BolehVPN Review 2023 — Keep This in Mind Before Buying

BolehVPN is a product of BV Internet Services founded in 2007. It’s based in Malaysia but has jurisdiction in Seychelles.

It has a small server network of only 35 servers in 12 countries, but it offers specialized servers for different uses. For example, it has streaming servers, which successfully unblocked different Netflix libraries and other platforms. It also has obfuscated cloak servers designed to bypass censorship, but I can't guarantee they work since customer support never replied to my questions.

I could game and torrent using nearby servers. However, its speeds were generally slow and inconsistent.

While it offers some good security features, BolehVPN’s logging policy is unclear. The Windows and macOS apps are simple to install and use, but it’s trickier on mobile devices.

It’s also quite expensive, with prices starting from $6.66/month, and it isn’t great value for money. You can get a much more reliable and quality VPN for the same or even lower prices than BolehVPN.

Streaming — Good for Unblocking Most Streaming Platforms

BolehVPN has streaming-optimized servers called “vStream” for US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, which performed well when I tested them. It used to have “BolehFlix” servers, but these no longer exist and have been replaced with the vStream ones. The UDP servers also performed quite well in unblocking other platforms.

In general, BolehVPN’s speeds were acceptable for streaming. I had little buffering, but taking into account the speed drops I experienced, if you have lower base speeds, you might not be able to watch in HD. The UDP servers speeds were okay. However, the TCP ones were too slow and not suitable for good-quality streaming.

Unblocked: 8 Netflix libraries, Disney+, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, and Kodi

BolehVPN successfully unblocked Netflix US and UK with its streaming-optimized servers. However, I also accessed these libraries using the UDP servers in New York and London. Though, I noticed a slightly shorter loading time when I tested the optimized streaming servers.

It further unblocked the German, French, Singaporean, Malaysian, Japanese, and Swiss Netflix libraries. Unfortunately, on long-distance servers, it was a little slower, so the streaming quality wasn’t perfect.

I streamed Young Sheldon easily using its New York servers and only had a few seconds of buffering.

I was able to stream US Netflix with BolehVPN’s New York server

BolehVPN also worked well with Disney+. I connected to its UDP New York server and streamed Turning Red without interruptions. I had to wait around 10 seconds for the video to load, but there was no buffering once it started.

BolehVPN’s New York UDP server successfully unblocked Disney+

HBO Max also worked well when I tested BolehVPN’s same US server. I watched The Flight Attendant with little interruptions.

BolehVPN’s speeds were good enough to let me watch HBO Max without much buffering

BolehVPN’s BBC iPlayer-optimized server unblocked the platform seamlessly. I watched a few episodes of Gentleman Jack in good quality since the UK servers are closer to my location and thus the speeds weren't extremely slow.

I streamed Gentleman Jack with little buffering using BolehVPN

It also successfully unblocked some Kodi add-ons and YouTube. I tested these with Boleh’s New York UDP server, and I was able to watch content easily.

Blocked By: Netflix Canada, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN+, and Hulu

I couldn’t unblock Canadian Netflix using BolehVPN’s Canadian servers because the connection was never established. It was also blocked by Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, and Hulu. If you’re looking for the best VPNs for streaming, you can choose from any of these.

BolehVPN doesn’t have streaming-optimzied servers for Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. I tried to access them using both its US servers in New York and Seattle, but unfortunately, neither of these worked.

Neither BolehVPN’s New York nor Seattle servers worked to unblock Prime Video or Hulu

It also didn't let me access ESPN+ when I tried to stream Dream On using BolehVPN’s New York server.

BolehVPN’s New York server didn’t unblock ESPN+

Speeds — Slow and Inconsistent

Overall, BolehVPN’s speeds were pretty inconsistent. While its UDP servers were much faster than its TCP servers, in general, they were slow. TCP servers are reliable but slow down your speeds, whereas UDP servers are more prone to error but faster.

Its long-distance servers in Asia gave me contrasting results. Connected to servers in Singapore, my speeds dropped by 29%. A reduction of 10–20% is normal with a VPN when using faraway servers. Considering Singapore is over 6,500 miles from my location, that isn’t too bad. However, connected to its server in Sydney, my speeds dropped by a whopping 74%.

BolehVPN’s US servers were also quite slow. My average speed loss was around 34% using the New York and Seattle servers.

My speeds dropped more than 70% on some of BolehVPN’s long-distance serversI had inconsistent speeds when connected to servers closer to me in Europe. Its servers in Amsterdam gave me a loss of around 18%, which is acceptable. However, my speeds dropped significantly using some other local servers, like its Zurich server, which decreased my speeds by 63%.

Even though London is my closest server, my download speeds dropped from 73.59 Mbps to 52.41 Mbps, which is around a 29% decrease.

Even some of BolehVPN’s servers close to me had really slow speedsMy base speeds are very fast to begin with, so I still had some decent streaming quality despite the big speed drops. However, keep in mind that if your starting speed is much slower than mine, you probably won't be able to stream in 4K or HD using BolehVPN, even with its streaming-optimized servers. Most of its UDP servers allowed me to stream in lower quality without much buffering and they were good for regular browsing.

Are BolehVPN’s Speeds Fast Enough for Gaming? Yes

BolehVPN’s speeds were fast enough for gaming when connected to local servers. There was no lag when I played Plants vs. Zombies on Steam using its server in London because my ping was still acceptable for gaming (27 ms).

However, speeds are slower, and the ping is much higher on long-distance servers. So you’ll likely experience a slowdown if you play action-packed games like GTA or League of Legends. If you’re looking for a good VPN for gaming, you can try out our top gaming VPNs.

I didn't experience lag while playing Plants vs. Zombies on BolehVPN’s London server

Server Network — Very Small, but Offers Different Types of Servers

BolehVPN has a very small server network, with only 35 servers in 12 countries. This means your options are very limited for accessing foreign content. Plus, if one of its servers isn’t working, you don’t have many backups. If you want to access US Netflix and one of the servers goes down, you’re relying on only 1 other. It also means that the servers can easily get overcrowded, leading to slower speeds at busy times.

BolehVPN has servers in the US, the UK, and the following countries:

I had problems getting many of its servers to work, especially in Montreal, Vancouver, Stockholm, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong. The Luxembourg and Hong Kong servers didn’t even appear in the dropdown menu on my app. I submitted a ticket to BolehVPN’s customer support about this and contacted them on social media. However, even after a month had passed, I never received a response.

BolehVPN offers a range of different server options depending on what you want to do.

• Regular TCP and UDP servers: These are different protocols for different data. TCP are more reliable but slower and ideal for regular browsing. However, if you want to stream or game online, you’ll have better results using the UDP servers.
• Cloak servers: Its obfuscated cloak servers are designed to bypass censorship.
• Proxied servers: These are good for split tunneling, allowing you to access local and foreign content at the same time.
• Cloak Proxy servers: There’s no information on what these are for. Plus, it only has 1 in Montreal, and I couldn’t connect to it.
• FixIP servers: These are BolehVPN’s dedicated IP addresses offered on premium plans. However, they’re only for servers in Sweden and Luxembourg, meaning users outside of Europe may experience slower speeds.
• Streaming servers: BolehVPN offers dedicated servers for accessing Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
• Surfing servers: These are optimized for fast browsing. However, I didn’t notice faster speeds when using them.

Security — Robust Security Features

BolehVPN offers strong security features to keep you safe. It uses SHA-2 encryption, 256-bit AES military-grade encryption — the strongest available. The encryption translates your data into a code, making it very hard for any third party to access it.

It provides extra security with Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). This means that the VPN creates a new private key with every new session, so if you get hacked, they can’t access older data.

Plus, it uses a Public Key Infrastructure with a 4096-bit key. It works by employing 2 different cryptographic keys: a public and private key, and it keeps your data secure.

BolehVPN also offers the OpenVPN protocol, considered the most secure. It has L2TP too if you’re not concerned about security since it’s an outdated protocol.

One of BolehVPN’s downsides is that it doesn’t provide IKEv2 for mobile, which is one of the fastest protocols available.

To ensure your browsing activity and IP are hidden, you can enable the DNS leak protection on the Windows, Linux, and Android apps from the settings menu. Unfortunately, the macOS and iOS apps don’t come with this feature.

You also won’t find IPv6 and WebRTC leak protection on any of its apps, but you can disable them manually on your device.

However, BolehVPN passed all my IP/DNS/WebRTC leak tests.

I conducted these tests on ipleak.net

I ran a virustotal.com test on the Windows and macOS installers and found a Trojan on the Windows file. BolehVPN mentions this is a possibility on its website and claims it’s a false positive. However, it’s a little alarming.

BolehVPN’s website claims that this is a false positive

BolehVPN offers a kill switch known as “lock down.” This cuts off your internet if your VPN disconnects unexpectedly and prevents your real IP address from being exposed. I tested this by switching servers consecutively, and my internet connection went down between each server change. However, you need to enable it manually.

To find these features, open the “Settings” tab

Split tunneling is also an option when you connect to its Proxy servers. It lets you pick which apps to use the VPN connection and which to use your local ISP’s connection. I was still able to access local websites while connected to foreign servers for streaming.

Unfortunately, BolehVPN doesn’t offer an ad blocker as an extra feature like many other VPNs do.

Privacy — Sketchy Logging Policy

BolehVPN’s logging policy states that it does not keep logs of user activity, such as DNS requests, timestamps, bandwidth usage, and original IP address.

However, it will collect logs if it detects suspicious activity or as a last resort for troubleshooting. It explains that it won’t share anything with third parties, and will only collect logs on suspected servers.

BolehVPN could store your logs if the server you’re using has suspicious activity detected

It also collects your email address, time and date of purchase, payment method, and “any other information you provide on signup.” However, this is standard practice for VPNs since they need this information to set up your account.

Its terms of service also indicate that it has offshore jurisdiction since it’s governed by the law of Seychelles, but it’s based in Malaysia. Luckily, these are outside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance, a collection of states that can monitor and share your data.

BolehVPN publishes a monthly warrant canary on its website, which shows whether it has received a request from law enforcement to disclose its users' data. I checked a recent document, and it showed no requests.

Torrenting — Good on Some Servers

BolehVPN supports torrenting and allows P2P traffic on some servers, except its "vStream" and "vSurf" ones. It confirms this in its FAQs.

You can also use port forwarding, which gives you faster downloads as it connects you to more peers. Unfortunately, it’s only available on its Luxembourg and Switzerland servers, so you might experience overcrowding. Plus, if you’re outside Europe, you'll likely experience slower speeds due to the distance.

I used BitTorrent connected to its UDP servers in Amsterdam to download a public domain movie. I had decent speeds, and it only took around 5 minutes to download a 699MB file.

It only took a few minutes for my file to download with BolehVPN’s Amsterdam server

My team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting. Make sure you’re aware of your country’s laws and don’t download copyrighted materials.

Does BolehVPN Work in China? It’s Unclear

BolehVPN’s cloak servers obfuscate your traffic, so they should work in China. I contacted its customer support to confirm this but they never answered me.

Very few VPNs can bypass the Great Firewall, and the smaller ones like BolehVPN usually don’t work.

China only permits the use of government-approved VPNs but no tourists have ever been punished for it. However, you should make yourself aware of the rules surrounding VPNs in China before using one.

Simultaneous Device Connections — Very Limited

Unfortunately, BolehVPN only allows 3 simultaneous device connections on its plans, which is much less than the industry standard of 5.

However, BolehVPN is compatible with routers so you can work around the limited device connections. Once installed on your router, you can use the VPN on all the devices connected to it.