Tips for Getting the Best VPN Speeds

One of the main complaints that people tend to have about VPNs is that they can slow down their connection. Connecting through another node can have this effect and prevent you from getting the best VPN speeds. In fact, there are a number of reasons why your speeds might slow down.

Fortunately, there are also a number of ways to speed that connection up while still getting the benefits of VPN protection.

Why You’re Not Getting the Best VPN Speeds

Internet networks are built on physical computers, but they also have software connections called “logical connections”. These are representations of physical networks that help direct traffic.

The direction of traffic happens in “nodes,” which are points in the network where data either stops or is redirected to another node. We’re not going to go too far into this, but suffice it to say that the more nodes you have to travel through, the slower your connection will be. It takes time to process data, and even the fractions of seconds can add up with enough nodes.

When you use a VPN, you are connecting your computer to a VPN server, which is then reaching through all of those nodes on your behalf. So you’re adding one extra node at least. And the further away the VPN server is from you, the more nodes your data will have to travel through in order to get there.

So, how do you go about combatting those limitations and getting the best VPN speeds?

1. Pick a Closer Server

The quickest and easiest way to improve your VPN speeds is to choose a new server located physically closer to your current location. As we mentioned above, the further away a computer is located, the more nodes data has to travel through to get there.

So if you’re in Philadelphia, you’ll naturally get better speeds by connecting to a server in New York City rather than one in San Francisco. A more extreme example would be if you’re in Rome, a server in Milan is going to be faster than one in London or Tokyo.

2. Pick a VPN With Better Routes

The problem with far locations is more than just the number of nodes you have to 

travel through. The route that your data takes is a crucial aspect of how good the speeds you’ll get will be when using a VPN.

There is more than one way for information to get from one place to another, and the purpose of having nodes to switch data between routes is to try to make that process as efficient as possible.

However, not all routes are created equally. The quality of the physical equipment, the number of people using it, and even the time of day can make one route significantly faster than another. While it would be nice to be able to put everybody on the fastest route with the best equipment, if we did that, it wouldn’t be the fastest route anymore. The Internet is like a street grid that way. Certain streets may be jammed while others are clear. You as the driver get to decide which one is going to be best for you.

If this is your issue, the way to get the best VPN speeds is to choose a VPN that uses the best routes. As far as we know, PrivadoVPN is the only VPN provider that works directly with regional ISPs to purchase access to the best routes. Data from our servers get priority on the fastest data paths to ensure our customers get the best possible speeds.

3. Change Your VPN Protocol

We’ve discussed VPN protocols several times before, but as a quick refresher: a VPN protocol is the rules that are used by your computer to handle data. It covers both data transfer and encryption.

Most VPNs allow you to choose which protocol you want to use from a selection of those available. For example, on PrivadoVPN we let users choose between OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard®. 

OpenVPN prioritizes security, so it checks every packet of data as it arrives or leaves to make sure it’s correct. This is great if you want to be absolutely sure nothing happens to your file in transit. But it also slows down the process significantly.

IKEv2 is a lot faster than OpenVPN because it checks data against an inventory called a “checksum”. It only does this after a certain amount of data (often the whole file) has been transferred. So if there were issues in transit that might corrupt your file, IKEv2 is less likely to catch it than OpenVPN.

WireGuard® is the newest protocol and is quickly gaining popularity as the best balance between speed and security. You’ll still get great speeds while being confident that your data will arrive safely.

By changing between these protocols, you’re able to affect the speed of your connection.

4. Change Your Browser

If you’re surfing the Web and pages are taking a while to load, the problem might not be your connection. It might be your browser.

Some web browsers can slow down how quickly they process incoming requests when they have too many to deal with, such as if you have several active tabs open. Try closing tabs or picking another browser to use.

Speaking of, “secure browsers” like Tor or Secure Core certainly have their place in cybersecurity. However, they work by routing your data through volunteer nodes to hide your identity. This drastically reduces your speeds, even if you aren’t using a VPN. Moreover, they don’t encrypt your data, so it’s still readable, if not easy to tie back to you.

The Best VPN Speeds Are Within Your Grasp

Everything on the Internet involves balancing resources for the best transfer of information. You can’t control every decision that’s made toward that end, but there are some that you can control. Being aware of them and implementing them is the most effective way to get the best VPN speeds.

Get Powerful VPN Speeds from PrivadoVPN

If you want to get the best possible connection speeds, PrivadoVPN can help. Our reliable VPN offers users lightning-fast connectivity, better streaming quality, and a safer online experience. With powerful encryption protocols and servers available all over the world, PrivadoVPN makes it easy for you to get the Internet quality that you deserve. Plus, premium users even get unlimited monthly data and the ability to create up to 10 active connections at once. It’s never been a better time to start taking back control of your privacy and security. Sign up for PrivadoVPN today!