SlickVPN Review 2023 - Keep This in Mind Before Buying

I don’t think SlickVPN is worth investing in. When I tried to test it out, I paid for a subscription but never received my log-in details. When I tried to contact support via the ticketing system, it was really slow. The troubleshooting guides, blog, and FAQ page didn’t help either.

SlickVPN released its product in 2011, so it’s had a lot of time to build up a solid service, but I found it hasn’t.

My review will explore all of SlickVPN’s features, including its P2P-friendly servers, streaming performance, speeds, and security, and tell you how to avoid privacy threats.

SlickVPN’s ability to unblock streaming websites is poor, but it is fast enough for browsing, gaming, and torrenting.

The VPN only has some of the security basics — you get 128-bit and 256-bit encryption and access to safe protocols, including OpenVPN, L2TP, PPTP, and HYDRA. You can use its Scramble feature to bypass firewalls, but there’s no kill switch to keep you safe.

Another problem is Slick VPN is based in the US — right in the grips of the 5 Eyes Alliance.

SlickVPN is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, routers, Linux, and even Chromebooks. It also lets you connect 5 devices at once, making it economical for families or small companies.

The VPN is not large — it has 150 servers in 40 countries.

Its cheapest plan is $4/month. You can choose a 1-month, 6-month, or 12-month plan. There’s no free trial, but you can use its 30 to get your money back if you don’t like it. It accepts PayPal, Bitcoin, and credit cards.

I find SlickVPN to be rather ordinary and don’t recommend it — instead, try one of these high-performing VPNs that are actually worth it.

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Streaming — Limited Ability to Unblock Popular Platforms

SlickVPN’s outdated software is unable to keep up with streaming sites’ increasingly sophisticated geoblocks even though it displays the logos of some of the most popular streaming platforms on its website.

SlickVPN displays popular streaming sites’ logos, but didn’t unblock any of them

Streaming sites use geoblocking to stop you from accessing content that isn't available in your country due to licensing restrictions.

Unblocked: None

SlickVPN does not unblock popular streaming services.

It used to offer a “Get Netflix or Your Money Back” guarantee, but it doesn’t anymore. The only statement it makes about streaming is generic and laconic:

This is the only thing that it says on its website about streaming, and it’s very vague

SlickVPN only mentions streaming sites in its help guides. I noticed this section includes a piece on 5 reasons why you should use it for Netflix. But guess what? Clicking on that article leads to the following error page:

This made me suspicious regarding the provider’s trustworthiness

Does this mean SlickVPN removed the article when they realized Netflix didn't work?

Blocked By: Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Now, Kodi, YouTube, and ESPN

My research showed that one encounters VPN/proxy errors on multiple servers when trying to unblock BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Now, Kodi, YouTube, ESPN, and Netflix (US, UK, Canada, and the Netherlands).

Commonly encountered error codes were M7111-5059 for Netflix and P-EDU101 for Hulu. It is worth noting that the one internet user who did manage to access Netflix experienced buffering issues and poor performance. My research showed that it takes around 20 seconds to buffer. I get the impression that if streaming is important to you, this is not the VPN provider to go for. If you’re a fan of streaming Netflix, check out this page for better VPN options.

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Speeds — Good Speeds Across Servers

From my research on users’ experiences (since SlickVPN never sent me my log-in details and I couldn’t test speeds myself), it seems that the VPN offers good speeds. It appears that the average speeds are: ping (595 ms), upload (6 Mbps), and download (167 Mbps). The average server connection time is 15 seconds. It looks like servers in the Netherlands, US, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Australia run at decent speeds.

You can tell roughly how much a VPN will slow your connection down by using its average speed loss percentage. SlickVPN causes approximately 20% speed loss, so your connection will be 20% slower when you use it. The fact that the VPN’s speeds are similar to your regular internet connection means you should be able to upload and download content fast. The VPN’s speeds allow for fast browsing and torrenting.

Yet, as it tends to be the case with many VPNs, it looks like one’s distance to the server location plays a role. You get faster speeds using the server closest to your location. However, I noticed that most of SlickVPN’s servers are located in Europe and North America, so if you are in the global South, you may experience slower speeds.

SlickVPN has a built-in speed test on the app that tells you how fast its server is running, which means you don't have to try multiple servers to find the fastest one.

I became suspicious after reading about SlickVPN’s 10G Ultra High-Speed Server Connections. Even if you are not into tech, you’ll know that the world is using 5G. In this case, 10G is a misleading term used for marketing purposes.

What SlickVPN means is that it has servers that can transfer data at 10 gigabits per second. This is very fast compared to average broadband speeds, so there is no need for SlickVPN to use confusing marketing terms. I think SlickVPN should clearly explain what 10Gbps servers are and not oversell a feature that is already good.

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Are SlickVPN’s Speeds Fast Enough for Gaming? Yes

Based on my research, I think SlickVPN’s speeds are adequate for gaming.

Game console manufacturers recommend 3 Mbps of download speed, and SlickVPN seems to surpass that by a lot.

The VPN’s UDP protocol provides high speeds, meaning you should be able to play your favorite games fast and without performance problems.

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Server Network — Small Network of Servers

SlickVPN has 150 servers in 40 countries. A VPN should have a high ratio of servers to countries for fast speeds. SlickVPN doesn’t offer that. It's also likely there may not be a server near you, which means a long geographical distance to servers will slow down your speeds. Having access to more servers is also useful because if one stops working, you can switch to another that’s still good and near you.

The servers are summarized as follows:

On SlickVPN’s app, you have the option to add servers to your favorites. This feature also allows you to search for servers easily. I find that it’s a nice touch because it helps to keep servers organized.

However, it doesn’t make up for the fact that some users reported experiencing issues trying to switch servers on mobile devices.

SlickVPN uses load balancing to distribute network traffic among the devices in a virtual cluster equally. In that way, it ensures none of its servers are unusually slow, and you get decent speeds no matter which one you choose. I think that is a useful feature that allows you to waste no time when connecting.

The default best location setting means that SlickVPN selects the fastest server for you, which will help your speeds too. You want this feature in a VPN, so you won’t have to waste time trying out different servers to figure out which is fastest.

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Security — Solid, With a Choice of Ports and Protocols

SlickVPN seems to be a safe VPN.

It offers the options of AES 256-bit cipher with OpenVPN (TCP/UDP) and 128-bit encryption with IPSec. Hash authentication is handled by SHA-1 and handshaking by 2048-bit RSA, which is an added layer of security.

The VPN supports PPTP and L2TP, which you have to set up manually, and its default OpenVPN. Having so many protocols to choose from means you can switch between them depending on what you are doing online since different protocols are better for different activities. It’s great to be able to choose between the unhackable OpenVPN when you want maximum security and PPTP when you are streaming to increase speed.

SlickVPN also allows you to choose ports for OpenVPN, from the most important ones like port 8 HTTP and port 443 HTTPS to non-standard ports like 8080 and 8888. This is nice since it means you can switch when a particular port/protocol combination is blocked and, therefore, always have a good connection. If you’re an advanced user who needs your computer to differentiate between client security needs, you will find this useful.

SlickVPN also uses HYDRA protocol and Scramble technology, which are handy features. They help mask that you’re using a VPN in places that limit or ban VPNs. HYDRA does this by adding an extra layer of encryption and an additional server to your normal VPN connection by chaining multiple servers together. Scramble takes OpenVPN packets and mixes them up to become unrecognizable when inspected by a third party. This makes it easier to use a VPN in places where they're banned, which is great for those who travel a lot.

My online research suggests that SlickVPN offers adequate DNS, IPv4, IPv6, and WebRTC leak protection, which you can enable in the app’s network preference tab. This ensures the VPN doesn’t leak your DNS queries to your ISP or your IP to the websites you visit. When that happens, your ISP can see your activity, and third parties can trace you.

You can set the client to automatically change your IP address every few minutes. Even though SlickVPN designed the IP Switcher feature to increase your anonymity, the fact there is no kill switch makes it dangerous. The VPN offers a kill switch alternative, but without testing it, I cannot verify that it is as effective.

SlickVPN also offers Load balancing that will automatically choose a server for you based on the server load, or you can opt for Random balancing, which will connect you to a server randomly..

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Privacy — Concerns Regarding Data Collection

SlickVPN VPN is not private.

Like most providers, SlickVPN logs some data — a standard practice that doesn’t always need to be alarming.

SlickVPN is transparent about the data that it collects

The provider claims it does not store users’ browsing activities. However, it stores data, like usernames, passwords, payment records, and collected Google Analytics info to create accounts. It also stores temporary cookies for the log-in process.

If the government asks for this information, the VPN will have to provide it to them. This is because SlickVPN is based in Greenville, South Carolina, in the US, which is part of the 5 Eyes Alliance, along with the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is against encryption, cooperating to access, collect and share private data with law enforcement.

SlickVPN states that, so far, it has not received any requests for disclosure of information from courts or governments.

The provider has published a warrant canary on its website. If the government or law enforcement request information, it will update the warrant canary so that you as a user know about it. This way, you can always check the website for updates if you are concerned about an ongoing investigation that you may be a part of. As somebody who gave SlickVPN my info during the registration, which I wouldn’t want to fall into the wrong hands, this is reassuring.

SlickVPN has a warrant canary

It would be interesting to monitor this page and see how the VPN would react. Would it protect its users as another VPN provider did during an investigation in Turkey by the country’s government a few years back, putting its money where its mouth is?

A third-party audit, which most trustworthy VPNs go through, would help establish SlickVPN’s legitimacy and reliability in its privacy policies.

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Torrenting — Allowed on All Servers

While SlickVPN is fast enough for torrenting, I am not sure if it’s safe. The reasons for this are that it logs some of its users’ data, and it doesn’t have a proper kill switch.

It is one of the significant advantages of the VPN that it allows torrenting on all its servers at a time when a lot of VPN services don’t at all.

My team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting, and you should check the rules and regulations of your country.

However, the aforementioned logs policy and the absence of a kill switch made me worry about what would happen if my connection suddenly cut off — would that mean that I would be using, say, BitTorrent unprotected? The whole point of why it is necessary to use a VPN for torrenting is that it prevents other users in your swarm from seeing your real IP. A sudden loss of connection could mean your information is exposed.

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Does SlickVPN Work in China? Maybe

I could not confirm whether the VPN works in China.

You may have heard of “The Great Firewall”. This is a set of measures China uses to restrict content, police the web, and monitor users’ online activities. The Great Firewall also blocks VPN traffic, and SlickVPN is unable to bypass it. It’s necessary to have a VPN in China to access content from all over the world.

SlickVPN doesn’t have servers in China, which you need if you are interested in accessing content from the country.

It does not mention that its service works in China anywhere on its website, and customer support has not responded to my email asking whether it does.

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Simultaneous Device Connections — 5 Gadget Simultaneous Connection

With SlickVPN, you can connect 5 devices per license simultaneously, making it a good value if you are part of a large family or small company. You can use up to 2 different IP addresses at a time. This is useful if you are sending a large volume of time-sensitive emails.

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Device Compatibility — Most Operating Systems

The VPN only has a native app for Windows and macOS, but it is available on most devices if you use an OpenVPN app to manually set up the connection. This includes iOS (iPhone, iPad), Android, Ubuntu, Amazon Kindle, Linux, Nokia mobiles, Chromebook, and routers, such as QNAP, Synology, and Asus.

Running the VPN on a router can be very useful and save you time, as it will get traffic to flow to all connected devices through an encrypted channel. You can connect unlimited devices via the router, including ones that don’t support VPNs, like home media systems.

I read, however, that every time you change servers on OpenVPN, you need to reconfigure the connection. Also, some users experienced issues with manually configuring network profiles to use the VPN servers on mobile apps, which is something that SlickVPN may want to work on improving since more and more people are choosing to use their phones over desktops.

Furthermore, on SlickVPN’s website, it says that the OpenVPN protocol is available for Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux devices, whereas IPSec is available only for iOS and macOS.

I also found that the Windows client is very old. The file’s name (0.2.6.1) suggests that SlickVPN has not finished building it, and it turns out that it is nearly 3 years old. The OpenVPN app file is also dated back to 2015. This, along with the fact that the files are by unknown publishers, could be why users experienced many problems with the app crashing after installation.

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