We test 20+ popular VPN services 24 times per day from 8 locations around the world (that's almost 500 tests per day!) - trying to hit the maximum bandwidth that the VPN server is capable of.
The speedtest location, VPN provider and the VPN server are all chosen randomly for fair results. All speedtests are performed using OpenVPN over UDP (with the providers default settings) from Vultr VPS servers geographically close to the VPN servers.
To find the maximum speed of a each VPN server we need to test from a location geographically near the VPN server. For example if you wanted to find the maximum speed of a VPN server in Amsterdam, then you would need to test from Amsterdam. This limits any network bottlenecks between the test server and the VPN server. The test servers have gigabit network connections with good peering to Internet exchange points - which is faster than any home internet connection.
Yes we'll be adding more VPN providers. If anyone wants to donate a VPN account for their favorite provider we'll add them.
We figured that any provider who can reach 100 Mbps is fast enough so that's why we didn't create a table with the "fastest" VPNs at the top. Everyone's experience will be different depending on the interconnects between you and the VPN server.
I can see the usefulness of this project. Thank you for providing this tool. Can you please share some of the things that you've learned regarding these VPN service providers?
Here's something that I've learned: The VPNs that say they are the “Fastest VPN” on their website might be embarrassed by this. ExpressVPN, PureVPN and VyprVPN... I’m thinking of you.
There are a few VPN services claiming to be "The Worlds Fastest VPN" and paying people to repeat their claim. However the results speak for themselves. :)
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[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 30.7 ms ] threadThe speedtest location, VPN provider and the VPN server are all chosen randomly for fair results. All speedtests are performed using OpenVPN over UDP (with the providers default settings) from Vultr VPS servers geographically close to the VPN servers.
To find the maximum speed of a each VPN server we need to test from a location geographically near the VPN server. For example if you wanted to find the maximum speed of a VPN server in Amsterdam, then you would need to test from Amsterdam. This limits any network bottlenecks between the test server and the VPN server. The test servers have gigabit network connections with good peering to Internet exchange points - which is faster than any home internet connection.
One suggestion: might be nice to have a sortable table of the providers & results so visitors could visually compare them at once.
We figured that any provider who can reach 100 Mbps is fast enough so that's why we didn't create a table with the "fastest" VPNs at the top. Everyone's experience will be different depending on the interconnects between you and the VPN server.
There are a few VPN services claiming to be "The Worlds Fastest VPN" and paying people to repeat their claim. However the results speak for themselves. :)
Related: For those looking into VPN options I also found this write-up useful: https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-anonymous-review-160220/