Canada based Windscribe is one of those services which offer a legit free service which does not threat your privacy like some other free VPN services do.
The main reason is their marketing which is a freemium model with limited data on the free version. Windscribe VPN is a comparatively newer service that has made its way up very quickly because of its strong encryption and privacy policy.
However, it is still a Canada based service which is part of the 14 Eyes Countries. So, here we are going to put this rising star on test and see why it has quickly become a reputable service.
Also, we are going to evaluate the speed which is considerably the strong suit of this service. Let’s find out everything there is to know about this service in our Windscribe VPN review.
You can check out our VPN Reviews page for more reviews and alternatives.
Windscribe VPN Review Summary
In our Windscribe VPN review, we explored all the aspects of this service. From security and privacy to speed and device compatibility, it is a good choice for most of the basic VPN users.
Additionally, Windscribe VPN also offers a decent ad blocker and trackers blocker in the browser extension rather than the app.
The speed of Windscribe VPN is decent, but it is neither among the fastest ones nor is it always fast. Windscribe VPN for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and even Linux is impressive for basic VPN features.
It offers some advanced features other than mentioned, like double hop, via the browser extensions. All in all, it is a nice service and has a long mile to go, on which it is on the right track.
Our Windscribe VPN Review Score
Features: 3.8
Apps: 3.7
Security: 4.1
Speed: 4.0
Overall: 3.9
Windscribe VPN Logging Policy
One of the reasons why Windscribe VPN made its way up in the industry very quickly is the string privacy policy and a truly strict no-logs policy.
Despite being based in Canada which is one of the Five Eyes Countries, Windscribe prioritizes the privacy of the users.
Internet freedom and users’ online privacy is what it stands for and it is visible on their privacy policy.
Unlike many other VPN service providers, Windscribe does not utilizes any third party analytics or tracking tools for the visitors of their website.
Another commendable element of their privacy policy is that it is quite simple, short and sufficient to help users understand about what they store and what they do not and why do they store the minimum information.
So, in terms of privacy, Windscribe VPN is better than most of the services out there.
Windscribe VPN Features Review
Windscribe VPN offers some of the great features which most of the VPN users look for while choosing a service for their personal use.
Although Windscribe has room to integrate most of the features into the apps rather than having them on browser extensions only. They still offer features which can easily be compared to the top tier VPN service providers. Some of the prominent features offered by Windscribe are as follows.
Strong Encryption
Windscribe claims to offer the strongest encryption i.e. AES-256 cipher with SHA512 authentication and a 4096-bit RSA key.
It is pretty much the industry standard for all the top VPN service providers and it is the strongest encryption used by most of the services because of reliability.
You must have heard the term military grade encryption, so it is that, which means that Windscribe VPN is not only privacy protector but also quite secure for the users.
Windflix
Windscribe VPN has specially optimized servers to unblock US and UK Netflix from any location on earth.
These special servers are under the feature named Windflix and it is available on all the Windscribe apps except for Windscribe for iPhone and iPad. Our test on it was successful however we also came across a few user reviews which tell otherwise.
Firewall
The firewall offered by Windscribe is basically is advanced version of the traditionally famous internet kill switch. The kill switch closes all the activities in the instances of VPN disconnections.
On the other hand, the firewall “blocks all connectivity outside of the tunnel to ensure there is zero chance of any kind of leak, including but not limited to DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks, WebRTC leaks, etc.”
This is why Windscribe was proved to be airtight in our multiple leak tests. The firewall in built into the apps for Windows and Mac.
Proxy Gateway
With this feature, the users can easily convert their Windows or Mac machines into secure HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy servers and the devices which do not support VPN protocols can easily connect to your machine and have the secure connection.
This proxy is only available on your LAN which reduces the intrusion threat to almost zero.
Secure Hotspot
This is a Windows only feature which allows the user to use their machine as a secure hotspot for other devices without the need to setting up or installing Windscribe on other devices.
However, your Windows machine must have the right adapter to become a hotspot. You can easily secure your home devices by using this feature or you can also secure your personal devices while using unprotected public Wi-Fi.
Cruise Control
It is a feature integrated in the browser extensions offered by Windscribe VPN. Cruise Control, as the name suggests, automatically selects the best location for the user in terms of speed, so the user do not have to face any slowdowns while accessing the web securely and freely.
Also, if the selected location is unable to unblock certain site for the user, then it automatically changes the location based on users’ need.
Double Hop
The interesting thing here is the wordplay about a limitation rather than a feature. As mentioned earlier that the features by Windscribe are distributed among the apps and extensions.
Now, to make it more interesting and actually more secure for the users. They use the double hop VPN connections by using both, app and extension, simultaneously. It gives users double encryption, one via the app and another via the extension. Very smart!
NordVPN and Perfect Privacy are the other VPN providers which offers double encryption. We have also covered a topic on Multi Hop VPN Chains.
Ads and Trackers Blocking
Like many other VPN service providers, Windscribe too offers ad blocker and trackers blocker, integrated in the extensions.
It helps users to avoid those annoying ads which makes the surfing painful and blocks trackers which invade users’ online privacy.
It is good in functionality as we tested it on various sites and our browsing was ad free and we also blocked various trackers using the browser extension of Windscribe.
So, these are some of the notable features offered by Windscribe. They surely are great despite having certain limitations.
Now we will move to the pricing of Windscribe which is very important, considering the fact that it is new and smaller than the top VPN services we have reviewed.
Windscribe VPN Prices Review
Windscribe VPN offers two pricing plans, other than the free version which has the data limit of 10 GB per month. The two paid plans are:
Monthly: $9.00/Month
Yearly: $4.08/Month i.e. $49/Year
Considering the yearly price, it is quite affordable as compared to several other VPN services which offer almost similar features and quality of service.
However, it cannot be considered as the best bang for the buck because there are better services available at the same price or costing a few bucks more than this.
Additionally, Windscribe accepts payments through a variety of payment methods including the anonymous ones which are preferable for the privacy focused VPN users.
The payment methods accepted include Bitcoin, Paymentwall, PayPal, and Credit Cards.
Windscribe VPN Protocols Review
Windscribe VPN offers all the major VPN protocols including IKEv2, OpenVPN TCP, OpenVPN UDP, and Stealth protocol.
Considering the fact that OpenVPN is the most reliable and recommendable VPN protocol, it should be utilized for all the connections.
However, the default protocol in Windscribe is IKEv2, so you will have to switch it to OpenVPN protocol.
Also, the stealth protocol is the modification of OpenVPN TCP which is extremely powerful in bypassing censorships and firewalls which may come handy in the places like China.
Windscribe VPN Servers & Locations Review
Considerably, Windscribe VPN has hundreds of servers in 100 cities of 55 countries.
It is not the largest network of servers we have heard of, but they claim to have all the physical servers in these 55 countries.
Additionally, all of these are optimized for torrenting as well except for the servers in India and South Africa.
In terms of speed, Windscribe is better than many. However, it still needs to improve on it because speed is one of the most important factors for users while choosing the right VPN.
Windscribe VPN for Mac Review
Windscribe for Mac OS X is a pretty looking, easy to use app which has all the VPN features, along with the powers of firewall and the feature of Windflix integrated in it.
It is simple in design in order to keep it easy to use for all VPN users. It also has a quick server selection tool where users can easily select their desired servers and locations.
The default VPN protocol set is IKEv2, so you will have to set OpenVPN before connecting VPN.
Overall, it is a good app and performs well, but if the features integrated in the browser extension can be integrated in directly, then it certainly can be one of the best Mac VPN apps.
If you looking for a VPN with mac compatibility then read our VPN for Mac article.
Windscribe VPN for iPhone Review
When it comes to the VPN functions and performance then Windscribe VPN for iPhone and iPad is really good. However, it is the most basic Windscribe app among all.
It does not have Windflix, neither has other advanced options which the Mac app has. However, the encryption is solid and the connection is airtight.
In terms of UI and design, the app is good on the iOS devices and it is really convenient to connect VPN using the Windscribe iOS app.
Windscribe VPN for Windows Review
The Windows app of Windscribe is the most features filled app there is among all the platforms. It has all the VPN features along with the advanced internet kill switch i.e. firewall.
The Windows app can also make your machine a secure hotspot which beats the need of installing it on other devices.
Also, has proxy gateway which is a little advanced in usage. Overall, it is a great VPN app with various powerful features and VPN functionalities. In terms of performance, it is mostly satisfactory.
Windscribe VPN for Android Review
Unlike the iOS app, Windscribe for Android app has Windflix which is effective in unblocking Netflix US and UK while you are on the go.
Additionally it is simple and efficient for public Wi-Fi hotspots. However, it does not have all the features that the desktop clients of Windscribe have.
The Android app of WIndscribe is available on Google’s Play Store and it can be used by both, paid and free users.
There are many other Android VPN providers available that you can check out.
Windscribe VPN for Router Review
Unlike many other VPN services, Windscribe does not offer pre-installed VPN routers; neither has it offered any applet to setup Windscribe on routers.
However, it does support all the major ones as it can setup on Asus, DD WRT, and Tomato routers.
The easy to follow setup guides are available on their support center where anyone can configure Windscribe on their router manually in a few minutes.
The three firmware supported by Windscribe covers most of the router models there are, so the compatibility of Windscribe is really vast and efficient when it comes to the routers.
We have a tutorial of how to setup VPN on routers, give it read if you run in to any trouble.
Final Words
In our Windscribe VPN review, we have analyzed all the important aspects about this service and it is easy to say that it is a rising star in the VPN industry.
If it gets among the best ones in near future, we would not be surprised.The performance and speed of the service is not among the best ones, but it is better than many.
In terms of features, Windscribe is in the race of pros. Some work in the feature integrations, adding more servers and locations, and more time effective customer support and the service will be even better.
