Leading virtual private network provider NordVPN has developed an open-source tool and methodology that helps to objectively measure and compare the speed of different VPN services.
The tool accounts for a broad array of testing use cases, allows users to add and compare different VPN services, and provides detailed reporting. NordVPN is one of the leading VPN service providers, used by over 14 million internet users. “Connection speed is one of the most important factors that affect user experience when they use a VPN. People want to secure their internet traffic without having to sacrifice speed” Vykintas Maknickas, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN. “However, testing VPN speed meaningfully is a complex procedure because countless factors can impact it.”
Lack of a unified approach towards how performance is measured leads to the industry’s current situation: different researchers via different outlets showcase different results ranked in different order. This conflicting information is bad for VPN users and providers alike. The confusion can make it difficult for users to make informed decisions. Likewise it can be hard for VPN providers to evaluate how their performance will measure up when they are working on improvements to their service and infrastructure.
Unified & Standard Testing
“A unified, standard speed-testing methodology would go a long way towards solving the problem for all of us. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve,” pointed out Vykintas Maknickas. Community input and trust is crucial in order to reach the goal of having a standardized methodology. Therefore, NordVPN invites other VPN service providers, researchers, journalists, and tech enthusiasts to read the whitepaper, review the source code, and participate in the further development and refinement of the speed-test tool.
