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Is a VPN slowing your internet down? How to tell — and fix it

A VPN always costs some speed — your traffic takes a detour through an extra server and gets encrypted on the way. A small dip is normal; a big one usually means a distant or overloaded VPN server, an older VPN protocol, or a router struggling to encrypt at line speed. Test with the VPN off and on: the gap tells you exactly what the VPN costs you.

Last updated: · Written by The NetSorted team

A VPN wraps your traffic in encryption and sends it through the VPN company’s server before it reaches the internet. That buys privacy, but the detour and the wrapping both have a price. The question isn’t whether a VPN slows you down — it does — but whether yours is costing more than it should.

First, measure it (two minutes)

  1. VPN off: run a speed test and note download, upload and ping — our checker grades them for you.
  2. VPN on, connected to your usual server: run it again.
  3. The difference is your VPN’s real cost. Re-test after each fix below to see what helps.

If speeds are poor even with the VPN off, the VPN isn’t your problem — work through why is my internet so slow? first, and rule out Wi-Fi with a wired test.

Why VPNs slow things down

  • The detour. Traffic goes your device → VPN server → destination. The further the VPN server, the longer everything takes — this hits ping hardest, which is why VPN gaming feels laggy (what ping means).
  • Encryption overhead. Wrapping traffic costs processing time on your device — and, if the VPN runs on your router, on the router’s modest CPU, which often becomes the bottleneck long before your line does.
  • Server load. VPN servers are shared. A busy one divides its capacity among everyone connected.
  • Protocol. Modern protocols (WireGuard and the newer generation built on it) are dramatically more efficient than older ones like OpenVPN in its default modes.

The fixes, in order of payoff

  1. Pick a nearer, quieter server. Choose the closest city, or let the app pick the “fastest” — and avoid the default of a far-away country unless you specifically need it.
  2. Switch protocol. In the VPN app’s settings, prefer WireGuard (or the provider’s WireGuard-based option); leave anything described as “compatibility” mode for when things break.
  3. Use split tunnelling. Send only the apps that need the VPN through it; let streaming, gaming and video calls go direct. Most good VPN apps support per-app rules.
  4. Move the VPN off the router (or upgrade the router) if you run it there and speeds collapse — hardware encryption limits are real. Running the VPN on the device instead usually restores full speed.
  5. Go wired for VPN-heavy work. Encryption plus flaky Wi-Fi compounds; an Ethernet cable removes one variable (why wired helps).
  6. Test at a different time. If the VPN is only slow in the evening, you may be seeing ordinary peak-time congestion rather than a VPN problem.

When it’s not the VPN

Ran the on/off test and the gap is small? Then the slowdown lives elsewhere: run the fix slow internet diagnostic to pin it down — router placement, Wi-Fi band and line faults are the usual suspects, and they’re all fixable.

→ Use the fix slow internet diagnostic

Frequently asked questions

How much speed does a VPN normally cost?

With a good provider, a nearby server and a modern protocol, the loss is often modest — you may barely notice it on everyday browsing. Long-distance servers, busy servers or older protocols can cut speeds far more. There’s no universal number: measure your own connection with the VPN off and on, and judge from the gap.

Why is my VPN so much slower on some servers?

Distance and load. Every extra thousand miles adds delay, and a popular server shared with too many users has less capacity per person. Switching to the nearest low-load server — most VPN apps show load or pick “fastest” automatically — is the single most effective fix.

Does a VPN increase ping for gaming?

Almost always, because your traffic takes a longer route. If you game and need the VPN for other things, use split tunnelling so the game goes direct while other apps use the VPN — or connect to a VPN server in the same region as the game server.

Can a VPN ever make my internet faster?

Occasionally routing via the VPN takes a better path to a specific service than your normal route, and a VPN also prevents any traffic management that targets specific kinds of traffic. These cases are real but the exception — for most people, most of the time, a VPN costs a little speed rather than gaining it.

Published and last updated 3 July 2026.