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Virtual VPN locations: when the server is somewhere else
What a virtual VPN location is, how many there are, which providers mark them in their lists, and what latency measurements show for marked and unmarked locations.
Key points
- A virtual location gives you an IP address registered in one country while the server stands in another.
- Providers themselves mark 430 of 1,673 listed locations as virtual (26 %). Only 6 of 13 server lists say which locations are virtual at all.
- Our measurements place the server outside the listed country for 132 of 1,126 measured locations.
How a virtual location works
You pick “Argentina” in the app. The provider has no server in Argentina, so it connects you to a server in a nearby country and gives you an address that address databases link to Argentina. Websites then treat you as a visitor from Argentina. Your data, though, travels through the other country.
- Your deviceyou pick Argentina
- Server in another countryaddress registered in Argentina
- Websitethinks you are in Argentina
The country in the list and the country of the server can differ. Some providers say so in their list, others do not.
Why it matters
- Speed: the real server may be far from where you think.
- Law and privacy: your data passes through the server’s country, not the listed one.
- Expectations: if you pay for “servers in 150 countries”, you may want to know how many are real.
How many locations are virtual?
- marked as virtual: 430 (26 %)
- not marked as virtual: 701 (42 %)
- no information in the list: 542 (32 %)
Lists that use a marker say “virtual” or “not virtual” for each location. Lists without a marker say nothing, so this site cannot tell from the list alone. That is why it measures.
 NordVPN | 58 % | |
|---|---|---|
 ExpressVPN | 46 % | |
 CyberGhost | 45 % | |
 Private Internet Access | 43 % | |
 Surfshark | 33 % | |
 Windscribe | 2 % |
Only providers whose list has a virtual marker appear here.
What the measurements show
This archive pings one published server endpoint per location from probes around the world. A reply that comes back too fast for the listed country proves the server is outside it. 132 of 1,126 measured locations show this. Most of them are marked as virtual by the provider itself, so the list tells you the truth. The others are findings: the list does not mark them, but the measurements on two different days place the server elsewhere.
- matches the country: 644 (57 %)
- no conclusion possible: 346 (31 %)
- server outside the country: 132 (12 %)
“Matches the country” means no reply ruled the country out and one reply placed the server near it; it is not proof. “No conclusion possible” means no probe was close enough to decide. The method explains the rules.
Countries with only virtual locations
In 27 countries, every location that any provider lists is marked as virtual by that provider. If you need a server physically in one of these countries, none of the providers here offers one.
Check a country before you buy: in the VPN finder, pick the country and tick “the provider does not mark its location there as virtual”.
Next step
The analysis of virtual locations lists every measured location whose server is in another country. For the method behind it, read How latency locates a server.
The figures in this guide come from the archive and change with every data update. As of October 17, 2026.
Check it with the archive's data
- Virtual VPN locations: how many and which providers
- VPN services and providers: locations, measurements, prices
- VPN finder: which VPN is best for you?
Read next: Who owns your VPN? Owners, company seats, and the Five EyesAll guides