Atlas VPN Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

Decent Speeds on Short and Long Distances

Fast connection speeds are guaranteed on most Atlas VPN servers so long as your location is not too far from the server. I used Speedtest by Ookla to run download and upload tests on 4 different servers to confirm Atlas VPN’s claims of lightning-fast speeds. Because of the high demand for geo-unblocking services, I opted for servers located in strategically important countries.

Speeds were generally quite good, even when connecting to far-flung servers in places like Singapore and Australia. I was able to play games, download files, and stream content in 4K resolution quickly and without interruptions.

Speed Test Results

Atlas VPN retained nearly 63 percent of my base speed with Wireguard protocol enabled. Since Atlas VPN implemented the WireGuard tunneling protocol, speed has increased dramatically. I noticed a modest average decrease of 37% in my download speed, and there was even less reduction in average upload speeds, making up to only 25%.

To establish a baseline, I first measured the speed of my connection without connecting to any Atlas servers. I experienced upload and download speeds of 39.75Mbps and 43.36Mbps upload speeds without connecting to Atlas VPN.

I then connected to a VPN server in the United States, precisely one located in New York. Considering how demanding the US servers are, I expected low speeds. However, the results weren’t what I expected, and I only saw a 50% decrease in speed.

Next, I decided to test a server in the UK as BBC iPlayer is very popular there. I experienced a 49% performance drop. Streaming, gaming, and torrenting were still possible without a problem at these speeds, which were somewhat better than USA speeds. France and Germany gave me a performance drop of 9% and 49% respectively.

Finally, I used an Australian server in the hope of obtaining decent speeds when connected to a distant server. It worked out just as I hoped it would since the speed dropped by just 11%. My results were the worst while using an American server, while my best results were obtained using a French server.

Overall, I was impressed with the speeds that Atlas VPN was able to provide. Although some servers may be slower than others, I recommend that you connect to one as close to your actual location as possible to enjoy faster speeds.

Is Atlas VPN Fast Enough for Gaming? Yes!

While the short-distance Atlas VPN servers are suitable for online gaming, long-distance servers were not reliable. The latency and instability of a long-distance server make them unsuitable for online gaming. The Australian-based I was using while playing Killstreak had a ping of over 300 ms, which was too high for games like Fortnite and the lightning-fast Apex Legends.

If you’re looking for a more relaxing online gaming experience, try playing one of the many slower-paced games. I also tried using Atlas VPN for cloud gaming, but that wasn’t a very pleasant experience. There was some lag, so moving my character and reacting to events in-game were not entirely seamless.

Server Network — 750+ Servers in 45 Locations

Atlas VPN has over 750 servers spread across 45 different countries and territories in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The company has a well thought-out expansion plan to keep increasing the number of accessible servers. The network has both free and paid servers, with the former located in three key cities (New York, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam) and the latter spread out across 45 countries to give a great degree of flexibility.

The company has recently made significant upgrades to its infrastructure in an effort to enhance the customer experience. Premium subscribers can now connect to 10Gbps servers in the Netherlands via iOS, macOS, and Windows clients. To guarantee that all customers have access to fast and reliable connections, the company plans to roll out the 10Gbps network to as many locations as possible in the near future.

While some VPN services only care about the number of servers they have, Atlas VPN prioritizes the quality and performance of each of its servers. As a result, both the paid and free servers operate at optimal speeds and without interruptions.

The DNS servers used by Atlas VPN are all owned by the company, and each one is located exactly where it claims to be. This provides additional protection from the outside world while making it simple to access websites and platforms that are blocked.

Atlas VPN has a special category of servers called SafeSwap servers. These servers are spread across three different countries: the United States, the Netherlands, and Singapore. Connecting to a single SafeSwap server grants you access to a pool of dynamically changing IP addresses.

CyberGhost provides a greater selection of international servers than Atlas VPN. It currently runs servers in over 11,780 servers spread across 100 different countries. It would be difficult to find a VPN that offers a better balance of great server spread and a large number of servers.

Security — Military-Grade Protocol With Air-Tight Encryption

Atlas VPN employs robust algorithms to encrypt all of your traffic and then direct it through a private tunnel, thereby ensuring that you remain completely anonymous online. Your online activity is protected, preventing websites, your internet service provider, or cybercriminals from accessing and analyzing your data. The security features provided by Atlas VPN may, however, vary depending on your chosen device.

Atlas VPN’s full suite of security features includes:

• Industry-leading protocols – Atlas VPN utilizes IKEv2 and WireGuard, two proven VPN protocols. You can confidently use the VPN with these protocols because they strike a great balance between security and speed.
• Bank-grade encryption – Atlas VPN employs ChaCha20-Poly1305 with WireGuard and AES-256 encryption with IKEv2. It also includes SHA-384 and perfect forward secrecy to further ensure the security of your connection.
• Kill switch – This feature prevents your device from connecting to the internet in case your connection to Atlas VPN’s network is interrupted.
• SafeBrowse – This function prevents third-party trackers from monitoring your online activities, allowing you to better protect your privacy. It also eliminates intrusive ads such as pop-ups so that you can surf the web in peace.
• Data breach monitor – The data breach monitor performs checks to determine whether or not a data breach has caused your information to be compromised. Following a thorough analysis of my account, I found six security vulnerabilities that I corrected right away.
• Two-factor authentication method – The service employs two-factor authentication for new device logins. When you try to sign in from a device that has not been verified, you will be asked to verify your account using a code sent to your email.
• SafeSwap – SafeSwap automatically switches your IP address at regular intervals during a session, concealing your true location and IP address.
• Auto-connect and quick-connect – The auto-connect feature automatically connects your device to a VPN server when you turn it on or connect to a specific network. The quick-connect feature enables you to connect to a VPN server with a single click, removing the need to manually select a server and enter login information. These capabilities, which enable faster and simpler connections, are available in Atlas VPN’s apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.
• DNS and IPv6 leak protection – This feature protects against leaks of IPv4, IPv6, and DNS information.

I ran a series of IP and DNS leak tests to determine how well the Atlas VPN DNS and IPv6 leak protection combination worked. You can rest assured that Atlas VPN will keep your online activity private because not a single IP address or DNS leak was detected in any of my tests.

Privacy — Audited as Safe, but Still Questionable

Although the Atlas VPN website advertises a “no-logs” policy, this does not necessarily imply that no data is stored. For instance, you’ll need to provide your email address and billing information to create an account with the company.

Atlas VPN generates a unique device identifier during usage, which could be perceived as private information. This identifier allows tracking across multiple servers and is accompanied by logged device information, such as device type, brand, model, language, and operating system version. These data are claimed to be used for analytics but may be considered intrusive.

When I tested the android app through Exodus to see if there were any trackers, I found 3. One of the trackers was Appflyer — an app that tracks user behavior, including which user installs the app.

Atlas VPN is headquartered in the United States, a country well known for sharing intelligence with other countries that are part of its alliance network. In October 2021, Atlas VPN was acquired by Nord Security, a cybersecurity company. The impact of this acquisition on the legal jurisdiction of Atlas VPN is currently unclear. Nevertheless, the company’s operations will continue to be based in the US, and its terms of service will continue to be governed by Delaware law.

To counter this, Atlas VPN offers a “Warranty Canary” page where they publish any official requests for personal information they receive. This typically refers to government warrants and other requests deemed to be of “national interest.” To this day, it still reads zero, but you can never predict when something will take place.

In May of 2021, Atlas VPN was put through its first-ever security check by Versprite. The audit revealed two medium-level threats in the backend service and three low-level threats in the iOS app. Atlas VPN promptly addressed these issues, resulting in a successful overall assessment.

MDSec, a cybersecurity company, also reviewed the Atlas VPN Windows application in July 2022 and retested it on November 3rd. The purpose was to discover any weaknesses that could make the app vulnerable to an attack. However, no significant or critical security problems were identified. The company implemented the auditor’s suggestions, which were later confirmed in a follow-up test by MDSec.

Torrenting — It Works but Not All Servers Are Fast

Atlas VPN’s servers support P2P traffic, so you can torrent anonymously. Moreover, the download speeds were reasonable, so the VPN connection should not significantly impact your downloads. Atlas VPN strongly recommends that the use of P2P should be conducted responsibly. So, please consider your local laws before downloading copyrighted files without permission.

Although you can torrent using the 3 servers available in the free version of the VPN, you will experience faster download and upload speeds if you are on the premium plan. I tested this by downloading a large public-domain file via a torrent application, and my expectations were exceeded in terms of speed as the file was downloaded in a few short minutes.

Torrent users will be disappointed to learn that Atlas VPN lacks fundamental functions such as port forwarding and SOCKS5 support. So, be careful when you use Atlas VPN to torrent, especially since it could track how much data you use. Also, ensure that the torrents you are downloading are in the public domain to avoid legal trouble.

Does Atlas VPN Work in China? No!

Atlas VPN does not offer any obscuration technology that can help you access to content and services within the borders of China. Since I am not currently located in China, I emailed Atlas VPN support to ask if its service could be used there. I was given an obtuse response that seemed to imply it doesn’t seem to work in China.

Chinese authorities have reportedly kept beefing up its firewall to prevent unauthorized VPNs from operating in the Chinese internet space. ExpressVPN is the best VPN to use if you’re traveling to China and want to access content from your home country. You should still be cautious when using a VPN in China, as the anonymity it provides does not give you the freedom to break the law.

The customer service provided by Atlas VPN is subpar, as the only method of contact is via email. Still, the service’s responsiveness to inquiries is impressive. It’s also important to note that the email support channel is available 24/7.

To test the response time, I emailed support and received a reply within an hour. The mail was sent on a Sunday morning, so I was surprised when I got a response to my inquiry on the same day. I was also extremely pleased with how quickly and politely the representative handled my concerns.

Atlas VPN includes a comprehensive knowledge base. Here you will find solutions to the most frequently asked billing and troubleshooting questions. Atlas VPN runs a blog where it regularly publishes updates and how-to guides for setting up the VPN service. They could prove useful to you in some way.