Insider Gaming sometimes publishes affiliated links, from which the website may earn a commission.
That’s why more users are leaning on them to stay safe online and circumnavigate geographical restrictions.
What started life as something exclusively for tech-savvy individuals has become something that anyone can use at the press of a button – and now everyone wants the fastest VPN around.
It’s a hugely competitive market, and that means that providers are constantly trying to outdo their opponents.
Typically, that means offering more with a subscription, providing deeper levels of security, or most commonly, trying to offer the fastest VPN.
If you’re on the hunt for a truly fast VPN that won’t slow down your online activities whatsoever, then read on.
We’ve taken the time to compile a breakdown of the fastest VPN services on the market in 2024, giving you a solid picture of the provider you should be subscribing to.
What is a VPN?
In this day and age, many hundreds of millions of internet users are taking advantage of a Virtual Private Network – a ‘VPN’. But what is a VPN, exactly?
Well, imagine a middleman that takes the data from your device, wraps it up safely and keeps it hidden, then transports it to its destination, keeping it secure at all times and masked from any prying eyes or malicious operators.
That’s what a VPN is – it’s a relay service that takes your online traffic, encrypts it, and takes it to the website or platform that you’re using, and then works in reverse when bringing data back to you.
They’re commonly used to mask IP addresses, which can in turn ‘spoof’ someone’s location, allowing them to get around geographic blockers or restrictions.
Ultimately, the number one reason someone would use a VPN would be to stay safe online.
When you’re using a VPN, you’re kept hidden from the wider internet, which means people will find it much harder to get hold of your data.
That’s the basic concept of what a VPN is. There’s a technical architecture there that we could go into, but it’s not necessary.
It’s important to remember this: they work. That’s about it!
How Does a VPN Work?
It might sound quite complex, but VPNs aren’t all that confusing to understand.
As we’ve stressed, you’ll activate your VPN application, and it’ll encrypt any data you send, masking your IP and protecting your identity all in one move.
It gets more technical under the hood, but that’s all there is to it.
When you use most VPN services, you’ll have the option to pick where in the world you want to ‘appear from’.
Let’s say you want to watch a television show on Netflix that’s only available in Italy. If you open your VPN and spoof your location, selecting a server in Rome, for instance, the VPN will mask your location and make it look as though you’re in Rome, thus giving you access to Italy’s Netflix service and that television series that you are so desperate to watch.
It’s worth stressing that it’s a diverse spectrum and not all VPN services can access every platform, but it’s pretty much consistent among the best and fastest VPN services out there.
How Does a VPN Help?
There are a few reasons why you’d want to invest in one of the fastest VPN networks out there.
As we’ve outlined the most fundamental uses of a VPN, you’ve already got a pretty good idea of what they can do.
But here’s the full list of why you’d want a VPN:
- They Keep You Safe: When you’re using a VPN online, you’re hidden from the general internet, which protects your data and transactions, and it can keep you safe from DDoS attacks.
- They Can Get Around Blockers: If you’re using a VPN, you can pretend that you’re from another country, which helps get around geographic blockers on services like Netflix.
- They Can Help You When Gaming: If you use a VPN when playing online games, you can spoof your region and get access to servers in different locations, which could result in you getting easier matches.
- They Can Boost Your Speed: In some cases, using one of the fastest VPN services out there can boost your download or upload speeds, or reduce your latency (ping).
Not every VPN provider offers the same service, which means it’s well worth shopping around and making comparisons to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.
Are VPNs Legal?
There’s nothing inherently illegal about using a VPN.
It might go against the terms of service for some platform providers, such as those who publish video games or who host streaming solutions like Netflix, but if you use a VPN, you’re not breaking the law.
That’s one of the biggest fears of those who decide to use a VPN for the first time.
It certainly seems like something shady on the surface – it’s a system that hides your activity online and keeps you safe from prying eyes.
We won’t pretend that there aren’t people using VPN services for nefarious deeds, but the act of using one won’t land you in jail.
They’re perfectly legal and regulated, and the fastest VPN services are backed by top-shelf, prolific companies and corporations that are years old.
Are VPNs Expensive?
It’s a sliding scale, at the end of the day.
Some VPN services will cost a fortune to subscribe to, and they’ll typically offer break-neck speeds, countless bonuses and extras, and unwavering service, but they’re not always the best option if you’re trying to balance a smaller budget.
For the most part, VPN services are cheap – even the fastest VPNs.
They’ll set you back no more than a few dollars a month, and that low price typically won’t impact the flawless service and world-class connectivity that you’d expect from the provider.
Fastest VPNs in 2024
So, without further ado, let’s answer the question: ‘What’s the fastest VPN in 2024?’
NordVPN
| Minimum Cost: | $3.00 Per Month (2-Yr Plan) |
| Average Speed: | 486.0 Mbps (USA) |
| Bandwidth: | Unlimited |
| Devices: | 6 |
| Best Features: | Plans include secure storage, ad blocker, and cyber insurance |
| Countries: | 60 |
| Headquarters: | Panama |
NordVPN is the fastest VPN service available right now, but it’s a close race. It has the edge, but not by a huge amount.
As a service, NordVPN is almost unmatched, offering a top-tier VPN solution that’s enjoyed by millions of customers around the world. It’s almost a household name where VPN services are concerned, and that’s mostly thanks to the company’s marketing tactics, which have included partnering up with content creators and streamers to make their brand more prolific.
With a NordVPN subscription, you’re getting the fastest VPN on the market (on average), and research has shown that it’s getting faster all the time.
As the technology driving these VPN services becomes more refined, so too do the VPNs themselves.
Surfshark
| Minimum Cost: | $2.01 Per Month (2-Yr Plan) |
| Average Speed: | 475 Mbps |
| Bandwidth: | Unlimited |
| Devices: | Unlimited |
| Best Features: | CleanWeb, unlimited devices, ‘Camouflage’ Mode |
| Countries: | 100 |
| Headquarters: | Netherlands |
Surfshark is a fantastic competitor product to NordVPN and is the second-fastest VPN on the market. It’s also a little cheaper if that’s something that’ll sway you to pick up a subscription.
With hyper-fast speeds, Surfshark’s VPN service stands out from the crowd, but it also boasts a few extra features that make it well worth a subscription, including unlimited bandwidth, unlimited device connectivity, and more than 100 countries on the cards to connect to.
It’s a brilliant service that is well-reviewed and appreciated by millions of customers – it’s certainly one of the fastest VPN services out there, and it may just overtake NordVPN one day.
ExpressVPN
| Minimum Cost: | $8.32 Per Month (1-Yr Plan) |
| Average Speed: | 473 Mbps |
| Bandwidth: | Unlimited |
| Devices: | 8 |
| Best Features: | Password manager, ad blocker, best-in-class encryption |
| Countries: | 105 |
| Headquarters: | British Virgin Islands |
ExpressVPN is one of the more costly services on the internet, but it’s by no means a weaker offering in any capacity.
It offers a super-fast VPN connection that links to more countries than any other service on this list. It has brilliant encryption baked into the VPN that will keep you as safe as possible at all times, and it has other bonuses wrapped up in a subscription that is immensely practical and genuinely useful.
It’s often rated as being the safest and most reliable VPN out there, but it’s also one of the fastest VPN services on the market.
If you decide to invest in ExpressVPN, you won’t be disappointed.
CyberGhost
| Minimum Cost: | $2.50 Per Month (2-Yr Plan) |
| Average Speed: | 448 Mbps (USA) |
| Bandwidth: | Unlimited |
| Devices: | 7 |
| Best Features: | High average speeds, 10,000+ servers, remote access |
| Countries: | 91 |
| Headquarters: | Romania |
CyberGhost is a competitive VPN service that offers brilliantly fast speeds and a staggering number of servers around the world.
It’s a cheap service that competes with the likes of Surfshark to be the more affordable VPN on the market, and the speeds and connectivity reliability it offers align it quite nicely with both NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
It’s possibly one of the most well-rounded VPN services on the market – but that’s ultimately up to you to decide.
If you invest in CyberGhost, you’ll be getting a stellar service from one of the hottest VPN providers on the market.
PrivateInternetAccess
| Minimum Cost: | $2.00 Per Month (3-Yr Plan) |
| Average Speed: | 389 Mbps |
| Bandwidth: | Unlimited |
| Devices: | Unlimited |
| Best Features: | No Logs, VPN apps on all devices, 24/7 customer support |
| Countries: | 91 |
| Headquarters: | Colorado, USA |
PrivateInternetAccess is the cheapest VPN to make this list, but it’s also the ‘slowest’ – if you can count the high average speeds ‘slow’, that is.
It won’t compete with NordVPN at the top of the table, but it offers a resilient, unlimited service that many millions of customers appreciate daily.
It’s a US-headquartered firm with a cheap subscription plan that’s certainly a viable option for anyone looking to get on board with one of the fastest VPN services out there.
If you decide to invest in PrivateInternetAccess, you’ll be securing a safe, reliable service that’ll always keep you covered.