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

StreamVPN’s Speeds Are Fast on All Servers

StreamVPN provided me with fast speeds across its servers. Servers close to my location gave blazing-fast speeds while the distant servers maintained fast speeds that were only slightly reduced. I didn’t have any lags with these speeds while streaming, gaming, and surfing the web.

Speed Test Results

I started my tests with a base internet download speed of 35Mbps. After connecting with StreamVPN’s servers, I got an average download speed of 27Mbps — a mere 22.86% drop in speed. Nearby servers in the US and UK provided me with the fastest speeds. For instance, the server in the UK saw a download speed of 34Mbps which was only a 2.86% drop in my speed. Even with the farthest server from my location (the server in Australia), I got 22Mbps, a 37% drop in my speed.

The upload speeds were also consistently fast across the servers. For the US and UK servers, I got upload speeds of 15Mbps and 7.5Mbps, respectively. These speeds are more than sufficient for playing online multiplayer games that require an average of 3-4Mbps upload speeds. But the latency/ping wasn’t as impressive as the internet speeds. I got an average of 200ms on most of the servers.

Even though StreamVPN performed adequately in my speed tests, I ran into an issue conducting them. I usually use Speedtest.net for consistency, but my colleagues and I were unable to access the site while using this VPN.

Server Network — Not Enough for the Price

StreamVPN has a small server network and only a handful of server locations. The VPN claims to have 150 servers primarily found in the US, Canada, and some European countries.

However, after thorough testing, the server numbers are far lower than the company claims. StreamVPN serves 12 countries, and each has 2 connections: a primary server and a stealth server. The stealth server adds an extra layer of obfuscation to your IP, allowing you to access more content.

You should avoid stealth servers when streaming unless you’re facing advanced geo-blocks that the primary servers can’t access. The extra security layer makes stealth servers significantly slower than their primary counterparts.

Both primary and stealth servers assign you the same IP address. This is worrying if a platform flags either connection since both servers will be blocked. I also repeatedly tried to refresh my connection across all servers, and I was always assigned the same IP addresses. This suggests that StreamVPN allowed me access to only 12 different virtual locations.

150 servers are already too limited for a streaming VPN because they increase the risk of overcrowding, which leads to downtimes. These findings suggest that the server number is either far lower than that, or you only get access to 12 servers with each subscription. Both scenarios make it very difficult to recommend this VPN for its server network, especially given the price. Cyberghost has a large global server network that offers 11,780+ servers spread over 100 countries, so you should be able to find one near you.

Security — Commendable Security Features

StreamVPN doesn’t really stand out in terms of features, but it uses some of the most advanced encryption methods on the market to keep your online activity private. A few of the VPN security features you can enjoy with StreamVPN include:

• 256-bit AES encryption. Your data is protected by one of the best security features today to enhance your data security.
• 2 Security Protocols. As far as protocols are concerned, StreamVPN uses the OpenVPN protocol across its Windows and macOS applications. Both its Android and iOS applications use the IKEv2 protocol. Both are good and secure, but IKEv2 is faster than OpenVPN. That being said, OpenVPN is well-documented to secure data and keep it off the hands of hackers and other cybersecurity threats.
• Kill switch. This feature prevents traffic leaks by cutting off your internet connection if your VPN connection is interrupted.
• Stealth Connection. This feature obfuscates the VPN traffic by wrapping an extra layer of encryption around your VPN protocol, concealing your traffic from your ISP and other prying eyes. Unfortunately, only Windows users are able to access these stealth servers.

It is normal for a slowdown to occur with these advanced layers of security. However, I was impressed that StreamVPN did not suffer a significant drop in speed. Most premium VPNs are able to employ these security protocols without losing too much on speed, but many smaller VPNs often fail to balance both speed and security. Luckily, StreamVPN competes favorably in that aspect and matches the security and speed prowess of many top VPNs.

The StreamVPN service also offers DNS leak protection and IPv6 leak protection but does not protect against WebRTC leaks. The tests I ran on servers in more than ten countries showed no leaks. For your own safety, I still recommend you manually disable WebRTC in your browser to make sure you are 100% protected.

Privacy — Lacks Transparency

StreamVPN logs connection data but not your personal activity. The VPN claims it doesn’t log your VPN activity, bandwidth used, or DNS queries. However, after reaching out to support, I got informed that the VPN logs source IP addresses, connection dates and times, and assigned server IP addresses.

What I find worrisome is that this information is not mentioned anywhere in the privacy policy, which isn’t transparent enough. I want to see this VPN publish information about the data it collects, periodic transparency reports, and an independent audit of its policy.

StreamVPN is incorporated in Hong Kong, which is a privacy-friendly location without any data retention laws. Although this means StreamVPN is not obligated to give up any of your information, I still feel uncomfortable with a company keeping any log of my data — especially when there are VPNs out there that have transparent no-logs policies.

Headquartered in the data protection-friendly British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN has a longstanding reputation as a privacy-focused provider. With its headquarters in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN has established itself as a privacy-focused provider. The VPN service is among a handful with a no-logging policy that has been proven through legal action after law enforcement officials seized the company’s Turkish servers.

Torrenting — Only the Servers in the Netherlands Support P2P

StreamVPN only supports torrenting with the server in the Netherlands. Every other server throttles your speed so that you can’t even start any downloads. However, with the permitted server, the speeds were fast. For testing purposes, I downloaded a 1GB public domain movie in fewer than 30 minutes.

Keep in mind that using a VPN doesn’t give you the right to commit illegal activities, and downloading copyrighted files is illegal. I don’t suggest breaking the rules of any country. So, make sure to check with the regulations of your country before torrenting.

Does StreamVPN Work in China? Works in Some Parts of China

StreamVPN doesn’t work in all parts of China. Since I am not physically located in China to conduct this test, I emailed StreamVPN’s support to find out if it works in China. The agent said StreamVPN works in some parts of China but did not specify which locations it supports.

I was also advised by the representative to use stealth mode servers when trying to connect from within China. By connecting to stealth mode servers, your traffic is scrambled in a manner that makes it extremely difficult for anyone to detect that you are using a VPN.

Having just the VPN’s word, especially with the uncertainty of it not working in every province, makes it unreliable for me. I prefer a VPN that’s proven to work across all of China. If you’re traveling to China, I recommend using ExpressVPN to browse the free web wherever you visit in China.

Keep in mind that using a non-government-approved VPN is illegal in China. However, there haven’t been any cases of tourists being penalized for using a VPN. Instead, the country uses tools that technologically block many VPNs from working over there.

StreamVPN’s response time is fast despite not having live chat support. You can only get feedback via email and the ticketing system. I opened a ticket, and an agent contacted me in under 10 minutes, which I found pretty impressive. The support was helpful and answered all my questions professionally.

The VPN has a limited knowledge base made up of installation guides to help you set up StreamVPN on various devices. There’s also a “Free Installation” service where customers can schedule a technical support representative to install the VPN for them remotely. I appreciated the help desk because it was available in 9 languages to match the national dialects of the 12 countries it serves: English, Danish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and Spanish.

If you prefer to do things on your own, check out the provider’s knowledge base, which contains installation guides, blog posts, and FAQs. You can also contact the provider on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you need other options for support other than those already offered by the provider.