VPNTunnel VPN Review 2023 — Is It Worth the Money?

VPNTunnel is a bad VPN service, which I strongly recommend avoiding — there are much better options on the market in 2023 like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.

While VPNTunnel has 256-bit AES encryption and a kill switch, it doesn’t have a strict no-logs policy and it may collect your IP address on non-Swedish servers. What’s more, I experienced DNS leaks while using the L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols.

Plus, there are plenty of other things I don’t like about this VPN — it doesn’t work with top streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime, it has big slowdowns across all servers, it has a very small server network, and it’s missing extra features like split-tunneling and advanced features such as RAM-only servers. Also, VPNTunnel only has iOS and Windows apps (which are very bare-bones), and its email support and ticketing system are unresponsive and unhelpful.

VPNTunnel allows 5 simultaneous connections and comes with paid monthly and yearly plans. It only backs purchases with a measly 7-day money-back guarantee.

VPNTunnel Full Review

I spent a few weeks testing VPNTunnel to see how it compares to other top VPNs on the market. Overall, it’s not a good VPN, and I think you’re much better off picking a top VPN like ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access.

If you do purchase VPNTunnel, I recommend only using it for basic web browsing and only with the OpenVPN protocol (VPNTunnel leaks DNS data over L2TP/IPSec and PPTP).

I also don’t like how VPNTunnel provides very slow speeds on all of its servers, and how it can’t access Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. I also don’t think it’s a good option for torrenting since it only has P2P servers in 20+ countries (so it’s hard to use a nearby server for fast downloads). Plus, VPNTunnel only has iOS and Windows, and both are poorly designed.

VPNTunnel Features

VPNTunnel has the following industry-standard VPN security features:

• 256-bit AES encryption — VPNTunnel says it secures your data with bank-grade encryption.
• No-logs policy — VPNTunnel doesn’t collect your online traffic (sites you visit and files downloaded) and IP address, but this claim only applies to its Swedish servers. On servers in other countries, VPNTunnel doesn’t make it clear if it logs users’s IP addresses.
• Kill switch — This feature disables your internet access if the VPN connection drops to prevent traffic leaks. But VPNTunnel’s kill switch is poorly designed because it doesn’t allow the VPN app to automatically reconnect to the VPN server (instead, you have to manually reconnect to the server, which is inconvenient).

In addition to a standard kill switch, VPNTunnel also has an app-based kill switch that allows you to choose which apps can’t access the web if the VPN disconnects (PrivateVPN offers a similar kill switch).

VPNTunnel comes with the following protocols: PPTP (I recommend avoiding it because it’s not secure), L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2/IPSec, and OpenVPN. I wish VPNTunnel would provide support for WireGuard (like other top VPNs such as Private Internet Access and ProtonVPN) because it’s just as safe as OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec, but much faster.

VPNTunnel says it provides IPv6 leak protection but doesn’t mention if it has DNS or WebRTC leak protection. Customer support didn’t reply to my email question about this so I ran leak tests on servers in 10+ countries to see if VPNTunnel prevents traffic leaks — while IPv6 and WebRTC passed without any issues, my DNS traffic got leaked (meaning my internet service provider could see my browsing traffic).

VPNTunnel leaked my DNS data when I used L2TP/IPSec and PPTP, but I didn’t experience DNS leaks with OpenVPN. That said, a good VPN should never leak your data, no matter what protocol you use. Top providers like ExpressVPN provide full leak protection across all their protocols.

VPNTunnel is missing extra security features like split-tunneling (lets you pick which apps use your local network and which apps use the VPN) and doesn’t say if it provides advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy — again, customer service failed to respond to my email for confirmation.

VPNTunnel Privacy & Security

VPNTunnel’s no-logs policy is extremely complicated — it says it doesn’t log what sites you visit, what files you download, your IP address, or your bandwidth usage and connection timestamps on its Swedish servers. For servers in all of the other countries, VPNTunnel’s privacy policy says the provider doesn’t keep online traffic logs but doesn’t say if the VPN collects your IP address (which reveals your location), bandwidth usage, and connection timestamps. When I reached out to customer support to get clarification, I never got a response.

I’d like to see VPNTunnel conduct an independent audit of its no-logs policy, which would clear up this confusion and provide greater transparency.

VPNTunnel is headquartered in Seychelles, which is outside the jurisdiction of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of countries that share surveillance data with each other). But I don’t like how it says it will share data logs from non-Swedish servers with third parties if it’s legally required.

Overall, VPNTunnel has one of the most complicated no-logs policies I have ever seen. Top providers like ExpressVPN and ProtonVPN have strict and much easier-to-understand no-logs policies — and they’ve both also passed independent audits.

VPNTunnel Speed & Performance

I ran speed tests on my Windows 10 PC while connected to a server in all 25+ countries where VPNTunnel has a server to determine my average VPN speeds.

First, I started my tests by running a speed test without being connected to VPNTunnel to get a baseline for my local network’s speeds:

VPNTunnel has a quick-connect feature, but it doesn’t work. Instead of connecting you to the fastest server for your location, it connects you to random servers that don’t provide you with the fastest speeds. So I manually connected to a nearby server in the Czech Republic instead (VPNTunnel doesn’t have a server in Romania, my country) — here are my speeds:

Next, I connected to a distant server in the US:

I was not impressed with VPNTunnel’s speeds. Even on nearby servers in the Czech Republic, I experienced pretty big slowdowns — sites loaded instantly, but HD videos took 4–5 seconds to load and 4K videos loaded in 6–7 seconds and there was noticeable buffering (5–6 seconds) when I skipped through them.

On distant servers in the US, the slowdown was even more noticeable — websites took 3–4 seconds to load, HD videos loaded in 5 seconds and there was minor buffering when I skipped through the videos, and 4K videos took 8–10 seconds to load and I experienced random quality drops.

I used OpenVPN in my speed tests — L2TP/IPSec speeds were around 60–80% faster than my OpenVPN speeds, but I can’t recommend using this protocol with VPNTunnel because it leaks DNS data.

Overall, VPNTunnel causes very noticeable slowdowns on both nearby and distant servers. Top providers like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provide significantly faster speeds across all servers.

VPNTunnel Servers & IP Addresses

VPNTunnel has 150+ in 25+ countries, which pales in comparison to top providers like ExpressVPN (3,000+ in 90+ countries) and ProtonVPN (1,900+ servers in 60+ countries). While VPNTunnel has servers in most parts of the world, its small server count means you’re likely to deal with overcrowded servers, which will cause big slowdowns.

VPNTunnel allows torrenting on servers in 20+ countries, so it might be difficult to find and connect to a nearby server to get fast downloads. Most top VPNs provide much better P2P support, including torrenting on servers in more countries.

VPNTunnel has dedicated streaming servers for BBC iPlayer and Netflix in the US — my colleague in the UK confirmed that the BBC iPlayer servers work, but my colleague in the US said the Netflix servers never worked for him. If you want a VPN with dedicated streaming servers, I recommend CyberGhost VPN since it has servers in 10+ countries that work with 50+ streaming services (including Netflix and BBC iPlayer).

Overall, VPNTunnel allows torrenting on most servers, but its server network is too small compared to other top providers. It also has dedicated streaming servers for BBC iPlayer and Netflix, but the Netflix servers don’t work.

VPNTunnel Streaming & Torrenting

VPNTunnel is pretty bad for streaming — while it works with HBO Max and BBC iPlayer, it can’t access Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+.

If you’re looking for a really good streaming VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN — it consistently works with Netflix and can also access 65+ other streaming apps.

And I don’t recommend VPNTunnel for torrenting either — it only allows torrenting on servers in 20+ countries (so it’s difficult to find a nearby server for fast speeds), and it leaks your DNS data (which can reveal which P2P sites you’re browsing) when you use the L2TP/IPSec or PPTP protocols.

There are much better P2P VPNs out there — for example, Private Internet Access allows torrenting on servers in 80+ countries, doesn’t suffer any leaks, and comes with port forwarding (lets you connect to more peers to get faster downloads).

Overall, VPNTunnel doesn’t work with top sites like Netflix and only allows P2P traffic on servers in 20+ countries (and also leaks user data).

VPNTunnel Plans & Pricing

VPNTunnel has paid monthly and yearly plans. It allows 5 simultaneous connections (the industry standard is 5–7 simultaneous connections).

VPNTunnel’s plans, which start at $3.33 / month, are pretty affordable — that said, they’re still not worth it since you get much better value with top competitors like ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and ProtonVPN.

VPNTunnel accepts credit/debit cards, PayPal, and Perfect Money. It only comes with a measly 7-day money-back guarantee (most top VPNs have a 30-day money-back guarantee) — what’s worse, the terms of service say you can only get a refund at “VPNTunnel.com’s own discretion” (most VPNs instantly provide a refund if you request one).

Overall, VPNTunnel is affordable (but doesn’t provide any value), accepts several payment methods, and only comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee.

VPNTunnel Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps

VPNTunnel only has dedicated apps for iOS and Windows. It has an Android app, but it’s not available on the Google Play store. Instead, you need to manually set up the app on your device using an .apk file — and you have to ask the support reps for the file because it’s not available on VPNTunnel’s site (even worse, VPNTunnel doesn’t have a setup guide to show you how to configure its .apk app). If you need a VPN that has an easy-to-install Android app and also covers macOS, Linux, smart TVs, and routers, I recommend ExpressVPN.

The iOS app is easy to install, the interface is pretty intuitive, and the app doesn’t have a lot of features, so beginners won’t feel overwhelmed. That said, it’s missing a quick-connect feature, and there’s no indication if there’s a kill switch. I honestly think there are much better iOS apps out there — for example, Private Internet Access is more user-friendly and also displays the kill switch inside its app.

I also wasn’t impressed with the Windows app — it’s very bare-bones, there’s no quick-connect feature, and there’s no search field for servers (so you need to scroll through a long list of locations to find the server you want). Other top providers have significantly better Windows apps.

Overall, VPNTunnel only has iOS and Windows apps, and they’re not that great. All the other top VPNs in 2023 have apps for all major platforms that are much more secure, feature-rich, and user-friendly.

VPNTunnel Customer Support

VPNTunnel has frequently asked questions (FAQs), setup tutorials, email support, and support tickets. It has a live chat button on its site, but live chat support was never available when I used VPNTunnel.

I think VPNTunnel has decent setup guides since they cover most devices, are easy to follow, even include screenshots. But its FAQs are pretty useless — they don’t always provide helpful answers and many FAQs are outdated (for example, its FAQ about payment methods mentions Stripe and WebMoney, which aren’t actually available) or contradict each other (an FAQ from 2015 said VPNTunnel doesn’t log any data, but a different FAQ said the no-logs policy is only available for Swedish servers).

I don’t know why VPNTunnel offers email support because I sent multiple emails and never received a reply. I also submitted multiple support tickets and VPNTunnel’s reps only addressed one ticket (but they didn’t answer all my questions and only provided vague, unhelpful answers) — even worse, the support reps closed all my other tickets without addressing them!

Overall, I like VPNTunnel’s setup guides, but I think its FAQs, email support, and ticketing system are terrible. All the other top VPNs in 2023 provide significantly better customer support.

Is VPNTunnel Worth the Money in 2023?

VPNTunnel doesn’t really provide any value, so I recommend you avoid it and check out one of the best VPNs in 2023 instead — like ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access.

VPNTunnel comes with bank-grade encryption and a kill switch, but I don’t like how its confusing no-logs policy only applies to servers in Sweden (VPNTunnel doesn’t say if it logs IP addresses, bandwidth usage, and connection timestamps on servers in other countries). What’s more, VPNTunnel leaked my DNS data when I used the L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols.

In addition, VPNTunnel has plenty of other issues — it can’t access popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, it causes very noticeable slowdowns, its server network is too small, and it lacks extra features (like split-tunneling) and advanced security features (like RAM-only servers). Additionally, it only has (subpar) apps for iOS and Windows and provides basically nonexistent customer support via email and its ticketing system.

VPNTunnel comes with 5 simultaneous connections and paid monthly and yearly plans. It only backs purchases with a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is VPNTunnel secure?

No — while VPNTunnel has 256-bit AES encryption and a kill switch, it leaked my DNS data when I used the L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols (I didn’t experience leaks with OpenVPN, but a secure VPN shouldn’t leak your data no matter what protocol you use). In addition, VPNTunnel’s no-logs policy is confusing and it might log your IP address on non-Swedish servers (plus, the provider says it will share user data with third parties if required by law).

If you’re looking for a really secure VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN — it has all essential VPN security features (including an independently audited and verified no-logs policy), it never leaked my data in my tests, and it comes with other advanced security features like RAM-only servers (every server reset wipes all data).

Does VPNTunnel work with Netflix?

No, not even if you use VPNTunnel’s dedicated Netflix servers. VPNTunnel also doesn’t work with other top sites like Amazon Prime and Disney+ (but it can access BBC iPlayer and HBO Max).

If you’re looking for a really good Netflix VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN instead — it consistently works with Netflix and can also access 65+ other streaming apps.

Is VPNTunnel good for torrenting?

No, because VPNTunnel only allows torrenting on servers in 20+ countries (so it’s difficult to find a nearby server for fast download speeds). In addition, VPNTunnel leaks DNS data (so your ISP can see what P2P sites you access) if you use the L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols and it may log your IP address on non-Swedish servers.

There are much better P2P VPNs out there — ExpressVPN is my favorite torrenting VPN because it allows P2P traffic on 3,000+ servers in 90+ countries, provides excellent security features (including full leak protection), and has blazing-fast download speeds.

Does VPNTunnel have fast speeds?

No, I experienced very noticeable slowdowns on both nearby and distant servers when using VPNTunnel — HD and 4K videos took way too long to load. VPNTunnel was able to provide me with faster speeds when I used the L2TP/IPSec protocol, but I can’t recommend that protocol or PPTP because they both leak DNS data with this VPN.

If you want the fastest VPN on the market in 2023, I recommend ExpressVPN. It provides lightning-fast speeds across all servers via its proprietary Lightway protocol — HD and 4K videos always load instantly, large files download really fast, and you can play online games without experiencing high ping.