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UltraVPN Review (2024 Update): 10 Pros & 3 Cons

By Tibor Moes / January 2024 / Rating 5 of 5

UltraVPN Review (2023 Update): 10 Pros & 3 Cons

UltraVPN Review (2024)

UltraVPN is a fast and affordable VPN with a password manager.

UltraVPN has servers in 85 countries, a clear no-logs policy, works with all streaming services, allows torrenting, and includes a password manager and dark web scanner. And thanks to the Hydra VPN protocol, it’s ultra-fast.

It’s cheaper than NordVPN, which also includes a password manager. But more expensive than CyberGhost, which doesn’t have one. So if you want a fast VPN with a password manager, UltraVPN is an excellent choice.

We highly recommend UltraVPN. 

UltraVPN Pros: 

  • Very Fast. UltraVPN is a high-speed VPN, thanks to Aura’s fast and secure Hydra VPN protocol.
  • Works will all Streaming Servers. UltraVPN works with all streaming services, including Netflix, Disney, Hulu, and more.
  • Allows torrenting. UltraVPN allows torrenting via P2P clients such as BitTorrent and uTorrent.
  • 5 Simultaneous Connections. UltraVPN allows you to protect up to 5 devices at the same time.
  • No-Logs Policy. UltraVPN has a clear no-log policy. It does not track your browsing activities or log your IP address.
  • 830 Servers in 85 Countries. UltraVPN has servers in 85 countries. However, it doesn’t say which of these are virtual servers.
  • Design. UltraVPN’s design is intuitive and straightforward. Even complete beginners will protect their privacy in seconds.
  • Password Manager. UltraVPN includes a free password manager, called PassWatch, that works with iOS, Android, Chrome, and Edge.
  • Dark Web Scanner. UltraVPN also includes a free Dark Web Scanner that can search for your email addresses and passwords.
  • Privacy Features. UltraVPN includes all important privacy features, like a kill switch, split tunneling, malware protection, and leak protection.

UltraVPN Cons:

  • More affordable options. If you don’t need a password manager, there are even more affordable options, like CyberGhost.
  • More advanced options. UltraVPN doesn’t have browser extensions, RAM servers, or Double VPN like NordVPN.
  • Doesn’t work on Linux, Routers, and Smart TVs. UltraVPN only works on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It doesn’t have browser extensions.

UltraVPN’s price varies by region. Click the button to see it in yours.

UltraVPN Specifications
Rating
5.0 ★★★★★
Streaming
Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, HBO, Apple, BBC, and more
Torrenting (P2P)
Allowed
Logging
No Logs
Operating Systems
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
Servers & Countries
830 Servers in 85+ countries
Simultaneous Connections
5
Price for 1 Month
$ 7.99
Price for 1 Year
$ 59.88
Payment Method
Credit Card and Paypal
Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days

Privacy and Security Test

What privacy and security elements do we test for?

We test 7 different elements. Below you can read exactly what each element is, why it is important, and how UltraVPN performs.

  1. Logging Policy
  2. Jurisdiction
  3. Protocol
  4. Encryption
  5. Own DNS Servers
  6. Kill Switch Test
  7. Leak Test

1. Logging Policy

What is UltraVPN’s logging policy like?

UltraVPN has a zero-log policy: It does not log your IP address, browsing history or traffic data.

It only collects the following information to provide you with customer support and to fix technical issues:

  • Account data: Name, email address, and payment information.
  • Usage data: Which UltraVPN apps you use, whether you have created a successful VPN connection, which VPN location you connect to (but not the assigned IP address), and from which country / ISP you connect (but not your source IP address).
  • Diagnostics data: Anonymous crash reports, usability diagnostics, and VPN connection diagnostics.
  • Device hashes: A device hash is a random ID that identifies your device. These are not linked to your online activities or identity. These are used because not all of UltraVPN’s products require an account. And without hashes, it cannot differentiate between the users.

However, it might share your account information with other companies in the Aura Group, which is the owner of UltraVPN. So you might receive some marketing and promotional emails, as described in the privacy policy.

What is a logging policy, and why does it matter?

Logs are the information a VPN provider stores about you and your online activity. In a perfect world, a VPN provider would store no information at all. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

To optimize its service, every VPN provider needs to collect some data. This is done to maintain the best possible server performance and avoid service abuse. The amount of data collected to achieve this goal varies per VPN provider.

There are roughly 4 buckets of information a VPN provider could store on you. Ranging from harmless to harmful, these are:

  • VPN service data: The VPN server you connect to, your operating system, and the app version your use.
  • Connection data: The dates and times you log in and log out, how long you use the service, and how much data you upload and download.
  • Original IP address: The IP address of your device that you use to log in to the VPN service. This can be used to determine your location.
  • Online activity: The websites you visit, searches you perform, and services you use. Basically, your browsing history.

The first two points, service and connection data, are relatively harmless. Especially when they are collected in an anonymous form, where the information of all users is bundled together. That way, the VPN provider can optimize the performance of its service, while the users remain anonymous. Many VPN providers collect some of this data.

The third point, the collection of your original IP address, is not a grave offense, but is not preferred by most users. After all, you use a VPN to be anonymous, and that means that also the VPN provider doesn’t have to know your actual location.

The final point, your online activity, is really the most important matter you should look out for. If a VPN provider collects this information, it is a big red flag.

None of the VPN providers we recommend collect this type of information, but there are several free VPN providers that do. They then go on and sell this information to data collectors. This is why we don’t recommend free VPNs.

Most VPN providers claim to have a zero-log policy. But there is no golden standard to what this actually means. So be careful and read the actual privacy policy yourself or visit a review website before buying.

2. Jurisdiction

What is UltraVPN’s jurisdiction?

In 2020, UltraVPN was sold to Aura.

Aura is registered in the United States under the name “Intersections Inc”. If you are from the United States, Intersections Inc will handle your data.

If you live outside of the United States, your data is handled by Pango GMBH. An affiliated company, registered in Switzerland.

The United States is not a privacy-friendly country. Luckily, Aura has a very clear privacy policy and does not track anything you do online.

What is a jurisdiction, and why does it matter?

A jurisdiction is a country in which a VPN provider is incorporated. As every company has to adhere to the regulations of the state, this matters.

Some countries, such as the USA, Australia, and many members of the EU, have strict data retention lawsThese require internet service providers (ISP‘s) to store data on its users, such as emails sent and websites visited.

By using a VPN, you encrypt the data your send over the network of an ISP. Therefore, it cannot read and collect any information on you. This is one of the core reasons why people use a VPN: To avoid mass surveillance.

Some people fear that VPN providers are also required to collect data on their users due to the data retention laws. However, a VPN is a private network provider and not a public network provider like an ISP. Therefore, it is not bound to the same rules. In short: A VPN does not have to collect any data.

Of course, governmental agencies are highly sophisticated institutions and look for other ways to collect the data they desire. For instance, in the United States, federal agencies can issue secret subpoenas, such as a National Security Letter, allowing them to seize the VPN’s data logs or entire servers.

And these are not paranoid conspiracy theories, but very real scenarios. For instance, in 2013, encrypted email provider Lavabit closed its operations rather than to sell out Edward Snowden to the NSA. And in 2016, Private Internet Access closed its Russian servers, rather than adhering to local data logging rules. So governmental agencies are actively attempting to seize data.

In order to avoid such issues, privacy-sensitive users can do one of two things or both:

  • Choose a VPN provider in a country that has no data retention laws and is not a member of an international intelligence treaty such as the UKUSA agreement. Basically meaning: Go off-shore. For instance, NordVPN is incorporated in Panama, and ExpressVPN is incorporated in the BVI.
  • Choose a VPN provider that has a zero-log policy and does not store your online activity, such as the websites you visit, services you use or searches you make. After all, what it doesn’t have, it cannot hand over.

3. Protocol

What protocols does UltraVPN use?

UltraVPN gives you the options of IKEv2 and Aura’s proprietary encryption protocol Hydra VPN (formerly called Catapult Hydra).

Although Hydra VPN is not open source like OpenVPN, it is inspected by a lot of 3rd party security companies such as Bitdefender, Panda, and Kaspersky.

This is because Hotspot Shield, the sister company of UltraVPN, is the provider of VPN technology to those companies. So if you use Bitdefender’s VPN, you’ll be using the same VPN protocol.

What is a protocol, and why does it matter?

A VPN protocol defines how data is formatted and transmitted over a network, such as the internet or a local area network (LAN).

There are several protocols with varying degrees of speed and security. Generally speaking, OpenVPN is considered the most secure, ahead of SSTPL2TPIKEv2, and PPTP.

4. Encryption

What encryption standard does UltraVPN use?

UltraVPN uses the most secure encryption standard: AES-256.

What is encryption, and why does it matter?

Encryption means the transformation of readable information, into unreadable gibberish. This encryption is done using an encryption key, and only the parties with access to the key can decipher and read the information. 

The gold standard is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Within the VPN industry, it generally is used with two key lengths: AES-128 and AES-256. Although AES-128 is already considered unbreakable, AES-256 is even more secure.

5. Own DNS Servers

Does UltraVPN use its own DNS servers?

Yes, UltraVPN uses its own DNS servers.

What are DNS servers, and why does it matter?

When you visit a website such as Facebook.com, you actually visit a long string of numbers, called an IP address. As these numbers are too complex for us humans to remember, we have invented domain names (for instance, “Facebook.com”). 

A DNS-server is like the telephone operator of the internet. It stores a vast number of domain names with their corresponding IP addresses. And when you type in the website you want to visit, it gets you to the right IP address. 

When a VPN provider uses its own DNS servers, this process is encrypted in the same VPN-tunnel as the rest of your online activities. This means it cannot be logged by third parties or intercepted and censored by governments and organizations.

6. Kill Switch Test

Does UltraVPN use a kill switch?

Yes, UltraVPN uses a kill switch.

What is a kill switch, and why does it matter?

A kill switch issafety feature that automatically stops your internet connection if the secure VPN connection is not active. This is an important feature, as it keeps your online activity hidden if your VPN connection fails for some reason.

7. Leak Test

Does UltraVPN leak your data?

No, UltraVPN does not leak any of your data.

What is a “leak,” and why does it matter?

A leak happens when a VPN allows part of your data to be visible even though your VPN connection is active. The most common leaks are DNS leaks, IP Leaks, WebRTC Leaks, and the Windows Credential Leak

Speed Test

How did UltraVPN score in the speed test?

We tested from Europe on a base connection of 90 – 100 Mbps.

Our local speed tests showed some very interesting results. To begin with, local connections to UltraVPN network servers resulted in a 4Mbps drop from 96Mbps to 92Mbps. At the same time, we noticed a slight increase in ping, albeit not high enough to notice, even when playing competitive online games.

Global speed test results for UltraVPN put the app in a good light. From an average of 96Mbps, we only went down to 72Mbps, which may indicate that UltraVPN handles long-distance connections much better than other VPN services.

What is a speed test, and why does it matter?

VPN connections slow you down online. There is no denying it. It’s simply the price you pay for encrypting your data and routing it through a VPN server.

This can impact the time it takes to download files, the quality you can stream YouTube and Netflix on, and how fast webpages load.

Luckily, there are a few things you can do to improve your speed:

  • Buy a fast VPN. There are big speed differences between the VPN providers. For instance, Hotspot Shield is lightning fast and has almost no negative speed impact, while Tunnelbear is terribly slow.
  • Select a VPN close to you. Nearly every VPN allows you to choose your server location. The closer the VPN is to you, the less distance your data has to travel. This is good for your download speed and your latency.
  • Test a few servers. Don’t just accept the automatic server the VPN provider assigns to you. More often than not, this is not the fastest option. Instead, connect to a few servers, run a speed few tests, and select the fastest server. This can make a big difference.

 

Features Test

What features do we test for?

We test 5 different elements. Below you can read exactly what each element is, why it is important, and how UltraVPN performs.

  1. Server Locations
  2. Platform and Devices
  3. Number of Connections
  4. Streaming and Torrenting
  5. Bypassing Censorship

1. Server Locations

Where are UltraVPN’s servers located?

UltraVPN offers 500+ servers in 114 locations in 81 countries around the world. With a spread between North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, most users will find a server nearby.

However, UltraVPN does not specify which servers were physically located within the country and which were virtual servers (servers that give you a local IP address while the server is located elsewhere).

What is a server location, and why does it matter?

By server locations, we mean the countries you can connect to through your VPN. Most VPN providers have servers in about 30 countries around the world. Some offer you the ability to select a server on a country level, whereas others go one step further and allow you to select a server on a city level. For instance, New York or Los Angeles within the United States.

This matters because your data needs to travel from your device to the VPN server before you can connect to the internet. So if you are based out of France, but connect to a server in Australia, this will slow you down quite a bit. By having multiple server locations, nearly all users can find one that is located relatively close by.

2. Platforms and Devices

What platforms and devices does UltraVPN support?

UltraVPN offers apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It does not support Linux and doesn’t offer any browser extensions.

What are platforms and devices, and why do they matter?

Platforms are operating software, browsers and devices the VPN provider offers apps for. For instance, while most VPN providers offer apps for Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS, few also include Linux. Some go one step further and support the direct installation onto your router and offer browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

When it comes to browser extensions, you should check whether the extensions work as a proxy server, a proxy server with encryption, or a full VPN, as the difference is important:

  • A proxy server: If your VPN browser extension works as a proxy, your IP address is masked. This means that the websites you visit will think you’re located in the country of your VPN server. This can be handy in unlocking American series on Netflix, for instance. However, your data is not encrypted and is still vulnerable to data collection by ISPs and hackers.
  • A proxy server with encryption: If the browser extension adds encryption, the data you send through your browser is fully encrypted. This makes it unreadable to ISPs and hackers. However, the rest of your online activities, like streaming apps such as Spotify, remain unencrypted.
  • If your VPN browser extension controls the VPN app entirely, all your online activities are encrypted in the VPN tunnel, and your IP address is masked. This allows you to change VPN settings without ever leaving your browser.

3. Number of Connections

How many simultaneous connections does UltraVPN support?

UltraVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections.

What are connections, and why do they matter?

The number of connections indicates how many devices you can simultaneously protect on your VPN subscription. For most users, 3 connections are more than enough as it allows them to protect their phone, laptop, and potentially a tablet. However, if you would like to share the VPN with a friend or family member, having more connections could help.

4. Streaming and Torrenting

Does UltraVPN support streaming and torrenting?

UltraVPN is a perfect VPN for streaming. It works will all major streaming platforms, including Netflix (in many countries), Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, and Apple TV.

On top of that, UltraVPN allows you to download torrents via torrent clients such as BitTorrent and uTorrent.

What is streaming and torrenting, and why do they matter?

If you are not from the USA but want to see American Netflix series, a VPN can help. By logging into an American VPN server, and then accessing Netflix, it will show you all the local movies and series. This is also practical for Americans that are traveling abroad.

Another advantage of a VPN is to download torrents safely. Because your connection is fully encrypted, your ISP cannot see what you are doing online and cannot punish you for using P2P services.

5. Bypassing Censorship

Does UltraVPN bypass censorship successfully?

UltraVPN sometimes works in China. Unlike most VPN services, it can bypass the great firewall of China. Sadly, however, it isn’t very consistent.

What is censorship, and why do they matter?

It is easy to forget when you live in a Western country, but there are still a surprisingly large amount of countries that censor the internet. The most high profile of which is the great firewall of China

A VPN is a great way to circumvent censorship, but not every VPN provider works in every country. As China has very strict regulations and affects most people, we use it as a test case to see whether VPN providers can avoid censorship.

If you would like to learn more about online censorship, we recommend these sources:

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the most frequently asked questions about UltraVPN.

What is UltraVPN?

UltraVPN is an affordable VPN service with a password manager. It helps users restore their online privacy with easy-to-use and beautifully-designed apps.

Is UltraVPN free?

UltraVPN is not for free. It is a paid VPN service that starts at $ 2.99 per month if you sign-up for a two-year contract.

Is UltraVPN safe?

UltraVPN is very safe. It uses excellent privacy technology, like AES-256 encryption, the Hydra VPN protocol, and a kill switch.

Author: Tibor Moes

Author: Tibor Moes

Founder & Chief Editor at SoftwareLab

Tibor has tested 39 antivirus programs and 30 VPN services, and holds a Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate from Stanford University.

He uses Norton to protect his devices, CyberGhost for his privacy, and Dashlane for his passwords.

You can find him on LinkedIn or contact him here.