How to Test the Speed of A VPN Connection

The speed of a personal VPN connection is an important feature to consider when choosing a provider. There are a number of factors that can affect the VPN’s connection speed. A lot of people tend to test a VPN’s connection speed the same way they test the connection speed of their Internet service provider (ISP). However, this method is inherently flawed. Users should be aware of how to properly test the speed of their VPN connection.
Why Traditional Methods may be Inaccurate

Users can test their local ISP connection by logging onto a speed test website. This will provide them details regarding their Internet speed. If this same method is used to test the speed of their VPN connection, the results will be inaccurate.

A speed test website will identify the connection server that is closest to a user’s location. It will then run a diagnostic on that server. However, when a device is connected through a VPN, the actual location of that device is masked. A user will appear to be connecting from the location of the VPN server. Therefore, if a user in Asia is connected to a USA VPN server, the speed test will be run on a USA server.

The speed of a VPN connection is affected by the proximity of the device to a server. Connections that are subject to high latency are slow as data packets take longer to travel. Latency increases as the distance between a device and a VPN server increases.

Users should therefore make sure that they are connecting through the VPN server they wish to test.

Furthermore, when users connect to a VPN server, they are also going through their ISP. This factor needs to be figured into the speed measurement.
How to Get an Accurate Measure of your VPN Connection Speed

The following steps should be taken by users wishing to test the speed of their VPN Connection:

1. Users should first run a diagnostic Internet bandwidth test on their ISP without using their VPN connection. They should record the speed and latency.
2. The users should then connect to their VPN server using their choice of VPN clients.
3. Next, users should re-run the diagnostic speed test. They should then record the new values for speeds and latency.
4. Finally, users should subtract the figures while not using a VPN connection from the data while they were connected. This will present them with an accurate picture of how much speed is lost when connected through the VPN. It will also show the increase in latency.
Choosing the best VPN Provider

Connection speed is important to most users. A VPN service provider that does not maintain their own servers should be avoided. These providers depend on third party vendors for server hosting and management. Therefore, they can provide no guarantees of server uptime. Users should also opt for a service provider that has global server locations. This feature helps to reduce latency. It is particularly necessary for users who travel frequently. The best service providers will have servers in Asia, Europe and North America.