Ping and VPN, How VPN Affects Latency and Connection Speed

What Is Ping and How It Works

Ping is a metric that measures the delay in data transmission between a user’s device and a server. It is measured in milliseconds (ms) and shows how long it takes for a network packet to reach the server and return back. The lower the ping, the faster and more responsive the internet connection.

Ping is especially important for online games, video calls, streaming, and other real-time tasks, where even small delays can significantly affect performance.

What Ping Depends On

Several factors influence ping values:

• Physical distance to the server.
• Quality of the internet connection and the provider’s equipment.
• Network congestion and traffic routing characteristics.
• Type of connection (Wi-Fi, mobile network, or wired connection).

Even with high internet speed, ping can remain high due to unstable routes or overloaded network nodes.

How VPN Affects Ping

When using a VPN, all internet traffic is first routed through a VPN server and only then sent to the destination resource. This adds an extra step to the data transmission path.

In most cases, a VPN increases ping, because:

• The total distance to the destination server increases.
• Traffic goes through encryption and decryption processes.
• The VPN server may be overloaded.

As a result, connection responsiveness becomes slower compared to a direct connection without a VPN.

Can a VPN Reduce Ping

Despite the fact that VPNs usually increase latency, in some cases they can reduce ping.

This is possible if:

• The internet provider uses inefficient routing.
• The VPN offers a more optimal path to the destination server.
• The VPN helps bypass congested or restricted network segments.

In such situations, a VPN connection may turn out to be more stable and faster.

Ping Under VPN in Games and Online Services

For online games, using a VPN most often leads to higher ping, especially if the VPN server is located far from the game server. However, VPNs are sometimes used for:

• Bypassing regional restrictions.
• Stabilizing the connection.
• Protecting against DDoS attacks.

In streaming and video calls, high ping can manifest as audio delays, video lag, or synchronization issues.

How to Reduce Ping When Using a VPN

1) Choose the Closest VPN Server

The closer the VPN server is to your physical location or the target resource, the lower the latency will be.

2) Use Modern VPN Protocols

Next-generation protocols such as VLESS, WireGuard usually provide lower ping and a more stable connection.

3) Avoid Overloaded Servers

Heavily loaded VPN servers increase latency and can cause connection drops.

4) Enable VPN Only When Necessary

If a VPN is not required constantly, it is better to disable it for latency-sensitive tasks.

Conclusion

Ping is one of the key indicators of internet connection quality, and using a VPN almost always affects it. In most cases, latency increases, but with the right choice of VPN provider and server, the impact can be minimized, and in some cases even result in a more stable connection. Conscious use of a VPN helps strike a balance between security and performance (learn more about privacy: what your provider sees when using a VPN).