PureVPN Review
PureVPN screenshot
Simon Migliano Head of Research at Top10VPN
Simon Migliano
Updated 22 Nov 2021
1 answered question
Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio
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VPN Reviews
PureVPN
Our Verdict
Overall Rating:
7.0/10
Despite a simple interface and a huge selection of countries to connect to, we simply cannot recommend PureVPN. Speeds have improved across its large server network, but its logging policy still collects too much of your data.
Ranked #32 out of 68
PureVPN Category Ratings
Streaming
5.0/10
Torrenting
5.9/10
Logging & Jurisdiction
5.1/10
Speed & Reliability
8.6/10
Server Locations
9.8/10
Bypassing Censorship
3.0/10
Security & Features
8.3/10
Ease of Use
7.8/10
Customer Support
9.6/10
Price & Value
6.5/10
PureVPN Pros & Cons
Pros
6,500 VPN servers in 78 countries
Works with BBC iPlayer & Hulu
VPN kill switch & no IP address leaks
Simple setup on more than 20 devices & platforms
Generous 10 device allowance
Now based in British Virgin Islands
Cons
Past logging policy controversies
Extra cost for advanced features
US Netflix blocked
Customer support agents lack technical knowledge
Complex setup for China, and unreliable
It may be popular, but PureVPN cannot compete with the biggest VPNs available right now.
We have concerns surrounding its logging policy, and do not believe you should entrust PureVPN with your privacy as a result. AES-256 encryption and the OpenVPN protocol are present and in use, though.
Its desktop app is easy to use, but too simplistic. While it has a kill switch, there are no other VPN features worth mentioning. Split tunneling is available on Windows and Android, but port forwarding and DDoS protection is a paid extra and there are no other bespoke features.
We were pleased to see that PureVPN’s are recently much improved, recording 90Mbps for downloads on a nearby server.
Its single biggest attraction is its massive selection of 6,500 servers spread over 78 countries, the vast majority of which are physically located.
It unblocks four Netflix libraries and BBC iPlayer, but there are better streaming VPNs out there. There are some restrictions on torrenting, as well.
Read on to see what our expert testing found out about PureVPN in-depth, and to find out which VPN alternatives you should consider instead.
PureVPN Key Data
Data Cap Unlimited
Speed 90Mbps
Logging Policy Some User Logs
Data Leaks No
Jurisdiction British Virgin Islands
Servers 6,500
IP Addresses 300,000
Countries 78
US Netflix Yes
Torrenting Restricted
Simultaneous Connections 10
Works in China Yes
Support 24/7 Live Chat
Cheapest Price $2.91/mo over 2 Years
Money Back Guarantee 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Official Website PureVPN.com
PureVPN logs too much of your data
Logging & Jurisdiction
Logging & Jurisdiction Rating
5.1/10
PureVPN has a less than ideal history when it comes to Pure VPN logging and we're concerned that the data it collects from your usage isn't anonymized. We were pleased to see the company move from Hong Kong to the British Virgin Islands, but PureVPN still collects too much information for us to be wholly comfortable recommending it.
PureVPN has worked to improve its public image after years of criticism for its aggressive logging policy.
Despite saying all the right things on its website, the actual changes to its logging policy simply aren’t enough.
Put in simple terms, here is everything PureVPN logs of its users:
Days you connect to PureVPN.
Which PureVPN server you connect to.
How long you connect for.
How many times you connect.
Your internet service provider (ISP).
Total amount of bandwidth you consume while connected.
The PureVPN privacy policy does not mention any efforts to disconnect your account from this information. It is all linked directly to you.
If that seems like a lot of information being collected, that’s because it is. We believe it is enough to be able to link a PureVPN user to activity performed through the service.
Of course, you should never use a VPN for anything illegal. But if you live in a country where the authorities can demand access to your browsing data at any time, using PureVPN would not guarantee your anonymity.
PureVPN is based in British Virgin Islands
PureVPN is legally based in the British Virgin Islands after it moved from Hong Kong.
This was a good pro-privacy move as BVI is one of the most private jurisdictions in the world, outside the reach of the 14 Eyes and authoritarian regimes.
Credit should go to PureVPN for uprooting itself for privacy reasons.
Improved speeds make for a smooth experience
Speed & Reliability
Speed & Reliability Rating
8.6/10
PureVPN has upped its speed performance considerably; it's very fast. Local speeds don't drop more than 10%, which is a very good score. Internationally the VPN delivers very strong results, too. You can do any online task with the VPN running and barely notice a difference.
PureVPN is fast. That’s the key takeaway here. We tested it on both short distance connections (within the UK, where we’re located), as well as to a variety of overseas servers.
The results surprised us. Historically PureVPN has lagged behind compared to its competitors, but recent speeds are quite impressive.
First, we recorded PureVPN’s speeds when connecting to a server in the same city as us (London, UK). Check out the results:
Local Speed Test results before using PureVPN:
DOWNLOAD SPEED100Mbps
UPLOAD SPEED97.52Mbps
PING5ms
Local Speed Test results with PureVPN:
DOWNLOAD SPEED90.22Mbps
UPLOAD SPEED73.88Mbps
PING22ms
Download speed loss when PureVPN is running: 10%
As a general rule, any VPN which costs you less than 10% of your connection speed is doing a good job.
The numbers we recorded show that PureVPN is fast enough to be left on 24/7 without you having to worry about noticeable slowdown.
Long-distance speed test results
PureVPN also performed surprisingly well on international connections. Take a look at the five countries we tested below:
Average Download Speed
Average Download Speed Loss
Germany
87.18Mbps
12.82%
South Africa
86.19Mbps
13.81%
Brazil
82.78Mbps
17.22%
Japan
71.47Mbps
28.53%
US
69.63Mbps
30.37%
Australia
67.20Mbps
32.80%
Even when connecting to the far side of the world, PureVPN still managed to put up some very solid numbers in our testing.
Remember, we tested on a 100Mbps dedicated broadband line. If your internet connection is slower than that, then your speeds when using a VPN will also be slower.
That said, we feel confident that the effect PureVPN has on your connection will barely be noticeable. You can still stream, game, and use the web with it just like you normally would.
6,500 servers spread over 78 countries
Server Locations
Server Locations Rating
9.8/10
PureVPN has lots of quality VPN servers – 96 city locations across 78 countries, and it goes beyond the usual North America and European focus of most providers. Nearly all of these servers are physically located, too.
Globe with a blue flag
78
Countries
Image of a city landscape
96
Cities
Image of a pink marker
300,000
IP Addresses
See all Server Locations
Something that PureVPN gets absolutely right is its selection of servers.
It’s all too common to see VPNs ignore entire regions, focusing far too much on Europe and North America.
PureVPN makes no such mistake, with servers located in 78 different countries around the world.
It’s refreshing to see options in the Middle East, East Asia, Central America, and Africa. With so many censored nations in those regions, it’s especially important to have nearby VPN server access.
While you can’t select individual servers, there is a city level choice in a handful of countries.
You can choose to connect to multiple cities in:
Australia
Canada
Czechia
France
Germany
Malaysia
South Africa
UK
US
6,500 is also a good overall quantity of servers.
PureVPN recently halved the amount of countries it could connect to, but this was in order to focus on quality over quantity. Now 98.7% of PureVPN’s servers are physically located and it’s recently invested in 20Gbps servers for London, Manchester, and Washington DC.
It has retained 69 virtual servers to enable continued access to some locations where physical servers are hard to implement.
Having such a high number of servers available means that you’re less likely to be sharing one with another user. In turn this means that you should see fewer CAPTCHAs around the internet.
An interesting side note is how PureVPN achieves its speeds. There’s nothing fancy or bespoke here – just good old-fashioned OpenVPN.
In a time when so many VPNs are adopting the newer WireGuard, or developing a bespoke protocol of their own, it’s interesting