What is the Best Country for VPN Speed? We've Found it!
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VPNs, while extremely helpful in preserving your online anonymity, can sometimes lead to slow loading times and connection lags.
The reason for that is the encryption process, and some of the best providers on the market experiment with innovative protocols to resolve this issue.
However, there are servers in certain locations that will work better for you, so let’s find out more about that!
⌚Which is the best country for VPN speed?
As a rule of thumb, connecting to a VPN server as close as possible to your physical location will guarantee the best connection speeds.
Therefore, if the VPN has servers across your country, just choose the quick connect (recommended) option, and it will automatically pick the fastest location.
Furthermore, you can also choose what encryption protocol the VPN will use. Some options are faster than others. OpenVPN, WireGuard, or other proprietary protocols are usually the best.
In case you’re unsure what to choose, leave it automatic, and the software will select the most appropriate protocol for your connection.
For general browsing, the recommended location in your country is the best option. That will ensure the optimal balance in terms of privacy, security, and speed.
However, if you must change your geo-location to a foreign country to access region-blocked content, the recommended server option will choose the fastest servers in that area.
Ultimately, the speed of the connection depends on factors, such as:
- Distance
- Server type (physical or virtual)
- Server infrastructure (10 Gbps servers are the fastest)
- Encryption type
- Protocols
So, if you want to check what countries offer the highest speeds, you can use a speed test tool to measure different performance metrics. For example, you can test for ping, latency, upload speed, download speed, jitter, or packet loss.
Keep in mind, the testing options will vary depending on the tools you’re using. The results in the table below were obtained using Speedtest.net.
VPN country speed results
| Country | Ping (ms) | Download (Mbps) | Upload (Mbps) | Distance (km) | Decrease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania (no VPN) | 23 | 279.71 | 152.89 | 100 | N/A |
| Romania (with VPN) | 24 | 244.23 | 144.37 | 150 | 12.68% |
| Italy | 81 | 193.15 | 138.80 | 1,050 | 30.94% |
| Germany | 72 | 219.14 | 140.38 | 1,150 | 21.65% |
| France | 87 | 235.45 | 140.06 | 1,450 | 15.82% |
| UK | 94 | 216.24 | 138.96 | 1,750 | 22.69% |
| Spain | 118 | 226.64 | 141.66 | 2,350 | 18.97% |
| India (virtual location) | 80 | 230.82 | 141.95 | 6,450 | 17.47% |
| Canada | 260 | 199.80 | 109.48 | 7,500 | 28.56% |
| USA | 244 | 210.44 | 106.64 | 7,650 | 24.76% |
| South Africa | 406 | 183.14 | 71.61 | 8,150 | 34.52% |
| Japan | 484 | 138.45 | 51.38 | 8,850 | 50.50% |
| Brazil | 451 | 176.47 | 65.30 | 10,000 | 36.90% |
| Mexico | 339 | 180.36 | 80.08 | 10,700 | 35.51% |
| Australia | 525 | 167.87 | 51.87 | 15,200 | 39.98% |
Here, we tested 14 countries for ping, download speed, and upload speed. We used ExpressVPN to get these results, but you may use any VPN or testing service for that matter.
First, we ran an Internet speed test from a starting (original) location in Romania without the VPN. Afterward, we connected to the recommended VPN location in the same country and continued the same process for other countries.
As you can see, the ping and speed values decrease with distance. Nonetheless, we got very good results for farther countries too.
You can see in the last column the download speed drop in percentage for every tested country.
VPN speed tests
Another quick and effective option you can use to connect to the fastest VPN countries is to check the values for different performance metrics directly from the VPN client.
For example, some VPNs show the ping, latency, download speed, or server load (how crowded a server is) automatically. Others let you run a ping test for the available locations and countries.
Also, there are VPNs that come with a built-in speed test that you can run manually to find the ping, latency, and download speed for each country.
All things considered, no matter what method you use to measure VPN connection stability and speed, now it should be easier for you to find which countries are the fastest.
Wrap Up
Overall, the best country for VPN speed will be the closest one to your physical location.
You should still test the options you have available until you find one that satisfies your needs.
Let us know how things worked out for you in the comments below.
