PureVPN Review 2023

In this PureVPN Review, I’m gonna show you everything that you need to know about this VPN provider before deciding if you should get started with it.

I will give you a quick demo of the software and point out the main unique features of PureVPN.

I will also conduct a speed test t  o find out how fast this VPN really is.

Next, I will reveal to you which streaming services PureVPN is able to successfully connect to.

I will also conduct numerous privacy tests to see how safe and secure PureVPN is, and I will also share with you my experience when I tried their customer service channels.

Lastly, I will break down the pricing structure and help you decide which plan is best suited for you. So make sure to check out my special discount link in the description below where you will receive the best deal currently available.

1. Setup & Features (9/10)

PureVPN started as an experiment in personal VPN security in 2006 and has rapidly progressed to be one of the pioneers in the VPN industry with more than three million users today.

It has more than 6,500 servers across 140 countries.

You can install PureVPN very easily in less than five minutes. All you have to do is sign up on their website where you can select the app that you want to download based on your device.

You can download PureVPN on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, and browsers like Firefox and Chrome. For example, here’s how you can download PureVPN’s Chrome Extension. It is quick, easy, and in no time, I’m already connected to their U.S. server.

If you’re having a hard time deciding which device to download PureVPN first, do not worry because you can still do so with nine more devices. To make sure your devices are secure, PureVPN allows you to get one subscription and use up to 10 devices at the same time which is a notch above most of its competitors except SurfShark VPN which doesn’t have any limits.

If you want to start with a test drive first, you can definitely sign up for a seven-day free trial. The free trial comes with all benefits so you can get a taste of what to expect from PureVPN. After your trial, you will be automatically subscribed to the one-year plan unless you cancel your trial before it ends.

You can start trying PureVPN’s features using its desktop app that you can download hassle-free. Once you open it, you will land to the homepage where you can connect to the recommended server instantly which happens to be the fastest based on your location. You can view and connect to other servers by clicking the globe icon on the right side. You can also add a server you desire to your Favorites for your convenience in the future or use the search bar and select a server from a certain country.

If you want to automatically launch and connect to PureVPN every time you sign in to Windows, you can do so by turning these options on. Just go to the Settings by clicking the gear icon on the lower right corner of the desktop app, and activating the “Launch on system start” or “Auto-connect after launch” under the General options. 

If you want to get PureVPN on your mobile phone instead, all you have to do is download it from Google Play for Android users or the App Store for iOS users. Similar to the desktop app, you can connect to the fastest server based on your location and you also have the option to add servers as favorites.

If you want to disable VPN on trusted applications like your mobile banking apps, you can do so with split tunneling. It is a common feature to all VPN providers as you can assign certain apps that will use or bypass the VPN every time you’re connected.

For its setup and features, I have given PureVPN a rating of 9 out of 10. It has the basic features that a VPN provider should have such as the auto-connect and split tunnel features. It also humbly offers a free trial for seven days, which I believe is already enough time for you to test the waters completely.

2. Speed (9/10)

Now, to check if PureVPN has what it takes when it comes to connection speed and stability, I used Ookla to test the speed of four VPN servers from different countries but before that, I recorded my original Internet download speed which was 27.87mbps. Next, I ran the speed test three times for each server to get the average mbps and here are the results. 

First, I tested one server in Australia and got an average speed of 25.75 mbps. This is already a good speed for gaming, web surfing experience and for streaming HD videos and of course, it is super close to my original speed which is impressive. The server in Canada recorded a speed of 25.91 mbps, 27 mbps in the United States, and out of the four servers, the UK server has the slowest speed which is only at 24.97 mbps.

Based on my original speed, I can say that PureVPN really proved here that it’s up for competition. These speeds aren’t the best, but considering my original speed, these results show close relation and very low percentage reduction in average. I have recorded only a 7.6 percent reduction in Australia, 7 percent in Canada, 10 percent in the UK, and 2 percent in the U.S.

From my speed test reviews with other VPN providers, which you can also watch in my channel, I can conclude that PureVPN is a very strong competitor in terms of speed. The average percentage reduction of the speed tests is only at 6.65 percent and that is amazing. Therefore, I have given it a whopping rating of 9 out of 10.

3. Streaming & Torrenting (6/10)

PureVPN can also unblock Netflix and other streaming platforms. With Netflix alone, you can already unblock all content-rich regions including the United States with the largest library content, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan. You see how when I connected to the U.S. server and refresh the Netflix page, the top shows based on location changed from my original location which is the Philippines, to the United States. This simply means that PureVPN is working and has tricked Google to believe that we are physically in the United States.

You can also successfully unblock and stream many channels in different countries such as Amazon Prime, HBO, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Peacock, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, or even Sling.

PureVPN, indeed, is perfect if you are a streamer of the platforms I’ve mentioned. But it’s not time to celebrate yet. While PureVPN has servers for P2P or file sharing, it has also blocked these features on some servers where they are illegal. Unfortunately, these servers also happen to be the richest in content like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia to name a few. Still, they have numerous servers you can easily connect to if you’re up for P2P and torrenting.

In the category of streaming and torrenting, I have given PureVPN a rating of 6 out of 10 because I don’t feel like having the freedom to really surf P2P websites or do torrenting because of too many countries where the feature is blocked. I’m sure most of you torrenters watching out there could relate to my frustration of being given a limited number of servers where you can torrent all you want.

4. Jurisdiction, Security & Privacy (8/10)

While PureVPN has been sailing smoothly since it was founded, it also had its rocky road moments including a history of breaching in 2013. Based on my research, hoax emails were sent to users that the company is closing due to legal matters, user information was handed over to law enforcements, and that no refunds will be issued because its bank account had been frozen.

That sounded scary but the PureVPN’s founder quickly defended that the company isn’t closing and no user information has been compromised, thanks to their commitment to their “no log policy”, which means that since they don’t keep record of any of its users credentials and online whereabouts, all user information connected to that server was secured.

Additionally, PureVPN is based and operating under the Hong Kong jurisdiction which isn’t a member of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes or Fourteen Eyes alliances. In short, there’s no way they would hand over user information and such to the government since they don’t have any mandatory law for data retention, keeping you confident that none of your Internet activities and data are being stored.

Going back to security, PureVPN uses a 256-bit encryption to protect your traffic and make security penetration almost impossible, the standard and currently the longest encryption for website security.

It also has a selection of protocols that helps VPN safely send your data through the Internet. It offers IKEv2, TCP, and UDP. Each protocol varies in speed and you can also let PureVPN automatically choose the best protocol for you depending on your location.

Now, in cases where your VPN connection drops unexpectedly due to unstable internet connection or unexpected server and networking failure, PureVPN will save you with its kill switch feature. Most of the time, the VPN will try to reconnect you after a disconnection, but leaks could already happen within these few seconds so the kill switch is designed to overcome this vulnerability. PureVPN ensures that your privacy remains intact if the VPN connection drops.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for Double VPN to add an extra layer of security since your data will be encrypted twice, PureVPN won’t be a good option. According to their customer service, they don’t offer Double VPN at the moment.

Instead, they offer a Dedicated IP that you can purchase as an add-on. Unlike a shared IP, a dedicated IP can only be used by no one else but you which means your Internet footprints are solely private and aren’t hidden among other users of the shared IP. Apart from keeping you safe, the dedicated IP add-on also helps you to access sensitive accounts without any suspicion or risk including banks, corporate databases, and emails. Not all VPN providers offer the option for a dedicated IP, but you can absolutely avail it with PureVPN for $2.99 per month.

If you want more add-ons for security, PureVPN offers Port Forwarding which activates a strong firewall on the server’s end to fight and kill your enemies giving you a virtual protection shield when connected to the VPN. You can avail this feature for 99 cents a month.

If you’re a gamer, you will most likely be a target of unwanted traffic that causes too much lag or worse, takes your network offline. To prevent this and to get a dedicated IP with higher connection speed, the DDoS Protection add-on will definitely fit you for $3.99 per month.

Now, I will do some testing to check if PureVPN is really secure. Let’s start off with the IP Leak Test. Here, I used an IP leak test tool from ip leak dot org and as you can see, it will show your IP address first and the result of the IP leak test. We got a positive result here as it shows no leak detected, even on the second try.

Next, the DNS Leak Test. I will use a simple DNS leak tester in Google. Now, I’m connected to a US server. You will see that the DNS leak tester already identified our VPN location. I clicked on the standard test and it showed my IP address. Only our Atlanta VPN showed up here, that means that we don’t have a DNS leak. If the results showed other servers not provided by PureVPN, then we’re in trouble. PureVPN passed this test then with no DNS leaks.

Moving on, we will check the exposure of my browser to WebRTC leaks while using PureVPN. You will see this box with red warning texts that say WebRTC is not protected and my IP address is exposed to sites that I visit. I can conclude from here that PureVPN app alone doesn’t make the cut to secure me from WebRTC leaks. Instead, what they suggest is installing plugins or extensions to prevent WebRTC leaks depending on your browser.

For example, you can install a free plugin called WebRTC Network Limiter when using Google Chrome, it will prevent any WebRTC or Chrome Extension leaks.

In this category for security and privacy, I have given PureVPN a rating of 7 out of 10. While they offer add-ons that focus on improving security and privacy features for targeted audiences, they lost two marks here because they don’t have the Double VPN feature and the fact that they have been breached in the past made me step a foot back.

5. Support & Reliability (9/10)

It is important to commit to a provider that can ensure support to you whenever you need it. Unfortunately, PureVPN doesn’t have phone support but it has a 24 7 email and live chat channels that I have both tried multiple times. Let me share my experience with you. Their live chat support is very fast. From all my experiences chatting with them, I didn’t have to wait for a minute before someone could assist and answer my questions. Also, their agents are very proactive when it comes to giving references about your inquiry and it goes to show that they are committed in achieving first-contact resolution to customers.

I also tried their email support and I got a response directly answering my question after roughly 5 hours, which I consider as a good revert speed. But if your concern is urgent, might as well opt with the live chat support to get immediate answers.

If you want testimonies in numbers, you’ll be glad to know that PureVPN’s rating in Trustpilot is 4.7 out of 5 from more than 11,000 reviews, feeding dust to its competitors like SurfShark with only 4.3 and NordVPN with 4.4.

Whatever they lack in torrenting and security features, they compensated with excellent customer service. My experience with their customer support surely created an impact that PureVPN has my back in scenarios where I feel lost with their product. Because of that, I will give them a whopping rating of 9 out of 10 here. One point less from perfection because they don’t have phone support.

6. Pricing (8/10)

Now, let’s talk about the pricing plans. PureVPN offers a one-month subscription for $10.95. The monthly price will be heavily discounted if you choose to subscribe for a longer period. If you pick up a one-year plan, you will only pay $49.95. Technically, the monthly fee has now reduced to only $4.16. If you choose the five-year plan, you will only have to pay $89. Now, this really decreased the monthly price down even further to just $1.48! So if you have the budget and are happy with the performance within 31 days of testing out PureVPN, I always recommend you to buy the longest plan as this will save you so much money.

Currently, you can pay via credit card, Paypal, Alipay, or bitcoin if you prefer the cryptocurrency method of payment to become even more anonymous.

But if you don’t think PureVPN is for you, you are liable for their 31-day money-back guarantee. Regardless of your subscription, you can get a full refund within 31 days if you’re not satisfied with PureVPN. All you have to do is contact them through chat or email and request a refund. No questions asked.

PureVPN is definitely one to consider if you are looking for a cheap VPN for long-term use. Overall for its pricing, I have given it a rating of 8 out of 10. There’s no doubt in saying it offers an extremely cheap plan out there for only a buck and forty-eight cents per month if you choose to get the five-year plan. Still, there are things to consider when committing yourself to that span of time such as your constantly changing needs and wants as well as updates that could call for better or worse experience. You can check my other articles for comparison to help you decide which VPN is best suited for you.

Recommendation (8/10)

As a summary, I gave PureVPN a rating of 8 out of 10. PureVPN was able to beat their main competitors like CyberGhost and ExpressVPN for the most number of connected devices allowed simultaneously and for offering a seven-day free trial to customers who want to have a test drive first. PureVPN has also proved that it’s a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Internet speed and stability. However, PureVPN isn’t a provider I will recommend if you are a huge fan of torrenting. Additionally, it also has a rough history of being hacked like NordVPN. But if you are looking to try a VPN with excellent features and budget-friendly cost, PureVPN is an absolute “go-to”.

In general, I recommend ExpressVPN as the best overall VPN software because of its top-tier features and benefits, it works in China as well. If your sole purpose for getting VPN is streaming, then I believe you and NordVPN would make a perfect match with their blazing fast speeds. And lastly, If you want to begin with the cheapest VPN and get the most bang for your buck, then SurfShark will be your best choice. More information on these three VPN providers is in the description if you are interested.

If you are already confident in starting today, feel free to click the link in the description to select your PureVPN package with the best discount. But if you think PureVPN is not right for you, then this VPN alternative would definitely be the one I recommend you strongly consider. I’ll see you over in that next articles.