OysterVPN VPN Review 2024 — How Good Is It?

OysterVPN is a decent VPN. It comes with industry-standard security features, such as 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, a no-logs policy, and secure VPN protocols. It also works well with popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Max, and it allows torrenting on all of its servers.

That said, I have some issues with it. For example, its speeds aren’t that good, its server network is quite small, and it doesn’t work in restrictive countries. Also, it doesn’t have macOS and Linux apps, its apps are not the most intuitive and are quite buggy, and its customer support never responded to any of my emails.

OysterVPN offers monthly and yearly plans covering 5 devices. All of its plans include the same features, so you’ll get the best value by purchasing the longest plan. Its plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out for yourself risk-free.

TRY OYSTERVPN NOW

OysterVPN Full Review

I conducted extensive testing and research on OysterVPN to see how good it is compared to top VPNs on the market.

My conclusion is that OysterVPN is a solid VPN for basic online activities — it provides good speeds and strong security, it works with top streaming sites, and it also allows torrenting on its servers.

However, OysterVPN isn’t outstanding in any particular area. There are better and cheaper VPNs that are faster, come with more intuitive apps that work well, and provide overall better value.

OysterVPN Features

OysterVPN comes with industry-standard security features like:

• 256-bit AES encryption. Your data is protected by very strong encryption used by banks and militaries.
• No-logs policy. OysterVPN doesn’t log your IP address, browsing history, download history, used bandwidth, or connection timestamps.
• Kill switch. This feature blocks your internet connection if your VPN connection drops to prevent accidental data leaks.

The kill switch for OysterVPN is easy to toggle on and off and works as intended. However, there are other VPNs with better kill switches. For example, NordVPN and PrivateVPN both allow you to choose which specific apps you want to shut down in case your VPN connection drops.

OysterVPN offers 4 VPN protocols: IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and OpenVPN. I like that it offers IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN, which are both fast and secure protocols. That said, I’d like to see OysterVPN offer the WireGuard protocol because it’s very secure and much faster than OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec.

I also think it’s great that OysterVPN uses perfect forward secrecy. This feature frequently changes the encryption key used to secure your data. That way, even if a hacker obtained one of your keys, they’d only gain access to a tiny amount of data, and any past or future data would remain secure.

Plus, the VPN also protects against DNS and WebRTC leaks. I tested its leak protection on servers in 10+ countries, and never experienced any leaks. But I’d still like to see it add IPv6 leak protection, which a lot of top VPNs offer.

OysterVPN also has a few extra features, including split-tunneling and an ad and malware blocker.

Split-Tunneling

OysterVPN’s split-tunneling lets you pick apps or sites to include/exclude from the VPN. The feature is available on Android and Windows, which is good — though other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access also have split-tunneling on macOS.

Its Windows apps let you split-tunnel both apps and websites, but its Android app only has app-based split-tunneling. This is still better than most other providers though, which only have app-based split-tunneling across all platforms.

I tested the split-tunneling feature, and it works really well — I used it to only send P2P traffic through the VPN app, and that increased my download speeds by about 10%.

Overall, I like OysterVPN’s split-tunneling tool — it’s available on its Android and Windows apps, can split-tunnel both apps and websites on Windows, and it worked well during my tests.

Ad & Malware Blocker

OysterVPN has an ad and malware blocker that’s available on all platforms, and it works automatically whenever you’re connected to a VPN server.

The feature performed decently in my tests. I visited some ad-heavy social media pages and media outlets to test it, and it was able to get rid of some ads, but not all of them — it was more successful at preventing me from accessing known malicious sites.

I think there are better VPNs with ad and malware blockers out there. Private Internet Access has MACE, which is my favorite ad, tracker, and malware blocker in 2024 — it’s able to block 100% of ads and all malicious links. I also like NordVPN’s ad blocker since it can also protect you from malware-infected downloads.

Overall, OysterVPN’s ad and malware blocker is pretty good, but it’s not the best out there. It’s great at protecting you from malicious sites, but it can only get rid of some ads.

OysterVPN Privacy & Security

OysterVPN has a strict no-logs policy. It only collects your email address, which it needs to create your account and for communication purposes. It doesn’t log your IP address, browsing, used bandwidth, or connection timestamps. This is really good — it’s on par with the type of privacy that top providers offer.

However, I’d like to see its no-logs policy undergo an independent audit. Top competitors like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access have had their no-logs policies verified by third-party cybersecurity experts.

OysterVPN is headquartered in Ireland, which isn’t part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (countries that share surveillance data). However, Ireland does have mandatory data retention laws — I’d feel less concerned about this if the provider’s no-logs policy would be audited.

Overall, OysterVPN’s no-logs policy is pretty solid, but it’s never been independently audited. Also, the VPN is headquartered in Ireland, which has mandatory data retention laws.

OysterVPN Speed & Performance

I ran speed tests on all 22+ countries where OysterVPN has servers. Based on my results, I can safely say the VPN has only decent speeds on nearby and distant servers.

To test its speeds, I first ran a test without being connected to the VPN to get a baseline for my speeds:

Next, I connected to a nearby VPN server in Hong Kong. I experienced a tremendous loss in download speeds, and websites and videos took 1–2 seconds to load. However, I didn’t experience any buffering when I skipped through HD videos.

I then connected to a distant server in the US. Websites and videos took 2–3 seconds to load, and I experienced less than a second of buffering each time I skipped through an HD video.

Overall, OysterVPN’s speeds are decent on both nearby servers and distant servers. But it can’t really compare to the fastest VPNs in 2024. ExpressVPN, for example, loads websites and videos instantly even on distant servers.

OysterVPN Servers & IP Addresses

OysterVPN has 187+ servers in 22+ countries. This is a relatively small server network compared to top VPN providers — for example, ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, and Private Internet Access has servers in 91 countries. The majority of OysterVPN’s servers are located in North America and Europe, and it has acceptable coverage in East Asia. But it only has 1 server location in Africa and the Middle East.

The provider also has dedicated streaming servers but only in the US and the UK. For comparison, CyberGhost VPN has dedicated streaming servers in 20+ countries, so you get much better variety.

Additionally, it supports P2P file sharing on all of its servers. This is pretty good, but it’s still a shame that the overall P2P server network is pretty small.

Overall, OysterVPN’s server network is pretty basic. All servers allow P2P traffic, but the overall server network is pretty small — also, there are streaming servers but only in 2 countries.

OysterVPN Streaming & Torrenting

OysterVPN is a good VPN for streaming — it works with Netflix, Disney+, Max, BBC iPlayer (confirmed by my UK colleagues), and 15+ other streaming services, but it doesn’t support Amazon Prime.

If you need a VPN for Amazon Prime, I recommend ExpressVPN — it’s the best VPN for streaming movies and TV shows since, in addition to Amazon Prime, it also works with 100+ other streaming apps.

OysterVPN allows torrenting on all servers and works with all popular torrenting clients, like qBitorrent, Bittorrent, and Vuze. It also has a kill switch and DNS and WebRTC leak protection so you can safely share P2P files.

But there are better VPNs for torrenting out there, as OysterVPN has a really small server network and lacks extra P2P features. Private Internet Access, for example, has P2P servers in 90+ countries, supports port forwarding (lets you connect to more peers for faster speeds), and provides SOCKS5 proxy support, which allows you to change your IP address and gives you faster download speeds since it doesn’t encrypt your traffic.

Overall, OysterVPN is good for streaming and torrenting — it works with a lot of major streaming services and allows P2P traffic on all of its servers.

OysterVPN Bypassing Censorship

OysterVPN doesn’t have obfuscation and it doesn’t work in restrictive countries like China, Iran, and Russia. If you need a VPN in a country that restricts internet access, I recommend ExpressVPN — it’s the best VPN for bypassing censorship and has excellent security and privacy features.

OysterVPN Plans & Pricing

OysterVPN has monthly and yearly plans, both of which allow 5 device connections. If you need a VPN that covers more devices, I recommend getting Private Internet Access or Surfshark instead — both providers allow unlimited connections.

The yearly plan is the best deal and costs $4.17 / month. That said, I honestly think there are much better VPNs out there that have more affordable plans and provide better value, like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.

The provider only accepts credit/debit cards, which I think is a shame since other top VPNs also accept PayPal and cryptocurrencies.

All of OysterVPN’s plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it out risk-free.

OysterVPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps

OysterVPN has apps for Android, iOS, and Windows, but it doesn’t have apps for macOS or Linux. ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access both have excellent macOS and Linux apps.

Downloading and installing OysterVPN is quick and easy, however, it took almost half a day for OysterVPN to recognize that I had purchased a subscription — every time I tried to connect to a server before that, it told me that I didn’t have one! This is really bad. All good VPNs work immediately upon purchase.

Android & iOS

OysterVPN’s mobile apps are simple-to-use but have a few bugs. For example, the back button on its Shortcuts feature tab doesn’t work. And when I tap View Subscription or Manage Subscriptions on the account tab, I’m greeted with an advertisement telling me to subscribe to OysterVPN — so there’s no actual way to view or manage my subscription within the app.

But I do like how the apps have a nice server selection menu, which uses Smart Location to recommend the fastest server for you, shows your recently connected servers, and allows you to favorite servers for quicker access.

Both mobile apps come with the ad blocker, but only the Android app provides access to split-tunneling. Though, that’s not a huge drawback since most VPNs don’t have split-tunneling on iOS (TunnelBear is the only exception I know of).

Overall, I think OysterVPN’s mobile apps could use a bit more testing and polish to iron out the bugs and make them more user-friendly.

Windows (Desktop)

OysterVPN’s Windows app is similar to its mobile apps, but I like that it adds a search bar, so that you can find the server you’re looking for more quickly. And in addition to apps, it also lets you split-tunnel websites.

But I ran into some pretty annoying bugs on the Windows app. I found it very frustrating that the app is very particular about where you click when you’re selecting a server to connect to — you have to click on the left side, near the flag icon, for it to actually select that server location. Sometimes, clicking anywhere else on the bar simply doesn’t work. Additionally, the favorites button doesn’t work, and neither does the button that’s supposed to take you to its Privacy & Security Tools.

Overall, I found OysterVPN’s Windows app a little frustrating to use. There are much better Windows VPNs out there.

OysterVPN Apps: Is OysterVPN Easy to Use?

OysterVPN has simple apps for Android, iOS, and Windows. Its mobile and desktop apps are both very simple but could be more user-friendly. All of its apps also have some annoying bugs.

The Android and Windows apps are the most feature-rich, but they’re also pretty buggy, which makes them a little difficult to use. The iOS app is also decent, but it’s missing split-tunneling.

OysterVPN Customer Support

OysterVPN has a support library on its website that provides access to many frequently asked questions (FAQs), troubleshooting guides, and setup tutorials.

Most of the support articles are decent, and I like that it has a search function, but I would have liked to see more images and/or video guides, like ExpressVPN has.

I tested the 24/7 live chat support a couple of times throughout the week, and I was always connected to an agent in less than 2 minutes. The agents I chatted with answered most of my questions and did a good job explaining some of the details that were missing on the site and apps.

However, the email support is not that good. I sent multiple emails, and I only received one response back that didn’t answer all of my questions. Top competitors like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have much better email support.

Overall, OysterVPN’s customer support is ok. It has a good support library and pretty good live chat support, but its email support is not helpful at all.

Is OysterVPN a Good Pick in 2024?

OysterVPN is a decent and secure VPN. It comes with industry-standard security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy, and a kill switch, and offers secure VPN protocols like OpenVPN. It also has decent support for streaming and torrenting — it works with Netflix, Disney+, and Max, and allows torrenting on all of its servers.

But there are a few things that OysterVPN could improve. Its speeds are not that fast, its server network is pretty small, and it doesn’t work in restrictive countries like China. Also, it lacks an app for macOS and Linux, its other apps are pretty buggy, and its email support is not responsive.

OysterVPN has monthly and yearly plans for 5 devices, and all purchases are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does OysterVPN have a free plan?

No, it doesn’t have a free plan or a free trial, but it has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which you can use to test the product risk-free. I don’t really recommend using a free VPN anyway, since they’re often slow, don’t work with streaming sites, and/or have annoying restrictions on how much data you can use and what servers you can access.

Does OysterVPN work with Netflix?

Yes, it works with Netflix and 15+ other streaming services, including Disney+, Max, and BBC iPlayer. But it doesn’t work with Amazon Prime. To be honest, I think there are better VPNs for streaming — for example, ExpressVPN works with 100+ streaming services (including Amazon Prime).

Does OysterVPN support torrenting?

Yes, it allows torrenting on all of its servers. It also works with popular torrenting clients like qBitorrent, Transmission, and Vuze. But I think Private Internet Access is a better VPN for torrenting — it allows torrenting on servers in more countries (91 countries compared to OysterVPN’s 22+ countries) and comes with port forwarding and SOCKS5 proxy support.

Is OysterVPN safe?

Yes, OysterVPN has strong privacy and security features. It uses 256-bit AES encryption, has a strict no-logs policy, comes with a kill switch, and provides access to secure VPN protocols like IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN. Additionally, it has advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy. That said, it’s still missing RAM-only servers and its no-logs policy hasn’t been independently audited. ExpressVPN has all of the security features OysterVPN has and more.