Astrill VPN 2024 Review: 5 Cons and 2 Pros

by Petr Lippert
updated January 1, 2024 (Report a bug)

1. Astrill VPN Works in China; Is It Worth It for $12.50 per Month?

   • DNS request leaks have been uncovered in the past
   • Only 109 servers are available
   • High subscription price ($12.50 per month)
   • Below-average download (72 Mb/s) and upload (9 Mb/s) speeds
   • Only 5 devices can be connected simultaneously

   • Custom Stealth protocol
   • VPN works in China

   The Astrill VPN is a product of Astrill Systems Corp, which was founded in 2009 in Liechtenstein. The company’s current headquarters are in Victoria, Seychelles, and it began offering VPNs in 2009.

   A significant advantage of Astrill VPN is the development of its own Stealth protocol, making it difficult to detect an activated VPN. This makes the service usable in China, though the functionality of the protocol is not always 100%.

   Astrill VPN does have several weaknesses. Particularly, the small network of only 109 servers may be the cause of the relatively low transfer speeds. In our tests, we measured average download speeds of 72 Mb/s and upload speeds of 9 Mb/s. The number of 5 simultaneously connectable devices is also below average.

   Although the feature set of Astrill VPN appears quite extensive at first glance, not everything works as it should. A major shortcoming is the DNS request leaks that have been discovered in the past, which one of the app’s features was intended to prevent.

   Moreover, the subscription price of $12.50 per month is significantly higher than what comparable or better private networks can be subscribed to. In our VPN test, NordVPN performed best (9.4/10), followed by Surfshark (9.2/10) and CyberGhost VPN (8.8/10).

2. Astrill VPN Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price: $30​58% off  $12.50 /mo (5 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: No
   • Free Trial: Yes (7 days)
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     Yes

     Bitcoin :Yes
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   

   6

   ★★★

   A relatively unknown VPN has its own Stealth protocol, allowing it to work in China. Downsides are higher cost and past DNS leak issues.

   $12.50 /mo Free 7-day trial 

   Get this VPN 58% cheaper

   Subscriptions are available on a recurring monthly billing basis or for one and two years with upfront payment.

   In terms of features and parameters, the different options do not differ from each other, with the two-year subscription being the most cost-effective at $12.50 per month. In contrast, the least favorable option with monthly payment is $30. Astrill VPN does not provide a money-back guarantee on your order.

   The Astrill VPN can also be obtained as part of an annual corporate subscription, where up to 200 licenses can be registered under one account.

   When comparing the subscription price, Astrill VPN is one of the more expensive VPN service providers. In comparison, the subscription price of NordVPN is $4.04 per month, and Private Internet Access can be purchased for as little as $1.91 per month. In many ways, the quality of these services is higher.

   To get a subscription, simply register at Astrill VPN. The first step is to select a subscription option and create a user account, entering a name, email address, and password. Beyond the subscription, it is possible to add a private IP address and VIP use of the service, which guarantees priority connection on all available servers and a multi-hop function.

   Subscriptions can be paid by debit and credit card, bank transfer, Bitcoin cryptocurrency, PayPal, and Monero. Payment is always for the entire subscription at once, and subscriptions are automatically renewed until canceled.

   Before purchasing a subscription, a trial version can be used, which is available for free for 7 days. To install it, you must first create a user account. The trial version of Astrill VPN includes all the features available in the paid plan. There is no permanent free version of Astrill VPN.

3. Astrill VPN and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: 5

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     No

     Android TV is supported by 36 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     No

     Apple TV is supported by 18 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     No

     Fire TV is supported by 43 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     No

     Chromebook is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     No

     Chromecast is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 99 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     No

     Kodi is supported by 21 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     Yes

     Linux is supported by 61 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     No

     NAS is supported by 24 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     No

     nVidia Shield is supported by 14 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     No

     Playstation is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     No

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 17 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     No

     Roku is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     Yes

     Router is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     No

     xBox is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     No

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     No

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     No

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 21 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     No

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 34 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     No

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 0 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     No

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.

   With one subscription, you can protect up to 5 different devices simultaneously. This number will probably be sufficient for most users, though, for example, Surfshark can be used on 999 devices simultaneously.

   We rate the compatibility level of Astrill VPN as below average. The app is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop devices, and for Android and iOS mobile devices.

   Smart TVs, gaming consoles, or alternative devices like Raspberry Pi or nVidia Shield are not directly supported. All such devices can be secured by supporting traffic on the router. A setup guide is available on the Astrill VPN website. In terms of quota allowed, the router counts as one device. When running VPN on a router, all devices connected to the same network are automatically protected.

   Astrill VPN does not offer extensions for any of the browsers.

4. Astrill VPN App: User-friendliness, whitelist, server selection…

   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English
   • Whitelisting:
     Yes

     Whitelisting is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs

   While downloading the app and installing it posed no problem, subsequent user account creation was prevented by a bug within the program. The easiest solution was to create an account via the web at Astrill VPN. Classic and video tutorials on installing and operating the application are available at the same location.

   The app is only available in a black and white theme, and the only language available is English. The app’s environment is less successful compared to other reviewed VPNs, giving a slightly outdated impression at first glance. When you start it up, the window to connect to the server is always the first to appear. Below that is a list of all available servers, sorted alphabetically by location. Servers can be added to the favorites list, and you can easily select the last used server. After successfully connecting to a server, the icon will turn blue.

   In the same place, the protocol used can be selected, and the subscription end date is displayed for checking. Other functions are hidden under the tabs in the top bar. Configuration options are limited to simply turning individual functions on and off.

   Among the common features, Auto-connect is missing, for example, which would allow automatic connection to the VPN when the device boots. At least a whitelist is available, where you can select apps and websites that will automatically activate VPN protection when visited.

5. Astrill VPN Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 115 Mb/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 81 Mb/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 48 ms.

   As is common with paid VPNs, Astrill VPN doesn’t limit users in the amount of data they can transfer. A somewhat surprising exception is the Business plans, where the volume of data transferred is selected between 100 GB and 1 TB per month. The total subscription price is based on the chosen data volume.

   Connecting to the server was slower compared to other services reviewed. Although it is described as a very fast service on the Astrill VPN website, it fell short of expectations in our tests.

   We measured an average download speed of 72 Mb/s, which, while sufficient for watching 4K video, places Astrill VPN among the worse paid services. The upload speed of 9 Mb/s is only sufficient for normal internet surfing. If Astrill VPN were to reach this speed on a regular basis, the service would be completely unsuitable for torrenting and sharing large amounts of data.

   Server response from Astrill VPN was average in our tests, at 28 ms. Such a value is sufficient, for example, for undisturbed gaming, where a response time of up to 30 ms is stated as optimal. For response as opposed to transfer speeds, a lower value is better. The top VPNs achieved even better values in our measurements, for example, AdGuard VPN measured 7 ms, and ExpressVPN achieved a response of 12 ms.

6. Astrill VPN Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     109

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1699.
   • Number of countries:
     57

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 41.

   Europe	🇧🇪 Belgium 🇦🇱 Albania 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇦🇹 Austria 🇷🇴 Romania 🇬🇷 Greece 🇲🇰 Northern Macedonia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇺🇦 Ukraine
   North America	🇨🇦 Canada 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇺🇸 USA
   South America	🇧🇷 Brazil 🇦🇷 Argentina
   Asia	🇭🇰 Hong Kong 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇵 Japan 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇹🇭 Thailand 🇹🇼 Taiwan
   Africa	🇪🇬 Egypt 🇿🇦 South Africa
   Oceania	🇦🇺 Australia 🇳🇿 New Zealand

   The Astrill VPN network consists of 109 servers in 57 countries around the world. While the range of locations is quite diverse, the number of servers is below average compared to other services and may be one of the reasons for the low speed.

   At least one Astrill VPN server is available on every continent, with the largest number traditionally found in Europe. The US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa are also among the countries available. Among the less common ones, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, and Argentina are represented.

   Astrill VPN also operates servers in countries affected by government censorship, such as Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

   Some of the servers operated are reserved for users with an additional private IP address or are dedicated to torrenting. Other features offered are available on all servers. Users with additional VIP service are guaranteed priority traffic on all servers and reduced latency for Asian locations.

   Although Astrill VPN does not provide exact server counts, and the number is an estimate, given the low speeds, an undersizing of the number of servers can be expected. In addition to the number of servers, proper configuration is also important to ensure a high quality of service.

7. Astrill VPN Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 92% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 87% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Multi-Hop:
     No

     Multi-Hop connection is offered by 20 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Tor:
     Yes

     Tor support is offered by 19 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   While Astrill VPN has DNS protection implemented, there are concerns about its effectiveness as unwanted leaks have been detected in the past.

   The kill switch feature prevents sensitive data from being leaked and the location and real IP address of the user from being revealed. This disconnects the device from the internet if the connection to the VPN server is lost. The kill switch is one of the most important features of private networks, and most services offer it.

   In the application settings, you can choose the protocol used from WireGuard, OpenVPN, OpenWeb, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2/IPSec, Cisco/IPSec, PPTP, SSTP, and StealthVPN, which was developed by Astrill VPN. It is the proprietary StealthVPN protocol that ensures the availability of Astrill VPN in China, where the use of VPNs is undesirable. Instructions for setting up each protocol are available on the Astrill VPN website.

   The transmitted data is secured with 256-bit AES encryption, which is considered very secure.

   Astrill VPN service can be used on the Tor network. A multi-hop connection, which can route traffic through two different VPN servers simultaneously, is only available at an additional cost.

   Overall, Astrill VPN does offer a fairly wide range of security features, but some of them either come at a premium or their reliability is a concern. To ensure maximum security and anonymity, we recommend comparing Astrill VPN with competing services like NordVPN and Proton VPN Plus.

8. Astrill VPN & Streaming: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     Yes

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     Yes

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     Yes

     HBO streaming is supported by 57 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     Yes

     Hulu streaming is supported by 49 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     Yes

     Netflix streaming is supported by 67 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs

   Astrill VPN was able to unblock streams from Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, and Hulu in our test.

   However, we cannot unequivocally recommend Astrill VPN for this purpose. During our tests, some of the servers did not work. While Astrill VPN recommends choosing the Stealth VPN protocol to unblock video, we didn’t feel any improvement even after setting it up.

   The Astrill VPN app can thus unblock streaming services, but sometimes this is offset by a lengthy search for a working server. For viewing 4K video, a download speed of at least 50 Mbps is specified as required, which is a barrier for some Astrill VPN servers.

   Streaming platforms often block the viewing of video over VPNs as they do not hold the broadcasting rights for some countries in the world. In such situations, the user may try to disconnect from the VPN and reconnect. Doing so will result in the IP address being changed to a different one that may not be on the block list.

   For reliable and fast unblocking of streaming platforms, we recommend choosing, for example, NordVPN or Surfshark. Both services offer high download speeds, have unblocked all major platforms in our tests, and have excellent security levels on top.

9. Features of Astrill VPN: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     Yes

     Ad blocking is offered by 44 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     No

     Malware blocking is offered by 33 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     No

     Trackers blocking is offered by 38 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   The menu of extra features at Astrill VPN is good, but not everything works as expected. The application supports ad blocking, which did not achieve satisfactory results in our tests. The tracker and malware blocking features are completely missing.

   Multi-hop connectivity increases the level of security by using a connection to a pair of different VPN servers at the same time. The feature sometimes referred to as Double VPN is only available for Astrill VPN at an additional cost. A kill switch is available for all users, which disconnects the device from the internet when the connection to the VPN server is lost.

   When using Astrill VPN on the router, the VPN sharing feature is available to provide protection to all devices connected to the same network.

   On Windows devices, a smart mode is available that differentiates between local and foreign IP addresses for accessing given sites. Protection can also be increased by port forwarding. Beyond that, websites can be selected to be omitted from VPN routing. App Guard is based on a very similar principle, the only difference being that it selects applications instead of websites.

   Astrill VPN also supports Onion over VPN. A private IP address is available for Astrill VPN at an additional cost.

10. Astrill VPN‘s CPU usage and App Performance

    Most VPN apps don’t put so much load on the device that it results in a less comfortable experience. Nor did Astrill VPN overload Windows computers enough to result in slowdowns during our tests.

    The size of the application is around only 15 MB. The overall device requirements can be reduced by disabling some unused features; Astrill VPN allows this in the settings for almost all of them.

11. Astrill VPN Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      Yes

      Torrenting support is offered by 89 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    Astrill VPN supports the use of the service for torrenting.

    Some servers at Astrill VPN are directly optimized for P2P transfers, and are marked with a yellow star in the list. Astrill VPN is compatible with most torrenting clients, including uTorrent, BitTorrent, and Vuze.

    Torrenting with Astrill VPN can be complicated by low server speeds; during our tests, we measured download at 72 Mb/s and upload at only 9 Mb/s. When choosing a VPN, we also recommend considering Ivacy VPN and CyberGhost VPN, which are generally more suitable for torrenting.

12. What is the country of origin of Astrill VPN?

    • VPN Provider: Astrill
    • Country of origin: 🇸🇨 Seychelles

    The operator of the service is Astrill Systems Corp, which was founded in 2009. Confusion surrounds the company’s registered office, as its website lists its headquarters in Liechtenstein, while its business register lists the city of Victoria in the Seychelles. Running a VPN is the only known activity of the company, and its key customers include businesses, travelers, and expats.

    Astrill Systems Corp is not known to have any parent company.

    Seychelles is not one of the 14 Eyes grouping member countries, which can collect and share intelligence on internet users among themselves. This is good news for users of Astrill VPN.

13. Astrill VPN and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      Yes

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 78% of reviewed VPNs.

    The Astrill VPN website explicitly states that no activity associated with VPN usage is logged. Therefore, according to this statement, the location of users, IP addresses used, and sites visited are not stored.

    The information collected includes what is needed to maintain the user’s account, specifically, name, email address, and payment details. For the last 20 uses of the VPN, Astrill VPN still records the amount of data transferred, the length, and frequency of the connection. After 30 days have passed since the last activity, all data is automatically deleted. Additionally, data deletion can be requested at any time via customer support.

    The last type of information collected is application diagnostic data, intended for optimizing the application and promoting the service. All data of this type is anonymous and is neither shared nor sold by the operator Astrill VPN.

    In the past, DNS record leaks have been detected for Astrill VPN, which fundamentally undermines trust in the service’s use. At the same time, the VPN is not known to have been independently audited by a reputable company.

14. Astrill VPN Support: Chat, e-mail…

    Customer support at Astrill VPN can be easily contacted via live chat, available 24/7. Alternatively, a contact form can be filled out, and a reply will be sent to the email address provided.

    A tutorial section is available on the Astrill VPN website, some of which is in video form. Some problems related to using the service are addressed in the FAQ section, but the answers are quite brief.

    Astrill VPN is present on Facebook. The Astrill VPN blog regularly publishes posts related to internet security and the service itself.

15. Astrill VPN FAQ

    Is Astrill VPN free?

    Astrill VPN is a paid service, and the price of the most affordable subscription option is $12.50 per month. It does not offer a free variant, but you can use the trial version for free for 7 days. To get it, you need to download the mobile app and register.

    Does Astrill VPN work in China?

    Yes, Astrill VPN can be used in China thanks to the proprietary Stealth protocol. The VPN may not always work on all servers, so you may need to reconnect to get it to work properly.

    Is Astrill VPN worth it?

    Although Astrill VPN offers an interesting set of features, their quality is not always 100%, and the service lags behind the competition in some parameters. With a subscription price of $12.50 per month, Astrill VPN ranks among the most expensive services on the market.

    For these reasons, we recommend that you consider whether you prefer a competing solution when purchasing a VPN. Good results in our tests were achieved by NordVPN or Surfshark.

    Does Astrill VPN share its users’ data?

    Although Astrill VPN stores some data from the last 20 logins, the information collected is not shared or sold in any way. The data is automatically deleted after 30 days at the latest. At the same time, there have been no recorded instances of this data being released in the past. The deletion of data can be requested at any time from customer support.