PureVPN has some pretty loud hiccups, but there are still some shiny pros for those seeking a VPN contender. The table below breaks down the three pricing options available from PureVPN. Check out the table below to see how PureVPN compares to our current picks of the top five VPNs. Once the PureVPN software is installed, it does take a breath to load up, unlike other VPNs we’ve revied that start instantly. When it is open, tap the giant circle button in the middle of the screen to connect, then hit it again to disconnect. It takes about four seconds to connect to a server, and unlike other VPNs, you don’t usually have to wait extra time for your internet connection to catch up. Because disconnection also feels close to instantaneous, it means real-time online services like music streaming weren’t interrupted during our tests. In terms of locations, PureVPN has the most of our current top five VPNs with more than 140 countries covered. Well, that’s the number that PureVPN claims; it was 118 by my count at the time of updating this review. That’s still a lot – the most out of our top five VPNs – but it’s not quite the “140+” claim. As for servers, PureVPN is second only to CyberGhost for total number of servers as far as our current top five VPNs are concerned: PureVPN has 6,500+ and CyberGhost has 7,000+ (albeit only in 91+ countries). Even though PureVPN plays second fiddle to CyberGhost for server count, PureVPN is ahead for both the number of servers and countries compared to the other three VPNs in our top five. You can see the full PureVPN server list here. It is a shame that you have to disconnect from a server before connecting to another one on the PureVPN software (not the app), which involves unnecessary clicks. That’s basically all great news so far, but what’s infinitely less great – particularly because this is meant to be a background companion designed to protect what you normally do online – is how PureVPN doesn’t always play nice with particular sites and services. Further testing and research suggest that this is likely related to PureVPN’s heavy-handed treatment of peer-to-peer (P2P) services, which includes Slack but also is more commonly connected to torrenting. This PureVPN P2P support page flags US, UK, Canada, and Australia. While this could be seen as an admirable overextension to respect local anti-piracy laws, it does undermine the practicality of treating PureVPN as a background protector that doesn’t get in the way of your usual internet goings-on, including the abundance of legal P2P uses. Below is a list of devices that officially support both the PureVPN app and manual configuration: Strangely, PureVPN’s recommended US server was in Phoenix, which bucks the trend of my recent tests that tend to default to a server that’s closer to the US West Coast. Connected to this server, it’s no wonder that the latency, as well as upload and download speeds, had massively noticeable percentage differences compared to the Sydney-based PureVPN server. Below is a table detailing how PureVPN fared in my tests for the popular US and Australian streaming services that have a knack for sniffing out VPN connections. The next table grabs the hefty 34% best-case download difference for connecting to a PureVPN US server and applies it to the average typical evening download speeds (TEDS) for NBN providers across available fixed-line NBN speed tiers. The three columns on the right show how many simultaneous streams can be run on a single account for popular US 4K streaming services. Because Hulu has the option to upgrade to unlimited streams, it doesn’t tap out at the max limit of Netflix or HBO Max. There’s a wealth of information and options inside your PureVPN login. This member’s area has typical account information, but it also has easy access to port forwarding, the help desk, as well as apps, and PureVPN browser extensions. Clicking on ‘Other Devices’ provides blog guides for connecting specific devices, even if some of these are just a blanket guide for connecting via a router. Another big tick for PureVPN is it provides inbuilt protection against viruses, malware, botnets, and spyware, which is great for additional peace of mind and also sets it apart from competitors. If you want a VPN that covers all or a lot of your critical devices, PureVPN’s generous 10 simultaneous connections offer greater versatility than a lot of other VPNs and all of our current top five. The auditable zero-log policy provides great peace of mind, while the VPN-level antivirus and anti-malware offer great security that other VPNs do not. PureVPN would be a proper top-three contender if it wasn’t so aggressive with its anti-P2P steps that get in the way of regular internet usage on US and Australian servers in particular. None of the other VPNs that I’ve tested have this issue. It also doesn’t help that PureVPN is one of the slowest VPNs in our recent tests. PureVPN isn’t the fastest or most consistent VPN, but if you want a VPN that offers a lot of devices with servers in 140+ countries, it’s worth considering.
