Astrill VPN: The Best for Bypassing Censorship in China, but Expensive and Limited for Streaming

It’s not ideal that Astrill logs your IP address, but this data is only kept during your session and then permanently deleted.

This helps the app function without compromising privacy. All VPNs need to handle a minimal amount of information to operate; in this case, Astrill uses it to regulate the number of devices simultaneously connecting to one account.

However, this is a weak justification given that other VPNs, like ExpressVPN and PrivateVPN, monitor device connections without logging your IP address.

Astrill also tracks total bytes transferred for network maintenance and expansion. This isn’t personally identifiable and doesn’t threaten your privacy. Astrill reassures users that:

“The very design of our VPN server software does not allow us to see which clients accessed what websites even if we wanted to.”

Astrill does, however, log your last 20 connection records to help customer support troubleshoot issues. This includes:

• Connection time
• Connection duration
• Country
• Device type
• Astrill client version number

None of this is personally identifiable, and if your Astrill account is inactive for 30 days this information is automatically deleted. You can also request deletion by contacting [email protected].

Although none of the stored data is identifiable, this is unreasonable for a VPN that advertises itself as no-logs.

Astrill would benefit from commissioning an independent audit of its logging practices to remove any doubts about its safety. We’d also like to see regular transparency reports so users can review any data requests from government agencies.

We were impressed by Astrill VPN’s privacy-friendly payment options. You can purchase a subscription with cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, for increased anonymity.

This isn’t as anonymous as Mullvad VPN’s option to mail cash to its office, but it’s still notable.

Astrill VPN Is Owned by Veloxee Corp

Astrill VPN is owned by a corporate entity called Veloxee Corp.

Its subsidiary, Astrill Systems Corp., was built and is run by a team of cryptographers, programmers, and networking engineers.

The company isn’t particularly transparent, but it has serious security credentials; there’s never been a server breach, security leak, or major controversy.

Moved from Seychelles to Liechtenstein

Astrill VPN used to be incorporated in the privacy stronghold of the Seychelles. However, in November 2023 Astrill quietly moved its legal base to Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein is not in the EU, but it does have a data-sharing agreement with Europol. Either way, it’s not as private as the Seychelles.

Astrill focuses on privacy and anti-censorship, and this comes at the cost of streaming capabilities.

There is no mention of streaming across its website, and the VPN offers no optimized servers for services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or Disney+. There’s no native app for Amazon Fire TV Stick, either.

Astrill Can Only Access the US Netflix Region

Astrill does work to unblock the US Netflix library. Combined with its strong long-distance speeds, this makes it a viable (but expensive) option for those looking to stream US-exclusive Netflix content from abroad.

Astrill doesn’t unblock any other Netflix region. When we asked why we were getting US Netflix on its Australian servers, we were told that Netflix isn’t supported on them, so the traffic is automatically redirected to the US. This applies anytime you try to access a non-US library.

Reliably Unblocks Hulu

Despite its poor Netflix coverage, Astrill VPN consistently unblocks Hulu on all of its US servers.

Using Astrill, we bypassed Hulu’s geo-restrictions on both our Lenovo T480 laptop and our iPhone 15.

In each case, the video loaded without buffering and the quality stayed consistent.

Works with UK Streaming Platforms

Astrill’s performance with UK streaming services is more mixed than with US platforms.

We were able to unblock BBC iPlayer, All 4, and ITVX using Astrill’s London server, but video quality was often blurry.

ITVX in particular took a few minutes to load, and the low-resolution stream was too blurry to watch on our iPhone.

Astrill Fails to Unblock Most Streaming Platforms

Despite its success with US Netflix and Hulu, Astrill can’t access US-based HBO Max or the American version of Amazon Prime Video.

Astrill also doesn’t unblock Disney+ if you’re in a region where it’s not yet available.

With no streaming-optimized servers, no Smart DNS, and limited access to major services, Astrill VPN can’t match the best VPNs for streaming. We’d expect a top streaming VPN to unblock multiple Netflix libraries, support a native Fire TV Stick app, and provide speeds sufficient for 4K — Astrill lacks all of this.

Astrill Offers Multiple Proprietary Tunneling Protocols

OpenVPN and WireGuard are trusted, open-source protocols that excel in different areas. Astrill offers both, plus two proprietary options—StealthVPN and OpenWeb—balancing standardization with custom features.

OpenWeb is a proprietary, TCP-based protocol designed for fast streaming and browsing. Instead of encrypting all device traffic, it only tunnels traffic from major web browsers like Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Chrome, and Chromium.

You can configure OpenWeb to encrypt traffic from other apps and share your OpenWeb connection with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. This is helpful if mobile VPN protocols are blocked by your ISP or network admins.

EXPERT ADVICE: When using OpenWeb, Astrill will disconnect all applications if you switch servers or turn the VPN off. To prevent this, go to Settings > Advanced > Keep Connection.

StealthVPN is Astrill’s flagship proprietary protocol. It adds obfuscation to already encrypted traffic to bypass firewalls without detection.

It’s stable and reliable, works over UDP and TCP, uses RSA-2048 certificates for authentication, and the AES-256 cipher for encryption.

Reliable & Advanced Kill Switch

Astrill’s kill switch prevents IP leaks by cutting your internet connection if the VPN drops. When this happens, a pop-up asks whether to restore your internet or reconnect the VPN first.

Windows users also get App Guard, which Astrill calls an “enhanced” kill switch. It lets you block specific apps from accessing the internet if the VPN disconnects, while everything else stays online.

It works even when the desktop app isn’t running and is enabled automatically at startup.

We tested both the standard kill switch and App Guard with our kill switch testing tool, which monitors IP and geolocation during connection drops.

As shown below, the normal kill switch failed to hide our real IP during a server change. This is more of a usability issue than a security flaw because Astrill requires you to manually disconnect before switching servers.

Top-rated VPNs like PIA let you switch servers without interrupting the VPN connection.

During a sudden VPN disconnection, the kill switch did prevent our IP from leaking, which is the key test.

App Guard hid our IP during both server changes and disconnections. We recommend enabling App Guard at all times to maintain anonymity.

Astrill doesn’t offer a kill switch on its mobile apps. This is a significant drawback for mobile users, and we’d like to see it added in a future update.

IP, DNS & WebRTC Leak Tests

We tested Astrill for IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks while connected to a US server. We found no leaks.

Our tests confirm that Astrill doesn’t expose personal data. It’s a safe, secure, and reliable VPN that hides your IP address effectively.

Astrill has physical servers in 107 cities across 56 countries.

Its modest server count is offset by excellent geographic coverage, with servers on every inhabited continent.

Astrill’s international footprint makes it easier to find a nearby server wherever you are.

Unlike many leading VPNs, it also invests in Asia. There are more Asian countries available than in North America, South America, Oceania, and Africa combined (though there are 26 cities in the US alone).

If you need a US IP address, you can connect to 26 cities across 24 states.

2025 UPDATE: Astrill has not removed its physical servers in India despite a law requiring VPNs to log and store user data in-country. This poses a privacy risk, and we advise against using Astrill in India.

Multiple Server Types

We’d prefer these options to be streamlined into a single plan—especially given Astrill’s high price. The variety can be confusing for new or casual users.

An All-Physical Server Network

While services like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost offer many more servers overall, Astrill emphasizes that all its servers are physical (“bare metal”), avoiding virtualization-related security risks.

The trade-off is scale: Astrill has 107 servers, compared to ExpressVPN’s combined physical and virtual network of 13,360 servers.

Installation & Setup

Interface & Ease of Use

Day-to-Day Experience

Astrill VPN is excellent for torrenting, combining fast speeds with P2P-optimized servers, customizable port forwarding, an effective kill switch, and strong security.

Thanks to AES-256 encryption, seeders, copyright enforcers, trackers, and ISPs can’t see your identity or activity.

Astrill’s DNS leak protection and reliable kill switch also prevent IP leaks and accidental exposure.

However, we don’t recommend torrenting with the OpenWeb protocol. Use Astrill’s P2P-supported protocols: OpenVPN and WireGuard.

Fast P2P Speeds & Port Forwarding Support

Our testing shows Astrill is one of the fastest VPNs for torrenting, with an average bitrate of 10.0 MiB/s. This is faster than industry-leading services like ExpressVPN and Surfshark.

Astrill’s speeds are helped by both automatic and manual port forwarding. You can enable this in the settings, but it only works with servers marked with a star (these are secure servers optimized for torrenting).

There’s also a port forward test tool in the Help menu, which lets you check specific TCP ports. This feature is rare even among top VPNs like NordVPN and IPVanish.

Astrill works well with clients like BitTorrent, LimeWire, and uTorrent. You can configure UDP port forwarding in these clients and enable UDP traffic over the secure tunnel.