Is it a good alternative to ProntonVPN?
VyprVPN is an outsider in the VPN market. There are still a few arguments to put forward: its simplicity and its effective privacy policy to the detriment of its functionalities.
The essentials of VyprVPN in a table
| 💰 monthly prices | 5€ |
| 💸 refund | Yes, within 30 days |
| 💻🌍 Number of servers/location | 700 servers in 60 countries |
| 📱Apps | PC Windows/ Mac/ Android/ iOS/ Android TV/ Routers |
| 👨👩👧👦 Number of simultaneous connections | 5 |
| 📺 Access to Netflix US | Random |
| ⏬⏫ P2P mode | No |
| 🔐 Retention of user data | Read the “Privacy policy” section |
Behind VyprVPN is Golden Frog
Like a certain ProtonVPN, VyprVPN originates from Switzerland. It therefore happily takes advantage of the laws in force on the spot concerning the protection of private data and the non-obligation to share information of its users. It is then apparently a secure VPN, not dependent on the conglomerate of 5 eyes, and with a long experience in the field. The founders of VyprVPN, through their company Golden Frog, launched the service in 2009, a massive lead over its many competitors that flooded the market in the following years.
In addition to its VPN, the Golden Frog company also owns Texas.net, one of the first North American Internet service providers. It also has a number of data centers based across the Atlantic and in Europe, which allows it to be almost autonomous by having its own servers and equipment.
Interface and handling
As a preamble, we noted that the customer journey of VyprVPN was one of the most pleasant of all the services of our comparator. An email address, a password and that’s it, the VPN does not clutter up with superfluous additional information that can frustrate or worry beyond measure as is the case with many other services.
Once the application is downloaded and installed, you are immediately surprised by the minimalist interface of the VPN. A simple small window repeating the format and organization of the mobile application step by step. This still has a big advantage: the client is light, discreet and above all extremely efficient since it only takes one click to connect to a server (selected by default as being the fastest). The other good point logically concerns the perfect convergence between the PC and mobile version with exactly the same menus in the same locations.
Since we’re talking about the latter, here too, VyprVPN keeps things simple, even minimalist. The “Custom” menu gives access to advanced functions. There we find the classic activations or not of the kill switchthe automatic reconnection function or even the change of network protocol.
There are still some very practical options, such as personalized protection from public Wi-Fi which is automatically activated if necessary, or the activation of a homemade TAP adapter (virtual network device) managed by the software and not by your computer. In the latter case, this can be very useful if you do not want to use the default Windows or macOS one.
VyprVPN offers the possibility of using personalized DNS settings, although basic, the VPN activates its own DNS protocol by drawing from its 300,000 available IP addresses. In its own features, the VPN highlights Chameleon Technology, a protocol patented by VyprVPN that theoretically helps bypass VPN blocks and network restrictions in regions that have censorship controls in place. In fact, it has happened on several occasions that we have not had access to a VOD service, such as Netflix for example, due to an already blacklisted IP address. However, it is possible that this works randomly, it all depends on the IP used by the VPN at the time of connection.
Less understandable, we note the absence of a function of split tunneling (available on Android and iOS devices however). We would also have liked a function of speed test integrated, a URL or advertising blocking option, but above all the presence of specific servers for each type of use to avoid having to dip into the list of servers and come across a non-optimal connection.
VyprVPN therefore follows the trend of modern VPN services, namely simplicity of use pushed to the extreme even if it means setting aside certain features that often make the difference.
VyprVPN servers and performance
VyprVPN has a much smaller global network than most other VPNs. With just over 700 servers spread across around 60 countries, it pales in comparison to market behemoths such as Cyberghost or NordVPN. The comparison stops there in the sense that, as seen above, VyprVPN has its own infrastructures where the others use external providers. To find out what this VPN has in its belly, we tested it from a Parisian fiber connection via the Nperf site.
| DOWNLOAD (Mb/S) | UPLOAD (Mb/S) | PING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WITHOUT VPN | 921 | 664 | 2 |
| FRENCH SERVER | 666 | 563 | 21 |
| US SERVER (NEW YORK) | 322 | 187 | 81 |
| US SERVER (LOS ANGELES) | 202 | 155 | 136 |
| JAPANESE SERVER | 129 | 90 | 237 |
| HONGKONGese SERVER | 506 | 195 | 296 |
| ALGERIAN SERVER | 401 | 260 | 42 |
- Tests were performed with automatic protocol assignment
By default, VyprVPN assigns Wireguard as the primary network protocol. It has done a lot of good as the performance is in the high average of VPNs on the market, without breaking the glass ceiling on which NordVPN and ExpressVPN are installed. From a smartphone, we find performance in the same line with peaks of 350-400 Mb/s on a French server also from a fiber wireless connection. In the immediate future, the performance of VyprVPN is therefore honorable and allows you to benefit from most uses, ranging from online gaming (be careful with ping, however) to P2P downloading or streaming on foreign VOD/TV platforms.
Be careful, however, on this last point, the availability of foreign catalogs (especially US) being very uncertain. Even with the Chameleon protocol (seen above), most often, the platform will automatically detect that your connection is hidden by a VPN (the VyprVPN IPs are certainly flagged by them) and will deny you access to video streaming . This happened almost systematically on Prime Video and Disney+, where Netflix seemed to be a little less sectarian. Be aware that you will have to juggle between various US servers before achieving your goals. Ultimately, VyprVPN is absolutely not a VPN you can rely on for this type of use, even if some advanced workaround techniques are available from the support page.
VyprVPN Privacy Policy
On its web page, VyprVPN loudly proclaims its “no log VPN” policy, meaning that the service does not retain any private data other than basic information (mainly email address). We also have every reason to believe it given the location of its head office in Switzerland, one of the countries where privacy is best protected. But VyprnVPN doesn’t just rely on that to make its argument. The VPN features a 256-bit AES algorithm that encrypts a user’s connection end-to-end to prevent attacks like man-in-the-middle or DNS filtering.
To prove its good faith, VyprVPN even called on the company Leviathan Security Group to audit the platform and produce a public report on its logging practices. The results are available to everyone on the VyprVPN website and offer a large amount of information about the operation of the service and the extensive testing carried out by the auditing company (connecting to servers, inspecting running processes, reviewing code source, etc.). Anyone can simply check the summary explaining that the audit initially found a few issues that were quickly fixed afterwards, while ensuring that VyprVPN does not record any third party activity, either before or after connecting to the service, enough to be reassured.
It should be noted, however, that this audit dates from 2018 and has not provided any updates since.
VyprVPN customer service
VyprVPN’s customer service is all about its knowledge base providing setup instructions, troubleshooting tips, and specific tips for different device types. The guides are very numerous and detailed, as if the VPN wanted to cover the slightest eventuality. However, it is not completely up to date with examples of articles dealing with features that have disappeared from the application or others that are completely empty (?).
If the knowledge base is of no help, a live chat is available to give you an almost instantaneous and personalized response. There is not much special to say about him, he is fast, courteous and perfectly answered our more or less technical questions. The conversations are in English, but an automatic translation tool helps facilitate exchanges.
The last option is to send an email to the support address. We asked a simple question about a product and got a clear answer in less than an hour.
PRICES
Concerning prices, VyprVPN recently revised its offer. Its offers are more visible than the competition with only two types of subscriptions, one annual for 60 euros (5 euros per month) and the other monthly for 10 euros. The prices are indeed a little high, similar to what you can find at ExpressVPN. the VPN offers 30 days to obtain a full refund and it is possible to obtain up to 5 simultaneous connections, regardless of the subscription level. Point of additional services such as a password manager or an additional antivirus.
