StrongVPN is a fairly simple VPN platform that doesn’t come with too many flashy features and extras, but instead focuses on its core mission of providing basic privacy, supported by easy-to-use clients for Windows, Android, Mac, iOS and Fire OS operating systems, as well as other platforms (including Router, Linux, Amazon Kindle, Chrome OS, Kodi, etc.) Installation options and access to more than 950 servers in over 30 countries.
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- StrongVPN does not offer a free trial: but does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for annual plans only.
- StrongVPN is compatible with native apps: For Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Fire TV and Chrome OS.
- It offers 24/7 customer service: I tried StrongVPN’s live chat support and received a very quick, friendly and helpful response.
- Average network size: StrongVPN has over 950 servers in over 30 countries and 59 cities with nearly 60,000 IP addresses available.
- It is successfully unblocked Netflix UK/US, Disney+, Hulu and many other services on all servers I connected.
- StrongVPN uses one of the highest levels of encryption – AES 256-bit, making it extremely secure to use.
- StrongVPN protects your privacy by not collecting information about your activities when you connect to its VPN servers.
- Speeds are fast enough for long distance streaming. When connecting to servers in Europe, I achieved high streaming speeds with little buffering, but I was also happy with speeds over longer distances where latency was minimal.
All clients can be downloaded from the website, or the website will redirect you to the app store. They are all quick and easy to install, but if you run into any problems, you can get help from the support website or the ever-helpful customer support team. Usage is no different – the provider keeps the interface simple, with only basic options and not much else. Switching between servers is a bit unintuitive, as you have to manually disconnect the current connection before you can connect to another server.
The platform can run up to 12 simultaneous connections, which is far more than even some of the more expensive competitors support. If you need more, feel free to enable StrongVPN on a supported router to unlock the limit.
StrongVPN recently started offering 250GB of free SugarSync cloud storage, though this isn’t publicly mentioned on the site until you choose one of the subscription plans. StrongVPN allows you to upload files and folders to your network storage, sync them on your device, share them with others, or delete them remotely if your device is lost.
| Features | Data |
|---|---|
|
Over All Rank |
#8 |
|
Speed |
84 Mbps |
|
Logging Policy |
No Logs |
|
Data Leaks |
No |
|
Jurisdiction |
US (Five Eye Member) |
|
Locations & Servers |
39 & 950+ Servers |
|
IPAddress |
59,500+ |
|
US Netflix |
Yes |
|
Torrenting |
Unlimited |
|
Works in China |
Yes |
|
Support |
24/7 Live Chat |
|
Price |
$2.05/Month |
Features
- Apps for all platforms
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Zero logging
- 950+ VPN servers in 39 countries
- 39,000+ VPN virtual private networks with 39,000+ VPNs
- Intelligent DNS service
- 12 simultaneous devices
- Released for Netflix and Hulu in the U.S.
- Support for multiple router models
- Strong OpenVPN encryption
- Fast connection speeds
- WireGuard protocol
Our performance tests have started positively. Our new UK servers are achieving average speeds of 140-160 Mbps when connected from our local data center.
We also tested OpenVPN speeds at our US location over a very fast 600 Mbps(On average) test line, but the results were rather disappointing, with speeds dropping by about half to around 60-80 Mbps(On average).
We’ve seen unusual results for StrongVPN’s speeds in the US before. For example, average speeds in our latest test ranged from 40-45 Mbps(On average) to 210-220 Mbps(On average), while in previous tests they ranged from a miserable 5 Mbps(On average) to 130-215 Mbps(On average). We’re not sure why yet, but occasionally overloaded servers are high on the list of likely candidates.
However, StrongVPN’s decent performance in the UK suggests that the service is capable of delivering trustworthy speeds, and these initial results are just the beginning. When we switched to the WireGuard protocol, StrongVPN’s performance in the UK improved to 190-330Mbps(On average). That’s close to the speeds of NordVPN’s NordLynx service (although it’s more consistent at 340-350Mbps(On average)).
So StrongVPN is capable of delivering impressive speeds, but you’ll see very different results depending on who you are and how and when you use the service. Keep this in mind when you sign up, and run your own speed tests at different times of the day in different locations to see how it works for you.
If you have any technical issues, you can find some instructions and troubleshooting tips on the StrongVPN support page. The content has seen some updates since our last review, but it’s still pretty limited and poorly organized to compete with the best of the competition. Nonetheless, there is some useful information here, and we got quick and helpful live chat support when we needed it.
StrongVPN likes to keep things simple here, offering only Two Plans: Monthly and Yearly. Both plans offer similar features and functionality, but as always, the longer plan offers the best value.
Here’s a breakdown of the two plans
- Monthly Plan: This plan costs $10.99 per month and is billed every 30 days.
- Annual Plan: This plan costs $39.99 for first 12 Months and billed Annually.
Compared to other VPNs, StrongVPN’s monthly plan just avoids being labeled as expensive. However, annual VPN plans are quite expensive as you can get most top 10 VPNs for much less. You can only justify the price if you need a cloud service bonus.
Still, you can occasionally get discounts on your first subscription. For example, during the review period, there was a 50% discount on the prices.
You can sign up with StrongVPN using all major payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Paypal, and Alipay.
What we didn’t find were anonymous payments, such as cryptocurrencies. Most users who prefer secrecy prefer to pay with things like Bitcoin.
This doesn’t put it in a good position to compete with other top VPNs in the industry, as most of them offer anonymous payments.
Payback Period
Most VPN providers offer a 30-day money back guarantee in case the service does not meet the user’s expectations. StrongVPN is one of those that offer a 30-day refund with no questions asked.
So if the service is not what someone wants, they can simply get their money back within 30 days.
Over 650 Servers in 26 Countries
Servers are useful because they are fast. The closer the server is to your location, the faster the connection. Considering that giants like Freedome VPN only have 20+ servers, StrongVPN operates over 650 servers, which is quite a lot for a small company.
There are 195 countries in the world, but StrongVPN users can only access 26 of them. That may not be a big deal, but it’s well below the market average. The average number of countries for the most popular service is 42.
StrongVPN recently started working again on several US Netflix servers after being completely blocked for a few weeks.
There are no dedicated streaming servers, which makes it difficult, but it shouldn’t be hard to find one that works.
Streaming BBC iPlayer is a different story. StrongVPN doesn’t consistently unblock iPlayer, and there are times when it works and times when it doesn’t.
However, in our recent tests, it did work with BBC iPlayer. However, these VPN services are much more reliable with BBC iPlayer.
StrongVPN makes life easy for users by offering apps for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. They also offer profiles for Linux, Kodi, Synology NAS, Chrome OS, Kindle, Boxee Box, Nokia Symbian, Windows Mobile, and routers.
The list is long and not all VPN providers offer such a wide range of platform compatibility.
You can download Mac and Windows apps from the website. To install StrongVPN on an Android or Apple phone, simply download and install the app from the app store.
If you want to configure the VPN manually without relying on the app, you can download the platform’s configuration file from its website. However, since manual configuration takes about 2-3 minutes more time, most users prefer to install the app.
The website provides step-by-step instructions for manual configuration, and you can always contact support if you get stuck.
The easiest way to use StrongVPN is to purchase one of their pre-configured routers. This router requires no setup and is ready to use as soon as you plug it in. Moreover, the VPN router protects all connected devices and there is no 5-device limit per subscription plan.
StrongVPN is one of the few VPNs that supports so many platforms, from newfangled iPhones to old-school Symbian phones. VPNs can be configured on various types of routers such as Sabai, ASUS, DD_WRT, Tomato and Mikrotik.
StrongVPN offers decent connectivity for gaming and streaming movies. Since StrongVPN bypasses Netflix’s geo-restrictions, you can use it to watch Netflix and stream movies and TV shows.
Number of Devices Supported
The more devices a VPN supports, the better. Some of the fastest VPNs on the market fail in this regard, allowing only 5 connections, sometimes as few as 3.
For families, this is hardly enough, considering that each family member has at least 3 devices (phone, tablet, laptop). For businesses, this means additional costs as more licenses are needed to protect all employees.
With StrongVPN, you can connect up to 12 devices at once, which is ideal for home use and small businesses. It is compatible with most routers.
If you want to connect StrongVPN to your Kodi, Fire Stick, Fire TV, Xbox, PlayStation, Smart TV or Apple TV, the best and easiest way to do it is to buy a router. You can find detailed instructions on how to set up the router on the website.
| Countries | IP Leak | DNS Leak |
|---|---|---|
|
Singapore |
Passed |
Passed |
|
South Africa |
Passed |
Passed |
|
US |
Passed |
Passed |
|
UK |
Passed |
Passed |
|
Australia |
Passed |
Passed |
If you want to make sure you don’t leave any breadcrumbs behind, then you should get a VPN with reliable anti-leakage features and providing DNS leak protection is now industry standard.
When I went ahead and explored StrongVPN’s various features, I couldn’t find the leak protection option. However, when I actually ran more leak tests, StrongVPN passed without issue.
Split tunneling
Split tunnels allow you to decide which applications you want to run over the VPN and which you prefer to use without it. In this case, it is important that your provider has this option in the package. Gamers in particular will need this to keep their games up to date. At this point, unfortunately, this does not apply to StrongVPN. They don’t have this option in their subscription to run everything over the VPN, or to run nothing over the VPN.
StrongVPN Encryption
Encryption is the process of scrambling text and data so that only those with a special code can decrypt the data and access the information it contains. StrongVPN uses the following methods to encrypt data.
AES-256
At StrongVPN, all of your data is encrypted using the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the gold standard of encryption that would take millions of years for even the fastest supercomputers to decrypt using brute force. The U.S. government uses AES-256 to encrypt top-secret information. It is safe to say that it is secure.
IKEv2
Internet Key Exchange version 2 is a widely used VPN protocol that automatically reconnects you to your VPN after you lose your Internet connection. This is especially useful for people who like to switch between Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots, a very common dance when using the public Internet.
IPSec
Finally, IPsecurity establishes a secure Internet connection and is often used in conjunction with other protocols to increase security. IPSec uses one of two modes: transport mode, where only the information in the packet itself is encrypted, and tunnel mode, where the entire packet is encrypted.
Unauthenticated policies
I’ve always found it ironic in the VPN industry that some VPN companies actually make surfing online more insecure.
While they advertise a “no logging” policy on their websites, if you read the fine print, you’ll quickly discover that many VPN’s (especially free VPNs) not only log your data and activity, but then sell it to third parties and partners.
With issues like these becoming more common, it’s more important than ever to thoroughly understand a VPN’s logging policies before making a purchase.
Customer Service
If you have problems installing and using the service, you can refer to the library of articles on the help page. The articles are categorized by the area covered and include installation guides, technical support, billing support, FAQ’s and a section about us. The support page can be searched by keyword.
StrongVPN also has a blog, which is a good read for anyone interested in the company and the VPN industry.
For questions that the support site can’t answer, the company’s professional customer support team is available 24 hours a day to answer them. You can contact them via live chat or submit a detailed request on the website and receive a response via email within an hour.
Apart from these common practices, another welcome one is that you can contact them anytime during the company’s opening hours, which are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (UTC-6).
SugarSync Storage
SugarSync is a secure cloud storage service that allows users to quickly upload files or folders and sync them across multiple devices. Users can share files with other users and remove synced files from lost or stolen devices. All StrongVPN users receive 250GB of storage in their package.
Users who want to use SugarSync will find a lot of value as it normally costs $9.99 per month when purchased directly from the company.
Pros and Cons for StrongVPN
Pros
- Unblock Hulu and Netflix in the U.S.
- Bypass the Great Firewall of China
- Simplifies the interface
- No logging
- Easy to use
- SugarSync backups
Cons
- Reduced support for manual configuration
- Limited server space available
- Minimalist design may limit access for some users
- Slow speeds outside North America
Frequently Asked Questions
Does StrongVPN work with Netflix?
Yes, StrongVPN gets you through Netflix without any problems. It loads Netflix videos in full HD resolution almost instantly, and we had no issues with any of the streaming sites it connects to.
What is StrongVPN?
StrongVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) that allows you to route your internet traffic through a server that makes it appear that you’re in a different location, protecting your identity and data.
Is StrongVPN free of charge?
No, StrongVPN is not free and there is no free trial. The minimum price is $5.83 per month.
How do I use/activate a StrongVPN coupon code?
If you have a StrongVPN coupon, enter it at checkout. Please note that some discount coupons are applied automatically.
Summary
StrongVPN is easy to use and reliable enough in terms of speed to satisfy the needs of most users. If you’re new to VPN, StrongVPN is a good choice. Power users who care most about the protocol they use will also like what StrongVPN has to offer.
However, if you’re more interested in granular server options based on current performance, dedicated servers for P2P file sharing and Netflix unlocking, or more country options, StrongVPN may not be the best VPN choice for you.
StrongVPN has found a middle ground that provides important features for your VPN base, but without an overwhelming selection of features.
