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Ran Greenberg
New-Media and online expert, Venture Capitalist and investor
Astrill and StrongVPN are two VPN providers that have grown and improved immensely over the past few years. These two VPNs use 256-bit encryption across all their dedicated apps for MacOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, and also provide support for the L2TP, SSTP, OpenVPN, IPSec, and IKEv2 protocols. A 30-day money-back guarantee, support for up to five simultaneous connections, and 24/7 live chat support are some of the additional similarities that these two VPNs share. Astrill and StrongVPN are not entirely similar however. While StrongVPN has around 650 servers in 26 countries, Astrill offers 320+ in 63 countries. Features like split tunneling as well as an advanced Stealth VPN protocol can only be found in Astrill’s service. Astrill also features a Smart Mode that allows you to choose which of your apps connect to the web via the VPN. However, StrongVPN competes with a Best Location mode that automatically selects the fastest and most effective server based on your location. Keep on reading as we further break down these two providers to help you decide which of them is better for you.
Features
8.5
Pricing
6.0
Ease of Use
8.8
Reliability & Support
8.4
Features
8.0
Pricing
6.5
Ease of Use
8.8
Reliability & Support
8.4
Rating
Features
8.5
8.0
0.0
Pricing
6.0
6.5
0.0
Ease of Use
8.8
8.8
0.0
Reliability & Support
8.4
8.4
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Andreea Juganaru
Cybersecurity Researcher
8.0
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 attention to its server network, speeds, torrenting support, gaming, streaming and finally...
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!
StrongVPN provides SSTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, and IPSec protocols to users, and they are based in the United States. However, they have over 950 servers in 35 different countries. They own their DNS servers, so you don’t have to worry about your data being transmitted through a third party’s server. In addition, they do not log any connection data, including your IP address, the s...
Best VPN i have ever usedI live in a country were many of the online and VOIP services are heavily blocked with strong firewall. I have been using Strongvpn service for more than 17 years and one thing i can say is: Amazing service, great speed, they deliver what they've promised with, excellent customer service and above all great value for price. I've tried many famous VPN providers as out of comparison and i can confirm that none managed to overcome the firewall and connect. One think i would like to add to the above review is: they have a new protocol to connect to the VPN called Wireguard. My current internet speed is 550 Mbps and with my VPN connect the speed i am getting is 460 Mbps. Conclusion, if you want a reliable VPN service with excellent customer service, strongvpn is what you are looking for.
Latest negative user review
Tee
2.0
It just doesn't workNothing on the AppleTV platform will work.
This include HBOMax, Amazon Prime, Showtime, Hulu, Peacock.
StrongVPN admits that none of this works...and they have not offered a timeline for when the solutions will become available.
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 attention to its server network, speeds, torrenting support, gaming, streaming and finally...
StrongVPN provides SSTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, and IPSec protocols to users, and they are based in the United States. However, they have over 950 servers in 35 different countries. They own their DNS servers, so you don’t have to worry about your data being transmitted through a third party’s server. In addition, they do not log any connection data, including your IP address, the s...
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.
Rabih
10.0
Best VPN i have ever usedI live in a country were many of the online and VOIP services are heavily blocked with strong firewall. I have been using Strongvpn service for more than 17 years and one thing i can say is: Amazing service, great speed, they deliver what they've promised with, excellent customer service and above all great value for price. I've tried many famous VPN providers as out of comparison and i can confirm that none managed to overcome the firewall and connect. One think i would like to add to the above review is: they have a new protocol to connect to the VPN called Wireguard. My current internet speed is 550 Mbps and with my VPN connect the speed i am getting is 460 Mbps. Conclusion, if you want a reliable VPN service with excellent customer service, strongvpn is what you are looking for.
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!
Tee
2.0
It just doesn't workNothing on the AppleTV platform will work.
This include HBOMax, Amazon Prime, Showtime, Hulu, Peacock.
StrongVPN admits that none of this works...and they have not offered a timeline for when the solutions will become available.
Astrill VPN provides a very robust service with advanced security features, easy-to-use apps for all major platforms, and effective bypassing of geoblocks, including many that are typically hard to crack. StrongVPN has recently evolved into a very reliable VPN provider with a pretty large server array and a strong emphasis on security.
Astrill VPN provides a very robust service with advanced security features, easy-to-use apps for all major platforms, and effective bypassing of geoblocks, including many that are typically hard to crack. StrongVPN has recently evolved into a very reliable VPN provider with a pretty large server array and a strong emphasis on security.
Astrill provides dedicated P2P servers and many advanced features to keep you anonymous while you download torrents. It’s worth noting, however, that Astrill’s privacy policy may not be entirely favorable towards P2P. Although StrongVPN does not match Astrill’s speed, it also provides support for downloading torrents anonymously on its servers.
Astrill provides dedicated P2P servers and many advanced features to keep you anonymous while you download torrents. It’s worth noting, however, that Astrill’s privacy policy may not be entirely favorable towards P2P. Although StrongVPN does not match Astrill’s speed, it also provides support for downloading torrents anonymously on its servers.
If you need a Windows VPN app with a user-friendly interface and advanced security features including split tunneling, choose Astrill. A dedicated app with wi-fi protection and support for the L2TP, SSTP, OpenVPN, IPSec, and IKEv2 protocols make StrongVPN’s service for Windows a good competitor, however.
If you need a Windows VPN app with a user-friendly interface and advanced security features including split tunneling, choose Astrill. A dedicated app with wi-fi protection and support for the L2TP, SSTP, OpenVPN, IPSec, and IKEv2 protocols make StrongVPN’s service for Windows a good competitor, however.
Astrill is our recommended VPN choice for Android, as it offers a very secure native app featuring a Stealth mode and strong encryption. Meanwhile, StrongVPN has a user-friendly Android app with a unique feature that automatically selects the best server for you based on your current location.
Astrill is our recommended VPN choice for Android, as it offers a very secure native app featuring a Stealth mode and strong encryption. Meanwhile, StrongVPN has a user-friendly Android app with a unique feature that automatically selects the best server for you based on your current location.
By providing a dedicated app that features split tunneling, a stealth mode, and Onion over VPN, Astrill offers a very powerful service for Mac users. With StrongVPN, you can also find a dedicated app with strong encryption, wi-fi protection, and access to its entire network of 650+ servers in 20+ countries.
By providing a dedicated app that features split tunneling, a stealth mode, and Onion over VPN, Astrill offers a very powerful service for Mac users. With StrongVPN, you can also find a dedicated app with strong encryption, wi-fi protection, and access to its entire network of 650+ servers in 20+ countries.
The availability of split tunneling and a stealth VPN protocol are some of the most attractive features of Astrill’s iOS service. StrongVPN competes with a dedicated iOS app with support for multiple VPN encryption protocols, including OpenVPN and PPTP.
The availability of split tunneling and a stealth VPN protocol are some of the most attractive features of Astrill’s iOS service. StrongVPN competes with a dedicated iOS app with support for multiple VPN encryption protocols, including OpenVPN and PPTP.
By providing seamless access to American content like Netflix and Hulu, Astrill gets our vote as a better provider for the USA. Meanwhile, StrongVPN also provides an admirable service for the USA, with many dedicated US servers for accessing top American content from any location worldwide. However, you can only use StrongVPN to access Netflix when streaming via a browser, not a Netflix app.
By providing seamless access to American content like Netflix and Hulu, Astrill gets our vote as a better provider for the USA. Meanwhile, StrongVPN also provides an admirable service for the USA, with many dedicated US servers for accessing top American content from any location worldwide. However, you can only use StrongVPN to access Netflix when streaming via a browser, not a Netflix app.
The Bottom Line
Ran Greenberg
New-Media and online expert, Venture Capitalist and investor
Astrill provides a feature-packed service through a really intuitive user interface. This seamless integration of security and ease of use makes it the clear winner of this contest. Astrill also provides servers in more locations, even though StrongVPN has a higher total server count. We are impressed by all of StrongVPN’s improvements in recent years, but with the flexibility of split tunneling and better overall streaming performance, Astrill’s service is more relevant to the needs of today’s VPN user.
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