Last Updated on November 18, 2023 by VPNPioneer
Pro
- Cheapest 1 Year VPN We Could Find
- Wide Selection Of Countries
- Easy To Use Software
Contra
- In Transparent Pricing Structure
PureVPN is a large Hong-Kong based provider, best known for having 2000 servers in over 140+ countries, which is an impressive feat for even the biggest providers out there. They were founded in 2006 by their parent company, GZ systems and are one of the oldest and largest providers on the market.
We’ve heard lots of things about PureVPN, both the good and the bad, so wanted to find out for ourselves how they measured up to their big brothers.
Read on to find out what we thought…
Does PureVPN work with Netflix?
Yes, PureVPN is a great service that works with Netflix. We have found this is one of very few that will actually allow 24/7 access to Netflix.
PureVPN has really fast speeds when it comes to working with Netflix. With other VPNs, you may find that there are network-wide blocks, but with ExpressVPN, this has never happened to us. And if you are traveling around the world, you can also have this VPN work with Netflix.
Features Of PureVPN – All You Need!
It’s no wonder PureVPN boasts an impressive array of features when they’re a geriatric in the VPN world. They practically started this trend!
So, let’s take a look at what’s on offer:
- 2000+ servers in 140+ countries
- Access to all servers regardless of the plan you’re on
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Split Tunneling
- 24-hour live chat support
- P2P enabled (and a P2P add on offered)
- 5 multi-logins per household
- 31-days money back guarantee
- Ozone security
- Works on all devices
- Kodi app
- DNS and IPv6 leak protection
- Kill switch
As you can see, PureVPN have lots to get excited about. Our favorite features were definitely the split tunneling, the ability to create an instant Wi-Fi VPN hotspot on your laptop and the rare provision of a Kodi app. These features all set PureVPN apart from other similar providers.
Split Tunneling
With split tunneling you decide which program shall use the VPN connection and which program shall not. For example you can have a VPN connection in your Chrome browser while at the same time you have a normal internet connection in your Firefox browser.
As another example, it’s also handy for office workers who work remotely or from a different site and need access to both networks throughout the day. Split tunneling stops them having to constantly connect and disconnect to gain access. PureVPN lets you choose which data to send through VPN and which to send through your ISP, which we think is pretty nifty.
There is only IvacyVPN that provides split tunneling as well. Read the full IvacyVPN review here.
Wi-Fi VPN hotspot
PureVPN lets you turn your device into a Wi-Fi VPN hotspot that supports L2TP, SSTP and PPTP protocols. It can also be used to share OpenVPN. You just need a working internet connection, a windows supported device and a premium PureVPN account. This lets you connect even more devices that can benefit from your VPN, essentially turning the host computer into a limited VPN router. Neat!
[Tip: Don’t forget to activate the Internet Kill Switch to ensure added security.]
Kodi VPN add-on
We really liked that PureVPN offers a free Kodi app on their 1-year account package. They’re well known for their user experience and have a super slick interface that makes watching your favorite channels that much easier. It’s a quick setup and PureVPN have recently resolved reported hiccups with their installation process, so you shouldn’t have any issues these days.
Features Rating
Yes we the VPN Pioneer are Honest and Critical
In my opinion these premium features are missing:
Our Rating for premium feature is:
Usability – VPN On All Devices!
PureVPN supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux, extensions for Chrome and Firefox, and more downloads and tutorials to help you set it up on routers Kodi, Android TV, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick and more. Unfortunately, they don’t offer a trial on the website, so you have to give them a lot of trust upfront.
That said, we found PureVPN was great when unblocking content (with a couple of workarounds) and lived up to its claims of allowing you access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer etc., which we found refreshingly impressive!
The user interfaces were surprisingly easy to navigate, with only a little digging required to get ourselves acquainted. What also worked for us was PureVPN’s help support for steaming within its apps wherever you are in the world. This feature makes you feel like you’ve bought a quality product and not just one that’s made promises it can’t keep.
Apps – Safe VPN Encryption On Your Computer & Smartphone
We tested the Windows Client, Android and Mac apps. What we noticed across the board were the clean and easy to use interfaces. This makes a real difference during setup and general usability.
Windows Client – Very Good Client With Advanced Features
A novelty feature plays while it installs, which made us laugh. Then, when up and running, it was thankfully packed with useful features that makes the user journey seamless. It uses the increasingly popular IKEv2 VPN protocol that is both faster and more secure than OpenVPN, and they’ve also enabled the IPv6 leak by default, although the firewall based kill switch is not, despite being better, so this is something to note and enable as it performs much better in testing.
What also struck us was the option to share IP addresses. An unusual feature, the user is only able to gain the added privacy benefit of sharing an IP address when the NAT network option is enabled. If you don’t have it, you can’t use it.
Mac
We could literally copy and paste the Windows Client section here. The only difference is the Mac app doesn’t have IPv6 leak protection, which is a shame, so you’ll have to disable IPv6 manually in macOS.
Android
There seem to be more features in the Android app than the desktops app, allowing port forwarding, a kill switch and secure Wi-Fi, also using OpenVPN and IKev2 protocols that should be all that matter these days.
Browser add-ons
Proxy add-ons are available for Firefox and Chrome, which prove useful when pretending you’re somewhere else geographically speaking; but in terms of privacy, they’re pretty shocking because proxy connections aren’t encrypted, which defeats the point of having a VPN…
Usability Rating
Always Honest and Critical
In my opinion this could be improved:
Not much improvement needed great interface and easy usage. Made for beginners in the VPN world.
Our Rating for usability is:
How Much Does PureVPN Cost? – Low Cost VPN!
PureVPN is a mid-range provider, so not the cheapest on the market, but not the most expensive either. They offer the following packages (ranging from their cheapest to their most expensive).
| 1-year plan | $3.33 per month (save 70%!) |
| 3-month plan | $8.00 per month (Save 27%!) |
| 1-month plan | $10.95 per month |
They also accept several forms of payment, including:
- Visa/Mastercard
- PayPal
- Alipay
- CoinPayments (various)
- PaymentWall
- BlueSnap (various)
31 Day Money Back Guarantee – Test The VPN Without Stress!
Their 31-day money-back guarantee has been recently updated and is one of the best on the market, with a promise that: If you’re not 100% satisfied with PureVPN, we’ll refund your payment. No hassles, no risk. From what we can tell trawling through user reviews, they mean it.
There Is A Catch! Instransperant Pricing Structure
Price and Payment Rating
Honest and Critical
Our Rating for the Price and Payment is:
Support – 24 Hour & Friendly Contact!
PureVPN provides 24-hour support, 7 days a week. The reviews out there about this department are mixed, however we found them comprehensive and helpful, with little to no issues when responding to our queries. They also admitted when they weren’t able to help and had to pass on our query to a different department. They’d revert with email responses quickly and were more often than not extremely helpful.
Their website also has a comprehensive ‘support’ section, with categories: Getting started, Troubleshoot, Setup Guide, Account & Billing, VPN Use Cases, FAQS Before Purchase, Account Upgrade, For Users in China and How to Watch Netflix US, which we think covers all bases. But if we’re wrong, they have further options that let you communicate directly with them:
- Tickets – Report a problem or an issue by generating a ticket
- Ideas – Submit an idea or suggestion
- Live Chat – Get a one-on-one session with their support team
- Get Upto Date Report – Subscribe to their social channels and remain updated
And if that’s not enough, they have a regularly updated Blog and VPN Setup Tutorials for you to familiarize yourself with.
Support
Honest and Critical
In my opinion the support could improve :
Our Rating for the Support is:
Speedtest Of PureVPN
One of the main considerations most buyers have when deciding which VPN to use is how fast it is. There is a plethora of opposing opinions online about which provider is the best, but a general rule is: the more servers, the bigger the pool to swim in. As PureVPN has over 2000 servers to choose from, the odds of a better connection are higher than other less prosperous providers.
Speed Of PureVPN in Video – No Slow Down!
PureVPN is unique in that it kindly lets you see your connection status in a handy little display. If you want, you can also see an optional bandwidth chart showing your data transfers.
The speed test results changed considerably during the testing stage; however, they maintained a decent speed of 29 Mbits/s overall, but this can swing wildly depending on when and where the tests are performed, with speeds tailing off in the more distant locations. Yet locations like the UK won’t see much drop-off, so those of you located there won’t need to take that into consideration.
Speedtest Rating
Honest and Critical
Our Rating for the Speed is:
Verdict Of PureVPN? – Recommended VPN
PureVPN is a perfect provider for streaming services. Want to binge watch Netflix? It’s got your back. Want to steam BBCiPlayer? No problem! It unblocks almost everything you give it, like a data hungry hippo that wants you to enjoy all your favorite services. It is also great value of money, with powerful features and a huge choice of add-ons. It also gives us Kodi for free, which we love, and a 30-day money-back guarantee that gives you plenty of time to make sure everything works.
As always, speed is an important issue to note here. PureVPN gave varying results during the testing phase; however, if you’re using their service in all the main locations, you’ll have much less of an issue. We do have to mention the privacy aspect too, and although it’s exempt from the 5/9/14 eyes surveillance alliance, its own goal when it comes to logging connections seems counter-intuitive. But if you’re willing to take the risk, we think it’s worth it.
Finally, PureVPN is the only provider that has servers in over 140+ countries, and although some of those countries are virtual (because of smart DNS routing), we think it’s an impressive credential that sets PureVPN apart in the market.
Our verdict? Recommended
Overall PureVPN Rating
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