How VPNs Affect Internet Speed
A VPN that has one internet connection to work with will cost you a little speed, because encrypting your traffic and routing that traffic through an extra server both take time. Uploads and downloads only get faster when the VPN has more than one internet connection to draw on.
Speedify is that kind of app: Speedify encrypts your traffic like a VPN and sends it over Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite internet connections at the same time, so the upload and download speeds of each connection add up.
Speedify is a VPN that adds failover and faster uploads and downloads
The sections below cover when a VPN helps speed, when a VPN hurts speed, and how much you gain by running Speedify instead.
Why VPNs Usually Make Your Internet Slower
1. Encryption Overhead
The primary reason VPNs slow down internet speeds is the computational cost of encryption and decryption. Every piece of data must be encrypted before leaving your device and decrypted at the VPN server, creating additional processing time. How much speed this costs depends on the protocol and on your device: older phones and laptops lose the most.
2. Server Distance and Routing
When you connect to a VPN server, your internet traffic takes a longer route to reach its destination. Instead of connecting directly to websites, your data travels to the VPN server first, then to the target site. This extended path increases latency, which you notice most in real-time applications like gaming or video calls.
3. Server Congestion
Popular VPN servers often become overcrowded, particularly during peak usage hours. When hundreds or thousands of users share the same server resources, bandwidth gets divided among all connected users. This congestion creates bottlenecks that dramatically reduce connection speeds for everyone on that server.
4. ISP Network Limitations and Throttling
A VPN cannot perform miracles if your underlying internet connection is weak or unstable. Plus, some internet service providers actively throttle or deprioritize VPN traffic. They can detect encrypted traffic patterns and intentionally slow down these connections.
5. Suboptimal VPN Protocol Selection
Using outdated or inappropriate VPN protocols can cost speed. Legacy protocols like PPTP or poorly configured OpenVPN connections create unnecessary overhead, while modern protocols like WireGuard offer better speed-to-security ratios.
How to Make Your VPN Faster
First, make sure your VPN costs your internet connection as little speed as possible. These five steps help:
1. Choose Servers Closer to You
Select VPN servers that are geographically closer to your location and have lower user loads. Many VPN providers display server load percentages in their apps. Aim for servers with less than 50% capacity and minimal distance from your physical location to optimize performance.
2. Experiment with Different Protocols
Switch between available VPN protocols to find the fastest option for your setup. For conventional VPNs, WireGuard typically offers the best performance, followed by IKEv2 and modern OpenVPN implementations. Test each protocol during different times of day to account for varying network conditions.
3. Optimize Your Device Settings
Close unnecessary applications that consume bandwidth and processing power. Disable features like automatic updates, cloud syncing, and background app refresh while using your VPN. These optimizations free up resources for VPN processing and improve overall performance.
4. Split Tunneling Configuration
Use split tunneling to route only specific traffic through the VPN while allowing other applications to use your direct internet connection. This reduces the load on your VPN connection and can improve speeds for applications that don’t require VPN protection.
5. Upgrade Your Internet Plan
If your base internet speed is already slow, a VPN will only amplify the issue. Test your connection speed without the VPN active, and consider upgrading your internet plan if speeds are consistently below your needs.
BONUS: Get a VPN that combines multiple internet connections at the same time, like Speedify.
When a VPN Makes Your Internet Faster: Throttling, Routing and Multiple Connections
A VPN can make your connection faster in specific situations. Here’s how:
- Bypasses ISP Throttling: If your ISP is limiting your speed on specific services (like Netflix, YouTube, or gaming), a VPN can hide that traffic and prevent throttling.
- Improves Routing Efficiency: Some VPNs offer better routing than your ISP, so your data takes a more direct path and arrives faster.
- Reduces Packet Loss: High-quality VPNs can stabilize your connection by reducing packet loss and jitter, especially useful for video calls and gaming.
- Uses all available connections at once: on a phone, Wi-Fi and 4G/5G cellular; on a computer or router, also Ethernet, Starlink, DSL and satellite. A VPN that combines internet connections adds their bandwidth together, which is the one way a VPN makes uploads and downloads faster than your own connection.
Most VPN apps help only in the first three cases, and only some of the time. To get more upload and download speed than one internet connection gives, you need a VPN built to combine internet connections, like Speedify.
Introducing Speedify: a VPN That Makes Your Connection Faster and More Reliable
Traditional VPNs send all your traffic over one internet connection to one server. Speedify instead splits your traffic packet by packet across every internet connection you have and encrypts it on the way. This method, combining internet connections, adds the bandwidth of each connection together.
Here’s how Speedify improves internet speed and reliability:
- Combines all available connections at once: Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink, DSL and satellite internet connections into one faster connection
- Detects and bypasses slow or congested paths in real time
- Moves traffic off a connection that drops or loses packets, so calls and streams keep going
- Encrypts your traffic like any VPN, while the extra connections supply the speed
- Protects against ISP throttling by masking your traffic.
Whether you’re working remotely, streaming video or gaming online, Speedify gives you more upload and download speed, plus failover when one connection drops, as long as you have two or more internet connections to combine. Your traffic leaves from the same Speedify server either way, so your public IP address stays the same when a connection drops and video calls and logged-in sessions carry on.
Traditional VPNs usually slow down internet connections because of encryption overhead and longer routes, and careful server and protocol choices keep that loss small. To get faster than your own connection, you need a second internet connection and a VPN that combines both, like Speedify.
Speedify Is a VPN App That Also Combines Internet Connections
Speedify works as a VPN: Speedify encrypts your traffic with DTLS 1.2 and AES-256-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305 and sends it through Speedify’s own servers, so the networks you connect through cannot read it. Unlike most VPNs, Speedify can also use two or more internet connections at once. Speedify runs on Windows, macOS (11.5 or later), iOS, Android and Linux; a free account includes 5 GB per month (Linux needs a paid plan), and the Individual plan costs $89.99 a year.
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Speedify combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite into one faster, more reliable internet connection. Free to try: 5 GB a month with a free account. No credit card required.
🚀 Speed
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📶 Stability
If one internet connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the others in milliseconds.
🔒 Security
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