Ran Greenberg
New-Media and online expert, Venture Capitalist and investor
AirVPN and Astrill are two innovative VPN providers that prioritize security and getting past tough geo-restrictions from locations worldwide. Both VPNs use 256-bit encryption, support OpenVPN, and allow you make subscription payments via Bitcoin in order to remain completely anonymous. AirVPN and Astrill also both allow P2P file sharing on their servers and support up to five simultaneous device connections. While advanced features like split tunneling, Stealth VPN, Onion over VPN, and 24/7 customer support are available with Astrill, AirVPN competes with port forwarding. Astrill takes the lead in network size, however, providing 325 servers in 65 countries, compared to AirVPN’s 223 servers across 20 countries. Another notable difference is that while AstrillVPN provides dedicated apps for MacOS, Windows, iOS, and Android devices, AirVPN does not offer any mobile apps. Returning to similarities, AirVPN and Astrill are both reliable for accessing geoblocked content like US Netflix and Hulu. Read on to explore a detailed categorical comparison so you can decide once and for all which of these two VPNs is better for you.
Features
7.4
Pricing
8.7
Ease of Use
7.8
Reliability & Support
7.8
Features
8.5
Pricing
6.0
Ease of Use
8.8
Reliability & Support
8.4
Rating
Features
7.4
8.5
0.0
Pricing
8.7
6.0
0.0
Ease of Use
7.8
8.8
0.0
Reliability & Support
7.8
8.4
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Kate Veale
Cybersecurity Researcher
8.0
AirVPN is a reliable, budget-friendly VPN with high-end security features. It offers unlimited bandwidth on 200+ servers across 20 countries.
Let’s take an in-depth look at its features and policies to find out if this is the best VPN for you.
AirVPN does work with Netflix, but it's not quite the seamless streaming experience we'd hoped for, with slow speeds and ads. If you want speedy, uni...
The best VPN for LinuxIt is the best VPN for Linux. I live in the UK and never had a problem. Running on multiple Linux laptops and pfSense. If you are an advanced user you can add up to 20 forwarding ports so technically it can become limitless.
Latest negative user review
Desse
2.0
Very badDon't complain about slow speeds, even if you can prove it you will get banned and blocked and they remove your comment from the page.
Btw for not keeping logs there is much user data available on their web.
My 3rd vpn and it's the worst from all.
Is it bad to say " i think servers are overloaded, i have to change continuously from server and lose gaming points on cs4 for this"....i was banned for this text.
Astrill’s marketing team does a great job of advertising it as one of the best VPNs out there — but are they telling the truth about how good it is?
I went ahead and tested its every feature and analyzed its privacy policies and security measures to see if it’s good enough to recommend. I also paid good attention to its server network, speeds, torrenting support, gaming, streaming and fi...
Been using it for a long time.. but have to goI have been using Astrill for more than 10 years. Never had a problem. A couple of times I used the chat for support and it was excellent.
However this is probably going to be my last year. Reason .... price.
With the virus crisis I am unemployed and can not afford it. They do not give any kind of discount and keep raising the price year after year.
I am not in China so I suspend it, I do not need all those features.
Latest negative user review
Chris
2.0
Astril are not interested in keeping regular customersI agreed. Astrill increases the price year after year. I have been using Astril for 5 years. I paid 75 USD to 120 USD. I have a friend that paid 400 USD one time! If you don't delete history and cookies they show the high price. Tricky! They don't have a special price for regular customs. THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED IN KEEPING REGULAR CUSTOMERS. Too greedy! Done with them too!
AirVPN is a reliable, budget-friendly VPN with high-end security features. It offers unlimited bandwidth on 200+ servers across 20 countries.
Let’s take an in-depth look at its features and policies to find out if this is the best VPN for you.
AirVPN does work with Netflix, but it's not quite the seamless streaming experience we'd hoped for, with slow speeds and ads. If you want speedy, uni...
Astrill’s marketing team does a great job of advertising it as one of the best VPNs out there — but are they telling the truth about how good it is?
I went ahead and tested its every feature and analyzed its privacy policies and security measures to see if it’s good enough to recommend. I also paid good attention to its server network, speeds, torrenting support, gaming, streaming and fi...
The best VPN for LinuxIt is the best VPN for Linux. I live in the UK and never had a problem. Running on multiple Linux laptops and pfSense. If you are an advanced user you can add up to 20 forwarding ports so technically it can become limitless.
Nestor
10.0
Been using it for a long time.. but have to goI have been using Astrill for more than 10 years. Never had a problem. A couple of times I used the chat for support and it was excellent.
However this is probably going to be my last year. Reason .... price.
With the virus crisis I am unemployed and can not afford it. They do not give any kind of discount and keep raising the price year after year.
I am not in China so I suspend it, I do not need all those features.
Latest negative user review
Desse
2.0
Very badDon't complain about slow speeds, even if you can prove it you will get banned and blocked and they remove your comment from the page.
Btw for not keeping logs there is much user data available on their web.
My 3rd vpn and it's the worst from all.
Is it bad to say " i think servers are overloaded, i have to change continuously from server and lose gaming points on cs4 for this"....i was banned for this text.
Chris
2.0
Astril are not interested in keeping regular customersI agreed. Astrill increases the price year after year. I have been using Astril for 5 years. I paid 75 USD to 120 USD. I have a friend that paid 400 USD one time! If you don't delete history and cookies they show the high price. Tricky! They don't have a special price for regular customs. THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED IN KEEPING REGULAR CUSTOMERS. Too greedy! Done with them too!
Astrill provides a more comprehensive VPN service that includes a larger network, more advanced features, and user-friendly apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms. Meanwhile, AirVPN is known for its robust service that includes strong security features, desktop apps, and effective servers for bypassing tough geoblocks worldwide.
Astrill provides a more comprehensive VPN service that includes a larger network, more advanced features, and user-friendly apps for all major desktop and mobile platforms. Meanwhile, AirVPN is known for its robust service that includes strong security features, desktop apps, and effective servers for bypassing tough geoblocks worldwide.
We recommend using AirVPN for downloading torrents, as it offers an unrestricted P2P service across its network. Astrill is effective for P2P file sharing, but has less favorable terms of service that may not guarantee the anonymity of torrenters.
We recommend using AirVPN for downloading torrents, as it offers an unrestricted P2P service across its network. Astrill is effective for P2P file sharing, but has less favorable terms of service that may not guarantee the anonymity of torrenters.
Astrill is the ideal VPN choice for Windows, offering a dedicated app that features a user-friendly interface, split tunneling, and access to 24/7 customer support. With AirVPN, you can expect a dedicated Windows app with a kill switch, strong encryption, and port forwarding for improved anonymity.
Astrill is the ideal VPN choice for Windows, offering a dedicated app that features a user-friendly interface, split tunneling, and access to 24/7 customer support. With AirVPN, you can expect a dedicated Windows app with a kill switch, strong encryption, and port forwarding for improved anonymity.
Astrill provides an exceptional service for Android that features Stealth VPN and a Smart Mode that allows you to choose which apps or traffic should connect via the VPN tunnel. AirVPN does not have an Android app, but can be easily configured either manually or via the free universal OpenVPN app.
Astrill provides an exceptional service for Android that features Stealth VPN and a Smart Mode that allows you to choose which apps or traffic should connect via the VPN tunnel. AirVPN does not have an Android app, but can be easily configured either manually or via the free universal OpenVPN app.
Some of the best features of Astrill’s MacOS dedicated app are a very intuitive interface, a Stealth VPN protocol, and split tunnelling. Meanwhile, AirVPN users can rely on a dedicated MacOS app that features unlimited server switching, 256-bit encryption over SSH or SSL, and support for the OpenVPN protocol.
Some of the best features of Astrill’s MacOS dedicated app are a very intuitive interface, a Stealth VPN protocol, and split tunnelling. Meanwhile, AirVPN users can rely on a dedicated MacOS app that features unlimited server switching, 256-bit encryption over SSH or SSL, and support for the OpenVPN protocol.
An app with a sleek design and features like a kill switch and Smart Mode split tunneling makes Astrill a clearly better VPN for most iOS users. AirVPN, on the other hand, does not offer a dedicated app for iOS. However, for those not afraid of manual configuration, AirVPN still competes with a reliable service that includes port forwarding and strong encryption.
An app with a sleek design and features like a kill switch and Smart Mode split tunneling makes Astrill a clearly better VPN for most iOS users. AirVPN, on the other hand, does not offer a dedicated app for iOS. However, for those not afraid of manual configuration, AirVPN still competes with a reliable service that includes port forwarding and strong encryption.
For access to numerous dedicated, high-speed US servers that reliably bypass the VPN blocks and geo-restrictions used by content providers like Netflix, Astrill is the ideal provider. However, AirVPN is also a reliable VPN for accessing American content from anywhere worldwide. In fact, AirVPN makes a bold claim that so far has held up to our testing: all its servers, regardless of their locations, are uniquely programmed to unblock US Netflix.
For access to numerous dedicated, high-speed US servers that reliably bypass the VPN blocks and geo-restrictions used by content providers like Netflix, Astrill is the ideal provider. However, AirVPN is also a reliable VPN for accessing American content from anywhere worldwide. In fact, AirVPN makes a bold claim that so far has held up to our testing: all its servers, regardless of their locations, are uniquely programmed to unblock US Netflix.
The Bottom Line
Ran Greenberg
New-Media and online expert, Venture Capitalist and investor
Astrill provides a more complete VPN service and without a doubt wins this comparison. The availability of more security features, 24/7 live chat support, and dedicated mobile apps from Astrill VPN add up to too much for AirVPN to overcome. Astrill also provides dedicated servers for every online purpose, including streaming, and works well in China. AirVPN does have some innovative features, including a unique approach to attacking Netflix’s geo-restrictions and VPN blocking, but the service has too many gaps that the provider needs to address.
Interestingly, if you compare Astrill VPN with RoboForm, which is our top ranked vpn, you'll see that Astrill VPN can learn a lot from RoboForm. Compare Astrill VPN with RoboForm
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