Astrill seems like a high-end VPN option for those who are seeking a good personal VPN service.
It is based in Seychelles which assures that you are well away from the 14 Eyes countries and the authorities do not have any invasive laws which can breach your online privacy. The Windows client of Astrill VPN is quite impressive, but when it came to other VPN apps, especially Android, we were not convinced.
Also, we analyzed and found some important security issues even though Astrill VPN has strict no logs policy. Additionally, the pricing of this VPN service is a little above average which does not make it the best bang for the buck.
This is just the brief overview of our Astrill VPN review. We are going to explain everything in more details below.
Astrill VPN Review Summary
In our Astrill VPN review, we explored every aspect of this no logs, top tier VPN which was one of the best services back in the day.
Astrill VPN for Windows is quite decent in terms of options and functionality, but when it came to other operating systems like Android, it did not do too well mainly because of the application.
Additionally, the security of Astrill VPN is not too impressive; however, the speed is despite being fluctuating among various server locations.
Overall, Astrill needs some improvements in their apps and they need to up their security. Security and privacy have become the biggest reasons why many people use VPNs now, unlike in the old days when it was mainly utilized as just an unblocking tool.
Our Astrill VPN Review Score
Features: 3.8
Apps: 3.6
Security: 3.4
Speed: 4
Overall: 3.7
Astrill VPN’s Logging Policy & Information Collection
Like many other VPN services out there, Astrill VPN also claims to have strict no logs policy and it actually does not keep an activity logs.
However, when it comes to connection logs then Astrill does keep it. As mentioned on their privacy policy under the heading of
“Strict no-logs policy” that they keep “last 20 connection records which include: connection time, connection duration, country, device type and Astrill client application version number. This information is only used by our customer support to identify potential issues with VPN connection and provide adequate support.”
Like many other, their explanation to keep connection logs are troubleshooting and service improvement. Additionally, Astrill also claims to keep minimum personal information at the time of subscription, but “depending on your payment method, we may require your phone number and address.”
It certainly is not something very impressive for privacy and anonymity focused VPN users. This is what we found regarding the logging policy and information they collect in our Astrill VPN review.
Astrill VPN Features Review
As we mentioned above hat Astrill VPN has been one of the most reliable and decent VPN services in the industry, so it was not only because of its good service, but also because of some great VPN features.
Astrill offers many VPN features which can satisfy the needs of many users which include multiple strong encryption options, various VPN protocols including our personal favorite and recommended OpenVPN, five simultaneous logins which is the industry standard and good round the clock customer support. Let’s look at each of these options separately.
Five Simultaneous Connections
Astrill VPN used to offer two simultaneous VPN connections, but in order to compete well with other ace VPN services, it has increased the number of simultaneous VPN connections to five.
This means that users can connect Astrill VPN on up to five devices at a time using a single VPN account. So, all the personal devices of the user and few home devices can easily be protected with a single VPN account of Astrill.
Strong Encryption Options But Not Airtight
Astrill VPN offers military grade encryption which all other top VPN services also provide. It is essential for a decent VPN service to have a strong and standard encryption that is AES-256 bit encryption protocol.
However, if the VPN service is not completely leak-proof, then it can expose the real identity of the VPN user which totally kills the purpose of using a VPN.
Astrill unfortunately could not prove to completely airtight on all devices despite having the options of DNS leaks protection and IPv6 leaks protection.
Good 24/7 Customer Support
Astrill VPN certainly has one of the best round the clock customer support. It is quick and mostly helpful because of skilled support agents.
Our experience regarding the customer report in our Astrill VPN review has been impressive. Additionally, the setup guides are also quite helpful for those who love to solve things or do things on their own.
Torrent Friendly Servers
Another commendable thing about Astrill VPN is that it supports torrenting which is one of the most important purposes of using VPN.
The torrent users look for anonymity and privacy for peer to peer file sharing and downloading.
However, it is often difficult to find a service which fully supports torrenting and Astrill VPN is one of those services which completely do support p2p file sharing.
However, if the leaking issues can be solved then it can be one of the preferred services for torrenting as it usually gives above average speeds.
Multiple VPN Protocols
Astrill VPN also offers multiple VPN protocols including OpenVPN, StealthVPN, OpenWeb, L2TP, IPSec, and SSTP.
It is impressive for this brand to offer various popular and most important PN protocols.
However, we suggest everyone to use OpenVPN protocol as it is not only fast but also the most secure PN protocol.
SSTP protocol is also quite secure but do not expect good speed using it. The advanced users can go for any of the available protocols as the connections we tested were mostly reliable, but not all of them were quick.
Dedicated IP VPN
Astrill VPN is one of those services which also offer dedicated VPN IP addresses as an add-on costing some extra bucks i.e. $5 per month for each dedicated IP. The countries offered by Astrill for dedicated IP addresses include the following.
- USA – 34 IPs
- China – 4 IPs
- Canada – 3 IPs
- United Kingdom – 6 IPs
- Netherlands – 2 IPs
- France – 2 IPs
- Italy
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Luxembourg
- Norway
- Denmark
- Belgium
- Finland
- Hungary
- Romania
- Poland
- Russia
- Turkey
- Australia
- Japan
- Korea
- Brazil
- South Africa
Astrill VPN Pricing Review
We cannot count strill among the affordable VN services because the pricing plans offered by this service are a little expensive for a just above average VPN service.
The following are three pricing plans offered by Astrill.
1 Month: $15.90/Month
6 Months: $11.65/Month i.e. $69.90/6-Months
1 Year: $8.33/Month i.e. $99.90/Year
As you can see, Astrill VPN is not a cheap VPN service as the pricing certainly is above average. You can get the best VPN at the same price than going for this.
Moreover, there are some additional add-ons which cost more if users wish to get those along with their chosen plan.
These include the already mentioned Dedicated IP along with VIP add-on which is basically a multi hop VPN connection. This is our Astrill VPN pricing review where many might not be convinced to get this service because of its expensive nature.
Astrill VPN Servers and Locations
Astrill VPN has a decent network of 300+ servers in more than 60 countries across the globe. All these servers are physical and optimized to give good speed.
Additionally, all these servers are also optimized for peer to peer file sharing as well which gives Astrill a good advantage over many other services.
The coverage of countries includes almost all the major countries of the world and they claim to add more servers on the daily basis.
The speed I our testing was above average but certainly not the best. However, there were some connection issues at times with specific locations.
Overall, it does have a good network of servers and they need to make it better in terms of performance and security.
Astrill VPN for Windows Review
Among all the VPN apps offered by Astrill, Windows app is most sophisticated. It is easy to use thanks to its one-click connect option.
Additionally, it has all the features packed in it. It also has split tunneling dubbed as site and app filter in Astrill VPN for Windows app.
It gives users access to all the servers located in more than 60 countries worldwide. The speed and overall performance of windows app is satisfying, and it is quite easy to use.
However, the security features like various leak protections are not a hundred percent functional.
Astrill VPN for Mac Review
The design, simplicity and ease of use are commendable when it comes to the MacOS app of Astrill VPN.
It looks and functions a lot like its Windows counterpart and has almost all the options and functionalities.
It fits nicely with the Mac habitat and its one-click connect option makes it extremely easy, quick and hassle free for the users.
However, there are some leaking issues with Astrill VPN for Mac and limited VPN protocols.
However, it does have OpenVPN which is recommended. All in all, Astrill VPN for Mac has been significantly improved, but they still have to work on the security.
Astrill VPN for Android Review
The best thing about Astrill for Android is that the app is available on the Play Store for free.
Another impressive thing is that the android app is extremely simple in design and easy to use.
Any user can connect VPN via Android app in a matter of seconds (if they have good download speed o their fast android device).
However, the android app of Astrill VPN is very basic and not too secure for the VPN users.
Their work on ease of use and UI has paid off, but they should add more advanced options in it along with better security and VPN performance.
Astrill VPN for iOS Review
The Astrill VPN for iOS app is a great doppelganger of its Android version and it is compatible with iOS 9 and above.
As it is quite like its Android version, Astrill for iOS is also very user friendly and easy to use.
The UI is specifically kept simple to accommodate the ease of use well. The iOS app has the smart mode that is split tunneling to the core and reconnect features which automatically reconnects the VPN in the instances of disconnection for any reason on your iOS device.
Overall, Astrill VPN for iPhone and iPad is a good one for basic functions and average performance and speed.
Astrill VPN for Routers Review
Astrill VPN is also compatible with a variety of routers and it also has an applet to setup Astrill VPN on DDWRT routers.
The router app of Astrill has all the features including port forwarding, site filter and device filter. Also, the applet makes it extremely easy to setup Astrill VPN on routers, but it only works for the DDWRT routers.
For those who have routers having other firmware can either flash their routers and get DDWRT or use the manual setup guides available at Astrill’s support center.
Final Words
After our Astrill VPN review, we can say that Astrill still is quite decent in many ways. It is one of the only handful services which offer apps for Linux and routers.
Also, it certainly can become one of the top VPN services again if it can improve the security features and control the leaks we found in the connection.
Additionally, the UI and ease of use in the apps are commendable, but the overall performance of the service and security outweigh the good chunks.
As of now, the price it charges and the service it provides, users have multiple more affordable and better performing options out there in the market.
