ZoogVPN Review 2024: Is It Worth the Price?

ZoogVPN is decent for streaming and torrenting and allows unlimited device connections, but there are better VPNs in 2024, like ExpressVPN or CyberGhost VPN.

ZoogVPN includes optimized servers for streaming and torrenting — it works with many streaming platforms, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+, and its P2P servers allow you to quickly download small and medium files.

In addition, ZoogVPN features industry-standard VPN security features like AES 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy. There are also DNS leak protections and obfuscation servers (to conceal your VPN use) so users in more heavily-restricted areas like China can freely access the internet.

Unfortunately, ZoogVPN needs improvement in a number of areas — its server network is quite limited, and it lacks advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy as well as extras like split-tunneling and an ad blocker.

ZoogVPN comes with affordable monthly, annual, and 2-year plans, as well as a decent free plan. The paid plans are covered by only a 7-day money-back guarantee — as long as you don’t exceed 10 GB of data.

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ZoogVPN Full Review — Okay for Browsing, Streaming & Torrenting, but It Lacks Advanced Features

I spent two weeks testing ZoogVPN to see how it measured up to the top VPNs available in 2024. ZoogVPN is great for large households, as it allows unlimited device connections and has apps to support all major platforms. It also comes with optimized servers for streaming (that work with Netflix) and allows torrenting on dedicated P2P servers.

However, it has servers in only 55 locations, which is well below the competition. I found the desktop apps to be a bit challenging to navigate and some servers on the mobile apps were randomly unreliable. And features are a bare minimum on all of ZoogVPN’s apps (they’re missing advanced security tools like RAM-only servers and extras like split-tunneling).

Overall, ZoogVPN performed OK for browsing, streaming, and torrenting, but it still fell short in too many other areas for me to recommend it over other industry-leading providers.

ZoogVPN Plans & Pricing — Decent Free Plan & Cheap Paid Options

ZoogVPN offers very cheap monthly, annual, and 2-year plans as well as a free plan. There’s also a 6-month plan option, but it’s not promoted on the website (it’s only visible in your account dashboard after you’ve made an account).

The free plan is decent — it includes access to 3 VPN locations (in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands), allows 10 GB per month, which is enough data to watch 3-4 movies in HD, has 128-bit AES encryption (instead of 256-bit AES), and allows 1 connection. That being said, Proton VPN has the best free plan, with unlimited data and high-end security features. Plus, the free subscription expires in 14 days, so you’d have to subscribe again or upgrade to get rid of the time limit, which I don’t like. However, it doesn’t show this on mobile, which is confusing.

The premium paid plans, which start as low as $2.49 / month, add unlimited device connections, access to all of ZoogVPN’s servers, and 256-bit AES encryption. While I love the budget-friendly prices, there are other inexpensive VPNs like Private Internet Access, CyberGhost VPN, and PrivateVPN that offer a much better value.

ZoogVPN accepts credit cards, PayPal, bitcoin, Link, Google Pay, and others like Mint, Dollar General, Neosurf, and AliPay, and all of its plans are covered by a (short) 7-day money-back guarantee — as long as you don’t exceed 10 GB (most top VPNs include an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee while CyberGhost VPN covers your purchase for 45 days on yearly plans).

ZoogVPN Features — Covers the Basics (But No Kill Switch on Mobile)

ZoogVPN has the following industry-standard VPN security features:

• 256-bit AES encryption — ZoogVPN uses the same level of encryption as banks, and it’s reinforced by a 2048-bit hash key, which adds another layer of security.
• No-logs policy — ZoogVPN doesn’t store any user data.
• Kill switch — This feature automatically disconnects you from the internet if the VPN suddenly goes down, keeping your data safe from leaking onto the internet. Unfortunately, it’s only available on desktop devices.

ZoogVPN has many protocol options available, including OpenVPN, IKEv2, Wireguard, and Shadow. OpenVPN and IKEv2 are both secure and reliable, but Wireguard is the fastest. Shadow is recommended for uses in censorship-heavy locations like Qatar, China, Egypt, and Iran. Shadow and Wireguard are not available on the free plan on mobile devices, but oddly, Shadow is available for free on desktop.

ZoogVPN has DNS leak protection to ensure your real IP address isn’t leaked while you’re connected to a VPN server (but it doesn’t include WebRTC or IPv6 leak protection like ExpressVPN). I performed leak tests on a wide range of servers and my actual IP address remained concealed — ZoogVPN also passed my WebRTC and IPv6 tests, but I still recommend disabling this type of traffic on your device to be 100% safe.

While ZoogVPN doesn’t come with advanced security features such as perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers and lacks extras like split-tunneling and double VPN, it does include the following features:

• Obfuscation. ZoogVPN has “ZoogShadowing” obfuscated servers that hide your VPN use and are designed to work in heavily-censored regions. They’re available in 12+ countries including Thailand, Taiwan, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, and the UK. I contacted customer support, and multiple representatives confirmed that these servers should work in restricted countries like China, Indonesia, and Iran. There’s also the Shadow protocol, which obfuscates any connection on any server. Customer support explained the main difference between these two obfuscation methods: the Shadow protocol is designed for unrestricted access with an extra layer of encryption while the Zoogshadowing servers are more for anonymous browsing.
• SOCKS5 servers. An alternative to normal VPN traffic, SOCKS5 proxy servers get you a new IP address but don’t encrypt your traffic, which usually increases your speeds (ZoogVPN’s SOCKS5 servers boosted my speeds by 5-7%). Private Internet Access also has SOCKS5 proxy servers, and they are even faster and easier to use.

ZoogVPN Privacy & Security — Strict No-Logs Policy & Privacy-Friendly Location

ZoogVPN has a no-logs policy that claims the VPN won’t log any of your personal information, including the websites you visit, the files that you download, or your IP address. While I like all of the information in the privacy policy, I’d find it easier to trust if ZoogVPN had conducted an independent audit — like ExpressVPN and Proton VPN.

ZoogVPN is based in Greece, which is outside of the 5/914 Eyes Alliances — a group of countries that share intelligence data.

Overall, ZoogVPN has a strict no-logs policy (though it hasn’t been audited) and is located in a country outside of Eyes Alliance territories.

ZoogVPN Speed & Performance — Good Speeds on Local Servers (But Major Slowdowns on Distant Ones)

I ran speed tests using my Windows laptop on a server in all 55 countries where ZoogVPN has a server. My speeds were fastest on servers in or close to my country (the UK), but my speeds dipped more than I prefer on distant servers such as the US, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and India.

I started by testing my baseline speeds without connecting to a VPN server. Then I checked my speeds while connected to the best VPN server for my location (the UK) using the auto select feature. These were my speeds:

Next, I wanted to see my speeds if I connected to some more distant servers. First, I checked my speeds while connected to the US, then the Netherlands. Here are the results:

When connected to servers in the UK, my tests showed a noticeable drop in download speeds, but websites loaded right away, I was still able to browse and stream in HD without delay, and I downloaded a 10 GB file in under 8 minutes. Switching over to servers throughout the US didn’t cause websites to take any longer to load, but videos took 4-5 seconds to start, and the same 10 GB file took me nearly double the amount of time to download. While my ping increased on distant servers, I didn’t encounter much lag at all playing video games.

Overall, ZoogVPN’s speed loss on local servers was barely noticeable, but I experienced some significant slowdowns on servers that were far away from me.

ZoogVPN Servers & IP Addresses — Small Network With Dedicated Torrenting & Streaming Servers

ZoogVPN has servers in only 55 countries, and it covers most locations around the world. ZoogVPN’s server network is nowhere near as large as ExpressVPN, which has servers in 105 countries, or CyberGhost VPN, which has servers in 100 countries.

One of the nice things about ZoogVPN is that it displays the ping and server load for each server on its website, but neither one is shown in the apps. This means you have to first visit the website to find the optimal server and then find the server in the app, which is a time-consuming and inconvenient process — other top VPNs like Private Internet Access and Proton VPN display these types of speed metrics in the app right next to the servers so you can quickly connect to the fastest server.

ZoogVPN has dedicated torrenting servers in 30+ countries that are optimized for fast downloads. Also, there are streaming servers in 15+ countries that work with many popular streaming services, including Netflix.

All in all, the server network is on the smaller side, the ping and server load percentage are displayed on the website (but not in the apps), and there are dedicated torrenting and streaming servers.

ZoogVPN Streaming & Torrenting — Decent for Both Activities

ZoogVPN is a decent choice for streaming with servers optimized for a wide variety of streaming services. The VPN is compatible with services like Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, ESPN+, and Hulu.

Still, streaming only works on a handful of servers and only in certain countries. If you’re looking for a VPN that works with all of the popular streaming services (and over 100 streaming apps worldwide), has the fastest speeds, and supports streaming on all of its servers, I strongly recommend ExpressVPN.

ZoogVPN has dedicated P2P servers in 30+ countries — a little P2P logo lets you know which servers have this feature. The P2P servers are based throughout Europe, as well as in Australia, the US, Hong Kong, Israel, Singapore, Brazil, and Johannesburg, which covers the majority of the globe. ZoogVPN works with popular torrent clients like uTorrent, BitTorrent, and Vuze. It also has SOCKS5 servers, which should provide a small boost in download speeds.

While I had a pretty good experience torrenting with ZoogVPN, I still prefer ExpressVPN, which supports P2P traffic on all of its servers, has better security features, and has the fastest speeds on the market.

Overall, ZoogVPN has optimized streaming and torrenting servers that are built to work with most streaming services and provide good speeds for downloading files.

ZoogVPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps — User-Friendly but Basic

ZoogVPN has apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. There are also apps for Android TV, Amazon FireTV & Stick, and routers, but I wish ZoogVPN had a Linux app (though the VPN does have a helpful installation guide for the OS). I’m also glad to see a browser extension for Chrome since not all VPNs have browser extensions.

The desktop apps work well for the most part. I like how ZoogVPN marks streaming, P2P, and ZoogShadowing servers in the apps, but the interface generally isn’t all that aesthetically pleasing and doesn’t have a lot of customization. Plus, unless you’re very familiar with country codes (DE, CA, IE, etc.), it can be tricky to tell what country you’re connecting to unless you Google the city name. It would be a lot more intuitive and user-friendly if it just had the full country name. I also had a problem with the Windows app regularly disappearing from my desktop but telling me it’s running. If I minimized the app, I ended up having to go to my Task Manager to end the program, then re-open the app and establish a new connection, which was pretty cumbersome and frustrating.

The mobile apps are decent but unimpressive. I connected to a server in under 3 seconds every time, and there are icons telling you which servers are good for P2P, streaming, etc. I also really like that the country names are spelled out in the iOS app, since you only get the 2-letter country code on desktop and Android devices. The iOS app also has a couple of interesting features. One is called “Exclude Home Country”, which makes the VPN ignore your home country when auto-selecting the best server for your location. The other is an auto reconnect option that automatically establishes a new connection if the original connection drops for any reason. Unfortunately, Zoogshadowing servers aren’t available on mobile. Honestly, if you’re an active mobile user, I recommend checking out our top VPN picks for Android and iOS devices in 2024 since this VPN’s apps are quite lacking.

All apps have a “Connect on Launch” setting, but that’s pretty much it. Overall, ZoogVPN has user-friendly apps (if only because they’re so basic), though the Windows app is a bit buggy.

ZoogVPN Customer Support — Really Good Direct Support (But Outdated Online Guides)

ZoogVPN’s customer support is good — it has live chat, a ticketing system, and email and even phone support, and there are frequently asked questions (FAQs) and setup guides.

When I tested the live chat, it worked really well. The representatives were helpful and responded in under 3 minutes most of the time. The ticketing system and email support were also good, with replies coming in within 10 minutes. However, I had trouble getting through to anyone when I tried the phone support.

The setup guides are easy to follow and include screenshots and the FAQs are decent, but I had to contact customer support to get most of my questions thoroughly answered — the troubleshooting guides aren’t on par with top VPNs like ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN. However, the articles seem outdated in some areas, like there’s still a setup guide for Blackberry (which nearly no one uses anymore), plus the Zoogshadowing information tells you to simply toggle the switch, though no switch exists in the apps anymore.

All in all, ZoogVPN has really good customer support via online contact platforms, but the guides have a lot of room for improvement and require some updates.

Is ZoogVPN Worth Using in 2024?

ZoogVPN is a basic VPN service that is decent for streaming and torrenting, gives users unlimited connections, and is very affordable, but there are far better alternatives on the market like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.

ZoogVPN has dedicated torrenting servers in 30+ countries that are optimized for fast download speeds, and its specialized streaming servers work with Netflix and other popular streaming services like Disney+ and BBC iPlayer.

While it comes equipped with essential VPN security features like AES 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and a no-logs policy, there’s not much else to highlight.

There are no advanced security features like RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy and no extra features like split-tunneling and an ad blocker. Also, ZoogVPN has slow speeds on distant servers, its server network is small, and it only covers its premium plans with a meager 7-day money-back guarantee (and it’s nullified if you exceed 10 GB of data).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ZoogVPN safe?

Yes, as ZoogVPN includes industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch, secure protocols, and a strict no-logs policy. However, ZoogVPN only protects your data with the bare essential features.

My top choice for an airtight online experience is ExpressVPN, which has the best security features in the industry, including RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, full leak protection, and an audited no-logs policy.

Does ZoogVPN have browser extensions?

Yes, ZoogVPN has a browser extension for Chrome, but not any other browsers. It works the same as its apps and is user-friendly. You can use it for free or log in with a paid account to access all of its server locations.

Still, I recommend ExpressVPN for the best browser extensions on the market.

Is ZoogVPN free?

Yes, ZoogVPN offers a decent free plan — it allows access to servers in 3 locations and has some streaming and torrenting support, but it caps your data at 10 GB per month and only allows 1 connection. If you’re only in the market for a free VPN, check out Proton VPN, which allows unlimited data and comes with some of the best security features out there.

Does ZoogVPN work with Netflix?

Yes, ZoogVPN consistently works with Netflix. That being said, if you need a high-quality VPN for streaming Netflix, go with ExpressVPN, which has lightning-fast speeds, is compatible with 10+ Netflix libraries, and works with 100+ other streaming apps.

Will ZoogVPN work in China?

Yes, ZoogVPN’s customer support representatives confirmed that the VPN works in China. The reps recommended that users connect to a server in nearby Hong Kong using its ZoogShadowing servers — these servers provide obfuscation and allow users to access the web in China.

However, if you’re looking for the best VPN for China, I strongly recommend ExpressVPN, which has excellent obfuscation across all servers that works in China all of the time, the fastest speeds on the market, and best-in-class security features.