Astrill VPN Review: Quick Expert Summary
Astrill VPN has great security features, fast speeds, and easy-to-use native apps. It works with top streaming sites, provides good torrenting support, and allows unlimited simultaneous device connections.
Astrill VPN protects your data with industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch (only on desktop), a no-logs policy, and full leak protection. It also has:
- Split-tunneling.
- VPN sharing (only on desktop).
- Multi-hop.
- Port forwarding (only on desktop and routers).
- Ad blocker (only on desktop).
It has 300+ servers in 50+ countries, which means most users will be able to find a local server, though you may struggle if you’re based in Africa.
While Astrill VPN is a decent VPN, its paid plans are way too expensive, and there’s no money-back guarantee. Honestly, there are many VPNs that offer a better value out there, like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.
| 🏅 Overall Rank | #40 out of 98 VPNs |
| 🌍 Number of Servers | 300+ |
| 📱 Number of Devices | unlimited |
| 💸 Starting Price | $15.00 / month |
| 🎁 Free Plan | ❌ |
| 💰 Money-Back Guarantee | N/A |
Astrill VPN Full Review
I spent weeks researching and testing Astrill VPN to see how it compares to other top VPNs on the market.
Astrill VPN protects user data with industry-standard security features, and it’s a good VPN for securely browsing, streaming, and torrenting.
It also has intuitive native apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. And it offers extra features like split-tunneling, VPN sharing, multi-hop, and an ad blocker, although many of these extra features are only available on desktop.
Overall, Astrill VPN is secure, intuitive, and good for streaming and torrenting. However, it’s very expensive compared to other top VPNs that offer a better value.
Astrill VPN Features
Astrill VPN has the following industry-standard VPN security features:
- 256-bit AES encryption — Protects your data with bank-grade encryption.
- No-logs policy — Doesn’t collect data about the websites you visit or the files you download.
- Kill switch — If your connection to the VPN drops, the kill switch automatically disconnects you from the internet to prevent leaks. This is only available on desktop.
Astrill VPN uses OpenWeb, StealthVPN, OpenVPN, and Wireguard protocols. OpenWeb and StealthVPN are proprietary protocols developed by Astrill VPN – and they’re secure, fast, and designed to work in countries with heavy censorship. It’s nice to see Astrill VPN using Wireguard — it’s one of the fastest VPN protocols out there. Some top VPNs like TunnelBear and PrivateVPN don’t use Wireguard.
In addition to the kill switch, Astrill VPN’s Windows app includes a more advanced feature called App Guard. This lets you choose specific applications to block if you’re disconnected from the VPN.
Astrill VPN offers full protection against IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks, and it even has its own leak test tool on its website. I ran leak tests on servers in 10+ countries and was happy that there were no leaks.
Astrill VPN also has a wide range of extra features, including:
- Smart Mode — Tunnels international websites through the VPN, while local websites are routed through your regular Wi-Fi network.
- Website filter — Filters which websites go through the VPN connection and which don’t. However, you have to look up the IP address for every website you want to add to the list. This feature is only included on desktop and routers.
- Application filter — Filters which apps get routed through your VPN connection, and which don’t. This feature is only available for desktop and Android devices.
- VPN sharing — Enables you to share the VPN connection from your desktop device with other devices on the same network without installing the VPN to every device. You turn on VPN sharing on your desktop device and change the IP, gateway, and DNS settings on the device you want to share to. It’s a bit technical, but there are detailed instructions on Astrill VPN’s wiki. I’m not aware of any other VPN with this feature.
- Multi-hop VPN — Combines multiple servers to tunnel your connection through, adding an extra level of security. However, it’s only available to VIP users and costs extra.
- Port scan — Detects numbers of open ports to help reduce the risk of being hacked. This is a good tool, but you have to manually check the port, and there are more than 65,000 ports.
- Password leak test — Checks if a password you use has been leaked, but it doesn’t specify if the leaked password is linked to your account. This is nowhere near as useful as a full-featured password manager.
- Ad blocker — Blocks website advertisements.
Astrill VPN Privacy & Security
Astrill VPN has a questionable no-logs policy. It doesn’t collect information about the websites you visit or the files you download, but it does track information about active sessions. This information includes connection time, IP address, and device type. Astrill VPN states that this information is removed permanently when you disconnect from the VPN.
The privacy policy states that Astrill VPN collects your email address for account purposes and non-personal data (like the bandwidth used) to manage network resources.
I would like to see Astrill VPN conduct an independent audit of its no-logs policy, like ExpressVPN has done. This would prove it doesn’t store any logs and that active session data really is deleted when you disconnect.
That said, Astrill VPN is based in the Seychelles, which is outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances — a group of countries that share security data.
Overall, I’m not that happy with Astrill VPN’s no-logs policy. While it doesn’t log browsing traffic or file downloads, it does temporarily track IP addresses. I’d like to see Astrill VPN run an independent audit of its no-logs policy to ensure all “temporarily” collected data is fully removed once you disconnect.
Astrill VPN Speed & Performance
I ran speed tests on my Windows PC using the Wireguard protocol and tested servers in all 50+ countries where Astrill VPN has servers. I had the fastest speeds when connected to a local server, but I also maintained good speeds on distant servers. Websites loaded almost instantly and I never experienced buffering when streaming HD videos. Astrill VPN’s strong speeds put it on a par with top VPNs like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN.
First I ran a speed test without being connected to a VPN server to determine my baseline speeds:
Then I connected to a local VPN server (I’m in the US):
Here are my speeds connected to a distant server in Australia:
I was very impressed by these results — when connected to a local server, my speeds only dropped by about 3%, which is excellent. Websites loaded instantly and I was able to stream HD video with no delays. I also downloaded a 5 GB torrent file in just over 20 minutes.
Even when connected to a server on the other side of the world in Australia, my speeds only decreased by about 4%. My ping (the time it takes the request to reach the VPN server) was higher, though, and it sometimes took 1-2 seconds for HD videos to start.
Overall, Astrill VPN offers very fast speeds, even when connected to a distant server.
Astrill VPN Servers & IP Addresses
Astrill VPN has 300+ servers in 50+ countries. There are multiple servers in most regions, except for Africa, which only has one server (in Johannesburg). I’d recommend choosing a VPN with servers in all major regions – CyberGhost VPN has 9,400+ servers in 90+ countries, and ExpressVPN has 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries.
Astrill VPN has servers in many cities in popular regions like the US. Using a server in a specific city means you can connect to different parts of a region to watch local sports games, for example.
Dedicated IPs in specific cities and countries are also available for an extra monthly cost. These are IP addresses created just for you, so you don’t have to share with other users. Some services may lock or ban your account if they detect that it’s using multiple IPs.
Astrill VPN also offers VIP servers that are optimized for gaming. These cost extra, and bandwidth has to be bought in bundles. The VIP plan also includes priority traffic on all servers. This means that if the server you connect to is overloaded, as a VIP user your connection will take priority and you won’t experience slowdowns. It also includes access to multi-hop, but it gets really expensive if you use lots of data.
Astrill VPN allows P2P traffic on 200+ servers. These servers are clearly marked in the server list with a star, and I tested 10+ random ones to make sure they allowed torrenting. However, I’d recommend using a VPN that allows torrenting on all servers, like ExpressVPN or CyberGhost VPN.
Overall, Astrill VPN has 300+ servers in 50+ countries. It allows torrenting on the majority of its servers, and it offers dedicated IPs and VIP servers at an extra cost.
Astrill VPN Streaming & Torrenting
Astrill VPN is good for streaming. In my tests, I could connect to top streaming sites, but not with all servers. I switched servers more than 20 times to find a server that worked with each platform.
I had no problems accessing YouTube and less popular streaming sites like Peacock and Sony Crackle, regardless of which server I was connected to. However, my favorite VPN for streaming Netflix is ExpressVPN — all of its servers work with the top streaming apps, it has blazing-fast streaming speeds, and all of its apps are very easy to use.
Astrill VPN is also good for torrenting. The 200+ dedicated servers that allow P2P traffic are clearly marked on the server list. These servers also allow port forwarding, which can give you faster speeds by connecting to more peers. Astrill VPN works with top torrenting apps like BitTorrent, uTorrent, and Vuze.
While Astrill VPN is good for torrenting, there are better torrenting VPNs out there — ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and VyprVPN allow torrenting on all servers and have faster download speeds.
Overall, Astrill VPN is good for streaming and torrenting. It works with top streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, but it takes trial and error to find servers that work. It allows torrenting on 200+ servers.
Astrill VPN Plans & Pricing
Astrill VPN has 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month plans, as well as optional add-ons. Each plan allows unlimited simultaneous connections, which is around the industry average. Payment options include credit or debit cards, PayPal, Perfect Money, cryptocurrency, or bank transfer.
You can upgrade to get a dedicated IP, and a VIP upgrade allows prioritized traffic on all servers, meaning you won’t experience slowdowns if the server you’re connected to is overloaded. The VIP upgrade also includes multi-hop, which lets you route your connection through multiple servers for better security. However, these come at an extra charge for an already expensive VPN plan.
Starting at $15.00 / month, Astrill VPN’s paid plans are expensive, and other top VPNs like ExpressVPN, CyberGhost VPN, and Private Internet Access offer a better value. What’s more, Astrill VPN doesn’t offer any refunds.
Overall, Astrill VPN offers 3 plans and optional add-ons, but they’re pretty expensive and there’s no money-back guarantee.
Astrill VPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps
Astrill VPN has simple and easy-to-use apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Its mobile apps have a better design than its desktop apps, but the desktop apps are more feature-rich and include a website filter. The mobile apps have an application filter but no website filter, and the kill switch is also only available on desktop. However, Astrill VPN’s mobile apps do include multi-hop (with a VIP plan) and Smart Mode.
Overall, Astrill VPN has intuitive apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its desktop apps offer more features than the mobile versions, but the mobile apps are also pretty good.
Astrill VPN Customer Support
Astrill VPN offers 24/7 live chat, email support, video tutorials, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a wiki, which is a sort of digital encyclopedia.
The live chat and email representatives are incredibly knowledgeable. I submitted chat requests during the day and at night, and I was always connected to a rep within 3–5 minutes. I got clear answers to my questions and never had to chat for more than 10 minutes to get what I needed. Any time I sent an email to support, I got a response within 4–6 hours, which is pretty good.
Astrill VPN’s FAQ page covers various topics such as plans, supported devices, payments, and inviting friends to use the VPN. While the FAQs addressed most of my general questions, I occasionally needed to contact customer support for more detailed queries.
Astrill VPN’s video guides primarily concentrate on app features and connection protocols, while additional features like VPN sharing lack video guides. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, offers more comprehensive video guides, covering a broader range of topics and features.
Astrill VPN stands out with its informative and useful wiki — which I haven’t seen from any other VPN provider before. It covers installation instructions for various devices and details the features included in each version of the app. It’s a valuable resource for troubleshooting and understanding how the VPN functions.
Overall, Astrill VPN has good customer service. Most topics are covered between the FAQ page, video guides, and wiki, and live chat and email support are available 24/7.
Is Astrill VPN Worth the Cost in 2023?
Astrill VPN is a good VPN, but other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access offer a better value.
Astrill VPN protects user data with industry-standard security features like 256-bit AES encryption, full leak protection, a kill switch (only on desktop), and a no-logs policy. It also comes with extra features like Smart Mode, multi-hop, split-tunneling, and port forwarding.
It’s also pretty good for torrenting and streaming, and it maintains very fast speeds across both local and distant servers. What’s more, it has some of the best customer support I’ve seen in a VPN.
However, Astrill VPN is very expensive compared to other top VPNs, and it doesn’t have a money-back guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Astrill VPN keep user logs?
No, Astrill VPN’s no-logs policy states that it doesn’t keep logs of user data. As it’s based in the Seychelles, Astrill VPN is outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances, meaning it’s under no obligation to retain data or report it to any government entity.
While Astrill VPN doesn’t store records of your online traffic or the files you download, its privacy policy says information about active sessions (connection time, IP address, and device type) is retained while you’re using the VPN, but deleted when you disconnect. I’d like to see Astrill VPN complete an independent audit of its no-logs policy to prove this (like top competitors such as ExpressVPN).
Does Astrill VPN work with Netflix?
Yes, Astrill VPN works with Netflix, but not on every server. In my tests, I had to use trial and error to find a suitable server. If you want a VPN that works with Netflix on all servers, I recommend ExpressVPN.
Is Astrill VPN safe?
Yes, Astrill VPN is safe — it protects your data with industry-standard security features like 256-bit AES encryption, full leak protection, and a no-logs policy. Its desktop apps also include a kill switch to protect you from data leaks by disconnecting you from the internet if your connection drops.
Does Astrill VPN allow torrenting?
Yes, Astrill VPN has 200+ servers that allow P2P traffic. It has fast download speeds, works with top torrenting apps like BitTorrent and Vuze, and offers port forwarding to connect to more peers.
However, other VPNs like Private Internet Access and VyprVPN allow torrenting on all servers and have better security features.
