The Fastest VPNs 2023
Discover why Surfshark, IPVanish, and CyberGhost are the fastest VPNs for surfing the web so quickly that you appear to vanish like a ghost in the shell.
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Last updated May 30, 2023
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Best for Gaming and Streaming
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Learn More
On Surfshark's website
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Unlimited simultaneous connections
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Works with Netflix and other streaming services
Unlimited simultaneous connections
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Headquarters in Nine Eyes Alliance
Headquarters in Nine Eyes Alliance
Best for Torrent Enthusiasts
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Learn More
On IPVanish's website
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Unlimited devices for each plan
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Works with popular streaming services like Netflix
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Kill switch feature not available on iOS
Best for Privacy-Conscious Users
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Learn More
On CyberGhost's website
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Cheaper than ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark
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Optimized servers for regional streaming
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No split tunneling feature
Are you tired of sluggish VPNs that slow down your internet speed and performance? We tested six popular VPN services to see which has enough speed to keep up with downloading files and torrents, streaming shows, gaming, and browsing the web.
Read on to find out why we chose Surfshark, IPVanish, and CyberGhost as the top speed demons for their lightning-fast connections, rock-solid security features, and more.
In this article
The best fast VPNs 2023Surfshark: Best for online gaming and streaming
IPVanish: Best for torrent enthusiasts
CyberGhost: Best for privacy-conscious internet users
Other VPNs known for fast speeds
Best VPNs with the fastest speeds FAQs
Bottom line: The fastest VPNs for streaming, gaming, and torrenting
How we tested the fastest VPN apps
The best fast VPNs 2023
Before we jump into our top three picks, it's worth noting we established our baseline download and upload speeds as well as latency from our location in Los Angeles, California, without connecting to a VPN. Without a VPN, our internet connection had a download speed of 250 megabits per second (Mbps), an upload speed of 25 Mbps, and a latency of 20 ms.
Baseline internet speeds
- Download speed: 250 Mbps
- Upload speed: 25 Mbps
- Latency: 20 ms
Next, we tested several VPNs and connected to each of their servers located in another city in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia (AU) for VPN speed comparisons. The fastest VPN tests were conducted with Proton VPN, CyberGhost, IPVanish, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark.
Afterward, we assessed the impact of each VPN based on our baseline connection speed and performance.
As a result, we came up with our list of the three fastest VPNs:
- Surfshark: Best for online gaming and streaming
- IPVanish: Best for torrent enthusiasts
- CyberGhost: Best for privacy-conscious internet users
Top 3 fastest VPN services compared
| VPN |  Surfshark Best for Streaming & Gaming
|
 IPVanish |
 CyberGhost |
| Starting price | Starts at $2.30/mo | Starts at $3.33/mo | Starts at $2.19/mo |
| Max speed test result | 205.59 Mbps | 157.96 Mbps | 168.95 Mbps |
| Number of connected devices | Unlimited | Unlimited | 7 |
| Server count | 3,200+ | 2,200+ | 9,100+ |
| Streaming support | Yes — Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and more. | Yes — Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Kodi, and more. | Yes — Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and more. |
| Torrenting support | |||
| Learn more | Get Surfshark Read Surfshark Review |
Get IPVanish Read IPVanish Review |
See CyberGhost Pricing Read CyberGhost Review |
Prices as of 04/26/2023.
Surfshark: Best for online gaming and streaming
Surfshark's VPN Speeds Saw Little Slowdown
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Unlimited simultaneous connections
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Works with Netflix and other streaming services
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Headquarters in Nine Eyes Alliance
Surfshark speed test results
Surfshark is the go-to choice for online gamers and streamers due to its blazing-fast speeds. Our speed tests revealed that Surfshark is not just all talk — it truly delivers on its promise of high-speed connections.
We were impressed with Surfshark’s download speeds, which revealed a minimal difference from our baseline download speeds when not connected to a VPN. This was especially clear when we chose a server in Las Vegas, Nevada, outside of our location in Los Angeles, California. And yet, there was only a 22.7% difference in download speeds, which is a much smaller difference than the other VPNs we evaluated.
Then, we connected to Surfshark's VPN servers in London, United Kingdom, and Sydney, Australia, and compared those to our baseline speeds. We found that Surfshark had faster speeds overall and less latency (ping) than the other VPNs we tested. Low latency is important for ensuring a high-quality gaming and streaming experience without any lag.
Look at Surfshark’s speed test results across various regions in the table below.
Surfshark speeds
| Connection | US to US | US to UK | US to AU |
| Download speed | 205.59 Mbps (22.7%) | 156.69 Mbps (47.3%) | 143.21 Mbps (56.3%) |
| Upload speed | 14.33 Mbps (47%) | 9.62 Mbps (94.1%) | 16.06 Mbps (34.2%) |
| Latency | 29 ms (44.4%) | 145 ms (150%) | 244 ms (207.5%) |
Test results as of 04/03/2023.
What we liked
Surfshark is among the best gaming VPNs, delivering fast speeds and offering excellent features that enhance security and privacy. When we tested it, our U.S. download speeds were 205.59 Mbps, close to our baseline speeds. This is likely because Surfshark uses the WireGuard protocol, which is lightweight, secure, and makes fast download speeds possible.
Surfshark’s VPN encrypts your online traffic and has powerful features like an ad blocker and antivirus, split-tunneling, a rotating IP address, ad and malware blockers, and more. This makes it a good fit if you’re concerned about safety and privacy while web browsing.
Although its latency levels were not ideal in the U.K. and Australia, it had impressively low latency of less than 60 ms when connected to a U.S. server, perfect for online gaming.
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What we didn’t like
We didn’t like that Surfshark couldn’t bypass restrictions when we tried to watch Netflix and stream on Hulu, which wasn’t the case when we previously tested Surfshark.
However, we also noticed that the rest of the VPNs we tested were also blocked from using Netflix and Hulu, regardless of what server location we connected to, even those that could bypass restrictions previously, like NordVPN and CyberGhost.
For example, when we tried to connect to Hulu from various server locations worldwide (including a U.S. server location), it warned us that Hulu is available in the U.S. only and cannot be used with an anonymous proxy service. This happened when we also selected a static IP address in New York, but we couldn’t test it with a dedicated IP.
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It appears that streaming platforms are continuing to crack down on VPN providers. However, we were able to test streaming on Amazon Video Prime, and it worked flawlessly without any interruptions or laggy buffering issues.
Surfshark specs
| Price range | $2.30–$12.95/mo |
| Free version | No |
| Max speed test result | 205.59 Mbps |
| Number of connected devices | Unlimited |
| Server count | 3,200+ |
| VPN protocol | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec |
| No-logs policy | No logs |
| Streaming support | Yes — Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and more |
| Torrenting support | Yes |
| Learn more | Get Surfshark Read Our Surfshark Review |
Prices as of 04/26/2023.
IPVanish: Best for torrent enthusiasts
IPVanish Comes With P2P-Friendly Servers
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Unlimited devices for each plan
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Works with popular streaming services like Netflix
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Kill switch feature not available on iOS
IPVanish speed test results
We chose IPVanish as the fastest VPN for torrent enthusiasts because of its lightning-speed VPN connections and P2P-friendly servers, making it a top choice for seamless file sharing.
During our speed tests, IPVanish delivered fast download and upload speeds across different server locations, indicating its capacity for optimal torrenting performance. It also had decent latency (ping), contributing to a smooth and reliable file-sharing experience.
Below are IPVanish VPN’s speed test results in the U.S., U.K., and Australia.
IPVanish speeds
| Connection | US to US | US to UK | US to AU |
| Download speed | 145.59 Mbps (55.4%) | 157.96 Mbps (46.6%) | 98.30 Mbps (90.6%) |
| Upload speed | 21.84 Mbps (1.8%) | 8.78 Mbps (92.9%) | 8.35 Mbps (96%) |
| Latency | 40 ms (92%) | 150 ms (154.7%) | 176 ms (168.1%) |
Test results as of 04/03/2023.
What we liked
We enjoyed that IPVanish is the best torrenting VPN because it allows you to connect to over 2,200 servers globally that support torrenting and provides access to a SOCKS5 proxy, which helps make torrenting a breeze since many torrent clients support it and can help bypass ISP throttling and geo-restrictions. It also lets you choose between the tunneling protocols OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, and especially WireGuard, known for its fast connections and strong security.
IPVanish also has strong security features like AES-256 encryption, a strict no-logs policy that has been audited and verified, a kill switch, and more. These features ensure a safe and anonymous torrenting experience. Plus, it can support unlimited devices, which is always a win in our book.
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What we didn’t like
We didn’t like that IPVanish fell short in terms of streaming support and was unable to unblock popular platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. Keep in mind, however, that Netflix and Hulu appear to have recently tightened restrictions on VPN platforms since other VPNs we’ve tested that used to access them are now unable to.
Although IPVanish could not access Netflix and Hulu, it supports streaming on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Kodi, and others.
Additionally, its latency speed results in the United Kingdom and Australia didn’t fare well compared to the U.S., which can be a problem for American online gamers who want to play games outside their country without lag.
IPVanish specs
| Price range | $3.33–$11.99/mo |
| Free version | No |
| Max speed test result | 157.96 Mbps |
| Number of connected devices | Unlimited |
| Server count | 2,200+ |
| VPN protocol | WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2/IPSec |
| No-logs policy | No logs |
| Streaming support | Yes — Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Kodi, and more. |
| Torrenting support | Yes |
| Learn more | Get IPVanish Read Our IPVanish Review |
Prices as of 04/26/2023.
CyberGhost: Best for privacy-conscious internet users
CyberGhost Sports Low Latency and No Logs
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Cheaper than ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark
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Optimized servers for regional streaming
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No split tunneling feature
CyberGhost speed test results
We chose CyberGhost as a top choice for privacy-conscious users who want a VPN that provides both fast connections and robust security features.
Compared to most of the VPNs we tested, CyberGhost has fast download and upload speeds, meaning it performs better when it comes to browsing the web, sharing files, online gaming, or engaging in remote work by facilitating quicker file transfers and smooth conference calls.
In our testing, CyberGhost had a latency speed of 38 ms, ranking second-best after Surfshark in the U.S. Low latency is important for a seamless internet user experience with uninterrupted online gaming, smoother video and audio calls, faster website load times, and even better responsiveness in remote desktop sessions.
Check out CyberGhost's speed test results across various regions in the table below.
CyberGhost speeds
| Connection | US to US | US to UK | US to AU |
| Download speed | 157.77 Mbps (46.4%) | 168.95 Mbps (37%) | 40.63 Mbps (181.1%) |
| Upload speed | 17.03 Mbps (27.4%) | 9.65 Mbps (93.6%) | 9.58 Mbps (94.7%) |
| Latency | 38 ms (80.8%) | 184 ms (180%) | 186 ms (181.9%) |
Test results as of 04/03/2023.
What we liked
We liked CyberGhost's extensive network of over 9,100 servers in multiple locations worldwide — a larger server network lets you swap servers for better connection speeds and reliability. The VPN also works with different protocols, such as WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP/IPSec.
CyberGhost also has a verified and audited strict no-logs policy and strong encryption to ensure your online activities remain private and secure.
CyberGhost also supports streaming on popular platforms like Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max and offers torrenting support. And while we prefer unlimited simultaneous connections, CyberGhost does allow up to seven connected devices, making it suitable for families or individuals with multiple devices.
While most VPNs offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, CyberGhost one-ups the rest with a 45-day money-back guarantee if you’ve subscribed for six months or more.
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What we didn’t like
Even though CyberGhost performs well in many areas, its latency speeds for international connections — specifically to the U.K. and Australia — were relatively high compared to some other VPNs we tested. This could reduce the quality of streaming, browsing the web, and more, which isn’t ideal if you need to connect to VPN servers in distant locations.
Keep in mind that individual experiences may vary as factors such as your internet speed, device, bandwidth throttling, network connections, and more can impact speed results.
CyberGhost specs
| Price range | $2.19–$12.99/mo |
| Free version | No |
| Max speed test result | 168.95 Mbps |
| Number of connected devices | 7 |
| Server count | 9,100+ |
| VPN protocol | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP/IPSec |
| No-logs policy | No logs |
| Streaming support | Yes — Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and more |
| Torrenting support | Yes |
| Learn more | Get CyberGhost Read Our CyberGhost Review |
Prices as of 04/26/2023.
Other VPNs known for fast speeds
NordVPN
NordVPN is a close runner-up to our top three picks because of its fast VPN speed and advanced security features, such as its double VPN technology, secure encryption, smart DNS, its proprietary NordLynx tunneling protocol based on WireGuard, and more.
Despite its top-notch security and performance, NordVPN fell short of our top three VPNs due to slightly slower speeds.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is another worthy contender as the fastest VPN since it delivers high-speed connections for a seamless browsing and streaming experience. Additionally, its Lightway protocol further enhances its speed and security, making it an excellent choice for users who prioritize both.
However, it didn’t make it to our top three list mainly because of its expensive cost, with a starting price of about $8 per month — and it does not offer a free trial. Additionally, it supports simultaneous connections for a limited to five devices.
Proton VPN
Although Proton VPN was the slowest of all six VPNs we tested, it has reasonable speeds and offers security and privacy features. Plus, it has a free VPN plan for low-budget users. This makes Proton VPN ideal for anyone who prioritizes privacy and security but also wants to save on subscription costs.
Best VPNs with the fastest speeds FAQs
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What’s the fastest VPN?
Based on our comprehensive testing and VPN speed comparison, Surfshark, IPVanish, and CyberGhost emerged as the fastest VPNs for various use cases. Remember that individual experiences may vary depending on factors like your internet service provider (ISP), server location, device, and network conditions, etc.
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What’s the fastest free VPN?
If a free VPN is your only option, consider using Proton VPN, which uses strong encryption protocols and unlimited bandwidth with its free plan.
Although using a free VPN seems like a great way to save money, keep in mind that free VPNs often come with limited features, slower speeds, and compromised security.
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Is there a way to make a VPN faster?
To make a VPN faster, try some of the following tips:
- Connect to a different server location that’s closer to your geographic location
- Swap to a fast and lightweight encryption protocol like WireGuard
- Use an Ethernet cable to connect your device to your router instead of Wi-Fi
- Try to speed up your internet connection before connecting to your VPN
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What’s the fastest VPN for gaming?
Surfshark offers impressive speeds with low latency, making it one of the best gaming VPNs available for a seamless gaming experience — without the lag.
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What’s the fastest VPN for Netflix?
Previously, Surfshark, IPVanish, and CyberGhost all offered excellent speeds for streaming on Netflix. But when we tried to access Netflix with each of them from different server locations, we couldn't bypass restrictions even from a U.S. server location. It appears that Netflix and other streaming services are enforcing stricter regulations on VPN access — but this can always change in the future.
Keep in mind that when selecting a fast VPN for streaming, you should always check your internet speed, server location, encryption protocols, and network conditions, and look for extra features like a dedicated IP. Streaming platform restrictions can also change due to laws or other regulations.
Bottom line: The fastest VPNs for streaming, gaming, and torrenting
In conclusion, our top picks for the fastest VPNs are Surfshark, IPVanish, and CyberGhost. These VPNs boast exceptional speeds and performance, ensuring a pleasant online experience. And although Netflix and Hulu blocked access with these VPNs — an issue we didn’t experience before — Amazon Prime Video and other services streamed seamlessly without any lag.
Close runners-up include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN, demonstrating solid performance. However, these three VPNs didn’t quite outpace our top three choices in terms of speed and overall performance.
3 best fast VPNs
| Starting price | Best for | Learn more | |
Surfshark |
Starts at $2.30/mo | Best for online gaming and streaming | Get Surfshark Read Surfshark Review |
IPVanish |
Starts at $3.33/mo | Best for torrent enthusiasts | Get IPVanish Read IPVanish Review |
CyberGhost |
Starts at $2.19/mo | Best for privacy-conscious internet users | Get CyberGhost Read CyberGhost Review |
Prices as of 04/26/2023.
How we tested the fastest VPN apps
Before testing IPVanish, Proton VPN, Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost, we ran a speed test of our internet connection without a VPN turned on. We checked our speed from our location in Los Angeles, California, United States, on SpeedTest.net to get our baseline download and upload speeds as well as our ping (latency).
Then, we independently tested the speeds of each VPN on our list while connecting to server locations in the U.S., U.K., and Australia one at a time, and we retested our internet speeds with the VPN connected to compare speeds while connected and disconnected from the VPN.
Author Details
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Mars is a cybersecurity professional and writer based in California. He serves as an Advisory Board Member for WEBGAP, specializing in browser isolation.
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