Which VPN location should I choose?
Also asked as: What is the best VPN server to connect to? · Should I pick the closest VPN server?
Direct answer
Pick the closest server unless you need a specific country. Latency is dominated by distance — a round trip from London to Sydney is over 250 ms before anything is encrypted — so the nearest exit is the fastest for the common case, which is encrypting a connection you do not control. Choose a country by name only to appear there.
For speed: closest
Every packet goes to the server and back before it goes anywhere else, so a server in your own country adds 5 to 20 ms and one across an ocean adds 70 to 250 ms. No server tuning beats a shorter cable. Every VPNmine app can pick the closest of the 68 countries automatically, which is the right default.
For location: the country you need
If the point is to reach a service that routes, prices or gates by country, pick that country and accept the latency. Among the regional hubs, Frankfurt is usually the fastest exit in Europe, New York the fastest US exit from Europe, Singapore the hub for Southeast Asia and Mumbai for South Asia.
How to check
Run the speed test on this site with the tunnel down, then up on your chosen server, on the same connection. The IP checker confirms which country a site actually sees. Both take seconds and store nothing.
Related questions
- Does a VPN slow down internet speed?A VPN adds latency from the detour and costs some throughput to encryption. Typical numbers, what makes it worse, and how to get most of your speed back.
- Which countries does VPNmine support?VPNmine has WireGuard servers in 68 countries across five regions, including the US, UK, Germany, Singapore, Japan, India and Bangladesh. The full list.
- How can I get a German IP address?Get a Germany IP address by connecting to VPNmine's Frankfurt server, usually the fastest exit in Europe. Free, no ads, no card. Steps and what it changes.
- How can I get a US IP address?Get a US IP address by connecting to a VPN server in the United States. VPNmine's New York server is free, no ads, no card. Steps and what changes.