Windscribe VPN
$9.00/month
Pros
- Has internet kill switch & Firewall
- 256-bit AES with SHA512 authentication & 4096-bit RSA key
- Supports split tunneling on Android devices
- Has auto-pilot Feature & port forwarding
- Has Double Hop Technology & Cookie Monster Feature
- Access Netflix US & other video streaming services
- Can block malware, adware, trackers, cryptominers
- Has zero-logging policy & Secure hotspot feature
- Supports OpenVPN, UDP, TCP, IKEV2, Stealth VPN, WStunnel
Windscribe VPN Review
Windscribe VPN is one of the youngest entrants to the internet privacy industry. The virtual private network was founded by Yegor Sak in April 2016. He is a Canadian citizen with a Russian origin with a college degree from the University of Toronto. Windscribe Limited, the company owned by Yegor Sak is currently operating in Richmond Hill in Ontario, Canada. It was later in 2017 that Windscribe VPN was able to develop and integrate web browser extensions such as Chrome and Firefox. A year later, in 2018, mobile application systems were also developed with the first one dealing with Android devices. Since it is only approximately 4 years that the VPN service is operating, there is no so much information about the biography of the owner and the profile of the company. Hence, there is really a great need to have the first-hand experience with the Windscribe VPN service. This is the reason why I’m creating this comprehensive Windscribe VPN Review below to answer most of the questions that you might be asking at the back of your mind. Read the entire article below to know more.
Jump to:
Pricing & Subscription Plans
Who is it for?
Ease of Use
Speed & Server Locations
Security & Privacy
Streaming
Online Support
Additional Features
Conclusion
Pricing & Subscription Plans
I have seen 4 basic subscription plans that Windscribe VPN is offering. The first subscription plan allowed me to use the Windscribe VPN system absolutely for free. In my opinion, this sounds to be good to be true and that is the reason why I was able to find out that there are some limitations to the free account Windscribe is offering.
It appears that there is a data cap amounting to 10 GB per month if I use the Windscribe VPN service for free. Aside from that, with the free account, I can only access servers placed in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and Romania. All the remaining servers of Windscribe are not available if I choose not to pay for anything.
The second option is paying for a monthly subscription plan amounting to $9.00 per month. It allowed me to entirely remove the restriction placed on the free subscription plan. I was able to access all of the servers of the Windscribe VPN and there was no data cap. It means that when I tried the monthly subscription plan, unlimited bandwidth was ensured. On top of that, unlimited simultaneous connections can be done with paid subscription plans of this best VPN for multiple devices. But you should take note that the website of the VPN service provider reminded me that account sharing is not allowed. I just wonder how they could track that down if the VPN is implementing a zero-logging policy.
The same thing is true for the annual subscription plan amounting to $49.00 per year. Based on my observation and experience, it will give you the same benefits as the monthly subscription plan. The only thing is that I will get a huge discount since it will only cost me $4.08 per month.
The fourth option is to build a customized subscription plan. It will cost me a lot if I do so since the computation will be based on the number of locations of the servers I want to have unrestricted access to. It will cost me $1.00 per location per month. I highly discourage using the customized subscription plan based on location.
I can also pay for add-ons such as static I.P. addresses for data centers and residential communities. This will allow me to access the port-forwarding feature and avoid blacklisting. Look at the screenshot below for more details.
I can purchase any of the subscription plans of Windscribe VPN through various payment methods. These payment options include PayPal, Bitcoin, and Paymentwall on top of debit cards and credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
Who is it for?
If you are the kind of person who wants to achieve maximum internet security, enhanced data privacy, and limitless internet anonymity without the capacity and financial means to pay for a subscription fee, then Windscribe VPN is advisable to you. If you want to have access to unlimited in terms of simultaneous connections to the VPN platform, then this virtual private network system is best for you. If you want to access Netflix US and other video streaming services, then using Windscribe VPN is ideal for you in my own unbiased opinion.
Ease of Use
It is very easy to download the desktop client of the Windscribe VPN service. The webpage of the VPN provider has created multiple buttons with appropriate labels describing what operating system you are using. In my case, I have clicked the Windows OS button and it automatically downloaded to my computer in just 25 seconds. I have run the installer by double-clicking the .exe file. A notification coming from Microsoft appeared since it is not a Microsoft-verified app. I clicked the install anyway button. Another user account control notification prompted and I clicked the “yes” button. After that, I encountered another screen allowing me to choose whether to implement the express installation or the customized installation. Of course, I chose the express installation option. Everything went well. The installation process went through.
Windscribe VPN is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS) operating systems. It is also compatible with web browser extensions such as Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. On top of that, Windscribe VPN is also compatible with Android & iOS mobile devices. You can also set up the VPN system for Amazon Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield TV, and Kodi. You can also use the VPN platform for routers such as DD-WRT and Tomato.
Once I’m inside the desktop client version of Windscribe VPN, I can edit and modify the following general settings:
- Launch at startup (activate / deactivate)
- Auto-connect to most recent location (activate / deactivate)
- Allow LAN traffic when firewall is on (activate / deactivate)
- Minimize to tray (activate / deactivate)
- Show notifications (activate / deactivate)
- Show latency in ms instead of signal bars (activate / deactivate)
- Order locations by (geography, latency, or alphabet)
- Language (select from a drop-down menu)
All other features and settings not mentioned above are heavily discussed under security and privacy section as well as in the additional features section of Windscribe VPN Review.
Speed & Server Locations
Windscribe VPN has approximately 600+ servers placed in 63 different countries in 110 different cities. This best VPN service provider has servers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Romania, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Bulgaria, Belgium, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia, Moldova, Croatia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Estonia, Tunisia, Albania, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herz, Cyprus, Macedonia, Georgia, Iceland, Ukraine, India, Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Israel, South Africa, Brazil, and Colombia. There are also servers in Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and even Argentina.
Windscribe VPN has unlimited bandwidth. Check the table below regarding the actual speed tests that we have conducted for the different server locations of the VPN provider.
The first test was conducted from Slovenia, Europe using “Automatic” connection mode. We very much liked the speed at which you can connect to different servers, there’s no massive delay between each server connection.
| Server location | Ping [ms] | Download [Mbps] | Upload [Mbps] |
|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN (Slovenia) | 6 | 196.77 | 5.87 |
| With VPN (Slovenia) | 8 | 121.24 | 5.60 |
| Slovakia (Best location) | 13 | 116.79 | 5.60 |
| USA (WINDFLIX) | 147 | 114.11 | 5.58 |
| UK | 35 | 86.07 | 5.58 |
| Canada | 140 | 78.93 | 5.62 |
| Australia | 299 | 88.33 | 5.43 |
| Brazil | 239 | 86.15 | 5.63 |
| Average | 125.86 | 98.80 | 5.58 |
The second test was conducted from Philippines, Southeast Asia.
| Server location | Ping [ms] | Download [Mbps] | Upload [Mbps] |
|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN (Philippines) | 108 | 7.35 | 10.93 |
| With VPN (Philippines) | 155 | 6.54 | 1.93 |
| USA (Los Angeles) | 272 | 1.63 | 9.84 |
| USA (WINDFLIX) | 336 | 3.86 | 6.61 |
| UK | 366 | 3.98 | 2.90 |
| Canada | 354 | 5.32 | 2.84 |
| Australia | 302 | 1.80 | 3.61 |
| Japan | 205 | 5.93 | 4.37 |
| Average | 262.25 | 4.55 | 5.38 |
When it comes to server speeds Windscribe certainly has a few dark spots of the world that could be improved but if we dig around a bit we can find some decent servers. Still, we were only able to reach 62% of the download speed provided by the ISP from Slovenia though the test from the Philippines had a decent result. Both ping and upload speeds from Slovenia were great.
Security & Privacy
I can easily switch on and switch off the VPN connection by clicking the circular switch button of Windscribe VPN. Based on my experience, whenever I click the switch button to connect to the VPN, it automatically hides my original I.P. address and provides a new one based on the location of the server I selected. I don’t have to worry about privacy because of security and privacy measures. In order to change server location, I need to click the “Server” button so that the list of server locations is displayed. I then need to click on one of the server locations in order to establish a secure VPN connection.
Windscribe uses an impenetrable data encryption system. It uses the 256-bit AES encryption system in combination with SHA512 authentication and the 4096-bit RSA key. Based on my experience, I can easily select from a dropdown menu the list of VPN tunneling protocols that are supported by Windscribe. These include OpenVPN, UDP, TCP, IKEV2, Stealth VPN, and WStunnel. The SOCKS5 web proxy protocol is also supported. I can also generate configuration settings for each of the VPN protocols by logging to my account from the Windscribe website.
In some computers, the secure hotspot feature works well. But in my case, my virtual network adapter is not supported. I advise you to try it yourself. The VPN provider also implements a strict zero-logging policy.
Streaming
I was able to access Netflix US through the Windscribe VPN service. I selected the US WINDFLIX server among the list. It can bypass geo-restrictions efficiently. It took 35 seconds before the video of the selected movie or TV series episode loaded. After that, everything ran smoothly. There was no major issue encountered and there was no further additional video buffering experienced. I’m satisfied with my video streaming experience from the Philippines.
Conducting the streaming test from Slovenia we’ve had no issues using the same method as above. The video was played in HD mode with no buffering at any point.
Online Support
There are complete setup guides as well as frequently asked questions (FAQs) page on the website. There is a ticket support system as well as a chat support system that features a bot that answers common questions. If the question remains unanswered it forwards you to the ticket support system. While we generally like the idea of bots we miss the ability to be able to chat to a live person as some other VPN services provide.
Additional Features
Listed below are the advanced features of Windscribe VPN.
Internet Kill Switch
Windscribe VPN has its own Internet Kill Switch which is labelled as the Firewall. It is easy to switch it on and off by clicking it on the desktop client. It blocks all internet traffic not connected to the VPN. The feature works well based on my experience.
R.O.B.E.R.T. Feature
It also has the R.O.B.E.R.T. feature which is an advanced I.P. level and DNS level blocker. Through this feature, I can easily block malware, adware, trackers, crypto miners, and other things by switching it on and off. I can access this feature by logging in to my Windscribe VPN account using the company’s website.
Auto-Pilot Feature (Web Browser Extension)
The web browser extensions have advanced features too. First, it has an Auto-Pilot feature which automatically selects the best server that I can use based on my current location.
Split Tunneling
With this feature, I can select which websites and applications go through the VPN connection and which ones are going to bypass the VPN connection. As of now, the Split tunneling can only be used in Android devices.
Ad Crusher, Tracker Eradicator, Malware Evader & Social Fence (Web Browser Extension)
I can activate the Ad Crusher feature that helps me indiscriminately block all annoying ads with extreme prejudice. I can also activate the Tracker Eradicator feature that helps me stop web data trackers from collecting information. On top of that, I can activate the Malware Evader feature that allows me to block access to known malware, phishing, and other malicious websites. Furthermore, I can activate the Social Fence feature that allows me to block tracking social network buttons and widgets.
Location Warp & Time Warp (Web Browser Extension)
I can also change my location and time zone through the Location Warp Feature in combination with Time Warp Feature. I use it so that the time zone registered will be consistent with that of the current VPN server location.
Cookie Monster (Web Browser Extension)
It also has the Cookie Monster feature that records internet cookies that are set by 3rd parties and then automatically deletes them when I close the browser tab.
Split Personality (Web Browser Extension)
The Split Personality feature automatically rotates the user agent to avoid profiling. I can easily switch on or switch off this feature through the web browser extension.
Secure.Link Feature (Web Browser Extension)
Whenever I create a Secure.link, I will be able to know the tracking capabilities of other websites and expose their bad practices.
Double Hop Technology
I can also activate the Double Hop technology by connecting to 1 VPN server from the web browser extension and another VPN server from the desktop client of Windscribe. This will ensure double protection and double encryption of my internet connection.
Other Features
A port-forwarding feature can be used if I pay for an I.P. static address. I can also activate the WebRTC Slayer to prevent possible WebRTC leaks outside of the VPN system.
Conclusion
Based on my experience, whenever I click the switch button to connect to the VPN, it automatically hides my original I.P. address and provides a new one based on the location of the server I selected. I’m satisfied with the security measures and the internet privacy features of Windscribe VPN especially because it implements the 256-bit AES encryption.
I find the basic and advanced features of the Windscribe VPN platform very useful. I am satisfied will all the features especially the features that can be found in web browser extensions such as Google Chrome. All of the basic and advanced features are functioning very well.
I can also access Netflix US and have a wonderful viewing experience as the speed is good enough. However, it took a longer time before the video initially played. The good news is that there was no further additional video buffering experienced.
We were able to find servers with decent speeds to connect to but there are certainly a few dark spots around the world that could be improved. Trying them out from the start and making a shortlist is the way to go. All-in-all, Windscribe provides a complete privacy solution with many additional features. We see no reason not to recommend it to anyone out there. Have fun!
I hope I answered all your questions within this Windscribe Review. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section down below!
