Astrill VPN Review – A Premium VPN for Bypassing Censorship?

Astrill VPN, based in Seychelles, has built a solid reputation as a go-to choice for privacy-conscious users and frequent travelers. Known for its advanced features and focus on high-performance servers, it often stands out as a premium VPN solution—but does it justify the hype?

I decided to test Astrill VPN to see if it lives up to its claims. In this in-depth review, I’ll cover everything—from the sign-up process to real-world performance, streaming capabilities, and its unique tools—so you can determine if it’s worth your investment.

Here's what you'll learn in this Astrill VPN review:

• How Astrill VPN performs in terms of speed and security
• Its effectiveness in bypassing geo-restrictions and censorship
• The ease of installation and use
• Whether it significantly impacts your internet connection
• If Astrill VPN is as trustworthy as it claims to be

Let's jump right in and see what Astrill VPN has to offer!

In a Hurry? Here's a Quick Summary

If you're short on time, here's a quick overview of my findings for this Astrill VPN review:

What You'll Like:

• User-friendly interface: The app is easy to navigate, even for VPN newcomers.
• Strong security features: Robust encryption and a variety of VPN protocols ensure your data stays safe.
• Fast connections: Minimal speed loss when connecting to nearby servers.
• Excellent for streaming: Successfully unblocks popular platforms like Netflix US and UK.
• Wide server network: Servers in 118 cities across 58 countries provide plenty of options.

What You May Not Like:

• Slightly pricey: The monthly plan is on the expensive side compared to some competitors.
• No free trial: You'll have to commit to a paid plan to test the service.
• Limited customization: The app interface doesn't offer many personalization options.

What Makes This Astrill VPN Review Different?

Many Astrill VPN reviews you'll find online are simply recycled information from the company's website, lacking real-world testing and personal experience. As someone who's been working with VPNs for years, I know how important it is to provide honest, hands-on insights.

For this Astrill VPN review, I purchased an Astrill VPN subscription and spent two weeks rigorously testing its features on my Dell XPS laptop running Windows 11. I also used it on a MacBook Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE to ensure a thorough evaluation across different platforms.

Throughout the review, you'll find numerous screenshots I've taken during my testing process. These visual aids will give you a clear picture of what to expect from Astrill VPN's interface and features.

My goal is to provide you with an authentic, unbiased review based on real-world usage. So, let's examine the details of Astrill VPN and see how it performs in various scenarios.

Buying Astrill VPN

When it comes to purchasing Astrill VPN, you have three subscription options to choose from: 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years. Each plan offers the same set of features, so your decision will mainly come down to how long you want to commit and how much you're willing to spend.

One thing to note is that Astrill VPN doesn't offer a free trial, which might be a downside if you prefer to test the service before committing. However, they do provide significant discounts for longer subscriptions. The 1-year plan offers a 50% discount, while the 2-year plan gives you a 58% discount compared to the monthly option.

After careful consideration, I decided to go with the 1-year subscription. It seemed to offer the best balance between commitment and value for money. Here's how the purchasing process went:

1. I selected the 1-year plan on the Astrill VPN website.
2. Next, I had to create an account by entering my name, email address, and password.
3. For payment, Astrill VPN offers several options: credit/debit card, PayPal, UnionPay, and even cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Monero). There's also a unique option to ask a friend to pay, which could be handy in certain situations.
4. I chose to pay with PayPal, and the transaction went through smoothly.

After completing the purchase, I received three emails:

• One to complete my signup
• A receipt from Paddle (their payment processor)
• An invoice and payment confirmation from Astrill VPN, which included a link to the online dashboard where I could manage my account and download the VPN installer

One thing that caught my attention was the option to purchase add-ons. Astrill offers two: a private IP on a specific server and a VIP add-on that promises optimized speed and reduced latency for clients in Asia and gamers. While I didn't opt for these, it's good to know they're available if you need them.

Overall, the purchasing process was simple and secure. Now, let's move on to the installation process.

Installation

Installing Astrill VPN on my Windows machine was a breeze. Here's how it went down:

1. I navigated to the download page on Astrill's website and grabbed the Windows installer.
2. The installation process took less than a minute – impressively quick!
3. During installation, I was only asked if I wanted to add a desktop shortcut. No other choices were necessary.
4. A reboot was required at the end of the installation, which is pretty standard for VPN software.

The simplicity of the installation process is definitely a plus point for Astrill VPN. Even if you're not tech-savvy, you shouldn't have any trouble getting the VPN up and running on your device.

Interface

Upon launching Astrill VPN for the first time, I was greeted with a clean and simple interface. The main window is compact and non-resizable, which might be a limitation for some users who prefer more screen real estate.

Astrill VPN's main interface is simple and easy to navigate

The interface is divided into several key areas:

• Connect Button: A large, central button allows you to connect or disconnect from the VPN with a single click.
• Server Selection: Below the button, there's a dropdown menu where you can choose your preferred server location.
• Settings: In the top left corner, you'll find buttons for accessing various settings and features.

One thing I noticed is that the interface is only available in English. This could be a drawback for non-English speakers. Additionally, there's only one theme available – a light theme with a dark frame. If you prefer dark modes or different color schemes, you're out of luck here.

The settings menu, accessible from the main interface, offers a wealth of options for customizing your VPN experience. Here, you can adjust protocols, set up split tunneling, configure the kill switch, and more.

The settings menu offers a wide range of customization options

While the interface might lack some advanced customization options, its simplicity makes it very user-friendly, especially for VPN newcomers. Everything you need is just a click or two away, which I found quite convenient during my Astrill VPN review testing.

VPN Servers

Astrill VPN boasts an impressive network of servers spread across the globe. They have VPN servers in 118 cities across 58 countries, which provides a good balance of coverage and options for users.

Astrill VPN offers a wide selection of servers across the globe

One thing I appreciate about Astrill is their transparency regarding server types. They claim to use only physical servers, not virtual ones, which can potentially offer better performance and security.

Accessing the server list is quick and easy – you can right-click anywhere on the user interface to bring up a context menu with server options. From here, you can choose a server and connect to it with a single click.

Selecting a server is easy with Astrill VPN's intuitive interface

The server selection menu allows you to view countries by recency or alphabetically, and you can mark servers as favorites for quick access. I found this feature particularly useful when I wanted to quickly switch between my most-used locations.

It's worth noting that Astrill doesn't offer specialized servers for specific activities like streaming or gaming, unlike competitors like CyberGhost or PIA. All servers are general-purpose, which keeps things simple but might not be ideal if you're looking for optimized performance for particular tasks.

During my testing for this Astrill VPN review, I found the server connections to be stable and reliable. Switching between servers was generally quick, although connection times could vary depending on the distance to the server.

Gaming

While Astrill VPN doesn't offer specialized gaming servers, like competitors, it can still be useful for gamers looking to protect their connection or access geo-restricted content. Here are some potential advantages of using a VPN for gaming:

• Protection against DDoS attacks
• Bypassing geo-restrictions to access games or servers not available in your region
• Potentially reducing lag by connecting to a server closer to the game's servers

To test Astrill VPN's performance in gaming scenarios, I played a few online games including World of Warcraft and Battlefield. The results were decent, with ping times averaging around 40ms in both games. While this isn't terrible, it's not ideal either – for competitive gaming, you'd want ping times lower than 20ms.

Overall, Astrill VPN's performance for gaming is adequate but not outstanding. If you're a casual gamer looking for added security, it should serve you well. However, competitive gamers might find the increased latency a bit too high for their needs.

Torrenting

Astrill VPN supports P2P file sharing, making it a viable option for torrenting. Here are some advantages of using a VPN for torrenting:

• Hiding your IP address from other peers in the swarm
• Encrypting your traffic to prevent your ISP from seeing what you're downloading
• Potentially bypassing ISP throttling of P2P traffic

To test Astrill's performance with torrents, I downloaded some open-source software (like the Linux Ubuntu installer) using a torrenting app. The speed was satisfactory, and I didn't experience any problems or disconnections during the process.

It's worth noting that Astrill doesn't offer specialized torrenting servers. However, this didn't seem to negatively impact performance in my Astrill VPN review tests. As always, remember to only download legal content and check the terms of service of your VPN provider regarding P2P activities.

Streaming

One of the most popular uses for VPNs is accessing geo-restricted streaming content. Astrill VPN claims to be able to unblock various streaming platforms, so I put this to the test.

I tested Astrill VPN's ability to unblock different Netflix libraries, using their StealthVPN protocol which is recommended for bypassing streaming restrictions. Here are my results:

• Netflix US: Worked successfully
• Netflix UK: Worked successfully
• Netflix Germany: Didn't work
• Netflix France: Didn't work
• Netflix Spain: Didn't work

While the results were mixed, successfully unblocking the US and UK Netflix libraries is a good achievement, as these are often the most sought-after catalogs.

It's worth noting that streaming platforms are constantly working to block VPN access, so these results may change over time. However, based on my tests, Astrill VPN seems to be a decent option for accessing some geo-restricted content, particularly from the US and UK.

VPN Speed and Performance

For my speed tests, I used a Dell XPS laptop with an Intel i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz and 16 GB of RAM running on Windows 11. My network configuration is Wi-Fi 5 protocol with a theoretical speed of 866 MBps.

Throughout my testing period, I found Astrill VPN to be generally stable and consistent in terms of speed. To get more specific data, I used Ookla's Speedtest to measure performance across various server locations. Here are the results:

• No VPN (Romania): 452 Mbps download, 309 Mbps upload, and 15 ms latency
• Atlanta, USA: 178 Mbps download, 89 Mbps upload, and 233 ms latency
• Chicago, USA: 250 Mbps download, 186 Mbps upload, and 139 ms latency
• Los Angeles, USA: 197 Mbps download, 153 Mbps upload, and 158 ms latency
• Germany: 309 Mbps download, 200 Mbps upload, and 50 ms latency
• France: 67 Mbps download, 66 Mbps upload, and 45 ms latency
• Spain: 211 Mbps download, 135 Mbps upload, and 90 ms latency
• Italy: 272 Mbps download, 134 Mbps upload, and 57 ms latency
• UK: 303 Mbps download, 143 Mbps upload, and 54 ms latency
• Brazil: 188 Mbps download, 112 Mbps upload, and 294 ms latency
• India: 10 Mbps download, 2 Mbps upload, and 331 ms latency

As expected, connecting to servers farther from my physical location resulted in higher latency and reduced speeds. However, the performance was generally good, especially for servers in Europe and North America. The connection to India was notably slow, which could be an issue if you need to connect to that region frequently.

Overall, Astrill VPN's speed performance is praiseworthy. While there is some speed loss compared to my base connection (which is expected with any VPN), the speeds remained more than adequate for most online activities, including streaming and browsing.

VPN Privacy Features

In the following segment, we’ll assess the VPN’s privacy. Our main focus: evaluating its encryption, confirming the security of its protocols, and determining if its no-logs commitment is genuine. 

VPN Protocols and Encryption

Astrill VPN offers a variety of VPN protocols to cater to different needs:

OpenWeb protocol options in Astrill VPN

The Wireguard protocol options are limited.

OpenVPN protocol options allow you to choose the mode, port, and encryption

What sets Astrill VPN apart is its proprietary protocols, OpenWeb and StealthVPN. These offer unique advantages, especially for users in countries with heavy internet restrictions.

For encryption, Astrill VPN uses industry-standard AES-256 encryption. You can change the encryption type for OpenVPN in the protocol options menu. For extra security for your devices, I recommend using an antimalware solution like Norton or Bitdefender. These programs can keep ransomware, keyloggers and other threats at bay.

No-Logs Policy and Transparency

Astrill VPN states that they have a strict no-logs policy. According to their privacy policy:

"Astrill also counts amount of traffic used by clients in order to plan network expansions. No personally identifiable information is kept - only the total number of transferred bytes. The very design of our VPN server software does not allow us to see which clients accessed what websites even if we wanted to. No logs whatsoever are stored on VPN servers after connection is terminated."

While this policy sounds comforting, it's worth noting that Astrill VPN hasn't undergone independent audits to verify these claims, unlike some of its competitors.

Kill-Switch (App Guard)

Astrill VPN's kill switch feature, called App Guard, offers a unique approach. Instead of cutting off all internet access when the VPN disconnects, App Guard allows you to block only specific applications from accessing the internet.

App Guard (Kill Switch) settings allow you to block apps if VPN is off.

This feature is particularly useful if you want to ensure certain apps (like torrent clients or specific browsers) only connect through the VPN, while allowing other apps to continue using your regular connection.

To configure App Guard, go to Settings > App Guard. Note that this feature doesn't work with the OpenWeb protocol, but is compatible with the other three protocols.

DNS and IP Leak Protection

Astrill VPN offers several features to protect against DNS and IP leaks:

• Fix DNS leak
• Fix IPv6 leak
• Fix WebRTC leak

Privacy settings include Kill switch, clear flash cookies, fix DNS leaks, and more.

To test these protections for this Astrill VPN review, I used several online tools:

• IP Leak Tests: Astrill VPN passed tests on ipleak.net and perfect-privacy.com.
• DNS Leak Test: The VPN also passed the test on dnsleaktest.com.

These results suggest that Astrill VPN's leak protection features are working effectively, keeping your real IP address and DNS requests hidden.

Wi-Fi Protection

Astrill VPN provides automatic protection when connecting to Wi-Fi networks, including public hotspots. This feature is crucial for maintaining security when using potentially unsafe networks.

The VPN uses 256-bit SSL encryption to secure your connection, even on unsecured networks. This protection runs effortlessly in the background, allowing you to connect to any public Wi-Fi without worrying about potential hackers on the same network.

Split Tunneling

Astrill VPN offers a comprehensive split tunneling feature, allowing you to choose which apps or websites use the VPN connection and which use your regular internet connection.

You can choose the tunnel type in the OpenWeb options.

There are multiple types of split tunneling available:

1. App-based split tunneling: Available in the OpenWeb protocol settings.
2. Website-based split tunneling: Found in the Settings > Site Filter menu.
3. Browser-based split tunneling: Available in the Settings > Browsers menu.

This flexibility in split tunneling options is a notable feature of Astrill VPN, allowing for very detailed control over your VPN usage.

VPN Sharing

Astrill VPN offers a VPN sharing feature, which allows you to extend your VPN protection to other devices on your network.

This feature is particularly useful if you want to protect devices that don't inherently support VPN connections, like smart TVs or gaming consoles. During my Astrill VPN review testing, I was able to share the VPN connection from my desktop to my smartphone without any issues.

To set up VPN sharing, go to the Settings menu > VPN sharing. Here, you can enable or disable the feature and set up auto-configuration.

Port Forwarding

Astrill VPN supports port forwarding, which can be useful for certain applications like gaming or running a home server.

The port forwarding options enable you to configure the forwarded port.

To configure port forwarding, go to Settings > Port Forward. Note that this feature isn't available with the OpenWeb protocol but works with the other three protocols.

Proxy Settings

For users who need to use a proxy to access the internet, Astrill VPN offers built-in proxy support.

The proxy settings includes options to set the proxy address, user name, and password.

You can configure proxy settings in the Settings menu > Proxy Settings. Astrill supports various proxy types including HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4, SOCKS4a, and SOCKS5.

Device Compatibility

Astrill VPN offers good device compatibility, with dedicated apps for:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• iOS (iPhone / iPad)
• Android
• Routers

Each Astrill VPN plan allows you to connect up to 5 devices simultaneously, which should be sufficient for most users' needs.

Astrill VPN Review: Conclusion and Recommendations

After thoroughly testing Astrill VPN, I can say it's a solid VPN service with some notable features. Here are my main takeaways for this Astrill VPN review:

• The user interface is simple to use, though it might take some time to get used to all the features.
• Streaming performance was decent, successfully unblocking US and UK Netflix catalogs.
• The VPN offers a good range of features for both beginners and advanced users.
• Speed performance was generally good, especially on nearby servers.
• Unique features like VPN sharing and the App Guard kill switch set it apart from some competitors.

However, there are a few areas where Astrill VPN could improve:

• The lack of a free trial might deter some potential users.
• The monthly plan is quite expensive compared to some competitors.
• There are no browser extensions available.

Recommendations for using Astrill VPN:

1. Experiment with different protocols to find the best balance of speed and security for your needs.
2. Make use of the split tunneling feature to optimize your VPN usage.
3. If you're in a country with heavy internet restrictions, try the StealthVPN protocol for better evasion of censorship.
4. Take advantage of the VPN sharing feature if you need to protect devices that don't support VPN connections directly.

Overall, Astrill VPN is a capable service that should meet the needs of most VPN users. Its strong performance in streaming and its advanced features make it a particularly good choice for users who need more than just basic VPN functionality.

Thinking about other solutions besides Astrill? NordVPN and ExpressVPN are top VPN choices. Check out our recommended VPNs for 2025.

FAQs

1. Is Astrill VPN safe to use? Yes, Astrill VPN uses strong encryption and offers features like leak protection and a kill switch to keep your data safe.
2. Can Astrill VPN unblock Netflix? Based on my tests, Astrill VPN can unblock some Netflix libraries, including the US and UK versions.
3. Does Astrill VPN work in China? Astrill VPN claims to work in China, with its StealthVPN protocol designed to bypass heavy internet restrictions.
4. How many devices can I use with Astrill VPN? Astrill VPN allows you to connect up to 5 devices simultaneously with one subscription.
5. Does Astrill VPN offer a free trial? Unfortunately, Astrill VPN does not offer a free trial. However, they do offer significant discounts on longer-term subscriptions.

Octav Fedor (Cybersecurity Editor)

Octav is a cybersecurity researcher and writer at AntivirusGuide. When he’s not publishing his honest opinions about security software online, he likes to learn about programming, watch astronomy documentaries, and participate in general knowledge competitions.