Knowledge base · Speed and internet
What internet speed really depends on
Connection speed is set by your provider, your Wi-Fi and the location you choose. A speed test measures the channel to its own test server, not to the site you need: that is why YouTube stalls while the test shows hundreds of megabits — providers throttle traffic to its servers specifically. This section covers how to tell throttling from network problems and what VPN speed depends on.
- Speed and internetWhy YouTube is slow, even when your internet is fast
Why YouTube is slow on a fast connection, how to tell throttling from network problems, and what to do.
- Speed and internetWhat VPN speed depends on
Which factors shape the speed of a protected connection, and why the answer changes from network to network.
Why a speed test doesn't explain everything
A speed test measures the link from you to the nearest test server. Videos, games and sites live on other servers, and the path to them is slower when providers slow down traffic to particular services, routes pass through congested nodes or the site's server is far away. So hundreds of megabits in a test and a buffering YouTube don't contradict each other. The breakdown is in Why YouTube is slow, even when your internet is fast.
What affects speed at home
Test speed over a cable or next to the router. If it's fast there and slow in the room, the bottleneck is Wi-Fi: a router in a far room, walls, neighbours' networks on the same channel, an old standard on your phone or laptop. Mobile internet depends on cell load and signal: in the evening peak hours it is slower.
Speed with a VPN
A VPN adds a server to the path, so speed through a VPN depends on the protocol, the distance to the server, its load and its channel. For video and calls, a steady ping matters more than the number in a speed test. Details in What VPN speed depends on.
MaskNet has several servers in every location with channels up to 10 Gbps, and availability is checked every 20 seconds.