AzireVPN review

Every VPN provider on the market makes outlandish claims about protecting your privacy and not keeping any logs of your online activity. However, many fail to live up to these claims – often because they are based in a country with less respect for individual privacy, or because they keep logs of your data to share with third parties.

Swedish company Netbouncer AB makes many of the claims we’ve come to expect from the best VPN providers, citing robust protocols that are meant to keep your online activities secure. But can its Azire VPN really live up to the hype?  

Azire VPN: Pricing & plans 

To begin with, AzireVPN doesn’t have a free trial, which is disappointing. However, it does offer 4 different subscription plans (1, 3, 12, or 24-month), with the opportunity to get discounted prices if you opt for a longer plan. It also offers a seven-day money-back guarantee - although one-month subscriptions, Swish payments, cash payments, and cryptocurrency transactions are not eligible for a refund. 

Prices for the different plans are: 

1-month plan: $5.00

3-month option: $12.00 ($4.00 per month)

12-month plan: $45 ($3.75 per month)

24-month plan: $78.00 ($3.25 per month)

Payment options include credit card payments, PayPal, Swish, cryptocurrency, and even cash, which can be mailed to AzireVPN’s Stockholm office.

If you’re looking for a cheaper option, take a look at our guide to find the best free VPN. 

Azire VPN: Privacy & encryption 

The company uses WireGuard, OpenVPN, and the SOCKS5 protocol, along with 256-bit AES encryption, the most secure encryption available. Both OpenVPN and WireGuard are quick and secure, with WireGuard being the fastest option and the industry standard. Although the SOCKS5 proxy protocol is a proxy tunnel without encryption, it is quick and frequently used for navigating around geo-restrictions.

AzireVPN asserts that it adheres to a strict no-logs policy and does not record private information such as your IP address, the websites you visit, or the files you download. They claim to only log your email address and payment information.

Since the host nation of the VPN is a member of the 5/9/14 Eyes, an association of nations that use digital surveillance to monitor their citizens in order to promote cybersecurity, the VPN is quite transparent about its privacy policies. Keep in mind that, unlike other VPN policies, Aspire VPN has not had an independent VPN audit. This means it’s not possible to verify their claims.

To reassure customers that no search queries or seizures have occurred at the company's location, Azire VPN regularly publishes a warrant canary. They even go as far as publishing the complete company address and even extend an invitation to stop by for coffee in their headquarters to demonstrate how seriously committed they are to transparency.

To support their no-log policy claims, the VPN also provides a function known as "blind operator mode," an open-source rootkit that stops your data from leaving protocols, disables the display of endpoints, and permits IP fields from WireGuard. However, it also lacks useful features such as a VPN kill switch, which would monitor the VPN server connection and disconnect the device automatically if the connection is lost. This means you do run the risk of having your IP address revealed.

One excellent feature that does gives Azire VPN a slight edge over other VPNs in terms of security and privacy is that they do not depend on virtual servers or server farms.

Finally, all of Azire VPN's servers support P2P file sharing, but none are specifically tailored for torrenting. Remember that it is unlawful to download copyrighted files, and we don’t support using VPNs for unlawful behavior.

Azire VPN: Streaming 

We put the Azire VPN to the test and discovered that it could unblock a few well-known streaming services. With some of the servers and the WireGuard protocol, we were able to unblock Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime, but that was the extent of its effectiveness. Regardless of how many servers we tried, we were unable to unblock Hulu, we also couldn't unblock HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, or BBC iPlayer. This means that those specifically looking for a Netflix VPN or general streaming VPN may prefer to try a different tool.  

Azire VPN: Speed & experience 

When using a VPN for torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be similar to your regular internet speed as this will determine how quickly content uploads. 

We put Azire VPN to the speed test, firstly trying a server in Spain. The connection was 70Mbps, and it gave us a download speed of 9.68Mbps – expected speeds considering that the server was far away from our physical location. Similarly, a Dutch server gave us a download speed of 4.52Mbps. Overall, we observed that the speed on local servers was good while the speed on distant servers was lower. 

Azire VPN: Customer support 

The website states that email is the only way to contact the support team and that you can only expect a response from them between the hours of 8:00 am and 9:00 pm universal time. On the website's support section, there are clear installation instructions, however, you won't find popular features such as live chat or phone support. 

Azire VPN: Apps 

AzireVPN has apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The software can be downloaded from the website or Google Play, and installation is a quick process.

Although the desktop applications are fairly simple and easy to use, they lack important features like a kill switch that other top VPNs have. The mobile VPN apps are similar to their desktop counterparts, but some of the features have been stripped out. 

Azire VPN: Alternatives 

Proton VPN

Proton VPN is one of the best VPN services currently available. It's a fantastic option for streaming because even the free version can access geo-restricted streaming services. It is also a great choice for torrenting and has excellent security features to give you the privacy you deserve.

Read our full Proton VPN review

Hide.me

Hide.me is one of the leading VPNs on the market. It offers great speed, can unblock virtually anything, and has a variety of unique and cutting-edge features for its customers.

Read our full Hide.me review

Nord VPN

If you're trying to find a VPN service that provides privacy, security, and speed, pick NordVPN. It provides military-grade online security and permits unrestricted access to your preferred websites (Netflix and all the major streaming platforms). It also does not keep any records of your activities and permits six simultaneous device connections due to its strict no-log policy.

Read our full NordVPN review

ExpressVPN

You must be familiar with this VPN if you haven't been living under a rock. It is based in China – a  privacy-friendly jurisdiction – has 3000 servers, is safe, doesn't log anything, unblocks streaming websites, allows connections from five devices at once, and has blazing-fast speed. It will also keep your data safe and secure.

Read our full ExpressVPN review 

Verdict

AzireVPN is a very transparent platform with many good features. It is suitable for torrenting and unblocking some streaming services. However, it doesn’t work in China, lacks a kill switch option, and hasn't requested an independent auditor to examine its servers. Choosing a VPN is dependent on your specific requirements, so if this VPN meets your requirements, go for it.