You may have noticed how the speed of your VPN connection can vary. Sometimes you get a blazing-fast speed and sometimes, well, you are tempted to disconnect from the VPN.
Why is this happening, you may wonder? In this article, we’ll try to explain. Read on for details…
Factors affecting the VPN speed
There are multiple factors affecting the speed of your VPN connection, including:
Distance
There are two that affect the speed of the VPN: the distance between your VPN server and your actual physical location; and the distance between your VPN server and the host of the websites you want to visit. Generally speaking, the lower the distance, the faster VPN speed you’ll get. Alas, sometimes you do need to connect to the server on the other side of the globe…
Server quality
Not all servers are made equal. There are physical and virtual servers, the former tending to be faster — though not always. Ideally, you would want to connect to a brand new server running the latest hardware, but sometimes you don’t know what kind of server you’re connecting to. Also, you may not have the choice.
Server business/congestion
Server business or server congestion refers to the number of people using a VPN server at one time. As you would imagine, the busier the server, the slower your VPN connection will be. In that sense, some VPNs offer server suggestions taking into account the congestion of their servers. It is advisable to follow their recommendations. More on that in a moment.
VPN protocol
The fastest protocol most of the best VPN providers use is WireGuard. Whenever there is an option to change your protocol — presuming WireGuard wasn’t the default option — opt for WireGuard. You may have to choose a different protocol on mobile devices, though. Also, Hotspot Shield has its own proprietary protocol which tends to deliver blazing-fast speeds.
Your own device
Finally, the technical processing power of your device could also impact your overall experience but not necessarily the speed of your VPN connection. Rather, it will impact the performance of the VPN client app and you may think something’s wrong with the connection — rather than your own device. Perhaps your computer/phone is in the middle of an update and that could affect your connection speed. Try restarting your device to see whether this could be resolved.
Use Fastest Available or Suggested Server
In order to provide the best possible experience, many VPN providers offer VPN server suggestions that take into account multiple factors. These would include your physical location, server congestion and so on.
It is advisable to take these recommendations seriously so you could benefit from the fastest possible VPN connection. Sometimes, however, you will have to connect to the server in a specific location, and then you may not have the luxury of choice. It’s just the way things work and there’s little you could do about it.
In any case, to ensure a great experience, you should…
Get a top-notch VPN
That’s what our list of the Best of the Best VPNs is all about. We’ve tested more VPNs than we care to count and out of the bunch, we have prepared that list.
In other words, all VPN services listed there have been field-tested for years and won’t let you down no matter what you throw at them. So make sure to check out that page and grab yourself the best VPN money could buy. The price difference between multiple services is rather small, so there is no reason to be cheap with your VPN purchase. Check it out and thank us later. 😉