PureVPN Review

PureVPN: A Strong Protection at a Low Cost

A genuine online freedom is an ability to visit any resources and accessing any content without prying eyes tracking your every action. With almost unlimited powers of all types of special services of major states, it can seem impossible. But in fact, nothing is impossible in this world. Modern VPN services guarantee the highest level of privacy. All you really need to do is to choose the right service. PureVPN is one of the top-rated VPN providers that offers a lot to its customers. Read our PureVPN review to know five reasons to download PureVPN right now.

Rating/Score

If you Google-search for PureVPN reviews, chances are you’ll encounter quite the opposite opinions about it. After an in-depth investigation, we’ve come to the conclusion that it is a controversial product. Our final score is based on both user reviews and real-life testing.

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  – Pricing

Pros and Cons

PureVPN: an Expert’s Review

The company is based in Hong Kong – the land that is known for its independence and remoteness from the prying eyes of the Western governments. That said, the PureVPN servers list is huge. It is one of the few providers that have servers literally in every corner of the world – in 141 countries. This is a full-featured solution for everyone who cares about his or her online security. But is everything as cloudless as it seems? Read the full version of the PureVPN review to know the whole truth.

Features

An increasing number of PureVPN downloads is evidence of its effectiveness and flexibility. The company provides software for all types of modern platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Moreover, it has recently added extensions for popular browsers and add-ons for alternative platforms. For example, on their official site, you’ll find such new solutions as PureVPN Kodi, Android TV, Firestick TV, and DDWRT Applet VPNs.

A great feature of the provider is an opportunity of renting unique dedicated IP addresses. If you need an IP address in the particular region for accessing particular services on a regular basis, you may “rent” it for a monthly fee of $1.99. This is convenient for those who use certain streaming services, as they are not likely to block permanent unique IPs.

PureVPN torrenting capabilities are also beyond the praise. It effectively unblocks access to torrents on numerous servers (though not all). No bandwidth limits are set by the provider, so you may download as much content as you need. Pure VPN provides anonymity and security. It also claims to have a zero-logs approach, though there are certain pitfalls that we’ll be touched upon in the next sections of our PureVPN review.

However, there can be some problems with PureVPN Netflix access. This streaming platform is effectively unblocked when you use browser extensions from the provider. However, if we compare PureVPN vs NordVPN, we have to state that its app can’t unlock Netflix. That said, other streaming services (Hulu, BBC iPlayer, etc.) are easily accessed.

The feature of split tunneling is a real finding for those users who don’t need VPN protection all the time. Suppose, you need to change your IP only when you connect to the web via a certain app: not every VPN service provides such an opportunity. PureVPN vs PIA (and some other low-budget VPNs) allows “splitting”, i.e. selecting certain apps that should always use VPN when establishing an Internet connection.

Other unique and definitely helpful features include built-in DDoS protection, a NAT firewall, port forwarding (for remote access to your PC). Finally, subscribers can take advantage of the PureVPN free antivirus, app blocker, web- and content-filtering services. But though they can be of some use, most of us would prefer installing dedicated apps for these functions performing.

Performance and Speed

In most PureVPN reviews, you’ll read that it is one of the fastest VPNs ever. However, we’ve conducted a couple of tests to compare it with other popular providers. Thus, the average speed of PureVPN vs ExpressVPN is a bit less consistent. This is especially true for the PureVPN download speed, which varies largely depending on the server location. However, it is still better than most providers, including the “premium” ones offer. Severe speed drops are very rare and occur mainly when you are connecting a remote server, or the load on the server is too heavy.

Browser Extensions

The company offers proprietary extensions for two popular browsers – Chrome and Firefox. The add-ons are already included in the package, so you don’t have to pay separately for them. The extensions allow a one-click connection to PureVPN servers, choosing the country and the location for your anonymous IP, and visiting your favorite sites without the fear of being tracked by anyone. The great thing is that using Pure VPN browser extensions you may stream content from numerous sources, including Netflix!

Safety and Encryption

A capability of providing the highest level of privacy and security is a crucial characteristic of any VPN service. Unfortunately, if you read top PureVPN reviews, you’ll find numerous complaints about their unclear policy. On the one hand, they claim that they collect no user logs. On the other hand, they (for an unclear reason) keep all the connection logs, i.e. the data of the time of users; connection to the VPN and the data of the bandwidth used over the time of being connected. Moreover, there are some recorded cases when this data was transferred to the law enforcement bodies.

Frankly speaking, if you don’t do anything criminal or apparently illegal, you have nothing to worry about. Chances are your activities are of no interest to anyone, especially to major international agencies. And still, the very idea of a possible violation of your privacy rights is not too encouraging. In this context, negative reviews, including PureVPN Reddit reviews, seem to be not groundless.

When it comes to encryption, the provider complies with the modern requirements. It uses AES-256-CBC ciphers for both control and data channels, which is considered to be the gold standard of the modern encryption. During testing, we recorded no IP leaks and occasional DNS leaks.

Pricing Plans and Payment Methods

On the Pricing page of the company’s official site, you’ll find current prices and a detailed description of their plan offered, as well as the PureVPN server list. There is only one basic plan that includes all the features and all the applications. The price per month depends on the period you are paying for. The initial price (without a discount) is $10.95 per month. Buying a one-year plan, you save up to 55% – the price per month will be $4.92. The maximum discount of 74% is provided to those who buy a 2-year plan – the price per month, in this case, is just $2.88. This is definitely one of the cheapest offers in the market. Moreover, you may take advantage of the PureVPN lifetime offer and get a permanent discount 74% with an option of an auto recurring. But beware of numerous swindlers that offer various PureVPN coupon discounts – chances are these coupons are fake.

There is no PureVPN trial period offered, however, they do promise a 7-day money back period. If compared to other providers, it is quite modest. For example, NordVPN vs PureVPN has a 30-day money back policy.

An important advantage that we can’t but mention in our PureVPN review is an array of payment methods accepted. Apart from conventional banker cards, they allow a variety of e-wallets, including PayPal, prepaid cards, gift cards, and multiple types of cryptocurrencies.

Customer Support

PureVPN cares of its customers, and many customers tell about it in their PureVPN reviews. The provider offers several forms of consultations for everyone, including prospect clients. If you have any questions regarding PureVPN torrent compatibility, PureVPN APK files installation, or anything else, first of all, you may try to find an answer in the FAQ section of the site. Alternatively, you may ask the community, visiting the forum. Also, you can write your own PureVPN review there.

If you have a very specific question or some issues with your PureVPN login or account, or you want to file a complaint, you may need a personal consultation. The first way to get it is to fill in and send a ticket via a special form. Another way, which is gaining popularity, is contacting a live agent via a live chat. Usually, they answer in several minutes. The chat is available 7/24.

How to Use and installing

To start using PureVPN download it from the official website. To get a link to downloading you need to sign up. The process of signing up is simple, fast, and doesn’t require verification. All you really need is a valid e-mail (you may use a fake e-mail if you wish, but you need to have access to it). Fill in a simple form, confirm registration, and buy one of the pricing plans using the chosen method.

As soon as you have paid for the VPN, you get a link for downloading the software. In most cases, the apps and add-ons are installed automatically. But if you have a non-standard device, you may need some manual settings.

The interface of the client can seem a bit complicated and clattered if compared to genuinely laconic interfaces of some rivals. It may be because of the many features available. On the left, there are modes for you to choose from. Inside the Dashboard tab, you may select a server, a location, or a purpose of using a VPN. The Ozone tab contains additional features and options, namely, a firewall and an antivirus. The Gravity tab opens access to the ad blocker and the feature of the safe search with an opportunity of adding sites to a black or a white list.

The Bottom Line

We’ve reviewed Pure VPN service, which traditionally ranks among top-5 VPN providers. It has a lot to be loved for. Firstly, it is really fast – almost on a par with ExpressVPN, which is currently considered a leader in terms of speed. Secondly, it is a full-featured VPN. On top of its basic features, it offers a lot of extra tools, such as a built-in firewall, an antivirus, content filters, ad-blockers, and DDoS protection. An opportunity of ordering a dedicated IP address is also great. Thirdly, it perfectly works with torrents and streaming platforms (most of them). And finally, it offers the widest coverage – 141 countries of the world, which is just fantastic.

At the same time, there are some aspects that can make you opt for another provider, instead of PureVPN. Thus, their privacy policy is controversial. They keep some users’ data, and there are recorded cases when it was provided to the law enforcement bodies. This is mentioned in some users’ PureVPN review Reddit posted.

Recommendations

1. If you are a Netflix fan, use browser extensions to access the service or opt for another VPN provider. The application, unfortunately, does not help to unblock Netflix.
2. To get the maximum discount buy a 2-year plan for $70 and save 74%. But beware that refunding period is just 7 days.