We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
Psiphon’s claims about free and fast services are entirely accurate. Immediately after we started our tests;our ping speed increased dramatically with just a slight drop in the upload and download speeds. Despite this, we were still able to stream live news, hit TV shows, and videos on favorite sites such as BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Dailymotion and Fox Go with hardly any interruptions.
On the other hand, we discovered that OperaVPN was slightly faster. It can even stream Hulu and Netflix. However, you'll be automatically redirected to Netflix Sweden every time, no matter where you’re connecting from. Opera's performance was also quite impressive once we switched to Android. Here, we could quickly access content on Facebook and other social media websites. With such versatile speeds, we feel it’s the more suitable VPN.
| VPN vendor |
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| Download speed reduction | 98% (UK) | 96% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 99% (FRA) | 87% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 54.88ms | 562ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 12ms | 26ms |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
Although Opera is not so evident in the number of servers it has on offer, we found 5 actual locations in places such as Canada, the US, Singapore, Germany, and the UK. As for Psiphon, you can enjoy services in 6 different server locations, for example, the US, UK, in Hong Kong, Singapore, Netherlands, and Japan.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 3000 | 20 |
| Server Countries | 30 | |
| IP Addresses | 5 | 1000 |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow.
Both of these VPNs come with a dedicated help and support system. They receive and answer customer queries through email or media inquiries, plus you can also find questions from different customers on their ‘FAQs’ section. However, it’s quite unfortunate that they lack a 24/7 live chat system to make sure you get fast or immediate answers to all your questions.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | Still waiting | 72 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
This VPN is doing the best it can to state ‘its claim’ in this competitive VPN industry. We discovered that it needs to keep performing well, for it to gain more acceptance and recognition from VPN users. Overall, the service has some of the most attractive features such as free iOS and Android Apps. Also, the service is widely known for providing fantastic browsing protection features.
However, many people feel that it’s more of a proxy server instead of a VPN. So, if you wish to bypass your internet censorship, then OperaVPN might be what you need. Furthermore, although Opera does not keep customer logs or data, it has recently acquired SurfEasy VPN, a Canadian based company which is part of the Five Eyes Alliance. So, if you want to transmit highly confidential information, continue using the OperaVPN at your own risk.
Unlike Opera, Psiphon is a prime VPN offering fantastic tunneling protocols. We found these three encryptions for reliable and decent connections:
When it comes to safeguarding your privacy, Psiphon compensates for its service expenses by gathering and collaborating on customer data with its trusted partners in the industry. This data encompasses details like visited websites, regional codes, timestamps, client platforms, and utilized protocols by diverse users. All in all, it’s a fantastic VPN which ensures that you get an outstanding browsing experience with one-touch accessibility whether you’re using Android or Windows.
