How to speed up your VPN

While some performance loss is inevitable when running a VPN, there are steps you can take to make this less noticeable.

Here are four ways to speed up your VPN.

1. Use one of our recommended VPNs

All of the services on this page have been verified by our team of experts as the fastest VPNs on the market; if you choose a slower VPN service instead, you won't be able to improve your speed performance. 2.

Use WireGuard or a VPN's proprietary protocol

Although secure, our tests have found OpenVPN to be significantly slower than WireGuard and proprietary VPN protocols such as Catapult Hydra. If your VPN application allows you to choose, be sure to use WireGuard or a VPN's custom protocol.

3. Connect to the server nearest you

In general, connecting to a VPN server that is closer to your location will give you faster speeds. This is because your traffic takes a shorter route, which allows packets to be delivered at a faster rate.

Connecting using an Ethernet cable

WiFi connections are less efficient than wired connections due to channel interference. Connecting your device directly to the router using an Ethernet cable will provide you with faster and more reliable speeds.