What Is Double VPN (Multi-hop)?

Double VPN, also known as multi-hop, is an advanced security feature offered by certain VPN services. When you connect to a VPN normally, your web traffic travels from your device to the VPN server and then to its destination. By enabling Double VPN, a second VPN server is added to the flow of traffic, encrypting your data twice.

Double VPN is great for protecting sensitive data and concealing your IP address online. However, adding a second server introduces its own challenges, including reducing your connection speeds.

Double VPN is an advanced feature of some VPN services that routes or ‘chains’ your traffic through two VPN servers instead of one. However, it is not always implemented in the same way.

For example, NordVPN’s Double VPN feature adds two layers of encryption. The first layer of encryption is applied at your computer or smartphone, and the second is added at the first VPN server.

Re-encryption is not a necessary requirement for Double VPN, but it’s a welcome layer of additional security which compensates for the slow speeds that many Double VPN setups experience.

Other VPN services like Private Internet Access use both a VPN and a proxy in their Double VPN configuration. Your traffic is still routed through two servers, but it lacks the double encryption of its competitors.

Here’s a diagram outlining the data flow of a simple double VPN configuration:

Pros	Cons
Two layers of encryption	Limited server choice
Double VPN servers cover multiple countries, makes it harder to identify your real location	Too slow to be used with Tor
Increased protection against traffic correlation attacks	Much slower connection speeds
Your real IP address is replaced twice	Double VPN is generally only offered by premium VPN services
	You may only connect to one VPN server or fail to make a connection whatsoever

Double VPN is far more secure than a normal VPN connection.

When using an ordinary VPN all of your traffic is routed through a single VPN server. Your incoming and outgoing traffic from this server could be monitored and used to expose your identity.

In contrast, Double VPN ensures a separation of personal data by splitting the content of your traffic between two VPN servers in different locations.

The first VPN server processes your originating IP address, but it does not communicate with your destination website. Conversely, the second VPN server communicates with the webserver on your behalf but does not have access to your original IP address.

This adds an additional layer of privacy and security, as both VPN servers would need to be monitored to identify your activity. Moreover, Double VPN effectively replaces your IP address twice, making it even harder to identify your real geographical location.

Introducing a second VPN server does, however, come at the cost of higher subscription fees and slower connection speeds.

Double VPN is an advanced feature that is only offered by premium, subscription-based VPN services. There are currently no free VPN services that natively support Double VPN. Even if there were, it is unlikely a free VPN service would have the necessary connection speeds to sustain multiple server hops.

In addition, VPN services usually limit Double VPN functionality to a handful of servers – typically in the US and Europe. If you’re looking to connect to a Double VPN server in a location outside of these regions, you can expect your connection speeds to be even slower.

When Should You Use Double VPN?

Double VPN is more secure than an ordinary VPN connection, but it’s not always the best option for casual VPN users.

Here’s a summary of when to use Double VPN:

• To bypass website restrictions in highly-censored countries
• To protect your data against advanced cyberattacks

We recommend enabling Double VPN in the following circumstances:

1To Bypass Government Censorship

Large-scale attempts at web censorship, such as China’s Great Firewall, involve blocking or restricting connections to specific foreign websites.

Double VPN can bypass this censorship by initially routing your traffic through a VPN server in an accessible country, then transferring your request to a second VPN server in a blocked country.

For example, if you’re in China and want to access an American website, you can use Double VPN to connect to Singapore, then connect to a second server in the US. The Government censors in China will only be able to see your connection to a Singaporean server and will not detect an American IP address.

A VPN might also have other obfuscation features that can bypass online censorship, such as Shadowsocks and Obfsproxy.

2To Protect Sensitive Data from Advanced Attacks

Normal VPN connections can be susceptible to traffic correlation attacks. This is when an attacker attempts to de-anonymize data by finding patterns in both ends of the communication channel.

By passing your data through two servers in two different locations, Double VPN can obscure one end of the communication channel and protect you against these attacks.

Even if your first server was compromised, your data’s endpoint would be hidden behind the second VPN server.

When Shouldn’t You Use Double VPN?

Using a VPN will almost always slow your connection speeds because your data has to travel further. This problem is amplified when you involve a second VPN server in the routing.

For this reason, there are some circumstances that will not benefit from an additional layer of protection. Here’s a summary of when not to use Double VPN:

• When streaming region-restricted content e.g. on Netflix
• When gaming or running other high-bandwidth applications
• When torrenting large files or other P2P-based activities

We recommend avoiding Double VPN in the following circumstances:

1Streaming Region-Restricted Content

You shouldn’t rely on Double VPN to access geo-restricted content like US Netflix, Disney+, or BBC iPlayer.

Fast connection speeds are essential for smooth streaming. Using Double VPN routes your traffic through multiple servers before finally connecting to the streaming site, which will increase your latency and cause the stream to buffer.

It’s also much harder to find Double VPN servers in a wide range of locations. Server coverage is essential for streaming, as connecting to a server in a different country allows you to unlock content exclusive to that region

If you want to access geo-restricted content regularly, try out a reliable VPN for streaming.

2Online Gaming

Online gaming requires fast connection speeds to matchmake, avoid lag, and maintain connection to a server or opponent.

Even the best gaming VPNs increase your ping which, in turn, causes your game to lag. Double VPN routes your traffic to a second server, raising your ping even higher.

One of our fastest Double VPNs, Surfshark, failed to connect to the online game server in our testing. In the image below, we registered a ping in the excess of 100ms when attempting a connection.

Double VPN’s limited server coverage may force you to matchmake in a region far away from your real location. This would further worsen your lag, potentially causing you to disconnect from your game entirely.

3Torrenting & P2P Activity

Double VPN routes your traffic through two VPN servers before accessing the torrenting swarm. This significantly reduces both your download and upload speed which are essential for torrenting larger files.

We tried torrenting with NordVPN’s multi-hop feature and recorded an average bitrate of 5.5 MiB/s. This is a 44% decrease from NordVPN’s standard bitrate of 9.8MiB/s.

It’s not impossible to torrent on NordVPN’s Double VPN feature but there are faster alternatives available.

It is also unlikely that both of your VPN servers are optimized for P2P traffic and configured in a way to allow these types of connections.

A top torrenting VPN can conceal your IP address from the torrent swarm, encrypt your P2P traffic, and hide your torrenting activity from your ISP without sacrificing your torrenting speeds.

Here’s a video demonstrating how to use Double VPN. We’ve used NordVPN’s app as an example:

VPN over VPN (also known as VPN chaining) is when you run two or more VPN connections simultaneously. Whereas Double VPN uses two VPN servers from the same provider, VPN over VPN uses VPN servers from two different providers and requires manual setup.

In theory, you can ‘chain’ together as many VPNs as you want in a VPN over VPN setup as long as your bandwidth can handle it. There aren’t any VPN services on the market that offer this level of collaboration with a competitor, so you will need to manually configure the two VPNs yourself.

Double VPN and VPN over VPN are similar, but with a few important differences:

	Double VPN	VPN over VPN
Setup Difficulty	Easy setup that can be done within the VPN app settings on a single device	Complicated setup requiring technical knowledge and two active devices
Encryption	Strength and duration of encryption vary by provider	Guaranteed double encryption for the entire process
Server Choice	Server coverage is often limited to a select few regions	You have access to the full server lists of both providers
# of Server Hops	Limited to two VPN servers	Limited to as many servers as your bandwidth can handle
Cost	Only requires subscription to one VPN service	Requires multiple VPN subscriptions
VPN Choice	VPN provider choice is restricted to only those that can support Double VPN	Any VPN of your choice can be used
Privacy	All of your personal data is given to one provider	Your personal data is split between two providers, protecting your anonymity if one of the servers are compromised
Speed	Double VPN generally has slow connection speeds	VPN over VPN generally has slow connection speeds

The key difference between the two setups is the level of encryption offered. Whether Double VPN offers single or double encryption is down to the limitations of the VPN service.

Double VPNs that offer double encryption add the second layer of encryption at the first VPN server, which means your data only has a single layer of encryption between the starting device and the initial VPN server.

VPN over VPN always guarantees double encryption for your data as the two VPNs will offer a standard layer of encryption each. Furthermore, the encryption process will take place before reaching the first VPN server.

We recommend a VPN over VPN setup if you’re looking to maximize your online security – but only if this is an absolute necessity. A single layer of encryption on a Double VPN configuration will still keep you secure online with a much easier setup process.

We recommend the following VPN-over-VPN configurations:

1. Install one VPN provider on your personal device (a laptop, smartphone, or TV) and a second VPN on your router.
2. Install one VPN on your PC and a second VPN on a virtual machine within that PC.

Double VPN and Onion over VPN both protect your personal data by routing your traffic through multiple, secure ‘hops’ – whether that’s servers, nodes, or a combination of the two. This invites comparisons to be made, but there are major differences between the two setups:

	Double VPN	Tor over VPN
Setup Difficulty	Easy setup that can be done within the VPN app settings on a single device	Complex setup that requires a compatible VPN and knowledge of the Tor browser
Encryption	Strength and duration of encryption vary by provider	Onion over VPN will encrypt your data four times
Server Choice	Server coverage is often limited to a select few regions	The location of Tor nodes are anonymous and randomized
# of Server Hops	Limited to two VPN servers	Tor over VPN is always a VPN startpoint and three nodes
Cost	Only requires subscription to one VPN service	Only requires subscription to one VPN service
VPN Choice	VPN provider choice is restricted to only those that can support Double VPN	Any VPN of your choice can be used
Privacy	All of your personal data is given to one provider	Your personal data is divided between two types of software
Speed	Double VPN generally has slow connection speeds	Tor over VPN generally has slow connection speeds

Structurally, Double VPN uses the same type of software twice, whereas Tor over VPN utilises two different types of software.

This means Double VPN is far easier to set up but it concentrates your risk. However, if your VPN server is seized in a Tor over VPN setup, you can rely on the Tor nodes to keep your data secure.

Having said that, Tor over VPN is not without its security flaws.

Double VPN has greater versatility, supporting both the UDP and TCP security protocols. Whereas, Tor over VPN is only compatible with the much slower TCP protocol.

We recommend using Tor over VPN only if anonymity is an absolute priority for you. You can still maintain a high level of privacy and security using Double VPN with a much simpler setup.

Only a few VPN services offer Double VPN. The best VPNs for Double VPN don’t only support the feature, but will also maintain fast connection speeds while you’re using it.

We’ve assessed the top VPN services based on how many Double VPN servers they offer, their average download speed when making a multi-hop connection, and their logging policy.

All of our recommended VPNs come equipped with a reliable VPN kill switch, ensuring your data is safe if the multi-hop connection fails.

Here’s a table comparing the top VPNs for Double VPN based on these testing parameters: