VPN Slow?!?

Big Frank · 15 Mar 2021 at 14:42

Hi everyone,

So I have 200mbps, I also pay for a popular VPN service that boasts high speeds however when I am connected to my VPN I only get 100mbps max.

I understand that routing my traffic via a VPN will inherently slow my speed down but I was curious to know if anyone else can achieve close to their advertised speeds over a VPN?

Thanks

On Holiday · 15 Mar 2021 at 22:39

Rainmaker · 15 Mar 2021 at 23:52

WoodyUK said:
I'd say achieving 100Mbps on a popular VPN service is quite reasonable to be honest.

Not even close. Even ProtonVPN's free tier gives better speeds than that. I expect nothing less than close to line speed (gigabit) for a paid VPN. Here's one example of a paid VPN using WireGuard. I took the speed test a while ago but it's the first image I had to hand:

OP you've given us next to nothing to go on. Come back with some more info, such as:

Which VPN provider is it?
What protocol are you connecting with? Is it OpenVPN? TCP or UDP? IPSEC? WireGuard?
What operating system are you running?
How far away is the server you're connected to?
Describe your local setup (PC giving the poor speeds, how it's connected to your network, the network itself - it's wired, not wireless, right?)...

Are you sure you get full speed (200Mbps) without VPN? Is the network adapter stuck at 100Mbps (again assuming wired, don't bother speed testing over WiFi)? Lots of variables.

Caged · 16 Mar 2021 at 00:15

Also most routers that are advertised as being able to do VPN are going to have awful OpenVPN performance as it’s pretty CPU intensive and the specs on gaming routers are pretty anaemic.

This is assuming you’re running it on your router.

Big Frank · 16 Mar 2021 at 01:00

Rainmaker said:
Not even close. Even ProtonVPN's free tier gives better speeds than that. I expect nothing less than close to line speed (gigabit) for a paid VPN. Here's one example of a paid VPN using WireGuard. I took the speed test a while ago but it's the first image I had to hand:

OP you've given us next to nothing to go on. Come back with some more info, such as:

Which VPN provider is it?
What protocol are you connecting with? Is it OpenVPN? TCP or UDP? IPSEC? WireGuard?
What operating system are you running?
How far away is the server you're connected to?
Describe your local setup (PC giving the poor speeds, how it's connected to your network, the network itself - it's wired, not wireless, right?)...

Are you sure you get full speed (200Mbps) without VPN? Is the network adapter stuck at 100Mbps (again assuming wired, don't bother speed testing over WiFi)? Lots of variables.

Yeah I get like 216mbps wired connection and 200mbps on my phone at the other end of the house so defo 200mbps coming through.

I have ExpressVPN
I connect to 1 of 2 UK servers located in London or Docklands which tbh is a few hundred miles away.
The protocol was set to Auto but I was advised to change it to IKEv2 by ExpressVPN support which helped slightly increase the speed.
This happens on windows 10 Desktop connected via homeplug, Android phone connecting via wifi and any other device wired to the router connected to the VPN - speed cannot go over 100mpbs.

Rainmaker · 16 Mar 2021 at 01:12

ExpressVPN aren't very good. That's your first problem. I have a free month from them atm and I'm not even using it - they're that bad ime.
Windows 10 likewise isn't very good for networking.
Home plugs are horrific when it comes to speed and reliability.

Try changing the protocol to Lightway (UDP). That's as good as you're going to get from Express. You didn't say what specs the PC is (processor, motherboard, RAM, network card make and model). How are you actually testing? Speedtest by Ookla app from the MS Store? Try that first as using speed test websites via a browser opens you up to other confounding variables.

If you still don't hit 200Mbps I'd be happy to generate you a key for Mullvad using WireGuard. You can test it for an hour and prepare to be amazed, then I'll deactivate the key. At least that will help you rule out anything else.

On Holiday · 16 Mar 2021 at 02:40

Big Frank · 16 Mar 2021 at 09:50

Rainmaker said:
ExpressVPN aren't very good. That's your first problem. I have a free month from them atm and I'm not even using it - they're that bad ime.
Windows 10 likewise isn't very good for networking.
Home plugs are horrific when it comes to speed and reliability.

Try changing the protocol to Lightway (UDP). That's as good as you're going to get from Express. You didn't say what specs the PC is (processor, motherboard, RAM, network card make and model). How are you actually testing? Speedtest by Ookla app from the MS Store? Try that first as using speed test websites via a browser opens you up to other confounding variables.

If you still don't hit 200Mbps I'd be happy to generate you a key for Mullvad using WireGuard. You can test it for an hour and prepare to be amazed, then I'll deactivate the key. At least that will help you rule out anything else.

Thanks - so I can't really test on my Desktop due to the fact the homeplug has a 100mbps ethernet port and I am hesitant to upgrade to a better solution until I know I can get over 100mbps on my VPN so I done some testing with speedtest by ookla on my phone from the opposite side of the house via wifi on different protocols then off the VPN.

Lightway UDP - 41mbps
OpenVPN UDP - 73mbps
OpenVPN TCP - 110mbps
No VPN - 175mbps

My main concern with VPN's is having assurance I am actually safe with them, things like having a no logging policy and being located in a country that has zero data retention requirements and strong privacy laws etc. Thats why I liked ExpressVPN it advertised all these things and had independent audits performed that proved what they were selling was the real deal.

ExpressVPN is due for renewal in 3 days, might cancel it and explore with some free trials.

Caged · 16 Mar 2021 at 09:56

What's your threat model here?

chroniclard · 16 Mar 2021 at 09:59

I have the ironically named Fastest VPN from a lifetime cheap package, it gets nowhere near my full speed. It will do 200 Mbps on a good connection.

I use Open VPN and the various UDP servers they provide. However as my usage is minimal, I only use it for er....linux distros....then its fine.

Duke · 16 Mar 2021 at 10:57

WoodyUK said:
Ah yes, a speedtest result performed over http/s ports which is prioritized among almost every provider.
Probably only one hop away from the VPN server.

Would be interesting to compare to connections going out the UK as well which is what a fair amount of people will be using VPNs for. I would be pretty disappointed if I wasn't getting that speed when the traffic is staying within the UK.

Rainmaker · 16 Mar 2021 at 10:58

WoodyUK said:
Ah yes, a speedtest result performed over http/s ports which is prioritized among almost every provider.
Probably only one hop away from the VPN server.

Run a sustained iperf3 or even a rather large torrent and I'm sure it'd be a different story. Or perhaps it might not be.

The traffic coming back to me from the server isn't coming over 443/https, it's coming over 51820/udp (WireGuard), and it's still basically wirespeed.

Running iperf3 to the cheapest DO basic server in London (other end of the country from me), with FreeBSD 12.2 on UFS:

Code:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Test Complete. Summary Results:
...
[SUM]   0.00-10.02  sec  1.03 GBytes   881 Mbits/sec  465             sender
[SUM]   0.00-10.00  sec  1.02 GBytes   877 Mbits/sec                  receiver
snd_tcp_congestion newreno
rcv_tcp_congestion cubic

The OS at my end was Fedora 33 x64 through an OpenBSD x86 router. WireGuard is using the in-kernel module in both cases.

Ubuntu torrent at 103MB/sec (864 Mbps):

Sorry for the potato quality, I resized it to 1000px and the image host seems to have squashed it further. It's legible enough, and shows wg being connected to Mullvad as the torrent is running.

And another speedtest from another day:

I stand by what I said. I see full gigabit (across all downloads and transfer types/protocols) 24/7. If you don't, either your setup isn't right, your provider is rubbish, or there's something wrong.

Rainmaker · 16 Mar 2021 at 11:04

Big Frank said:
Thanks - so I can't really test on my Desktop due to the fact the homeplug has a 100mbps ethernet port and I am hesitant to upgrade to a better solution until I know I can get over 100mbps on my VPN so I done some testing with speedtest by ookla on my phone from the opposite side of the house via wifi on different protocols then off the VPN.

Lightway UDP - 41mbps
OpenVPN UDP - 73mbps
OpenVPN TCP - 110mbps
No VPN - 175mbps

My main concern with VPN's is having assurance I am actually safe with them, things like having a no logging policy and being located in a country that has zero data retention requirements and strong privacy laws etc. Thats why I liked ExpressVPN it advertised all these things and had independent audits performed that proved what they were selling was the real deal.

ExpressVPN is due for renewal in 3 days, might cancel it and explore with some free trials.

That's poor. As I suggested, look at Mullvad, AzireVPN or OVPN. I never fail to hit gigabit with those over WireGuard. You'll not get access to iPlayer or Amazon Prime Video with those however. If that's a priority on-VPN then look at ProtonVPN. You'll still max 200Mbps easily using IPSEC or OpenVPN if your local machine is up to it.

Rainmaker · 16 Mar 2021 at 11:22

Duke said:
Would be interesting to compare to connections going out the UK as well which is what a fair amount of people will be using VPNs for. I would be pretty disappointed if I wasn't getting that speed when the traffic is staying within the UK.

From Liverpool, via Mullvad VPN in London, to an AMD Epyc DO premium droplet in Frankfurt, Germany:

Code:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Test Complete. Summary Results:
...
[SUM]   0.00-10.04  sec  1.04 GBytes   893 Mbits/sec  263             sender
[SUM]   0.00-10.00  sec  1.04 GBytes   890 Mbits/sec                  receiver
snd_tcp_congestion cubic
rcv_tcp_congestion cubic

The Ubuntu torrent was also, obviously, worldwide connections.

Rainmaker · 16 Mar 2021 at 17:19

This thread went quiet lol.

Big Frank said:
Thanks - so I can't really test on my Desktop due to the fact the homeplug has a 100mbps ethernet port and I am hesitant to upgrade to a better solution until I know I can get over 100mbps on my VPN so I done some testing with speedtest by ookla on my phone from the opposite side of the house via wifi on different protocols then off the VPN.

I missed this last time I replied. You're never going to see over 100Mbps until your network equipment supports gigabit (or above). You're relying on tests over WiFi, when in fact you'd be just as accurate to lick your finger and hold it up in the wind while saying random numbers out loud. A phone, even an iPhone 12 Pro Max or equivalent latest Android, is going to struggle with the encryption overhead for VPN, especially OpenVPN.

Do you want a Mullvad key as I offered last night? I'll be happy to let you try them out for an hour or two. They're zero log, one of the most long-standing and trusted providers out there, based in Sweden. They don't require personal details to sign up, you just get a random account number when you click 'Sign up'. You can even pay in cash (send cash in an envelope to Sweden, with your random account ID written on a slip of paper inside the envelope). As shown in this thread, they're very capable of saturating gigabit all day long. Don't worry too much about your speeds until you're testing wired on a gigabit NIC/switch/router. Restricting your desktop to 100Mbps is never going to give you much, and ime even Express can provide 100Mbps down.

Avalon · 17 Mar 2021 at 08:04

If you can see that your powerline adapters are limited to 100Mbit, and you have already proven you can get faster VPN results using sub optimal devices (phones generally suck at OpenVPN encryption and wireless is not ideal at the best of times), then why would you be reluctant to replace the powerline adapters? Ideally run a cable, but even non crappy powerline adapters (read ones that don’t market 600Mbit and cripple them with 100Mbit ports) are capable of greater than 200Mbit in the real world, actual cable is likely to be cheaper and potentially capable of 10Gb.

chroniclard · 17 Mar 2021 at 08:27

Are Mullvad and Proton recommended then? May bin the current one.

Avalon · 17 Mar 2021 at 09:45

While it’s easily possible to way lyrical for days about who is who and why x is better than y, the simple answer is Mullvad and Proton are well regarded (Swiss) providers and offer a premium service for a few quid a month. That’s not to say you need to spend that, until recently it was possible to get Nord/PIA free for 2 years (Quidco promotion, Nord currently 70% cashback, PIA is 104.5% cashback), while I don’t like PIA based on ethical concerns, every documented legal request has resulted in them being unable to provide logs etc. Whenever I have used any of the above, I have been able to pull near line speed, assuming I had the right hardware to do so, my APU24C capped at 100Mbit per OpenVPN tunnel, but on more capable hardware (current router is a 7th gen i3) or using more efficient protocols such as wireguard, I achieved near line speed upto 500Mbit+, others with faster connections have gone much further.

Rainmaker · 17 Mar 2021 at 10:58

@chroniclard it depends on what you want a VPN for. As I said earlier, and Avalon confirmed above, Mullvad and Proton are respected and respectable providers. There are others who may be cheaper, but personally I avoid PIA and Nord for similar ethical concerns to Avalon. PIA is owned by an advertising/malware company these days, and Nord has proven to be shady on more than one occasion and in multiple ways. The latter do at least work with most streaming services and, provided you know what their limitations are re: pricing, renewals, lack of manual WireGuard configs and other shady tricks, you can get good speeds and access iPlayer etc.

Personally, if privacy and speed are top concerns then it's a toss up between Mullvad, OVPN and AzireVPN. All provide WireGuard and will saturate gigabit, and the first two offer port forwarding with it. Azire doesn't do forwarding, but does offer OpenVPN with a static public IP should you need it. They - like most services - won't work with iPlayer or Prime Video etc. All three have repeatedly proven they don't hold logs and won't sell out customers. OVPN, for example, was in court recently because the Pirate Bay is (was) hosted behind it. They fought their ground and won, as it was impossible to prove anything about TPB because OVPN truly were logless and secure.

If streaming via VPN is important to you then ProtonVPN don't offer WireGuard yet (planned for this year), but they do work with all streaming services and I regularly saw high speeds from them over IPSEC. They use 10Gb servers, are very private/secure, and once they roll out WireGuard support they'll be about perfect I think. You pays your money, but generally if you avoid the companies with flashy websites with 20 trackers embedded and never-ending 'sales' you won't go too far wrong.

As I offered the OP, if you want to play with Mullvad for a few hours drop me a Trust and I'll send you a WireGuard key and forwarded port. I have a spare slot on my account and don't mind letting you test it for a few hours, after which the key will just stop working.

chroniclard · 17 Mar 2021 at 11:25

Thanks and thanks for the offer. I signed up for a month on Proton Plus package for now, will try that out. Its certainly quicker than fastestvpn so far but not maxing the speed. Looks better anyway.

Will try Mullvad next month.