Yes, but not too much. Encrypting and decrypting your data requires processing power, which, in theory, can slow down your internet connection. In practice, even low-end modern smartphones can handle VPN encryption with no noticeable slowdown. A bigger issue is how far your data travels. Connecting to a VPN server adds another “leg” to its journey, which inevitably slows it down. This is particularly true if the VPN server you connect to is located on the other side of the world from you.  If you connect to a VPN server fairly nearby, however, (for example, anywhere in Europe if you are based in Europe), then it is unlikely you will notice any slowdown. In addition to this, our unique VPN Accelerator technology can increase speeds by over 400% under certain conditions and is particularly effective at mitigating speed loss when connecting to geographically distant servers. Learn more about VPN Accelerator Another factor to consider is the “server load” of the VPN server you are using. That is, how many people are using it at the same time as you and thus making demands on its resources.  This is the only reason that our free servers, which can get a little busy during peak times, do not always allow the speeds that are available when using our Plus servers, which tend to be less busy.