StrongVPN Review

Speed Rankings and Performance

In our 2023 speed tests, StrongVPN ranked 9th out of 55 VPNs. With just an 8% average speed loss on connections tested over five continents, it's a reliable pick for maintaining good internet speed. It shines when you connect to far-off locations, making it excellent for international use.

• Low Latency: Excellent for online gaming

Speed Test Results: The Nitty-Gritty

Here's a breakdown of speed tests conducted on a 100Mbps connection for various server locations:

• Minor Speed Loss: Just 1% speed loss when connecting to Canada and 5% to the UK.
• Local Speed: Hits 96Mbps on a 102Mbps connection, ample for HD streaming and torrenting.

Comparing with Other VPNs

When lined up against Hotspot Shield, IPVanish, and NordVPN, StrongVPN download speeds almost reach those of Hotspot Shield and clearly outdo IPVanish and NordVPN in terms of speed stability. However, its upload speeds are not as competitive.

Lowest Latency in the Game

StrongVPN boasted the lowest local ping times in our 2023 tests among 66 VPNs. With a ping time of just 4ms, it's the go-to for gamers who play fast-paced online games like CS:GO and PUBG.

Server Coverage

59 Locations Across 42 Countries

StrongVPN has 950 servers in 42 countries. While this isn't the largest network, all servers are in-house and bare metal, meaning no third-party involvement.

Geographic Breakdown

• US and Europe Focus: Strongest server coverage in these regions
• Room for Improvement: Needs more servers in Africa and specific countries like New Zealand

First-Party Server Ownership

StrongVPN and its sister VPN, IPVanish, own all their servers. This ensures that only trusted personnel have access, mitigating the risks associated with rental servers.

City-Level Servers

StrongVPN offers servers in 59 cities. If you're in the US, you're especially in luck, with 25% of these servers located there.

• Multi-City Servers in:

  • Australia (4 cities)
  • Canada (3)
  • France (3)
  • UK (6)
  • US (15)

• Asia: Good coverage with servers in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

• Africa: Only two servers, both in Johannesburg. If you're in Africa, you might want to consider alternatives like ExpressVPN.

Massive Pool of IP Addresses

StrongVPN offers nearly 60,000 IP addresses, which is great for maintaining high speeds and avoiding server congestion.

Key Takeaways

• Excellent Speeds: Particularly for long-distance connections
• Lowest Latency: Best for online gaming with just 4ms ping
• Owned Servers: No third-party risks
• Decent Server Coverage: Could be better in Africa and some other regions

StrongVPN offers a mixed experience regarding customer assistance.

What's Available in Support:

• 24/7 Live Chat: Yes
• 24/7 Email Support: No
• Chatbot: No
• Email: No
• Email Support via Online Form: No
• Telephone: No
• Tutorial Videos: No
• Online Resources: Yes

24/7 Live Chat: Not Always Helpful

You might be disappointed if you expect instant solutions from the 24/7 live chat. You’ll often find yourself chatting with a sales agent who tends to copy-paste answers from the FAQs section. However, they escalate unresolved issues to their tech team, who generally reply swiftly.

Knowledge Base: Extensive but Basic

StrongVPN's website is a treasure trove of setup manuals for various devices, complete with video tutorials and screenshots. This information is categorized for:

• Android
• iOS
• macOS
• Windows
• Linux
• Routers
• Amazon Devices
• Network Issues
• China
• Connectivity
• App and Operating System Troubleshooting
• Legacy App Troubleshooting

They even have a couple of guides written in Mandarin, catering to Chinese users.

When to Use FAQs

The FAQ section is okay for solving rudimentary problems. If your issue is more complex, you're better off directly contacting their customer support team.

Key Takeaways

• 24/7 live chat available, but the agents are more sales-focused than tech-savvy.
• No 24/7 email support, so your issue might take time to resolve if it needs to be escalated.
• Rich knowledge base, but it's more beneficial for setup rather than troubleshooting.
• Multilingual support with articles in Mandarin, particularly beneficial for Chinese users.

StrongVPN for Streaming US Netflix: A Mixed Bag

Does It Work with Popular Streaming Services?

• Channel 4: ✅
• Amazon Prime Video: ✅
• BBC iPlayer: ✅ (But inconsistent)
• Disney+: ✅
• HBO Max: ✅
• Hotstar India: ❌
• Hulu: ✅
• ITVX: ❌
• Netflix US: ✅
• YouTube: ✅

Key Takeaways

• Unblocks US Netflix, but not any other Netflix libraries
• Inconsistent access to BBC iPlayer
• No dedicated streaming servers, unlike CyberGhost
• Works well with Channel 4, Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+

The Details

StrongVPN unblocks US Netflix, but it's a gamble with other services like BBC iPlayer. Unlike CyberGhost, which has dedicated servers for streaming, you're left to play the server lottery here.

Netflix US Access

After being blocked for weeks, StrongVPN has regained its footing and unblocks US Netflix on multiple US servers. The Chicago server is your go-to for watching Friends or The Crown in HD. However, don't expect to access Netflix libraries from other countries.

BBC iPlayer: A Game of Chance

If you're trying to catch the latest episode of "Doctor Who" on BBC iPlayer, it's hit or miss. For instance, the London server worked, but don't bet on Canterbury or Glasgow. Check this out:

• Canterbury: ✅/❌
• Glasgow: ✅/❌
• London: ✅/✅
• Maidenhead: ✅/❌
• Manchester: ✅/❌
• Rugby: ✅/❌

StrongVPN for Torrenting: Fast and Safe but No Frills

• Average Download Bitrate: 9.7MiB/s
• Number of P2P Servers: 950
• Logging Policy: Strict No-Logs
• Kill Switch: Available
• Port Forwarding: Not Supported

Key Takeaways

• Fast torrenting speeds, nearly as fast as no VPN at all
• Kill switch for that extra layer of safety
• No port forwarding, which could be a deal-breaker for some

Torrenting is a go on all StrongVPN servers, with impressive speeds. You can expect an average bitrate of 9.7MiB/s, just a hair short of the 10.0MiB/s we got without a VPN. Rest easy; your torrenting is private, thanks to a strict no-logs policy and strong AES-256 encryption.

StrongVPN's Kodi Add-on

StrongVPN offers a Kodi add-on compatible with LibreELEC, OpenELEC, and XBMC for those in Kodi. Setup guides are available on their official website.

StrongVPN: A Tough Contender for Bypassing Censorship

StrongVPN has nailed a 100% success rate in bypassing online censorship over the past three months. It's a powerhouse for users in countries like China, Iran, Turkey, and the UAE, where internet freedom is highly restricted.

If you're in China, your best bet is to connect via StrongVPN's servers in Mexico and South Korea. They're battle-tested and reliable.

Expert Tip: Grab and set up StrongVPN before you head to China or any other high-censorship countries. Why? Their website is blocked there.

Scramble Your Way Through Firewalls

StrongVPN’s OpenVPN Scramble feature makes your web traffic look like just another ordinary page visit, making it difficult for firewalls to block your access.

This feature is available on:

• Windows
• macOS
• Android
• Routers with StrongVPN auto-installers (like DD-WRT and Sabai)

Uncompromising Security and Features

StrongVPN gives you a buffet of security protocols to choose from:

• IKEv2/IPSec: Yes
• L2TP/IPSec: Yes
• OpenVPN (TCP/UDP): Yes
• PPTP: Yes
• SSTP: Yes
• WireGuard: Yes

No Leaks, All Shields Up

StrongVPN passed our DNS and IP leak tests with flying colors. Plus, it operates its own DNS servers, keeping your web traffic away from third-party snooping.

Advanced Features: A Quick Glance

• Ad Blocker: No
• Dedicated IP: No
• Double VPN: No
• Smart DNS: Yes
• Static IP: No
• SOCKS: No
• Split Tunneling: No
• Tor over VPN Server: No
• Tracker Blocker: No

WireGuard Support Across the Board

StrongVPN is future-proofing its service by supporting WireGuard on all its apps. If speed is your game, WireGuard is shaping up to be the fastest protocol in the VPN industry.

Misinformation Alert

StrongVPN’s website claims that some servers only support the less secure PPTP connections. That's not true. We got the real scoop from customer service: All servers support six security protocols, including the robust OpenVPN and WireGuard.

Key Takeaways

1. StrongVPN is a censorship-busting champ, especially useful for users in countries like China, Iran, Turkey, and the UAE.
2. OpenVPN Scramble feature is necessary for breaking through sophisticated firewalls.
3. Supports a wide array of security protocols, including OpenVPN and WireGuard.
4. Operates its own DNS servers, so your data isn’t handed off to a third party.
5. WireGuard is available on all apps, making it a fast and future-proof option.

StrongVPN is exceptionally easy to set up and connect to, even for the least savvy internet users. Also, all detailed installation instructions are available from StrongVPN’s website. There are also step-by-step tutorials with screenshots for all the native and non-native supported devices.

VPN Client for Windows

StrongVPN's greatest client and it works better than any other OS.

OpenVPN is available, and it includes IPv4 DNS leak protection and a kill-switch. Scramble, a VPN obfuscation feature, is also available. This feature configures the VPN to use TCP over port 443 (to disguise OpenVPN traffic as regular HTTP).

IPv6 is disabled by default in the Windows client, eliminating the need to disable it manually.

Mac, iOS, and other apps support

StrongVPN offers apps for Mac, iOS, and Android. All of these systems have manual setup instructions.

On Linux, Ubuntu, and Chrome OS, a third-party OpenVPN client can manually configure StrongVPN. You may also use the VPN on DD-WRT, Tomato, and Sabai routers.

Because StrongVPN does not include a kill-switch, it cannot be used for torrenting on Mac, Android, or iOS. However, this VPN should be enough if you want to stream and unblock content.

However, it suffers from WebRTC leaks on IPv6, so you must disable IPv6 to use this VPN safely on any OS other than Windows.

In addition, the company offers a browser extension for Chrome but not for other browsers such as Safari, Firefox, Edge, Opera, or others. And if you want advanced security features in addition to VPN protection, StrongVPN is one of the few VPNs that work with Tor.

12 Simultaneous Connections

StrongVPN supports up to 12 simultaneous device connections with a single account, which most users consider unlimited. With that being said, StrongVPN offers security and safety on all your home devices, even if you use them all at the same time.

Key Takeaways:

• Windows and macOS users get the most features, including a kill switch and proxy.
• Split Tunneling is only available on Android and Fire TV.
• iOS is the most limited, lacking features like a kill switch and split tunneling.

Other Platforms and Manual Setup

Don’t sweat it if you’re rocking Linux, Amazon Kindle, or Kodi. StrongVPN provides comprehensive manual setup guides on their website.

StrongVPN offers a 12-device connection limit for routers and provides a detailed setup guide. This is great if you want all your home devices under one VPN umbrella.

Router Compatibility

StrongVPN is compatible with over 125 router models. They're categorized for your convenience:

• For Beginners: Routers come preloaded and powered by Sabai OS:

  • VPN Accelerator
  • Linksys E2500
  • Asus RT-N12
  • Netgear Nighthawk X6 R8000

• For Advanced Users: Manually set up StrongVPN on routers from:

  • Asus
  • Belkin
  • Buffalo
  • D-Link
  • GL.iNet
  • Linksys
  • Netgear
  • TP-Link

Games Consoles & Streaming Devices

You can use StrongVPN with:

• Apple TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Chromecast
• Nintendo
• PlayStation
• Roku
• Xbox

Note: StrongVPN's native app is not the best for Fire TV Stick compared to other top VPNs, and it's only compatible with Amazon Fire TV devices released after 2016.

Browser Extensions: Chrome

StrongVPN offers a Chrome extension, but it's a mixed bag. It gives you access to 14 server locations, including New York and Tokyo, which is good. However, it failed to unblock geo-restricted streaming services like BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Also, it's available only if you have a StrongVPN subscription.

Key Takeaways:

• The Chrome extension is not a full-fledged VPN; it's a proxy that doesn't encrypt your data.
• The extension is useless for unblocking popular streaming services.

StrongVPN's most economical offer is $3.97/month but only if you commit for a year. That initial 12-month ride will cost you $47.69. After that, hold onto your wallet—the price jumps to $89.99 for the next year.

• Monthly Plan: $11.99/month

  • Billed monthly, no frills attached.

• Annual Plan: $3.97/month

  • Billed as $47.69 initially, $89.99 after the first year.
  • Save 66% compared to the monthly rate.

Key Takeaway: If you're in it for the long haul, StrongVPN might not be your cheapest bet. Consider switching to Surfshark, whose price only nudges from $47.88 to $59.76 for the subsequent year.

Payment & Refunds: No Crypto, But a Safety Net Exists

• Payment Methods: American Express, Mastercard, PayPal, Visa, and Alipay.
• 30-Day Money-Back: Only for the annual plan. If you're "less than 100% satisfied," you can get a full refund within 30 days. Monthly subscribers, you're out of luck here.

Key Takeaway: You’ll be disappointed if you’re privacy-conscious and like to pay via cryptocurrency.