PingOne is an ideal solution to secure access rights management across multiple devices. It offers a unified console, single sign-on, and connection security with a companion application. Moreover, it can integrate seamlessly with other Identity Access and Management (IAM) systems such as Active Directory, Azure AD, CA Technologies, Oracle, and IBM. Enjoy effortless authentication for all your mobile, tablet, laptop, and desktop devices with PingOne.
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Plans and pricing
Similar to Okta, Ping Identity has made it very complicated to choose the right pricing plan for your business if you are a small business owner. We start off with the firm’s Workforce plans, where we have three plans, the Essential, which costs $3 per user per month, Plus at $6 per user per month, and the Premium plan, for which you will have to go through the sales department to get a custom offer. The main differences between the plans relate to the functionalities the users have at their disposal, with SSO coming in as standard even with the lowest plan offering.
Next, Ping Identity offers their Customer pricing plans, which also have three levels. The Essential plan costs $20,000 annually, the Plus $40,000 annually and for the Premium you will have to contact sales.
Both Workforce and Customer plans have the option of 30-day trial, which could help you choose the right plan for you and your company.
Features
PingOne offers powerful Multi-Factor Authentication capabilities, which include passwordless authentication, eliminating the risk of attack and removing the frustration of memorizing multiple passwords. Adaptive to the situation, it can utilize frictionless, behavioral, and contextual factors such as IP address, geolocation, and timestamps to determine any potential risks. Plus, their Single Sign-On feature allows users to access multiple applications with one single set of credentials, saving admins time by lessening password reset requests and discouraging the use of weak or recycled passwords.
Risk management also plays a key role, as it integrates with authentication flows and policies to track and notify any events during user sessions. It rates, and groups risk signals, displaying any risk associated with the user's device and delivering a risk score. Thus, administrators are better equipped to make the best decision for granting access with the help of Ping's intelligent authentication providing risk signals and evaluates user behavior according to context.
Interface and in use
For the user, PingOne couldn't be simpler. With one click of the URL provided, usually in the form of an icon on their desktop, they'll be in the PingOne cloud. For the first-time user, the connection procedure is quick and easy, and afterward, their desktop is populated with the apps to which their organization has given them access to. System administrators can also set up groups and link with Active Directory and a range of other settings to cater to their organization's needs.
Accessing cloud-based applications is a simple process: the user clicks on the icon of the desired application on their desktop and is taken directly to PingOne, where they are securely authenticated. For extra security, strong authentication can be used. After this, a token exchange happens to confirm the user's identity, and they'll be connected to the application. It's all seamless and invisible to the user.
Support
The support the company offers is comprehensive, starting off with business phone numbers that will link you directly to customer support. If you are not a “phone person,” you can create a case for the firm’s support team to follow up on. A step up from some of the competitors is an offer for various certificates when it comes to using PingOne that users can pursue.
A detailed documentation section is available, but the documents tend to be heavy on technical jargon, which makes them harder to use for non-tech people. But fear not; there is a community forum with a few moderators where you can get answers to your questions. And finally, there is a Q&A section on the site, rounding out the comprehensive support users get.
Security
At Ping, Information Security Management System (ISMS) is based on top industry standards, including ISO 27001 and NIST 800-53. The commitment to security is evidenced through the ISO 27001 certification, which the company has held since 2018. Every year since 2013, Ping Identity has been getting Identity as a Service (IDaaS) evaluation via SSAE 16 SOC2 Type II certification. There are also third-party assessors who audit products and control the environment to make sure security measures are working as intended.
The competition
Okta is a formidable rival, offering an abundance of features often hidden within its various pricing plans. Requiring more technical expertise, Okta provides an analogous service and in some areas, even superior choices when compared to PingOne.
In contrast to both PingOne and Okta, Twingate offers much less yet stands out with its granular security configuration and lower prices.
Final verdict
PingOne Cloud Platform is an advanced, cloud-based product with exceptional security and management protocols delivered on a single, highly-scalable platform. Seamlessly integrated with other software, it fits into existing workflows with ease.
No passwords are necessary thanks to its frictionless sign-on capabilities, meaning added risk-mitigation. For enterprises with broad customer usage, like retail, and businesses needing the highest level of identity security for compliance or confidentiality - like government, financial services, and healthcare - PingOne Cloud Platform is the ideal solution.
The Perimeter 81 security platform is a complete package of powerful tools designed to protect applications, local networks, and cloud configurations. Embedded in the suite is the business-class Perimeter 81 VPN – far beyond what you'd find with a consumer VPN provider. On top of the basics, the VPN provides a suite of features for managing user groups and securely connecting remote personnel to the company's intranet from any location.
All of the pricing plans, the three main ones, have a surcharge of $50 per month per gateway, which makes Perimeter 81 one of the pricier solutions in the market. The starting plan is called Essential and costs $10 per month per user and covers features such as split tunneling, private DNS, Wireguard protocol, etc.
Next is the Premium plan that costs $15 per month per user and on top of the Essential features ads, 10 cloud firewall policies, SSO, and 2FA capabilities. The last option is the Premium Plus plan which costs $20 per month per user and adds more advanced security features and wider coverage.
For all of the plans, if you go for annual billing, you can save an additional 20% on your purchase. Moreover, if you need more features, you can opt for the Enterprise plan, but you will have to go through the sales team to discuss details and prices.
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Features
Perimeter 81 brings all the benefits of a traditional corporate VPN - safe remote access to corporate intranet resources and protection on unsecured public WiFi networks - without the cost and effort of expensive physical servers and specialized personnel. In addition, it provides flexible access to a variety of non-traditional network resources like cloud networks and IoT devices and can be quickly scaled with on-the-fly creation of private VPN server gateways with static IP addresses.
Administrators can monitor network activity, assign granular access permissions, and manage multiple user groups with team permissions via a unified management portal. With easy-to-use apps for major platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, Perimeter 81 also provides access to a large public VPN network, automatic WiFi protection, two-factor authentication, and integration with identity providers such as Google Suite, Okta, OneLogin, and Microsoft Azure Active Directory.
Further features include HIPAA compliance for healthcare, data protection for finance, and a multi-tenant cloud with IP configuration capabilities. All in all, it offers a plethora of features, but what you get will depend on the plan you go for.
Interface and in use
Perimeter 81 makes it easy to equip your team with the cloud-based service they need. Simply invite team members to join, and they’ll receive an email containing the instructions to download the Perimeter 81 client software, which works on a wide range of platforms.
Then, use the Cloud Management Portal to manage your team members, servers, and permissions. With the Team tab, you can view each team member’s activity and assign them different roles with different levels of access. To access the desktop app, just follow the easy sign-in wizard, which helps set things up with a few clicks.
Overall, the UI is clean and intuitive, making Perimeter 81, one of the easier options to use when you’re in need of protection for your network.
Support
Perimeter 81 offers a plethora of assistance, particularly when setting up your management area. You can even request a complete demo of the system for a first-hand glimpse before making a commitment to purchase. A variety of help pages and instructional videos are available to help you master each feature and its setup. Plus, the website boasts an instant chatbot for answering any general queries about what the service provides and how to get started. In addition, you can submit a ticket for more specific inquiries and expect an emailed response.
If your query leads to an appointment, the rep will contact you rather than provide a direct and instant answer. This system is designed to ensure a smooth transition to sales, demonstrating the commitment to a business-first attitude across all areas. The level of help differs based on the plan you choose; Premium and Premium Plus subscribers are guaranteed prioritized aid, while Enterprise plan members receive 24/7 assistance. Those with Basic plans and prospective customers can expect a response during unspecified work hours.
Security
Although Perimeter 81 has distanced itself from the SaferVPN brand, its VPN is located in Israel, where data protection laws are incredibly stringent and strictly limit the government’s ability to intrude on personal data.
Logging-wise, Perimeter 81 keeps track of administrative and team member activities, such as inviting new members, changing team permissions, creating access gateways and more. Connection logs like timestamps, device locations and hostnames are also recorded. Furthermore, original IP addresses are logged on private access gateways but not on public servers.
The competition
Okta is a strong competitor as it too offers a plethora of features, mostly hidden behind its numerous pricing plans. Though Okta requires more technical know-how, it offers a comparable service and, in some segments, even better options compared to Perimeter 81.
Twingate is another competitor, but with much less to offer compared to both Perimeter 81 and Okta. Better granularity when it comes to configuring all of the security details sets Twingate apart from its competition, along with its lower pricing.
Final verdict
Perimeter 81 is the perfect pick for businesses with multiple employees accessing a shared network. With its unbeatable security, user access control, and lightning-fast VPN servers, you'll be more than satisfied. Although it's pricier than some, its comprehensive packages make it worth the cost - ideal for burgeoning enterprises looking for a dependable network solution.
You might also want to check out our list of the best business VPN providers available right now
Google's VPN service has only been available to those who have one of the higher Google One tiers up until this point, but that's changing.
All Google One plans include the VPN going forward, although the rollout is ongoing and may take a few weeks to conclude. The service works for Google One members in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US. Why only these countries? We can't tell you, unfortunately.
Anyway, the good news is...
PureKeep is the product of GZ Systems Ltd, a software company founded in 2007. GZ is best known for its PureVPN virtual private network service, which allows users to encrypt their traffic and disguise their identity while surfing the web. PureVPN is powered by over 6,500 servers spread across 78 countries, and users can connect to a nearby country to get the fastest speeds.
GZ is keen on expanding beyond a VPN service into a full-fledged cybersecurity platform, so it launched PureKeep and PurePrivacy in 2022. The former is the software we’re reviewing, while the latter is another tool that lets users block targeted ads and scan their credentials for data breaches.
PureKeep is a relatively new password manager app that hasn’t gotten many reviews. We decided to review it to help you decide if it’s a suitable password management tool for you.
PureKeep: Plans and pricing
A caveat about using PureKeep is that you can’t buy the software alone. You must first pay for the PureVPN service and choose PureKeep as an add-on. PureVPN costs $10.95 per month, but you’ll get a 70% discount on the final price if you pay for 12 months in one go. The platform is also currently running a holiday promo deal offering a 5-year subscription for $80.
The PureKeep add-on is pretty affordable. It costs $2.49 per month, and you'll get a significant discount if you pay for 12 months in one go. The platform accepts payments through credit and debit cards, PayPal, or cryptocurrency. There's a 31-day money-back guarantee during which you can request a refund if you're not satisfied with the app. However, note that cryptocurrency payments are non-refundable.
There’s no free trial period for PureKeep, which we consider a disadvantage.
(Image credit: PureKeep)
PureKeep: Features
Password Storage
One of the major challenges for active internet users is storing the passwords for their accounts on dozens of websites and applications. It’s easy to forget your passwords when you have too many accounts, which creates the need for a tool like PureKeep.
PureKeep lets you create digital vaults to store your passwords. These digital vaults work similarly to a real-world vault; it’s protected by a master password that you’ll need to access anything stored in it. You can store passwords for different websites in this vault and retrieve them anytime you want. All you need to remember is the master password, and your internet surfing will likely become easier than ever.
Passwords aren’t the only thing you can store in PureKeep’s vaults. You can also store sensitive files and documents, e.g., certificates, passports, confidential memos, etc. Users get up to 1 GB of storage space for every vault they create.
Vault Sharing
Almost everyone has a person or group of people that they can trust with sensitive details, e.g., a close friend or a family member. PureKeep lets you share your vault with such people, and they’ll be able to access your passwords and other sensitive files you store in the vault. This feature is beneficial in the case of emergencies where a trusted person may need to access your account.
You can also use this feature within a workplace, as in, share passwords to corporate accounts within your team.
(Image credit: PureKeep)
Password Generator
Weak passwords represent one of the biggest vulnerabilities on the internet. They’re easy to guess, which makes any account with such a password vulnerable to hacking. To avert this, PureKeep includes a tool that generates strong passwords for users. Strong passwords are usually a mix of figures, letters, and symbols that are very difficult to track. This feature offers ample protection for your accounts on different websites and applications.
Import Passwords
You can import passwords from another app into PureKeep with ease. Just download the password list as a CSV file and re-upload it to PureKeep; it’ll automatically extract the passwords and add them to your vault. Most password managers let you download your credentials as a CSV file, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-Factor Authentication implies requiring at least two modes of identification before granting access to your account. You can set PureKeep to require another form of identification alongside your username and password to grant access to your account. It can be a one-time password sent to your email address or fingerprint recognition if your PC has the required sensor.
Theme Selection
You can switch between dark and light themes for the PureKeep app depending on which one suits you best.
(Image credit: PureKeep )
VPN
Given that you can’t get PureKeep without PureVPN, it’s ideal to include a VPN service as one of the platform’s features. A VPN works simply; you can browse using the IP address of another location and your browsing data is sent through a secure tunnel to the VPN provider's servers. The browsing data is then encrypted and rerouted to the website that you're trying to reach.
PureVPN has over 6,500 servers across dozens of countries, and you can connect to anyone you want. It's advisable to connect to the one nearest to your location if you want better speed. The VPN service hides your real IP address and protects your data from corporations, government agencies, and hackers. You can also use it to circumvent content bans. For example, if a video streaming service isn’t available in your country, just switch to an IP address hosted in a country where it’s available, and you can access the content on the service.
It's advisable to always use a VPN if you're browsing with a public Wi-Fi network, e.g., at an airport, cafe, or hotel. Public networks are often vulnerable to hacking and encrypting your browsing data protects you from potential harm.
You can download the PureVPN app on your desktop (Windows, macOS, and Linux) or mobile phone (iOS and Android). It's also available as an extension on web browsers including Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Brave. Likewise, PureVPN is available on gaming consoles (Xbox and PlayStation) and video streaming devices (Apple TV, Samsung TV, Android TV, Fire TV, etc.).
According to PureVPN's website, it doesn't keep logs of browsing activity that occurs through its VPN. Going by its word, you can be sure of your browsing privacy if you use the platform.
Your PureVPN subscription covers up to 10 devices. Once you set up the app on your device, it takes just one click to activate it and start browsing securely. Upon activation, the platform uses an algorithm to select the fastest server for you.
When researching for this review, we observed a pattern of users praising PureVPN for its speed and ease of use. There are no caps on bandwidth usage, so you can use it to browse as much as you want.
PureKeep: Interface and use
It's pretty easy to set up and use PureKeep. After paying, you can download the app on your PC and create an account. You can sync PureKeep with up to 10 devices at a time and access your passwords on each of them seamlessly. One major drawback is that PureKeep doesn’t have a mobile app, unlike many rival password management tools.
Once you launch PureKeep, you can create a digital vault and store credentials in it. The platform has an interface that’s interactive and easy to navigate.
PureKeep: Support
You can contact PureKeep’s support team via email and live chat. The company’s support team is available 24/7, which is good. But, there’s no phone support, which we consider a disadvantage.
Before contacting the support team, you can check the official Support Center page, which contains articles and user guides concerning all aspects of PureKeep. You may find a solution on the page, which removes the need to seek direct support.
PureKeep: The competition
Popular alternatives to PureKeep includeLastPass and Dashlane. These are two of the most popular password management apps and have a much larger user base than PureKeep. Both of them have a free tier and mobile apps, unlike PureKeep. They also offer bulk plans designed for enterprise users, while PureKeep is built primarily for individual use,
PureKeep: Final verdict
PureKeep is a new password management app, so it lacks several features that one would expect from a password management tool. For one, you can’t access it via a mobile app or a browser extension but only from a PC. It also lacks single sign-on, an advanced security feature geared toward enterprise users.
However, PureKeep has some advantages over the competition, such as being much more affordable and easy to use.
Google One VPN is a simple VPN that comes bundled with the tech giant's premium subscription service, Google One. When we say simple, we really, really mean it. There are barely any options, settings, or features. You can't even choose a location. Hit the Enable button and the app automatically connects to a server in your country, then goes to work encrypting your internet traffic.
Google has expanded its app range since launch and the VPN now works on Windows and Mac, as well as Android and iOS. There's no way to manually set it up on anything else but with no real features, there's not much reason to do that.
If you're hoping to unblock US Netflix or anything else, get connected in VPN-unfriendly countries, set up the VPN on a router, or anything even faintly advanced, then we can say absolutely, definitively, and without question, Google One VPN isn't the service for you.
If you're going to buy Google One anyway and you could use a lightweight service to protect your internet activities on public Wi-Fi, then it might be a different story. In this review, we'll look more closely at what Google One VPN offers, what it doesn't have, and find out whether this could be a smart choice for you. We're only reviewing the VPN element here. If you want details on the full package, you can check out our Google One review.
The Bypass VPN feature allows you to choose apps that won't use the VPN tunnel (Image credit: Google)
What is Google One VPN?
Although it's more basic than just about anything from the big VPN names, Google One VPN is a real virtual private network (VPN) that delivers the same fundamental security benefits.
Turn it on, and the app directs all your device traffic through a secure encrypted tunnel. Snoopers aren't able to access your data on even the most insecure of public Wi-Fi hotspots, and with your real IP address replaced by Google One VPN's server, it's more difficult for companies to track you online.
The big omission is Google One VPN doesn't allow you to choose a new virtual location (pretend to be in the US when you're actually in Australia, for instance). As a result, it can't help you access US-exclusive Netflix shows, say, or any other content that isn't normally available in your country.
Although that's a major downside, it also looks like web companies won't spend as much time and effort trying to detect and block Google One VPN connections. We'll get more into this later.
A Snooze button temporarily turns off the VPN (Image credit: Google)
What are the apps like?
Google One VPN's Windows and Mac apps are just about as simple as you'll see. An opening dashboard lists two or three reasons you might use a VPN such as reducing tracking, staying safe on public Wi-Fi, and browsing securely. There's an On/ Off button, an option to launch when your devices start, and that's it.
Google's Android and iOS offerings look a little more complex, at least initially, because they include panels relating to Google One's various cloud storage features. Tap one to explore how your storage space is being used. A Sync option can back up your photos, videos, contacts or calendars, and a Clean up feature wipes junk files to free up more space. If you're not interested in any of that, though, just tap the iOS VPN panel and you've essentially got the same stripped-back interface as the desktop app.
Android users get a touch more functionality. A split tunneling feature allows you to choose apps that won't use the VPN, handy for anything that isn't compatible. A Snooze feature pauses the VPN protection for five minutes, then automatically resumes it, and integration with Android's system-wide kill switch protects you by blocking your internet if the connection drops. That's all good news, but the app is still seriously underpowered by usual Android standards.
There is a positive side to having next to no features; you've next to nothing to learn so anyone can use it. There's no need to understand technical concepts like protocols or even encryption. Just flip the switch when you need protection.
Unfortunately, the lack of features might compromise your privacy in some situations. Our tests showed the Windows app didn't have a kill switch, for instance, and when we forcibly dropped the connection, our real IP was exposed. The app didn't even warn us or try to reconnect, so Windows users could browse for hours, thinking they're protected, when they're entirely exposed.
Does Google One VPN store any logs?
Connect to most VPNs, and your login and user traffic is sent through the same server. That single computer knows your identity and where you’re going online, allowing a malicious VPN (or anyone who can compromise the server) to log your activities and link them to your account.
Google One VPN is designed so that you log in using one server, but your browsing is routed through another. This way, the first computer knows who you are, but not what you’re doing; the second knows what you’re doing, but not who you are. Even Google can’t see which sites you’re visiting (which means it can’t log them, either).
The service does log some very general data about VPN use: how many connections you’ve made in the last 28 days, for instance, and how many connections your account has active right now. But that’s not unusual – most VPNs monitor the number of active connections to enforce ‘maximum device’ limits – and there’s nothing here that can link you to any action online.
Google allows anyone to examine some reference libraries for its VPN (Image credit: Google)
Google doesn’t have the best of reputations for looking after user privacy, but fortunately you don’t have to take its VPN claims entirely on trust. The company has open-sourced some reference libraries for its apps, allowing anyone with technical expertise to take a look at how it works, and in 2021 the VPN was audited by NCC Group.
The conclusions were generally positive, with NCC Group finding that the VPN worked as promised, and explaining how Google had taken measures to prevent the system being compromised (malicious employees can’t simply install a backdoor on their own, for instance).
The report warned that the technical protections ‘did not categorically eliminate the opportunity for Google to violate its privacy claims’, but any audit of any VPN could make a similar point: things look great now, but it’s possible a provider could cheat the system later.
Overall, although the system design, open sourcing and audit report will never win over the biggest Google skeptics, the reality is Google One VPN has more support for its no-logging claim than most of the competition.
Google One Premium gives you a bunch of other stuff as well as the VPN (Image credit: Google)
How much does Google One VPN cost?
The Google One VPN is available in the following countries for eligible Google One members: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States
After signing up, you can travel to other countries and Google One VPN should still work, but it may not connect to a server in that country, which could lead to problems. If you use Google One VPN in Hungary, say, and it connects to a server in Germany, then websites may not serve you with the local content you expect.
The baseline Google One plan offers the VPN, 100GB of online storage, Google Photos editing features, and alerts if Google finds your personal details on the dark web. It's yours for a very low $1.99 billed monthly (regular VPNs ask $10-$13), dropping to $1.67 on the annual plan.
Higher plans add more storage and extra benefits, including premium Google Workspace features and up to 10% rewards on Google Play purchases. See our full Google One review for more details.
This could be good value in some situations. If you'll only use a VPN to protect yourself on public Wi-Fi when on holiday, for instance, giving an annual $4 to Google will cover you for a couple of trips. Bargain!
If you'd like to unblock content, get online in VPN-unfriendly countries, or do anything more complex, you can get a full-strength VPN for not much more. For example, Private Internet Access is just $3.33 a month on its annual plan. That's $2.03 over three years for a far more powerful VPN service.
Google One VPN's interface really couldn't be any more basic (Image credit: Google)
How easy is Google One VPN to use?
The Google One app doesn’t even try to match regular VPNs for visual style. It’s really just a web page, with different sections on the VPN and Google One’s other features, and you browse it for whatever you need.
This still isn’t difficult to use: all you have to do is hit the Enable VPN button, then an Enable VPN switch, and typically you’re connected in around a second. Standard VPN apps usually require one tap rather than two, but that’s the only significant difference.
Android users can make life even easier by adding Google One VPN to their Quick Settings menu. After that, there’s no need to even launch the app. Connecting or disconnecting is then as easy as swiping down a couple of times and tapping the Google One VPN button.
Google One VPN can't be used to unblock Netflix, or anything else, due to the way it's designed (Image credit: Netflix)
What does Google One VPN unblock?
Most VPNs let you connect to servers in different countries. This allows you to appear as though you're in Manhattan when actually you're in Melbourne. This may allow you to access content that isn't normally available in your country.
Google One VPN's apps automatically choose your server, though, usually one based in your own country. So, as you can't change your region, you won't be able to unblock anything at all.
One issue with streaming sites in particular is they often look out for VPN connections and block access if they detect you're using one. We connected to the VPN and then tried to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and BBC iPlayer. None of the sites complained about Google One and we streamed content as usual.
Using a VPN can cause hassles on non-streaming sites, too. You might see annoying 'click all the tiles containing a bicycle' type CAPTCHAs, for instance, and some sites may block you entirely.
To test how the VPN handles this, we connected and accessed twelve websites (including Google) that can detect VPN use. The results were a real surprise. Commonly used free VPNs might be spotted on up to ten of our twelve websites, most commercial VPNs are detected by six to eight, but Google One VPN was flagged by only one website.
Looks like Google One VPN's ‘we don't unblock anything' stance has at least one advantage: content providers don't have much incentive to spend time and money trying to detect its users, and that could mean you're far less likely to be blocked while legitimately accessing sites in your own country.
Google One VPN offers a decent turn of speed, performance-wise (Image credit: Google)
How fast is Google One VPN?
We tested Google One VPN's performance using several benchmarking sites and apps including SpeedTest, Measurement Lab, Cloudflare, and more. We did this from a US home with a 1Gbps fiber connection.
The results were a little below par, with Google managing average download speeds of 345Mbps. That's a very long way behind the market leaders - IPVanish, NordVPN, and Surfshark all beat 950Mbps in recent tests. Still, it's perfectly adequate for browsing, streaming, and most other internet tasks.
Final verdict: How good is Google One VPN?
Google One VPN is a very limited VPN which just won't work for most users. The inability to change location means it can't unblock anything. No desktop kill switch makes it poor for Windows or Mac privacy. It won't even try to get you connected in China or other countries that block VPNs. If you only need the VPN for occasional mobile use while accessing public Wi-Fi, and you'll make use of the 2TB online storage space and other Google One extras, then it might, just about, get the job done. Even there though, the likes of Private Internet Access offer a far more capable service for only a little extra cash.
It seems like all the big security companies offer a VPN these days, but Norton Secure VPN is better than most. It's easy to use, has more features than you might expect, and is still surprisingly affordable.
Norton's network is a little small, with only 29 countries available and no city-level selections. Most are in Europe and North America, although there are servers in Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.
There are apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. You can connect one, five, or 10 devices simultaneously, depending on your plan. Sounds reasonable, but beware, these have to be specific devices. If you buy a five-device plan and install the app on two laptops, two phones, and a tablet, you can't install it anywhere else until it's removed from one of your other devices.
P2P is supported, though not with all locations. Choose the ‘Torrent-Optimized Region' option in Norton's app and it'll connect to the nearest torrent-friendly location.
It's easy to hook up with the nearest torrent-friendly location (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
The service uses the speedy and secure WireGuard protocol but doesn't provide any way to get it working manually on other devices.
Checking the Windows app Settings box reveals some welcome features including a kill switch that protects your connection if the VPN drops, split tunneling which enables you to choose which app traffic should be routed through the VPN and which uses your regular connection, and built-in ad, tracker, and malware blocking, too.
Both monthly and annual plans are available (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Plans and pricing
Norton Secure VPN prices start at just $4.99 billed monthly for a single device license. Most providers ask $10-$13 for monthly plans, so if you only need to protect that one device, Norton looks like a very good deal.
Norton's five-device plan starts cheap at $3.33 a month billed annually, although that doubles to $6.66 on renewal.
The 10-device plan is priced at $5 a month on the annual subscription, rising to $8.33 on renewal. That looks a little costly to us but when bought in a bundle it can be more cost effective.
Buy Norton Secure VPN as a bundle with Norton 360 Deluxe and you'll also get an excellent antivirus for up to five PCs, Macs, mobiles and tablets, a firewall for PC and Mac, parental controls, a password manager, 50GB cloud backup space, and more. It's only fractionally more expensive at $4.17 a month for the first year of the annual plan, and still reasonable at $9.58 on renewal ($114.99 a year). If you're in the market for a new antivirus or security suite, that could be the best option.
Whatever your product preferences, Norton protects you with a 14-day money-back guarantee for monthly-billed subscriptions and a generous 60-days with annual plans.
Norton Secure VPN can block trackers and more, but the service does keep some logs on its users (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Privacy and logging
The website claims that “unlike some other VPNs, we don't track, log, or save your browsing activities.” Sounds promising, but there's no more detail on the front page.
A 'What is a no-log VPN?' blog post vaguely states that although “Norton Secure VPN does not log information about where you browse on the Internet”, it does collect “other limited data in accordance with the NortonLifeLock Global Privacy Statement and the Product Privacy Notice.”
The Norton Secure VPN privacy policy says the service collects or accesses your device name, type, and identifier, OS version (for mobile devices), license identifier, a running total of bandwidth used, usage data, and some very basic diagnostic information to help solve any issues (an error state code, for instance).
One unusual clause says “if suspicious behavior is detected or blocked” Norton might collect your IP address, license identifier, device identifier, and frequency of abuse of services for up to 7 days.
This leaves us with more questions than answers. What does Norton regard as suspicious behavior, for instance? Surely this must mean it's monitoring at least some user actions. In which case, will this data be shared with others? Norton's Global Privacy Statement does say that it will disclose personal data in response to a subpoena, warrant, discovery request, or a request with the purpose of identifying and/or preventing credit card fraud, identity theft, and other crimes.
This is all just too vague for us, and we'd like more detail on how the company handles your data. A Transparency Report giving some specifics on what Norton has disclosed to the authorities might be interesting. It's hard to see why a name as big as Norton can't join the likes ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and TunnelBear in putting itself through a public audit, to give potential customers real information on how it's looking after their privacy.
Norton Secure VPN's Windows app is very simple and straightforward (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Apps
Norton Secure VPN's Windows app has a simple and straightforward interface which even the greenest of VPN newbies will figure out immediately.
Click the On button and the app connects to your nearest server. Alternatively, make your own choice from 29 countries in the location list. This is as basic as it gets – no ping times, server load stats, Favorites system, filters, or anything else.
You can pick a server from a very basic location list (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Both the desktop and mobile apps have optional ad, tracker, and malware blocking. Many VPNs now offer some kind of content filtering, but can you be sure it's doing anything useful? To get an idea, we turned the feature on and tried a few tests.
Norton scored below 40% on our ad-blocking test (most VPNs average 70-90%.) It blocked a very respectable 69% of our test trackers, though, and (maybe unsurprisingly for a security company) protected us against 100% of our malicious test URLs.
Split tunneling lets you specify apps that don't use the VPN tunnel (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
The app doesn't include many settings, but what you get is worthwhile. These include settings to select whether to launch the app and automatically connect when Windows starts, enable the Kill Switch, and to set up split tunneling.
The main omission is any way to change protocol or customize how the VPN connects – it's WireGuard-only.
Oddly, the app doesn't provide any way to close it down entirely. There's no Exit, Quit, or similar button. Closing the app window simply minimizes it to an icon in the system tray and there's no right-click, Exit option there either.
The kill switch did not impress us (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
We ran some extreme tests on the kill switch by ceasing Secure VPN's WireGuard processes and stopping its services. The connection dropped, but the app didn't warn us, the kill switch didn't block our internet, and our device used its regular unprotected internet connection as usual. Not good.
Maybe we were unlucky? We tried turning our router off and on to simulate a dropped network. A good kill switch should block everything apart from the VPN app until it can reconnect. Secure VPN didn't block our internet, didn't reconnect, and told us to try connecting again later.
Put this all together and it looks like the Windows kill switch is unreliable in the extreme. There's no way to be sure it will kick in and block your internet if the VPN drops, and that could mean your device traffic is unprotected for at least a few seconds, and possibly until you notice there's a problem. That may not matter much if you're just unblocking Netflix, but it's a disaster if you're doing anything more privacy-critical.
Keep in mind that this test was for the Windows kill switch only. It can't tell us what might happen with other apps. If you're only running Norton Secure VPN on Android, for instance, you won't be relying on Norton's app; you'll be using the very well-tested and reliable Android system kill switch.
This is the user interface of Norton Secure VPN's Android app (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Mac and mobile apps
The Mac app looks more appealing than Norton's Windows offering, with a colorful map highlighting your current location. It has the ad, malware, and tracker blocker, but is missing some of the more advanced features seen in the Windows app, namely WireGuard support, split tunneling, and the kill switch.
It's much the same with Secure VPN Android and iOS apps. Norton has tweaked the interface a little to suit portrait mode and smaller screens, but it follows the same minimalist approach. There is just the big ‘Connect' button, a plain location list, and a few tiny icons. Very simple and straightforward.
There are a handful of useful bonus features in the background. The iOS app has the ad blocker, and a ‘Wi-Fi Security' feature which can make the VPN automatically connect when you access an unsecured or compromised network.
Android has the ad blocker, split tunneling, and the kill switch, but its version of ‘Wi-Fi Security' is more basic. It'll warn you when accessing an unsecured network, but won't automatically connect. You're left to do that yourself.
Overall, Norton Secure VPN's apps are easy to use, and the Windows app has a few useful features. The other apps are distinctly short on functionality, and the Windows kill switch looks unreliable in the extreme, so there's plenty of work for the company to do yet.
Norton Secure VPN did fairly well in our unblocking tests (Image credit: Shutterstock / sitthiphong)
Netflix and streaming
Norton Secure VPN is mostly sold on its ability to protect your details from cybercriminals when you're using Wi-Fi, and the website doesn't make any big claims (or even small ones) about unblocking big-name streaming platforms.
Our unblocking tests found some notable successes, with Secure VPN getting us into US and Australian Netflix, but failing in the UK, Canada, and Japan.
It was a similar story with other US platforms, as Secure VPN unblocked Amazon Prime, but didn't get us access to the Disney Plus site.
The mixed picture continued in Australia, with Secure VPN getting us into 9Now but failing with 10 Play.
Norton finished strongly in the UK, though, unblocking BBC iPlayer, ITV and, Channel 4.
That's far from a perfect performance, but Secure VPN clearly has some unblocking skills, and there's a chance it'll help you access other platforms we didn't test.
If you're looking to unblock just about anything, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark each got us into every test site we tried in our latest reviews.
We use a number of different speed tests to gauge the performance of each VPN we review (Image credit: Ookla)
Performance
We measured Norton Secure VPN's performance by accessing its nearest server from a UK data center with a 1Gbps connection. We then checked download speeds using benchmarking sites and services including SpeedTest.net (website and the command line app), Measurement Lab, Cloudflare, and others.
The results were amazing, with Norton Secure VPN reaching a median 950Mbps+ across its best sessions. That puts the service alongside big names like NordVPN and Surshark on the performance front.
If your internet connection or Wi-Fi barely reaches 95Mbps, let alone 950Mbps, this won't in itself bring you a lot of benefit. 16 out of our top 20 VPNs reach at least 500Mbps, and it's likely that any of those will have all the speed you'll be able to use.
However, the ability to reach such an exceptional peak performance does suggest Norton Secure VPN has capable servers with high-speed connections, which aren't overloaded by other users. That's good news for everyone, regardless of personal connection speeds.
NortonLifeLock offers 24/7 support via live chat and phone (Image credit: NortonLifeLock)
Support
Run into problems with Norton Secure VPN and you could head off to the support site, but be prepared for disappointment. Although there’s plenty of content, most of it is on Norton’s core security products. There are a few FAQs, setup and usage guides, but nothing that begins to compete with the specialist VPN providers.
This makes sense for Norton’s core consumer market, and the site does a fair job of explaining the service basics to VPN newcomers. But there’s not much here for more technical users. We went searching for protocols, for instance, to see if we could find any advanced articles, but there were no hits for ‘WireGuard’, and ‘IKEv2’ had only three.
You can contact the support team direct via live chat and phone. We had quick responses to our test questions, the agents were friendly and helpful, and went above and beyond to help. When a previously lengthy chat couldn’t solve our issue, for instance, an agent remotely accessed our device (with permission) to try to fix the problem.
Overall, the support team doesn’t appear to have the level of specialist VPN knowledge we see with the top providers. But that’s no great surprise, considering it has to cover the full Norton range, not just Secure VPN. And the reality is if, like most people, you just want to ask a straightforward product question – what does this mean, where do I find that, is my local server down right now? – then Norton’s support should generally deliver what you need.
Norton Secure VPN review: Final verdict
Norton Secure VPN is simple and very fast, and if that's all you need – or, maybe, you're looking for a VPN and a security suite – then its back-to-basics approach might appeal. Experts will be frustrated by the lack of features, though, plus the Windows kill switch is a big concern, and there are many more capable and better value VPNs around.
Mozilla VPN began life as a simple Firefox browser extension but its now a full standalone service that can shield all your internet traffic on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux.
The network has expanded recently and now offers 600+ servers across 73 locations in 43 countries.
Mozilla VPN is powered by Mullvad's speedy and secure network. Some companies keep quiet about the fact that they're reselling someone else's service, not Mozilla. Click the 'see our full list of servers' link on the Mozilla VPN website, for instance, and it takes you to the server list on Mullvad's site.
You can elect to use ad or tracker-blocking DNS servers (Image credit: Mozilla)
Features
Mozilla VPN's feature list has grown considerably since launch. Now, the service competes well with many big VPN names. The network is P2P-friendly, for instance (we torrented successfully on three test locations), support for the speedy WireGuard protocol optimizes performance, and there's a kill switch to protect you if the VPN drops. Multi-Hop VPN enables connecting to the VPN from one location and exiting from another, making it even more difficult for others to track your activities. There is also split tunneling support (called App Exclusions here) that allows you to decide which apps are protected by the VPN and which use your regular internet connection.
Other highlights include IPv6 support, and the ability to choose an ad or tracker-blocking DNS server, or to use your preferred DNS.
Firefox users get an unusual bonus in support for Multi-Account Containers. Each Firefox tab can be connected to a separate VPN location, so instead of forever connecting, changing location, and disconnecting, you can just switch to whatever tab you need. This Mozilla blog post has more details.
There are still weaknesses. Mozilla VPN only supports the WireGuard protocol, so if that won't connect on your network, you're out of luck. There's no support for manually setting up the service on routers or anything else. Additionally, you still can't set up the apps to automatically connect when you access public Wi-Fi, either.
There's no live chat support, but Mozilla does have a decent number of support articles. You can also send questions to the support team from the website if you're in serious trouble.
Only five devices can be registered to use the VPN at one time (Image credit: Mozilla)
We spotted one potential annoyance. Although Mozilla VPN says it works with up to five devices, that means specific, registered devices. If you use the service on two mobiles, two laptops, and a tablet, for instance, you can't use it on a new device until you've signed out of one of the others.
Although that's not expensive overall, keep in mind that you're paying for access to Mullvad's servers. Sign up for Mullvad instead and you'll pay a flat rate of €5 a month (around $5.50), whatever the length of your subscription.
Payments are accepted via card and PayPal only.
If you sign up and the service doesn't work for you, no problem, you're protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee. There are no sneaky catches or exclusions, as far as we can tell and we spent quite some time looking. If you're unhappy, just tell the company within the first 30 days, and you'll get a refund.
Mozilla VPN puts user privacy first (Image credit: Mozilla)
Privacy and logging
Mozilla sells its VPN partly on being from 'a name you can trust' and that's a major plus. Even if you think Mozilla's reputation comes largely from not being Google or Microsoft, it's still way ahead of many VPNs in the trustworthiness stakes, and its partner, Mullvad, is one of the most privacy-focused providers around.
The Mozilla VPN website makes its general approach very clear – ''Your privacy comes first'', ''We don't store your online activity logs on our servers'' – and the company provides more information in a brief Privacy Notice.
The firm collects your IP address when you sign up and use the service, along with technical information about the setup such as the app version, operating system, hardware configuration, and interaction data. Interaction data includes the time that you log in, when the app requests the server information, and other stuff. Mozilla says the IP is only held temporarily, although it doesn't explain how long 'temporary' might be.
If you're unhappy with this, you can disable some of it. Our Windows app installer asked us whether we wanted to send usage data to Mozilla, making it clear what was going on, and giving us a chance to say 'no, thanks'. If you don't notice the installer option, you can also turn this off later in the settings.
Mozilla points users to the Mullvad Privacy Policy for more detail and that explains there's no logging of traffic, DNS requests, IP addresses, session times, or bandwidth used.
Mozilla VPN was given a thorough audit by Cure53 (Image credit: Mozilla)
Audit
Mozilla says all the right things about privacy, but users shouldn't be left to take any provider's words on trust. We like to see some independent evidence that a VPN is living up to its promises.
In August 2021, Mozilla provided just that by publishing the results of a second Cure53 audit into its service.
This didn't look at the servers, but Cure53 did have an in-depth look at the apps, including the source code.
Cure53's report was positive overall, saying that only a single medium scale vulnerability was uncovered, and that the apps had 'grown significantly in security' since its last review.
Overall, we think the audit is positive news in a number of ways. The scope was significant, covering all Mozilla's apps; the company shared its source code; the audit results were reasonable, and it published the report in full. We give Mozilla a lot of credit for putting itself under that level of scrutiny, something which most VPNs still haven't done.
Mozilla VPN is available across a number of platforms (Image credit: Mozilla)
Apps
Signing up with Mozilla VPN begins by providing your email address and age to create a Firefox account. Although most providers also ask you to register with your email address, Mullvad doesn't need any personal details at all, which could be another reason to just buy it from Mullvad directly.
With the account set up, we handed over our cash and the website directed us to the Downloads page. We grabbed a copy of the Windows app, which was downloaded and installed within seconds.
This is the user interface of Mozilla VPN's Windows app (Image credit: Mozilla)
Mozilla VPN's Windows offering has a straightforward and very standard interface. A small console displays your default location, and you can click this to select another. A big On/Off switch connects and disconnects you as required, and icons plus a status display make it clear when you're protected, and when you're not.
The client doesn't have an 'Automatic' setting where it chooses the fastest server for you, and there's no Search box, filtering, or Favorites system to quickly find your most-used locations. Getting connected takes a little more scrolling and clicking than we'd like. There's some compensation in Mozilla's use of the ultra-speedy WireGuard protocol, which typically got us connected in 1-2 seconds.
Our connection stress testing caused the app to get stuck at this point (Image credit: Mozilla)
The app didn't perform as well in our connection stress tests, where we see how a VPN can handle awkward network situations like no internet connection, when another VPN is connected, and so on. It occasionally hung on ‘Connecting' or ‘Disconnecting' screens for so long that we had to restart to recover.
If you're only ever accessing the same few very standard Wi-Fi hotspots, you might instantly connect each time, and this won't matter at all; however, if you're traveling more widely, you could find Mozilla VPN has the occasional connection issue. If you're signing up for the trial, use your time to test the service on as many different networks as you can to see how it works for you.
Unfortunately Mozilla VPN has very few settings (Image credit: Mozilla)
Settings
We started by looking at Mozilla VPN's Windows split tunneling system. This enables setting up specific apps to use your normal internet connection rather than the VPN, which can be handy to improve performance or fix problems like banking apps not running if you seem to be in another country.
A DNS Settings screen allows you to choose DNS servers that block ads, trackers, or both, and you can also enter a custom DNS server of your own.
A 'Privacy features' page allows selectively blocking ads, trackers, and malware. We turned everything on and tried accessing 156 common trackers. Mozilla VPN blocked a very acceptable 115, including all the most important such as Google and Facebook.
Switching to malware, we tried accessing 379 very new malicious websites and watched as Mozilla VPN blocked 99.2% (it missed only three.) Even ad blocking worked better than we expected, with our VPN-enabled connection scoring 90% protection in one test (that's better than uBlock Origin.)
A Notifications page includes an option to display an alert if you connect to an unsecured Wi-Fi network. That's useful, although more powerful apps can automatically connect to the VPN as required, too.
A handful of more technical features include the ability to use port 53 for connections, which might help you use the service in countries or on networks where a VPN is normally blocked.
As we mentioned above, there's no option to change protocol but otherwise, there's a fair amount of configurability here and Mozilla VPN certainly outperforms many competitors.
Mozilla VPN's Windows client has a kill switch but there is no option to turn it on or off (Image credit: Mozilla)
Kill switch
While Mozilla's Windows client has a kill switch, there's no option to turn it on or off or tweak how it works. That's good for security, as there's no way you can accidentally disable it. Still, this could be bad news if the kill switch causes some problems on your device, as there's no way to try and fix that.
We ran a few tests and found the kill switch correctly blocked our internet if the VPN connection dropped.
We did notice problems in some extreme situations. If one of Mozilla's Windows services fails, for instance, protection is lost but the kill switch doesn't kick in. The app warns the user about the disconnection but there's a chance their identity and some traffic will be exposed.
Problems like this aren't common and while you may never encounter them in real-world use, they suggest Mozilla's Windows app isn't the best at handling unusual network conditions. We're left wondering what other issues might be lurking under the hood.
The Mac app looks like the Windows build, and offers some useful touches (Image credit: Mozilla)
Mac app
Mozilla VPN's Mac app looks and feels almost identical to the Windows version and that's both good and bad. On the plus side, it's exceptionally consistent. Learn how the app works on one platform and you'll have no problem using it on the other. On the downside, it means the Mac inherits all the same Windows limitations. There's no 'Fastest server' option to automatically choose the best location, no Favorites system, and no choice of protocol, for instance. It's also missing Mozilla's 'App Exclusions' split tunneling feature.
The app does have a few interesting touches. It also includes Mozilla's effective ad, tracker, and malicious website blocking DNS. It can also give you notifications if you connect to unsecured Wi-Fi. Other apps go further – the best VPN software can automatically connect when you access untrusted networks – but these are still features worth having.
Put it all together, and although it's not exactly powerful, this is a decent Mac app. It's simple to use and worked well for us. It connected quickly and delivered decent performance all-round.
Mozilla VPN's Android app is very much built the same as the Windows client (Image credit: Mozilla)
Mobile apps
The Mozilla Android and iOS apps are near clones of the desktop builds, easy to use but with few features.
Browsing the menus, we managed to spot some differences between the desktop clients. For example, the Android app supports the split tunneling feature which isn't supported on Mac, allowing you to choose specific apps that won't have their traffic routed through the VPN.
The iOS app doesn't have split tunneling (not Mozilla's fault, it's not supported on iOS), but you do still get ad, malware, and tracker blocking DNS and some basic notification settings.
Mozilla's mobile apps aren't exactly exciting then, but like the rest of the range, they're not bad either. They all do a reasonable job of the VPN essentials, and if that's all you need, they might be good enough.
Mozilla VPN put in an okay performance in our speed testing (Image credit: Speedtest.net)
Performance
Mozilla focuses more on security and privacy than website unblocking, and our tests reflected that. The service didn't get us access to BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, or Netflix in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, or Japan.
There were one or two successes in particular countries. Mozilla got us into ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, for instance, as well as Australia's 9 Now.
Not a total disaster, then, but Mozilla is trailing far behind the best providers. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark all unblocked every one of our test platforms in their last reviews.
Our performance tests found Mozilla's WireGuard-powered download speeds peaked at 360Mbps. That's far behind the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark, and Windscribe. All these VPNs reached 950Mbps+ in their last tests. If your regular internet connections only ever reach a fraction of that speed, or you're using a VPN to protect normal browsing or streaming, Mozilla VPN is fast enough.
The company ended on a positive note in our final privacy checks, as multiple test sites found Mozilla VPN blocked all DNS and WebRTC leaks.
Mozilla VPN review: Final verdict
Mozilla VPN might appeal to fans of the company, and those who'd prefer a VPN from a well-known and trusted name. However, it can't match top providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN in features, apps, locations, range of plans, or unblocking. Demanding users will be happier elsewhere.
PureVPN positions itself as a service focused on security, privacy, and accessibility, but it doesn’t do any of these particularly well. An expensive monthly plan at $12.95 means that it’s only worth purchasing if you’re buying at least a year-long subscription, but our tests suggest that the service is getting worse in terms of speed and server locations.
PureVPN is part of a much larger privacy package that includes a password management system, file encryption, dark web monitoring, and a “remove my data” feature. It’s unlikely you’ll forget this while using the VPN, as it bombards you with ads for these features no matter which platform you’re on (apart from the Linux app, which is very light on features).
Read on, and I’ll dig a little more into why PureVPN doesn’t really stick the landing in any one area, as well as the specific use cases where you may want to check it out anyway.
Features
The actual PureVPN doesn’t have a ton of extra features, but it does nail the essentials for the most part. As far as VPN protocols go, you’ve got access to OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2. All of these are highly trusted, well-audited VPN protocols, so you won’t have any worries about picking an insecure one when you set the VPN up.
On top of that, there’s both a kill switch built in to make sure you won’t accidentally leak unencrypted data if you disconnect from the VPN, and a split tunneling option that’ll let you pick which apps you want to connect to the VPN.
Port forwarding is also available on PureVPN, but it’s a paid extra whereas some providers like Private Internet Access offer it by default. It’s pretty useful if you’re regularly torrenting or you’re trying to host a web service, but otherwise, you’re not likely to get much use out of it.
Speaking of, PureVPN also offers a paid dedicated IP option, which gives you a static IP whenever you log in. You won’t be pestered by CAPTCHAs or IP-based reputation systems as you’ll be the only user on that IP. However, it’s locked to one location, so it’s not ideal if you’re trying to stream content from all over the world. It even offers residential IPs that you can proxy through, which are slightly less prone to the same issues that a dedicated IP solves.
There’s an automation feature built into PureVPN on connect. Essentially, it allows you to nominate a website that opens up automatically whenever you connect to a specific location. For example, if you’re connecting to Tokyo because you want to view the latest shows on Netflix JP, you can set PureVPN up to open a Netflix tab automatically. It’s not the flashiest feature in the world, but it’s very convenient.
Features score: 7/10
Server network
You’re not getting the biggest server network with PureVPN, but it’s still respectable at 80 locations in 66 countries. That’s a slight reduction from our last review.
With that in mind, it’s a fairly well distributed server set that includes locations other providers don’t focus on, including five different servers in Africa and another five in the Middle East. The flip side is that you’re getting significantly below average coverage in Asia and worse North American coverage than other providers.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a truly global server selection then you’re better off looking elsewhere, but PureVPN’s servers should otherwise suffice.
Server network: 6/10
PureVPN has thousands of servers across the world (Image credit: PureVPN)
Apps
The desktop apps are completely fine. Whether you’re on Windows, Linux, or MacOS, PureVPN offers a functional app that performs as you’d expect.
The Linux app does look like an afterthought compared to the Windows or MacOS versions but, ironically, this makes it far easier to use. There are no large in-app ads, so you can just click connect and get started. Still, if you’re expecting full Linux support, you’re out of luck. There’s way less in terms of features, so you should check out Private Internet Access for a Linux GUI client that keeps parity with other desktop apps instead.
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PureVPN’s Android app leaves a lot to be desired. The “free trial” locks you into a relatively expensive yearly subscription at the end of the 7 days without appropriate notification. Even when you do pay for the app, you’re constantly being bombarded with in-ad apps to upgrade for more features. Other providers like Surfshark do offer upgrade plans with extra features but don’t hassle you about them in the actual app. It’s also unstable, as I found it crashing several times throughout the testing process, which is just unacceptable for a VPN app.
The iOS app is more stable by comparison but isn’t much better. There are still the same adverts for other apps, and while I personally haven’t had issues with the iOS client, there are plenty of reviews out there complaining about poor speeds and subscriptions expiring before their time is up. This isn’t the VPN experience on mobile you’re looking for.
Apps score: 6/10
Ease of use
To be honest, the PureVPN app is a little overwhelming when you first log in. The Windows app takes up a lot of your screen real-estate with both the connection button and a bunch of advertisements for other apps in the PureVPN ecosystem.
While the actual VPN is relatively easy to operate, there’s just far too many options that take you out to other parts of the app which should be hidden away in sub-menus instead. On the plus side, the app’s aesthetic is pretty pleasing with easy purple and black features on a white background, which you can invert with a dark mode.
Ease of use score: 5/10
PureVPN has setup guides for lots of different platforms (Image credit: PureVPN)
Speed and performance
PureVPN isn’t particularly impressive in terms of speed. We’ve changed how we measure our speeds, which I’ll get into more in a moment, but the point is that PureVPN has seen significant speed drops as a result.
When testing its WireGuard connection to our nearest server, we saw peak speeds of 480 Mbps, which is a real downgrade from the 615 Mbps we recorded during our last testing round. Strangely, our cross-Atlantic tests actually performed slightly better at 491 Mbps. I have to assume that this is roughly where its servers operate at peak capacity.
Although PureVPN’s speeds seem to be getting worse, they’ll still suffice for high-quality streaming, even in 4K. The OpenVPN performance, on the other hand, is poor. We recorded maximum speeds of 113 Mbps, which is a bandwidth reduction of nearly 90%. If you’re locked into OpenVPN, it’s very likely that PureVPN is going to choke the life out of your bandwidth speeds.
The only real plus with PureVPN is that we found our upload speeds to its US servers nearly maxed out our testing rig at 818 Mbps when using WireGuard, so it might be worth a shot if you have a seriously impressive internet connection and you want some extra protection while torrenting. Otherwise, PureVPN’s speeds just fail to impress.
It should be noted that we’ve updated our testing process for speeds. We still take a range of connection speeds throughout the day, using various speed testing sites and across multiple protocols, but we now take the top results and average them out to get a better idea of what the best speeds from a VPN look like instead of just using the best speed we’ve recorded.
Speed and performance score: 7/10
Unblocking
We regularly put the VPNs we review through a barrage of tests to see if they can unblock the most popular streaming sites out there. It’s good news for PureVPN as it put in an almost perfect performance during our unblocking tests.
All of the Netflix regions we tried worked flawlessly (that’s the UK, US, Japan, Canada, and Australia) without needing to resort to a residential IP. Amazon Prime and Disney+ also worked, as well as BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITV, and 9Now. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get access to 10Now, but that’s still pretty impressive.
One caveat, though. While the residential IP option should, in theory, allow you to do anything that a VPN address won’t, there’s a flaw with it. You can’t choose which region you get connected to, so there’s no way to dial in on the streams you want. The bandwidth limit also means that even if you can get access to a particular stream, you’re going to chew through your allotted 12 GB pretty quickly.
Residential IPs are useful for evading VPN detection. We tested out 15 different VPN detection sites, and PureVPN worked on 10 of them, which is way better than the 3 we bypassed using the regular VPN IP. It’s not completely foolproof, as some sites still managed to detect that we were using a potential proxy.
Unblocking score: 9/10
PureVPN unblocked Netflix in our tests, and everything else for that matter (Image credit: Netflix)
Privacy and Security
This isn’t a privacy-first VPN, but PureVPN still does pretty well. All of the VPN protocols you can pick are pretty much bulletproof: OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2. This wasn’t always the case, as PureVPN used to offer insecure protocols like L2TP and PPTP. These servers are actually still visible from the server list on their site, but the app won’t allow you to connect to them.
Its OpenVPN implementation also allows you to connect to quantum-resistant servers, protecting you against future attacks on the data you transmit today. It’s the first part of the full quantum-resistant rollout so, for now, you’re only able to connect to quantum-resistant servers in the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia, and Canada. It also only protects the keys used to start your connection, not the full data stream.
PureVPN looks good on the privacy front on the whole, but there are caveats (Image credit: PureVPN)
PureVPN is also a no-log VPN provider that’s been audited multiple times by independent third parties, including KPMG. That’s a great start, but PureVPN goes one step further with an “always-on” audit. Essentially, it's beholden to a surprise audit at any time, which means that PureVPN can never afford to operate at anything less than 100% data privacy.
It’s questionable how much more trust this affords compared to a traditional audit, but with four successful third-party audits in the bag, it’s clear that PureVPN is doing the right thing.
The only outstanding issue we’ve found is that WebRTC allows you to determine that the Residential IP feature actually resolves back to a normal PureVPN IP. While this isn’t a huge privacy leak, it does significantly undermine the appeal of a service that should let you appear as though you’re a normal US resident. A particularly determined attacker would be able to leverage this to discover otherwise, but you’re still protected against other types of leaks including DNS and IPv6.
Privacy and security score: 7/10
PureVPN has passed a no logging audit conducted by KPMG (Image credit: PureVPN)
Track record
Frankly, it’s a mixed bag. PureVPN has suffered from DNS and IP leaks in the past, and the fact we’ve noticed a potential leak in the residential IP offering doesn’t bode well. While PureVPN has been diligent in fixing these leaks when reported, this shouldn’t be a recurring issue.
There’s also a black mark against PureVPN’s name for its handling of a law enforcement request by the FBI in 2017. As a result of this investigation, it became clear that PureVPN was logging IP addresses alongside connection timestamps.
Since then, PureVPN has undergone several audits to demonstrate it doesn't keep logs, as well as ISO 27001 certification to show they implement appropriate information security controls. While PureVPN seems like a changed company today, it’s worth keeping in mind that it might not necessarily be the best choice if you need an absolutely bulletproof VPN.
Track Record score: 5/10
Customer support
I’ve certainly seen worse customer support plans out there. There’s a live 24/7 support chat you can access without being a customer, but it puts you in contact with an AI chatbot first, and you’ll need to navigate through it to speak to a real support agent.
They’re not always available either, but the one we got through to was prompt and helpful. There’s also an email-based ticket support system for deeper technical problems that support agents can’t easily fix.
The support FAQs are also pretty good. All of the articles are categorized by OS and cover topics from installation to platform-specific features and troubleshooting. It’s all clearly written in plain English with plenty of screenshots, so you should be able to follow along without much trouble.
Customer support score: 9/10
Pricing and plans
PureVPN is definitely on the pricier end for a monthly plan at $12.95 per month, especially considering that you’re getting a pretty bog-standard VPN for that price. This drops down to $3.99 for a month on the one year plan and $2.15 for the two year plan, which is far more reasonable.
You can also lock in a five year deal for $2.16. It works out slightly more expensive than buying two years because that gives you three months free, but the five year deal locks in that price if PureVPN ever decides to raise their fees. There’s also a 31-day money back guarantee, slightly more than the industry average… by a day.
That’s about where the value stops with PureVPN. One dedicated IP is $4.99 per month. Port forwarding, a feature that other providers give you for free, is $1.49 per month. Want access to a residential IP? That’ll be $19.99 per month (and even more if you go over the 12 GB a month bandwidth cap).
Pricing and plans score: 7/10
PureVPN accepts payments from PayPal, credit cards and Bitcoin (via CoinGate) (Image credit: PureVPN)
Should you use PureVPN?
It’s hard to recommend PureVPN unless you’re going with one of its cheaper yearly plans. Even then, Surfshark offers significantly better speeds and more locations for around the same price. Where PureVPN differs from other providers is in the IP-specific options it offers, but there are still issues with the Residential IP option that make it useful only in very specific cases.
Simply put: Unless you’re hosting web services and buy into both the dedicated IP and port forwarding options, there’s a VPN provider out there that does what PureVPN does but better in every category. Sometimes several. That doesn’t make PureVPN a bad VPN, but it does make it a redundant one. On that basis alone, I’d say you should check out one of the VPN providers below instead.
PureVPN alternatives
1. NordVPN – from $3.39 per month The best VPN overall Want a VPN that combines top-tier security features with blazing-fast speeds, and an extensive worldwide server network? NordVPN has you covered. The Threat Protection service offers best-in-class anti-malware protection, as well as effective blocking against phishing sites, thanks to an AI-powered engine. Read our NordVPN review or visit NordVPN to learn more.View Deal
2. Surfshark – from $2.19 per month The best cheap VPN (and also the fastest) Surfshark is synonymous with great value, thanks to its low prices and unlimited simultaneous connections. With speeds that match NordVPN and a whole suite of privacy-preserving tools, including an anonymous ID generator and a private search engine, Surfshark is both a powerful VPN and an intuitive privacy platform offering beginner-friendly apps. Read our Surfshark review or visit Surfshark.View Deal
3.ExpressVPN – from $4.99 per month The best VPN for beginners and the most secure Unblocking streams has never been easier than with ExpressVPN. Not only does it offer a fantastic worldwide server list, but with the proprietary Lightway protocol, you’ll be able to watch streams in high-definition, even on the go, using your mobile devices. It’s a top choice for streamers and privacy fanatics alike, thanks to fast quantum-resistant encryption. Read our ExpressVPN review or check out ExpressVPN.View Deal
PureVPN FAQs
Is PureVPN good for streaming?
Yes, PureVPN successfully unblocks Netflix (US, UK, Japan, Canada, and Australia), Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and more. However, its Residential IP feature isn’t worth using to stream due to a 12 GB bandwidth limit.
Does PureVPN keep logs?
No, PureVPN follows a strict no-logs policy, which has been audited multiple times by KPMG. However, in the past PureVPN has kept connection logs with IP addresses and timestamps, allowing law enforcement to correlate these to discover the identity of a PureVPN user.
How fast is PureVPN?
PureVPN’s speeds are decent but not exceptional, as our WireGuard connections maxed out at 491 Mbps. OpenVPN speeds were significantly lower at 113 Mbps. This is far below what you’d expect from a top-tier VPN.
Can I use PureVPN for torrenting?
Yes, PureVPN allows torrenting on many of its servers. However, features like port forwarding require an additional fee, whereas PIA provides it for free.
VPNs can seem like a complicated technology, packed with geeky features that not everyone understands, but TunnelBear is a provider that does does their best to keep things simple.
The Canadian-based, McAfee-owned company doesn't drown you in jargon. The website has little talk of protocols, no mention of encryption types, and barely any technical terms at all. Instead, the company focuses on the fundamentals, such as clearly explaining why you might want to use a VPN in the first place.
This approach won't work for everyone. If you're an experienced user and want to get down to the technical details of the service, for instance, you're likely to be disappointed. Search for DNS on the ExpressVPN support site, for instance, and right now you'll get 56 hits. Search at TunnelBear and you'll get three.
The service specs are fairly average. The network has a mid-sized 47 countries. There are apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, as well as extensions for Chrome and Firefox. But there’s little support for getting the service working on Linux, routers, game consoles, or other not-so-common devices.
TunnelBear does have a free plan, though, and it’s great to see the company finally lift its monthly allowance from a miserly 500MB to a more usable 2GB. Although, if that’s still not enough, PrivadoVPN and Windscribe offer 10GB, while Proton VPN has no data limit at all.
There’s more good news for paying customers. TunnelBear has dropped its ‘five simultaneous connections’ limit, and you can now install and use the service on as many devices as you like.
We noticed a surprising technical improvement in support for ECH (Encrypted Client Hello), a valuable feature that protects the initial key exchange between the app and VPN server to keep it safe from snoopers. That earns a big thumbs up from us. Many otherwise more technically advanced VPNs don't support ECH yet.
TunnelBear has been busily enhancing its apps, too. Recent welcome additions include a kill switch for iOS (something you won't often see elsewhere), more reliable split tunneling, and handy usability pluses such as a Search box for the location list.
TunnelBear pricing
TunnelBear's free account offers only 2GB of traffic a month. It’s better than it was, but only enough for very occasional use. This doesn't restrict the number of locations you can use, though, unlike most of the free competition. It's ideal if you're looking for a simple way to check out the apps before you buy.
Its monthly plan gives you unlimited data for a reasonable $9.99 a month. The price drops to an effective $4.99 a month on the annual plan, or $3.33 if you sign up for three years.
These are competitive prices that beat many providers, although there are some with cheaper deals. Private Internet Access asks $2.03 a month on the first term of its three-year plan, and opting for Ivacy's five-year plan cuts the cost to a supercheap $1. To put that in perspective, handing $59.88 to TunnelBear gets you one year of coverage. Hand $60 to Ivacy and you're protected for five.
If you do sign up for TunnelBear, keep in mind that there's no money-back guarantee. The small print says: "While all amounts paid are non-refundable, certain refund requests for subscriptions may be considered by TunnelBear on a case-by-case basis." Presumably, you might get a refund if you've had really bad service, but it's entirely up to the company to decide. Not quite as friendly as the cuddly cartoon bears suggest, then.
TunnelBear used to support Bitcoin payments for its annual plan, but no more. With no PayPal, either, it’s now strictly card-only.
TunnelBear has hired independent specialists to run security audits on its site and services (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Privacy and logging
TunnelBear's privacy policy is one of the most thorough we've seen from any VPN provider, with in-depth information on everything the service collects, and everything it doesn't. We do mean thorough, too – the details go right down to the names, purposes, and expiry dates of the cookies used by TunnelBear.com.
The logging policy is clearly described, with TunnelBear explaining that it does not collect IP addresses visiting their website, IP addresses upon service connection, DNS Queries while connected, or any information about the applications, services, or websites users use while connected to the Service. As a result, the company says, it can't link any of its users to an action carried out by a specific IP address. Sounds good to us.
The service does record 'operational data', updating this when you connect. That includes the OS version of your device, TunnelBear app version, whether you've been active this month, and the bandwidth you've used. Not quite zero logging, then, but it's far less than we've seen elsewhere, and there's nothing here that could link you to any online action.
These aren’t just words either, TunnelBear backs up its claims with ultra-comprehensive annual audits of its apps, browser extensions, service infrastructure, backend and frontend systems, and the public website. Auditors Cure53 spent 42 days drilling down into the detail, one of the largest projects we've seen.
Unfortunately, the results weren't great. Cure53 found 32 issues in total, including two critical and eight high-severity security vulnerabilities. Cure53 described this as worrisome, but it's better to discover these from an expert auditor than after you've been hacked. And unlike some VPNs, TunnelBear hasn't hidden its audit report from potential customers. Anyone interested can access it directly from the company's blog post.
Overall, we must applaud TunnelBear for its level of transparency. Most VPNs have never had any form of security audit, and the providers who have actually made some movement in this direction typically have one-off audits with a far narrower scope. That's just not good enough, and it's great to see TunnelBear leading the way on this front.
But we'd still like to see less unpleasant discoveries in next year's report, please.
TunnelBear fully supports torrenting even though its site may not advertise this (Image credit: BitTorrent)
Torrents
TunnelBear doesn’t say much about torrenting on its website – in fact, it barely mentions the topic at all – but the support team explained that it’s available in all locations.
Some may be more reliable than others, apparently. The company recommended we try Canada, US, UK, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, or Sweden if we had problems elsewhere.
How likely is it that you might have problems elsewhere, then? To get an idea, we tried downloading torrents from three of the other locations: Greece, Portugal, and Brazil. Despite not being on TunnelBear's 'recommended' list, they all completed without any issues, suggesting that you really should be able to use torrents right across the network.
TunnelBear's Windows Client is clean, simple and to the point (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Windows app
TunnelBear's Windows app opens with all its locations highlighted on a gray world map. This has one or two nice visual touches, with cartoon palm trees in tropical areas, and snow-covered Christmas trees if you head further north. But it’s also very basic, with little map detail, and not even a zoom option to help find the locations you need.
If you're not a fan of map view, you can also peruse TunnelBear's server locations in a list (Image credit: TunnelBear)
You can also select your server from a more conventional location list. That’s probably easier, but if anything, it’s even more basic, with no ping times, server load figures, or Favorites system to save your most commonly-used servers.
Once you've chosen a location, clicking 'On' gets you connected, and the app displays a 'connection' animation, panning the screen and plotting a line across the map to your destination. It’s a cute visual effect the first time of viewing, but it began to annoy us by the 100th (unfortunately, there’s no way to turn it off).
WireGuard connection times were a little disappointing at 3-4 seconds, even for our nearest server (the best VPNs take around a second). But this didn’t change much over distance – even connecting from the UK to New Zealand took only 5-6 seconds – and times were reasonable overall.
The app displays notifications when it connects or disconnects, too, ensuring you always know when you're protected, and when you're not.
TunnelBear only has a few server locations in North America (Image credit: TunnelBear)
The app doesn't have many settings, but the few you get are very useful. You can have it load when Windows starts, for instance, then automatically activate the VPN whenever you access an untrusted Wi-Fi network (everywhere but home and work, say).
The Obfsproxy-based GhostBear attempts to make your activities look more like regular internet traffic, perhaps helping you connect in countries like China which try to detect and block the use of VPNs.
A VigilantBear setting is essentially a kill switch, blocking all internet traffic if the VPN drops to prevent any identity leaks. We found this had some issues in extreme situations – the kill switch could fail if the app crashed and it was restarted, for instance, but it performed well in simpler tests.
WireGuard is now supported in the Windows client, and it makes a big difference to speeds (Image credit: TunnelBear)
It’s great to see WireGuard supported in the Windows app, as well as OpenVPN and IKEv2. By default the app selects the most appropriate protocol for your network, but you can now also choose your preferred option.
Overall, TunnelBear's Windows app is easy to use, and the arrival of WireGuard is a major plus. There’s clearly scope for improvement in every part of the app, though, and the basic feature list could disappoint experienced users.
This is the interface of TunnelBear's iOS app (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Mac and mobile apps
TunnelBear's Mac and mobile offerings all feature essentially the same colorful map and location list as Windows, along with WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 support. That's good news, but what's less welcome is they also have odd variations, which could be confusing if you use more than one platform.
The Mac app is relatively basic, for instance, with no VigilantBear kill switch, automatic connection when you access untrusted Wi-Fi, or GhostBear to bypass VPN blocking.
The Android app has a landscape view for a more usable map (Image credit: TunnelBear)
The Android app includes a kill switch, and SplitBear, which is TunnelBear's take on split tunneling. If an app can’t connect when the VPN is running or it's too slow and doesn't require extra security, SplitBear allows it to bypass the tunnel and use your regular unencrypted connection, instead.
The Android app did have an odd technical issue at review time. The ability to switch protocols wasn't available on our Android 12 test system. TunnelBear told us this had been removed from 'newer operating systems' temporarily, while it diagnosed some reported problems, but the feature will return soon.
TunnelBear's iOS app shares a similar look to its Android counterpart (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Unlike the Mac app, the iOS app does support the VigilantBear kill switch. However, you don't get GhostBear, and although there's the SplitBear feature, it's for websites rather than apps. So, if LocalTV.com refuses to stream when you're using the VPN, for instance, you can use SplitBear to have it connect via your normal connection.
Overall, these are all decent apps and the mobile offerings in particular outperform many competitors. But we'd like them to be more consistent across platforms, where possible, with features like SplitBear available across all platforms.
TunnelBear offers extensions for most popular web browsers (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Browser extensions
Installing TunnelBear's browser extensions can make the service easier to operate, by allowing you to choose a location, connect and disconnect from inside your browser. The extensions work as proxies and so only protect your browser traffic, but if that's all you need, the extra convenience could make them worth a try.
The Chrome extension added an icon to our address bar, and tapping this enabled choosing new locations from a drop-down list.
Hit the 'Connect' button and, as usual with proxies, you're connected instantly. A tiny map updates to show your location, similar to the regular apps.
There are no extra features, no WebRTC or tracker blocking or anything else. But the extension does have a small usability plus in its keyboard shortcut support. If you want to keep your hands off the mouse, pressing Ctrl+Shift+U connects you to the VPN, and pressing it again will toggle the connection off when you're done. (A separate Alt+Shift+N shortcut toggles the connection on and off in Incognito mode.)
We checked the Firefox extension to see if it had any more options, but no, it looked and worked much the same as the Chrome version.
The browser extensions follow a very similar pattern to the apps, then – they are short on features, but relatively simple, and fine for the target audience of casual users.
We use multiple speed test services to benchmark every VPN that we review (Image credit: nPerf)
Performance
To check out TunnelBear's performance, we first connected to our nearest server from a UK data center and a US location, each with 1Gbps test connections.
We then measured our download speeds multiple times using several benchmarking services including SpeedTest's site and command line app, Cloudflare, and others. Then we repeated each test in an evening session.
TunnelBear’s US OpenVPN speeds were excellent at 270-310Mbps. That's two to three times as fast as some providers, although a handful have done better. Mullvad even beat 500Mbps in recent tests.
Switching to WireGuard accelerated our downloads to 500Mbps. That's far behind the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark, and Hide.me, all of which beat 950Mbps in our last checks. Still, TunnelBear delivers all the speed that most people need and are able to use.
Speed can sometimes be affected if a VPN uses virtual locations. For example, you want to connect to Malta and get a Maltese IP address, but the servers are physically located in another country.
We tested some of TunnelBear's locations to get a feel for how the service works. The Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, and Slovenia servers all turned out to be in or very close to their advertised countries. There seemed to be a few virtual locations, but the host countries were never too far away (the Indonesia servers may be based in Singapore, for instance, while the Kenya location may be closer to South Africa.) If it's important that your VPN locations are close to their advertised countries, TunnelBear is a reasonable choice.
TunnelBear had a mixed performance with unblocking, but got access to US Netflix (Image credit: Netflix)
Netflix and streaming
One of the major selling points of a VPN is that it can make you appear to be visiting a website from another country, perhaps giving you access to content you wouldn't be able to view otherwise. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, so we test all VPNs with Netflix and more to see if they can give us access to various streaming sites.
TunnelBear has a poor history in our unblocking tests, and this time was no different, as it failed with Netflix in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
There was some success elsewhere. TunnelBear failed with BBC iPlayer, but it got us into the UK's ITV and Channel 4. In Australia, the service was defeated by 10 play, but successfully unblocked 9Now.
TunnelBear couldn’t really redeem itself with our last two tests. It failed with Amazon Prime, but we were able to view US content on Disney Plus.
There's a faint chance TunnelBear might unblock one or two smaller streaming platforms, but if accessing geo-blocked content is a priority, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark all unblocked every one of our test streaming services in our latest round of reviews.
TunnelBear's knowledgebase provides customers with a good deal of quality information on its services (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Support
TunnelBear support starts with its web-based help site. This is presented in a clear and simple way, with large icons pointing you to key areas (Getting Started, Troubleshooting, Accounts), and basic articles on the most common questions ('Why should I trust TunnelBear?', 'Why can't I access the content I want?', 'Does TunnelBear keep logs?').
Go searching for answers and you'll find TunnelBear's knowledgebase doesn't have a lot of content, but what you get is well presented and gives you a decent range of information. The Connection Issues page doesn't just offer generic 'reinstall'-type ideas, for instance. It links you to TunnelBear's Twitter page to look for service information, suggests trying out the service on another network, and points you to settings which might help.
Despite its beginner-oriented approach, there's also room for just a few more advanced tweaking ideas, with recommendations for ports which should be opened in some circumstances.
There's no live chat, but if you need more help, a Contact page allows you to send a message to the support team. We'd already noticed the Android app no longer had an option to change protocols, so fired off a question asking whether this was still supported. A reply arrived in less than an hour, and we quickly got into a conversation about the problem.
“Tap this, then this, and the option is there.” The support agent recommended. “It's not,” we replied.
“Uninstall and reinstall,” said reply two. We tried and installed it on two more devices. It made no difference
“What device and version of Android are you using?” Asked the agent.
We sent the details back immediately but had to wait a couple of hours before a reply finally explained that this was a known issue. It turned out that TunnelBear had removed the feature on later versions of Linux, and it wasn't available to anybody. All our troubleshooting efforts had been a complete waste of time.
There were some plus points to this exchange. The replies were quick, the agent was friendly, and he gave what would have been sensible advice (if the problem was on our system.) That's not unusual, TunnelBear's support has always generally delivered decent service.
This time, though, we're struggling to see how an issue as major as this, where a significant feature has been removed from an app in some situations, and support doesn't know about it.
Hopefully, we were just unlucky, but this doesn’t look good.
TunnelBear review: Final verdict
It's not the largest, fastest, or most powerful of VPNs but TunnelBear's ease of use and strong focus on opening up its systems to scrutiny deserve a lot of credit. If you're looking for a gentle start to VPNs, or are tired of apps that are crammed with features you never, ever use, then TunnelBear could be a smart choice.
VPNs can seem like a complicated technology, packed with geeky features that not everyone understands, but TunnelBear is a provider that does does their best to keep things simple.
The Canadian-based, McAfee-owned company doesn't drown you in jargon. The website has little talk of protocols, no mention of encryption types, and barely any technical terms at all. Instead, the company focuses on the fundamentals, such as clearly explaining why you might want to use a VPN in the first place.
This approach won't work for everyone. If you're an experienced user and want to get down to the technical details of the service, for instance, you're likely to be disappointed. Search for DNS on the ExpressVPN support site, for instance, and right now you'll get 56 hits. Search at TunnelBear and you'll get three.
The service specs are fairly average. The network has a mid-sized 47 countries. There are apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, as well as extensions for Chrome and Firefox. But there’s little support for getting the service working on Linux, routers, game consoles, or other not-so-common devices.
TunnelBear does have a free plan, though, and it’s great to see the company finally lift its monthly allowance from a miserly 500MB to a more usable 2GB. Although, if that’s still not enough, PrivadoVPN and Windscribe offer 10GB, while Proton VPN has no data limit at all.
There’s more good news for paying customers. TunnelBear has dropped its ‘five simultaneous connections’ limit, and you can now install and use the service on as many devices as you like.
We noticed a surprising technical improvement in support for ECH (Encrypted Client Hello), a valuable feature that protects the initial key exchange between the app and VPN server to keep it safe from snoopers. That earns a big thumbs up from us. Many otherwise more technically advanced VPNs don't support ECH yet.
TunnelBear has been busily enhancing its apps, too. Recent welcome additions include a kill switch for iOS (something you won't often see elsewhere), more reliable split tunneling, and handy usability pluses such as a Search box for the location list.
TunnelBear pricing
TunnelBear's free account offers only 2GB of traffic a month. It’s better than it was, but only enough for very occasional use. This doesn't restrict the number of locations you can use, though, unlike most of the free competition. It's ideal if you're looking for a simple way to check out the apps before you buy.
Its monthly plan gives you unlimited data for a reasonable $9.99 a month. The price drops to an effective $4.99 a month on the annual plan, or $3.33 if you sign up for three years.
These are competitive prices that beat many providers, although there are some with cheaper deals. Private Internet Access asks $2.03 a month on the first term of its three-year plan, and opting for Ivacy's five-year plan cuts the cost to a supercheap $1. To put that in perspective, handing $59.88 to TunnelBear gets you one year of coverage. Hand $60 to Ivacy and you're protected for five.
If you do sign up for TunnelBear, keep in mind that there's no money-back guarantee. The small print says: "While all amounts paid are non-refundable, certain refund requests for subscriptions may be considered by TunnelBear on a case-by-case basis." Presumably, you might get a refund if you've had really bad service, but it's entirely up to the company to decide. Not quite as friendly as the cuddly cartoon bears suggest, then.
TunnelBear used to support Bitcoin payments for its annual plan, but no more. With no PayPal, either, it’s now strictly card-only.
TunnelBear has hired independent specialists to run security audits on its site and services (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Privacy and logging
TunnelBear's privacy policy is one of the most thorough we've seen from any VPN provider, with in-depth information on everything the service collects, and everything it doesn't. We do mean thorough, too – the details go right down to the names, purposes, and expiry dates of the cookies used by TunnelBear.com.
The logging policy is clearly described, with TunnelBear explaining that it does not collect IP addresses visiting their website, IP addresses upon service connection, DNS Queries while connected, or any information about the applications, services, or websites users use while connected to the Service. As a result, the company says, it can't link any of its users to an action carried out by a specific IP address. Sounds good to us.
The service does record 'operational data', updating this when you connect. That includes the OS version of your device, TunnelBear app version, whether you've been active this month, and the bandwidth you've used. Not quite zero logging, then, but it's far less than we've seen elsewhere, and there's nothing here that could link you to any online action.
These aren’t just words either, TunnelBear backs up its claims with ultra-comprehensive annual audits of its apps, browser extensions, service infrastructure, backend and frontend systems, and the public website. Auditors Cure53 spent 42 days drilling down into the detail, one of the largest projects we've seen.
Unfortunately, the results weren't great. Cure53 found 32 issues in total, including two critical and eight high-severity security vulnerabilities. Cure53 described this as worrisome, but it's better to discover these from an expert auditor than after you've been hacked. And unlike some VPNs, TunnelBear hasn't hidden its audit report from potential customers. Anyone interested can access it directly from the company's blog post.
Overall, we must applaud TunnelBear for its level of transparency. Most VPNs have never had any form of security audit, and the providers who have actually made some movement in this direction typically have one-off audits with a far narrower scope. That's just not good enough, and it's great to see TunnelBear leading the way on this front.
But we'd still like to see less unpleasant discoveries in next year's report, please.
TunnelBear fully supports torrenting even though its site may not advertise this (Image credit: BitTorrent)
Torrents
TunnelBear doesn’t say much about torrenting on its website – in fact, it barely mentions the topic at all – but the support team explained that it’s available in all locations.
Some may be more reliable than others, apparently. The company recommended we try Canada, US, UK, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, or Sweden if we had problems elsewhere.
How likely is it that you might have problems elsewhere, then? To get an idea, we tried downloading torrents from three of the other locations: Greece, Portugal, and Brazil. Despite not being on TunnelBear's 'recommended' list, they all completed without any issues, suggesting that you really should be able to use torrents right across the network.
TunnelBear's Windows Client is clean, simple and to the point (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Windows app
TunnelBear's Windows app opens with all its locations highlighted on a gray world map. This has one or two nice visual touches, with cartoon palm trees in tropical areas, and snow-covered Christmas trees if you head further north. But it’s also very basic, with little map detail, and not even a zoom option to help find the locations you need.
If you're not a fan of map view, you can also peruse TunnelBear's server locations in a list (Image credit: TunnelBear)
You can also select your server from a more conventional location list. That’s probably easier, but if anything, it’s even more basic, with no ping times, server load figures, or Favorites system to save your most commonly-used servers.
Once you've chosen a location, clicking 'On' gets you connected, and the app displays a 'connection' animation, panning the screen and plotting a line across the map to your destination. It’s a cute visual effect the first time of viewing, but it began to annoy us by the 100th (unfortunately, there’s no way to turn it off).
WireGuard connection times were a little disappointing at 3-4 seconds, even for our nearest server (the best VPNs take around a second). But this didn’t change much over distance – even connecting from the UK to New Zealand took only 5-6 seconds – and times were reasonable overall.
The app displays notifications when it connects or disconnects, too, ensuring you always know when you're protected, and when you're not.
TunnelBear only has a few server locations in North America (Image credit: TunnelBear)
The app doesn't have many settings, but the few you get are very useful. You can have it load when Windows starts, for instance, then automatically activate the VPN whenever you access an untrusted Wi-Fi network (everywhere but home and work, say).
The Obfsproxy-based GhostBear attempts to make your activities look more like regular internet traffic, perhaps helping you connect in countries like China which try to detect and block the use of VPNs.
A VigilantBear setting is essentially a kill switch, blocking all internet traffic if the VPN drops to prevent any identity leaks. We found this had some issues in extreme situations – the kill switch could fail if the app crashed and it was restarted, for instance, but it performed well in simpler tests.
WireGuard is now supported in the Windows client, and it makes a big difference to speeds (Image credit: TunnelBear)
It’s great to see WireGuard supported in the Windows app, as well as OpenVPN and IKEv2. By default the app selects the most appropriate protocol for your network, but you can now also choose your preferred option.
Overall, TunnelBear's Windows app is easy to use, and the arrival of WireGuard is a major plus. There’s clearly scope for improvement in every part of the app, though, and the basic feature list could disappoint experienced users.
This is the interface of TunnelBear's iOS app (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Mac and mobile apps
TunnelBear's Mac and mobile offerings all feature essentially the same colorful map and location list as Windows, along with WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 support. That's good news, but what's less welcome is they also have odd variations, which could be confusing if you use more than one platform.
The Mac app is relatively basic, for instance, with no VigilantBear kill switch, automatic connection when you access untrusted Wi-Fi, or GhostBear to bypass VPN blocking.
The Android app has a landscape view for a more usable map (Image credit: TunnelBear)
The Android app includes a kill switch, and SplitBear, which is TunnelBear's take on split tunneling. If an app can’t connect when the VPN is running or it's too slow and doesn't require extra security, SplitBear allows it to bypass the tunnel and use your regular unencrypted connection, instead.
The Android app did have an odd technical issue at review time. The ability to switch protocols wasn't available on our Android 12 test system. TunnelBear told us this had been removed from 'newer operating systems' temporarily, while it diagnosed some reported problems, but the feature will return soon.
TunnelBear's iOS app shares a similar look to its Android counterpart (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Unlike the Mac app, the iOS app does support the VigilantBear kill switch. However, you don't get GhostBear, and although there's the SplitBear feature, it's for websites rather than apps. So, if LocalTV.com refuses to stream when you're using the VPN, for instance, you can use SplitBear to have it connect via your normal connection.
Overall, these are all decent apps and the mobile offerings in particular outperform many competitors. But we'd like them to be more consistent across platforms, where possible, with features like SplitBear available across all platforms.
TunnelBear offers extensions for most popular web browsers (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Browser extensions
Installing TunnelBear's browser extensions can make the service easier to operate, by allowing you to choose a location, connect and disconnect from inside your browser. The extensions work as proxies and so only protect your browser traffic, but if that's all you need, the extra convenience could make them worth a try.
The Chrome extension added an icon to our address bar, and tapping this enabled choosing new locations from a drop-down list.
Hit the 'Connect' button and, as usual with proxies, you're connected instantly. A tiny map updates to show your location, similar to the regular apps.
There are no extra features, no WebRTC or tracker blocking or anything else. But the extension does have a small usability plus in its keyboard shortcut support. If you want to keep your hands off the mouse, pressing Ctrl+Shift+U connects you to the VPN, and pressing it again will toggle the connection off when you're done. (A separate Alt+Shift+N shortcut toggles the connection on and off in Incognito mode.)
We checked the Firefox extension to see if it had any more options, but no, it looked and worked much the same as the Chrome version.
The browser extensions follow a very similar pattern to the apps, then – they are short on features, but relatively simple, and fine for the target audience of casual users.
We use multiple speed test services to benchmark every VPN that we review (Image credit: nPerf)
Performance
To check out TunnelBear's performance, we first connected to our nearest server from a UK data center and a US location, each with 1Gbps test connections.
We then measured our download speeds multiple times using several benchmarking services including SpeedTest's site and command line app, Cloudflare, and others. Then we repeated each test in an evening session.
TunnelBear’s US OpenVPN speeds were excellent at 270-310Mbps. That's two to three times as fast as some providers, although a handful have done better. Mullvad even beat 500Mbps in recent tests.
Switching to WireGuard accelerated our downloads to 500Mbps. That's far behind the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark, and Hide.me, all of which beat 950Mbps in our last checks. Still, TunnelBear delivers all the speed that most people need and are able to use.
Speed can sometimes be affected if a VPN uses virtual locations. For example, you want to connect to Malta and get a Maltese IP address, but the servers are physically located in another country.
We tested some of TunnelBear's locations to get a feel for how the service works. The Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, and Slovenia servers all turned out to be in or very close to their advertised countries. There seemed to be a few virtual locations, but the host countries were never too far away (the Indonesia servers may be based in Singapore, for instance, while the Kenya location may be closer to South Africa.) If it's important that your VPN locations are close to their advertised countries, TunnelBear is a reasonable choice.
TunnelBear had a mixed performance with unblocking, but got access to US Netflix (Image credit: Netflix)
Netflix and streaming
One of the major selling points of a VPN is that it can make you appear to be visiting a website from another country, perhaps giving you access to content you wouldn't be able to view otherwise. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work, so we test all VPNs with Netflix and more to see if they can give us access to various streaming sites.
TunnelBear has a poor history in our unblocking tests, and this time was no different, as it failed with Netflix in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
There was some success elsewhere. TunnelBear failed with BBC iPlayer, but it got us into the UK's ITV and Channel 4. In Australia, the service was defeated by 10 play, but successfully unblocked 9Now.
TunnelBear couldn’t really redeem itself with our last two tests. It failed with Amazon Prime, but we were able to view US content on Disney Plus.
There's a faint chance TunnelBear might unblock one or two smaller streaming platforms, but if accessing geo-blocked content is a priority, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark all unblocked every one of our test streaming services in our latest round of reviews.
TunnelBear's knowledgebase provides customers with a good deal of quality information on its services (Image credit: TunnelBear)
Support
TunnelBear support starts with its web-based help site. This is presented in a clear and simple way, with large icons pointing you to key areas (Getting Started, Troubleshooting, Accounts), and basic articles on the most common questions ('Why should I trust TunnelBear?', 'Why can't I access the content I want?', 'Does TunnelBear keep logs?').
Go searching for answers and you'll find TunnelBear's knowledgebase doesn't have a lot of content, but what you get is well presented and gives you a decent range of information. The Connection Issues page doesn't just offer generic 'reinstall'-type ideas, for instance. It links you to TunnelBear's Twitter page to look for service information, suggests trying out the service on another network, and points you to settings which might help.
Despite its beginner-oriented approach, there's also room for just a few more advanced tweaking ideas, with recommendations for ports which should be opened in some circumstances.
There's no live chat, but if you need more help, a Contact page allows you to send a message to the support team. We'd already noticed the Android app no longer had an option to change protocols, so fired off a question asking whether this was still supported. A reply arrived in less than an hour, and we quickly got into a conversation about the problem.
“Tap this, then this, and the option is there.” The support agent recommended. “It's not,” we replied.
“Uninstall and reinstall,” said reply two. We tried and installed it on two more devices. It made no difference
“What device and version of Android are you using?” Asked the agent.
We sent the details back immediately but had to wait a couple of hours before a reply finally explained that this was a known issue. It turned out that TunnelBear had removed the feature on later versions of Linux, and it wasn't available to anybody. All our troubleshooting efforts had been a complete waste of time.
There were some plus points to this exchange. The replies were quick, the agent was friendly, and he gave what would have been sensible advice (if the problem was on our system.) That's not unusual, TunnelBear's support has always generally delivered decent service.
This time, though, we're struggling to see how an issue as major as this, where a significant feature has been removed from an app in some situations, and support doesn't know about it.
Hopefully, we were just unlucky, but this doesn’t look good.
TunnelBear review: Final verdict
It's not the largest, fastest, or most powerful of VPNs but TunnelBear's ease of use and strong focus on opening up its systems to scrutiny deserve a lot of credit. If you're looking for a gentle start to VPNs, or are tired of apps that are crammed with features you never, ever use, then TunnelBear could be a smart choice.
