Planet VPN Review 2025 — Free and Premium Apps Tested

Planet VPN (formerly RusVPN) is a low-cost VPN (with a free option with limited servers) that promises to be fast and secure. There’s no shortage of VPNs, both free and cheap, that make these sorts of claims, so we decided to test it out to see how it truly performs.

Is Planet VPN safe? The VPN will keep your data protected without significantly impacting speeds, which is a good thing, as experts believe cybercrime will cause worldwide damages upwards of $13 trillion by 2028 (VikingCloud, 2025)¹. However, security isn’t all there is to a VPN. Planet VPN has some issues that prevent it from being one of the best.

After testing all its features, I found Planet VPN a solid choice, but there’s room for improvement. While it’s a good option for security and privacy, it suffers from too many connection problems, and its customer support is unreliable. I recommend you try one of our top-ranked VPNs that offer reliable connections, with support available 24/7 on live chat and email.

Try Planet VPN Risk-Free >>

Planet VPN Pros, Cons, and Needed Improvements

80% Off

Save 80% on Planet VPN with this Holiday deal!

Money-Back Guarantee: 30 Days

And get 12 months completely free!

Get it now!

Can you use Planet VPN for streaming? Planet VPN works with all popular streaming platforms, but its performance is inconsistent. That’s disappointing because some analysts claim up to 24% of VPN users choose them for secure streaming (Forbes, 2025)². According to others, it may be as many as 46% of customers that list streaming as their primary reason for getting a VPN (Demand Sage, 2025)³.

It's possible to safely access top platforms from anywhere with Planet VPN's premium app. The quality was generally good during tests done by me and our international team. The free app isn’t bad when it comes to streaming, but it’s not compatible with Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, or Paramount+.

Unfortunately, frequent connection issues prevent this VPN from being one of the best for streaming. Although the free version was worse, we still experienced disconnections many times with our paid application. It happened 5 times during streaming tests, and even though the kill switch kept us safe by blocking our internet connection, it still interrupted our streams. It was annoying waiting for the VPN to reconnect, and sometimes we had to spend minutes searching for a new server that worked.

Popular Streaming Platforms We Tested

Planet VPN works with Netflix US, UK, Canada, Australia, and more. In some tests, it took about 20 seconds longer to load the Netflix library before we could select a video. Otherwise, the quality was great. However, the free servers tend to be much slower than premium ones, so expect a little more buffering and grainier picture quality with a free account.

The premium app let us load videos in just a few seconds

We had to do some troubleshooting during tests with other platforms. For example, we needed to switch from Chrome to Firefox to start streaming with Paramount+. The disconnection issues were especially annoying with HBO Max. While trying to stream A Minecraft Movie, I had to switch between three different servers to find one that wouldn’t disconnect every 10 minutes.

The video only paused to buffer one time during the film

The best VPNs can securely access the top streaming services from anywhere without these connection problems. It’s a shame that Planet VPN is still dealing with these issues, given its impressive current streaming capabilities. With that said, I suggest you check out this list of the top VPNs for streaming if this category is your top priority.

You’ll likely lose a lot of speed with free servers, but the premium ones offer adequate rates. There are servers in only a few countries, so they’re likely to experience overcrowding. When more people are using a server, it tends to cause speed drops. Your physical distance from a server usually influences your speeds, too. The closer the server is, the less distance your data has to travel, which generally results in faster rates.

Our speed expert has tested all the top VPNs consistently for years. We ask him to perform our tests from the same location and connection as much as possible. This allows us to create fair comparisons between VPNs. Below you’ll find the results of his latest Planet VPN tests, which were all done with the StarGuard protocol since it was the fastest. This protocol also conceals your VPN traffic (obfuscation), making it more difficult for ISPs to detect and throttle speeds.

We lost 27% on nearby servers and 56% on distant ones

The free servers were also analyzed, and they dropped our testers' speeds much more. For example, his results with the free US server gave him speeds comparable to his recordings with the premium Singapore location. This isn’t surprising, but you’ll want to keep this in mind if you’re planning on doing data-heavy activities with a free Planet VPN account (it’s not the best idea).

Nearby locations on premium servers helped us maintain speeds that are more than fast enough for streaming, gaming, and torrenting, especially when we used StarGuard. However, it would be nice if the VPN let you know how crowded the servers are. Many of its competitors do this with a stat called server load. It provides a percentage to indicate how close the location is to capacity.

Overall, Planet VPN is just a little above average in this category. If you’re looking for more in this category, I recommend you take a look at our list of the fastest VPNs available.

Planet VPN is fast enough for gaming without lag. Nearby servers worked for me as I expected, but distant ones gave me high ping rates. Any VPN will increase latency on faraway servers, so unless you have any preferences, I recommend you stick to one close to you. You’ll need ping rates below 85ms to enjoy gameplay without added lag. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any free servers that supplied us with a low enough ping to play fast-paced games.

There's unlimited data usage, so you can play card games indefinitely

Nearby premium servers let us stay safe and remain competitive in first-person shooters like Counter-Strike 2. The closest location gave us a super low ping rate of only 11ms. So, it didn’t affect any of our movements. The character responded instantly to all of our inputs so that we could duck, run, jump, and shoot without any hesitation.

Sadly, the connection issues still make this an inferior choice for secure gaming. The VPN only disconnected on us once during these tests, but that was still a match we had to forfeit. For serious players, it’s a good idea to learn more about the best VPNs for online gaming here.

Planet VPN’s most significant problem in any category is its constant connection issues. Many servers take a long time to connect (over 30 seconds) or never connect at all. Even if you can get a connection, it might just disconnect after a few minutes. We were constantly dealing with this during our tests, and it’s even worse with the free version.

It worked again the next day, but we had to try several times

Planet VPN has 1,260 servers in 60 countries. Most of its servers are in the US, but you can also find servers across Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. I was also pleased to see that it offers server locations in Africa and Oceania.

The free version limits you to servers in the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

You have the advantage of switching between different IPs with a paid version — this isn't possible with the free version. A premium account also lets you pick servers from specific US cities (an option exclusive to this country).

Some of its servers support P2P activities, streaming, Onion Over VPN, and Double VPN. But right now, it's hard to spot them as they're mixed in with all the others. Planet VPN is working on categorizing its servers into separate groups to make this easier, so keep an eye on that.

The VPN owns all its servers, which is really nice, as some of the VPNs I have tested rent them, introducing a third party that can compromise your privacy. Unfortunately, my questions on whether it uses RAM-based servers and whether it uses virtual locations remained unanswered.

This isn’t a bad foundation for a solid VPN, but the connection problems are a significant drawback for Planet VPN. I hope it works on clearing these up because it compromises the product in so many ways. It should be a much better VPN. But, since we were constantly searching for new servers to find a reliable connection, our entire experience was just frustrating. We recommend researching its top competitors to find VPNs that don’t frequently disconnect.

Does Planet VPN Work in China? Yes

I reached out to Planet VPN’s support, and they confirmed that it works in China.

The VPN makes no claims that its website can be accessed in China

It’s recommended that you use the StarGuard protocol. This protocol can obfuscate your connection. This makes VPN traffic look like regular traffic, so it’s less likely to get blocked on restrictive networks.

Although the Chinese government has banned many VPNs, it normally doesn't target individuals for using them. However, I strongly advise researching the country's laws before making a decision to use a VPN there.

Planet VPN offers high-level encryption and strong security features, which proved trustworthy in tests. However, I do wish its apps had a few extra features that many other VPNs offer. Ad & tracker blockers are only available on browser extensions. Fortunately, the free version provides the same security features as the paid version.

Encryption — Military-Grade Protection

Planet VPN keeps you safe with AES 256-bit, virtually uncrackable encryption. This is the same level used by militaries and banks around the world. It scrambles your data, making it unreadable to hackers and snoops.

Security Protocols

It gives you a choice between protocols, including OpenVPN (UDP/TCP), IKEv2, L2TP, and PPTP/IPSec. It's also smart enough to automatically select the best one for you. IKEv2 is only available for mobile apps, while OpenVPN works on all platforms. For DIY setups, these protocols can be used on any device that supports them with a subscription.

OpenVPN is the industry standard for security, and it’s open source. That means it’s constantly being checked by experts for vulnerabilities. L2TP isn't quite up to scratch, and PPTP is an older protocol that doesn’t offer the same level of protection. IKEv2 is good in specific cases, as it’s fast and suitable for mobile devices since it can quickly reestablish connections.

Finally, the VPN has introduced its own proprietary protocol called StarGuard. During our tests, this protocol proved to be significantly faster than the rest. It also seemed to work better for streaming with most platforms. Best of all, it doubles as an obfuscation tool. This means it hides your VPN use, so it’s excellent for the restrictive networks you find at schools and places of business.

DNS, IP, and WebRTC Leaks

The VPN successfully passed all our leak tests. Tests were performed with servers all over the world to make sure the VPN was properly hiding our location. You can do this on your own with an online IP checker tool. These show you what IP address your device is displaying on your network.

It was tested with various browsers and each protocol

We also didn’t detect any IP/DNS leaks while testing its free servers.

Kill Switch

We tested out the kill switch, and it proved successful. However, you have to enable it, and I suggest you do so before turning the VPN on. This feature prevents accidental data exposure should the VPN disconnect, for example, when switching servers. As I’ve already mentioned, there were constant disconnections during our tests. Thankfully, the kill switch does its job. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to call Planet VPN a safe option.

Split Tunneling

This feature lets you keep specific traffic out of the VPN tunnel. You can pick apps or even a browser to run with your regular connection while everything else is encrypted. I like to use this to quickly check out my banking app. If I try to look up my balance with a VPN connected, I’ll usually get flagged. It’s a whole annoying process I can avoid with split tunneling.

The VPN outlines its terms and doesn’t appear to misuse your data. But, make sure to thoroughly research its policy as it can be subject to updates at any time. While we don’t condone using a VPN for any illegal purposes, this is still a reassurance that your private information won’t be shared.

Does Planet VPN Keep Logs? No

It has a transparent policy that makes it clear it doesn’t record your location or online activities.

It does state that its legal department will be in touch should you download any copyright-protected material. This is common practice for VPN providers. The VPN also lets you make payments using crypto — another way it enhances your anonymity.

Was Planet VPN Audited? No

No outside checks have been done on this VPN's app or its privacy rules yet. This is a surefire way to boost confidence in a company that handles your online traffic, and I’d like to see this done in the future. Plus, there haven't been any practical scenarios, such as legal proceedings, to confirm that it doesn't maintain logs.

Based in Romania

Although it’s commonly mistaken as a Russian product, Planet VPN (not planetvpn) is headquartered in Romania, outside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance. This is an agreement between governments to share data on their citizens. So, this makes me trust that Planet VPN won't be compelled to store and share your data in the future.

Planet VPN allows you to torrent on all its paid servers. I felt safe using it because its kill switch and leak protection proved effective during my tests. Unfortunately, it’s not super fast.

To test it out, I used a nearby server to download a 700MB movie. Usually, it only takes about 9 minutes to complete this copyright-free file. However, with the VPN connected, it took about 15 minutes. This was labelled as a P2P-optimized server, so I thought it would be faster. It’s not a huge wait, but I’ve found some VPNs that have even slightly increased my torrenting speeds.

It doesn’t support P2P activities on its free servers. I tried each of the servers, and I always received an error message stating torrenting is prohibited at these locations. After this, the VPN immediately activated its kill switch.

While torrenting is legal in most countries, it's important to note that downloading pirated files is not. Therefore, I recommend limiting yourself to torrents that are within the public domain to avoid getting into trouble.

So, Planet VPN is decent for torrenting, but it’s not amazing. I recommend you check out this list of the best VPNs for torrenting if you’re a heavy file sharer.