These servers are also in some common and also some really uncommon places like South Africa, which add a unique advantage to VPNArea’s network and allows for truly global coverage, so you should be able to connect to a server near you with ease. In addition, VPNArea also offers some other nice features, like a dedicated IP with your own VPN server, tough security, no logs, multi-device compatibility, a 30-day money back guarantee and unlimited bandwidth. All features will be disclosed throughout the review.
**Official website: https://vpnarea.com
VPNArea is a newer VPN service and has over +100 servers in 65 countries. They also feature a tough AES-256 encryption, zero logs and a 30-day money back guarantee. They also allow P2P on their network and offer a free dedicated IP with the annual and 3-year plans.
Pricing and Packages
VPNArea’s price plans start at a fairly reasonable $2.99 a month, which is pretty standard for the industry at the moment. As always, pricing and packages are always an important factor with VPN services, as price is usually the factor that determines the final purchase decision, so if a VPN has a high price it should be offering premium features. An interesting aspect of Area’s VPN plans is that they do not discriminate between the price plans (with the exception of a dedicated IP), meaning that you will always receive the same features no matter what plan you choose, whether it be monthly or yearly. Furthermore, just like almost every VPN service, the more committed you are to Area’s VPN service, the cheaper you get the software. VPNArea offers three plans that vary in length: a monthly plan, a bi-annual plan and an annual plan.
Their cheapest plan is the annual plan and that starts at a relatively cheap price of $2.99 a month for the 3-year plan. Of course, as you commit less to their service, the more expensive the software gets. The second plan is a little more expensive and comes in at a pricy $4.92 for 1 year of the using their VPN, with the monthly plan being an expensive $9.90. However, no matter what plan you choose, the features will still be the same.
Payment Options
Any good VPN service should offer a range of payment options and should give their customers are a range of choices. A VPN’s duty and primary purpose are to keep you safe and private on the internet, so giving you the option to pay with security and privacy guaranteed should be an obligation. VPNArea offers an impressive range of payment gateways for its users to use, including all major credit/debit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as one of the safest ways on the internet – PayPal. PayPal is a third-party application that gives its users great security when purchasing goods on the internet, as it allows for user dedicated refunds and scam protection. VPNArea also offers several alternative ways such as Webmoney, Alipay, and Payza.
Also, a nice thing to see is that VPNArea allows users to pay through Bitcoin, which is one of the safest and most anonymous ways to pay on the internet. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and doesn’t require any personal information meaning the payment is untraceable. Overall, VPNArea offers an impressive selection.
Setup VPNArea Client
Setting up and downloading VPNArea was easy and took under 5 minutes to complete the installation. Once you have successfully paid for the software you will be directed to a member page where you can download the software for your system of choice. There were plenty of options to choose from but I chose Windows as that is what I have my computer running. The member’s page also gives you the servers that you can use for Netflix, which is nice. Once you have selected the system you want to install the VPN too, a simple yet detailed tutorial will be given to you which will help you with the download and installation process, and it is easy to follow. A nice thing to note is that I didn’t need to restart my computer after installation, which saves time. Once everything is completed, you will have to open the application and you’ll be greeted with the client, which requires you to login with your membership credentials before you can connect. Once all that is complete, you are good to go!
The client is decent and fairly simple, but I felt it was a little basic and was quite ugly. Many other clients that I have used are clean and slick and often look very advanced. VPNArea’s client was bulky and had a lot going on all at once. Nonetheless, the client was ok. The home screen allows you to connect and disconnect from your server of choice and you can change servers easily with the drop-down box. If you click on the “servers and speed” tab you will have a better view of the serves and can change your security to either UDP or TCP, with UDP being the better option of course. This screen also had a cool feature which allowed you to do a speed and download test, however, this didn’t work for me which was quite disappointing.
The various other tabs allowed me to control my kill switch options, DNS and IPv6 leak preventions and I also had the option to turn on an automatic IP switcher which was a nice addition. Overall, the Window client was good but nothing to be boasted about. The mobile client was almost identical to the Windows client but had an additional option to connect using OpenVPN which is rare.
Server Locations
As mentioned previously, VPNArea has massive coverage and has hundreds of servers in over 65 different countries, with its server base growing constantly. Area’s servers are also based in some weird and rare locations such as South Africa which means that no matter where you are, you should have the option to connect to a server that is close to you and one that will give you the best speeds.
Server Speed
The area’s speeds were very good for Europe and my connection rarely dropped with speeds being a consistent 30MPBS, making it perfect for streaming and watching Netflix. However, the US servers were fairly slow and were not as consistent as the European servers which were a little disappointing. Besides, as mentioned earlier, the client’s speed test and download test function didn’t work for me so I was unable to test it out. On a separate note, VPNArea offers dedicated servers for Netflix streaming in both the UK and US, which is great for content bypassing, and they also offer the option for individuals to have their own dedicated IP address and VPN, which is awesome if you want to host a gaming server. Furthermore, no DNS leaks and IPv6 leaks were detected which indicates a strong system. However, when it comes to P2P and torrenting, VPNArea only has a few options and prefer if you do not use their network for downloading copyrighted material.
Compatibility
VPNArea offers a range of VPN downloads for many different devices including both IOS and Android, as well as Windows, Mac, Linux, and various routers. Moreover, they also offer an impressive 6 simultaneous connections and allow you to share your account with your friends and family, which is rare.
The ability to protect all your devices is a must with a VPN network, as we are using our mobile devices more and more for internet searching, and a VPN service needs to offer protection for all sorts of devices to be considered decent. The website also offers a range of tutorials and setup guides for all installations so installation is relatively easy.
Customer Support
Their live chat option is fast and swift. I’m impressed by how their customer support quality has improved since 2017. Also, they have social media pages and take questions from there.
Privacy and Security
One of the most important aspects of any VPN service is whether it protects you on the internet and gives you the privacy it promises. As mentioned above, VPNArea offers some good security and is based in Bulgaria which means it is not subject to any data retention laws, which means VPNArea has a strict no-logs policy. However, take this with a grain of salt as it is unclear how VPNArea is affected by the country’s laws on data retention and this appears to be a grey area.
Nonetheless, VPNArea offers a range of security protocols including OpenVPN, L2TP, and PPTP. OpenVPN is the best option out of all of these and it is recommended that you use it, especially instead of PPTP as this has been seen to have many issues. VPNArea encrypts its OpenVPN with a tough 256-bit military encryption and uses various protocols for handshaking and data authentication. Using L2TP is just as good and offers better speeds, so for individuals who prefer speed over safety, use L2TP. VPNArea also has some built-in systems that prevent leaks on the Windows system and also systems that prevent DNS and IPv6 leaks!
Free Trial and Refund Policy
Unfortunately, I was unable to find a free trial for VPNArea, which was disappointing because free trials offer a unique selling point for VPN and often lead in a purchase anyway. Despite this, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee that allows users to claim back their money if they are unsatisfied with the service.
Conclusion
VPNArea is a good VPN service and is one you should look into. The service has a global server coverage that allows you to connect to and from just about anywhere in the world. Furthermore, their plans are fairly reasonable and they offer a range of payment options that give their customers privacy when purchasing. Lastly, they have great security and encrypt servers with 256-bit encryption, with various protocol options. Their speeds are fantastic through Europe but drop when connecting to the US. VPNArea is pretty good and I recommend you check it out.
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