ActiVPN Review 2024: Is It Worth the Money?

ActiVPN is a terrible VPN that’s dangerous to use — it has 256-bit AES encryption, but that’s the only good thing about it. It’s missing essential security features like a kill switch and a no-logs policy, it doesn’t have native apps (meaning you need to manually configure the VPN using inconvenient third-party apps), and I frequently couldn’t connect to its servers.

ActiVPN leaked my data when I ran leak tests, and it’s missing other advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers. Also, it doesn’t have any useful additional features like split-tunneling or an ad blocker.

ActiVPN is horrible for streaming — it doesn’t work with top sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, or BBC iPlayer.

And to top it off, ActiVPN has terrible customer support — there’s no live chat, email support is unresponsive, and there are no troubleshooting guides or frequently asked questions (FAQs). There are only a few setup tutorials that aren’t overly helpful.

ActiVPN allows up to 5 simultaneous connections and has paid monthly and yearly plans — but there’s no money-back guarantee. Honestly, there are much better VPNs out there in 2024 — top brands like ExpressVPN have easy-to-use native apps, provide excellent security features, work with all major streaming sites, and offer great customer support — all for affordable prices.

ActiVPN Full Review — It’s Awful (No Native Apps & Servers Don’t Work)

I spent a few weeks testing and researching ActiVPN to see if it’s any good. I can safely say it’s one of the worst VPNs in 2024.

ActiVPN doesn’t have native apps, so instead of downloading and installing an app in 1–2 minutes, you need to perform complicated manual setups. ActiVPN maintains decent speeds, but many of its servers don’t even work, it’s not compatible with most streaming sites, it doesn’t have a no-logs policy or a kill switch, and I experienced IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks in my tests.

Frankly, there are many better VPNs out there — for example, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provide easy-to-install and user-friendly apps, have excellent security features, and work with all top streaming sites.

ActiVPN Plans & Pricing — Overpriced & No Money-Back Guarantee

ActiVPN has monthly, yearly, and 2-yearly plans that start at $2.14 / month. There are no differences between the plans other than the length of the subscription. All subscriptions allow up to 5 simultaneous connections, which is slightly below the industry standard of 6–10 connections.

ActiVPN’s monthly plan is a similar price to other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access — which are two of the best VPNs on the market. Even its yearly plans are more expensive than other top VPNs like CyberGhost VPN and Surfshark, which also offer a far better value.

ActiVPN accepts payments via credit cards, PayPal, and Bitcoin. However, it’s one of the only VPNs on the market that does not offer a money-back guarantee (most top VPNs have a 30-day money-back guarantee).

Overall, I can safely say that ActiVPN is a terrible value — it’s not a good product, it’s very overpriced, and it doesn’t have a money-back guarantee.

ActiVPN Features — Missing Essential Features & Exposes Your Data

ActiVPN has 256-bit AES encryption, but it’s missing a kill switch and a no-logs policy — which are essential VPN security features. The lack of a kill switch means the VPN isn’t capable of shutting down your internet traffic to prevent IP leaks, so your IP address may get revealed to the websites and apps you use any time you lose connection to its servers. You can manually set up a kill switch, but that’s very inconvenient (most top VPNs have built-in kill switches).

ActiVPN allows manual setups with multiple VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP. But it doesn’t allow a manual setup through WireGuard, which is faster than OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec and more secure than PPTP.

ActiVPN doesn’t state whether it has any leak protection. I asked the support reps about this, but they didn’t reply. However, I ran 10+ leak tests and experienced IPv6, DNS, and WebRTC leaks on multiple occasions, so I can safely say this VPN can’t protect your privacy.

Overall, ActiVPN has bank-grade encryption, but it lacks important security features like a kill switch and a no-logs policy. It also suffers leaks, meaning it exposes your data. I recommend using secure VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access instead — they have all the industry-standard security features plus advanced security features (including full leak protection that actually works).

ActiVPN Privacy & Security — Very Risky (Doesn’t Have a No-Logs Policy)

ActiVPN doesn’t have a no-logs policy — there’s no mention on the site of what user data ActiVPN collects, and whether or not it logs your IP address or traffic (websites you visit and files you download). I can only confirm that ActiVPN logs your email address on signup. But other than that, there’s no way of telling whether and what kind of information ActiVPN stores or any guarantee that ActiVPN doesn’t log or sell all of your data.

ActiVPN has a regularly updated privacy report that reports if it has received any requests for user data from governments. But that doesn’t make up for not having a no-logs policy. In fact, I find it even more concerning that ActiVPN is transparent about whether it’s had any government requests for user data, but not about what sort of user data it collects.

This is even more troublesome as ActiVPN is headquartered in France, which is part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of countries that share surveillance data with each other). Since ActiVPN doesn’t have a no-logs policy, this means there’s a high chance it holds sensitive information on its users that it would be forced to hand over should the authorities ask for it — with this information then being freely shared between all members of the alliances.

Overall, ActiVPN doesn’t have a no-logs policy and is based in a 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances country, which makes it a very risky VPN from a privacy perspective. I recommend using other VPNs like ExpressVPN, which has an independently audited no-logs policy and is located in a privacy-friendly country.

ActiVPN Speed & Performance — Decent Speeds, but Many Servers Don’t Work

I used my Windows laptop to run multiple speed tests on servers in all 32 countries where ActiVPN has a server. I wasn’t able to connect to any of the servers in the US where I’m based, but I experienced fairly consistent levels of slowdown on all the servers I was able to test: both nearby servers in Canada and distant servers in Australia, France, Algeria, and Japan.

I first ran a speed test without being connected to a VPN to get a baseline for my internet connection speeds:

I initially tried connecting to local servers in the US, but they didn’t work. But I was able to connect to a nearby server in Canada.

Finally, I tested a distant server in Australia. Here are my speeds:

When connected to a nearby server in Canada, my speeds slowed down by around 71%, which is a lot. Despite that, websites and HD videos on YouTube loaded instantly.

When I connected to the distant servers, I experienced a 61% slowdown on average (smaller than the slowdown on nearby servers). Websites still loaded instantly, but HD videos took 5–10 seconds to load, and I experienced huge lag spikes while gaming.

Overall, ActiVPN provided me with decent speeds on both local and distant servers, but the slowdown from my baseline speed was significant. I also wasn’t able to connect to a lot of the servers that I tried — including those closest to me, which would typically be the fastest.

I’d recommend using other VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access, as they provide considerably less slowdown (and all of their servers actually work).

ActiVPN Servers & IP Addresses — Small & Unreliable Network

ActiVPN has 66 servers in 32 countries, but most of them don’t seem to work. I frequently wasn’t able to connect to a server — I restarted the connections 20+ times and they still didn’t work. Some servers also wouldn’t accept my login credentials. Other top VPNs not only have much larger server networks, but all of their servers actually work. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries and CyberGhost VPN has servers in 100 countries.

ActiVPN doesn’t say which servers allow P2P traffic, and it doesn’t have dedicated torrenting servers either. I tested a few of the servers that worked and I was able to download torrents, so ActiVPN doesn’t appear to block P2P traffic on any of its servers. Still, other VPNs (such as ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access) provide far better torrenting support.

Overall, ActiVPN has a small server network, and many servers don’t actually work. Most other top VPNs have significantly larger server networks that are far more reliable.

ActiVPN Streaming & Torrenting — Terrible for Both Activities

ActiVPN is horrible for streaming — it doesn’t work with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, or BBC iPlayer.

If you need a good Netflix VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN — it consistently works with all top streaming sites, has fast speeds, and is easy to use.

ActiVPN is also terrible for torrenting — it doesn’t mention P2P support anywhere on its site and doesn’t have dedicated P2P servers. In my tests, it didn’t block P2P traffic, but it leaked my data so it’s not safe to use.

There are much better torrenting VPNs out there that provide excellent P2P support and don’t leak your data.

Overall, ActiVPN is really bad for streaming and torrenting. It’s incompatible with popular streaming sites and it leaks your data. Other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access provide significantly better streaming and torrenting support.

ActiVPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps — Complicated & Inconvenient Setup

ActiVPN doesn’t have native apps, so you have to manually set it up on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS using third-party apps. ActiVPN provides step-by-step guides on how to do this, but they’re hard to follow.

When I tested ActiVPN on my Android smartphone, the setup process was very complicated and time consuming. It was also difficult to use ActiVPN since I had to use a third-party app that’s not user-friendly. Plus, I wasn’t able to connect to many servers. If you’re looking for a good VPN for Android, check out our list of the best Android VPNs here.

My experience on my Windows laptop was the same — it took me over 10 minutes to manually set up ActiVPN using a third-party app, and it was also very inconvenient to use. Many servers also had strange and confusing names (such as “filtered” or “paranoid”) so it was hard to know which one to connect to. And, like on my smartphone, I experienced many connectivity issues. Take a look at this list to learn more about the best Windows VPNs.

If you’re interested in iOS VPNs, you can view our top recommendations here. For macOS VPNs, click here.

Overall, ActiVPN isn’t user-friendly at all — it doesn’t have native apps, and it’s complicated and inconvenient to use once set up. Top VPNs (like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access) have native apps for most platforms that are very easy to install and use.

ActiVPN Customer Support — Totally Unhelpful & Unresponsive

I was disappointed by ActiVPN’s (non-existent) customer support. It doesn’t have a live chat. Plus, they only have a few unhelpful tutorials instead of troubleshooting guides or FAQs.

The only “support” available is setup guides that are extremely hard to follow — the article layout is very confusing and some screenshots are only in French. What’s more, some setup articles don’t even work (they reroute you to ActiVPN’s home page when you click on them). Top VPNs like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN have significantly better support sections that include in-depth FAQs, easy-to-follow tutorials (including video guides), and troubleshooting articles.

ActiVPN doesn’t have a live chat, but I tested its email support. On average, it took over a day to get a reply, which is pretty long, and the replies I received were very vague and unhelpful. Also, the support reps didn’t even reply to all my messages.

Overall, ActiVPN has really bad customer support — the support section isn’t helpful, there’s no live chat, no FAQs, and email support is either unhelpful or unresponsive. Other top VPNs have much better customer support that includes 24/7 live chat, helpful email support, and very informative support sections.

Is ActiVPN Worth the Money in 2024?

No — ActiVPN is a terrible VPN that’s definitely not worth the money. It has 256-bit AES encryption, but it’s missing essential security features like a kill switch and a no-logs policy. It also doesn’t have native apps, so you need to perform inconvenient manual setups using third-party apps, and many of its servers don’t even work.

Also, ActiVPN is dangerous to use as it leaked my data in all of the leak tests I ran. It’s also missing advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, and it doesn’t have any useful extra features like split-tunneling or an ad blocker.

ActiVPN is really bad for streaming — it doesn’t work with top sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+.

Furthermore, ActiVPN has poor customer support — there’s no live chat, email support is unhelpful and unresponsive, and there are no troubleshooting guides or FAQs. There are only a few hard-to-follow setup tutorials.

ActiVPN allows up to 5 simultaneous connections and has monthly, yearly, and 2-yearly plans, but it doesn’t have a money-back guarantee. Overall, there are significantly better VPNs out there in 2024 like ExpressVPN that come with native apps, excellent security, fast speeds, great streaming support, and much more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ActiVPN safe?

No, ActiVPN isn’t a safe VPN — while it does have 256-bit AES encryption, it doesn’t have a kill switch or a no-logs policy, which are essential security features. And when I ran leak tests, it leaked my data multiple times.

There are more secure VPNs out there, like ExpressVPN — it has industry-standard security features (including verified no-logs policies), air-tight leak protection, and includes advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers.

Is ActiVPN free?

No, ActiVPN doesn’t have a free plan. It also doesn’t have a money-back guarantee and all of its paid plans are overpriced.

However, I generally don’t recommend using free VPNs anyway — they’re usually slow, lack important security features, limit how much data you can use, and have glitchy apps. It’s much better to use a premium paid VPN like ExpressVPN, which is secure, fast, intuitive, and an overall great value.

Does ActiVPN work with Netflix?

No, ActiVPN doesn’t work with Netflix. It’s also incompatible with other top streaming sites like Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer.

If you want a good Netflix VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN — it consistently works with Netflix, has very fast speeds for streaming, and is very easy to use on all devices.

Is ActiVPN good for torrenting?

No, ActiVPN isn’t a good torrenting VPN — you can torrent using its servers (even though ActiVPN doesn’t say anything about P2P support), but ActiVPN leaks your data, doesn’t have a kill switch, and is missing a no-logs policy. So it’s not safe to use ActiVPN for torrenting.

There are much better torrenting VPNs out there — for example, ExpressVPN has excellent P2P support, comes with industry-standard security features, and doesn’t leak your data.