Why is my VPN so slow? How to speed it up

The quick fix

If your VPN feels slow, do two things: connect to a nearby, low-load server (from Ireland, that’s an Irish or UK one) and switch to the WireGuard protocol in settings. Those two changes recover most lost speed for the vast majority of people. If it’s still sluggish, work through the rest below — and test properly so you know it’s actually the VPN.

Why a VPN slows you down

Some slowdown is unavoidable — a VPN encrypts your traffic and sends it via an extra server, and both take a moment. But a big drop almost always comes from one of these: the server is far away (distance = latency), the server is overloaded, you’re on an old, heavy protocol (OpenVPN vs WireGuard), or your base connection was slow to begin with. Each of those is fixable.

How to speed it up, in order

Work top to bottom — the first two do most of the work:

1. 1
   Connect to a nearer, less-busy server

   The single biggest factor. The further your data travels, the slower it gets — so from Ireland, an Irish or UK server will nearly always beat one in Australia. Many apps show server load; pick a low-load one close to you.

2. 2
   Switch to WireGuard

   In your VPN’s settings, choose the WireGuard protocol (some brands call it NordLynx or similar). It’s dramatically faster and more efficient than older OpenVPN, and it’s the single best speed setting to change.

3. 3
   Check your base speed and connection

   Test your speed with the VPN off first. If it’s slow anyway, the VPN isn’t the culprit — your broadband is. A wired Ethernet connection also beats Wi-Fi for both speed and consistency.

4. 4
   Restart the router and device

   Congested or stale network state slows everything. Power-cycle your router and restart your device, then reconnect the VPN.

5. 5
   Turn off features you don’t need

   Double VPN / multi-hop and obfuscation add security but cost speed. If you don’t specifically need them, switch back to a single standard server.

6. 6
   Free up bandwidth

   Other devices and background apps — cloud backups, big downloads, other people streaming — eat your bandwidth. Pause them, or use split tunnelling to route only what needs the VPN through it.

7. 7
   Try a different port or TCP vs UDP

   If speeds are still poor on a good server, switch OpenVPN between UDP (faster) and TCP (more stable), or change ports in settings.

How to test your VPN speed

Before you blame the VPN, measure it properly — it takes two minutes:

• Baseline first. With the VPN off, run a speed test (fast.com or speedtest.net) and note the download speed. That’s your ceiling.
• Then with the VPN on. Connect to a nearby server and run the same test. The difference is your VPN’s speed cost.
• Test a few servers. One may be congested while another flies — don’t judge a VPN on a single server.
• Compare like for like. Same device, same test site, same time of day, ideally wired — so you’re measuring the VPN, not the weather on your Wi-Fi.

What’s a normal speed drop?

On a good modern VPN using WireGuard and a nearby server, you should lose only around 10–20% of your base speed — usually imperceptible for streaming, browsing and calls. If you’re seeing 50% or more gone, that’s not normal: it points to a distant or overloaded server, an old protocol, or a genuinely slow VPN. Which brings us to the last point.

The fastest VPNs

If you’ve tried everything and it’s still slow, your VPN may simply be one of the slow ones — they vary a lot. From our measured throughput testing, the fastest barely dent your speed. Our top picks:

Fastest in our testing

NordVPN

455 Mbps

9.6

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ExpressVPN

445 Mbps

9.4

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Surfshark

440 Mbps

9.3

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See the full, speed-ranked list in our best fast VPN guide, or check your setup with our set-up guide.