I have compared the speed tests of the 4 VPN providers that i have recommended here. Below are the results, i performed 3 tests in total.
The test was performed on my Mobile phone (Xperia XZ1), i did one test on Wifi in the morning, one test on 4G (o2 Network) and a 3rd test in the evening on the Wifi.
Each test was performed using Ookla’s speedtest tool, using single connection mode. For each VPN provider I used the recommended server all of which were in the UK.
For each test I have worked out the difference in downspeed compared to without a VPN, Upspeed doesn’t seem to be affected as much. This shows a percentage loss of speed. Where you see a negative percentage the speed actually increased. This only happened on the 4G test.
In the last row I give an average per provider over the 3 tests for the percentage difference in downspeed.
| Test # | Measure | No VPN | IP Vanish | Surfshark | NordVPN | Express VPN |
| 1 (Wifi AM) | Down | 56.3 | 18.4 | 36.4 | 26.9 | 20.36 |
| Up | 24.1 | 20.7 | 27.7 | 47.5 | 39.11 | |
| Ping | 7ms | 12ms | 7ms | 14ms | 8ms | |
| Difference | 67% | 35% | 52% | 64% | ||
| 2 (4G) | Down | 9.03 | 14.01 | 11.6 | 4.86 | 8.12 |
| Up | 3.89 | 4.28 | 4.81 | 5.6 | 1.73 | |
| Ping | 31ms | 30ms | 33ms | 99ms | 30ms | |
| Difference | -55% | -28% | 46% | 10% | ||
| 3 (Wifi PM) | Down | 100.72 | 17.91 | 63.2 | 28.39 | 47.9 |
| Up | 6.25 | 5.55 | 5.68 | 5.57 | 5.37 | |
| Ping | 15ms | 21ms | 16ms | 21ms | 17ms | |
| Difference | 82% | 37% | 72% | 52% | ||
| Average | Difference | 31% | 15% | 57% | 42% |
According to the average difference in downspeed across the 3 tests i would rate the VPN Providers in the following order for Speed.
Finally i would like to conclude that whilst i tried to keep all variables the same thoughout this test it was not a laboratory test so you may get different results but this is my findings.
In another blog post i will look at the various features for these providers.