a single account on up to six different devices, which include macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Firestick.

Plus, it’s one of the best Linux VPNs. The only negative is that given its popularity within the US, most users tend to use these servers, which see the biggest drop off in speed as a result.

However, we’ll add that these drop-offs are common across the board and certainly not anything that’s unique to NordVPN, nor will it dramatically impact your speeds.

Monthly packages start from just $9.99/month, but you can make considerable savings by paying for 2-3 years upfront as a one-time payment — with your bill amassing to a mere $2.49/month.

2. ExpressVPN — Popular Fast VPN with the Lowest Speed Drop

ExpressVPN’s popularity is largely due to the consistent speeds that it has to offer — averaging a decent 475Mbps with several servers seeing a drop of just 2%. This is nothing short of remarkable.

ExpressVPN’s speed is thanks to the quality of their servers, plus their unique, industry-leading Lightway protocol, which allows the servers to move users about automatically to create a more even spread of usage for consistent speeds.

Aside from just raw speed, ExpressVPN offers industry-leading security so that you can enjoy a safe online experience — from a strict no-logs policy to state-of-the-art encryption, and loads more, ExpressVPN offers 360-degree protection and privacy.

With phenomenal uptime, speeds, security, and support — ExpressVPN is an all-around winner for the best VPN app for various needs — whether it’s gaming, streaming, browsing, or even the best gambling VPN you’re after, ExpressVPN is your best bet.

All this makes it unsurprising that ExpressVPN has amassed over half a million users, won ample awards and lands itself in the top spot in posts like this time and time again.

Monthly plans start at $12.95/month, and annual plans will cost just $8.95/month — considering the value on offer with this VPN, pricing like this is justified. Try it now risk-free with the 30-day money-back guarantee. You have nothing to lose, and complete online freedom to gain.

3. Private Internet Access — Fast VPN with the Best Value for Money

Private Internet Access boasts 10Gbps servers across its massive global fleet — with average speeds of 510Mbps being common, it’s a solid top 3 choice for anyone after a fast VPN.

On top of this, PIA lets you choose the location that’s best suited for you for optimal speeds based on your location, with tests concluding an average drop-off of 30% for most servers.

Besides server quality, PIA offers phenomenal speeds thanks to their whopping 35,000+ servers, as well as their mix of open-source and the popular WireGuard protocols.

PIA comes with a range of features that make the VPN impressive and totally customizable. Standouts include ad and malware blocking, dedicated IP addresses, advanced encryption, and of course, open-source software.

Customizable settings allow for a highly configurable VPN. You’re able to change aspects such as custom DNS settings, port forwarding, remote ports, proxies, and a firewall-based kill switch (which prevents data leaks if the connection drops).

The best value package with Private Internet Access is the 3-year deal that starts from just $1.67/month. This includes 3 months free — Tie this with the 30-day money-back guarantee, and you’ve got one of the most competitive VPN packages on the market right now.

4. Surfshark — Fastest VPN for Covering Unlimited Devices on 1 Subscription

Surfshark boasts lightning-fast speeds of up to 980Mbps — proving to be by far one of the fastest VPNs that we’ve tested. In fact, thanks to its 3,200+ servers in over 100 countries, we saw a drop off of just 17% on US servers — one of the best in the industry.

Moving across Europe, speeds do drop, but even at a 40% loss, it’s likely going to work well on most connections. Australia saw the biggest drop of nearly 60%, but this is to be expected given the location of the main servers and the test location where we’re based.

Surfshark offers both WireGuard and OpenVPN for quality security and speed, plus Private DNS servers can be used.

Noteworthy features include a kill switch, auto-connect, the bypasser (lets you choose what websites and apps use the VPN), and exceptional 24/7 support, along with an FAQ section.

On top of all this, it’s worth noting that you can download Surfshark One, which is a package that includes the VPN, Antivirus, Search, and Alert. These tools are potent on their own, but as a package, the value for money on offer is truly phenomenal.

The Search function removes ads, and any sponsored links, the Alerts notify you if your personal data is being used, and the antivirus blocks malicious malware and access from sites or cookies that you simply don’t want to get involved with.

Prices start from as low as $1.77/month, which is based on a 24-month contract and it includes 2 free months. The monthly package is $11.19, and they offer a 12-month contract at $3.45/month.

You get a 30-day money-back guarantee to test Surfshark without risk with both the 12 and 24 contracts.

5. PrivadoVPN — The Fastest Free VPN (with Paid Options)

PrivadoVPN makes the top 5 on our list for its generous free plan. Although certainly not the fastest VPN, it’s among the quickest for completely free VPNs — averaging a consistent 50-170+Mbps.

The free package comes with a usage limit of 10GB every 30 days and lets you connect to servers in up to 12 cities. At worst, we saw a drop off in speed of around 50%, and at best, around 20%. This puts it right in the middle of what we’d trade value over speed.

They use physical servers to power the VPN, and this means that you’re able to pick and choose solid locations to connect to. We like that PrivadoVPN recommends server locations based on the platform’s usage at the time of connection, this made a big difference in our testing and ensured consistent speeds.

OpenVPN is the encryption tool of choice, and while you do get throttled speeds with this, you get a much safer platform. On top of this, PrivadoVPN also has IKEv2, WireGuard, and SOCKS5, plus a strict no-logs policy, a kill switch, and every other feature you’d expect from a premium service — free.

Apps are available to download on macOS, Android, iOS, and Fire TV. Usability is good, but it lacks in terms of aesthetics, especially with the Fire TV app, which can be a little temperamental in relation to crashing issues.

Paid plans start from just $4.99/month for a 12-month contract or $7.99 if you decide to pay monthly. With this, you get unlimited data, access to servers in all 62 cities, and up to 10 simultaneous connections.

6. CyberGhost — Best VPN for Optimized Streaming

CyberGhost averaging an impressive 540Mbps, certainly makes it one of the fastest VPN providers. In fact, in our tests, we saw the standard industry drop-off of around 30% on most of the servers that we tested.

Speeds for sports, streaming, and gaming were all rock solid, and we came across zero drop out.

The network is one of the biggest, with over 9,000 servers based in 90+ countries for ample choice. No matter what it is that you’re looking to do, speeds and reliability like this are certainly a winner.

From unblocking leading streaming services like Netflix and Hulu to a zero-buffer gaming experience, CyberGhost’s popularity is really unsurprising — and, of course, it comes with all the security features you’d be looking for in one of the best VPN services.

To make matters better, you can get CyberGhost for as little as $1.78/month on a 2-year plan — making it by far one of the cheapest VPNs on the market.

Of course, monthly billing jumps to $10.89, and to sweeten the deal further, CyberGhost offers you a 45-day guarantee to test it risk-free.

7. IPVanish — Excellent Fast VPN for Gaming

IPVanish comes with 2,000+ servers located in over 75 locations around the world — not the largest fleet, but the average speeds are nothing short of phenomenal — a whopping 890Mbps on their local servers.

Throughout our testing, the speeds remained consistent, there was no throttling (which makes it phenomenal for torrenting), and with general browsing — we only saw around a 10% drop off, and even less on gaming platforms.

Overall, IPVanish is a worthy name on this list if you’re after an incredibly fast VPN with a simple interface and ample server options to connect to. In terms of pricing, their packages start from just $3.99/month on the yearly plan and $10.99 with a monthly plan.

On top of this, you can try IPVanish without risking your money with their 30-day money-back guarantee.

8. PrivateVPN — The Fastest VPN for Torrenting

PrivateVPN is based in Sweden and is an excellent option for those based in Europe. It has 200+ servers in 63 countries providing a small but impressively fast network.

It’s worth noting that the highest density of servers are in the US (12 locations in total), but it does feed from Europe to get there, so it’s not always the case that these are the quickest, at least from our testing.

The brand has put a huge emphasis on decreasing latency, which in turn increases the speed of the VPN, and the spread of servers allows them to do this with greater efficiency. Unfortunately, you are limited with options compared to other leading VoIP services.

Nevertheless, PrivateVPN’s support is top-notch. You can talk to agents around the clock, and they include a decent FAQ/help section for more generic queries. They’ll even help you set up the VPN on the device of your choice should you be having issues.

On top of this, it’s possible to run up to 10 devices at the same time and have consistent speeds for torrenting. Common features include unlimited P2P file sharing, unrestricted bandwidth, 2048-bit military-grade encryption, and access to sites that may be prohibited in your location.

The best value package is that of a 36-month contract, which gets you all the premium features for just $1.89/month, billed annually. If you want to test it for a month, you can for $9.29 with the solid 30-day money-back guarantee by your side.

9. VyprVPN — Best VPN for Consistent Speeds and Strong Geo-Restrictions

VyprVPN has access to over 700 servers across 70 different locations. It comes with dynamic switching (which you can disable) that’ll automatically move you from server to server to get optimal speeds without causing the connection to drop.

In terms of speed, VyprVPN ranked very well across all devices that were tested. Using a Firestick, we saw a minimal drop-off of around 20%, with numbers increasing slightly for both gaming and torrenting. Overall, this VPN averages a solid 210-250Mbps.

The business package makes VyprVPN stand out from the crowd.

You’re able to get dedicated account managers, individual apps for employees, multiple accounts for a single package, unlimited usage, and NAT firewalls to prevent people from accessing sites that they shouldn’t — all for $299/year.

There are two packages for individual users, which are processed at $4.50/month for a 12-month contract or $9/month for rolling contracts. This comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What Makes a Great Fast VPN? | How We Chose the Fastest VPNs

When assessing the top fastest VPN services, there were certain aspects that we looked out for. Some of them are relatively straightforward; however, there are other areas that we target which aren’t as common but can have a huge effect on how that VPN performs.

VPN Speed

The first port of call is outright speed. We can do this by using a platform such as speedtest.net which tests to see what sort of speeds your internet is pulling. This is strictly the speed that’s coming through your connection, and it’s measured in Mbps.

It’s important to note both the download and upload speeds, as both can be relevant based on how you use the internet. For example, if you’re looking for the fastest VPN for streaming, then you want as little drop-off as possible for download.

Whereas, if you want the fastest VPN for photography, then you need a faster upload to process your photos.

Drop-Off in Speed

There are lots of metrics that can affect speed. In the review section, you’ll see that we refer to the number of servers and locations that the VPN provides. More servers mean that they can process more traffic without a loss in speed.

More locations mean less chance of overcrowded servers and diminished speeds. To manage workload, a VPN will throttle speeds to allow more people to use that service. For example, each server has a limit on how much data it can process at any given time.

The more data that it needs to process, the longer it’s going to take. So, if you’re a single server that is processing 100 people all trying to stream Netflix, then it’s going to work much slower than if you’ve 10 servers that are handling 10 users at any given time.

This is what is known as throttling.

ISP throttling

One of the most important factors to remember is the speed your internet provider offers. If you’re paying for 500Mbps, and (without a VPN), you’re finding it dips significantly when you do certain activities, it’s likely your speeds are being throttled by your ISP.

A super-fast VPN can only give you as much internet speed as your provider allows you, so with the fastest VPNs, you’ll be able to bypass that throttling and unlock the full potential of the internet you’re paying for.

Other Factors

It’s not always just straight-up speed that we’re looking at.

We want a reliable VPN with next to no downtime, an easy-to-use interface, safe connections, a wide range of locations to choose from, and superb value for money — with all this in mind, we were able to pinpoint the market’s top 9 fastest VPNs for all-around reliability.

Why Do I Need a Fast VPN?

When you use a VPN, you’re looking to mask the location that you’re in and essentially trick the platform you’re using into thinking you’re somewhere else.

This adds security and means you’re able to access sites or programs that may be prohibited by your main ISP (Internet Service Provider).

A VPN will reduce the speed that your main ISP would produce. The fastest VPNs will limit speeds the least and therefore allows you to stream, game, download, work, or whatever it might be, with minimal interruptions.

Gaming

Gaming, whether on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, or mobile, is often about as resource intense as you’re going to find, and they consume a large amount of data as you play online.

Speed is important to eliminate lag and have a smooth gaming experience. If your game does lag, then you’ve almost no chance of winning, and the whole gaming experience is negatively affected as a result. Thankfully, practically all our top picks are phenomenal gaming VPNs.

Fast VPNs generally have a huge (or unlimited) usage limit, which is needed for gaming. For example, Call of Duty on the Xbox uses around 1GB of data every 5 hours. A VPN that has a data cap means that you’re limited to how much you can play each month using the VPN.

Streaming

Streaming is a huge part of our day-to-day lives. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and HBO Max give us access to thousands of TV shows and movies, all through an online platform.

A fast VPN will do two things for streaming. One, it will limit any initial loading time for the program to start, and two, it will limit buffering as the program plays out.

With steaming, the overall usage amount is almost as important as the speed. A single movie on Netflix uses around 1GB of data for standard definition and up to 7GB for 4k per hour.

This is much higher compared to gaming, so you need to make sure that your VPN has enough data to use these types of platforms.

Torrenting

Torrenting arguably benefits the most from using the fastest VPN. This is all about downloading and even uploading data from various platforms.

A fast VPN will mean that you can complete the download or upload in the shortest possible time.

However, you need to be wary of torrents, as not all VPNs use them due to the sheer volume of data that needs to pass through their services. You can use a technique that’s called “traffic shaping,” and this tells the VPN that you need to prioritize traffic with that network.

PrivateVPN is one of the fastest VPNs for torrenting, as they don’t cap speed or data with platforms like BitTorrent.

Seamless Day-to-Day Protection

A lot is made about using a VPN for gaming, streaming, and torrents, but the reality is that most people use it for general day-to-day protection.

It allows users to stay safe and secure when online, especially if they are making online transactions or accessing sites/accounts that they don’t want people to get access to.

Speed doesn’t play as big a role in this, given that general website browsing/social media uses a lot less data than those mentioned above. However, this is assuming you’re using a strong connection such as Wifi.

If you’re using a 3G connection, then a fast VPN is going to be a necessity to limit the drop-off in speed with what is an already very limited connection.

Why Are Some VPNs So Slow?

In this section, we’re going to address why some VPNs are slow. Use this if you’re having issues that you can address to increase the speed of your VPN.

Server Congestion

Server congestion is where there are a lot of users all using the same server. Each server is limited on the amount of data it can produce at any given time, so if demand is high, then to make sure that everyone gets at least some data, it’s spread out very thinly.

This is probably the most common reason some VPNs are so slow and why we suggest that you pick a VPN like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Private Internet Access that offers thousands of servers all around the world.

Slow/Old Servers

Technology moves quickly, and VPN servers are no different. Just like a computer will start to slow down after years of use, a server will do the same. It’s not able to process the data as quickly as it once would, which means speeds will be down.

With leading VPNs like these, this won’t be a concern that you’ll have.

Wrong Encryption Protocol

Protocols are attached to all VPNs and work to set instructions about how your device connects to the VPN. Most come with a standard protocol. However, this might not be optimal for the server or the type of usage you need your VPN for.

To overcome this, the best fast VPN services will offer a manual override to set the protocol that you need. NordVPN and ExpressVPN have all the usual protocol options, as well as their own industry-leading ones for state-of-the-art performance and security.

Server Distance

Distance plays a role in how well a server performs. It’s the same principle as a WIFI connection in that, the further away you are from your router, the lower the connection/speed.

This is why most VPNs have multiple locations to choose from. The best will always be those closest to your physical location and with these, you’ll see the least amount of drop-off.

Bandwidth Throttling

Bandwidth throttling is where the amount of data that you use slows down the overall speed of your connection. This is common with ISPs but can also occur with a VPN as well.

For example, if you download huge amounts of content, then the VPN may see your connection as using more data than the average, therefore throttling your speed to allow the server to still run as it should for other users.

There are workarounds for this, and most of the fastest VPNs that we’ve spoken about on this page are unlimited. It’s also worth noting that a VPN can increase your speed as well.

If throttling is occurring from your ISP, then VPN can aid in bypassing these restrictions to remove any limits that you may be experiencing.

Is a Fast VPN Safe?

All the brands and VPNs that we recommend are safe. We’ve taken the time to make sure they are legit companies, that they are based in areas that are considered safe, as well as independent safety audits and user reviews.

The VPNs themselves have high levels of encryption to make sure that your data is completely safe. There’s also no storing of any data and once you leave a page.

How to Speed Up Your VPN

Your VPN speed is likely going to depend on what you’re trying to do and how much usage you’re asking from the server. The more intense, the more you risk speeds being throttled.

We’ve included a couple of ways that you can easily increase the speed of your VPN with little to no effort.

Switch from OpenVPN (TCP) to OpenVPN (UDP)

An OpenVPN (TCP) confirms all the data that is passed through it. This means that it takes an increased amount of time when processing data.

An OpenVPN (UDP) has no confirmation, which means that data is processed much more quicker. This is massively beneficial for both gaming and streaming as you get faster download speeds, but you may find speeds aren’t as quick for torrenting.

Change the Protocol

A VPN will have a set protocol. This is it telling the servers how to react to your connection in terms of speed and security. Generally, it does a good job of finding a balance between the two, but most of the fastest VPNs will allow you to change these settings to increase speed.

OpenVPN is the tried and tested process here, but new technology such as WireGuard and IKEV2 are lightweight protocols that remove a lot of the code and allow them to process data much quicker.

NordVPN has WireGuard, and its own NordLynx protocol, and ExpressVPN also has WireGuard plus the speedy Lightway. If you’re looking for flexibility in terms of changing protocols, these are the best VPN apps in the business.

Fast VPN FAQs