The "1-Minute" Review
Verdict
For the price, there are better values out there which don’t suffer from inconsistent speeds or possibly leave your data open to government subpoenas and inspection.What's good
- No DNS or IP leaks
- Great customer support
- Torrenting support
- Killswitch
- Four protocol options
What's bad
- Located in the US (Five Eyes)
- No ability to select specific servers
- Logs personally identifiable information
As one of the younger VPN services on the block, SwitchVPN has made some bold claims to bolster interest in their service -- such as boosting internet speeds and preventing all spying on your internet use. Does SwitchVPN deliver on its promises?
Pricing
Whether you try their month-to-month subscription or opt for their yearly plan, SwitchVPN veers towards the expensive side when compared to the competition. There’s no free trial. But they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re unsatisfied for any reason.
Supported Devices
SwitchVPN is only available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. There are no browser extensions. You can, however, manually set up the service on other platforms -- such as your router or Smart TV. That said, it’s not super easy to do so.
Ease of Use
Getting SwitchVPN on your computer can be a hassle as payment verification might take up to 24 hours.
However, once reviewers installed the app on their computer and activated it, the actual interface was very user-friendly. If you’ve used other VPNs in the past, you’ll be right at home with SwitchVPN.
Interestingly, you cannot select specific server locations, only countries. That means you might end up on a busy server. Some reviewers recommended connecting a few times to find the fastest connection.
Simultaneous Connections
You can connect up to five devices simultaneously. If you configure the service on your router, you can extend the number and protect your gaming consoles as well.
Included Features
SwitchVPN is fairly light on features but it includes:
- Kill Switch
- Torrenting support
- Offers newer IKEv2 and SSTP protocols
- OpenVPN support
- Optional auto-launch on startup
- Optional reconnection to last used location
Besides the above features, SwitchVPN has 220 servers across 38 locations. While small compared to some of the bigger names in the VPN market, it’s still a reasonable amount of servers and locations to choose from.
Privacy and Logging
Here’s where reviews get a little hairy...
SwitchVPN is located in the US, a member of the Five Eyes alliance, which means they’ll leak your data to authorities if they detect illicit behavior.
As you’d expect, this means they log some of your data -- including some personally identifiable information. That means the service isn’t the most private VPN.
With that said, their privacy policy states they do not collect or log any traffic or use of their service. So at least they’re not logging your activity.
And what about DNS and IP leaks? When tested, experts were happy to find zero leaks, making it great for protecting your identity against hackers and other online dangers.
Performance
Overall, critics found the performance of SwitchVPN average for a VPN service. It in no way lived up to the claim it would speed up their internet browsing. Servers located closest to reviewers were the fastest while long-distance connections slowed down quite a bit.
It’s not the fastest VPN on the market by any stretch. Combine this with inconsistent speeds, and SwitchVPN ranks well below similarly priced VPN options.
Support
Support is where SwitchVPN really shines. They offer live chat support with near instantaneous responses from customer support. In addition, all of your previous conversations are stored on your account so you can track your previous conversations.
The Best VPN was so impressed they stated the support experience was, “... One of the best we’ve seen…”
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Summary
SwitchVPN offers nothing super compelling compared to other VPNs. But it’s not horrible either. The higher price tag and the fact it collects some personally identifiable information makes it hard for many reviewers to recommend.
TechRadar states, “SwitchVPN has many plus points… but there are too many issues with the service and the website to fully recommend it right now.”
VPNPro adds, “... SwitchVPN’s server fleet and resulting connection speeds are nothing to write home about, and its range of custom apps isn’t particularly outstanding, either.”
What the Critics Are Saying...
- VPN SpecialSwitchVPN has a decent server location list and a strong encryption. However, its Privacy Policy and expensive pricing are big disadvantages.
- VPNxDIf you are looking for an average VPN service provider to keep your online activities secure, go for SwitchVPN. It has plenty of servers and protocols to choose from. However, you may encounter software crashes as well as slow server performance.
- Best VPN ratingSwitchVPN offers great protection and flexibility in the form of various server locations, various protocols, unlimited switching, software availability and amount of connections. It is not only a great option for public users but also fantastic for businesses because businesses can get more than 20...
- Brad Smith, TheBestVPN.comThe app was insanely simple to use. They supported a wide variety of devices, providing best-in-class encryptions and tunneling protocols. Their customer service was just not fast, but also extremely personable, too.
- Alex (Shurf) Frenkel, vpnMentorSwitchVPN proxy is not as user-friendly as other proxy sites; this is mainly because it is not supported by a reliable customer support facility. While it does offer more than a dozen server locations, it fails to provide a satisfactory number of IP addresses. Another issue is that if the IP address...
Details
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | USA |
| Pricing/Sign Up | |
| Starting Price (per Month) | $3.33 |
| Plans and Pricing | Visit Site |
| Free Trial | 3 days |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 Days |
| Payment Options | Credit Cards, PayPal, Bitcoin |
| ID Required | Valid email address |
| Features | |
| Server Locations (# of Countries) | 25 |
| Number of Servers | 145 + |
| Devices Per License | 5 |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 |
| Unlimited Bandwidth | Yes |
| Double-Hop / Double VPN | No |
| Accesses Netflix | Yes |
| P2P / Torrenting Allowed | Yes |
| Accepts Bitcoin | Yes |
| Non-US Company | No |
| Protected | |
| Protocols | IPSec, L2TP, OpenVPN, PPTP, SSTP |
| Encryption | AES-256 |
| No Logs / No Tracking | Yes |
| Dedicated IP Available | Yes |
| VPN Over Tor | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Leak Protection | No |
| Private DNS Server | No |
| DNS Leak Protection | No |
| IP Leak Protection | Yes |
| WebRTC Leak Protection | Yes |
| IPv6 Leak Protection | Yes |
| Kill Switch | Yes |
| Supported Platforms | |
| Operating Systems | Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Android |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Router | No |
| Browser Extension | No |
| Customer Support | |
| 24/7 Support | Yes |
| Live Chat Support | Yes |
| Telephone Support | No |
| Email Support | No |
| More | |
| Additional comments | |
| Terms & Conditions | Official Terms & Conditions |
| Suggest a correction |
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Critic Reviews
Relatively good services
SwitchVPN has a decent server location list and a strong encryption. However, its Privacy Policy and expensive pricing are big disadvantages.
SwitchVPN has a decent server location list and a strong encryption. However, its Privacy Policy and expensive pricing are big disadvantages.
Needs improvement
If you are looking for an average VPN service provider to keep your online activities secure, go for SwitchVPN. It has plenty of servers and protocols to choose from. However, you may encounter software crashes as well as slow server performance.
If you are looking for an average VPN service provider to keep your online activities secure, go for SwitchVPN. It has plenty of servers and protocols to choose from. However, you may encounter software crashes as well as slow server performance.
Affordable, great protection
SwitchVPN offers great protection and flexibility in the form of various server locations, various protocols, unlimited switching, software availability and amount of connections. It is not only a great option for public users but also fantastic for businesses because businesses can get more than...More
SwitchVPN offers great protection and flexibility in the form of various server locations, various protocols, unlimited switching, software availability and amount of connections. It is not only a great option for public users but also fantastic for businesses because businesses can get more than 20 devices protected at the same time should they need to
Leak-free, user-friendly VPN connection
The app was insanely simple to use. They supported a wide variety of devices, providing best-in-class encryptions and tunneling protocols. Their customer service was just not fast, but also extremely personable, too.
The app was insanely simple to use. They supported a wide variety of devices, providing best-in-class encryptions and tunneling protocols. Their customer service was just not fast, but also extremely personable, too.
Robust networking capability
SwitchVPN proxy is not as user-friendly as other proxy sites; this is mainly because it is not supported by a reliable customer support facility. While it does offer more than a dozen server locations, it fails to provide a satisfactory number of IP addresses. Another issue is that if the IP addr...More
SwitchVPN proxy is not as user-friendly as other proxy sites; this is mainly because it is not supported by a reliable customer support facility. While it does offer more than a dozen server locations, it fails to provide a satisfactory number of IP addresses. Another issue is that if the IP addresses are already used too much then there is a higher chance of Google blocking them. The proxy avoids this problem by rotating its IP address.
Multiple protocols offered, high speeds
SwitchVPN is a great VPN option with a wide variety of servers and reliable, fast speeds. Furthermore, customer support is excellent and security protocols are good. Aside from their messy updated website, SwitchVPN is definitely worth checking out and definitely affordable enough.
SwitchVPN is a great VPN option with a wide variety of servers and reliable, fast speeds. Furthermore, customer support is excellent and security protocols are good. Aside from their messy updated website, SwitchVPN is definitely worth checking out and definitely affordable enough.
Has all the makings of a good VPN service
SwitchVPN does a lot of things right. It has reasonable VPN server speed and has a decent amount of variety in its VPN server locations. The VPN app is easy to use and is smooth. Moreover, it offers a money-back guarantee and supports all major platforms. But the faults are glaring, to say the le...More
SwitchVPN does a lot of things right. It has reasonable VPN server speed and has a decent amount of variety in its VPN server locations. The VPN app is easy to use and is smooth. Moreover, it offers a money-back guarantee and supports all major platforms. But the faults are glaring, to say the least. Mainly, that its privacy policy is messed up. It keeps connections logs too. Hence, if you want to sign up for a VPN service because you want to secure your privacy then this VPN service is not for you.
Unlimited bandwidth, P2P allowed
SwitchVPN looks capable and robust. The catch is it counts on you being so idle as to skip their Privacy Policies and ToS. The technology under its hood may be right, but it does nothing to protect you from the snooping provider. My verdict – steer clear.
SwitchVPN looks capable and robust. The catch is it counts on you being so idle as to skip their Privacy Policies and ToS. The technology under its hood may be right, but it does nothing to protect you from the snooping provider. My verdict – steer clear.
Decent performance, above average prices
SwitchVPN has many plus points, including its solid performance and (mostly) well-designed Windows client, but there are too many issues with the service and the website to fully recommend it right now.
SwitchVPN has many plus points, including its solid performance and (mostly) well-designed Windows client, but there are too many issues with the service and the website to fully recommend it right now.
Impressive customer support, fast speeds
We find SwitchVPN to be a decent VPN service provider in the market till yet. Serving approximately six years in the VPN industry, SwitchVPN provides amazing features to their customers at fast speed.
We find SwitchVPN to be a decent VPN service provider in the market till yet. Serving approximately six years in the VPN industry, SwitchVPN provides amazing features to their customers at fast speed.