Note that while you can choose between multi-connection and single-connection testing on most of our Speedtest platforms, the results outlined below used multi-connection. The percent difference for both local and international tests is calculated against the mean of our baseline Speedtest results when no VPN was connected.
This simulates the experience of accessing TV shows and other media outside of your home country. To test international results, we connected each VPN to a London VPN server and ran a Speedtest to a London Speedtest server. VPNs create a private session to keep what you’re doing online secure. Your online activity is vulnerable if you use public Wi-Fi or other unsecured connections. Your browsing would be private, but you wouldn’t enjoy any of the geographic benefits of a VPN. This is similar to what you might expect to see if you simply turned on the VPN with automatic settings and started browsing. A local result means we connected the VPN to our hometown (Seattle) and then ran several tests using to the closest Speedtest Ⓡ server. We tested each VPN under two circumstances: local and international. We tested eight popular VPNs to see which rises to the top by keeping your connection fast. But VPNs also have a reputation for destroying download speeds. VPNs are a key component for today’s savvy web user whether you’re concerned about online privacy or streaming the latest episode of an overseas baking show.