FastVPN Review 2025 — Is Namecheap’s Budget VPN Safe?

FastVPN, powered by the well-known domain name registrar Namecheap, makes some big claims. It promises high-performance servers, customer satisfaction, robust security, and a no-logs policy — all without breaking the bank. It almost sounds too good to be true.

Is FastVPN cheap because it’s bad? FastVPN may be so affordable because it offers more basic features. It’s claimed that over 40% of Americans use VPNs and over 20% of the world (Analyzify, 2025)¹. With that level of competition for users, some VPNs will lower the price of their services to stay competitive. But others will be cheap because their product isn’t worth much.

After thorough testing, I'm hesitant to recommend FastVPN (formerly known as Namecheap VPN) due to its questionable privacy practices and the potential request for sensitive data. Plus, its network isn’t extensive enough to handle overcrowding issues. I suggest choosing a reliable VPN from this list instead, as they’re far superior to FastVPN on all fronts.

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FastVPN Pros, Cons, and Needed Improvements

It’s possible to safely access all the top streaming platforms from anywhere with FastVPN. This can be accomplished with its optimized streaming locations (UK, US, and Canada).

Unfortunately, the quality isn’t always perfect. This is because FastVPN has some overall performance issues, and its streaming servers can become overcrowded, leading to buffering and longer load times.

Popular Streaming Platforms We Tested

At times, we could generate solid picture quality with FastVPN. For example, tests with Netflix went well, and our videos were crystal clear. I suspect this is because it was during a time of day when the optimized locations weren’t packed with users. Unfortunately, the VPN doesn’t provide any data on how crowded its streaming servers are, which is weird because all the regular servers have these stats readily available.

Videos took a few seconds longer to load, but there was no buffering

With the streaming-optimized servers, you can only use the IKEv2 protocol, which may result in slower performance. That’s unfortunate, as FastVPN is actually somewhat fast with WireGuard. However, the regular servers have difficulty safely accessing most platforms. This leads to complications. For example, loading videos on HBO Max took about 15 seconds, and the picture was pixelated and blurry.

This state-funded platform tends to have less quality issues

I hope FastVPN adds more streaming servers or makes them compatible with WireGuard in the future. These 2 minor fixes could make them one of the top VPNs in this category. Until they do that, check out this list of the very best VPNs for streaming.

FastVPN doesn’t quite live up to its name, but it offers decent performance with servers in close proximity. This is true of most VPNs as the farther your data has to travel, the slower your speeds generally become. Luckily, FastVPN provides some statistics to help you find the fastest servers. On non-optimized locations, you’ll be able to see ping rates and server load information next to each server before you connect.

To perform our tests, we contacted our speed expert in the US. He regularly tests the top VPNs for us from the same location with the same connection. This allows us to create more accurate comparisons in our reviews. You’ll find FastVPN’s results below.

We lost 18% on nearby servers and 50% on distant ones

These tests were performed using the WireGuard protocol, as it provided the best speeds. The biggest anomaly was the London location, which significantly dropped our speeds. There has been an issue with servers in this location across the board recently, though, so it shouldn’t reflect too poorly on Namecheap. Overall, its rates have steadily climbed since our last round of tests, so I’m impressed.

With that said, it’s far from the fastest VPN out there. If you’re looking for the quickest VPNs around, I suggest you take a look at this list of the fastest providers in the game.

You can use FastVPN to enjoy secure online gameplay without significant lag. Your ping rates are the most important factor while gaming. This indicates how long it takes for your data to travel, measured in milliseconds. Ideally, it should be below 85ms for you to receive instant responses to your button presses.

You need rapid responses to your inputs to play these games without lag

Nearby servers rarely had ping rates above 40ms during our tests, allowing us to quickly find a match and stay competitive in Counter-Strike 2. However, you probably won’t be able to play games with distant locations. This is common as distance causes ping rates to rise even more than download and upload rates. Ultimately, this is one of FastVPN’s strongest categories and a compelling selling point.

FastVPN has a small network, but it's decently distributed. Most of the servers are in Europe, with several locations spread across the Americas and Asia. It has a limited presence in the Middle East and Oceania, and a single server in South Africa represents its African footprint.

All its servers are managed by StackPath, which acquired IPVanish before Ziff Davis (formerly J2 Global) took over. While these companies are well-regarded within the tech and cybersecurity sectors, I prefer VPNs that own their servers to avoid third-party privacy risks.

There are over 20 virtual servers in the network, and I appreciate that they’re labelled. These aren’t necessarily unsafe, but they may be faster or slower than you expect. This is because they’re not physically located in the country listed, so they may be closer or farther away than you’d think.

Simply click on "Load" or "Ping" to reorganize the list

The streaming optimized servers are great at safely accessing platforms, but they miss out on many features. Unfortunately, switching to these servers means losing access to features such as the kill switch, auto-protect, and split tunneling. Plus, you'll be limited to using the IKEv2 protocol. This is quite frustrating. I’ve actually never seen another VPN that puts such restrictions on its streaming servers.

It doesn't use RAM-based servers or offer dedicated IPs, both of which enhance security. The latter is my go-to when I want to circumvent annoying CAPTCHAS while gaming, browsing, and torrenting. However, I do appreciate that it routes all DNS requests through its secure, private DNS servers. I'll elaborate on the advantages of internal DNS servers in the security section.

While its network is nicely distributed, it might not have a server near your location for the best speeds. So, I suggest you take a look at this list of high-quality VPNs with thousands of servers all around the world.

Does FastVPN Work in China? Yes

According to support, FastVPN could work in China. While it was never known as a great VPN to use in restrictive countries, this seems to have changed.

They wouldn't provide any tips, but I recommend using OpenVPN

The Chinese government tends to block VPN technology, but there have been no publicly reported cases of individuals getting into trouble for using VPNs. However, my team and I don’t condone any illegal activities, and we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the country's laws prior to using any VPN there. If you're visiting China and need a VPN, check out this list.

FastVPN secures your online activity against snoops and hackers with high-level encryption and protocols. Its leak protection also proved effective in my tests.

These were done with each protocol and various browsers

Does FastVPN have an ad blocker? FastVPN has added an ad blocker to its service (although there’s still no double VPN feature). It’s not the most advanced, and it doesn’t block everything, but it’s not bad for such an affordable VPN. Some studies claim the average American sees nearly 100 ads a day (Digital Silk, 2025)². In addition, over $600 billion is spent each year on ads, and that’s just in the US (Statista, 2025)³.

While this all sounds great, there’s a chance that Namecheap could request sensitive information during the payment verification process. It performs “cross-checks” of your payments, which can trigger a fraud alert and subsequent demands for personal documents, such as a passport or driver's license. Other people have complained of having their accounts canceled for “security flags,” which the company refuses to explain.

So, I advise caution with FastVPN and suggest you check out one of our top choices to keep your devices and data safe.

Encryption

FastVPN uses the industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption to keep you safe online. It’s practically unhackable and is the same level used by top VPNs and various organizations, including cybersecurity firms and banks.

Security Protocols

The VPN also uses top security protocols: OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2. OpenVPN is the safest protocol around because it’s open source, meaning experts constantly check it for vulnerabilities. WireGuard establishes connections faster because it uses less codes. IKEv2 is an older protocol that works well with mobile devices. However, it’s not quite as secure as OpenVPN or WireGuard.

You can only utilize FastVPN’s scramble feature with OpenVPN, which masks your VPN usage. This allows you to use the VPN on restrictive networks, like work and school.

Kill Switch

This feature helps you maintain an encrypted connection. It quickly terminates your internet connection whenever you switch to a new server (or if a server unexpectedly disconnects), preventing data leaks.

FastVPN's kill switch blocks all connections outside its secure tunnel. So, remember to turn it off when not using the VPN for normal web browsing.

Split Tunneling

You can use this feature to choose which apps and websites get routed through the VPN. I like using it to keep everything but my torrenting traffic outside of the secure tunnel. This gets me better speeds, as only my P2P traffic gets encrypted.

Auto-Protect

Once enabled, this feature automatically launches the VPN whenever it detects a new WiFi or network, so your privacy is protected.

FastVPN claims to maintain a no-logs policy, but I found it holds onto sensitive information that can be linked back to you. Besides, the VPN is located in a country with strict data-sharing laws. There are many other providers that I find more trustworthy, so I recommend you check out some of the top VPNs with better privacy policies and protections.

Does FastVPN Keep Logs? Yes

It collects not only standard sign-up details (like email and payment information) but also your IP address and demographic data. It also uses third-party services to monitor your browsing habits, which is unusual with VPNs. Namecheap (the company behind FastVPN) might share some of this non-personal data with advertisers and partners, too.

I don't feel confident this information won't be shared

The VPN can also track your “user behavior” if you enable this within the app. A chat with the support team further revealed that FastVPN could ask for access to your apps and resources, even when you're offline, all to keep features like the kill switch in shape. This got me raising an eyebrow and wondering if the VPN really sticks to its no-logging promise.

More troubling is the service's policy on data deletion. It only deactivates your account rather than erasing it, stating it might need the information to adhere to legal obligations. To minimize the data you share, I suggest you pay for your subscriptions using cryptocurrency and sign up with a one-time email.

In general, FastVPN's privacy measures fall short of my expectations. While the VPN asserts that its logged data is anonymized, the fact that it asks for and retains sensitive information makes me wonder how seriously it takes its users' online privacy.

Was FastVPN Audited? No

FastVPN’s privacy policy hasn’t been audited or verified by any independent third parties. I touched base about this with the live agents, and they promised to raise the issue with the tech team. The best VPNs let independent experts thoroughly examine their practices to prove they're trustworthy.

Based in the US

FastVPN headquarters are located in a country known for poor privacy protection laws. The US is part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance. This is an agreement between governments to share their citizens’ information.

So, it’s possible NameCheap could be forced to change its policies in the future. If you think this is just paranoia, consider the well-documented instances where US VPNs have been compelled to submit user data to authorities.

We didn’t experience severe slowdowns while torrenting with FastVPN. Usually, it takes about 10 minutes to complete a 1.26GB copyright-free movie with no VPN connected. With FastVPN set up on a nearby location, the file could be completed in around 14 minutes. This is a decent result. However, some providers offer features like port forwarding, which increase download and seeding rates; unfortunately, this isn’t available with FastVPN.

On the security side, FastVPN offers leak protection and strong encryption, making it suitable for secure torrenting. I also like that you can torrent with any server. However, it’s not exceptional in this area, and you can achieve faster download times with a VPN from this list.

Torrenting is legal in most countries, but downloading copyrighted files isn’t. My team and I do not condone any illegal activities. We recommend you only access torrents in the public domain to make sure you’re abiding by the law.