5 Best VPN Services With No Lag

One of the hardest parts about choosing a VPN is finding one that won’t impact the speed of your online connection. VPNs reroute your traffic through distant servers, making any online requests or downloads take longer than they usually would no matter what. Some services are better about this than others, mostly by providing a massive number of servers that users can test to find the fastest connection while keeping their privacy secure. Those looking for the best of both worlds should consider checking out the 5 best VPN services with no lag — or, at least, as little lag as possible.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links to NordVPN and ExpressVPN. You won’t be charged anything extra for clicking on links to these services, but purchases made through these links will support the author.

ExpressVPN is a popular service that prides itself on speed. It’s also one that keeps track of how well it performs, with its list of servers constantly being updated on the website itself. The minds behind ExpressVPN have pushed to get their servers on 10 Gbps connections, ensuring you’ll get as much speed as possible no matter what. Additionally, the service comes with its own detection algorithms, making it exceedingly easy to find the fastest server that will also keep you safe from malicious online content.

ExpressVPN is a somewhat pricier option than most, with its cheapest option costing around $8.32 USD per month over the course of a year. Considering the extra effort the service has gone through to ensure faster speeds, it’s still a very worthwhile price. It helps that ExpressVPN has a large number of servers across 94 countries, so you’ll have plenty of options that some VPNs might not be able to offer. For everything you could say about ExpressVPN, speed is certainly one aspect that can’t be argued against. 

One of the biggest draws to NordVPN is how massive the service itself is. As stated on its website, users have access to over 5000 servers across the world. Additionally, NordVPN uses self-made algorithms to detect the best servers for certain users, allowing them to bypass any restrictions on their browsing while keeping their speed as high as it can go. Depending on your current internet speed, it’s unlikely that activating NordVPN will affect it negatively. You can be confident in using this service to secure fast downloads and stable streaming.

If speed is all you care about, you’ll likely only need NordVPN’s standard package. For a 2-year plan, this means a cost of around $3.49 USD per month. The price will increase quite a bit if you choose a plan with less commitment. You can also choose to get more features for an additional cost, such as a data breach scanner and file encryption. No matter which plan you choose, you’ll still gain access to the service’s full speed, so go with whichever one fits your needs best!

PrivateInternetAccess, or PIA for short, combines speed with security as well as it can. The service mentions that, like ExpressVPN, it uses 10 Gbps connections to ensure maximum speed. It also promises a lack of bandwidth limits and data restrictions to keep users confident that the VPN itself won’t limit their speed. It doesn’t reach as far as other VPNs, but PIA still has a respectable repertoire of servers, with 84 countries being accessible by users. Combine that with its focus on privacy and security and PIA becomes one of the more attractive options on this list.

PIA is an inexpensive choice when looking at different VPNs, costing only around $2 USD per month when choosing the 2-year plan. As with most services, less commitment will mean more expense, but you’ll retain the same high speed no matter what. You can also add PIA’s own antivirus and a dedicated IP address for a minor additional cost, giving you access to further security features. For the best balance of speed and privacy, there’s likely no better option than PIA.

For those looking for as little risk as possible, ProtonVPN is a fantastic choice. On top of having a comprehensive list of servers and assurance of high speed, it also has a special “VPN Accelerator” feature. This is meant to allow users to increase their online speeds when connected to the service, using the device’s CPU to reduce load and prevent lag. In addition, ProtonVPN is one of the few services to offer a completely free plan, letting users access a limited list of servers for as long as they like.

Unfortunately, ProtonVPN’s free plan doesn’t offer the greatest speeds. For that, users will have to go with their “Plus” option, which costs around €4.99 euros per month for the 2-year plan. If you’re willing to pay, ProtonVPN makes for an incredible competitor to larger, more well-known services. If you’d prefer to stick with the free option, though, you might not be able to compare in terms of speed.

CyberGhost is one more VPN service with a wide reach and fantastic speed. Like its competitors, it offers 10 Gbps connections and uses algorithms to determine the best server for users that want high speed. Where it differs is in sheer scale; Cyberghost has over 9,500 servers across 91 countries worldwide. No matter what, you’re practically guaranteed to find a fast server when connected to CyberGhost. The service also takes pride in reducing lag in games and streams, making any experience with the VPN as smooth as possible.

With its 2-year plan, CyberGhost’s VPN service costs $2.19 USD per month. Additionally, it’s one of the only services to offer a money-back guarantee longer than 30 days, granting users an additional 15 to make sure they’re fully satisfied. This applies to every option except for the 1-month plan, which costs $12.99 and only offers a 14-day money-back guarantee. Even if you’re on the fence about CyberGhost, the speed, price, and scale make it worth checking out.

Even the best VPNs out there might have trouble guaranteeing no lag. In the end, how much speed you’ll get depends on where you’re located and which servers you use. Of course, the best VPNs will still reduce lag any way they can, making for a smoother experience overall. Make sure your own connection is fast enough to take full advantage of each VPN’s speed!