ExpressVPN

★★★★★

4,99 $ 12,99 $

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ExpressVPN has long been the clear market leader in VPN services. Four years ago, we referred to it as the “Ferrari of VPN services” in our review. Quality apps, excellent security and great speeds still place the service at the top, but other companies aren’t sleeping. NordVPN, Surfshark VPN and ProtonVPN have already caught up in several areas. Despite this, ExpressVPN maintains a leading position in the market.

9

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WHAT WE LIKED

• Secure and user-friendly applications
• Strong encryption and security features
• Protocol-free VPN in a secure jurisdiction
• Large and secure server network
• Works well with Netflix and other streaming services
• Browser extensions
• Quality mobile apps
• Dedicated application for routers
• Good customer support
• Lightway open-source protocol that is very fast
• Subjected to a number of external audits

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Higher price than competitors
• Fewer additional features than competitors

ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The BVI is an independent self-governing entity with strict laws to protect the privacy of individuals and companies operating there.

Unlike the UK, the BVI does not have any mandatory data retention laws or extensive surveillance programmes affecting VPN services operating under UK jurisdiction.

The British Virgin Islands, unlike the countries in the Five Eyes alliance, is known for its strong privacy protections and secrecy of sensitive data.

ExpressVPN is an authenticated VPN service with no data logging. It has undergone multiple independent external audits as well as real-world testing, as we’ll outline below. If you’re looking for a VPN service that keeps absolutely no logs of its users, ExpressVPN is a great choice.

ExpressVPN is also one of the VPN services that has been independently audited. To verify and prove its claims of no data logging, ExpressVPN was audited by the prestigious auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2019. The audit verified the TrustedServer feature (which we’ll talk more about below), the no-logging policy, and compliance with all privacy policies.

In addition, in April 2022, ExpressVPN announced that its Windows apps had been audited by F-Secure. The audit used penetration testing methods to try to identify any security issues with the Windows client. The results were favourable and the auditors were unable to find any major safety issues.

In the second half of 2022, the company decided to subject its products to further audits:

• Company Cure53 reviewed macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps
• Company F-Secure has re-examined the latest Windows application
• Companies KPMG and Cure53 conducted independent audits of all systems and underlying server technologies

All of the above audits have confirmed that the applications are error-free, and the company does not collect or store any data (activity logs, connection logs, other sensitive information) that could compromise the privacy or security of its users.

In December 2017, reports emerged that authorities in Turkey had seized ExpressVPN’s server in an attempt to obtain customer data. Before the server was seized, Turkish authorities tried to force ExpressVPN to provide logs from the server in question. ExpressVPN has informed officials that this is a non-logging VPN, which is not covered by Turkish law, and they have no data to provide. The Turkish government then confiscated the server, but came up empty-handed when searching for any user data. The reason was simple – there were no protocols.

Why is this important? The relevant outcome is that the authorities have not been able to obtain any customer data – either through requests or by seizing the server itself. No logs were available. This case from Turkey and the audit confirm that the service is serious about protecting its customers.

ExpressVPN also offers a Bug Bounty program. If anyone finds any security weaknesses in the apps, they will be rewarded.

ExpressVPN has been on the market since 2009, so it’s no surprise that their server network is one of the best on the market. It currently has more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries around the world.

In addition, the service is gradually migrating to its own dedicated servers with 10 Gbps bandwidth, which operate in RAM mode only (without the use of hard disks). This function is referred to by the service as TrustedServer.

The service also uses virtual servers. Not all servers are actually located in the countries listed next to them. Currently, there are 48 countries. ExpressVPN explains it as follows:

However, we appreciate that ExpressVPN is transparent in this regard and lists exactly which countries use the virtual servers (and in which country these servers are actually located).

In our speed tests, ExpressVPN scored excellent results. We tested the service on a Windows system with the Lightway protocol set up. All tests were performed on a dedicated 500 Mbps network located in Hungary at different time intervals.

All connections have been very stable with no extreme fluctuations or disturbing dropouts. The actual connection speed to the servers was extremely fast and we were usually connected to the servers within 1-3 seconds. This, of course, makes it much easier to switch between servers in different countries.

Nearest / recommended server (Slovakia)

• Lowest measured speed: 119,94 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 423,76 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 397,22 Mbps
• Average PING: 31,67 ms

England, London

• Lowest measured speed: 188,06 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 377,26 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 355,34 Mbps
• Average PING: 40,56 ms

USA, New York

• Lowest measured speed: 111,06 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 206,98 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 199,80 Mbps
• Average PING: 116 ms

Australia, Melbourne

• Lowest measured speed: 59,09 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 90,85 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 88,96 Mbps
• Average PING: 256,91 ms

Based on our tests and everything we analyzed for this ExpressVPN review, this service has its security standards set very high.

The ExpressVPN cipher, key, and authentication depend on the VPN protocol you’ve selected in the VPN app.

With OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, ExpressVPN uses AES-256 encryption with RSA-4096 key and SHA-512 HMAC authentication. The Lightway protocol uses AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20/Poly1305 encryption along with D/TLS 1.2 for server authentication.

The AES-256 and ChaCha20 ciphers offer a very high level of encryption and are currently considered unbreakable. They also provide excellent performance, especially the Lightway protocol (see test results above). In addition, ExpressVPN supports Perfect Forward Secrecy through Diffie-Hellman key exchange.

ExpressVPN gives you the option to choose which VPN protocols you want to use directly in your apps. Below you can see the available VPN protocols in the Windows client.

If Automatic is enabled, ExpressVPN will select the best VPN protocol based on your network settings. In our tests, the Lightway protocol was clearly the fastest, which we’ll talk more about now.

After more than a year of development, ExpressVPN has officially launched the Lightway VPN protocol. Lightway is available on all major operating systems – Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and iOS, as well as some routers. So what does Lightway offer?

• Faster speeds than OpenVPN
• Updated encryption standards
• Fast connection (1-3 seconds)
• Seamless transition when disconnected or when changing networks
  

In many ways, Lightway is similar to the WireGuard protocol. It’s smaller, leaner, faster and safer, while solving a number of load problems as was the case with older protocols such as OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2.

Additionally, in August 2021, ExpressVPN announced that Lightway has officially passed a third-party audit and is available as open source. This means that the code is available to anyone, which further helps with trust and authentication. The Lightway protocol audit was conducted by Cure53, a well-respected cybersecurity firm that has audited other VPNs. It concluded its findings by stating:

You will also find the following functions available in the apps:

• Kill Switch: This feature is offered by a service called Network Lock and blocks all internet traffic if the VPN connection is interrupted.
• Split VPN tunnel: Users can choose which apps will connect to the internet through the VPN tunnel and which will bypass it.

During our tests, the applications worked without any problems, and we did not notice any data leaks or error messages during our tests.

ExpressVPN offers support for all devices available on the market, including its own router app. Supported systems include:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Linux
• Browser add-ons (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) – only protect data transfers directly through browsers, not on the whole device
• Smart TVs and game consoles – MediaStreamer technology that does not encrypt data
• routers

The apps have a clean and minimalist design and are easy to use. Tap the three lines in the top left corner of the app to open a new window with additional features and settings. Below is a sample application for the Windows operating system.

ExpressVPN’s apps have always had an intuitive design and simple layout. VPN apps occasionally struggle with bugs or clunky design, but there’s nothing to criticise with ExpressVPN.

We also have to appreciate the great mobile apps and quality extensions for all known internet browsers.

If you need a good VPN service that works with Netflix and other streaming services, then ExpressVPN is a great choice. It’s one of the few VPN services that continues to work well with Netflix, providing 24/7 access.

For this ExpressVPN review, we tested US Netflix with a server in Washington DC. Everything worked perfectly.

If you encounter a proxy server error while connecting to the server, just contact chat support and you will immediately know which servers to use.

ExpressVPN unblocks a number of Netflix areas around the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US.

In addition to Netflix, ExpressVPN also works well with Disney Plus and Amazon Prime. And if you need a VPN for Hulu, the service works for that streaming platform, too.

In the past, ExpressVPN has had problems unblocking BBC iPlayer, but we can now say that we were able to connect to this British platform via a server in Manchester.

Finally, ExpressVPN is also one of the few VPN services that has a dedicated app for the Amazon Fire Stick, which you can find in the Amazon App Store.

Considering the measured speeds, we didn’t have a problem with torrenting either. The file downloads worked great and the service didn’t limit us in any way.

In the apps, we can find the Kill Switch feature and also the split VPN tunnel feature.

The Multi-hop feature for connecting through multiple VPN servers is missing. There is also no ad-blocking feature on Windows systems.

The feature called Threat Manager can be found at least in the apps for iOS, Mac and Linux operating systems.

The Threat Manager feature works similarly to other DNS filtering solutions, blocking access to certain servers known to contain tracking programs or malicious code.

A huge plus of ExpressVPN is its own dedicated application for selected routers.

The ExpressVPN for routers app protects all devices on your network that connect to the internet through your router. Just log in to your Wi-Fi network as usual.

In addition, use through the router counts as one connection, regardless of how many devices connect to the Internet through the router.

In addition, in September 2022, the company launched a novelty – its own Aircove router with ExpressVPN service pre-installed. Its price was €200 at the beginning of 2023.

The Aircove is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and provides up to 1,200 Mbps of fast and stable Wi-Fi connectivity. Even with VPN service turned on, you can stream in 4K on multiple screens.

While support for larger VPN services can sometimes fluctuate, ExpressVPN’s live chat support continues to maintain a high standard.

We have tested the support repeatedly and in all our interactions we have found the customer support department to be prompt, knowledgeable and courteous.

Access to support is available 24 hours a day, even for non-logged-in users. The icon to enter the live chat can be found directly on the service’s website in the bottom right corner. Each time we tried, we got in touch with a company representative in less than a minute (no long waits).

Live chat support is definitely a plus if you need help setting up VPN service on your devices or have specific questions that aren’t answered on the website.

You can also send your questions by email.

In addition, the site contains a huge library of tutorials for all available systems. Of course, there is also an FAQ section.

If you’re only shopping for services with the lowest price in mind, then ExpressVPN is not for you. However, if you are looking for a proven, stable and reputable product that has been on the market for several years and still maintains a high standard, then this service should not miss your radar. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back refund policy from the time you purchase the service.

Payment is possible by credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies and other payments available in selected countries (GiroPay, UnionPay, Sofort, etc.).

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Surfshark VPN

★★★★★

1,99 € 15,45 €

Discount of 87% for VPN365 readers. The discount coupon is activated automatically by clicking the button below.

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Surfshark VPN, which only officially launched in 2018, is a rising star among VPN services. This newcomer to the VPN service market is gaining more and more attention each year. Impressive test results with great server speeds and advanced security features only underline the excellence of this young service, which is now under the protective wings of the prestigious company Nord Security.

9.6

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WHAT WE LIKED

• Support for all operating systems and devices
• Unlimited connections
• WireGuard support with excellent speeds
• Has passed an independent security audit several times
• Large, secure server network running on RAM disks
• Works well with Netflix and other streaming services
• Dynamic MultiHop, CleanWeb and Bypasser functions
• Great pricing and money back guarantee
• Excellent 24/7 chat support

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Lack of an app for routers
• Jurisdiction in the Netherlands

Surfshark VPN has had a stellar run since its launch in 2018. Over the years, the popularity of this VPN service has steadily increased as it offers excellent features, secure apps, and great performance, all at a low price.

In 2022, Surfshark teamed up with the renowned Nord Security. Fortunately, we can see that Surfshark continues to operate independently, but now also with the support of a major security company, giving the VPN a very good vision and stability towards the future.

In addition, we see that Surfshark continues to innovate with new products and services. In addition to the VPN, it now offers a new antivirus product, as well as a private search engine, ad blocking, and a tool that alerts you to potential online identity theft.

Surfshark is doing a great job of ensuring customer privacy. In the past, this VPN service was based in the British Virgin Islands, just like ExpressVPN, for example. However, in October 2021, Surfshark announced that it would be moving to the Netherlands, primarily for business reasons.

We strongly recommend avoiding jurisdictions like the US or the UK (and other Five Eyes alliance countries). Jurisdictions in Europe are less of a concern, despite the Netherlands being part of the Nine Eyes alliance. The Netherlands has no data retention laws and Surfshark states on its website:

After reviewing Surfshark’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, we found that the service does not keep any logs that could identify the user or their online activities.

Another great news is that Surshark has undergone multiple external security audits. The company is thus progressing along with this (positive) trend. The first audit was carried out in 2018 by Cure53, a renowned cyber security firm based in Germany. The audit focused on Chrome and Firefox browser extensions.

Surfshark underwent a much more significant audit in 2021, when Cure53 audited the company’s complete infrastructure. Commenting on the audit, Surfshark CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis said:

The service underwent the biggest audit so far in January 2023, when Deloitte, one of the big four audit firms in the world, confirmed that the Surfshark service complies with all principles of not logging the activities of its users.

Surfshark also offers a Bug Bounty program to reward users who find any security weaknesses in their apps.

Although Surfshark is a young service, it currently has more than 3200 servers in 100 countries. It is the first ever VPN service that supports at least 100 countries. On the other hand, we have to mention that a number of servers are only virtual.

Let’s first define what we are talking about. A virtual server is when a VPN server lists its location as being in Chile, for example, when it is actually located somewhere else, such as the USA. There are several advantages and disadvantages associated with this.

However, Surfshark is very transparent in this regard and clearly identifies in its application the countries (with a V icon) that use virtual locations for their servers. When we went through the list of countries, we counted over 30 countries that use virtual servers.

On the other hand, we have to mention that this is nothing groundbreaking in this regard. For example, even ExpressVPN, the veteran among VPN services, uses virtual locations to support remote regions in a limited number of cases.

All servers run in RAM mode, without the use of hard disks.

Surfshark VPN achieved fantastic results in our speed tests, often outperforming even the stellar NordVPN and ExpressVPN services. We tested the service on a Windows system with the WireGuard protocol set up. All tests were performed on a dedicated 500 Mbps network located in Hungary at different times.

The measured speeds were great, whether we connected to a server in the USA, England or other countries. In addition, we did not experience any significant speed fluctuations or dropouts.

Nearest / recommended server (Slovakia)

• Lowest measured speed: 322,04 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 453,74 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 415,23 Mbps
• Average PING: 21,40 ms

England, London

• Lowest measured speed: 158,04 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 370,07 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 347,60 Mbps
• Average PING: 36,23 ms

USA, New York

• Lowest measured speed: 83,26 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 205,59 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 191,73 Mbps
• Average PING: 114,09 ms

Australia, Melbourne

• Lowest measured speed: 28,97 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 101,84 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 93,55 Mbps
• Average PING: 259,71 ms

We don’t have much to complain about with Surfshark’s security.

For encryption, Surfshark uses the industry standard AES-256-GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) cipher with RSA-2048 key exchange. In addition, Surfshark offers the following VPN protocols:

OpenVPN – generally considered the “gold standard” of VPNs because it offers good performance, is open-source, and is considered very secure.
WireGuard – is the latest addition to Surfshark’s applications and is open-source, while offering the highest speeds and the latest encryption technologies. WireGuard is supported directly in the Surfshark VPN apps (no extra configuration required).
IKEv2 – is considered to be a highly secure protocol with excellent performance. While it usually outperforms OpenVPN, it is not open-source, which is a drawback.

Depending on which Surfshark app you’re using, you can choose one of the available VPN protocols directly in the app’s settings. Surfshark currently supports the WireGuard protocol on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Of course, there is the Kill Switch function, which blocks data transfers if your VPN connection goes down. This ensures that your location and IP address remain protected even if the VPN connection fails (for whatever reason).

For this Surfshark review, we tested the Windows, Mac OS, and Android clients through some basic tests and checks. We have not been able to find any IP address leaks or DNS data leaks. In short, everything with Surfshark worked well in our tests.

Surfshark VPN also offers a Bypasser function that can split the VPN tunnel. You can thus choose which applications will be encrypted (internet traffic will pass through the VPN server) and which will not (standard internet connection).

Surfshark supports almost all operating systems available on the market:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Linux
• Add-ons for all the most common browsers (browser extensions)
• SmartDNS for smart TVs and game consoles
• settings for routers

Surfshark does not offer an application for routers.

Note: Do not confuse browser extensions or SmartDNS with a dedicated VPN client on your operating system. In short, browser extensions only work in the browser and do not encrypt all communications on your operating system. Smart DNS simply just modifies your DNS settings instead of encrypting all traffic.

The applications are very simple, straightforward, and easy to use by virtually anyone without technical knowledge. Below is the application for Windows.

If you need a good VPN service for Netflix, Surfshark is a solid choice. They offer access to over 16 regional Netflix libraries, including all of the most popular regions such as Netflix USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, and more.

We decided to test Surfshark’s ability to unblock US and UK Netflix libraries and everything worked perfectly.

The streaming quality was also perfect without any interruptions. This is to be expected given the high speed and reliable connection. Surfshark certainly outperforms several competing VPN services in this regard.

In addition to Netflix, Surfshark was also able to work well with many other streaming services including BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Hulu, DAZN, and more.

Surfshark also handled torrenting with flying colors, which is no surprise with the measured speeds in our tests. The service doesn’t restrict torrenting in any way.

Dynamic MultiHop

The new Dynamic MultiHop feature, introduced by the company in January 2023, gives you full customisation of your connection across up to two VPN servers. The old MultiHop offered several preset pairs of servers. Now you can choose any pair of countries from over 100 server locations that Surfshark has to offer.

In addition to full customisation and better security, Dynamic MultiHop will give you even better connection speeds. This is because you can now create your own server pairs that work best for you based on your current location.

It’s a good feature if you’re looking for an even greater level of encryption and privacy beyond a one-hop connection.

Additionally, the measured speeds were very good even with this connection. Below you will find the results for MultiHop connections across Great Britain and France.

• Lowest measured speed: 223,89 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 352,88 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 333,49 Mbps
• Average PING: 62,79 ms

Static IP address

Surfshark offers several dozen servers with a static address (Germany, Japan, USA, Singapore, Great Britain). You can use them if you need to keep your IP address from changing after every single connection to the VPN server.

CleanWeb feature

Surfshark also offers a useful filtering function called CleanWeb. This feature blocks ads, tracking codes, malware, and phishing domains, as well as “suspicious links” that are blacklisted.

This feature is available in apps for Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS.

NoBorders feature

Surfshark has a built-in feature called NoBorders, which it developed to help users bypass blocking VPN services. This will be especially useful in China or other censorship-ridden countries.

Rotating IP addresses

A special feature at the end – you can start rotating IP addresses in the application. IP addresses will keep changing even if you are connected to one server.

Surfshark also currently offers three extra paid services:

• Surfshark Alert – real-time alerts when your email addresses and/or passwords are at risk of being hacked (identity theft)
• Surfshark Search – truly anonymous internet search
• Antivirus – custom antivirus solution

We have no reservations about the support on the site. Live chat is available 24/7, and can be used even by users who are not logged in. The response from support was very quick and our questions were answered satisfactorily.

There is also a very rich library of tutorials and guides on the site, as well as a blog where you can find a lot of interesting information.

If you were expecting Surfshark to have high prices given the service options offered, we have a surprise for you – the service is one of the cheapest on the market. The performance/price ratio is simply fantastic. You can request a refund within 30 days of purchasing the service.

Payment is available via credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and cryptocurrencies.

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ProtonVPN

★★★★★

2,49 € 9,99 €

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ProtonVPN has made tremendous progress in the last two years. While in the past the service was overshadowed by ProtonMail’s flagship product, it now competes with the best VPN services on the market. The service has improved dramatically in virtually every area – from security to the speed of the servers on the network.

9.2

Verified VPN service

ProtonVPN

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WHAT WE LIKED

• A good jurisdiction for a VPN service
• Possibility to pay in cash
• Large network of servers
• Excellent speeds with WireGuard protocol
• Streaming support
• Multihop and ad blocking
• Open source applications
• The service has undergone third-party audits
• Free program (with restrictions)

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Lack of an app for routers
• Browser extensions and Smart DNS are missing
• Higher price
• Refund of an aliquot amount only

ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, which is a great jurisdiction for VPN services. Switzerland is not part of the Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes alliance and the country is very strict about protecting the privacy of companies and individuals. At the same time, it does not require companies to keep a history of their online activity.

The service was launched in 2017 and is backed by the renowned company Proton AG, which also offers ProtonMail (a secure email client), ProtonDrive (secure file storage, synchronization and sharing) and ProtonCalendar (a secure calendar).

Proton AG was founded in 2014 by a team of scientists, engineers and developers who met at CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) to create ProtonMail, the world’s largest encrypted email service. In total, its products protect more than 70 million people worldwide.

ProtonVPN is one of the VPN services that has undergone a third-party audit, which has confirmed that the company adheres to a policy of not logging data about its users. The audit was carried out in 2022 by the renowned Securitum company from Poland.

Apps for all operating systems were also audited in 2019. These audits were carried out by SEC Consult from Lithuania. The other good news is that all applications are open source.

Of course, there is also the Bug Bounty program. Proton AG has prepared a reward for every user who finds security holes in their applications.

ProtonVPN has more than 1700 servers in 64 countries around the world. This is a very decent server network that will satisfy even the most demanding users. At the end of 2022, ProtonVPN had servers in every country in the European Union.

In addition, ProtonVPN uses only its own dedicated servers, which are encrypted, but do not operate in RAM mode (they have classic hard drives).

The service also uses virtual server locations, but only for ten countries (Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Puerto Rico, Ecuador). The company refers to this technology as Smart Routing and states on its website:

In our speed tests, ProtonVPN scored great results, which is an excellent improvement over the past. We tested the service on a Windows system with the WireGuard protocol set up. All tests were performed on a dedicated 500 Mbps network located in Hungary at different time intervals.

Connections were stable, did not fluctuate and worked without interruptions. The connection speed to the servers was very fast. Switching between VPN servers was very comfortable.

Nearest / recommended server (Slovakia)

• Lowest measured speed: 362,73 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 427,89 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 404,78 Mbps
• Average PING: 40 ms

England, London

• Lowest measured speed: 199,38 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 374,74 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 353,48 Mbps
• Average PING: 62,43 ms

USA, New York

• Lowest measured speed: 57,71 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 166,02 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 139,09 Mbps
• Average PING: 133,32 ms

Australia, Melbourne

• Lowest measured speed: 62,87 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 109,93 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 104,61 Mbps
• Average PING: 318,19 ms

ProtonVPN encrypts all network traffic using AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryptors, both of which are extremely secure. VPN connections that use OpenVPN or IKEv2 are secured using AES-256. While no encryption is unbreakable, it would take billions of years for even the most advanced computers to break AES-256 by brute force attack. With WireGuard, your connection is encrypted with ChaCha20, which is an advanced encryption cipher that is just as secure as AES-256 (and slightly faster).

Proton VPN uses the gold standard protocols – WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2.

OpenVPN

When properly configured, this proven open source protocol is recognized by the cybersecurity community as secure. The advantage of OpenVPN is that it can be used with UDP and TCP. UDP is faster, but with TCP we can configure OpenVPN to use the same port as HTTPS, which secures all sensitive communications on the Internet. This makes OpenVPN effective for censorship, for example.

IKEv2

IKEv2 is a modern, fast and secure VPN protocol that Proton VPN implements at its strongest encryption settings. It uses the Diffie-Hellman process for key exchange.

WireGuard

WireGuard is open source and is also faster than traditional VPN protocols. It uses the advanced ChaCha20 cipher to protect your VPN connection.

ProtonVPN supports a variety of devices/operating systems:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Linux

There is a lack of browser plug-ins (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) and also a Smart DNS service that would work on smart TVs and gaming consoles. ProtonVPN doesn’t even have a dedicated application for routers.

The ProtonVPN apps are the best-designed apps we’ve ever tested, and they don’t lag behind functionally either. During testing, we did not observe any bugs or data leaks.

Of course, ProtonVPN also has a Kill Switch function, which disconnects you from the Internet in the event of a connection failure via the VPN server.

You’ll also find a Split tunneling feature that lets you specify which apps should go through the VPN tunnel and which shouldn’t.

Virtually all streaming services use software to geo-block content. Proton VPN has many servers that can bypass this blocking. In the past, he has been much less successful in this regard.

There is now an arrow icon in the list of servers to indicate that the server is suitable for streaming. After clicking on the icon, you will even see a list of streaming platforms that you should be able to connect to without any problems.

In the image below, you can see that Germany has dozens of servers that can unblock Amazon Prime Video, DAZN, Disney+, Netflix and more.

We connected to the server in Berlin and all the services worked well. ProtonVPN seems to have done a great job in this respect.

If you’re downloading content from P2P services like BitTorrent, you really need a fast, stable, but also secure VPN. You really don’t want to get in trouble with a multi-billion dollar company for copyright infringement.

ProtonVPN supports torrenting as long as you use one of their P2P enabled servers. To make a connection, find the name of a country that is physically close to your current location and next to it is the icon for P2P (marked in red in the screenshot below).

Given the measured server speeds, ProtonVPN is a great choice for file sharing.

Secure Core (Multi-hop)

ProtonVPN is one of the few VPN providers that offer multi-hop or dual VPN servers. With this connection, your traffic is encrypted through two separate VPN servers. They call this functionality Secure Core. It can be activated on the main screen and provides a large number of connection combinations.

Despite connecting through two servers, the connection speed was not dramatically lower. For example, for the combination of Iceland and Hungary we measured the following values:

• Lowest measured speed: 66,33 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 144,41 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 136,87 Mbps
• Average PING: 193 ms

Tor over VPN

If you’re looking for an extra level of encryption and anonymity beyond a one-hop VPN server, another option is to use Onion-over-VPN servers (with the onion icon), which encrypt traffic using the Tor network in addition to a regular VPN server.

NetShield

On the main screen, you can enable the NetShield feature with two options:

• blocking malware (malicious software)
• blocking malware, ads and tracking codes

The feature gets rid of annoying ads and improves page loading speed. It also eliminates tracking codes from marketing companies.

Port Forwarding

Port forwarding routes connections through the firewall that Proton VPN uses to protect customers. It’s a feature that’s mainly useful for people who download and share files using P2P protocols like BitTorrent, although it can improve performance for online gamers as well.

Stealth protocol

In October 2022, ProtonVPN introduced a new proprietary protocol called Stealth. It is a protocol that can bypass most firewalls and VPN service blocking methods. This allows you to access censored sites and communicate with people on social networks, even if your government is trying to restrict your access. Stealth protocol is currently available on Android, macOS and iOS.

For live chat support, you must be logged into your account and have purchased a subscription.

For this review, we tried ProtonVPN customer support several times and everything worked well and without any problems.

In all of our interactions, it didn’t take long to connect with a representative (usually less than a minute). The staff answered our questions reliably.

Other users have to use email support or the contact form, which also work very quickly and without problems.

ProtonVPN is certainly not one of the cheapest services on the market. However, with a long-term subscription (given the quality of the service) you get a fair monthly price.

You can request a refund within 30 days of purchasing the service, but you will only get back an aliquot amount (for example, if you used the service for 15 days, you will get back half of the amount you paid).

ProtonVPN also offers a free program, but it is quite limited. You can only connect to servers in three countries, speed is limited, multihop and ad blocking are not available, and there are no servers for streaming and torrenting. If you want to use the full potential of the service, you need to go to the paid Plus program.

Payment is available by credit cards, bank transfer, PayPal and cryptocurrencies. If you are looking for total anonymity, you can also send money by post in cash.

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NordVPN

★★★★★

2,99 € 12,99 €

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NordVPN is probably the most well-known brand in the VPN services industry. Over the years, it has steadily worked its way up to be one of the leaders in VPN services. Its popularity and the quality of the services it offers continue to grow, allowing it to hold its place as one of the top VPN services currently available on the market.

9.8

Verified VPN service

NordVPN

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WHAT WE LIKED

• Strong privacy and security features
• Premium performance: high speeds, high reliability and near-instantaneous connectivity
• Large and secure server network
• Great customer support
• A proven brand in a good jurisdiction
• A non-logging service that has undergone multiple third-party audits
• Excellent service for Netflix and several other streaming services
• Multiple extra security features
• High-quality applications for mobile devices
• Excellent price/performance ratio

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Lack of an app for routers
• The Threat Protection function is not fully operational
• Login via web browser

NordVPN is based in Panama, which is an excellent jurisdiction for a VPN service. Panama is not part of the Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes alliance, and the country does not require companies to log data about their users’ internet activity.

The service was launched in 2013 and is backed by the renowned Nord Security, which also offers NordPass (a secure password manager) and NordLocker (secure file storage, syncing and sharing) apps.

Another important aspect in terms of privacy is NordVPN’s logging policy. NordVPN is one of the few VPN services that has undergone a third-party audit, which confirmed that the company adheres to a no-logging policy for its users’ data. The audit was conducted in 2019 by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG of Zurich, Switzerland.

To further verify the privacy claims, NordVPN also recently completed a second audit, which was published in July 2020. For this second audit, which was again carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, the scope was extended to include full access to servers and the entire infrastructure.

The audit officially verified that NordVPN is a log-free service that remains true to its privacy policy. NordVPN does not store any logs of its customers’ connections, IP addresses or internet activity.

A third audit was conducted by Versprite in 2019. This included comprehensive penetration testing or source code analysis. The main audit (and its findings) was completed at the end of 2019, but it is an ongoing process.

Representatives from VerSprite, a leading security group specialising in software vulnerabilities, simulated malicious attacks from every angle (penetration test) while identifying weaknesses that could make applications vulnerable to external attacks.

At the end of calendar year 2022, NordVPN underwent another external audit, which again confirmed that the service does not log any data about its users. The audit was carried out by the leading audit firm Deloitte at the end of November and the beginning of December. The firm examined the entire VPN service infrastructure in detail. The conclusion of the audit has once again confirmed that the protection of customers’ personal data is a top priority for NordVPN.

NordVPN has also officially launched a Bug Bounty program. The company will reward any user who finds security weaknesses in the NordVPN app.

NordVPN has been on the market since 2013 and currently has more than 5,500 servers in 59 countries around the world. Few VPN services can boast such a massive infrastructure.

NordVPN has been transitioning towards using its own dedicated servers for some time now, which operate in RAM mode only (without the use of hard drives).

In the case of NordVPN, we haven’t seen any use of virtual servers. In addition, a NordVPN representative confirmed to us that the company does not use any virtual server locations. In other words, all of NordVPN’s servers are indeed located in the countries it lists on its site.

In our speed tests, NordVPN scored excellent results. We tested the service on a Windows system with the WireGuard protocol set up. All tests were performed on a dedicated 500 Mbps network located in Hungary at different time intervals.

Connections were very stable and we did not experience any extreme fluctuations or interruptions. The actual connection speed to the servers was extremely fast, being almost instantaneous most of the time. This made switching between VPN servers very comfortable.

Nearest / recommended server (Austria)

• Lowest measured speed: 131,02 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 402,95 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 384,17 Mbps
• Average PING: 22,31 ms

England, London

• Lowest measured speed: 167,78 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 366,68 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 343,20 Mbps
• Average PING: 35,88 ms

USA, New York

• Lowest measured speed: 28,37 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 192,61 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 181,75 Mbps
• Average PING: 108,13 ms

Australia, Melbourne

• Lowest measured speed: 18,43 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 98,90 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 92,62 Mbps
• Average PING: 233,21 ms

NordVPN offers some solid features to enhance user privacy and security above and beyond most other VPN services.

OpenVPN uses AES-256-GCM encryption and HMAC SHA256 authentication. NordVPN additionally makes use of Perfect Forward Secrecy by way of the DHE-4096 key exchange. AES-256-GCM is also used to encrypt IPSec/IKEv2 traffic.

In addition to OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2, NordVPN also supports the NordLynx protocol, which is based on the fast and modern WireGuard protocol. This can be used in all applications. You can easily switch between protocols in Settings / Connection.

NordLynx (WireGuard protocol) offers serious performance and security benefits:

• WireGuard is the fastest VPN protocol available (much faster than OpenVPN)
• WireGuard connects faster and offers better reliability, especially on mobile devices
• WireGuard uses updated encryption algorithms

You will also find the following functionality available in the apps:

• Kill Switch: technology that automatically disconnects you from the internet when your VPN connection goes down. You can set this either to complete disconnection from the internet or only for some applications.
• Split VPN Tunnel: Users can choose which apps to run through the VPN tunnel and which apps will bypass the VPN tunnel.

The apps worked very well during our tests and we did not experience any data leaks, error messages, or other issues.

With a premium VPN service, you expect support for all operating systems, and NordVPN won’t let you down in that regard. Supported systems include:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Linux
• Browser add-ons (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) – only protect data transfers directly through browsers
• Smart TVs and game consoles (Smart DNS technology that does not encrypt data)
• settings for routers

NordVPN does not offer a router application, unlike other VPN services brands such as ExpressVPN.

Here are our main takeaways from testing the Windows and Mac OS clients:

• Fully featured – NordVPN’s apps are packed with features that include dedicated servers, data leak protection, and a variety of settings for launching and connecting.
• Easy to use – Whether you’re a new VPN user or a seasoned pro, NordVPN clients are very clear, intuitive, and easy to use.
• Security – In addition to the strong encryption we talked about above, NordVPN also secures your data with a switch called a kill-switch. This will block all internet traffic (or just certain apps) if the VPN connection drops for any reason.

We were especially pleased with the mobile apps, which were very fast and very well handled. This is one of the best options available for Android.

We were slightly bothered by the fact users have to log into their account outside of the apps in the web browser. We would have welcomed logging in directly through the apps, although over time we got used to it.

We used NordVPN servers in the US to access our US Netflix account. Everything worked perfectly without any problems. NordVPN has consistently worked to make Netflix work worldwide through its service.

With NordVPN, we got full access to the following Netflix libraries: the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Japan, Australia, India, and Italy. (we’re not ruling out other regions, but they weren’t tested as part of this review.) With support like this, NordVPN is one of the best services for Netflix.

Other streaming services (such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, DAZN, and others) are also handled brilliantly by NordVPN. It’s equally a great VPN service for Disney+, offering a wealth of content across multiple regional libraries. Additionally, NordVPN is one of the few VPN services that has mastered connecting to the UK’s BBC iPlayer.

Note: If you’re having trouble with any streaming platform, then simply ask customer support for help. Live chat representatives will tell you exactly which servers to use.

NordVPN is also an excellent choice for torrenting. Here are three reasons why:

• Fast and consistent speeds – especially useful when downloading large files.
• Data leak protection – NordVPN apps come with built-in data leak protection settings. This lets you torrent for hours without worrying about your IP address being revealed.
• Safe jurisdiction – NordVPN is based in Panama. Unlike the US and Europe, Panama doesn’t have draconian copyright laws. Therefore, NordVPN can simply ignore DMCA/copyright requests from other countries.

In addition, NordVPN also has dedicated servers directly for P2P. These servers are listed in the Special Servers section and are ideal for torrenting.

Double VPN (multi-hop)

NordVPN is one of the few VPN providers that offer multi-hop or dual VPN servers. With this connection, your internet traffic is encrypted through up to two separate VPN servers.

• Double VPN gives you an extra layer of encryption between your device and the regular internet.
• Distributes trust between two different servers.

Using multi-hop is certainly not a bad idea. Despite connecting through two servers, the speeds were surprisingly good. For example, we measured the following values when combining the UK and the Netherlands:

• Lowest measured speed: 55,53 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 254,01 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 238,23 Mbps
• Average PING: 36,59 ms

NordVPN currently offers 31 VPN configurations with dual-layer protection. These can be easily selected within the NordVPN client settings. For those who want a higher level of privacy and security, dual VPN servers are a great option to consider.

Tor over VPN

If you’re looking for additional encryption and anonymity beyond a single-hop VPN server, another option is to use Onion-over-VPN servers, which encrypt traffic using the Tor network in addition to a regular VPN server. NordVPN currently offers two locations for this: the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Threat Protection

NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature was launched in 2022 and goes beyond VPNs. Threat Protection has replaced CyberSec.

CyberSec, the predecessor to Threat Protection, was a security feature that blocked tracking codes and advertising.

Threat Protection also offers that function, in addition to:

• Scanning websites and files for malware. It does this in real time and blocks URLs and files infected with malware.
• Offering continuous protection even when not connected to a VPN. CyberSec, on the other hand, only worked if you were connected to a VPN server.

With Threat Protection enabled and antivirus running, our internet connection stopped working and we had to disable it. The NordVPN site states that the feature is not a replacement for antivirus, so it’s not clear to us why it didn’t work even with virus protection active.

Dark Web Monitor

Dark Web Monitoring is a cybersecurity feature designed to prevent other people from using account information that has been leaked to the dangerous dark web. It continuously scans dark web sites looking for your login credentials and alerts you to each discovery so you can take action to protect your vulnerable account.

Meshnet

A feature that allows you to access devices through encrypted private tunnels. Sound a bit like a VPN? You’re absolutely right, but instead of connecting to a VPN server, Meshnet allows you to connect to other devices directly, no matter where they are in the world. Meshnet is powered by the NordLynx protocol. This foundation ensures top-notch security for all device-to-device connections over Meshnet.

Obfuscation servers

Obfuscation servers are available directly in the VPN client. These servers, which are available in 16 countries, hide (obfuscate) VPN traffic to make it appear as normal HTTPS traffic, and are useful in the following situations:

• When you need to bypass VPN blocking at work, at school, or on restricted networks.
• Avoiding state censorship efforts and VPN blocking in some countries, such as China, the United Arab Emirates, and others.

With a selection of obfuscating servers, NordVPN is a great choice if you need to use a VPN in, say, Russia, or another country that censors internet content.

Chat support is always available via the NordVPN website in the bottom right corner. You don’t need to log in – just click on the chat icon and you’ll be connected to a representative.

For this review, we tried NordVPN customer support a few times and everything worked well and without any issues.

In all of our interactions, it didn’t take long to connect with a representative (usually less than a minute). The support staff were helpful in answering all of our questions.

Additionally, NordVPN provides all support in-house with trained technicians (no outside third parties), which is a big plus.

The website also has a really comprehensive database of tutorials and articles that you may also find helpful.

NordVPN isn’t one of the cheapest services on the market, but it’s certainly not the most expensive either. With a long-term subscription, you get a monthly price you’ll rarely find with such a premium service. You can request a refund within 30 days of purchasing the service.

Payment options available are credit card, Google Pay and cryptocurrencies.

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