The Best VPNs for Speed and Price-to-Performance: A Comprehensive Study
As a cybersecurity researcher and reviewer at Tom Spark Reviews, I’m always testing VPNs to see which ones actually deliver the best speeds, privacy, and value. Over the years, I’ve tested more VPNs than I can count, but I wanted to take a fresh, data-driven approach to see which services truly offer the best performance for the price.
This time, I personally purchased and tested nine of the biggest VPN providers, measuring their top speeds using WireGuard (if it worked), the fastest protocol available. Each VPN was tested under the same conditions within a one-hour window to ensure consistency. My speeds without a VPN are around 575 Mbps to 630 Mbps with small daily variations. I also used 2 year pricing model to compare pricing among VPNs since this is the most commonly purchased plan.
One small note for this test is that PIA VPN only worked for OpenVPN, WireGuard resulted in errors. Here are the results in data form.
The Results: NordVPN and Surfshark Lead the Market
Beyond raw speed, I wanted to find out which VPN offers the best price-to-performance ratio—in other words, which VPN gives you the most speed for your money. Surfshark won this category, with a price-to-performance ratio of just 0.169 dollars per megabit, making it the best deal overall for high-speed users. NordVPN also performed exceptionally well, balancing strong speeds with a reasonable price.
Speed Degredation:
Key Findings:
NordVPN showed no degradation and even slightly improved performance compared to the baseline speed without a VPN.
Surfshark had minimal speed loss, making it one of the best choices for users who want high-speed performance without significant slowdowns.
ExpressVPN, Mullvad, ProtonVPN, and AirVPN exhibited small to moderate speed reductions, indicating decent performance but with some trade-offs.
CyberGhost and IPVanish showed noticeable degradation, suggesting potential slowdowns for users who prioritize speed.
PIA VPN suffered the highest speed loss, experiencing the most significant drop in performance among all tested providers.
Full Performance Breakdown
Key Takeaways:
NordVPN is the fastest overall, making it a great choice for high-performance users.
Surfshark offers the best value, providing near-top-tier speeds at a budget-friendly price.
ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN, and Mullvad remain solid choices but come at a higher price per Mbps.
IPVanish and PIA VPN ranked the worst in both speed and value, making them poor choices for performance-focused users.
Conclusion: The Best VPNs for 2024
For anyone looking for the fastest VPN without overpaying, NordVPN and Surfshark are the clear winners. NordVPN dominates in raw speed, while Surfshark offers the best mix of speed and affordability. Whether you're streaming, gaming, or just want a lag-free experience, these two services deliver the best results.
If you're still on the fence about which VPN to choose, my advice is simple:
Stay safe online, and as always, happy torrenting!
— Tom Spark
