I like PureVPN, I just don't love it

Price When Reviewed

Standard plan from $2.14 a month for 2 years + 3 free months, $58.05 a yr (often $349.65).

Best Prices Today: PureVPN

PureVPN briefly:

• P2P allowed: Yes, on some servers
• Simultaneous gadget connections: 10
• Business location: British Virgin Islands
• Number of servers: 6,500
• Number of nation areas: 78
• Cost: $12.95 per thirty days, $47.88 for 1 yr, $51.36 for two years, or $129.60 for 5 years

PureVPN is a service based mostly out of the British Virgin Islands—previously Hong Kong—that comes with a clear interface, broad server community, and enormous characteristic catalog. 

The service won’t supply any novel or revolutionary expertise, but it surely tries to make up for this by striving to good the fundamentals: privateness, safety, and accessibility. I put the service to the take a look at to see if it will probably stand out in a saturated market and whether or not it’s value your money and time.

Read on to be taught extra, then see our roundup of the best VPN services for comparability.

What are PureVPN’s options and providers?

PureVPN permits as much as 10 simultaneous gadget connections. This is probably going sufficient for most individuals, nonetheless there’s a rising development amongst high suppliers to offer limitless simultaneous connections and that will’ve been extra splendid.

The service presently gives a complete of 6,500 servers to select from throughout 78 nation areas. That’s fairly good for any VPN, and is without doubt one of the greatest causes to decide on the service over different rivals.

Unfortunately, not like different providers akin to Windscribe Pro, which gives solely bodily servers, a few of PureVPN’s server areas are digital. VPNs usually make use of these digital servers in international locations or areas the place it will in any other case be tough to soundly preserve a bodily server—assume international locations like China and Russia. Virtual servers are a type of stopgap measure to supply these nation areas with out the bodily infrastructure.

Thankfully, PureVPN listened to its customers and not too long ago decided to scale back its use of digital servers. While there isn’t something inherently fallacious with digital servers, they’re typically recognized to have reliability and pace points in comparison with bodily servers.

A spotlight of PureVPN is that it gives broad platform assist together with Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, browser extensions, and sensible TVs. This, and its giant server community appear to be the largest attracts for the service.

When you first open the Windows app you’ll encounter a delightful white-and-purple consumer interface with a easy Connect button within the center and an inventory of choices on the left. It’d be a really slick interface if not for the addition of a aspect menu on the correct unnecessarily serving you a bunch of improve suggestions.

This kind of upselling is definitely one in every of my greatest gripes with the service. Not solely are you able to seemingly not eliminate these suggestions, however the service additionally bombards you with advertising emails when you enroll. I personally counted eight unwarranted emails throughout the first few days of utilizing the service. But I digress.

Back on the house display, alongside the left aspect rail you’ll discover choices for server areas, in addition to (upgradable) information elimination, darkish internet monitoring, and password supervisor instruments, and the Settings menu.

Sam Singleton

Under the Settings menu there are personalization choices together with customary VPN options. These embody a kill swap to dam web visitors within the occasion of an unintended disconnection, auto-connect options, and an ad- and tracker-blocker. Here you may also change the connection protocol and allow split-tunneling, which lets you choose and select which apps you want to run by way of the VPN and which to maintain separate.

That is in regards to the extent of what’s on supply for Standard plan customers. Pretty reduce and dry so far as VPNs go. I can’t say that I really feel like I’m getting loads of worth for my cash with the Standard plan contemplating it’s across the similar value as different high VPNs akin to NordVPN and ExpressVPN that provide far more options. 

Sam Singleton

It is value noting, although, that PureVPN does supply a plethora of add-ons for varied charges. There are the choices for a devoted IP, Port Forwarding, a devoted server, residential community, and extra simultaneous gadget logins. You also can select to improve to the Plus or Max plans when you’d desire to have additional security measures akin to a password supervisor, information elimination, or darkish internet monitoring.

How a lot does PureVPN price?

PureVPN’s pricing is convoluted to say the least. Not solely are there three completely different plan tiers, but in addition 4 completely different contract lengths to select from: month-to-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year. Then when you lastly determine in your plan, you’ll be supplied a bevy of additional providers which you can add on for additional charges. Those who love customization will revel within the choices, however those that need simplicity are more likely to come away feeling overwhelmed.

The service gives Standard, Plus, and Max tiers. The Standard plan gives simply the VPN and tracker blocker. The Plus plan provides a password supervisor along with these. Then the Max tier provides further entry to a knowledge elimination service and darkish internet monitoring.

PureVPN’s Standard plan prices $12.95 per thirty days, which is costlier than most premium VPN providers. The Plus plan jumps sharply to $17.95 per thirty days and the Max plan is $19.95 per thirty days.

Thankfully, the service gives all of those plans for steep reductions when you go for long-term subscriptions as an alternative. The Standard plan drops to a way more affordable $47.88 for one yr at $3.99 per thirty days, or $51.36 for 2 years at $2.14 per thirty days. PureVPN additionally gives a 5-year plan however the Standard plan month-to-month price curiously will increase a bit, with further financial savings solely accessible on the Plus or Max tiers at this time period size.

PureVPN accepts funds by way of bank card, PayPal, Bitcoin, and another cryptocurrencies.

How is PureVPN’s efficiency?

When testing a VPN’s speeds I measure connection speeds throughout its servers in several international locations all all over the world after which examine them to my baseline web pace. I perform these exams throughout a number of days to ascertain a extra constant common.

PureVPN’s speeds total carried out effectively. Testing with WireGuard connections produced the most effective outcomes the place the service was capable of handle 61 % of the bottom obtain pace. Upload averages have been even higher with a powerful common of 79 % of the bottom pace.

While these speeds have been executed over the WireGuard protocol, testing different protocols did decelerate the connection to various levels. Regardless, I like to recommend that nearly everybody use WireGuard as their default protocol for the most effective pace and safety in any case.

These outcomes put PureVPN into the highest half for speeds of all VPNs in the marketplace. Users ought to discover that they’ll haven’t any points with on a regular basis searching or streaming, and excessive pace torrenting or video chats must also work effectively whereas related.

When it involves unblocking streaming content material, PureVPN is a blended bag. I discovered that even with the really helpful streaming servers—listed underneath Shortcuts within the areas menu—I nonetheless wasn’t capable of constantly entry the websites they claimed to work with. For instance, when making an attempt to entry Netflix U.S., I used the really helpful server however was nonetheless met with the dreaded “connection blocked” display.

However, a few of the different really helpful servers unblocked streaming websites with no hitch. I even discovered that random PureVPN servers not particularly really helpful for streaming may efficiently unblock streaming websites. So all in all, the VPN’s unblocking capabilities felt very hit-or-miss and in consequence I can’t actually advocate it for streaming.

How is PureVPN’s safety and privateness?

Sam Singleton

PureVPN gives three protocol choices: IKEv2, OpenVPN (each TCP and UDP), and WireGuard. It additionally gives a characteristic known as Connect to Fallback which, if turned on, will routinely connect with a distinct protocol ought to the unique protocol connection fail to attach.

While this characteristic looks like a good suggestion, I imagine that customers ought to at all times go for WireGuard and I don’t notably like the concept a VPN would change the connection to a much less safe protocol with no consumer understanding it. The potential challenge right here being that PureVPN may depend on this as a fast repair fairly than a final resort. Regardless, this characteristic will be turned off, which I like to recommend.

The app comes with a kill swap that may block all web visitors within the occasion that your VPN by chance disconnects. My kill swap exams discovered that the characteristic labored as meant, efficiently blocking my web once I wanted it. 

Also, DNS leak exams confirmed that whereas related to PureVPN’s servers, there have been no leaks of my unique IP handle. 

In regards to PureVPN’s privateness coverage, there are just a few considerations. In the previous, PureVPN caught some flak for cooperating with law enforcement. While the intentions have been good on this occasion, it doesn’t bode effectively for a VPN firm within the enterprise of consumer privateness to be breaching that belief.

Additionally, in response to PureVPN’s Privacy Policy, the service collects particular person timestamps, dates of final connections, and particular person bandwidth utilization. However, the service does preserve a “no-logs policy” and it doesn’t acquire searching exercise, buyer IP addresses, or identifiable connection logs, amongst different issues.

I do respect that PureVPN has undergone two unbiased audits on its no-logs coverage lately. Unfortunately, it has but to publish both of these audits publicly which is curious contemplating it’s widespread apply for many different VPN providers.

Sam Singleton

PureVPN gives usually up to date Transparency Reports detailing exterior information request statistics. It additionally promotes what it calls an “always-on” strategy to auditing the place exterior safety auditing agency KPMG can conduct shock audits of PureVPN with none prior discover—though past the 2 audits I discussed beforehand, it doesn’t look like they’ve been taken up on this supply.

PureVPN has not too long ago relocated from Hong Kong to its new homebase within the British Virgin Islands. This is nice information as there aren’t any necessary information retention legal guidelines within the British Virgin Islands, neither is it a member of any worldwide information sharing alliances akin to Five, Nine, or Fourteen Eyes.

Is PureVPN value it?

PureVPN is a worthwhile, if barely underwhelming, VPN service that gives the fundamentals for an reasonably priced value. It has seemingly grown leaps and bounds lately, increasing its server community, enhancing its speeds, and updating the interface. It must also be counseled for shifting in the correct route to absolve itself of any privateness considerations.

That all being stated, I really feel like there are different providers on the market that provide higher worth for the cash and supply extra constant streaming unblocking capabilities. It isn’t a foul VPN, and there may be an argument to be made that it may go well with novice customers effectively, however different providers do the identical issues higher.

Editor’s notice: Because on-line providers are sometimes iterative, gaining new options and efficiency enhancements over time, this evaluate is topic to vary with the intention to precisely replicate the present state of the service. Any modifications to textual content or our closing evaluate verdict can be famous on the high of this text.