Nowadays, many internet users use VPNs for practical reasons, such as security reasons or avoiding geographical restrictions. Most of us know how VPN works and its benefits, so we will not touch on these topics. But have you ever wondered what effect a VPN connection has on your phone’s battery life? We searched for the answer to this question with the tests conducted by GSMArena.
Impact of VPN services on charging
GSMArena conducted tests using NordVPN on phones in four different price segments: Motorola Edge 50 Pro, Realme GT 6, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. In these tests, the effect of VPN on the battery life of the phones was examined both in standby mode and in active web browser use.
Standby mode test
First, we looked at how much the VPN connection affected battery life when the phone was in standby mode. In this test, battery time was measured when the phone was not in use but the VPN was running in the background. The results showed that the VPN connection had almost no impact on battery life. If there was any difference, it was very small and negligible.
Active web browser testing
Active web browser use gave different results. In this test, the effect of the VPN connection on battery time was measured by activities such as loading pages, navigating the page, and frequently touching the screen. Having the VPN running in the background had a measurable impact on battery life in this case.
Results varied widely from device to device. Motorola Edge 50 Pro showed a small decrease of 1.13%, while Realme GT 6 experienced a decrease of 3.75%. However, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showed a 10.57% shorter battery life and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G experienced a huge drop of 17.56%.
This test represents continuous web browser use until the battery is completely drained. In daily use, the overall impact of VPN on battery life may not be that great since you will not be using your phone continuously for 8-14 hours. VPN in standby mode appeared to have almost no impact on the battery.
Yes, the VPN connection will have an impact on your phone’s battery life. However, how big this effect will be will vary depending on the device you use, and you may experience a drop of between 1% and 17%. Even in the worst-case scenario, these decreases occur in continuous active use, but the security and privacy advantages it provides make this sacrifice worthwhile.
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