Features
Speed & Performance
Ease of Use
Mobile App
Customer Support
Pricing
Inside This Article...
AzireVPN Pros:
- Transparent
- Owns all of its hardware
- Supports WireGuard
- Strict no-logs policy
AzireVPN Cons:
- Small server network
- No kill switch
With so many different VPNs to choose from today, it can seem virtually impossible to know where to begin. It seems that the more you search on Google, the more VPNs that appear!
One VPN that you may not have heard much about is AzireVPN. However, just because it is not one of the most well-known VPNs does not mean it isn’t one of the best! With that in mind, continue reading for my thoughts on AzireVPN and everything that it has to offer.
Overview
Let’s begin by giving you a bit of background information about AzireVPN. The company was founded in Sweden in 2012, and it is owned by Netbouncer AB.
The main office for this company is situated in central Stockholm. One thing that I really like about AzireVPN is the transparency that is delivered right off the bat. If you head to their website, you will see that they present their address and even encourage you to come and say hello in person! This is extremely rare for a VPN company, as they are typically very vague about the running of their business!
Although AzireVPN is very upfront about where they are based, the fact that they are headquartered in Sweden is not great news. This is because Sweden is part of the EU, which means it needs to abide by the data retention laws in place, and it is also part of the 14-Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance. I’ll delve deeper into their logging policy in this review to help you understand what these data-sharing agreements really mean for you.
Where are AzireVPN’s servers located?
AzireVPN has been operating for eight years now, yet the company has a very small server network. At the time of writing, there are 32 VPN servers across eight different countries. These countries are as follows:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Sweden
- Thailand
- Spain
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Canada
The reason why the network is so small is that AzireVPN owns all of its hardware. The team at AzireVPN brings the hardware to the location and installs it. No virtual servers are rented either.
So, if you’re looking to connect to different locations, this small network may be a bit frustrating. However, if AzireVPN covers your desired location, it is certainly a VPN that is worth considering.
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Speeds
When testing the speeds available on AzireVPN, I was very happy with speeds when using nearby servers, but the results were not as impressive over longer distances. They weren’t dreadful; more like average, I would say!
If you are looking to connect to a server that is fairly nearby, you won’t have anything to worry about on the performance front. For servers that are far away, AzireVPN will be sufficient enough for light streaming and browsing only, so you really need to think about your intended usage before you select any sort of VPN.
Security
I have been very impressed with AzireVPN in terms of security, yet there is one big negative, and so I am going to get this out of the way first. There’s no VPN kill switch! This means your information could be exposed if your connection drops out, and we have all had that annoying moment when our connection has let us down. With that in mind, for me to consider AzireVPN an elite VPN on the security front, it really does need to add a kill switch to the mix.
However, if you can look past this, there is a lot to like about the security offered by AzireVPN. OpenVPN, which is my preferred protocol for VPNs, is used on the macOS and Windows apps. It is well-tested, extremely secure, and open-source.
The industry-standard cipher for encryption is also used as well; AES-256.
One thing that you will get with AzireVPN, which a lot of other VPNs do not provide, is support for WireGuard. This is one of the newer protocols on the market, which is aiming to be more secure and faster than the other options. Whether it is able to achieve this, only time will tell. However, it’s certainly not a bad thing that AzireVPN has decided to offer this support.
Does AzireVPN collect logs?
Since I mentioned the data-sharing agreements AzireVPN has to abide by, I am sure you have been wanting to know more about the logging policy this company has in place.
The good news is that there is a strict no-logs policy, and so this really helps to make up for the fact that AzireVPN is located in Sweden. The company has made it very clear that they do not log the number of active sessions, timestamps, IP addresses, or online activities.
What does this mean for you? Well, even if the authorities in Sweden were to request information about you, there would not be any logs for AzireVPN to hand over.
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Ease of use
There’s not too much to grumble about on the usability front. Yes, AzireVPN could be a little bit smoother, but overall, it’s easy to install and straightforward to use.
One thing that is pretty annoying, though, is that you need to re log-in every time you want to connect to a new server! You don’t have to do this with NordVPN.
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Torrenting
If you are looking for a VPN for torrenting purposes, AzireVPN would not be my first choice. While torrenting is allowed on this VPN, there are a few reasons why I don’t think AzireVPN is the obvious choice for torrenting.
The main reason why I do not recommend AzireVPN for torrenting is that there is no VPN kill switch. If you have read any of my other reviews, you will know how essential I deem this feature! With a VPN kill switch, your IP address will be connected even if your connection drops out. Without this feature in place, you’re always at risk, and this isn’t the best of news when you’re looking for a VPN for torrenting.
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Unblock streaming services
The small server network does prove to be a bit of a problem when it comes to streaming on AzireVPN. While I have been able to unblock BBC iPlayer and Netflix, it has been a bit unreliable from time-to-time, so there are other VPNs out there that can consistently unblock these streaming platforms if that is your main reason for looking for a VPN.
Can AzireVPN unblock the Great Firewall of China?
Considering the small size of the AzireVPN network, it probably won’t come as much of a surprise that it is not an ideal choice for China. You won’t be able to get passed the Great Firewall! If you are looking for a VPN to use in a high censorship country like this, try out ExpressVPN.
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Compatibility
AzireVPN has built custom VPN apps for Linux, Android, macOS, and Windows. While it is great to see that there is a custom app for Linux, you have probably noticed that iOS was not on the list! While I do expect there to be an iOS app soon, it’s not quite ready yet.
You can check out my “reviews by device” if you would like more information on the best VPN for a specific device.
Games consoles and streaming devices
While AzireVPN does not offer any custom applications outside of the ones mentioned in the previous section, it can be used with a number of different types of routers. This includes pfSense, DD-WRT, OpenWRT, and several others.
Should you install AzireVPN at the router level, you can protect all of your devices that are connected to the Internet at your home. This means you can protect your PlayStation, Xbox, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or anything else that is connected to your router.
Browser extensions
There is not a lot to say here, as there are currently no browser extensions available. If you’re looking for a VPN for Firefox or Google Chrome, you can read my reviews on the best options.
Customer support
The customer support on offer at AzireVPN is pretty mediocre. There is no live chat service available, which is always a bit disappointing because it means you can’t get instant assistance.
You will need to use email support if you do have any questions. The good news is that the team is very helpful and their responses are detailed. However, they can be a little bit slow, which isn’t the best when you’ve got an urgent query.
In terms of on-site resources, there are some basic FAQs and some good set-up guides, but it would be good to see them add some more resources to the mix in the near future. There are not any resources or tips on troubleshooting, which would be welcomed.
Pricing
In terms of pricing, AzireVPN is certainly one of the most reasonable VPNs on the market. There are currently four packages to choose from, and as is the case with most providers, these packages simply differ based on contract length.
The first option is to pay on a monthly basis, which will set you back 5 EUR per month.
The next option is to pay for three months at a time, which will cost you 12 EUR, which equates to 4 EUR per month. By going down this route, you are going to save 3 EUR in total, which works out at 20%.
You can save 25% if you decide to sign-up for the 12-month deal. With this, you will pay 45 EUR upfront, which results in a saving of 15 EUR in total. This works out at 3.75 EUR per month.
The biggest savings can be made when you opt for the 24-month plan. This will require an upfront payment of 78 EUR, which works out at 3.25 EUR per month. This means you are going to save 42 EUR in total, which is a 35% discount when compared with the monthly plan.
There is a money-back policy in place should you decide that AzireVPN is not for you. However, please note that this is only a seven-day money-back guarantee, so you will need to act quickly if you have changed your mind for any reason.
Summary
All in all, there is clearly a lot to like about AzireVPN, and there are many features that make AzireVPN stand out from the other VPNs on the market today. It is refreshing to see a company that owns and installs all of its hardware, and the transparency that AzireVPN displays is admirable. Of course, there are some gaps, such as the lack of streaming and torrenting,
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