What’s better than safeguarding your traffic with one VPN server? That’s an easy one: using two VPN servers. This is precisely what Double VPN, or Multi-Hop, offers — an extra layer of security for those who need it most.
This method encrypts your data twice before it exits, making it significantly harder for anyone to trace your online activities or intercept your information. You’d think it should be a standard feature, yet most VPNs don’t include it. Why? Keep reading, and you’ll find out.
This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about Double VPN. Plus, as a bonus, we’ll highlight the best providers you can turn to if you need the feature.
What is Double VPN (Multi-Hop)?
Double VPN, or Multi-Hop, is an advanced VPN configuration that involves routing internet traffic between two servers instead of one. The traffic is encrypted twice (double encryption), which, as you can imagine, makes it twice as difficult to break into.
A virtual private network connects your device (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.) to another server. That could be a commercial VPN server in another city, country, or even your office server.
True to its name, Double VPN adds yet another server to the mix. Consequently, it hides the final destination of the connection from the first server. And the second server? It has no information on the original source of the connection. This is also known as server chaining or cascading.
What’s the difference between Double VPN and Multi-Hop, you wonder?
While both terms are now used interchangeably, Multi-Hop isn’t restricted to two simultaneous VPN connections. It can extend to triple, quadruple, or even longer chains. With some providers, like Private Internet Access, the second link in the chain may be a proxy server instead.
How Does Double VPN Work?
Before diving in, let’s quickly recap how a regular VPN connection works. Here’s what happens when you connect to a VPN server:
- The VPN encrypts your data using an encryption algorithm.
- The encrypted data is sent to a remote VPN server through a secure tunnel.
- The server masks your IP address and assigns a replacement.
- That encrypted data, with the new IP address, moves on to its final destination.
Now, what happens when you activate the Double VPN feature? Here’s how that goes:
- Your traffic is encrypted as usual and sent to the first VPN server.
- This server re-encrypts your data, masks your IP address, and assigns you a replacement.
- The doubly encrypted data is then sent to a second VPN server, where it is decrypted.
- Finally, the data is sent to its final destination, the website you’re visiting.
Each step in this process adds a layer of anonymity and security. And that makes it much harder for anyone to intercept or trace your data.
The Benefits of Using Double VPN
What do you stand to gain from using Double VPN or Multi-Hop anyway? Let’s take a closer look at its pros:
Two Layers of Encryption
The most obvious benefit of using Double VPN. If a VPN’s single layer of encryption is tough to crack, having two layers makes it doubly so. That way, hackers and other malicious actors find intercepting or decrypting your traffic significantly more challenging.
Double IP Masking
After the first server hides your original IP address, the second server hides the IP address of the first server in turn.
In essence, Double VPN changes your IP address twice. There’s no absolute anonymity, but this makes it significantly harder for anyone to track your location or online activities. It’s especially helpful in restrictive countries that monitor what their citizens do online.
Protects Against Compromised Servers
Double VPN also reduces the risk of a single point of failure by using two separate, independently operated servers. If one of them is compromised, your data is still encrypted by the second server.
This setup also defends against traffic correlation attacks because it’s extremely difficult for anyone to match your incoming and outgoing traffic and trace it back to you.
Beat Censorship Measures
Many countries employ various levels of censorship measures to restrict access to content. Sometimes, that involves blocking access to VPN servers. Double VPN can bypass those measures, which will be helpful if you live in (or are traveling to) such a country.
Take advantage of NordVPN’s double VPN feature
The Cons of Double VPN
Double VPN comes with its costs. Are they heavy enough to keep you from using the feature? You decide.
Slower Connection Speeds
Because of the extra step it adds to your internet connection, a regular VPN already impacts your browsing speeds. If you’re not using a fast VPN service, that effect can be pretty frustrating.
Now, imagine routing your traffic through two (or more) VPN servers. That adds even more steps to the connection process, resulting in higher latency and slower speeds. It’s particularly noticeable while gaming or streaming videos in high-definition or higher resolutions. That said, the drop in performance is steeper in some VPNs than others.
Limited Server Choice
The top VPN services allow you to choose server locations in dozens of countries. You don’t get anywhere near that level of flexibility with Double VPN, where you’re typically limited to a small selection of server pairs. Such a restriction means you may not be able to choose the optimal locations you’re interested in.
Extra Cost
Some VPNs include Double VPN in your subscription, but that’s not always the case. Others may restrict it to higher-tier plans. And then there’s the category of VPN providers that only offer the feature as an add-on, which means you’ll have to pay extra to use it.
Battery Drain
The more the encryption and routing processes, the more computational power and network resources are required. What does all that stuff going on lead to? You guessed it — increased battery consumption that could reduce your battery life.
When Should You Use Double VPN?
We’ll go out on a limb here and say that most people won’t ever need the extra encryption and protection they can get from multi-hopping their internet connection. However, it can definitely come in handy if you have good reason to be ultra-paranoid.
Such as in these scenarios:
- Journalists: Working in sensitive fields like journalism can be dangerous, especially in highly restrictive countries. If there’s always censorship and a chance you’ll get locked up (or worse), chaining your VPN connection can help protect you, your sources, and your work.
- Whistleblowers and Political Activists: Activists are just as much at risk in harsh environments because their activities rile up incumbent governments. Double VPN masks their encryption and IP address twice over, making it all the harder to sniff them out.
- Restrictive Countries: If you live in countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, or Iran, you may still need Double VPN, even if you’re a normal resident. Adding an extra layer of privacy over your connection can help you access censored resources or websites and avoid mass monitoring.
When is Double VPN Unnecessary?
Basically, for any other reason. Considering the Double VPN cons we’ve discussed already, you’d be better off turning it off in these situations:
1. Streaming: You need fast connection speeds if you want an enjoyable streaming experience. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu will punish you for the slow speeds typical of a Double VPN connection.
Besides, Double VPN pairs are pretty limited, as we mentioned earlier. That drastically reduces your options for accessing exclusive libraries in other countries.
2. Online Gaming: Unless you connect to a server close to a gaming server, even the best gaming VPNs will increase your latency. With the extra encryption from Double VPN, your ping rate is bound to increase even further. While the feature would shield you from sore losers and other malicious gamers, the trade-off isn’t worth it.
3. Torrenting: Sure, you need high-level security to avoid exposure and potential legal issues. But torrenting can be really slow, even with high net speed. The extra speed drop from using Multi-Hop would result in painfully drawn-out downloads and seeding. Some of the best VPNs for torrenting, like NordVPN, have specially optimized servers for the activity.
4. Casual Browsing: Double VPN may be overkill if you’re on the internet for everyday reasons like checking websites, reading your email, posting on social media, or shopping online. Why? Because the plummeting performance drop will ruin the experience.
What’s the Difference Between Double VPN and VPN over VPN?
It’s easy to confuse both configurations because, technically, they both involve using two or more VPN servers. However, there’s a distinct difference. While Double VPN uses two servers operated by the same provider, VPN over VPN (also called VPN chaining) involves running multiple providers simultaneously.
The end goal of both methods is to enhance privacy and security. But, using two different VPN services theoretically offers an even higher level of protection, as it reduces the potential for a single point of failure.
That said, you have to configure and manage two different services, and that can be complex. Some don’t even work together. For instance, if you fire up Surfshark while another VPN is launched (not even activated), the provider will detect it and pop up an error message.
A particularly important advantage of VPN over VPN over Multi-Hop is that you have access to both providers’ full range of servers, compared to the latter’s typically limited options. However, it goes without saying that the performance issues that come with using Double VPN also apply to VPN over VPN.
What’s the Difference Between Double VPN and Onion over VPN?
As for Onion over VPN (also called Tor over VPN), it combines a VPN with the Tor network. Your traffic is first encrypted by the VPN, then routed through multiple anonymous relay servers (nodes) operated by the Tor network. This creates a complex path for your data and makes tracking it extremely difficult.
There are two ways to apply this. For one, you can connect to a VPN server and then use the Tor browser. Alternatively, you can use the built-in Onion over VPN feature on a VPN that lets you access the Tor network with your regular browser.
Tor over VPN guarantees even more privacy than Double VPN — it’s probably the closest you can get to anonymity. On the flip side, if you thought Multi-Hop was slow, you’ll be stunned by the former’s snail-slow pace.
The Best VPNs With Double VPN or Multi-Hop
Interested in using Double VPN? Here’s a small pool of the best providers we recommend choosing from. Each VPN on this list comes with the feature alongside other top-rate advanced tools to safeguard your network traffic.
1. NordVPN
You cannot go wrong with the highest-rated VPN on the market. NordVPN allows you to choose from a list of available locations for an exit server, and then it selects the best first server for excellent performance.
The Double VPN category currently offers eight locations, including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Hong Kong.
NordVPN’s security and privacy focus is never in doubt. Double VPN encrypts your connection twice with AES 256-bit encryption, the gold standard algorithm. The provider also comes with an advanced kill switch, DNS leak protection, and an ad-and-malware blocker suite called Threat Protection. There’s also a native Onion over VPN feature for even more anonymity.
It’s also the fastest VPN service, so it was no surprise we experienced the smoothest Double VPN connections using NordVPN. While there’s a performance drop, it’s barely noticeable for everyday browsing, and you can stream high-resolution videos with little to no buffering.
NordVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can see how well it does for yourself risk-free.
2. Surfshark
Surfshark is another excellent provider with double VPN servers. As mentioned in our review of Surfshark, it calls the feature MultiHop and has twelve pre-selected server pairs with exit servers in nine countries, including the US, UK, Netherlands, and Singapore.
However, we especially like that you can build your own Double VPN connection by selecting the entry and exit servers. The provider calls this Dynamic MultiHop. After creating your pairs, you can mark your favorites and save them for later.
You can depend on Surfshark not to compromise your security. It stacks a ton of industry-standard and advanced features, including military-grade encryption, a kill switch, DNS/IP leak protection, and obfuscation. There’s also CleanWeb, a pretty effective blocker for ads, trackers, and malware.
Surfshark isn’t far behind NordVPN’s speeds. You may experience some buffering while streaming in 4K with Double VPN activated, but it was minimal in our experience during testing. And that was while connected to distant servers.
Thanks to a 30-day refund window on all Surfshark plans, you can test-run it and get your money back if unimpressed.
3. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access takes a different approach to Multi-Hop. Instead of a second VPN server, you get to connect to a SOCKS5 proxy or Shadowsocks.
Whatever you decide on, the provider automatically obfuscates your connection, hiding the fact that you’re using a VPN. That can be especially handy in restrictive countries because it helps you bypass censorship and surveillance measures that block VPN connections.
On top of that, PIA lets you choose between AES 128-bit and AES 256-bit encryptions, with the former set by default. You can also customize the kill switch, and the VPN’s MACE feature identifies and stops ads at the DNS level.
Because Private Internet Access uses proxies as the second “hop” rather than a VPN server, your connection speed doesn’t take a dramatic dive. On the other hand, you don’t get double encryption with the SOCKS5 proxy. Still, it masks the first server’s assigned IP address, making it significantly more challenging to trace you online.
Whatever PIA plan you purchase, you can get a full refund within 30 days if it doesn’t work well enough for you.
How to Set Up Double VPN
The steps for setting up Double VPN will vary depending on your VPN service. We’ll demonstrate using the best Double VPN provider, NordVPN. Remember, some NordVPN alternatives use the Multi-Hop or MultiHop label instead.
- Visit the provider’s website, choose a subscription plan, and pay for it.
- Download and install the VPN on your device. Log in with your newly created account details.
- Navigate to Double VPN on the Speciality Servers menu. On other VPNs, you may find this in a home screen section or within the settings.
- Click the three dots next to Double VPN and select the exit server. Click Connect to activate the connection. Alternatively, you may leave it up to the VPN to choose an optimal server.
- Use the internet protected by double encryption.
Conclusion
For most people, a VPN does an excellent job safeguarding your personal information and shielding your online presence. However, Double VPN (Multi-Hop) provides an extra layer of encryption and protection that may be useful for especially privacy-conscious users.
This article covered everything you need to know about the feature. The best VPN for Multi-Hop is NordVPN, thanks to its optimal combination of functionality and performance. You can take advantage of its friendly pricing and 30-day money-back guarantee to check it out.
FAQs
Let’s answer a few commonly asked questions about Double VPN.
Is Double VPN overkill?
It depends on your VPN requirements. While Double VPN may be overkill for most casual internet users, the extra layer of encryption can prove helpful for others who need more anonymity and protection online.
Does Double VPN slow down internet?
Yes, Double VPN adds an extra, complex step to your data transmission, which typically results in slower connection speeds.
What is better, Double VPN or Onion over VPN?
Onion over VPN offers more encryption and is explicitly used for accessing the Tor network. On the other hand, Double VPN is significantly faster and can be used on regular browsers without the Tor network.