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

Speeds Were Disappointingly Slow

VPNBook does not compete in terms of speed, but it is fast enough to avoid connection lags or playback of streaming media. Although my speed tests showed below-average results, I was able to watch HD content without buffering issues and enjoy light browsing.

Speed Test Results

VPNBook’s speed test performance was well below average. I evaluated servers based in the US, Canada, Germany, and Poland — with the US server being the fastest.

My base speed in San Jose without a VPN connection was 92.44 Mbps for download speed, 560.50 Mbps for upload speed, and 1 ms ping. While connected to a VPNBook server located in the US, I experienced an alarming speed loss of 81%.

My speed dropped 82% on the Canadian server, which is the second closest server. On the Polish server, which was the furthest from my location, I experienced a significant performance drop of 90%. These slowdowns would not have allowed me to stream or even browse properly if my base speed was slower.

Server Network — Very Small Network Size

In comparison to other VPN services, VPNBook’s network is quite limited. At the moment, there are only 5 countries across the globe where servers are physically located. Included in this list are the United States, Canada, Germany, France, and Poland.

As a result of greater demand than the capacity of its servers, VPNBook frequently experiences delays. The service provider claims that it intelligently routes all internet network traffic via cloud-based IP content delivery networks (CDNs) to ensure lightning-fast download and upload times. Since I experienced slow speeds, I was left with the impression that this technology was ineffective.

Security — Solid With Zero IP, WebRTC, or DNS Leaks

Some of the fundamental features that one would anticipate from a VPN are missing from VPNBook. I ensure the security of your data through robust encryption and protocol options. However, it lacks advanced security functionalities such as a kill switch, split tunneling, or ad blocking features. Rest assured that your information remains protected, but additional advanced security measures are not available.

Security features of VPNBook include:

• OpenVPN and PPTP protocols – VPNBook supports OpenVPN and PPTP. OpenVPN is a popular and reliable VPN protocol, but it isn’t compatible with every device. The PPTP protocol, on the other hand, is not secure and should be avoided at all costs due to its antiquated encryption methods.
• Military-grade Encryption – If you select the OpenVPN protocol, you can select between 128-bit and 256-bit encryption in terms of security. However, VPNBook employs the much less secure AES-128 for PPTP connections.

It is important that your IP address, ISP, or DNS requests remain anonymous when using a VPN service. The tests that I ran with VPNBook showed that my data was safe, as there were no instances of DNS, IP, or WebRTC data leaking. VPNBook servers masked my activity and prevented prying eyes from gaining access to my data.

Even though VPNBook’s use of the OpenVPN GUI isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that it doesn’t have some extra security features that other VPN services do, such as a kill switch. Also, absent from VPNBook are the double VPN protection and automatic wi-fi protection features, both of which offer important security.

Privacy — Logs Some Data

VPNBook does not keep logs of its users’ activities, but its privacy policy does show that it stores information such as your IP address and connection timestamp. The collected data will also be kept for 7 days.

If the information is legitimately obtained and given to law enforcement, it might be sufficient to link you to any legal or illegal activities you may have engaged in. This means that VPNBook users are vulnerable to time correlation attacks, which can be carried out using information gleaned from the connection’s timestamp and IP address log.

There have even been court cases where VPNBook logs were used as evidence. This VPN has a bad reputation for being a scam and a tool for US authorities to track down and punish defaulters. Although this claim is unfounded, VPNBook will provide your IP address and the timestamp for the week it was stored if requested by law enforcement.

Thankfully, VPNBook’s headquarters are in Switzerland, a country that has no laws stipulating data retention and is not affiliated with the Five-Eye network. However, given that it is a free VPN service, you shouldn’t hold high expectations for its performance and security.

As opposed to VPNBook, ExpressVPN has all the bases covered when it comes to protecting your privacy. As it’s based in the British Virgin Islands, it enjoys greater anonymity and privacy protections than it would in the United States or Europe. Their privacy claims are backed up by regular third-party audits of their logging policy and encryption techniques.

Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.

Torrenting — Supported But Not Recommended

Torrenting is possible through VPNBook’s Polish and German servers, but the service isn’t recommended because of its slow speeds. Another major drawback is that VPNBook does not offer a kill switch, which means that if your VPN connection drops, your true IP address will be exposed.

It is against the terms of service to access any pirated content while using the VPNBook service. VPNBook records your IP address each time you connect, making it simpler to identify and prevent the illegal use of your IP address.

Despite being great for all-around use, ExpressVPN is particularly excellent for torrenting. it offers an effective and privacy-focused package with a confirmed zero-logs policy, consistently quick download speeds, and a comprehensive set of security features.

My team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting, so make sure you know what the laws are in your country before torrenting. You should also check that the torrents you intend to download are not protected by any copyright laws.

Does VPNBook Work in China? No!

VPNBook can’t bypass China’s Great Firewall because it doesn’t offer any obfuscation or stealth technology. On top of that, it does not have a kill switch and it logs sensitive data.

ExpressVPN is widely regarded as the most effective VPN service for China on account of its bulletproof encryption, lightning-fast connection speeds, and obfuscation technology. With its headquarters in the British Virgin Islands, a region well-known for upholding the confidentiality of its customers, this service stands out as a preferable alternative.

Although it is against the law to use a VPN that has not received government approval in China, there have been no reported instances of foreign visitors being punished. China typically opposes VPNs by technologically blocking them rather than by going after the people who use them.

It would be an understatement to say that VPNBook’s support options are lacking. The service only offers an FAQ page and an email ticket system for customer support. Aside from the FAQ section being devoid of any helpful information, the support team did not reply to any of my emails.

The company also has a Facebook and Twitter page, but no live chat feature or customer service blog. Right now, there are only guides for setting up PPTP and OpenVPN.