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

SlickVPN Offers Fast Connection Speeds

One of SlickVPN’s biggest plus points is that it delivers fast connection speeds across most of its servers. I had a smooth browsing experience without any slowdowns while using it and could stream in HD without buffering.

Speed Test Results

I achieve consistent download and upload speeds of around 33Mbps with my primary connection. These speeds experienced an average reduction of 20% when I connected to the majority of SlickVPN’s servers.

I tried different server locations including Seattle, London, Lille, and Mumbai and the experience was similar for all of these. Mumbai is the closest server location to me and Seattle is the farthest, but, in both cases, the speeds remained high.

All things considered, SlickVPN is great in terms of connection speeds. It maintains fast speeds, even on long-distance servers, which is very impressive.

Server Network — Servers in 40+ Countries

SlickVPN has 150+ servers in 40+ countries. This is a small network for a premium VPN considering there are other affordable VPNs with over 1,000 servers. Most of the servers are based in Europe and the US, while there are barely any servers in Asia, so there’s a limited variety of locations to pick from.

The following table consists of SlickVPN’s current server locations:

It’s really easy to connect to any of the servers in the SlickVPN desktop app. Simply click the locations menu, scroll down to find the server you want, and double-click to connect to it. Plus, SlickVPN’s app mentions your distance from each server and comes with a built-in speed test to show what your connection will be like.

SlickVPN also labels its CORE servers in the app. It claims that its CORE servers are faster, more secure, and better at bypassing geoblocks. However, my experience with CORE and standard servers was very similar, and I didn’t experience any differences in speed or unblocking capabilities.

Some SlickVPN servers don’t seem to work, though. I tried connecting to the Paris, France server but kept getting messages saying waiting and reconnecting. The VPN stops trying to connect to a server after a while if the connection can’t be established.

SlickVPN also has a load balancing feature to keep its servers from slowing down. It automatically selects a gateway depending on load to make sure that the servers don’t get overcrowded.

I would’ve liked to see a server load indicator in the SlickVPN app, though. Currently, there’s no way to see if a server is overcrowded so you have to connect to it and check if you’re getting good performance.

There are better VPNs available with bigger and more reliable server networks. I recommend looking into CyberGhost as it has 11,780+ servers across 100+ countries.

Security — Reliable Security With AES 256-bit Encryption

I found SlickVPN’s security very impressive because it uses industry-standard encryption to keep you secure. It also supports both IPsec and OpenVPN protocols. IPsec in SlickVPN uses 128-bit encryption and is only available for macOS and iOS. OpenVPN is more secure as it uses 256-bit encryption while also being available for all compatible platforms.

SlickVPN has a built-in kill switch to disconnect you from the internet if the VPN connection ever drops. It also passed the DNS leak test and never revealed my real location while connected.

You also get additional security through HYDRA, which is SlickVPN’s implementation of multihop.

You can use this feature by simply double-clicking on HYDRA in SlickVPN’s location menu. HYDRA will route your traffic through multiple servers to give you an additional layer of security at the cost of some speed.

Privacy — Stores Some User Data

After using SlickVPN and looking into its privacy policy, I found that it isn’t the best when it comes to privacy. The VPN has a no-logs policy in place, but the privacy policy states that it keeps some user data. It collects information like your email, username, password, Google analytics data, and cookies. Your browsing activity when using the VPN isn’t tracked, though.

SlickVPN is based in the US, so it’s within the jurisdiction of the 5, 9, and 14 eyes alliance. Also, the privacy policy says that it may be required to disclose your information to comply with local law. This means that you’re better off picking another VPN if you value privacy.

SlickVPN does have a warrant canary, though. This will let you know if they’re ever asked to reveal your data. It’s still active on their website, which means they haven’t had to share user data with any third party up until now.

There are other VPNs available that take privacy far more seriously. I advise getting ExpressVPN if privacy is critical for you because it has a strict no-logs policy. Plus, it’s based in the British Virgin Islands, which means it’s outside the 5, 9, and 14 eyes alliance’s jurisdiction.

Torrenting — You Can Use SlickVPN to Safely Download Torrents

SlickVPN’s claims to support P2P on its website, but I wanted to verify this myself. I reached out to its customer support to confirm this, and they assured me that this is correct.

I also successfully downloaded a torrent that’s available on the public domain and got fast speeds while doing so. The download speeds were a little slower than my base connection, but they rarely dropped any more than 10%–15%. In conclusion, SlickVPN’s servers fully support P2P, so you can use it to download torrents safely and anonymously.

Keep in mind that my team and I do not condone downloading copyrighted files. You should always check your country’s regulations on torrents before downloading them.

Does SlickVPN Work in China? Maybe

I couldn’t personally test SlickVPN in China because I live elsewhere. However, I contacted customer support to ask about this. I didn’t get a firm answer, but support said that some people can use it without issues. So, it may work in some cases.

I advise getting ExpressVPN if you’re traveling to China and need a reliable VPN to browse the free web. It’s been tested and proven to work in the country without issues. Keep in mind that it’s illegal to use VPNs that aren’t approved by the Chinese government. However, there are currently no cases of tourists being penalized for using a VPN during their stay. Rather, Chinese authorities technologically block such VPNs from working.

SlickVPN’s customer support is average because it only offers email support. There’s no live chat so you can’t get instant answers to your queries.

There aren’t any specific hours and the VPN’s support team has multiple people answering questions throughout the day. This increases your chances of getting a timely response when needed.

I emailed SlickVPN’s support multiple times to see how helpful they are and they answered my questions in a somewhat timely manner. Their fastest response was in 30 minutes and the slowest took 10 hours. The responses were helpful and most of them had just the information I was looking for.

I want to mention here that the support can be a bit inconsistent. I reached out to them for help regarding my issues with connecting multiple devices, but they wouldn’t even respond initially. I left 2 separate emails and got a generic reply after 4 days which didn’t really help.

There’s also a help and support section on SlickVPN’s website that has helpful information for newcomers to get started. Plus, there’s an FAQ page that you can consult for common questions and queries.