Among the many VPN services, VPNBook is a freemium service that is working hard to compete between the leading VPN providers. The Switzerland based VPN service provides anonymity and online privacy for free which is astounding. However, the four dedicated servers are not enough to keep users secure online and for us to recommend the VPNBook services.
We give every VPN provider a chance to prove their worth in our unbiased reviews, and we shall give this VPN provider a shot. Let’s begin with a detailed VPNBook review.
Overview of the VPNBook
Before we move on, it is important to understand what the VPN offers and what you will get with the service
| VPN Servers | 4 |
| Offered Protocols | OpenVPN, PPTP |
| Level of Encryption Used | AES-256-bit |
| Dedicated Apps for all Devices | No |
| Netflix | No |
| Torrent Friendly | No |
| Jurisdiction | Switzerland |
| Support | FaceBook, Twitter |
| Zero-Log Policy | No |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 |
Pricing and Plans – Is Free Actually free?
VPNBook is free of cost (freemium) service that provides multiple features with no additional charges. It includes no pricing plans or subscriptions and users don’t have to sign up for the VPN. With a click, you can connect to the “Free” service and you can connect to the protocols of your choice.
Users can avail and access geo-restricted websites without emptying their pockets which is unusual but in a good way.
The plans include a:
- PPTP VPN
- OpenVPN
Choosing these plans will further allow you to opt for P2P servers.
Payment Plans? No! Donation Required
As a freemium service, this VPNBook review does not require any subscription which means there is no need to discuss about payment plans. However, if you wish to submit donations then you can use the following payment plans:
- PayPal
- American Express
- VISA
- Discover
Protocols and Encryption Supported
VPNBook lacks major protocols, and you cannot expect it to offer multiple security protocols. They offer two options in a freemium service that are PPTP and OpenVPN. Among the two protocols, only OpenVPN is recommended as it is the most vigorous VPN protocol that cannot be penetrated by hackers.
The OpenVPN uses 256-bit military grade encryption by default which will suffice your security needs. However, you will not have the luxury to choose your own protocol according to your device and operating system specifications.
Compared to CyberGhost VPN, VPNBook has a poor collection of protocols which make its weak and vulnerable to mass surveillance, cyber attacks and much more.
Additional Security Features Provided
Dedicated IP Service
Amongst the main features, the service offers a dedicated VPN that comes with 500GB of monthly bandwidth limit. It is disappointing that the service only provides four dedicated IPs, but they are fast enough to get the job done.
These servers are available in four regions that include:
- Canada
- US East
- US West
- Netherlands
But only the Canadian server is suitable for downloading torrents.
VPNBook Free Web Proxy
VPNBook proxy is another addition on the privacy tool that uses a 256-bit SSL-encryption to remove any government censorship. The VPNBook proxy is an excellent alternative to the VPN as it will hide your IP address and give you a new one. These proxy servers are in the US, UK, and Canada which will unblock Facebook and YouTube.
DNS and IP Leak Tests
DNS and IP leak is something from which users cannot run away. With a right VPN their DNS and IP would remain hidden and secure even if connection breaks. We took a test for both leaks and amazed to see that VPNbook is not leaking DNS or IP.
OpenVPN Protocol Windows Client Security
If you are using a Windows device, the best protocol to use is OpenVPN. It is essential to understand that the server will use the following data integrity ciphers during the procedure.
- Incoming: AES-256-GCM Cipher initialized
- Outgoing: AES-256-GCM Cipher initialized
- Control Channel: 1024 bit RSA
The outgoing and incoming cipher will use AES-256 Bit encryption that will aid in keeping your encryption secure.
Device Compatibility
VPNBook has no dedicated apps for any device or OS. You can simply connect from their website on your Windows and Mac devices. They do not have any app for Android or iOS. It also didn’t work with smart devices like Roku, Apple TV or gaming consoles.
Using VPNBook for free can be a headache if you are not a tech savvy. It is one of the biggest drawbacks of the service.
Close To Zero – One Figure Servers
VPNBook offers limited servers which are suffice enough to unblock content from only certain regions. Limited number of servers has no use as such for streamers and downloaders as they need more locations to unlock different regions content. Least number of servers make it very crowded since the service is free and the usage is high, which makes the speed slowest as it could get.
The VPN solely runs on unlimited advertisements and donations, and they can only afford a handful amount of servers that are:
- US
- UK
- Canada
- Poland
- Romania
- Netherlands
- Germany
Let’s be honest, go through our VPN reviews and check the global servers available. This is definitely not worth a try.
Privacy and Logging Policy – No Description
The privacy policy is a major deal breaker for any VPN provider as it aids the VPN in standing out from the shady VPNs. While reviewing VPNBook, we carefully went through the privacy policy, and although it looks clean, we doubt the service for being logless.
Average Speed Considering Limited Servers
We made sure that our speed before the test was recorded to analyze the difference. Our speed before connecting the VPN was
- Download: 27.05Mbps/Upload: 25.80Mbps
After connecting the VPN, our speed dropped considerably as we recorded:
- Download: 17.23Mbps/Upload: 14.52Mbps
The drop in speed was not the lowest we have recorded, but indeed it drops speed on an average. We tested all of their servers in gaps, and the speed dropped lower then what we mentioned.
Poor Customer Support – Don’t Bother Asking for Assistance
There are only two options to contact customer support:
These are the only two ways you can contact the support team which is weird. Apart from this, you can contact through the email provided that is contact@vpnbook.com!
The service has no blogs for customer support; no guides available on the website, and no 24/7 live chat to assist the users in need. The only guides available is to set-up process of the PPTP and OpenVPN protocol.
Do we Recommend VPNBook? A Big ‘NO’
We cannot find a single feature we can recommend. Being free of cost VPN service does not indicate that it will provide an ample amount of premium features, but at least it could have the decency to give basic elements to keep users anonymous online.
The service lacks most of the VPN features, and the one it does offer is not above standard. They lack in every segment and category, and we strictly advise not to use this VPN service as it is free, but can come at a higher cost by compromising your privacy.
