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VPNs provide a great way to get around geo-blocked content. They’re also used by millions as a way of regaining control of their privacy when browsing the web. However, VPNs vary greatly in terms of quality. Here at Expert Reviews we’ve gone to great lengths to find out which is the best VPN overall. But, in this article, all we’re doing is answering the question “what is the fastest VPN?”
Fasted VPNs: Tested
| TunnelBear | 79% | BUY |
| Hotspot Shield | 78% | BUY |
| CyberGhost | 73% | BUY |
| IPVanish | 58% | BUY |
| HideMyAss | 57% | BUY |
| Avast SecureLine | 51% | BUY |
| Buffered | 51% | BUY |
| NordVPN | 30% | BUY |
How we test VPN speed?
As I mentioned above, we’ve spent a lot of time testing VPNs. In doing so, we’ve fully reviewed eight of the most popular services. In each VPN review we tested the following features: the ability to make anonymous payments; router VPN support; multi-device support; logs; whether it is P2P-compatible; Netflix US support; the number of servers in different countries; whether it has a kill switch; and how much of a speed hit it will cause.The final test, is what’s important here. The most accurate way to test VPN speed is to use a speed test to measure the performance hit you experience when your VPN is active.
For example, if you normally get a download speed of 50Mbits/sec, and it drops to 25Mbits/sec when your VPN is active, the speed hit is 50%.
Why do VPNs slow down your connection?
The way a VPN works is pretty simple. It encrypts your data and re-routes it through one of its servers. The location of the server you use enables you to access that country’s geo-blocked content. This is why you can use a VPN to watch American Netflix. However, it’s this process that has a direct impact on your download performance.
