PureVPN is one of the oldest, biggest and best VPN services. But is it good for streaming?
Do PureVPN and streaming go hand-in-hand? Let's find out!
If you are trying to decide on whether to sign up for PureVPN, especially for streaming, you’ve come to the right place.
PureVPN is a very popular VPN services, boasting millions of customers. We examine it in detail across all the important features and benefits. But, if you are in a hurry, the bottom line is this:
- PureVPN is an excellent choice, especially if you are a complete beginner to VPN services or will be focused on streaming
'PureVPN Streaming' contents (select to expand)
Introducing PureVPN
PureVPN is based in Hong Kong and has been on the VPN scene a very long time.
We mention where it is based because, increasingly, VPN customers are looking for VPN services that are based outside the USA. This is because of concerns linked to the USA's intelligence services, including the NSA, and its more aggressive approach to problems in general.
 | |
|---|---|
HQ location | Hong Kong |
Best price | $2.08/mo |
Money-back guarantee | 31 days |
Multi-logins allowed | 10 at same time |
Servers | 6,500 |
Countries | 70 |
No-log policy | Yes (audited) |
Torrenting allowed | Yes |
Kill switch | Yes |
DNS & IPv6 leak protection | Yes |
Encryption | AES-256 bit |
Discounted deal |
Apps and Devices
PureVPN has apps for almost any device or operating system you are looking for. Of course, this means Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS, but also includes smart TV, gaming consoles and even network routers.
PureVPN is easy to sign-up for and their apps are simple to install. But that’s the case with almost all VPNs these days.
Where PureVPN really differs, however, is the user interface of its apps.
PureVPN Keeps it Simple
PureVPN employs a much more “wizard” like interface. You make a selection based on what you want to do, rather than focusing on settings.
For example, in PureVPN’s apps you have 5 broad choices which it calls “Modes”:
- Stream
- Internet Freedom
- Security / Privacy
- File-sharing
- Dedicated IP
PureVPN uses 5 different "modes" for connecting.
PureVPN makes streaming easy.
This makes PureVPN super-easy to use. You just choose a Mode, click Connect and you’re done. You can also specify a connection location for a Mode, but that’s about it.
But that’s exactly what PureVPN is aiming for.
In its Streaming Mode, PureVPN offers a list of popular online channels to select from such as Netflix US, Amazon Prime US, Hulu and dozens of others.
You simply connect and forget about it. These preset channels in PureVPN make it the easiest VPN for streaming.
But if you prefer getting more under the hood with settings rather than this easier, wizard-like approach, you can also do that in all of PureVPN's apps.
Advanced Features
Like all good VPN services, PureVPN has all the bells & whistles that discerning VPN customers now expect. These include:
- Kill switch
- DNS leak protection
- IPv6 leak protection
- UDP and TCP protocol options
- Auto-connect on start-up
- Server ping tests
Here is a series of screenshots showing some of PureVPN's settings.
Some of PureVPN's settings.
PureVPN's advanced options.
PureVPN's kill switch settings.
Money-Back Guarantee
PureVPN has an edge in this department over other VPN services as it offers an industry-leading 31-day money-back guarantee.
But many VPN services are right behind it with 30 days during which you can ask for your money back if you are not happy with the service.
This generous money-back period gives you plenty of peace of mind and lots of time to make sure that PureVPN is right for you.
Number of Simultaneous Logins
You’ll see this described in different ways including “multi-logins” or “number of simultaneous devices/connections”, but it all means the same thing.
It describes how many different VPN apps you can be logged into at the same time on one account.
Years ago, you would need a VPN plan for each and every different device you wanted to use at a given time. But these days, it’s common to use a computer, tablet, smart phone and sometimes even more devices (think smart TVs and consoles) at the same time.
PureVPN lets you use a single plan on up to 5 devices at the same time. That's plenty for most people.
No-Log Policies
Here at Cogipas, we highly recommend you choose a VPN service with a strict no-log policy.
A no-logs policy means that the VPN service keeps no records of any kind about your activities as a customer. There are different kinds of logs, such as activity logs (the websites you visited and what you did while connected to the VPN) to connection logs (the time and real IP address from which you connected to the VPN).
If one of the main benefits of using a VPN is to stay “anonymous” online, logs have no place in this and should be avoided. Therefore, always insist on a no-log VPN service. This feature can also go by the terms zero-log VPN, zero-knowledge VPN or non-logging VPN.
It’s not as easy as it sounds though, because plenty of VPN providers have claimed not to keep any logs only for it to come out later that they do. Read more about false no-log claims.
PureVPN claims to be no-log VPN services. Although PureVPN had a somewhat sketchy past about its no-log policy, it has gone to great lengths recently to say that it is now a fully no-log VPN. This claims was backed up with an audit which concluded that PureVPN did not keep any data that could identify any specific person or activity.
Plans and Prices
PureVPN is very competitively priced. This is especially true the longer the subscription you take.
PureVPN’s best price is $2.08/mo. That's cheap!
And remember, their lengthy money-back guarantee periods (31 days) means you shouldn’t be too worried about signing up for a longer-term deal.
VPN Servers & Locations
As one of the biggest players in the VPN industry, it will be no surprise that PureVPN offers lots of VPN servers in lots of different locations.
At the risk of generalizing, the more VPN servers that are available to use, the more options you have. This is especially true for online streaming of live events in faraway places and even for avoiding annoying Captcha’s.
Here are the up-to-date stats for PureVPN when it comes to servers and locations:
- PureVPN: 6,500 servers located in 70 countries – see PureVPN server list in full
PureVPN has a big advantage when it comes to the number of countries where it has VPN servers. In fact, PureVPN has servers in more than double the number of countries than most of its competition. This can be important if you want to livestream local events taking place in countries where PureVPN has servers, but other VPNs don’t.
Bonus: Full Torrenting Support
PureVPN lets you connect super-easily to VPN servers for safe torrenting.
With PureVPN, select File-sharing mode and then either auto-connect to the best server available or manually select a location.
PureVPN makes torrenting easy with its File-sharing Mode.
Using a VPN to keep you anonymous while torrent file-sharing is one of a VPN’s most important functions for everyday users.
Using a VPN while torrenting will hide your IP address and encrypt your connection so your torrent downloads can’t be monitored by your ISP or snoops.
That’s why it’s not a coincidence that we cover torrenting right after discussing no-log policies. That’s because your torrent safety and privacy is only as solid as your VPN’s no-log policy.
PureVPN openly supports torrent file-sharing and are not shy about it. You need to have confidence in your VPN’s no-log policy and PureVPN has been audited as a truly no-log VPN.
Plus, PureVPN allows torrenting on many more servers than all other VPN providers. As you’ll read under ‘VPN Servers & Locations’ below, PureVPN has servers in many more locations and that’s true too for servers that support torrenting.
PureVPN has torrent-friendly servers in 70 countries all around the globe.
PureVPN Speed Tests
In our opinion, the speeds offered by a VPN service are more important than the number of servers and locations it offers.
We placed this part of the head-to-head comparison near the end of the post because it is long, a bit technical and contains lots of screenshots.
All our speed tests utilized speedtest.net by Ookla. Our speed tests for USA were done from Arizona over WiFi on a typical residential Internet connection (semi- not super-fast). Our speed tests for Asia were done from Thailand over a faster connection. Because the two sets of tests in the different locations were done under very different circumstances, please do not compare them to each other. What's important is the relative results in the same location on the same Internet connection.
Establishing a Baseline Speed (Speed Test with No VPN)
To get a baseline, it's important to first test speeds without a VPN. Because results can vary, it's also good to do more than one test.
The results below are all expressed as a % degradation of download speed compared to the average figures above. This is just a fancy way of saying how much speed was lost when connected to PureVPN compared to not being connected. By definition, the VPN connection will always be slower because the connection is being diverted to/from the VPN servers for your safety.
Note: on some websites you'll see claims such as, "we were able to keep 95% of the original Internet speed with [VPN]". Claiming a 5% speed degradation using a VPN is not credible for download speeds and shouldn't be believed, especially if it is not backed up with test screenshots etc.
Even for the very best VPN services, download and torrenting speed degradations are higher and sometimes much higher. Don't just take our word for it, check for yourself by looking at the VPN speed results of independent testing labs (in this 29-page report, look at pages look at pages 13 & 14). Only streaming and upload speed degradation %s can be in the single digits.
PureVPN: USA Servers
Baseline Speeds (No VPN) USA
Our no VPN speed test results in USA gave us the following ranges:
- Ping: a consistent 21 ms across the board with an average of 21 ms
- Download speeds: 16.2 to 27.54 Mbps with an average of 20.61 Mbps
- Upload speeds: 4.45 to 4.74 Mbps with an average of 4.51 Mbps
No VPN speed test #1.
Second 'no VPN' speed test.
No VPN speed test #3.
Fourth 'no VPN' speed test.
#5 speed test with no VPN.
No VPN speed test #6.
PureVPN Speed Tests USA Servers
For our US-based VPN speed tests, we let PureVPN connect to its fastest available server via its app's "auto" mode.
- PureVPN had a good (low) ping and a speed degradation of only 17%
Speed test results using PureVPN's ‘Internet Freedom’ mode.
PureVPN: Asia Servers
Baseline Speeds (No VPN) Asia
Our no VPN speed test results in Asia gave us the following ranges:
- Ping: 4 to 7 ms with an average of 5.75 ms
- Download speeds: 41.95 to 75.66 Mbps with an average of 57.77 Mbps
- Upload speeds: 40.22 to 59.73 Mbps with an average of 51.18 Mbps
Speedtest results with no VPN activated.
Speedtest result #2 without a VPN.
More speedtest.net results for no VPN.
The fastest Speedtest results we obtained with no VPN .
PureVPN: Thailand Servers
As we were based in Thailand at the time of the Asia-based tests, we started our Asia speed test of PureVPN by connecting to their Thailand servers.
- PureVPN had a good (low) ping and a speed degradation of 40%
Speedtest.net results connected to PureVPN Thailand server.
PureVPN: Singapore Servers
Our next speed test was done by connecting to PureVPN's Singapore servers. The initial results for PureVPN somewhat surprised us, so we re-ran the test.
- PureVPN's speed degradation was an impressively low 18%
Speed test for PureVPN Singapore server.
PureVPN: Hong Kong Servers
Next, we checked PureVPN connecting to servers in Hong Kong. Despite multiple tests, PureVPN's speeds were surprisingly poor for some reason even though PureVPN is based in Hong Kong!
- PureVPN's speed degradation was 46%
Speedtest results for PureVPN's Hong Kong server.
PureVPN’s Chrome Extension for Easy Streaming
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to stream online content and spoof or geo-shift your location, look no further than PureVPN's extension for Chrome web browser.
PureVPN's Chrome extension is another easy way to stream.
Google Chrome is the most popular web browser for both PC and smartphones – and no other browser even comes close.
So, as a likely Chrome user, you might be interested in PureVPN’s top-rated Chrome extension, which makes using a VPN easier than ever.
PureVPN’s extension just makes everything easier to navigate for avid streamers. That’s probably why the extension has a 4.5 rating on over 1,000 reviews in the Chrome web store.
You can download it here.
How Does PureVPN’s Chrome Extension Work?
Though PureVPN’s desktop app is already very streamlined and simple-to-use, PureVPN’s chrome extension seeks to make things even easier.
With it installed, users can connect, change countries, access PureVPN’s preset bookmarks for popular websites, and even prevent WebRTC leaks, all from within the very minimalist menu they’ve built right into the Chrome browser.
So, let’s say you’re trying to watch Netflix, but you’re in a country that blocks access. Without even minimizing your browser window, you can connect to one of PureVPN’s streaming servers – and boom, you’re now able to stream through Netflix.
And if you get tired of the Netflix catalog for, say, the US, just select ‘Change country’ from within the extension, reconnect, and now you have access to an entirely different selection of movies and TV shows.
Or you can take advantage of the extension’s bookmarks to specifically access Netflix for different countries, like Netflix UK, quickly and easily.
And this works for all your favorite streaming services, from Hulu to Amazon Prime Video.
Of course, as with any VPN service, you’ll also be able to stream without worrying about bandwidth limits or speed throttling imposed by your ISP. That’s because your data is encrypted and routed through the VPN tunnel, which makes it both more secure and harder to monitor.
PureVPN's chrome extension.
But you will need a PureVPN subscription to use their extension. If you don’t already have one, you can get an exclusive discount through Cogipas if you sign up today!
Risk-free with a 31-day full money-back guarantee
Final Thoughts
There you have it. This is the most detailed analysis on the Internet you will find about PureVPN, especially for streaming.
Much of your choice will depend on your specific and individual needs as a VPN customer.
But for beginners or people only or mostly interested in online streaming, PureVPN is an attractive choice at a great price.
If you are still sitting on the fence, keep in mind that PureVPN has a long money-back guarantee period. Nothing stops you from signing up for it, trying it out them and then cancelling if you don't like it. After all, there’s no better way to choose a VPN than to actually use it.
