Yes, a VPN can slow down your internet, but usually by less than people expect. Your traffic takes an extra trip through a VPN server, so the distance to that server, how busy it is and the protocol your app uses decide most of the slowdown. Encryption itself costs very little on modern devices. Pick a nearby server and a modern protocol such as WireGuard, NordLynx or Lightway, and in practice the difference is often small.
Last updated 31 October 2026.
Why a VPN can slow you down: four causes
NordVPN answers the question on its own blog with a plain yes: a VPN can slow down your internet speed, “but the impact is often smaller than you’d expect.” The same page names the factors: “the distance to the server, the server’s current load, the VPN protocol you use, encryption overhead, and your base internet speed.” Here’s what each one means for you.
1. Distance to the server. This is usually the big one. Without a VPN, your request goes from your home to the website. With a VPN, it goes from your home to the VPN server, then to the website, then back the same way. NordVPN’s own example is clear: someone in the UK connects to a server in Australia to reach a website that is also hosted in the UK. The data travels “from the UK to Australia and then back to the UK instead of taking a shorter local route.” Every extra thousand kilometres adds delay, and when you click a link, that delay is what makes the page feel sluggish.
2. Server load. A VPN server is shared. When you join one that’s already packed, you slow down along with everyone else on it. NordVPN says this is “more common with free or low-quality VPNs that have limited server networks and overcrowded servers.” Its chief technology officer adds a line worth remembering: “Your VPN provider’s server quality matters more than the number of servers it has.”
3. The protocol. A protocol is the set of rules your app uses to build the tunnel and move data through it. Turns out this matters far more than most people think. NordVPN says the protocol is “often the reason why two people using the same VPN can have very different speed results.” Older protocols such as OpenVPN are solid on security but heavier. Newer ones were built with speed in mind.
4. Encryption overhead. Encryption scrambles your data so nobody on the network can read it. That takes some processing, but less than you’d guess. NordVPN says current standards like AES-256 “add only negligible overhead in most cases.” Honestly, if you’ve been blaming encryption for a slow VPN, the server you picked is the likelier culprit.
There is a fifth factor that isn’t the VPN at all: your own line. A VPN “can only work within the limits of your underlying internet connection,” as NordVPN puts it. If your broadband is slow without the VPN, it will be slow with it too.
How much slower? The figures the providers publish
We haven’t run speed tests, so we won’t give you our own number. Here is what we could read today, with the source for each.
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Speed cost of encryption alone | “around 5% to 25% in some cases” | NordVPN blog |
| Long-haul routes vs regional ones | “a natural 10% to 15% speed reduction” on Asia-Pacific routes across five providers | West Coast Labs report, as cited by NordVPN on the same page |
Treat both as rough guides. The first comes from a VPN company, and the second is a report NordVPN cites to support its own speed claims. Neither tells you what will happen on your connection, in your building, on your router. The only figure that matters for you is the one you measure yourself, before and after connecting.
A worked example: the same laptop, two servers
Take a remote worker in Leeds on a home line that tests at 100 Mbps with the VPN off. They need the VPN on because they often work from a café, and they’ve kept it on at home out of habit.
Monday: nearest server. They let the app pick the closest server, a few hundred kilometres away in the UK. If encryption costs somewhere in NordVPN’s 5% to 25% range, they’d land somewhere between 75 and 95 Mbps. For video calls, email and cloud documents, that’s plenty. Most days they won’t notice.
Tuesday: a server on the other side of the world. A colleague tells them to try a server in Sydney. Now every request crosses the planet twice. On top of the encryption cost, distance adds delay to each round trip, and the West Coast Labs figure above suggests long routes lose more speed than short ones. Pages hang for a beat before they load. Video calls get choppy.
Same laptop, same app, same line. The only change was the server. That’s the lesson most people miss: when you feel a VPN slowdown, check where you’re connected before you blame the VPN itself.
What helps: the fixes in order
The providers’ own advice lines up, and it’s simple. Try these in this order.
- Connect to the nearest server. Unless you need a particular country, pick a server in your own country or the next one over. NordVPN’s “Secure my connection” button connects you to the fastest available server automatically. Other apps have a similar “quick connect” or “fastest server” option.
- Use a modern protocol. On NordVPN that’s NordLynx, which is “built around WireGuard” and is the default in its apps. In the Windows app NordVPN points to “Settings” > “Connection and security” > “VPN protocol” (“General” on macOS) to check it. ExpressVPN’s own protocol is Lightway, which the company says “runs faster, uses less battery, and is easier to audit and maintain.” Proton VPN and Surfshark both offer WireGuard; our Surfshark review lists its protocols.
- Test without the VPN first. Don’t skip this one. If your line is slow on its own, the VPN isn’t the problem. Run a speed test with the VPN off, then on, from the same spot.
- Use a cable where you can. NordVPN notes that wired connections “often deliver more consistent speeds than Wi-Fi.”
- Close apps that hog bandwidth. Cloud backups, file syncing and update managers run quietly and eat into your connection, and most people don’t notice until they look.
- Restart the device and the router. Boring, but it clears a surprising number of problems.
WireGuard, the open protocol behind NordLynx, describes itself on its own site as aiming to be “considerably more performant than OpenVPN.” That’s the reason most modern apps now default to it or to something built on it.
One thing not to do
Skip the advice to turn off your antivirus or firewall to “test” a slow VPN. NordVPN’s CTO says it directly on the same page: “A slightly faster internet connection isn’t worth the security risk.” We agree. If you suspect your security software is clashing with the VPN, add the VPN app to its list of exceptions instead of switching protection off.
When a VPN can actually be faster
There is one real case, and it’s narrow. Some internet providers slow down particular types of traffic on purpose, which is called throttling. Because a VPN encrypts your traffic, the provider can’t see what kind of traffic it is. NordVPN puts it this way: if your provider “throttles speeds based on traffic type, using a VPN may restore bandwidth that was being artificially limited.”
Don’t forget the limits, though. The same page says a VPN “won’t improve your speeds if your ISP throttles all VPN traffic or limits bandwidth based on total data usage rather than traffic type.” It also does nothing about a crowded local network at 8pm, when everyone on your street is online. In practice, most people with a VPN see a small slowdown, not a speed-up. If someone promises you a faster connection just from switching a VPN on, be sceptical.
Should you leave the VPN on all the time?
If the slowdown on a nearby server is small for you, leaving the VPN on is the easy option, and it means you’re protected the moment your phone hops onto a hotel or airport network. You may still want to switch it off for a moment to reach a printer or another device on your home network, or use split tunneling to keep those devices outside the tunnel. We explain both in our guide to what a VPN kill switch is.
When the slowdown does bother you, remember what a VPN is for. It hides your traffic from the network you’re on and changes the address websites see. Our guide to what a VPN can and can’t hide covers that in full. If you only need it on public Wi-Fi, you can switch it on just there.
Common mistakes that make a VPN feel slow
Picking a far-away server out of habit. Many people choose a country once and never change it. If you’ve done that, check it now. If you don’t need that location, the nearest server is almost always quicker.
Sticking with an old protocol. If you’ve used the same app for years, check its protocol setting. Some older installs or manual setups still use OpenVPN, and switching to the app’s modern default can make a clear difference.
Blaming the VPN for a slow line. Test without it. If your broadband is slow at peak times, the VPN will be slow too, and a different VPN won’t fix that.
Choosing a free VPN for speed. NordVPN notes that free services “often have fewer servers and more crowded networks,” and some cap bandwidth. If speed matters and you want to compare paid options on what they publish, our NordVPN vs Surfshark comparison is a good place to start.
FAQ: VPN speed questions
How much does a VPN slow down the internet?
It depends on the server, protocol and your own line. NordVPN says encryption alone can cut speeds by “around 5% to 25% in some cases,” and long routes usually lose more than short ones. Test with the VPN off and on to see your own figure.
Why is my VPN so slow all of a sudden?
The usual reasons are a far-away or crowded server, a change of protocol, or a slow underlying connection. Connect to the nearest server, check the protocol setting, then run a speed test with the VPN off to rule out your provider.
Which VPN protocol is fastest?
The providers point to their modern protocols: NordLynx for NordVPN, Lightway for ExpressVPN, and WireGuard in many other apps. They’re generally lighter than OpenVPN. Use your app’s default modern option unless you have a reason not to.
Can a VPN make my internet faster?
Only in one narrow case: when your provider throttles a particular type of traffic and the VPN hides what that traffic is. It won’t help if your provider slows all VPN traffic or caps your total data, and most of the time a VPN adds a small slowdown.
The short version
- A VPN usually slows your internet a little, because your traffic takes an extra trip through a VPN server.
- Distance to the server, server load and the protocol cause most of the slowdown; modern encryption costs very little.
- The nearest server plus WireGuard, NordLynx or Lightway is the quickest setup in practice.
- Test with the VPN off first, so you know whether the VPN or your line is the problem.
- A VPN can be faster only when your provider throttles a specific type of traffic, and that case is rare.