PrivadoVPN 2023 Review: Is It Secure & Easy to Use?

PrivadoVPN is secure, fast, easy to use, and good for torrenting, but it’s honestly just an average VPN — all of the VPNs on our list of the top 10 VPNs for 2023 offer a much better value.

PrivadoVPN has industry-standard VPN security features, including 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy. It also comes with IPv6 and DNS leak protection and allows up to 10 connections, which makes PrivadoVPN a good option for people with a lot of devices or large households.

While there are a lot of things I like about PrivadoVPN, it has many areas that need improvement — for example, PrivadoVPN is missing advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, it doesn’t have any extra features like split-tunneling and an ad blocker, and it doesn’t work with a lot of streaming sites (including Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Go). Also, it takes 40+ seconds to connect to some PrivadoVPN servers (but the servers do work fine once you finally connect), and it lacks troubleshooting guides and some setup tutorials.

PrivadoVPN has a decent free plan and paid monthly and yearly plans, and its yearly plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

PrivadoVPN Full Review

I spent a few weeks testing and researching PrivadoVPN to see how it compares to other top VPNs on the market. Despite a few issues, I can safely say it’s a pretty good torrenting VPN.

PrivadoVPN allows P2P traffic on all 400+ of its servers, works with popular torrenting apps like qBittorrent and Vuze, and has fast download speeds. It also comes with SOCKS5 proxy servers, which provide faster torrenting speeds than a regular VPN connection. In addition, PrivadoVPN keeps your torrenting secure and private with a kill switch, bank-grade encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and strong leak protection.

But PrivadoVPN isn’t good for streaming, it lacks extra features like split-tunneling and a built-in speed, and it’s missing advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy.

Overall, Privado is a good and secure VPN for basic online activities like browsing and sharing files, but it doesn’t have a lot of things that I expect from a top-rated VPN.

PrivadoVPN Features

PrivadoVPN has the following industry-standard VPN security features:

• 256-bit AES encryption. PrivadoVPN uses the same encryption as banks and militaries to protect your data.
• No-logs policy. PrivadoVPN doesn’t log your IP address and internet traffic (the sites you visit and the files you download).
• Kill switch. This feature disables your internet access if you’re not connected to PrivadoVPN to protect you from accidental traffic leaks. But top brands like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have kill switches that are only triggered when your VPN connection drops, which is more flexible and convenient — you can still go online without connecting to the VPN.

PrivadoVPN supports OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec protocols. They’re both secure and fast, but IKEv2/IPSec is faster than OpenVPN. Still, I wish PrivadoVPN supported WireGuard like Private Internet Access and ProtonVPN — WireGuard is much faster than OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec.

PrivadoVPN provides DNS and IPv6 leak protection, but it lacks WebRTC leak protection. I ran tests on servers in 10+ countries and never saw any leaks. I still recommend manually disabling WebRTC to make sure you’re 100% safe. Other top VPNs (like ExpressVPN) handle everything in the background for you by providing full protection against all leaks.

Overall, PrivadoVPN is missing WireGuard and WebRTC leak protection, but it still provides good leak protection and comes with essential VPN security features.

PrivadoVPN Privacy & Security

PrivadoVPN has a strict no-logs policy — it doesn’t log your IP address and traffic (the sites you visit and the files you download). It only logs your email address (for account creation and communication) and bandwidth usage (to limit data usage for free users).

But PrivadoVPN hasn’t undergone an independent audit to verify its no-logs policy like ExpressVPN and TunnelBear. Also, PrivadoVPN doesn’t release regular transparency reports (like CyberGhost VPN, ProtonVPN, and TunnelBear), which disclose how many requests for user data a VPN received and prove that it didn’t hand over any information. I really wish PrivadoVPN conducts an audit or releases a transparency report in the future to be more aligned with other top VPNs in terms of privacy.

PrivadoVPN is headquartered in Switzerland, a privacy-friendly country outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of countries that share surveillance data with each other).

Overall, PrivadoVPN has a clear no-logs policy (but it’s not audited) and is located in a country that has strong privacy laws.

PrivadoVPN Speed & Performance

I ran multiple speed tests on my Windows 10 PC in all 40+ countries where PrivadoVPN has a server to determine my average VPN speeds. I had the fastest speeds while connected to a server in my country (Romania), but I also maintained fast speeds on distant servers in Israel, the US, Canada, Thailand, and even Japan.

However, it always took me at least 40+ seconds (and sometimes even up to a full minute) to connect to a server — even local servers. This is unacceptable since all of the top VPNs (including ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access) connect you to a server in less than 10 seconds.

First, I ran a speed test without being connected to the VPN to get a baseline of my internet service provider (ISP) speeds:

Next, I used PrivadoVPN’s quick-connect feature (Best location), which automatically connected me to the fastest VPN server for my location (a local server in Romania). Here are my speeds:

Finally, I tested a long-distance server in the US. Here are my speeds:

Overall, when I tested a local server, I experienced an 82% slowdown, which normally isn’t good — but Romania has very fast internet speeds so the slowdown didn’t affect my online activities. Most websites loaded in 2–3 seconds, and 4K videos loaded in 2–3 seconds and didn’t buffer when I skipped through them.

When I tested a distant server in the US, my speeds decreased by about 93%, but I still had fast speeds — HD videos on Amazon Prime loaded in less than 5 seconds and didn’t buffer, my Voice over IP (VoIP) calls never dropped, and I had fast torrenting speeds (I downloaded an 11 GB file in 10–15 minutes, which is really good).

PrivadoVPN Servers & IP Addresses

PrivadoVPN has 400+ servers in 40+ countries. PrivadoVPN has many servers in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia, but there are very few servers in South America and the Middle East, and there are no servers in Africa. Other top VPNs have bigger networks with servers in most regions of the world — ExpressVPN has 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries and ProtonVPN has 2,900+ servers in 60+ countries.

I really like that PrivadoVPN displays the server latency (how long it takes an internet signal to travel from your device to the VPN server) to help you identify fast servers (VyprVPN and Private Internet Access also display this cool metric). PrivadoVPN also uses a color-coding system to help you quickly identify the servers with the lowest latency (green = good and red = bad). In my tests, PrivadoVPN’s latency was accurate — I always had faster speeds when I used servers marked with green-colored latency.

Like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access, PrivadoVPN allows torrenting on all servers — some top VPNs only let you torrent on dedicated servers (for example, HMA VPN has P2P servers in 6 countries), so you might not always find a nearby server to get fast downloads.

Overall, PrivadoVPN has a smaller server network than other top VPNs, but users in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia should have an easy time finding a nearby server to get fast speeds. Also, PrivadoVPN uses a color-coded system that helps you identify servers with the lowest latency, and it allows torrenting on all servers.

PrivadoVPN Streaming & Torrenting

PrivadoVPN is not ideal for streaming — it works with Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer, but it doesn’t work with Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Go. My colleague in the US also tested PrivadoVPN with less-popular streaming sites, and he reported that PrivadoVPN is able to access VRV, Crunchyroll, and Sony Crackle.

If you want a VPN that consistently works with Netflix and all of the other popular streaming services, I recommend ExpressVPN, which claims to work with 65+ streaming sites and has some of the fastest speeds out there.

But PrivadoVPN is good for torrenting. All servers allow P2P traffic and it works with top torrenting apps (like qBittorrent and uTorrent).

I also like that PrivadoVPN has SOCKS5 servers in 30+ countries — SOCKS5 servers hide your IP address just like a VPN, but they don’t use encryption (which makes your data heavier and causes slowdowns), so SOCKS5 servers provide faster speeds. In my tests, my speeds were 40% faster when I used SOCKS5 servers. Plus, I like how easy it is to set up and use PrivadoVPN’s SOCKS5 servers (you use a dropdown menu in the account dashboard to get the server login information, and there are helpful tutorials for most P2P apps). Still, other VPNs like PrivateVPN and IPVanish have SOCKS5 servers in more countries, so it’s easier to find nearby servers to get faster downloads.

That said, I think other top VPNs provide better torrenting support — for example, ExpressVPN allows torrenting on 3,000+ servers and has very fast P2P speeds, and Private Internet Access supports P2P traffic on all server and allows port forwarding, which connects you to more peers for faster download speeds.

Overall, PrivadoVPN works with top sites like Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer, but it can’t access Netflix, HBO Go, and Disney+. It allows P2P traffic on all servers, works with popular torrenting apps, and also has SOCKS5 servers.

PrivadoVPN Plans & Pricing

PrivadoVPN has a free plan and paid monthly and yearly plans.

The free plan is pretty good — it’s ad-free and comes with a no-logs policy, access to servers in 8 countries (the UK, the US, Argentina, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, and France), and P2P support. But it doesn’t have streaming support, it lets you use the VPN on 1 device, and it limits you to 10 GB of data per month, which is still pretty good for browsing or downloading small torrents (1–2 GB files or smaller). I think there are better free VPNs out there — ProtonVPN is my favorite one because it has unlimited data and high-end security features.

PrivadoVPN offers very competitive monthly and yearly plans, with prices that start as low as $1.99 / month. The paid plans add unlimited data, 10 simultaneous connections (the industry average is 5–7 connections), servers in 40+ countries, streaming support, and access to SOCKS5 proxies.

However, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, and CyberGhost VPN all provide better value — they all have advanced security features, maintain faster speeds, and work with more streaming sites.

PrivadoVPN accepts credit cards and PayPal but doesn’t accept cryptocurrencies, which offer more privacy. PrivadoVPN backs its yearly plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

PrivadoVPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps

PrivadoVPN has apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Android TV, and Fire TV, but it’s missing a Linux app (ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have good Linux apps). The installation process is very simple — I installed PrivadoVPN on my Android, iPhone, MacBook Pro, and Windows 10 PC in 1–2 minutes.

I like the mobile apps because they’re very intuitive. PrivadoVPN’s iOS and Android apps have 1-click connections and it’s easy to manually connect to a server. But the mobile apps are missing a search field, so you have to scroll through the list of server servers to find the one you want. Also, I don’t like that the mobile apps lack a kill switch — most top VPNs like PrivateVPN and TunnelBear have a kill switch on Android, and a few VPNs (like Private Internet Access) even have a kill switch on iOS.

Like the mobile apps, PrivadoVPN’s desktop apps are user-friendly. It’s really easy to connect to a server because there’s a quick-connect feature, search field, and you can also sort the servers by latency. Also, there are convenient auto-connect options that allow you to automatically connect to the fastest VPN server using Best location, connect to the last server you used, or connect to a random server when you open the app.

Overall, PrivadoVPN’s desktop apps are better than its mobile apps because they have a kill switch and more connection options. But I like that all apps have an intuitive design and are easy to use.

PrivadoVPN Customer Support

PrivadoVPN provides a good range of customer support options — there are thorough FAQs, 24/7 live chat, and email support. One downside is the absence of setup and troubleshooting guides for certain apps, but that said the existing support channels are sufficient to deal with most issues and concerns.

PrivadoVPN’s FAQs are informative and easy to understand. In most instances, these FAQs were enough to address my questions, eliminating the need to reach out to the support team.

When I used PrivadoVPN’s live chat, I was typically connected to a rep within 10 seconds, and they consistently provided quick and useful responses.

I also tested PrivadoVPN’s email support. On average, I received a reply in 3-4 hours, which is good, but the answers were sometimes vague and I had to follow up with more questions. Other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access have better email support — their reps always fully answered my questions.

But I don’t like that PrivadoVPN is missing troubleshooting guides and setup tutorials for some platforms — it only has tutorials for the Android and smart TV apps and manual setups for iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and routers. Top VPNs like ExpressVPN have more detailed support libraries that include troubleshooting guides for connectivity and streaming issues, as well as setup tutorials for all platforms, including video guides.

Overall, PrivadoVPN’s email support needs improvement and it’s missing troubleshooting guides, but I like that it has very good 24/7 live chat and helpful FAQs.

Is PrivadoVPN Secure & Easy to Use in 2023?

PrivadoVPN has good security features, fast speeds, user-friendly apps, and provides good torrenting support, but it’s a basic VPN and there are better options available on the market in 2023.

PrivadoVPN secures your data with industry-standard security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy, and a kill switch. It also provides IPv6 and DNS leak protection, and it supports up to 10 devices.

However, PrivadoVPN doesn’t have advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers, it’s missing extra features like split-tunneling, and it doesn’t work with Netflix, Disney+, and HBO. Plus, it takes 40+ seconds to connect to a VPN server (but at least the servers work well once you connect to one), and I’d like to see more troubleshooting guides and setup tutorials for a lot of its apps.

PrivadoVPN has a decent free plan and paid monthly and yearly plans, and the yearly plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PrivadoVPN safe?

Yes, PrivadoVPN comes with industry-standard VPN security features (256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy), and it also provides IPv6 and DNS leak protection.

However, PrivadoVPN is missing advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy, its no-logs policy hasn’t been audited, and it also lacks extra security features like split-tunneling.

If you’re looking for an extremely safe VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN — in addition to essential VPN security features, its no-logs policy has been independently audited and confirmed, it includes WebRTC leak protection, and it has advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers.

Does PrivadoVPN work with Netflix?

No, PrivadoVPN can’t access Netflix or other top streaming sites like HBO Go and Disney+. But it works with BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime, as well as with smaller sites like VRV and Crunchyroll.

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Netflix and other streaming services — it works with 65+ streaming apps and maintains blazing-fast speeds across all servers.

Is PrivadoVPN free?

Yes, PrivadoVPN has a decent free plan. The free plan is ad-free, secure, fast, and supports P2P traffic in 8 countries, including the UK, the US, and Switzerland. But it limits you to 1 device and 10 GB of data per month, which is enough for some browsing and downloading small torrents (1–2 GB files or smaller).

Honestly, there are better free VPNs out there — for example, ProtonVPN’s free plan comes with unlimited data and high-end security features.

That being said, it’s better to purchase one of PrivadoVPN’s paid plans, which come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. But if you’re looking for an even better value, check out our list of the top VPNs in 2023 to see which one is the best for you.

Is PrivadoVPN good for torrenting?

Yes, PrivadoVPN supports P2P traffic on all 400+ servers, works with popular torrenting apps, and has fast downloads. It also has SOCKS5 proxy servers (which provide faster downloads than a VPN connection) in 30+ countries. And it includes great security features, including 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy, a kill switch, and DNS and IPv6 leak protection.

Still, I think there are better torrenting VPNs out there — for example, ExpressVPN has much faster download speeds, and Private Internet Access has port forwarding, a feature that lets you connect to more peers to get faster speeds.