CasVPN Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

CasVPN Isn’t as Fast as the Competition

CasVPN doesn’t have an advanced enough server network to offer fast speeds like its larger competitors. With servers in Canada, Australia, and Paris, my speeds averaged just over 30Mbps. That was a huge 71% percent drop from my baseline speed of 103Mbps! I was disappointed that most of CasVPN’s servers caused buffering and long loading times when I tried browsing or watching YouTube videos.

With only 4 servers available to free trial users, CasVPN’s options get crowded quickly and frequently slow down. You can get much faster servers (that actually work reliably) at a similar price with a top VPN like ExpressVPN. But don’t take my word for it — I recommend you try ExpressVPN’s faster speeds so you can see how it works with streaming, gaming, torrenting, and video chat.

Server Network — Decent Country Coverage, But Unreliable

With about 150 servers, CasVPN has a very limited network — top-tier VPNs like ExpressVPN have over 3,000 servers in 94+ countries to choose from. In spite of the limited network, I was impressed that it has servers in almost 60 countries. Coverage in Africa is still limited to just one server, but the variety of locations is still enough to compete with some of the biggest names in the industry.

Unfortunately, the wide global network is ruined by the fact that the app often fails to connect. The free trial version only gives you 4 servers to try: Australia, Belgium, France, and Canada. Even with only those options, I frequently had connection errors and couldn’t use the VPN at all. During my tests, I only connected instantly to the server in Australia once, and the server in Belgium never worked. The others stalled indefinitely while connecting and only worked after I retried 5 or 6 times.

Even if you have better luck connecting to CasVPN’s network, not even the paid version has servers that can unblock streaming sites like Netflix or protect you while torrenting. Plus, its servers definitely don’t work if you’re in a location with tough censorship like the UAE and China. These limitations make it weak compared to other providers in the price range, which have far more servers for a similar cost.

Security — Surprisingly Strong Security for a Small VPN

CasVPN’s security is stronger than most VPNs of similar size, but it doesn’t measure up to the security offerings of top services like ExpressVPN. It uses 256-bit military-grade encryption to keep your data hidden, which I tested using a DNS leak detector. This would expose whether my data was leaking to my internet provider, government, or any other third-parties. I was pleased the test detected 6 different Australian servers. Since I’m located in the US, this proved that CasVPN’s encryption successfully hid private data like my real identity and location.

To prevent threats from infecting your devices and compromising your security, CasVPN uses an integrated NAT firewall. This keeps you safer on public WiFi networks, which hackers love to exploit because they’re the easiest networks for them to steal your data.

I was impressed that CasVPN includes an intrusion protection system to block spyware, malware, and other malicious software hackers use to steal your data or take over your device. Very few small VPN providers offer this security bonus, but for a similar price you can get a more powerful VPN with even better malware blockers like CyberGhost.

Privacy — Good Privacy Policy, But I Couldn’t Use the Kill Switch

CasVPN’s privacy policy clearly states that it doesn’t share or collect logs on any of your data. It only stores as much information as is needed to collect payment using credit cards or PayPal. This policy reassured me, but I would feel safer if it had been audited by third-parties to ensure it’s really being followed. For example, the safest services like NordVPN have even published independent audits of their privacy policies to give users greater peace of mind.

That said, the app still has privacy problems of its own. CasVPN’s website claims the app has an internet kill switch, which is meant to protect your privacy even if you lose the VPN connection — but it isn’t on by default. Worse yet, I couldn’t access the settings menu to find and activate it. Since its servers occasionally lose their connection, your personal data could be exposed if you can’t figure out how to turn the kill switch on (like me).

Does CasVPN Work in China? The Website Says Yes, But I Wouldn’t Trust It

CasVPN claims to work in China, but I never heard back after emailing customer service to confirm the claim. Since CasVPN doesn’t have a working kill switch and has unreliable connections, I definitely would not feel safe using it in China. Plus, after 6+ years working in cybersecurity, I’ve found that there are only a few VPNs that can bypass Chinese firewalls and keep your data private. I would be really surprised if CasVPN actually works in heavily-censored countries like China!

I wasn’t happy with CasVPN’s support options as its live chat response time is inconsistent ⁠— if they ever respond at all. After telling a live chat rep that I encountered errors while trying to pay for the service, he got back to me within a few minutes and told me he would look into the problem. But 3 weeks and 2 follow-ups later, he still had not resolved the problem.

CasVPN also offers a support ticket system in its online user portal. I logged into my account and filed a support ticket, but even after 2 weeks of waiting I never got a response. Other than its live chat and support tickets, an online email form is the only other clear way to contact CasVPN ⁠— but I found the email support page difficult to use. It requires that you attach a screenshot of technical errors. But for questions that don’t require screenshots, it adds an unnecessary step that you can’t skip.

To bypass the need to attach a file, I tried to find a direct email address elsewhere on CasVPN’s website. No matter where I looked, I couldn’t find one. After sending my support request with a blank image file attached, I got an automated email from info@casvpn.com saying my message was received and someone would get back to me as soon as possible. After not hearing back for a week, I followed up using the same email address — but even after 3 weeks of waiting I haven’t heard anything.

I prefer VPNs that have reliable email and 24/7 live chat support like ExprssVPN. That way if you have a problem, you can get an answer right away. Thorough testing showed me that ExpressVPN offers lightning-fast, knowledgeable customer support.