We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
Learn more
vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
Advertising Disclosure

vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

Lantern Review & Test 2024: Keep in Mind Before Buying

Our Score: 4.5/10
Ranked 160th out of 198 VPNs
Kristina Perunicic Updated on 2nd September 2024 Former Managing Editor

Lantern tells you from the start that it isn't a VPN. It's an open-source proxy that claims to give unrestricted access to sites while routing all your other activity through your local IP address. Lantern also states it's better and faster than a VPN altogether. Can it be true?

After conducting a full review of Lantern to see what it really offers, I can confirm that you should stay away. Lantern isn't forthcoming with information, so it doesn't tell you how many servers it has, where they are, what security protocols it uses, or even what features it offers. For access to a worldwide server network that protects your online privacy, check out this list of the best VPNs available.

Short on Time? Here Are My Key Findings

Pros

Cons

Lantern Features — 2024 Update

5.5
💸 Price 0 USD/month
📝 Does VPN keep logs? No
🖥 Number of servers 2+
💻 Number of devices per license 3
🛡 Kill switch No
🗺 Based in country United States
🛠 Support Email support
📥 Supports torrenting No

Streaming — Random Servers Ruin the Experience

2.0

Lantern makes it possible to access some platforms and stream in standard definition, but the proxy only offers random locations. This means you never know which country it will connect to, and that makes it a terrible choice for streaming. That’s not to mention the fact that its servers sometimes give you an IP in a different country than you expect.

Luckily, we were able to find a member of our global team that got an actual IP address in their respective country. This allowed them to test out Lantern’s capabilities. Unfortunately, it was a hit-or-miss experience.

Lantern worked with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, but there were long load times and pixelated videos. This proxy service couldn’t be tested with Disney+, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Max, or other popular platforms because they weren’t offered in our tester’s country. That’s the main problem with trying to stream with its randomized servers.

Overall, I can’t recommend Lantern to anyone for streaming, especially since it’s not secure. It only offers proxies, so your connection isn't encrypted. With the right VPN, it’s possible to safely access all the most popular platforms from anywhere. We recommend you check out our list of the best VPNs for streaming for secure connections while binge watching.

Editor’s note. The VPNs we recommend generally follow strict no-logging policies. As a result, they won’t view or share your online activities, which leaves you responsible for how your chosen VPN is used. The vpnMentor team and I urge you to always uphold all copyright laws.

Speed — Fast for Uninterrupted Browsing

7.4

Speed is one of the only areas where Lantern really impressed me.

My base speed without a VPN started at 14.38 Mbps download speed and 12.69 Mbps upload speed.

Speed test before connecting to Lantern VPN.

When I connected to a Lantern server in the Netherlands, my download speed barely decreased at all and stayed steady at 14.19 Mbps, which was enough for me to browse the web without any lagging.

My upload speed actually increased by over 39%, so I was able to make fast, high-quality WhatsApp calls.

Speed test performed on a Lantern VPN server.

But, I must mention that we can’t guarantee you’ll get speeds this fast. Since Lantern only offers automatic connections, you can’t rely on it to consistently offer nearby servers. This actually posed a big problem for us in our next set of tests.

Gaming — Unreliable for Competitive Online Play

4.0

Lantern might work well for gaming on occasion, but you never know what server you’ll get. As you saw in my speed tests, there were times when Lantern gave me decent ping results. This is the most important measurement when you’re trying to play online with minimal lag.

Ping lets you know how long it takes your data to travel. You want your ping below 85ms when you’re playing games, so there’s no delay between your inputs and your character’s actions. Unfortunately, when I started testing Lantern with a fast-paced online shooter, I couldn’t get it to connect me to a nearby server.

I ended up trying to play with its German server, but my ping rate was over 300ms, and I couldn’t even load a match. So, while you may get lucky and find a fast server close to you, it’s just too much hassle for me to recommend Lantern for gaming. You can easily find a nearby server with great ping rates if you test out one of our top VPNs for gaming.

Server Network — A Shot in the Dark

0.5

Who knows? Lantern has an automatic server selection feature, which is great for finding the best servers for performance. But—and it's a big one—it doesn’t let you pick your own server.

I’ve never seen this before in a VPN. However, Lantern isn’t actually a VPN—it’s a proxy. But if you can't choose a server yourself, how do you rely on it to access specific websites or social media platforms? It all comes down to chance.

I tried several connections and was assigned servers in the US, the Netherlands, and Germany. Lantern might have servers in more than these 3 countries, but your guess is as good as mine.

Another thing that disturbed me was the fact that the German server gave me an IP in the assigned country, but I had DNS servers in the UAE. I even had some websites show up in Arabic, which isn’t helpful when you’re supposed to be connected to a German location.

So, you can’t pick your server with Lantern, and you can’t rely on it to give you the location listed. Because of this, I recommend always doing leak tests after connecting, just to make sure. However, you’ll be better off if you try a VPN with a vast network of reliable servers you can actually choose.

Torrenting — Not Recommended for File sharing

2.0

Although Lantern does work for P2P sharing, I wouldn’t recommend it, and here’s why.

It’s a proxy, not a full VPN, so you can’t be sure that you have maximum security while you're transferring and downloading files.

You also can’t pick which proxy you connect to. So, you’ll have a hard time getting reliably fast speeds since you never know when Lantern will set you up with a distant location.

For these reasons, I'd avoid Lantern for any kind of P2P sharing. If you want to torrent, go with one of these top vendors; they guarantee your security and offer consistently fast speeds.

Security — No Information

2.2

There are no details whatsoever on Lantern’s site or app about what level of encryption it uses to secure your data and online traffic. It doesn't even disclose what security protocols it supports.

After contacting support, I still don't know, since no one even got back to me. All Lantern does say is that it’s “secure".

Although, Lantern is open-source software, meaning its source code can be viewed and scrutinized by anybody. This makes me think it's highly unlikely the company would place malicious code that could pose a threat to security. Also, you have the choice to opt-out of its analytical data gathering process, which it says it uses to help improve its service.

When you visit a geoblocked site, you're protected with HTTPs, but anything else you do is completely unencrypted. Because remember, it's not a full VPN service.

Privacy – Good Policies, but Only for the Paid Version

5.5

Lantern won’t log any of your identifiable information as long as you use Lantern Pro. That’s good, but I’m disappointed at the information it collects from its free service. It’s also frustrating that it’s so hard to get responses from support because I needed more information about its independent audits to know if they’re legit.

Does Lantern Keep Logs? Yes (With the Free Version)

Lantern collects free user’s IPs to “limit abuse.” It claims it’s impossible for them to associate a Lantern server IP with these personal IP addresses. One of the big drawbacks of using a free proxy or VPN is that they’re rarely privacy-friendly. However, collecting your IP is quite egregious, even for a free service.

Although it states it will never examine your browsing history, I’d be worried about my IP leaking, so I’d recommend avoiding its free proxies.

On the other hand, its privacy policy for paid users states it will never collect your IP address. Lantern doesn’t even record timestamps. It only stores the information given to them during sign up (like your email address), and diagnostic information it needs to keep its services running. For example, it records data about crash reports and device types.

While I like Lantern Pro’s policies, they’re a little hard to trust after what it admits to storing from free users.

Was Lantern Audited? Yes

Lantern states on its website that it undergoes “constant security audits.” Sadly, there’s no way to verify this. I reached out to ask about which third parties perform audits. I also asked about what aspects of Lantern get audited; is it just its server infrastructure? Do the auditors make it sure it follows its privacy policy?

I couldn’t find any verifiable information about these audits because support never responded to me. There also isn’t any easily accessible information about them online. This makes me suspicious because the best VPNs are very open about who performs their audits, and they even release the results publicly.

Based in The United States

Lantern’s headquarters are in Los Angeles, USA (within the 5 Eyes Alliance). That’s an agreement between several governments where they promise to share information about their citizens. This means Lantern would be required to hand over data if the government asked for it, which is one more reason you should never use its free service.

Does Lantern Work in China? No

Support staff never responded when I asked if Lantern works in China. Even if it did, I wouldn’t recommend using it there due to its lack of security features. It also doesn’t offer obfuscation, a feature that hides your VPN/proxy use. So, I’m doubtful it could work in restrictive countries.

While the Chinese government has banned several VPNs, there have been no publicly-reported cases of it going after the individuals who use them. My team and I are opposed to all illegal activities, so we urge you to read up on the local laws before using a VPN. To find a method that’s been proven to work, check out our list of the best VPNs for China.

Installation & Apps

6.0

Installation & Apps — User-Friendly. But Limited

Lantern is compatible with some popular platforms, including Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and Ubuntu. There are also mobile and desktop apps, but you still can't use it on some devices, such as Chromebooks or Linux-based computers.

You do have three simultaneous connections per subscription, though, which is a plus.

Is Lantern Easy to Use?

Lantern has a simple interface that shows your connection, the number of ads blocked, data used, and the number of HTTPs connections actioned.

Main interface

The app isn’t really an app, as it opens in your default browser, which I’m not a fan of.

Navigating round the "app" is easy, though there’s not far to go. You can look at your settings, and that’s about it. Remember, you can’t change your location, so you’re stuck with your server choice unless you log off and hope it selects somewhere else for you.

Lantern automatically detects proxied sites while you’re connected, so it unblocks them automatically. However, this means it only activates when you access a proxied site, meaning everything else is unencrypted and unprotected.

It’s easy to use, but the functionality of the proxy isn’t all that great. It’s not a full service, so don’t expect one.

Pricing

9.0
Free VPN
$ 0 / month per month
Two Years of Pro
$ 3.62 / month per month
One Year of Pro
$ 4 / month per month

Pricing — Affordable and Offers a Free Option

There are two plans: one-year and two-year options. I’d like to see a one-month or even a six-month subscription so you can try it out with less commitment, but that’s not an option.

While the pricing is notably reasonable, it's important to remember that this doesn't provide a full-fledged VPN service. Even though the cost might appear appealing, I firmly recommend not choosing it for any reason.

There’s no money-back guarantee, either.

Does Lantern Have a Free Version?

Yes, there’s a free version that you can download straight from the site with no registration required. The free plan has limited bandwidth with only 500 MB of data every month. Once you reach your limit, Lantern throttles your speed so you’ll have a lot of lag and buffering.

Reliability & Support

5.0

Reliability and Support — Disappointing

There’s no live chat available through Lantern, only a ticketing system and a direct email address.

The ticketing system sounds promising, as when you submit a question it says an advisor will be in touch within 24 hours. However, it's been days since I submitted a query, and I've still haven't received a response. If you need help, don’t expect a fast answer, if you get one at all.

Compare Lantern With The Top Alternative VPNs
Our Score: 9.9
Our Score: 9.7
Our Score: 9.5
Our Score: 9.4
Editor's Note: Transparency and impartiality are important to us when bringing you our best selection of VPNs. Some of the industry-leading products on our list, including Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company. The VPNs we choose are derived from a thorough testing process.

The Bottom Line

Lantern is reliable for accessing some proxied sites, including social media, Google, and YouTube, and it’s fast at doing so, but that’s about all it has to offer.

The level of encryption utilized by the service provider is undisclosed, which leads to a lack of transparency regarding the security measures taken to protect user data. Consequently, it is challenging to determine the quality of encryption being offered.

Let’s not forget about the logging policy, either. Lantern admits it records IPs from free users, and it’s headquartered in the US. Plus, I’m not confident that its independent audits can be trusted.

It’s also a poor choice for secure streaming. You can’t choose a server, and the server you get won’t always connect you to the right location. There are plenty of vendors that are way better for safe streaming, and we’ve rounded up the best ones for you.

Lantern is not an anonymity tool, nor does it claim to be. For maximum security online and access to a huge server network you can control, I’d always recommend sticking with a premium provider like ExpressVPN. That way, you know you’re getting the best level of encryption and you can choose a nearby server for the fastest speeds.

  • Open-source software
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Fast connection speeds

FAQs on Lantern

Is Lantern safe?

No, Lantern is not safe because it’s only a proxy and doesn’t offer encryption. Basically, it will change your location without truly protecting the sensitive information on your device. It also openly admits that it will record your IP if you use its free version. While it states it will never do this with Lantern Pro, it’s hard to trust it when so little information is offered about its independent audits.

Does Lantern work with Netflix?

It might, but you can’t rely on it since it has randomized servers. Each time you connect, it picks a server for you. This means it’s nearly impossible to make sure you pick the fastest server. It’s also only a proxy, so you won’t be able to protect your data from hackers and snoops while streaming.

Will Lantern slow me down?

Yes, you will lose at least some speed with Lantern. It offers proxies, which are usually faster than VPN servers. However, since the service automatically picks your location, you’ll often end up with a distant IP. The farther your data has to be rerouted, the slower your speeds become. So, I wouldn’t trust Lantern if you’re looking for the fastest rates.

Money Back Guarantee (Days): 0
Mobile app:
Number of devices per license: 3
VPN Plans: getlantern.org
We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
Learn more
vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
Lantern User Reviews (User reviews are not verified)
6.0
Based on 5 reviews in 2 languages

Write a Review on Lantern

Please rate VPN.

All Speed Streaming Security Сustomer service
Alice Woodstock
Alice Woodstock
8/10
Serves to it's purpure

It works very well when you behind a firewall that blocks VPN, actually is the only one that worked on Linux for me. Although it doesn't work on streaming sites, it works to access Geforce Now in Brasil.

Ana
Ana
4/10
Do not recommend

It rarely works. And it doesn't work if you'd like to watch Netflix contents that are available in other countries. Also, it doesn't have a price advantage. You can find a better one. I have subscribed Lantern for 2 years and become much more disappointed. The connection and the service get much worse.

Franck LUGUE
Franck LUGUE
6/10
Works well in China...when it works!

I have been using Lantern since 2015 and the PRO version since 2016. When it worked, it's fast but it's often blocked and have to play catch up with the censors. Still it used to be better than other VPN I see listed here and that will only admit it doesn't work in China after you install them! Since the Coronavirus and version 5.8.1 (currently 5.8.3) the situation has changed. Now Lantern (Windows version) use most of my CPU and can't connect at all. I wasted countless hours trying to find out was wrong before noticing I wasn't alone and older version didn't have this "feature". While support used to answer sometimes, I got no feedback on this issue despite emails and opened tickets. As Lantern doesn't communicate publicly on those issues, it's not possible to know if the tool has been compromised. I wouldn't recommend it as long as the Lantern team doesn't acknowledge the problem.

      About the Author

      Kristina Perunicic is a former editor for vpnMentor. She’s a cybersecurity expert with an interest in VPNs and their importance in the digital privacy landscape.

      Was this review helpful?
      Sorry about that!
      (Minimum 10 characters.)