Windscribe VPN Review
"Offering high-grade encryption, wide platform compatibility, and strong privacy protections, Windscribe stands out as a robust VPN choice."
Pros & Cons
- Free Plan Available
- Robust Privacy Protections (including AES-256)
- Wide Platform Compatibility
- Unlimited Concurrent Connections
- Limited Customer Support: Lack of live chat and 24/7 customer service could leave users wanting when issues arise.
- No Independent Security Audit
- Limited Payment Options
Quick facts
- 📱Devices (up to): 101
- 🖥️Servers: 400
- 🌍Available countries: 63
- 📍Company location: Canada
- 🔒Logging policy: No logs
- 🎥Streaming: no
- 🌊Torrenting: no
Subject to additional terms and conditions of Windscribe.
Summary
Windscribe is a Canada-based VPN provider that offers a range of features including a kill switch, split tunneling, double VPN, ad and malware blocking, as well as supporting unlimited bandwidth. It is designed to cater to users who value privacy and ease of use, scoring well in network reliability and user-friendliness.
In our in-depth analysis, we scrutinize Windscribe's security, speed, and unblocking capabilities, while also assessing its suitability for torrent file sharing and running numerous leak tests. We've given the free version a thorough examination as well, evaluating whether the 10GB data limit suffices for the average user.
Our findings paint a mixed picture. While Windscribe impresses in many areas, it reveals weaknesses in key sectors such as speed, gaming, privacy, and customer support. It's clear that other VPNs on the market offer better overall speeds and security features.
Windscribe stands out by providing access to the most popular streaming libraries, successfully unlocking every provider we tested, including Netflix US. Its speeds, while not top-tier, are adequate for HD streaming, online gaming, and quick large file downloads over torrent networks. Despite not having the most extensive selection of servers, Windscribe does cover some less common countries.
The VPN boasts a robust array of security features, including a Kill Switch, 256-bit AES encryption, leak protection, and a customizable ad blocker known as R.O.B.E.R.T. However, privacy concerns linger due to past incidents of server seizure by government officials, despite Windscribe's persistent assurances of non-logging in its transparency reports.
In terms of compatibility, Windscribe offers native English-language apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, ensuring consistent functionality across mobile and PC platforms. Notably, it's one of the few VPNs that function in China. It also provides a free version, albeit with limitations, primarily a restricted data volume.
Given the promising, yet somewhat inconsistent performance of Windscribe, the question remains whether its strengths can sufficiently compensate for its shortcomings. The final verdict will depend on the specific needs and priorities of each user. For some, the impressive unblocking capabilities and robust security features may outweigh its speed and privacy issues. For others, the inverse may be true.
Pricing, Trial, Money Back, Cancellation
Features
Kill Switch
Split Tunneling
Concurrent Devices
Other Features
- Dedicated IP
- No
- Parental Controls
- Yes
- Split Tunneling / Bypassing
- Yes
- P2P Support
- Yes
- Ad and malware blocking
- Yes
- Bandwidth limits and data caps
- Yes
- Live Chat
- No
- Customer Service 24/7
- No
Is Windscribe Secure? Privacy & Logging
- Encryption
- aes-256
- OpenVPN
- Yes
- WireGuard
- Yes
- IKEv2/IPsec
- No
- Hydra
- No
- Config File Generators
- No
- Kill Switch Feature
- Yes
- No Logs Policy
- Yes
- DNS Leak Protection
- Yes
- IPv6 Leak Protection
- Yes
- Double VPN / Multi-Hop Feature
- Yes
- Server Obfuscation
- No
- Independent Security Audits
- No
- Warrant Canary
- No
About Windscribe
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Founded in
Apps & Platform Support
- iOS
- Yes
- MacOS
- Yes
- Android
- Yes
- Chrome
- Yes
- Firefox
- Yes
- Windows
- Yes
- Linux
- Yes
Reviews from Elsewhere
- Trustpilot Rating
- 4.8 (out of 10300 reviews)
- Google Play Store Rating
- 3.8 (out of 109000 reviews)
- iOS App Store rating
- 4.5 (out of 11600 reviews)
Payment Methods
- PayPal
- Yes
- Sofort (Klarna)
- No
- Swish
- No
- iDEAL
- No
- Giropay
- No
- Amazon Pay
- No
- Google Pay
- No
- Apple Pay
- No
- Samsung Pay
- No
- Visa
- Yes
- Mastercard
- Yes
- Discover
- Yes
- American Express
- Yes
- Monero
- No
- Bitcoin
- Yes
- Ethereum
- No
- Wire transfer
- No
- Cash
- No