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Ariel Hochstadt
Ex-Google, International tech speaker
There is a huge difference between CyberGhost and VPN Gate — in fact, the only thing they have in common is their main purpose of providing encrypted connections.
CyberGhost is a paid VPN service, which owns and maintains its servers and is run by veteran professionals. VPN Gate is the polar opposite: it’s free, relies on volunteers to keep running, and servers are provided by the community.
CyberGhost has a clear advantage in the privacy, speed and ease of use departments. The strict no-logs policy and excellent, innovative apps make this VPN one of the best on the market.
VPN Gate simply cannot offer the same levels of security — you’ll have to trust whoever is currently volunteering to help with the service. What’s more, each server has its own logging “policy”, but rest assured your sensitive data can easily land in a honeypot, or worse. VPN Gate is also terribly slow across the board, making it very unsuitable for high-bandwidth activities.
Features
9.4
Pricing
9.0
Ease of Use
9.6
Reliability & Support
9.2
Features
7.2
Pricing
10.0
Ease of Use
7.6
Reliability & Support
6.0
Rating
Features
9.4
7.2
0.0
Pricing
9.0
10.0
0.0
Ease of Use
9.6
7.6
0.0
Reliability & Support
9.2
6.0
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Matthew Amos
Cybersecurity Researcher
9.6
When I read that CyberGhost had been bought out by Kape — a company that used to be infamous for bundling adware into its downloads — alarm bells started ringing. I’ve recommended CyberGhost in the past as a trustworthy and easy-to-use VPN that suits beginners. But with its new ownership, I wondered if CyberGhost is even safe to use anymore.
I did a deep dive into CyberGhost’s ownershi...
Entirely AmazingNever really had any issues at all, ever. Any occasional slight slowdown is counterbalanced by being completely tweakable if necessary, and so easy to use - simple GUI. Feel safe with these guys over a long period of time, reasonable subscription fee :)
Latest negative user review
James Head
2.0
Unusable on Linux MINT 20.1 and didn't unblock 6play M6 FranceFirstly I tried to install it on the laptop I use for streaming, a four-year-old HP with 16Gb memory and 1Tb SSD running Linux Mint 20.1 but received error messages when trying to install the Linux MINT 20 App from their official website. It turns out they don't support this OS yet and had no idea when they would so their advice was to downgrade to Linux Mint 20,0.
I tried it on a Windows HP laptop but found that we were unable to access M6 6play in France. Being able to access this particular webpage, and the Molotov French TV site for streaming live TV from M6 in France was the main purpose of our getting a VPN (my wife is French). I verified that the sites were still accessible without going through the VPN, just with the content being blocked as we were in the UK.
Therefore this VPN doesn't fulfill our requirements.
Ariel Hochstadt
Ex-Google, International tech speaker
7.0
Located in the National University of Tsukuba (Japan), VPN-Gate is an academic research project designed to study the distribution of public VPN relay servers globally. Having begun their operations in 2013, they claim their service can break through most firewalls and have more advantages than traditional VPN providers. So, if they’re not a bog-standard VPN provider, what attributes do they ha...
The Wizards of VPN at PlayWorks great for me, and I'm a complete novice. I installed VPNGate using SoftEther as it's client. The fact that it is an ongoing research project, hence free, is not a deterrent to me because it serves my specific needs well. If the developers/researchers on the VPNgate/Softether project should decide to discontinue the projects (they are both separate), then you'll always have the option to pay for a commercial VPN provider.
I appreciate the time and effort the developers/researchers are putting into the development of these applications and the fact that they allow the international public-at-large access to it.
Thank you for a great product.
When I read that CyberGhost had been bought out by Kape — a company that used to be infamous for bundling adware into its downloads — alarm bells started ringing. I’ve recommended CyberGhost in the past as a trustworthy and easy-to-use VPN that suits beginners. But with its new ownership, I wondered if CyberGhost is even safe to use anymore.
I did a deep dive into CyberGhost’s ownershi...
Located in the National University of Tsukuba (Japan), VPN-Gate is an academic research project designed to study the distribution of public VPN relay servers globally. Having begun their operations in 2013, they claim their service can break through most firewalls and have more advantages than traditional VPN providers. So, if they’re not a bog-standard VPN provider, what attributes do they ha...
Entirely AmazingNever really had any issues at all, ever. Any occasional slight slowdown is counterbalanced by being completely tweakable if necessary, and so easy to use - simple GUI. Feel safe with these guys over a long period of time, reasonable subscription fee :)
Leatha
10.0
The Wizards of VPN at PlayWorks great for me, and I'm a complete novice. I installed VPNGate using SoftEther as it's client. The fact that it is an ongoing research project, hence free, is not a deterrent to me because it serves my specific needs well. If the developers/researchers on the VPNgate/Softether project should decide to discontinue the projects (they are both separate), then you'll always have the option to pay for a commercial VPN provider.
I appreciate the time and effort the developers/researchers are putting into the development of these applications and the fact that they allow the international public-at-large access to it.
Thank you for a great product.
Latest negative user review
James Head
2.0
Unusable on Linux MINT 20.1 and didn't unblock 6play M6 FranceFirstly I tried to install it on the laptop I use for streaming, a four-year-old HP with 16Gb memory and 1Tb SSD running Linux Mint 20.1 but received error messages when trying to install the Linux MINT 20 App from their official website. It turns out they don't support this OS yet and had no idea when they would so their advice was to downgrade to Linux Mint 20,0.
I tried it on a Windows HP laptop but found that we were unable to access M6 6play in France. Being able to access this particular webpage, and the Molotov French TV site for streaming live TV from M6 in France was the main purpose of our getting a VPN (my wife is French). I verified that the sites were still accessible without going through the VPN, just with the content being blocked as we were in the UK.
Therefore this VPN doesn't fulfill our requirements.
CyberGhost is a leading VPN for plenty of reasons — intuitive apps, reliable encryption, unlimited access to tricky platforms like Netflix, and advanced obfuscation for China, among others. VPN Gate has an interesting concept behind it, but the various uncertainties plus the convoluted setup can be a deal-breaker.
CyberGhost is a leading VPN for plenty of reasons — intuitive apps, reliable encryption, unlimited access to tricky platforms like Netflix, and advanced obfuscation for China, among others. VPN Gate has an interesting concept behind it, but the various uncertainties plus the convoluted setup can be a deal-breaker.
VPN Gate is a really sluggish VPN, so torrenting is out of the question. CyberGhost, on the other hand, allows P2P on select servers — and has the speeds to support chunky downloads.
VPN Gate is a really sluggish VPN, so torrenting is out of the question. CyberGhost, on the other hand, allows P2P on select servers — and has the speeds to support chunky downloads.
Thanks to an awesome profile-based interface and numerous features (kill switch, DNS leak protection, streaming list), CyberGhost is a great pick for Windows users in need of versatility and simplicity. VPN Gate’s SoftEther functionality is decent, but nowhere near streamlined — beginners will have a hard time setting things up with all the back-and-forth.
Thanks to an awesome profile-based interface and numerous features (kill switch, DNS leak protection, streaming list), CyberGhost is a great pick for Windows users in need of versatility and simplicity. VPN Gate’s SoftEther functionality is decent, but nowhere near streamlined — beginners will have a hard time setting things up with all the back-and-forth.
CyberGhost has put the effort to make a formidable VPN for Android, and it shows — it’s virtually identical to the Windows client. VPN Gate remains a mess to set up even on mobile, and there isn’t any improvement in speeds.
CyberGhost has put the effort to make a formidable VPN for Android, and it shows — it’s virtually identical to the Windows client. VPN Gate remains a mess to set up even on mobile, and there isn’t any improvement in speeds.
CyberGhost is a clear favorite here, thanks to a feature-packed Mac client (although some minor Windows extras are missing). Sadly, VPN Gate doesn’t score any better in performance or ease of use here.
CyberGhost is a clear favorite here, thanks to a feature-packed Mac client (although some minor Windows extras are missing). Sadly, VPN Gate doesn’t score any better in performance or ease of use here.
CyberGhost’s newly-upgraded iOS app and seven simultaneous connections earn it a perfect score for mobile Apple devices. VPN Gate has little to offer on iOS, suffering from the same unpolished setup process and subpar performance.
CyberGhost’s newly-upgraded iOS app and seven simultaneous connections earn it a perfect score for mobile Apple devices. VPN Gate has little to offer on iOS, suffering from the same unpolished setup process and subpar performance.
If you want to unblock US Netflix reliably (or simply connect to a US server on a whim), CyberGhost has all the right tools for the job — hundreds of servers in the USA, fast speeds, and responsive support with live chat. VPN Gate is too slow to provide acceptable streaming, and advanced unblocking isn’t guaranteed.
If you want to unblock US Netflix reliably (or simply connect to a US server on a whim), CyberGhost has all the right tools for the job — hundreds of servers in the USA, fast speeds, and responsive support with live chat. VPN Gate is too slow to provide acceptable streaming, and advanced unblocking isn’t guaranteed.
As you can see, there is a huge disparity between what CyberGhost and VPN Gate have to offer. But we can’t be too hard on VPN Gate — after all, it’s a volunteer-run, free service primarily aimed at tackling censorship. You won’t find any special or unique features in this VPN, because this isn’t what it’s about. Instead, take a look at CyberGhost if you want a top-shelf VPN experience coupled with spotless privacy.
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