With a name like FastestVPN, you’ve expect this privacy tool to be speedy, if not one of the fastest VPNs available. The website even goes as far as listing what the VPN can do, it says the FastestVPN can unblock Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Videos and also doesn't log. But is this really the case, and how does the service compare to the best VPNs on the market? 

Fast Technology Ltd. the company behind FastestVPN, is headquartered in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory that enjoys autonomy. As a result, companies operating there are subject to local law rather than British government regulations, which is obviously advantageous for security and privacy. This makes the environment perfect for VPN service providers to prosper, along with the fact that the country's data protection laws have undergone great improvement.

The VPN has 500 servers spread across 52 countries. It’s a relatively small number when compared to ExpressVPN and NordVPN, which have thousands of servers worldwide. It is not recommended for a service like this to have a small number of VPN servers because this would result in overcrowding, which could slow down your connection speeds. 

If the servers at FastestVPN are rented, does that mean that they have undergone a security audit? Well, no information is disclosed about a VPN audit or if they rented servers. With 14 servers spread across the country, from the east coast to the west, the US has the best coverage, followed by Europe. 

Pricing & plans 

Since there is no free trial period or even a free VPN option, there’s no way to test the VPN if you want to. 

Instead, there are three packages: monthly, annual, and lifetime. These cost $7 a month / $24.95 a  year / and $40 for a lifetime subscription.  All plans feature 2TB cloud storage and access to a password manager. 

Major credit cards and PayPal are accepted as payment methods for FastestVPN, and you can also use cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash to make an anonymous payment. All of FastestVPN's plans come with a 15-day money-back guarantee, which is half as long as what most other VPNs offer, as most VPNs offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Privacy & encryption 

Being based in the Cayman Islands is great for user privacy, since the Cayman Islands has no laws requiring data retention and the company is not monitored by the Five Eyes alliance nations.

In its privacy policy, FastestVPN makes it clear that it has a strict no-logs policy. It only stores your email address, and that information is removed as soon as your account is deactivated. However, we can't fully trust the no-log claims because they haven't been independently audited.

Since all of FastestVPN's apps use military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, nobody can see what you do online or track you down. FastestVPN uses the protocols IKEv2, IPSec, TCP, UDP, L2TP, and PPTP. It does not support the OpenVPN protocol like other VPNs. Having said that, you can manually install it on your device.

FastestVPN has built-in malware protection, an ad blocker that is good for YouTube ads, and a split tunnel that allows you to choose the traffic that is routed through your VPN. There’s also an automatic VPN kill switch, and IPv6 and WebRTC leak protection.

All of the 500 servers of FastestVPN support VPN torrenting. Although on the website, it’s against torrenting on its Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and India servers. The company claims to offer a VPN for China, but only when you manually configure OpenVPN, OpenConnect, or AnyConnect on it. 

Streaming 

Many VPN providers make empty promises about their ability to unblock geo-restricted streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. While some service providers can unblock content on specified servers, they neglect to specify in the app which servers are best for streaming and which you should avoid.

Each of the 10 streaming servers that FastestVPN has available lets you use the VPN for Netflix, unlocking content to access the entire Netflix library, despite the poor quality. HBO Max's performance with the VPN was slightly worse, and it took us time to stream. Although the streaming VPN quality was poor, we were also able to unblock BBC iPlayer, Disney+, YouTube TV, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

In general, FastestVPN does a great job of unblocking streaming services and lives up to its claims of unblocking Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Videos. However, we cannot suggest using FastestVPN to enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality streaming.

Speed & experience 

FastestVPN's Windows app installation got off to a bad start, when Windows warned us about its setup program. 'Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protected an unrecognized app from starting', it informed us sternly.

That's likely to be because it's a brand new file which SmartScreen doesn't recognize yet. But checking more closely, we also noticed that FastestVPN's installation file wasn't digitally signed. That's bad news, because signing is a standard method of proving an executable file is from the vendor you expect. Antivirus apps generally see unsigned apps as less trustworthy, and it's likely this also contributed to the SmartScreen error.

Just about every other VPN provider we've reviewed uses digitally signed installers and app files to reduce the chance of issues, so we're struggling to see why FastestVPN can't do the same.

The installer is entirely safe to use, though, despite SmartScreen's warning. Once we told Windows the file was safe, we were able to install the app almost everywhere.

Almost? Yes – a second problem meant we weren't able to run it on our main test system, and lengthy conversations with FastestVPN support couldn't solve the issue.

We have to count this as a black mark against FastestVPN, because this is a very straightforward Windows 10 system, and FastestVPN's app is the only one out of 25 in recent testing which refused to run.

We were able to get the app working on other systems, though, so we don't know how typical our experience might be. It's possible you'll install the app and have it running right away.

Apps 

The platform provides native Mac, Windows, and Amazon Fire TV Stick. You can also download mobile VPN apps for Android and iOS. FastestVPN is compatible with routers, and the company also sells its router.

FastestVPN has a Windows app that can be downloaded from the website and is simple to use and install. while Android and iOS can be downloaded from the Google Play Store for Android and the Apple App Store for Mac and iOS. Also, FastestVPN extensions for Chrome and Firefox can be downloaded through the browser web stores.

The Windows app has a large "smart-connect" button that you can press to start using it right away. The catch is that when we turned on the connect button, we expected it to connect us to the best server, but it actually connected us to the server we recently used.

Support 

You can contact FastestVPN's customer support team by email or live chat. There's also a setup tutorial and FAQ page available on the website. This gives you the option to look up the answers to your inquiries instead of contacting customer support. When we tested the customer support, we weren't quite impressed, as the support in the live chat provided less information than a Google search and took longer. 

Pros 

First off, FastestVPN is based in Cayman Islands, which gives it the benefit of having no international surveillance alliances or data retention laws. It also has very cheap subscriptions, allows for 15 simultaneous device connections, unblocks popular streaming platforms, and comes with useful features such as a kill switch, an ad blocker, and a malware blocker. FastestVPN also has native apps for popular apps, comes with 24/7 live chat support, and doesn't log sensitive data. 

Cons 

FastestVPN isn't fast in terms of speed, it also has a small server network, and hasn't had an independent audit to back up its no-log claims. The streaming experience is also very poor, and the OpenVPN protocol has to be manually installed in the VPN because it doesn't have it in its list of protocols. 

Alternatives 

Express VPN
With regard to speed, security, stable and user-friendly apps, unblocking geo-restricted websites, avoiding censorship, outstanding privacy and security credentials, a ton of features, and customer support, ExpressVPN excels in all of these areas.

Read our full ExpressVPN review

NordVPN
With thousands of servers and super-fast speeds, NordVPN is one of the major players in the virtual private network market. The apps are also very user-friendly and offer all the privacy and security features that you should expect from a top-tier VPN. NordVPN is also extremely simple to use, and it is based in a nation that values privacy.

Read our full NordVPN review

PureVPN
PureVPN has a sizable server network in addition to unblocking websites, and it provides all of this for some of the lowest advertised prices. When purchasing longer-term plans, PureVPN offers good value, has a ton of features, and excels at unblocking.

Read our full PureVPN review

CyberGhost
CyberGhost is among the best with a user-friendly platform. The software is free, simple to use, and never makes your computer run slowly. With CyberGhost you can access more than 1200 servers located in more than 50+ countries, and it offers extensive P2P and torrent functionality. CyberGhost software's features include remote access, DNS leak protection, anonymous browsing, and more. 

Read our full CyberGhost review 

Verdict 

Your worries will be allayed by FastestVPN's no-log policy and first-rate encryption, but things get complicated when you learn that they have sluggish speeds and no independent audits to back up their no-log policy. Yeah, they have very affordable prices, but we would love to see them support OpenVPN, increase their server network, and for Christ's sake, work on their speed. That said, FastestVPN cannot match other leading VPN services in terms of speed, streaming performance, and server coverage. 

Founded in 2009 by Privatus Limited, IVPN is based in Gibraltar - considered to be a privacy-friendly jurisdiction. 

This makes IVPN an appealing proposition, however as of the time of this review, the company only has a very small number of VPN servers: 77 spread across 44 different locations. This is significantly fewer than the industry average, and tiny in comparison to ExpressVPN, which has more than 3000 servers spread across 94 different countries.

Pricing & plans 

Unfortunately, this service isn't suitable if you're looking for a free VPN as they don’t offer any free trial. This also means there is no way to test the software, which is disappointing given that most VPN services on the market provide this. There are two tiers offered by IVPN, IVPN Standard and IVPN Pro:

Standard Plan

1 week: $2.00

1 month: $6.00

12 months: $60.00 ($5.00 per month)

All protocols, two simultaneous connections, and an anti-tracker.

Pro Plan

1 week: $4.00

1 month: $10.00

12 months: $100.00 ($8.33 per month)

Seven simultaneous connections, all protocols, port-forwarding as a feature, and a multi-hop option.

IVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee for all customers, which means you can get a full refund if you request it within one month of account activation. 

Although there are no international options, such as Alipay or UnionPay; you can pay for your plan with Bitcoin, Monero, PayPal, or credit cards. Bitcoin is the most private payment method available. IVPN also accepts cash payments but payment processing can take up to 10 days. To pay with cash, you must sign up for an annual plan.

Privacy & encryption 

Like ExpressVPN, IVPN's privacy policy is carefully written and extremely readable. They go into great detail about the specific data the company has and why it’s needed. IVPN claims to keep absolutely no log of the content of your traffic, connection timestamp, DNS requests, user bandwidth, IP address, or even cookies. The only thing they will store is your username, password, and payment information on their encrypted servers, so be sure they won't sell your information to third parties.  IVPN does not even collect contact information, however anonymized crash logs are sent with user approval on desktop devices and can be opted out on mobile devices. 

The company makes it clear that it will only respond to legal information requests from Gibraltar authorities. Like NordVPN, IVPN claims that being offshore protects it from intrusive information requests. The company states that since they don't log your information, there isn't much to divulge even in the case of legitimate requests. In their transparency report it appears to be true that IVPN has provided no information to law enforcement. This is an open and honest way for a VPN company to operate.

The service also undergoes a yearly VPN audit with Cure53, a reputable and trustworthy cybersecurity testing company. The auditors used a white-box strategy and had access to their open GitHub code repositories as well as a special test environment for backend services. 

The full report on the audit was published in April 2022 and is as follows:

 "A total of 8 vulnerabilities (1 high, 6 medium, 1 info) were discovered. All except one issue has been resolved, the remaining issue (IVP-04-014 WP, Medium) is complex to resolve without significantly affecting the user experience. The issue relates to how the daemon authenticates requests (from the user interface), which could lead to a malicious app being able to manipulate the VPN tunnel e.g. disconnect. We believe the probability of this being exploited is low, but are committed to finding a solution. 

12 miscellaneous issues were discovered, 9 of which have already been resolved, and 3 of which we deemed to be very low risk and have accepted it." 

Since not all VPNs can be this transparent, we appreciate the effort IVPN has made. 

According to the website, they use AES-256 encryption with 4096-bit RSA keys. This is top-of-the-line, military-grade security. No one can crack it, and no one has been able to use a brute-force attack to defeat it either.

IVPN uses three VPN protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, and the IKEv2. IVPN's Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows apps currently support WireGuard and OpenVPN, and IKEv2 is also supported by the iOS app. WireGuard is the latest VPN protocol craze. Because this protocol is open source, potential vulnerabilities can be identified. 

The VPN service should function across all of its servers as a torrenting VPN as is the case with many VPN providers. Additionally, due to several restrictions, IVPN is inoperable in China. 

Streaming 

Streaming is one area where IVPN really falls down. On its website, the company is very clear that while some unblocking might be effective, it cannot be guaranteed.

When we tested it, IVPN was unable to access BBC iPlayer, which is restricted to the United Kingdom. it was also unable to access any of the top streaming sites like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more. If you are looking for a streaming VPN, try ExpressVPN or NordVPN. 

Speed & experience 

A VPN’s connection speed is essential, and if it causes your internet to lag all the privacy in the world won't matter. We conducted our test using WireGuard in the US and discovered speeds averaging a remarkable 730–810 Mbps. OpenVPN is now an older protocol, so we weren't surprised when we tested with it and got average speeds of 140–180 Mbps in the UK and 180–240 Mbps in the US. Although the connections of IVPN are quick and reliable enough for high-quality streaming, torrenting, and gaming, there are faster VPNs available in the market. 

Customer support 

The IVPN website has a very in-depth library of informative FAQs as well as a range of extremely helpful troubleshooting guides. There is also email support (which is available 24/7) and live chat, but it lacks the 24/7 live chat features that a lot of its VPN competition offers.

Kill switch

The VPN kill switch feature is an essential tool. In the event that your VPN connection drops this blocks all of your web traffic and hides your real IP address.

Multi-hop servers

The Multi-hop feature of IVPN adds an additional layer of security by rerouting your connection through several servers in various countries. Thanks to this feature, your online activity would still be private even if the exit server were compromised.

Split tunneling

The split tunneling feature enables you to route privacy-sensitive apps through the VPN while using your regular internet connection for other apps.

Two-factor authentication

To increase account security and user-friendliness on mobile devices, IVPN has a two-factor authentication to secure your VPN account. 

Apps 

All popular operating systems, including macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, are supported by IVPN. Unfortunately, since these devices do not support standard VPN applications, IVPN is inoperable on gaming consoles or Smart TVs. Additionally, it doesn't support browser extensions.

Windows

The Windows 10 app is really user friendly, with a dynamic map and location list to help you choose your preferred VPN server. Server latency times are also displayed to help you find the fastest speeds. In the event that the VPN drops, you have a kill switch to shut off your internet connection.

There are many settings to choose from in the windows app including custom DNS servers, the ability to disable ads, select a protocol, stop malware and trackers, split tunneling to allow certain apps to connect to the VPN, and then an option to automatically connect to reliable Wi-Fi.   

Mac 

The Mac app is identical to the Windows app; it has the same dynamic map, same location list, same WireGuard support, switch tunneling, tracker blocking, custom DNS, auto-connect when accessing insecure Wi-Fi, and more. Split tunneling, which comes with Windows but is excluded from Mac, is the only notable exception, however, the Mac app performed well when we tested it. We also had no problems connecting to any servers and privacy tests revealed no signs of DNS or other leaks.

Android & iOS

The mobile VPN app is user-friendly and comes with a map location feature, a list option to see servers with their latency times, and a favorites section so you can save those servers you use regularly.

The mobile apps lack some of the desktop features, so you don't get tracker, or malware blocking. In the Android VPN, you get an extra feature called Mock, which lets you set your GPS location to match your current VPN server. While the iOS app helpfully keeps the tunnel open even when your phone sleeps. Although this is helpful for speed, it can reduce battery life.

IVPN alternatives 

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the more well-known businesses on the commercial VPN scene. It has excellent security and privacy policies, and all of its VPN servers boot from read-only disks. ExpressVPN is quick, secure, unblocks streaming websites, and works in China.

Read our full ExpressVPN review

NordVPN

For all of the major platforms, NordVPN offers native apps. They also have P2P servers that are optimized for streaming. A VPN kill switch, powerful encryption, ad blocking, and DNS leak protection are just a few of the many features they offer that you'll find useful.

Read our full NordVPN review

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is among the best with a user-friendly platform and a wealth of useful VPN features. The software is free, simple to use, and never slows down your computer. It also gives you access to more than 1200 servers located in more than 50 countries and extensive P2P and torrent functionality. Web browsing, anonymous browsing, remote access, DNS leak protection, and other features are included in the software. One account may be used by up to five devices at once. As a result, you can protect both your home computers and mobile devices from intrusion. Your personal information is secure even though this company keeps some records.

Read our full Cyberghost review 

Verdict

IVPN is perfect for enthusiastic privacy beginners who do not care about streaming. It does the basics extremely well, using AES-256 encryption, secure protocols such as OpenVPN and WireGuard, and a no-logs policy that rivals the very best VPN services. If maintaining your anonymity is crucial, then IVPN is a great option. 

If you run a small business then you’ll be acutely aware that it’s critical to look after every single customer, and if you want to do a great job in that department then it’s worth considering a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool like Bigin by Zoho CRM.

CRM tools offer more flexibility and a broader range of features than everyday office software and email clients, so they’re tempting for small businesses who want extra control without the pricing or high-end features of enterprise CRM software.

Plans and pricing

Impressively, you can use Bigin by Zoho CRM for free – although the free tier is limited to 500 records, a single pipeline and three workflows, so it’s pretty restrictive.

Zoho’s Express product costs $7 per user per month if you pay annually, and that massively beefs up the feature set: you get proper email integration, web forms, customizable dashboards and integration with other Zoho tools and third-party software alongside ten workflows, three pipelines and 50,000 records.

The Premier option adds advanced workflows based on date and time triggers, advanced automation, multiple currency support and more records, pipelines, workflows and custom fields. If you pay annually, it costs $12 per user per month.

Features

Zoho knows that lots of its customers may not have used CRM software in the past, so there’s a big focus on ease of use.

The app uses templates designed for different industries, so if you work in real estate, software, insurance or loads of other areas then you can instantly select an interface that’s geared to your needs. The interface itself is great: clear, straightforward, and without overwhelming features.

Those templates can be customized, and you can build your own pipelines that reflect how customers flow through your business. It’s easy to build multiple pipelines for different operations in your company – think one for sales and another for customer service – and the pipelines function as timelines, so you can quickly and easily see every interaction that a customer’s had with your company.

You can click on items in the timeline to open specific modules, so you’re able to quickly get more information about what’s happened to each customer, and built-in communication tools mean you can make phone calls and send emails from within the app.

It’s easy to automate everyday tasks with Bigin by Zoho CRM, and you can use email alerts, tasks that start when certain conditions are triggered and scheduling.

Bigin by Zoho CRM has iOS and Android app that offer much of the same functionality as the desktop tool, and you can use the software to create no-code web forms that allow potential customers to easily make contact with your business. No matter the platform, you’ll get real-time notifications about your pipeline progress, support ticket updates and incoming communications.

When it comes to record-keeping, you’ve got plenty of options: you can create custom files and viewing rules to ensure that your database remains relevant and accurate, and dynamic lookup fields, fast searching and advanced filtering make it easy to zip through data. Similarly, your activities are kept in check with follow-up tasks, scheduling, filtering and a complete log of what you’ve completed and what needs doing.

You can create a list of products, import product data, apply discounts and use bulk actions to manage your inventory, and pre-built dashboards are an ideal option for monitoring your entire business, with a straightforward interface, loads of data, plenty of visualization options and KPI monitoring.

Bigin by Zoho CRM is an impressive tool in isolation, and it integrates with Zoho’s other apps and third-party software from Microsoft, Google, Zoom, and dozens more. API access is also available with Bigin by Zoho CRM’s pricier access tiers.

While Bigin by Zoho CRM has plenty of impressive features for small-business CRM, it’s worth remembering that the company’s full Zoho CRM product goes further in terms of functionality. You’ll get sales forecasting, lead scoring, advanced email tools and far more control over product customization with the full-fat product. You can also benefit from more powerful analytics options, marketing campaign options, collaboration features and inventory management utilities.

There’s no doubt that Zoho CRM has more features, but most of those will only be useful for larger businesses, and it’s several times more expensive than Bigin by Zoho CRM.

You could find more features elsewhere, too. Freshsales CRM is another small business option that has more extensive marketing options than Bigin by Zoho CRM – but it costs at least $15 per user per month. Salesforce Essentials ties into the market-leading Salesforce system, and it’s a better option for more complex businesses. It costs $25 per user per month, so it’s pricier than Zoho, and it’s a suitable alternative if you’re already familiar with Salesforce products.

Final verdict

Bigin by Zoho CRM doesn’t have the power or features of full-power CRM products, but that’s not necessarily a problem unless you need CRM software for a sophisticated business with loads of product stacks or if you want enterprise-level power.

Instead, Bigin by Zoho CRM functions as an entry-level CRM tool for smaller companies that want the power and control that everyday office software can’t provide – and it does a tremendous job.

It’s got a straightforward interface, slick tools for creating and navigating multiple business pipelines, and a chronological interface that makes it easy to see how customers are interacting with your business. It’s pretty easy to manage products, records and data in every area of the app, and it’s more affordable than its key rivals.

You’ll want to pay more for a different product if you want more power or extra marketing options, but Bigin by Zoho CRM is a superb choice if you need small business CRM or if you want to dip your corporate toes into the water and start to streamline your organization. 

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