If you do a quick Google search about VPNs, you’ll mostly see sites and platforms talking tons of great stuff about these services. They often mention online privacy, anonymity, security, streaming, torrenting, and other, thousand-times-repeated words. However, people who have never used this service will wonder what the pros and cons of a VPN are—and rightfully so.
Nothing on this planet is perfect, and each service, app, or anything else has advantages and disadvantages. In today’s article, we’ll discuss every advantage and disadvantage of a VPN, explain them in depth, and see if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
If you’re unsure whether to use a VPN, this article should solve 99% of your problems, so stay tuned.
Advantages of Using a VPN
In one of our recent articles, we discussed the definition of a VPN, so if you’re interested, check that out. Understanding this service and its way of working is crucial, although you’ll get glimpses of that in today’s analysis.
For now, it’s great to start on a good note and discuss the advantages of using a VPN—follow closely.
✅ Online Privacy
We’re talking about a privacy tool—a Virtual Private Network, after all. But how does a VPN protect your privacy? This service works by routing your traffic through an intermediary server elsewhere.
As a result, it changes your IP address, encrypts your traffic, and conceals your original IP address. When not using it, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can see everything you do online, each site you visit, each torrent you download, etc.
This means you never have online privacy, as someone else can see your footsteps online. Your ISP can even see which apps you’re using, which, to us, sounds very concerning. We can say the same about your apps, as most will register your IP address and track your activities.
Either way, once you’re online, you’re giving away your privacy to multiple entities, including your ISP. Thankfully, a VPN can remedy this issue by concealing your original IP and making sure only the VPN-given IP can be seen.
Thanks to added encryption (256-bit), your traffic is also untraceable, so you’re anonymous AND can browse the web without your ISP monitoring your steps. This also influences torrenting, where your privacy is crucial.
The best VPNs for torrenting encrypt your traffic and hide your IP so that you’re invisible to other peers, torrent sites, and your ISP, which will notice torrenting activities. You’ll slide under the radar with a VPN and enjoy 100% anonymous torrenting.
✅ Security While Browsing the Web
Security is another crucial aspect when discussing the pros and cons of using a VPN. As said, encryption is used, coupled with other security measures. This is crucial for security, especially when using public WiFi networks, where hackers often lurk.
They’ll try to steal your personal data by intercepting your traffic and reading its content. However, as your traffic is encrypted, a hacker will only see a garbled mess without the ability to read it. A VPN can protect you against DDoS attacks, malware, trackers, and other threats.
Providers like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost offer these bonus features, so it’s worth checking them out.
✅ Bypassing Geo-Restrictions
One of the best benefits of using a VPN is getting around online restrictions. Geo-restrictions are especially annoying, preventing you from accessing your desired content. This is typical for gambling sites and streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer or Netflix.
Thanks to its ability to change your IP and online location, a VPN lets you access these sites regardless of location. Once connected to a server, you’ll be assigned an IP from that server, which is elsewhere.
From that point, every site you visit will see that IP and think you’re elsewhere. If we’re talking about a US TV channel, for example, with a US IP, you’ll be able to watch it even if you’re located in Europe, Asia, Africa, or wherever.
We can say the same about restrictions in your school or workplace. A VPN’s ability to change your IP and encrypt your traffic is very welcome for accessing Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, or any other blocked site at work or school.
✅ Circumventing Censorship
Since we’re discussing the pros and cons of using a VPN, it’s essential to mention censorship. People in China, Iran, the UAE, Russia, and other countries are having issues enjoying a free and open internet due to frequent website blocks and restrictions.
This makes the internet far less enjoyable since you’re locked out of your favourite sites and services. For example, the UAE is an Islamic country, so gambling sites are often blocked. You can’t access Google services, Wikipedia, and other extremely popular websites in China.
Thanks to obfuscation, some VPNs can bypass censorship and fully allow you to enjoy the internet, even in China or Turkey. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are the best choices in this regard.
7492 servers
118 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
10 simultaneous connections
9.8 /10
3000 servers
105 covered countries
30 days money-back guarantee
8 simultaneous connections
9.4 /10
They’ll obfuscate your VPN traffic and make it look like you’re not using a VPN, which lets you eliminate firewall restrictions. Next time you think about a VPN for travelling abroad, think about censorship and get a provider like these two—you won’t regret it!
✅ It Can Produce a Better Gaming Experience
You want to reduce your latency and get the best possible online gaming performance. You also want to prevent other players from seeing your IP address because they can execute DDoS attacks or, God forbid, swatting, which can be deadly.
A VPN can reduce your ping by preventing bandwidth throttling, which we’ll discuss in a minute. It also allows you to bypass region-blocked gaming content to get better items or, for example, play on foreign servers despite your location. If you are interested, we have an article explaining how to change region on Steam.
Furthermore, this service will protect you from DDoS attacks by encrypting your traffic and hiding your real IP. An attacker can execute a DDoS attack on the VPN server, but thanks to its technology, it won’t do any damage, and you’ll be able to enjoy gaming without interruptions.
Swatting attacks are also out of harm’s way. With your IP address hidden, players can send special police forces to the location associated with the VPN-given IP, but that won’t happen for obvious reasons. So yes, a significant advantage of a VPN is its ability to protect you while gaming while reducing latency.
✅ Bandwidth Throttling Prevention
Bandwidth throttling is one of the most annoying occurrences when using the internet. How often have you raged about the slow internet and speeds that don’t match the speeds you’re paying for? If that sounds familiar, you might be encountering bandwidth throttling.
This phenomenon is when your ISP intentionally slows down your internet speed to prevent traffic congestion and ensure stable infrastructure. However, this is a false excuse, as all ISPs have a vast infrastructure that can handle extreme amounts of bandwidth at any given time.
This way, they’ll give you slower speeds but charge you the same, which saves them some money because they don’t have to deliver on their promises. In the contract you sign, you’ll see that speeds go “up to” a certain amount of Mbps, and this “up to” is very important.
In other words, they don’t always have to give you what you pay for, and if the speeds aren’t matching the upper limit, there’s no one to blame. A VPN will, however, change your IP and encrypt your traffic so that your ISP can’t throttle your speeds.
It won’t know your IP address and what you’re doing online, so it has no control over what you can see and do and the performance you get. This allows you to enjoy the internet at full speed, without your ISP’s handiwork that can sometimes ruin the performance and boost your latency.
We strongly recommend using a VPN if you’re torrenting, gaming, or streaming (these are bandwidth-hungry activities). It’ll drive ISP throttling away and make the experience smoother, especially NordVPN, which is the fastest VPN provider in 2025.
✅ Saving Money on Online Purchases
While VPNs aren’t free (usually), they’ll cost you just a few bucks a month. On the other hand, they can save you plenty of money on online purchases, which is most prevalent when discussing travelling, hotel rentals, etc.
The prices of flight tickets often depend on your location, so by changing your IP to a less-developed country, you can get cheaper tickets and save a bit of money. If you’re often travelling abroad, you’ll be looking at savings that can go up to a few hundred dollars a year – or even more.
For example, you can invest this money elsewhere or get a more luxurious hotel on your vacation. Using a VPN to buy games cheaper also works, but we can include streaming subscriptions and other online purchases here.
Either way, our team at 01net saved much money on business flights with providers like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. With a few IP changes, a bit of research, and a price comparison, you can get some cheap flights—and who doesn’t like cheap flights and vacations?!
Disadvantages of Using a VPN
Now that you know all the advantages and pros of VPN use, let’s discuss its negative sides. There aren’t many, but it’s great to be honest and upfront to know what you can or can’t expect from the service.
❌ VPNs Aren’t Free (Most of Them)
Just a minute ago, in this article, we mentioned providers like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Surfshark. While they’re very different overall, one thing connects them: the price or the fact that they’re not free.
The majority of VPNs aren’t free, and that’s what puts many people off. But hey, think about the software you use on your job. Do you think that software is free? Do you think graphics design software is free? Nothing’s free in this world!
Some people think VPNs are overly expensive, but to differentiate yourself from the others, we want you to consider all the benefits you get—reread the previous section. Are VPNs expensive now? We don’t think so.
Still, we understand that, in these times, people don’t want to have additional investments in software like this. The good news is that you don’t have to invest a boatload of money in a VPN. Some of the providers we mentioned will cost you as little as $2 a month, which is cheap!
Let’s not forget about a 30-day money-back policy, so you can enjoy a premium service for free for 30 days and get a refund. We recently showed you how to use NordVPN for free, so check out that article if you’re interested.
❌ They Can Slow Down Your Internet Speed
Okay, this one is pretty common if you use a low-quality service. Every VPN will slow down your internet speeds, and there’s a good reason. This service applies additional encryption on your connection, slowing it down.
Moreover, additional security features, such as IP/DNS leak protection, Double VPN, and the selection of protocol, influence the speed. Either way, the slowdown is imminent, especially if you connect to a distant server overseas.
Once again, the good news is that the speed reduction doesn’t have to be drastic. When using NordVPN, the speed reduction will be minimal, and if you’re using the closest server, there’s virtually no reduction, so you get the best possible performance.
Even NordVPN will tank your performance when connecting to a distant server, and that’s normal. VPNs work by securing your traffic and applying encryption, so it’s a small trade-off for the level of security and privacy you get.
Still, a fast service like NordVPN or ExpressVPN will work with no issues despite this. They’re still excellent for streaming, gaming, downloading torrents, etc. We recommend avoiding providers like Hola VPN and other free services that limit your speeds to 1 Gbps, which is too slow in 2025.
❌ VPNs Will See Your Data
When using a virtual private network, you will hide your online traffic from your ISP. However, your traffic will then go through the VPN server owned by a particular company, which means the company can see your traffic instead!
You’re transferring your trust in the ISP to the VPN provider. Is this a smart move? Well, both yes and no, depending on the provider in question. If you’re going to use a free service or a VPN with no audits that isn’t proven to be safe and secure, it’s a bad move.
These providers are notorious for collecting and selling your data to third parties to make money. Examples of these VPNs include:
- Hola VPN
- Urban VPN
- Betternet VPN
- Hotspot Shield, and many others…
Now, let’s talk about premium providers like those we discussed. They have several things in common:
- They collect NO personal data, so they offer a no-logging policy
- They all have external, third-party audits from companies like PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, Cure53, etc…
- They will NOT sell your personal data to third parties since they store nothing on their servers
- They’re all based in privacy-friendly countries (the BVI, Romania, the Netherlands, Panama, …)
As you can see, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Surfshark are far more secure than average providers. You will entrust your data to them, but thanks to a no-logging policy in place, plus several security audits, your data will not be stored on the provider’s servers.
The provider can see your data but not store it, which is crucial. If anyone were to hack the VPN, as happened with NordVPN in 2018, hackers wouldn’t be able to extract user-related information.
❌ Some Countries Block VPN Connections
Finally, we want to mention that VPNs are legal in most cases. However, some countries block VPN connections, rendering them useless. Earlier in this article, we mentioned China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the UAE.
These countries are known for excessive censorship and website blocks that provide all but a free and open internet. China is the worst case here, and its Great Firewall blocks the majority of VPNs, meaning they won’t connect to the server.
However, using a VPN in China is legal and won’t get you jailed or fined.
Since both providers work flawlessly, you can safely use NordVPN and ExpressVPN in this country. But what about countries that strictly block VPNs and deem them illegal? These include North Korea, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Iraq, and others.
In these countries, using a VPN is illegal, and you can be punished with jail time or hefty fines for doing so. As you can see, this disadvantage of a VPN is relative and will not apply to everyone, but it’s important to mention it if you live in these countries.
Also, it’s good to know about this inconvenience if you’re travelling to any of these countries. Don’t use a VPN in a country deemed illegal—it’ll get you in trouble!
The Bottom Line: Are VPNs Worth It?
With our discussion about the pros and cons of a VPN, you know everything about its advantages, disadvantages, conveniences, and inconveniences. And, if you do the math, you’ll see more advantages than disadvantages.
The short answer to the question above is that VPNs are worth it, especially given their few-dollar-a-month price that won’t cost you a fortune. Think about some software that costs hundreds, if not thousands of dollars—a VPN’s cost is minimal in comparison.
The downsides we mentioned aren’t strict and can be avoided by choosing a trustworthy VPN service. If you go for NordVPN, your connection speed won’t be affected much, you’ll have a no-logging policy, it’ll work in China, and you’ll get all the discussed benefits.
If you live in a country where VPNs are illegal, it’s a sad story, as you won’t be able to use one legally. However, for most people, using a VPN is a matter of will, and with all the benefits you can get, we see no reason not to get it.
Once again, our recommendations include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Surfshark. These four will give you all seven benefits mentioned above, with a few downsides, if at all. As long as you avoid free providers, you shouldn’t worry about any particular inconveniences.
VPNs are truly LEGIT; they work and are worth your money.
