Snapshot
PrivateVPN are a first class, zero logs VPN provider and are one of our top picks if you’re concerned about online privacy. Combining market leading security with excellent speeds produced from its global network of servers, you can safely enjoy torrenting or stream HD content from all the popular providers such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer with ease. Private by name and private by nature… this VPN is hard to beat!
Compatible with
Rating
Our score:
4.7
★★★★★ 4.7/5
Pricing
Price from:
$1.89
per month
Pros
- Fast reliable servers with up to 323Mbps download speeds
- 2048-bit encryption with AES-256
- Kill switch, DNS and IPv6 leak protection
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) torrenting permitted
- Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer and all other popular streaming sites
- Zero logs policy
- Full 30-day money back guarantee
- One of the cheapest VPNs available
Cons
- Server choice could be larger
- Currently no web browser extensions
- Live chat directed us to email in testing
Introduction
PrivateVPN claim to be ‘The world’s most trusted VPN provider’ giving their users the best privacy features and speeds combined. A complete zero logs VPN, it’s a favourite here at CompareMyVPN HQ when it comes to security with its super strong encryption and advanced security features.
It’s also an ideal choice for users looking to benefit from unlimited bandwidth and speed for data intensive tasks such as P2P torrenting and HD streaming. Great for those Netflix lovers or guys/girls looking to stream their favourite sports channels!
User friendly applications are available across a multitude of popular devices and you can also use get help via free remote setup to assist with installation and configuration on your device should you run into difficulty. This combined with 24/7 customer support and a 30-day money back guarantee, you can see why PrivateVPN is one of our favourites!
Pricing
PrivateVPN are practically giving away their product right now with their pricing structure is consistently cheaper than most of its rivals (as long as you’re looking to sign-up for longer than 1 month). Plans are currently available on monthly, quarterly or yearly (2) deals. Their 2 year plan represents the best value for money and is currently on special offer with 83% off when purchased through our website. It’s also reassuring to know that all plans come with an up to 30-day money back guarantee.
For payment, PrivateVPN currently accepts a wide range of options including most major debit and credit cards (including American Express), PayPal and Bitcoin.
3 month plan
$
4
20
per month -
Billed $12.60 every 3 months
Visit website
30-day money back guarantee
SAVE 83%
Features
PrivateVPN comes fully loaded with all the major features you’d come to expect from a premium VPN provider, with security and online privacy at the core of its service.
Users benefit from some of the best levels of encryption (2048-bit with AES-256) found on the market and their true zero logs policy. They also provide many advanced security features such as alternative VPN protocol choices, the must have ‘kill switch’, IPv6 leak protection and port forwarding which is vital for P2P torrenting.
With 100+ servers in 60 countries spread around the world, they deliver some the best VPN speeds we have tested, which is perfect for users who wish to stream HD/4K content.
For those ‘techy’ types out there, PrivateVPN allows its users to really play around with different settings inside its apps which is nice if you’re after a little more than ‘smart connect’ etc. However, their app is also very simple to use for the ‘plug and play’ users who are simply looking for total privacy by the click of a button combined with hugely impressive speeds.
Platforms and devices
PrivateVPN enables users to simultaneous connect to 6 devices with just the one account which is ideal for those who want to protect all their smart devices as well as their family’s too!
Their user-friendly apps can be installed on MacOS, Windows and Linux operating systems as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. They also have a dedicated Amazon Fire Tv (Firestick) application which is great for easy streaming and for using with Kodi. It’s also easy enough to configure your home router and protect your entire wi-fi network with PrivateVPN.
One slight negative is that at present, they don’t offer any specific browser extensions for the likes of Chrome and Firefox for example, which is something many of their rivals offer.
Streaming
We all enjoy watching the latest and best content from around the world, whether we’re at home or travelling overseas. Many providers geo-restrict their content such as the US Netflix store or BBC iPlayer, but we are happy to share that PrivateVPN can successfully overcome these blocks allowing users to stream until their hearts content. Their incredible speeds also emphasise PrivateVPN as one of the best options for streaming, ensuring HD content is smooth and uninterrupted. All you need to do is select a server from the country’s content you want to view (e.g. US for the US Netflix library and the UK for BBC iPlayer) and you’re all set! If you have any issues or need help choosing the best server for your needs, their support team are always on hand to assist!
Torrenting
PrivateVPN is an ideal choice for those looking at file sharing with all servers setup to allow P2P torrenting. Their download/upload speeds are some of the best on the market and user’s activity is kept extremely secure (vital when torrenting) thanks to their ultra-strong encryption features. They also offer open port which is vital for torrenting. Additional reassurance is provided by the must have VPN kill switch in the unlikely event your VPN connection drops, and all things considered, PrivateVPN is clearly one of the most torrent friendly and safe VPN providers on the market.
Speed
PrivateVPN is ultra-quick, offering some of the best local and global average speeds we have experienced during testing from any of our premium providers. We saw local speeds of up to 323Mbps (truly amazing!) along with a global average of 73Mbps.
When connecting further afield, download and upload speeds naturally reduced but were still miles ahead of many of its rivals. Connecting from the UK to the USA for instance delivered speeds of 94Mbps which is more than acceptable!
For users who enjoy online gaming, their really low latency will also appeal to you guys, and it goes without saying, their great speeds are perfect for everything else from P2P torrenting to HD streaming.
Security
PrivateVPN offers one of the strongest and most robust security and privacy packages found on the market. Your IP address, location, internet activity and personal communication is guarded by military grade 256-bit AES encryption combined with 2048-bit DH key to keep your internet connection highly secure.
Their service supports an array of VPN protocols and their application will select the best one for you based on your current network. Our preferred choice is OpenVPN with UDP/TCP but you can also configure many other options yourself including OpenVPN over TCP, L2TP/IPsec, PPTP and IKEv2 should you wish.
Advanced security features include a must have VPN kill switch which protects you in the event your VPN loses connection, DNS & IPv6 leak protection plus you can further enhance your security by using Tor over VPN or TCP Port 443.
Applications
We thoroughly enjoyed using the PrivateVPN apps. Despite having many additional configuration options that could blow a beginner’s mind if they started ‘playing’, on the surface it’s extremely easy to use and pretty on the eye.
Users can choose to browse by server locations from the home screen or select the settings icon to play around with VPN protocols and stealth VPN.
For beginners, you can simply fire up the app and automatically connect to the best server available with the click of a button. It really is that simple!
Customer service
PrivateVPN operates a live chat function 24/7, however during our testing, it appeared to be unavailable and directed our questions via email. These were answered quickly and professionally but perhaps this is an area we would like to see improved. There are also lots of guides and an FAQ section online which should answer most queries should you struggle with the live chat like us.
One major positive to note is that they do offer to get users setup via remote help by configuring and installing PrivateVPN on to your chosen device. This isn’t something we have seen elsewhere and is a handy feature if you are not tech savvy!
Log policy
PrivateVPN operates an extremely strong zero logs policy and claim not to hold any of its user data whatsoever. Once you have installed their VPN, they have no way of knowing if you have used or connected to their service. From a security side of things this is fantastic, and as previous events have demonstrated, when asked by law enforcement agencies, PrivateVPN didn’t have any data to hand over.
We are totally satisfied and confident to recommend PrivateVPN as a true zero logs VPN provider and they clearly take user privacy extremely seriously which is great to see.
Jurisdiction
On the face of it, being located in Sweden isn’t ideal due to EU data retention and strict privacy laws. However, PrivateVPN have such a strong log policy that even if they were subject to a request from a law enforcement agency, they simply cannot hand user data over as they don’t collect any! For this reason, we are more than satisfied with their location and our readers should have nothing to worry about should they wish to purchase as PrivateVPN subscription through our website!
The verdict
As you can tell from our glowing review, PrivateVPN smashes a lot of their competition out of the water thanks to their exceptional privacy focussed features and super quick local speeds. It’s a terrific all-rounder capable of offering total online privacy protection whilst also fantastic for HD streaming, gaming or P2P torrenting.
Nobody can argue that priced at $1.89 per month over 2 years is not exceptional value for money! Add to this their 30-day full money back guarantee should you not be enjoying their service, we can’t see what’s not to like here!
It’s a great up and coming product and with some additions to server quantity to bring them on par with some of the other major players, the future is great for these guys. We are excited to see how they continue to grow in the coming months.
Melvyn and the team at comparemyvpn.com rate PrivateVPN very highly and have no hesitation in recommending them to our readers. As they say… ‘unblock anything, protect everything’!