PureVPN Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons (2024)

• Pure VPN is a Hong Kong-based service owned by GZ Systems Limited.
• The platform boasts a myriad of servers and server locations, totaling over 6,500 in over 70 countries, as well as up to 10 simultaneous connections.
• Unfortunately, any positives of the service are weighed down by concerns over its no-logs policy, laggy Windows app and poor implementation of WireGuard, which shuts down certain features while using PureVPN.

Quick Specs

PureVPN Device Compatibility

With up to 10 simultaneous connections per account, PureVPN is on the higher end for VPNs we cover, which usually average around five connections per account. On top of that, the service is available on Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS and Linux. We do not recommend readers try the Linux client, however, due to the recently found vulnerabilities we described above. Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge are also available. However, most browser extensions don’t really add much to the overall VPN experience, and PureVPN is no different in this regard.

At first blush, PureVPN is very similar to many of its competitors in the space, and if you’re looking for a VPN with new or groundbreaking technology, you won’t find it here. This isn’t really a knock against PureVPN, however. It’s more just the nature of the market. Many providers nowadays offer the same or similar features and support many of the same (usually open source) protocols. This means that, more and more, prospective buyers need to look at the company itself and its business practices and how it treats its customers to see if it is a good fit.

Pros

PureVPN has an impressive array of servers in various countries and locations, easily placing it alongside major players, such as NordVPN in terms of server count. Its price of $1.89 per month for a two-year contract of its Standard plan is very affordable. It also offers up to 10 simultaneous connections, which is above average for a VPN but is not as enticing as providers, such as Surfshark, that offer unlimited connections.

Cons

The negatives for PureVPN are concerning, however. The first and most damning in our eyes is its history regarding logging user data and sharing that data with government entities, but we will go into more detail on that in our section on the no-logs policy.

The platform’s implementation of the WireGuard protocol leaves a lot to be desired. Certain features, in particular split tunneling, are simply not available when using WireGuard. This would be understandable if the protocol were relatively new, and other providers were also struggling to implement it. However, this is the first time we have encountered any provider blocking out certain features when using WireGuard. Given that WireGuard is by far the best VPN protocol in popular use, this is a fairly concerning problem to have.

Finally, we experienced significant lag while using PureVPN’s Windows app. We did not note any impacts on overall device performance, such as when using our internet browser, but navigating and interfacing with the app itself was often kind of a slog. It also crashed a couple of times during use, usually when switching from one in-app tab to another. We did not encounter these issues on Mac, Android or iOS, however. So, this could be a device-specific problem.

PureVPN’s features roughly line up with the expected features we look for in a VPN, such as split tunneling, a kill switch and DNS protection. These features all mostly work as we would want them to for a top VPN, though there were a couple of things we saw that were worth noting.

DNS Protection Measures

PureVPN’s DNS protection measures function well enough. We ran multiple tests, such as ones provided by dnsleaktest.com, and PureVPN performed well.

Dedicated IP

PureVPN offers Dedicated IP as an add-on. The pricing of this add-on depends on the length of your plan. It costs $4.99 per month for monthly plans, $4.79 per month for one-year plans and $2.49 per month for two-year plans. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to test the efficacy of this feature during our review.

On top of Dedicated IP, PureVPN offers Dedicated Server and Business VPN add-ons at a higher cost. They all perform roughly the same function of offering users a way to connect to the same IP when using the VPN. Dedicated Server allows multiple users to get their own dedicated IP with multiple server locations to choose from on top of it. Business VPN does the same but lets multiple devices be connected simultaneously, as well as giving your team the option to set up a single IP for the team.

Kill Switch

PureVPN’s internet kill switch (IKS) works as expected, cutting off internet traffic when not connected to Wi-Fi. Setting it up is as simple as clicking a button in settings. In addition to the default Automatic IKS settings, there is a Manual IKS option that claims to be “Customizable IKS Settings for Full Control.” However, no such settings exist within the app.

Confused, we reached out to customer support for more information and were told the only difference between Automatic IKS and Manual IKS is that Manual IKS shuts off your internet connection entirely when not connected to Wi-Fi, and Automatic IKS just blocks traffic while the internet stays connected. Customer support confirmed that there were no additional settings to actually toggle.

Split Tunneling

PureVPN’s split tunneling works mostly as expected, allowing you to route specific apps’ internet traffic through the VPN and other apps through your normal internet connection.

However, this feature is disabled when utilizing the WireGuard protocol. While the app does warn you of this if you set WireGuard as your preferred protocol, this is still a major issue. WireGuard is, for our money, the best VPN protocol out there today and one we recommend most users try to use before any others. Being open source, WireGuard is available on almost every single VPN on the market, but some providers, such as PureVPN, have not implemented the protocol as well as we would like within their app, leading to issues such as this one.

If you don’t plan to use split tunneling, this won’t matter at all, but not being able to use this feature with the best protocol available is a red flag for us.

While PureVPN does have three tiers of plans, each with its own monthly, yearly and two-year pricing, all plans higher than Standard add nothing to the VPN itself. Instead, PureVPN’s Plus and Max plans offer new tools for users to try out, such as a Password Manager and End-to-End File Encryption. We did not get a chance to test these features during our review, as we only looked at the Standard plan and PureVPN itself, however.

When the app was functioning, PureVPN was easy enough to use, but the consistent lag and occasional crashes we experienced on the Windows client hurt the app’s ease of use in our eyes.

We weren’t entirely impressed by the app’s UI, mostly due to the large number of add-ons and related products being advertised to us in the interface. There is an entire tab dedicated just to advertising other PureVPN products, such as its PureKeep password manager, and another tab dedicated to inviting other users to the service. While such advertisem*nts aren’t present in the parts of the app where you would actually be using the VPN, such as server list or settings, these extra tabs and ads create unnecessary visual clutter for users.

PureVPN has over 6,000 servers in more than 80 server locations. This is a good amount of servers and locations for a mid-level VPN but nothing too spectacular. It does have a number of dedicated servers to P2P which is nice, however. There are also shortcuts for specific streaming services that open up a new tab for the streaming service on top of connecting to the associated server when clicked. This would be a nice feature, but, as we’ll explain later, PureVPN struggles to successfully access region-locked content.

PureVPN offers the following VPN protocols:

• Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2): IKEv2 is a protocol that encrypts communication between a VPN client and a VPN server and securely exchanges keys over the internet. It was the standard protocol used for years, but multiple vulnerabilities in its architecture have been found and exploited in the past, particularly when poorly or improperly implemented.
• OpenVPN (TCP): OpenVPN is a free and open-source security protocol commonly used by most VPN providers. It is one of the oldest security protocols in the VPN space, being initially released in 2001. This version of OpenVPN uses the Transmission Control Protocol. Essentially, when your computer sends a piece of data (called a network packet) to the network, TCP forces your computer to wait for confirmation that the packet was delivered before sending the next packet or resending the current packet.
• OpenVPN (UDP): This version of OpenVPN uses the User Datagram Protocol, which does not ask your computer to wait before sending the next packet of data. This makes UDP faster than TCP but less reliable.
• WireGuard: The current standard-bearer of VPN protocols, WireGuard is a free and open-source security protocol known for its speeds and consistency. Many VPNs use WireGuard as their default protocol, even in cases where a proprietary protocol exists.

PureVPN’s speeds performed as expected. As usual, which protocol you choose tends to matter more than your actual VPN client for speed and performance. WireGuard was once again the fastest by far, with IKEv2 and OpenVPN not even coming close to matching it.

Aside from concerns about its no-logs policy (see below), PureVPN is about as safe as any other popular VPN on most platforms. Unfortunately, its Linux client was recently found to contain multiple vulnerabilities, including DNS Leaking and Remote Code Execution vulnerability. While we were not able to test the Linux client during our review, this is very concerning, and we do not recommend Linux users utilize PureVPN at this time.

No-Logs Policy

While PureVPN claims a no-logs policy and it has been independently audited, we still struggle to fully trust PureVPN. The provider claimed a no-logs policy in 2017 as well when it turned over user data to the FBI as part of a cyberstalking investigation. We’re therefore hesitant to trust PureVPN. If you’re serious about keeping your data private, we would advise against using PureVPN.

Multifactor Authentication

PureVPN offers multifactor authentication as part of its base VPN package. There are different types of MFA, and PureVPN’s is set up through an authenticator app. This is one of the more common ways to do it, along with sending a message to the email or phone number associated with the account.

PureVPN offers 24/7 live chat and email support. During our review, we tested the live chat function, asking questions about the app’s kill switch settings. While we did not appreciate being screened through a chatbot, the actual customer support agent was able to give us the information we needed relatively quickly and answered our clarifying questions well.

We could not get PureVPN to bypass any region-locks when streaming. The service actually has dedicated server shortcuts for accessing content from services, including Hulu, Max or Netflix, but neither the Hulu nor Netflix servers successfully gave us access. Attempting to access Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ without using shortcuts produced similar results. This, coupled with the service’s middling speeds, makes it difficult to recommend as a viable VPN for streaming.

	PureVPN	Surfshark	IVPN	VyprVPN
Rating
Starting Annual Price	$3.74 per month for one year	$3.49 per month for one year	$5 per month for one year	$5 per month for one year
Anonymous Browsing	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
DNS Protection Measures	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dedicated IP	Yes, as an add-on	No	No	No
Kill Switch	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multifactor Authentication	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
No-Logs Policy	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Learn More	On PureVPN’s Website	On Surfshark's Website	--	On VyprVPN's Website
Read Reviews	--	Read Surfshark Review	Read IVPN Review	Read VyprVPN Review

PureVPN vs. Surfshark

Surfshark and PureVPN share a lot of similarities, thanks to overlapping features and equivalent pricing tiers. Surfshark’s unlimited simultaneous connections could make it a more enticing option for some businesses, but PureVPN’s access to a Dedicated IP add-on could be just as alluring. We don’t really recommend either for personal use due to both companies’ awkward no-logs policies.

While PureVPN’s no-log policies have been outlined in detail in this review, Surfshark’s privacy policy states, “To prevent service abuse, our servers store your user ID and/or IP address, and connection time stamps, but this information is automatically deleted within 15 minutes after termination of your session.” This means that, functionally, Surfshark VPN is not a no-logs VPN, despite the company’s claims to the contrary. As such, we do not recommend either VPN for personal use.

PureVPN vs. IVPN

For personal use, IVPN is an easy winner, thanks to its track record of transparency and commitment to privacy in comparison to PureVPN, which has turned over user data to government agencies in the past. For business use, PureVPN likely wins out thanks to its Dedicated IP add-on and other business-focused features.

PureVPN vs. VyprVPN

PureVPN is an easy winner for both business and personal use here. While we don’t trust PureVPN’s no-logs policy, the service is just better than VyprVPN’s in terms of internet speeds, features, customer support quality and overall value for your money.

Overall, PureVPN is about middle-of-the-road as far as VPNs go. It has many of the features you would expect from a VPN, its pricing is about average and it mostly functions as it should. Unfortunately, being middle-of-the-road is not good enough for us to recommend the product for either business or personal use.

PureVPN for Personal Use

We do not recommend PureVPN for personal use. Although the 10 simultaneous connections and relatively affordable pricing are tempting, the company has previously lied about its no-logs policy. While that does not mean it is actively keeping or sharing user logs now, we don’t believe in giving providers second chances on the privacy front.

PureVPN for Business Use

We don’t recommend PureVPN for businesses either. Obviously, the no-logs policy concerns are a factor, but the technological issues your VPN faces are also concerning. Its implementation of WireGuard is incredibly lacking, with some features just not working at all with the protocol, and if that is how the company handles the best protocol in the space currently, businesses can’t count on consistent, quality service from this provider. There are several other better providers out there that are more worth your time and money than PureVPN.