While VPNs are a great tool for increasing anonymity and improving security online, they do have disadvantages. We’ve summarized the main disadvantages of using a VPN below:
- Some VPNs may slow your connection speed and you could experience connection drops.
- You could be blocked from using particular services or websites, like Netflix.
- VPNs are illegal in a few countries and could give you a false sense of (legal) impunity.
- Some VPNs don’t offer sufficient protection and privacy.
- Some VPNs — particularly free VPNs — may log and sell your browsing activity to third parties.
Fortunately, choosing the right VPN will resolve most of these issues with ease. That’s why we recommend using a trustworthy VPN with reliable connections, good speeds, and solid unblocking measures, such as NordVPN.
If you want to learn more about the disadvantages of a VPN, and how a good VPN can mitigate these, check out the complete article below.
A virtual private network might seem like the perfect solution to many online privacy problems. After all, a VPN encrypts your data, hides your IP address, and unblocks geographically restricted content. Why shouldn’t you use a VPN? Well, as with anything, there are some disadvantages of using a VPN.
We’ve tested dozens of VPNs for our reviews, so we know these VPN apps inside out. So, before you hit the purchase button on that VPN, let’s look at the main disadvantages of a VPN!
Overview: Pros and Cons of VPNs
Need the short version? Here’s a handy table of the pros and cons of a VPN. Broadly speaking, VPNs can help increase your privacy and security. They also give you access to restricted content like international Netflix catalogs or YouTube videos that are unavailable in your country.
However, as with all software, there are disreputable apps that fail to perform as advertised. These low-tier VPNs fail at unblocking restricted content and can significantly slow down your VPN connection.
Pros
- VPNs encrypt your data and hide your IP address, increasing your privacy and security.
- Good VPNs can bypass government censorship and access geo-restricted content.
- VPNs let you stop speed throttling from your internet service provider.
- Public WiFi networks are safer to use when connected to a VPN.
- Businesses can use VPNs to allow remote connection to the company's network.
- VPNs can give you access to games that haven't been released yet in your part of the world.
- A VPN with dedicated IPs can help you log into important services abroad.
Cons
- Quality VPNs cost money.
- Some countries ban or restrict VPN use.
- Low-tier VPNs can decrease your speed and get you blocked by streaming services.
- Low-tier VPNs can’t bypass censorship and streaming blocks.
- Some free VPNs don’t offer secure encryption or will sell your data to third parties.
- You may experience connection drops with low-tier VPNs.
Now, let’s take a closer look at these VPN disadvantages.
The 10 Main Disadvantages of Using a VPN
Like any other software, there are VPNs that disappoint. These low-tier VPNs can cause problems for their users, such as slowing down your internet connection or getting you blocked by your favorite streaming site.
Keep reading below to see these VPN disadvantages discussed in detail.
1. Low-tier VPNs will decrease your speed
Because a VPN reroutes and encrypts your internet connection through a VPN server, your connection speed might drop slightly. This is why it’s important to test your VPN speed when trying out a new provider.
Most premium VPN services such as NordVPN won’t slow down your internet too much. Some of the fastest VPNs, according to our speed comparison, include the following:
| VPN | Download speed decrease (Fastest server) | Upload speed decrease (Fastest server) | Ping increase (Fastest server) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surfshark | 4.71 MB | 4.60 MB | 3 |
| NordVPN | 6.86 MB | 3.86 MB | 3 |
| CyberGhost | 11.69 MB | 13.58 MB | 3 |
With a fast premium VPN, most internet users won’t notice significant speed drops when browsing the web and using social media. That’s because these activities don’t require huge amounts of data.
However, during activities that use lots of data, such as streaming and downloading, you could definitely notice some speed differences. For instance, gamers who want to play online multiplayer games should look into the best VPNs for gaming to make sure they don’t experience any lag.
2. Low-tier VPNs can get you blocked by streaming services
There’s a lot of content online that you can only access from within a certain region. This includes streaming services like Netflix. These services lock out internet users from countries where they aren’t allowed to broadcast content.
These geo-restrictions are due to contracts with movie distributors that only allow content to be shown in specific regions. In addition to Netflix, some other services that use region blocking include BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, and Shudder.
Netflix simply blocks IP addresses that access their service with a large number of simultaneous connections. Since VPN users share a server — and therefore an IP address — Netflix can accurately guess when you’re using a VPN.
Luckily, some VPN providers offer great countermeasures against VPN blocks. Premium VPNs such as NordVPN offer dedicated IP addresses and obfuscated servers, both of which help disguise the fact that you’re using a VPN.
3. Most VPNs can’t bypass censorship and streaming blocks
Streaming services have become very aggressive and effective in enforcing their geo-blocks over the years. This means they also block many VPNs and VPN servers. As a result, only a few VPNs can unblock popular streaming services these days.
As such, it’s important to choose your VPN wisely if you want to use it for streaming. We recommend you check out our overview of the best VPN providers. All of these providers are able to unblock various streaming services, such as Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer.
4. Some countries restrict or ban VPNs
The use of a VPN is legal in most countries. However, some governments want complete control over what their citizens get to see on the internet. Since a VPN can be used to bypass government censorship, the tool has been made illegal in some totalitarian countries, such as North Korea, Belarus, Oman, Iraq, and Turkmenistan.
In certain countries, like China and Egypt, you can only use government-approved VPNs. The use of a VPN isn’t necessarily illegal there, but VPN use is restricted.
Some quality VPN providers, such as NordVPN, have developed special “obfuscated servers,” which should still be usable in countries like China. These servers mask the fact you’re using a VPN because they don’t show any metadata associated with VPN use.
5. Some free VPNs don’t offer secure protocols or encryption
Many free VPN services don’t actually care about protecting your privacy and anonymity online. They just want to make money. A prime example is Hola VPN, a VPN service you should think twice about using. Hola might be “free,” but the service has still found “creative” ways to get paid in the past.
Several years ago, Hola has been found to sell users’ bandwidth. They sold this resource to a party that used it to launch a DDoS attack against a controversial web forum (8chan). Another reason to avoid Hola is that it’s known to log an enormous amount of user data.
Another example is TuxlerVPN, which mentions it offers “military-grade encryption.” This implies high security standards. However, it completely fails to explain which protocols it uses or any of its encryption characteristics.
Typically, predatory VPNs like these don’t offer trusted VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN or Wireguard, and are not transparent regarding their encryption. They may also have spyware or malware hidden away in the download file. In this case, your antivirus program should flag the VPN app as soon as you download it.
6. Free VPNs might sell your data to third parties
When you connect to a VPN provider, your internet traffic is routed through its servers. The VPN encrypts your data and hides your IP address, replacing it with a different one.
This offers greater security and anonymity. However, it also means that you need to trust that your VPN won’t manipulate or abuse your data.
Many VPN providers hold up their end of the bargain: these “no-logs” or “zero logs” VPNs neither log your actions nor store your data. Most premium VPNs like NordVPN have proven to be zero logs VPNs.
However, some low-tier VPN providers do log data, including your real IP address and your browsing activity. Some even claim not to log any data — but have been later found to do so.
In June 2021, the free VPN service DoubleVPN had its servers, data, and customer logs seized as a result of an international sting by the National Crime Agency (UK), Polisen (Sweden), Europol (the EU’s law enforcement agency), and others. The sting was organized due to suspicion of illegal activities on the dark web. DoubleVPN’s website has since been taken down.
7. You may experience connection drops with low-tier VPNs
Many VPN providers include a so-called kill switch in their software. If your connection to a VPN server drops, the kill switch will prevent your data from leaking by severing your entire connection to the internet. Your connection will only get restored once the VPN is back up and running.
While a kill switch ensures that your data or connection is never exposed, it can also disrupt your daily activities. Thankfully, quality VPN providers have ways to combat this issue.
For one, they often have a vast server network. This means you can usually find a server that’s not too far away from you. Secondly, a large server network prevents overcrowding on a single server. Both of these features increase the strength of your connection and reduce the probability of connection drops.
8. Using a VPN increases mobile data usage
VPN connections generally use up more bandwidth or data than unprotected internet connections. After all, your data traffic will no longer travel straight from your device to the website you’re visiting or vice versa. It now has to take a detour and pass the VPN server, as well.
When you’re using a WiFi network or an ethernet connection, this increased data usage doesn’t really change anything. However, if you’re using a mobile data plan, you will burn through your data allowance more quickly.
The above could mean you’re left without any mobile data before the end of the month. Alternatively, you could face an unexpectedly high phone bill. This is something important to keep in mind. Generally, it’s better to stick to WiFi or ethernet connections if you’re using a VPN.
9. Quality VPNs cost money
Just like with anything in life, in the world of VPNs, you get what you pay for. This means that premium VPNs cost money because you’re paying for encryption, server use, and more security features.
The extreme market competition has caused many VPNs to offer very affordable packages, so you have plenty of cheap subscription options. However, at the end of the day, it’s still an investment. Only you can decide if it’s a worthwhile one.
The good news is you can try premium VPNs for free if you take advantage of their 30-day money-back guarantee. All you need to do is subscribe to any of the available plans, then file for a refund before your 30 days is up.
10. VPNs can’t protect against other threats
VPNs can only do so much to protect you from cyber threats. The protection and privacy good VPNs offer come from the fact they mask your real IP and encrypt your traffic.
However, a VPN can’t protect you from malware such as Trojan horses, keyloggers, and spyware. If you’re looking to protect your devices, you’ll have to invest in solid antivirus software. This software has device scanning capabilities, unlike VPNs, which you need to protect your device from malware.
VPNs also can’t protect you against cookies and other trackers. Cookies are little text files that nestle themselves in your browser and contain information about you. Since they are stored by your browser, they follow you around and are able to show you annoying ads wherever you go. A VPN doesn’t influence what your browser stores or how it behaves in general. For this purpose, you’ll need a browser extension that blocks trackers.
On top of this, if you log into your Google account, a VPN will no longer protect your identity. A VPN only hides your real IP. It doesn’t magically delete all of the information you provided to different websites. In other words, when you log into an online account, you are voluntarily giving away your anonymity and a VPN can’t change this in any way.
What are the Advantages of a VPN?
Most of the disadvantages of a VPN are canceled out when you choose a fast, reliable, and trustworthy provider. And while some of the disadvantages above might give you cause for concern, the truth is that there are more pros than cons to using a VPN.
These are just some of the advantages of a good VPN:
- Access to geo-blocked content. VPNs let you spoof your location so you can access international Netflix catalogs or restricted YouTube videos.
- Data encryption. Your browsing activity is usually visible to your internet service provider (ISP) or your university or company’s network administrator. Using a VPN keeps your traffic hidden so no one can see what you do.
- Freedom from bandwidth throttling. Some ISPs limit your connection speed when they see that you’ve been streaming or downloading too often. VPNs hide your online activity, so these ISPs can no longer observe you.
- Safe access to public Wi-Fi. Using public Wi-Fi without a VPN provides an opportunity for hackers to try and hijack your internet connection.
Essentially, VPNs are the perfect tool for increasing your personal freedom, privacy, and security online. For more information, check out this full article on the advantages of using a VPN.
What is the Best VPN?
If you’re simply looking for a high quality VPN and want to avoid many of the potential disadvantages, it’s worth investing in a VPN service like NordVPN.
NordVPN is a highly affordable provider that provides great service, a huge server network, great speeds, and useful features if you find yourself to be the victim of a VPN block, such as obfuscated servers and dedicated IP addresses.
What’s more, if you’re not completely sold on its benefits in the first 30 days, there’s a reliable money-back guarantee. If you want to download NordVPN, simply head over to its official website and follow the simple steps below to download its software:
- Create an account on the NordVPN website.
- Download the VPN software.
- Install the VPN software.
- Log into your account once the software has been installed and opened.
- Choose your preferred VPN server.
- Turn on the VPN!
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
If you’re interested in checking out some other highly-praised VPNs, check out our up-to-date list of the best VPNs. Alternatively, to weigh up the pros and cons of each VPN provider, read some of our reviews on the best VPN providers. We’ve done all the legwork for you so you can quickly and easily see the advantages and disadvantages of each VPN.
In fact, we’ve gone even further: we have a section of extensive VPN comparison articles. These will tell you how the best VPNs stack up against one another. Below you’ll find all of our VPN comparison articles:
Final Thoughts: VPN Pros Outweigh the Cons
The main disadvantages of a VPN can be frustrating to deal with. However, most problems are encountered when using free or low-quality VPN services.
For example, while VPNs can result in slower connections, it’s possible that your connection speed could increase after connecting to a VPN provider. This can happen when your ISP throttles your connection due to overuse, which a VPN prevents.
Also, while some websites and services block VPN connections, they can’t and don’t block all VPN servers. So, while some VPNs won’t work with Netflix, for instance, others offer access to the streaming service from anywhere.
In summary, while there are definitely some potential VPN disadvantages, many of these likely won’t affect you if you’re using a quality provider, such as NordVPN. This is why it’s so important to compare VPN providers and take into account all of the advantages and disadvantages of using a VPN.
If you’re looking for more information on the disadvantages of a VPN, check out some of our most frequently asked questions below.
The internet can be a dangerous place, so you’re right to do your due diligence before downloading a VPN. Here’s a quick summary of some important disadvantages of a VPN:
- With some VPNs, your connection could be slower and you could experience connection drops.
- Certain websites block VPN users.
- Some (free) VPNs log and sell browsing data to third parties.
- For laymen, it’s hard to verify how well a VPN encrypts and protects your data.
- VPNs are illegal in some countries.
For more information on each of these drawbacks and some others, see our full article on the disadvantages of a VPN.
There are lots of advantages to using a VPN. Here’s just a quick summary of a few of the benefits:
- VPNs encrypt your data, making it illegible to third parties.
- They allow you to bypass censorship and geo-restrictions.
- They increase anonymity by hiding your real IP address.
For a more detailed breakdown, take a look at our full article on the advantages of a VPN.
Right now, our preferred VPN provider is NordVPN. This VPN is very affordable, offers a huge server network and fast connections, and has great (streaming) content-unblocking features. Other high-quality VPN providers include Surfshark, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost.
The only reason I looked into VPNs was to see if I was protected from malware etc. this piece says this is one of the few things not protected. I really fail to see what good this is without malware protection. The things they already do protect are things that don’t bother me.
Hi Terry Ann,
It’s true that a basic VPN connection won’t completely keep you safe from malware. You’d need a dedicated antivirus for that. Luckily, the VPN market is changing, and a lot of VPNs are moving more into malware protection, too. NordVPN, for example, offers Threat Protection, which will help keep you safe from malicious websites, DDoS attacks, and some phishing. If you’d like to know more about this, you can read our NordVPN review. Beyond that, a VPN protects your data (so it’s harder for hackers to use against you, for example!) and allows you more freedom on the web. Whether that is something you value, is up for you to decide, but with all the data gathering happening online, we would definitely recommend you use a VPN! If you’re interested, you can get an antivirus + VPN combination, so you know you’re well-protected on all fronts. We hope this helps!
Is it possible to turn off the VPN if you are being blocked from certain websites or having trouble sending emails?
You can turn the VPN on and off as you please, so that wouldn’t be a problem. Also, some VPNs have the option for ‘split tunneling‘ also known as ‘whitelisting’. This option allows you to choose whether you want to connect to a site using your regular connection or the VPN’s connection when using the VPN.
I am an old person and very techie-challenged! I am thinking of changing my VPN but know little about it all. I live in Panama and currently have an IPTV streaming service which I use for movies, series, and live TV, and which I now seem unable to access. The company has advised me this could be because of ‘throttling’ and that I should change my VPN. My concern is whether all my other programming will remain unaffected. I subscribe to a website which allows me access to British TV, I also have Apple TV, plus a Panama cable TV package. They provide our internet and I subscribe to Prime Video through them. Will all of these still be readily accessible as before if I change my VPN? Sorry if this are silly questions but I am stumbling through the 21st-century!
No worries at all, Sally! We’re here to help 🙂
When it comes to accessing streaming services, some VPNs can make that a lot more difficult. If you use a VPN connection in the US, for example, while you want to watch a local Panama streaming service, you might not be able to access it any longer, because the service will see that you are virtually in the US. Some streaming services, like Netflix, actively block VPNs to keep users from “unblocking” content that wouldn’t usually be available to them.
For you, using a VPN shouldn’t keep you from accessing your regular shows and programming. There are different ways to solve the issue you’re having:
1. Get a VPN that works with those particular services. For Apple TV, for example, NordVPN might provide a good solution. You can read more about VPNs that work with Apple TV here.
2. Get a VPN that allows split tunneling. This means you can have some of your internet traffic protected by your VPN, while some of your other traffic (for example through streaming services) will go through your regular connection. NordVPN actually has this option, too. If you want to read more about this, you can head to our article on split tunneling.
One last thing to keep in mind is that this does depend on the kind of device you’re using. If you’re on computer, the articles above will give you all the help you need. If your VPN runs through your router, you might not have as many options.
We hope this helps!
I recently installed ExpressVPN and Bitdefender for antivirus protection. Bitdefender comes with its own VPN but I did not want to enable it. After installing on iOS device I could not enable security and continue to use my ExpressVPN. It disables ExpressVPN and prompts you to use Bitdefender VPN. Is there a good option for antivirus software that works well with existing VPN across PC, Mac, iOS, and Android?
We’ve been using Bitdefender together with ExpressVPN without problems, maybe it has something to do with the settings on your iOS device? Perhaps it’s trying to default to the Bitdefender VPN for some reason. Maybe one of our readers has the answer, or you could ask ExpressVPN’s support.
Hello, I am looking at subscribing for a VPN simply for streaming occasionally foreign TV from the Uk and from France to UK TV say. So small user. Are you able to give me any advice please?
Many thanks, Mrs BP
In this case it’s probably best to go for a cheaper VPN (seeing as you’re not going to be a heavy user) that’s also good at unblocking and streaming. We could recommend either CyberGhost or Surfshark in this case.
Hello, I noticed that you rated VPN-only providers. What about bundled providers where VPN is one of the services? In my case, specifically Bitdefender.
We haven’t tested most of these bundled providers because, usually, they offer way less in terms of options and servers than VPN-only providers. On top of that, the focus of these companies (such as Bitdefender), is different from VPNs that provide privacy and unblocking. Usually, this means that they are situated in countries that are not necessarily privacy-focussed, which also poses a problem in terms of keeping logs. Their business is not privacy-related, so the services they provide that focus on privacy are not as good as the services VPN-providers provide that focus solely on privacy.
While VPNs can provide some level of privacy, if you go to a bad website, doesn’t a VPN still provide a connection back to your computer for a bad actor to potentially try to do something harmful? Can/does a VPN prevent man in the middle attacks – or any other type of attack for that matter, or is a user still susceptible to everything they’d normally be exposed to with a regular browser page load?
A VPN helps against MiTM attacks to some extent because it encrypts and anonymizes the data between your device and the VPN-server. This ensures protection against attacks aimed at specific users or attacks performed by ISPs or network admins. This means that only general MiTM attacks to visitors of a specific website could work.
Slow internet connection while using VPN is one of the drawback which I have experienced myself. I think it’s maybe due to using a free VPN. Correct me if I am wrong.
That could definitely be the case. Since a VPN redirects your internet traffic via an exteral server, using a VPN could slow down your connection. However, there are many good premium VPNs out there that offer stable and fast connections, anyway. Most free VPNs aren’t capable of offering such services. Moreover, many free VPN services enforce speed limits or have servers that become too crowded at times, so using a free VPN could definitely slow down your internet connection significantly.
I installed VPN offered by my antivirus security system a few months ago. However I noticed I could not send any emails while VPN was switched on. I could receive emails, but just not send them. The moment I turned off VPN I could send emails again. This was so bothersome that I cancelled my VPN for a refund. Could you comment please.
Hi George,
In some cases, emailing indeed gets more difficult when you use a VPN. Certain email providers, such as Gmail, treat shared IP addresses from VPN servers differently from a ‘normal’ IP address. Usually, this means your emails will take longer to arrive or end up in a spam folder. It seems that your email provider is blocking your emails entirely. One way to solve this, is to get a dedicated IP address. You can read more about dedicated IP addresses in this article. A VPN provider that offers these addresses and has lots of extra features that might help you out in the future, is NordVPN. If you’re considering getting a different VPN, you might want to check them out!
Hello.
Thank you for your post. In case my internet connection gets even faster after connecting to a VPN provider, will my MB or GB finish faster?
If for example i have 5 GB to use as wifi and, with normal usage, it takes me 1 week to use all, will it now finish faster in this case ?
Thank you
Good question! The only thing a VPN will do if it increases your internet speed, is make the websites you visit load faster. This means you will only go through your MBs or GBs faster if you actually visit more websites, use apps for a longer time, and so on. If you do the exact same things online with a VPN as you’d do without, you’ll have used exactly as much data. The only change is that your loading times will be less.