PureVPN Review

Security and Privacy Features

At PureVPN, your security and privacy are top priorities. The service utilizes military-grade AES-256 encryption, widely recognized as one of the most robust encryption methods available. You have the flexibility to select from various VPN protocols, including options like OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec, empowering you to tailor your preferred level of security and performance.

In addition to encryption, PureVPN offers a suite of robust security features designed to fortify your online safety and privacy. These include a kill switch, a valuable defense against data leaks that can occur if your VPN connection unexpectedly drops. Furthermore, PureVPN provides DNS leak protection to ensure the confidentiality of your DNS requests, along with IPv6 leak protection, safeguarding against potential IPv6 address exposure. For users seeking even more advanced security measures, PureVPN offers premium add-ons like dedicated IP addresses and port forwarding, enriching both your internet freedom and overall online security.

Addressing concerns from the past, PureVPN has taken significant steps to reinforce its commitment to user privacy. While the service faced questions regarding a cyberstalking case, it has since implemented a rigorous no-logs policy. Rest assured, as stated in their privacy policy, PureVPN does not retain any logs that could identify or monitor your online activities. This proactive approach ensures that even under pressure, PureVPN has no information to share, preserving your privacy and security.

Server Network

When you're traveling abroad, a wide range of server locations becomes essential for a speedy and reliable VPN connection, while also granting you more choices to conceal your true location. PureVPN excels in this aspect, boasting an extensive network of over 6,500 VPN servers across 88+ locations spanning 70+ countries. Its reach encompasses North America and Europe comprehensively, and it goes beyond by offering servers in six locations within Africa and seven in Central and South America, often overlooked by other VPN providers.

Notably, PureVPN's server list includes regions with stringent internet policies, including Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, and even China. To achieve this global coverage, PureVPN employs virtual locations, where servers are configured to appear elsewhere than their physical placement. Among its 139 server entries, 21 are virtual locations. It's worth mentioning that virtual servers are software-defined, allowing one hardware machine to host multiple virtual servers.

PureVPN emphasizes the use of physical servers, with the majority being leased rather than owned outright, a common industry practice. While some VPN providers adopt diskless or RAM-only servers to bolster security by preventing data writes to disks and safeguarding against physical tampering, PureVPN has not implemented this approach. Nevertheless, the company reassures users of its measures to secure its infrastructure against potential threats.

Speed and Reliability

In our speed tests of PureVPN across various locations, we observed notable differences depending on the chosen protocol. While using the OpenVPN protocol, the results were relatively decent but didn't match the impressive performance of WireGuard. WireGuard managed to maintain an average of about 70% of the initial connection speeds. The download speed averaged around 300 Mbps, with upload speeds around 320 Mbps when the baseline speeds were at 400 Mbps.

It's important to note that choosing WireGuard means sacrificing certain features like split tunneling or the dedicated IP option. While PureVPN may not match the speeds of some other top VPN providers like NordVPN or Surfshark, it still offers generally fast performance. To optimize speed, selecting a server location closest to your actual location is advisable.

PureVPN's Windows app enhances user convenience by displaying the ping of each location before connecting, allowing users to identify the fastest servers without the need for trial and error. While connected to a server, the app provides real-time upload and download speed information, as well as details about the tunneling protocol in use.

For OpenVPN UDP, PureVPN demonstrated impressive speed test results in many locations, with minimal download speed drop-offs. However, speed fluctuations were observed when connected to US and UK servers, while the Canadian server displayed more stability. The introduction of an additional security layer, multiport, in the OpenVPN tunnel, automates the port selection process, eliminating the need for manual setup. Furthermore, the ability to connect to multiple servers simultaneously enhances user convenience, eliminating the need to disconnect from a VPN to switch servers.

On the other hand, IKEv2 exhibited faster download speeds than OpenVPN TCP but displayed less consistency. OpenVPN TCP, while impacting speeds significantly, emerged as one of the less effective options for distant locations.

In summary, PureVPN's speed performance across different tunneling protocols varied, with WireGuard showcasing the best results, closely followed by IKEv2. However, IKEv2 may come with occasional connection issues that affect the overall speed test scores.

Compatible Platforms and Devices

PureVPN caters to a wide spectrum of users with its user-friendly apps designed for various platforms and devices. Whether you rely on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, or even Linux, you'll discover dedicated apps that are effortless to install and navigate.

Moreover, PureVPN extends its convenience by offering browser extensions compatible with popular browsers like Chrome and Firefox. This feature adds an additional layer of ease for users who prefer to utilize a VPN directly from their web browser.

Furthermore, PureVPN's versatility shines through its support for routers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and other devices through manual configuration. This flexibility makes it an adaptable choice for users aiming to safeguard multiple devices under a single VPN subscription.

Here's an overview of the devices supported by PureVPN:

Desktops:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• Chromebook

Mobile:

• Android
• iOS
• iPadOS
• Huawei

Browser Extensions:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Edge
• Brave

Smart TVs:

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Samsung TV
• Nvidia Shield TV
• Chromecast

Gaming Consoles:

• Xbox
• Playstation

VPN Routers:

• DD-WRT Applet
• Asus
• Tomato
• Belkin
• D-Link
• Linksys
• TP-Link
• Netgear
• and more

Pricing

PureVPN stands out as one of the most budget-friendly VPN options available, even surpassing budget-friendly competitors in terms of long-term subscription pricing.

Regardless of the PureVPN subscription plan you choose, you'll enjoy the same comprehensive features, along with the ability to simultaneously use the VPN on up to 10 devices.

The greatest value with PureVPN is unlocked when you opt for a long-term plan. The 2-year plan offers the most substantial savings, making it the most cost-effective choice among the available options. Additionally, PureVPN offers a generous 31-day money-back guarantee, providing you with flexibility should you find the service doesn't meet your expectations.

For those who prefer a shorter commitment, PureVPN also offers a monthly subscription option priced at $12.45. When considering the pricing of various VPN services in the market, this monthly rate is competitive and falls within the standard range for monthly subscriptions.

PureVPN provides multiple payment methods to cater to different preferences, including PayPal, credit cards, Google Pay, and Paymentwall.

Customer Service

If you encounter any issues with PureVPN, their support site is a valuable resource. It offers a plethora of tutorials and troubleshooting guides, covering 16 different platforms. Some of these guides are more extensive than the entire support sites of other VPNs.

What's particularly user-friendly is that you don't need to bookmark tutorials for later viewing; you can often download them as PDFs for convenient offline access. The site also provides a Search feature, although we initially encountered 'Page Not Found' errors. To use it effectively, you'll need to type a keyword, wait briefly, and then select from the drop-down list of matches.

If the website doesn't address your concerns, you can create a support ticket directly from the desktop apps or the website itself. In our test, we received a basic but accurate response within just an hour.

Alternatively, you can access live chat on the website. PureVPN's response times were prompt, and the agents were genuinely helpful, resolving most of our immediate issues effectively. In summary, these support options contribute to PureVPN's impressive 4.7 out of 5 rating, based on 15,671 reviews on Trustpilot.