Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio
StrongVPN is a safe VPN with fast speeds and a strict no-logs policy. It’s a good choice for P2P torrenting and unblocking US Netflix. It also has a generous limit of 12 simultaneous connections. StrongVPN isn't the most secure VPN, but it still performs well on all platforms.
StrongVPN is one of the oldest popular VPNs. It started in 1995 selling dedicated servers and in 2005 launched its first VPN service.
We tested StrongVPN extensively to answer common questions like:
How good is StrongVPN?
What happened to ibVPN?
Is StrongVPN very fast?
Does it work with Netflix?
Is torrenting/P2P allowed?
Does StrongVPN have a kill switch?
After reading our StrongVPN review, you’ll know whether this VPN is the right one for you. It’s not our favorite VPN, though. Read our April ExpressVPN review to see why it’s our top VPN of 2021.
UPDATE:
Strong Technology, the parent company of StrongVPN, has acquired ibVPN. All ibVPN accounts have migrated to StrongVPN, and ibVPN’s services have been shut down.
The key takeaways from our in-depth StrongVPN test are summed up in the box above, but if you want to get into the specifics then there’s plenty more below.
Let’s begin with StrongVPN’s connection speeds.
Who is StrongVPN?
About & Logging
The StrongVPN VPN service was launched in 2005 by Strong Technology, LLC. StrongVPN has changed hands a number of times over the years, most recently in 2019 when it was acquired by the public company J2 Global.
StrongVPN Technology and J2 Global operate under the jurisdiction of the USA, which is one of the least privacy-friendly locations in the world.
In August 2020, Strong Technology also acquired ibVPN, a competing VPN company.
The VPN service states that it will comply with valid subpoena requests, but it can’t provide information that it does not have.
That’s because StrongVPN doesn’t collect any customer activity logs so there’s no way of tying down any web activity to an individual user.
Logging Policy
StrongVPN has a very strict zero-logs policy in place.
The VPN doesn’t collect or log any traffic or use of its VPN service. This includes even basic connection metadata such as timestamps, chosen server or bandwidth consumed.
Because it collects absolutely no customer data, there is no way any of your web browsing activity can be traced back to you as an individual, which is great news.
Very impressive same-country speeds
Speed & Reliability
StrongVPN’s speeds are more than fast enough for HD streaming, both for same-country connections and longer distance ones. You can expect very quick speeds connecting out to the US from Europe, too.
Local Speed Test Results
Before using StrongVPN:
DownloadMbps
93.98
UploadMbps
96.28
Pingms
3
When connected to StrongVPN:
DownloadMbps
84.24
UploadMbps
74.6
Pingms
16
Download speed without StrongVPN: 93.98Mbps
Download speed with StrongVPN: 84.24Mbps
Our download speed loss when StrongVPN is running: 10%
Latency was rather high though, at 16ms on same-country connections. Considering some VPN services registered ping times of less than 1ms, keen gamers should take a look at these VPNs.
Upload speeds were very fast too, which is great news for torrenters.
We tested StrongVPN’s average speeds connecting from the UK out to a range of locations around the world:
StrongVPN’s server network is on the small side, with around 950 servers spread across over 39 countries. We’d like to see StrongVPN serve more countries – ideally 50 or more – with better coverage of Africa and specific countries like New Zealand.
Here are some of the countries you can connect to with StrongVPN:
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Hong Kong
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Turkey
UK
US
StrongVPN also operates own its own servers just like its ‘sister’ VPN IPVanish.
Multi-city servers can be found in:
US (15 cities)
UK (6)
Canada (3)
Australia (2, no Perth)
Germany (2)
Brazil (2)
There is good server coverage in Asia with servers located in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. South America counts servers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. However, the only servers in Africa are located in South Africa.
You can see the complete list of StrongVPN’s servers via the button below, including the VPN protocol available on each server.
On the plus-side, StrongVPN does make a very high number of IP addresses available to its customers – almost 60,000 – which is great to maintain good speeds.
Access to Netflix and no torrenting restrictions
Streaming & Torrenting
StrongVPN recently started working again with US Netflix on several of its US servers, after weeks of being completely blocked.
There are no dedicated streaming servers, which makes the task more difficult, but you shouldn’t find it too hard to find a server that works.
Streaming BBC iPlayer is a different story. StrongVPN unblocks iPlayer inconsistently, working on some days but not others.
It did work with BBC iPlayer in our most recent tests, though. These VPN services will on the other hand work more reliably with BBC iPlayer.
Torrenting
Torrenting and P2P activity is allowed on all StrongVPN servers.
Download and upload speeds were good, and a strict no-logs policy means all your online activity remains private.
What’s more, StrongVPN also has a VPN kill switch and we didn’t detect any IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks in our latest round of testing (more on this below).
A good option for users in China
Censorship
StrongVPN is still a fairly good option to bypass aggressive web blocks in highly censored countries like China, Iran, Turkey and the UAE.
The additional obfuscation tools you get with StrongVPN are very useful to evade online censorship. It further scrambles your VPN connection, making it very hard to detect.
Keep in mind that the StrongVPN website is blocked in China, and possibly in other high censorship countries too, so we recommend you download and set up StrongVPN before you travel there.
If you are able to access the website, StrongVPN gives useful advice about connecting in China:
Works with all popular devices plus routers
Platforms & Devices
Apps
Windows
Mac
iOS
Android
Linux
Router
StrongVPN provides custom VPN apps for all popular devices:
PC
Mac
iPhone
Android smartphones
On its website, you’ll also find manual setup guides for other types of devices, platforms and software like Linux, Amazon Kindle and Kodi.
StrongVPN’s 12 simultaneous connection limit is very generous and one of the highest we’ve seen.
Games Consoles & Streaming Devices
AppleTV
Amazon Fire TV
Chromecast
Nintendo
PlayStation
Roku
Xbox
StrongVPN can be used with consoles and streaming devices by either following the manual configuration instructions or installing StrongVPN on your home router.
There is also a native app for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, but it’s just not as good as some of the better Firestick VPN apps available.
Browser Extensions
StrongVPN only provides a browser extension for Chrome, but none for Firefox, Edge, Safari and other browsers.
If you want to use a VPN extension on your browser, we recommend using one of these VPN add-ons for Chrome or Firefox.
Strong encryption and secure DNS servers
Encryption & Security
Protocols
IKEv2/IPSec
L2TP/IPSec
OpenVPN (TCP/UDP)
PPTP
SSTP
WireGuard
Encryption
AES-256
Security
DNS Leak Blocking
First-party DNS
IPV6 Leak Blocking
Supports TCP Port 443
VPN Kill Switch
Advanced features
Smart DNS
StrongVPN is a safe VPN service, but it isn’t the most secure VPN provider we’ve reviewed.
On one hand, it has a VPN kill switch which prevents your true IP address from being exposed, it uses AES-256 encryption, and it operates its own DNS servers, meaning none of your web traffic will be routed through third-party servers.
We were also pleased to detect no DNS or IP leaks in our latest tests.
So, why is it not the most secure VPN?
Mainly because the very secure and fast OpenVPN protocol isn’t available on all servers – in fact, the vast majority of StrongVPN’s servers use the vastly outdated and insecure PPTP protocol.
StrongVPN also supports Wireguard on all its apps – a alternative to OpenVPN which is looking more and more likely to become the fastest option.
Simply, easy-to-use apps for all devices
Ease of Use
How to Install & Set Up StrongVPN
Just go to the apps section of StrongVPN's site to begin downloading the software.
StrongVPN's setup wizard will guide you through the installation process.
You'll need to decide on a folder in which to store the setup files - usually the default option is your best bet.
Once the software is installed, you'll be prompted to run the StrongVPN app.
The main screen keeps it simple with some connection info and a (somewhat pointless) world map.
It's easy to navigate the server list with a handy search feature.
We love the embedded protocol support and the option to toggle between UDP and TCP.
Settings are still pretty limited but very simple to switch on and off.
StrongVPN has recently updated its set of custom apps to make them far more accessible to inexperienced VPN users. The main screen is very stripped back, displaying only essential connection details.
A limited range of settings can be found behind the cog icon along the top of the app, however these are very basic.
The mobile apps are also very good; simple and effective with a big button in the middle of the screen, but lack some security features, such as a kill switch.
Browser Extensions
Sadly, StrongVPN no longer offers any browser extensions. If you’re looking for a VPN with browser extensions, check out our ExpressVPN review, our top VPN choice for Chrome and Firefox.
24/7 live chat and some basic online help
Customer Support
24/7 Live chat support
Yes
Online Resources
Yes
Live chat is available 24/7, but most of the time we just ended up talking to a sales agent who copied and pasted answers from the FAQs section.
This was a little disappointing, but whenever they couldn’t solve our problems they did forward our details on to the tech team, who were always quick to respond.
The official StrongVPN website provides a great range of setup manuals for many different devices, including video tutorials and screenshots.
For basic instructions, the FAQ section should do the job, but for anything beyond simple help you’ll have to contact their customer support team.
65% off with the latest promotion
Pricing
StrongVPN Pricing Plan
StrongVPN offers two pricing plans to help you decide on the most suitable option. They have the same features but the longer subscription, the less you pay per month.
The priciest option is the single month plan at $10.00, however this is reduced by 42% to a reasonable $5.83 if you sign up to an annual package.
StrongVPN accepts the majority of standard payment options including most major credit and debit cards, PayPal and Alipay.
It’s disappointing to see no option to pay in cryptocurrencies, however.
The VPN service also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in place of a true VPN free trial.
This is for customers who are “less than 100% satisfied with the StrongVPN service,” and there are no hidden restrictions or data caps.
Do We Recommend StrongVPN?
The Bottom Line
StrongVPN is a good VPN that is fast, unblocks many popular streaming platforms, and is great for torrenting. StrongDNS also allows users to use the VPN service with AppleTV and gaming consoles.
We also like that StrongVPN operates a no-logs policy, and it allows up to 12 simultaneous connections, which is very generous. Some of its privacy features need to be improved, and the server network isn’t as extensive as it needs to be to compete with bigger VPN services.
Nevertheless, StrongVPN is still a good VPN that does the basics right, and which we recommend to novice VPN users.
Alternatives to StrongVPN
NordVPN
Worried about StrongVPN's lack of locations? Try NordVPN: it has thousands of servers spread across dozens of countries all over the world. Read NordVPN review
Astrill
Astrill is one of the most secure, safe, and advanced VPNs available today. It's so well-maintained that it even works to bypass censorship in China. Read Astrill review
Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio