Features
Speed & Performance
Ease of Use
Mobile App
Customer Support
Pricing
Inside This Article...
VPNArea Pros:
- No-logs policy
- Dedicated streaming servers
- Great speeds
- Unblocks Netflix
- Supports torrenting
VPNArea Cons:
- Small server network
With so many different VPNs to choose from today, it can feel almost impossible to know where to begin when choosing the right one for you. The good news for you is that I have reviewed all of the VPNs on the market after conducting extensive research.
One VPN I was certainly excited to delve a bit deeper into was VPNArea, so read on to discover more thoughts about this VPN provider.
Overview
VPNArea is based in Bulgaria. The company was established by Offshore Security LTD in 2012.
The fact that it is based in Varna, Bulgaria, is not the best news! Bulgaria is not the greatest location for a VPN provider, as it is subject to the data-sharing agreements and surveillance laws in the EU.
However, the company has a stringent no-logs policy in place, which goes a long way to cancelling out the worry concerning Bulgaria.
In terms of the network, it is a moderate size. The VPN network incorporates 65 countries across the world, and there are numerous city-level server options for you to select from.
The widest selection of city-level servers is available in the United States. In the US, you are going to have 42 different servers to select from, which are spread across 11 cities. This makes it an excellent choice if you are planning to connect to US servers on a regular basis.
Other countries with city-specific servers for you to select from include the UK, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Canada, and Australia.
While the best coverage is in North America and Europe, there are a lot of other server options outside of this, so the coverage is really good overall.
Another good thing about VPNArea is that it owns and operates its own DNS servers. On the flip side, for every server, there is only one shared IP address, which is great for privacy but it can be detrimental in terms of performance.
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Speeds
If you are looking for a fast VPN, you are not going to be disappointed with VPNArea. This is a reliable and fast VPN, whether you are planning to connect to a country close to you or far away.
The quick speeds and the low latency also makes VPNArea a good choice for gamers, which is something I will touch on in more detail later in the review.
Security
You can be sure that you will be kept safe online while you are using VPNArea. The standard protocol for VPNs, OpenVPN, is used here. You even have the option of toggling between TCP and UDP.
The most secure cipher, AES-256, is used for encryption as well.
There are a number of great security features that will put your mind at ease. This includes the VPN kill switch, which will stop your private data from being exposed should your Internet connection drop out.
VPNArea also stops WebRTC, IPv6, and DNS leaks.
I was also pleased to see that there are Double VPN servers available as well. This basically means that you are going to get an added security layer when connected to a VPN.
The good features don’t end there either. You will also get malware protection and an in-built ad-blocker. Port forwarding is available too, although you need to get in touch with the customer services team to request this on your account.
Does VPNArea collect logs?
There are a lot of VPN providers out there that claim they do not collect logs, yet when you look a little bit deeper, you find that they actually do.
I am glad to report that this is not the case with VPNArea; they state to have a no-logs policy, and that is exactly what they have.
The company does not monitor, store, or record any bandwidth statistics, outgoing or incoming IP addresses, timestamps, login dates, or any other identifiable data of any VPN user. There is nothing that can be traced back to you.
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Ease of use
There is a lot to love about VPNArea, but ease of use is one area where I do feel like some improvements could be made.
When you log in to VPNarea, you are presented with the server list. You don’t have a dashboard or a home page of any sort. It’s not too bad, but it could be structured better.
There are some helpful tabs, though, including obfuscated, streaming, and torrenting. You can also organise the servers by percentage load, speed, or distance.
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Torrenting
If you are looking for a VPN for torrenting purposes, I definitely recommend VPNArea as an exceptional choice here. Not only is torrenting allowed on all of the servers, but there are a lot of servers that have been optimized with P2P activity in mind.
When this is combined with the VPN kill switch, no DNS or IP leaks, and the upload and download speeds, which are mega quick, it is not hard to see why I believe that VPNArea is a good choice for torrenting.
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Unblock streaming services
Should you need a VPN so that you can enjoy different streaming services, I would not hesitate to recommend VPNArea.
With VPNArea, you can use both the UK and US servers to access the respective Netflix libraries.
Because the speeds are so good, the audio and video quality are excellent as well.
One negative thing about VPNArea in terms of streaming is that it is not very reliable in terms of BBC iPlayer. Despite the fact that there is a dedicated VPN server for this in the UK, it does not always work and so it is not the most reliable. If you are looking for a VPN for BBC iPlayer, I would recommend checking out NordVPN or ExpressVPN.
Back to the good news… VPNArea has a dedicated server for streaming Sky Go in Italy, and you can also unlock both the Italian and Canadian Netflix libraries with ease.
Can you bypass the Great Firewall of China?
A lot of VPNs out there have trouble when it comes to bypassing the Great Firewall of China, as it is just so difficult!
I am pleased to say that the results are positive with VPNArea, though. If you are planning on using it on your own desktop computer, you should be able to use VPNArea without too much trouble in China.
One of the great features in this regard is that there are X-Stunnel VPN servers in a number of the VPNArea server locations across the world. This means that your connection is going to be disguised as standard HTTPS traffic, enabling you to bypass the mega secure firewall in place in China.
There are also servers in Singapore, Japan, and China, meaning you can connect to a VPN close to China, which only strengthens VPNArea’s credentials as being a good choice for those who want to access content in China.
It is worth pointing out that this is only accessible via desktop devices for Mac and Windows. There are no options for Android or iOS, so I would recommend VPNArea more for those in China who are going to be using their computers.
VPNArea is not only reliable for China, but other countries with high censorship regimes in place. This includes the likes of the UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
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Compatibility
You should have no problem using VPNArea on your device. In fact, the company provides a number of custom apps for all of the popular devices. This includes Android, iOS, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as Linux. It is always good to see a VPN that caters to Linux users as well, as they often need to go through some manual configuration.
There are instructions on the VPNArea website for anyone who wants to set up VPNArea manually on any other platform, including routers.
Games consoles and streaming devices
VPNArea can also be used with plenty of different streaming devices and games consoles as well. You simply need to connect them to a router running the VPN, as this will ensure that all of the devices connected to the Internet in your home are protected.
VPNArea can be installed on Kodi and Amazon Firestick, yet a bit of manual configuration will be required.
ExpressVPN is one of the more straightforward options for gamings, especially if you want a plug-and-play solution for your games console, so there are better options out there. However, VPNArea is certainly a reliable choice.
Customer support
The support on offer is pretty good at VPNArea! The live chat feature is very helpful, with the agents responding quickly and effectively. I never had to wait longer than a few minutes to get a response.
There are some good resources, as well as in-depth FAQs. However, some of the resources are only available for paying customers, which is a bit of a downside! I would much prefer if they made these resources available to everyone, as it could help some people to decide whether or not VPNArea is going to be suitable for them.
Pricing
There are three different packages for you to choose from if you have decided that VPNArea is the choice for you.
The first package is the one-month package, which costs $9.90 per month. This is billed on a monthly basis. With this package, there is a 140day money-back guarantee.
The most popular package is the 12-month package. This will save you 50%. You will be billed $59 every 12 months, which equates to $4.92 per month. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee with this package.
The cheapest plan of them all is the 36-month plan. You will pay $107.64 upfront for the three-year period. This equates to $2.99 per month. If you are pretty sure that VPNArea is the VPN for you, I would recommend going for this plan because it is clearly much cheaper overall. You are also going to get a 30-day money-back guarantee with this option as well.
Summary
All in all, it is clear to see that there is a lot to like about VPNArea. While it may not be one of the most well-known VPNs out there, it certainly features a lot of good elements that would stand it up against some of the very best.
I particularly like the security features that come with VPNArea. There do not seem to be any gaps here, with a no-logs policy and advanced privacy elements giving users true peace of mind.
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