| Based in | US [UNSAFE] |
| Price | $3.99/mo |
| Servers | 250+ (43 Countries) |
| Logs | No Logs |
| Multi Login | 6 Devices |
| Refund | 30 Days |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Website | SwitchVPN.net |
As per this SwitchVPN Review in Japan, it might not be all as popular as some of the other VPN covered in our unbiased reviews. However, it’s one service definitely worth checking out in Japan. Although not as affordable as ExpressVPN or Surfshark, it still offers good value for money in Japan.
For starters, SwitchVPN offers a decent server network with 250+ servers in some 30+ locations. It also works with Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services in Japan. I also loved the fact that SwitchVPN worked with torrenting in Japan, offered remarkably fast speeds, and I managed to use a single account on 6 devices simultaneously.
As for security, SwitchVPN is leak-proof, supports OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, SSTP, and offers a legit no logs policy. Despite being headquartered in the US, SwitchVPN stores absolutely no logs. It stores no connection logs, usage logs, and even no bandwidth logs. Overall, I’ve given it a 3.0-star rating in this SwitchVPN review in Japan.
If it only offered a larger server network, was slightly cheaper, or was not headquartered in the United States, I would have given it an even better rating.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: My Rating Criteria
To thoroughly test SwitchVPN in Japan for pros and cons, I used my 9 step rating criteria:
- Jurisdiction – Where is SwitchVPN located?
- Security – Does SwitchVPN keep logs in Japan?
- Leaks – Does SwitchVPN leak IP, DNS, WebRTC in Japan?
- Servers – Is SwitchVPN P2P compatible in Japan?
- Speed – How fast is SwitchVPN in Japan?
- Streaming – Does SwitchVPN work with Netflix in Japan?
- Compatibility – Which devices can I use SwitchVPN with in Japan?
- Pricing – How much does SwitchVPN cost in Japan?
- Trustworthiness – Is SwitchVPN trustworthy in Japan?
Jurisdiction – Where is SwitchVPN located?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, SwitchVPN is headquartered in the US. It used to be in India; however, it moved to the US sometime in 2015. This should be concerning for anyone worried about logs and surveillance. I say this because the US falls under the surveillance jurisdiction of the infamous 5 Eyes.
This is not ideal for any VPN company since it means that SwitchVPN would legally have to comply with the authorities for any request to obtain customer logs. However, this shouldn’t be an issue if the provider doesn’t keep any logs in the first place. We’ll look at SwitchVPN’s logging policy a bit later on in this review.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Security – Does SwitchVPN keep logs?
As far as their logging policy goes, they do not keep logs of any kind in Japan. This is seriously impressive. If you go through SwitchVPN’s privacy policy, you’ll see that they clearly mention that they don’t collect the following:
Company does not collect or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network (“VPN”) service or Proxy
They do collect such information. However, nothing that can compromise your privacy. For instance, they collect email addresses, payment data, and some Google Analytics data, and that’s about it. Overall, SwitchVPN is a legit no-log VPN service.
Encryption & Other Features
For starters, I love the fact that SwitchVPN offers PPTP, L2TP -IPSec, and OpenVPN with 256-bit SSL encryption. This is all industry standard and capable enough to offer rock-solid privacy. What’s also unique about SwitchVPN is that it offers options to enable HTTP and SOCKS5 and even a few extra features like a virtual firewall and an internal DNS system. Oh, and did I mention that it comes with a built-in Kill switch. Overall, SwitchVPN comes with a bunch of awesome features.
To prevent your IP and DNS from leaking during connection drops, SwitchVPN offers an automatic Kill Switch and proprietary DNS servers to anonymize all your DNS queries. Overall it works great. But we’ll talk more about leaks a bit later on.
SwitchVPN also supports port forwarding to improve your torrent downloading performance greatly. With Port forwarding enabled, you can download any files without compromising on speeds.
If you want to learn more about VPNs that support port forwarding check out our article on “Best VPNs for Port Forwarding in Japan”.
Leaks – Does SwitchVPN leak IP, DNS, WebRTC in Japan?
One thing I really love about SwitchVPN is the fact that it is completely leakproof. As I mentioned earlier, SwitchVPN managed not to leak my IP, DNS, and WebRTC data online in Japan. Here are the screenshots of the test results:
IP Leak Test:
First, I tested for IP leaks in Japan while connected to a Canadian server. As you can see from the screenshot below, only a Canadian IP is displayed, and my original IP address is nowhere to be seen.
DNS Leak Test:
Next, I checked for DNS leaks in Japan with the Canadian server location. Since SwitchVPN comes with an internal DNS system, it shows no sign of DNS leaks. Just check out the screenshot below.
WebRTC Leak Test:
I also checked for WebRTC leak in Japan, and again, SwitchVPN passed the test without any trouble at all. Even after conducting multiple tests, SwitchVPN showed no sign of a leak.
Virus Test:
Last but not least, I ran SwitchVPN’s Windows app through Virustotal.com and did not find any hidden virus at all. So overall, SwitchVPN is pretty secure in Japan.
Servers – Is SwitchVPN P2P compatible In Japan?
Although SwitchVPN only offers 250+ servers in some 30+ locations, the good thing is that it does support P2P and torrenting in Japan. However, despite offering optimized servers for P2P, you do have to keep in mind that SwitchVPN is US-based, where torrenting is generally frowned upon.
Also, SwitchVPN’s DMCA policy clearly states that the company isn’t going to be liable if you get into trouble downloading torrents. You can select servers from Switzerland, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Russia, and many other locations.
Does SwitchVPN Work in China?
Surprisingly yes, SwitchVPN does work in China. Although connectivity can be a bit spotty, however, it does work in China. In fact, it even offers an SSTP protocol which is perfect for countries that block VPNs. Overall, it’s pretty impressive to see SwitchVPN working in China.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Speed – How fast is SwitchVPN?
Interestingly, SwitchVPN does offer impressive connection speeds in Japan. While connected to its US servers through my 35 Mbps internet connection, I still managed to get pretty impressive speeds. First, here’s a screenshot of my default internet speeds without SwitchVPN connected in Japan:
Our Speed test result in Japan without connecting to SwitchVPN.
US Server:
With the US server, I managed to get slightly better speeds. On average, the US servers managed to output 31 Mbps download speed which was quite impressive.
We got impressive speeds in Japan even after connecting to Switch VPNs US server.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Streaming – Does SwitchVPN work with Netflix?
Despite offering some 250 servers, SwitchVPN still works with Netflix in Japan. Considering that most VPNs nowadays get easily blocked by Netflix, it’s more than impressive to see SwitchVPN working with Netflix US. As for performance, I tried streaming a bunch of shows in Japan and didn’t encounter any issues at all.
SwitchVPN allowed us to access Netflix US in Japan on its New York servers.
Other Streaming Services that work with SwitchVPN
Aside from Netflix, SwitchVPN also managed to unblock Hulu in Japan. Although I encountered a few connectivity issues, I did manage to stream pretty much every show on Hulu without a lot of effort.
SwitchVPN also managed to unblock Hulu in Japan on its US server.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Compatibility – Which devices can I use SwitchVPN with?
As for compatibility, SwitchVPN offers apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems in Japan. If we talk about user experience, I personally played around with all of its apps and found them to be pretty well designed. Although most people would be good with just these apps, you do have to keep in mind that other VPNs like Surfshark offer Linux and even routers apps.
SwitchVPN Windows App
Unlike a lot of VPNs, SwitchVPN actually offers a pretty well-designed Windows app in Japan. The user interface looks great, and the app is dead easy to use. You get an easy one-click connectivity option, and the server selection process is also straightforward and clutter-free. I also love the fact that everything is super simple to find. All of its options are in plain sight, which every newbie can appreciate.
SwitchVPN Mac App
In addition to the Windows app in Japan, SwitchVPN also offers a dedicated app for Macs as well. Like the Windows app, the Mac app is also modern-looking and boasts the same features and options. Now I’m not going to bore you with a bunch of screenshots here. All I can say is that I love the Mac app of SwitchVPN.
SwitchVPN Android App
SwitchVPN also offers an app for the Android OS in Japan. The app looks very minimalistic, with many features from its desktop app missing in the mobile version. As for user experience, its Android app is superfluid and rarely ever lags. Best of all, selecting and connecting to servers is a seamless experience. As for the Playstore rating, SwitchVPN has a 3.3-star rating. Overall, highly impressed by its Android app.
SwitchVPN iOS App
The iOS app of SwitchVPN also looks quite minimalistic. Everything is again effortless to find and use. One-click connectivity and server selection make its iOS app an absolute breeze to use. As for the iTunes rating, SwitchVPN has a 2.8-star rating. All in all, if you’re new to VPNs, you’re going to love the iOS app of SwitchVPN.
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Pricing – How much does SwitchVPN cost?
Overall, SwitchVPN is pretty great. However, it is not the most affordable VPN out there in. Japan After all, when it’s the most affordable plan from $3.99/mo, it is slightly more expensive than Surfshark. Currently, they have two major packages, premium, and families. These plans are further divided into monthly and yearly pricing plans. Here’s how much each plan costs:
Similarly, they offer yearly packages which cost:
Although being slightly expensive, SwitchVPN provides 3 multi-logins for the premium package and 6 multi-logins for the family package. In addition, all SwitchVPN subscription plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee in Japan. It also offers a 3 day paid trial that you can avail of at the cost of $1. On the payment front, SwitchVPN accepts PayPal, AliPay, BitCoin, and Credit Cards.
Trustworthiness – Is SwitchVPN trustworthy In Japan?
Overall in SwitchVPN Review, yes, SwitchVPN is pretty trustworthy in Japan. I say this because they legitimately don’t keep logs. As for Trustpilot reviews, SwitchVPN has pretty neutral reviews. With a 3.1/5.0 star Trustpilot score, SwitchVPN has 25% Excellent reviews and 25% Bad reviews.
Customer Support
On the support front, correctly, SwitchVPN is pretty good. In fact, they offer way too many options to help you resolve any issues with their service. You can either contact them or get help through the following:
- Live Chat
- Help Center
- Contact Us
- Customer Login
- Troubleshooting
- Installation Guides
Comparison between ExpressVPN and SwitchVPN In Japan
Although I really like SwitchVPN, if you want to try out something else, you might want to check out this short comparison between ExpressVPN and SwitchVPN in Japan.
| Features | ExpressVPN | SwitchVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | JPY1046.07/mo (US$ 6.67/mo) - Save up to 49% with exclusive 1-year plans + 3 months free | $3.99/mo |
| Servers | 3000+ in 94 Countries | 250+ in 43 Countries |
| Compatibility | All Devices | Windows, Mac, Android & iOS |
| Jurisdiction | The British Virgin Islands | India |
| Logging Policy | Zero Logs | No Logs |
| Customer Support | Live Chat & Email Support | FAQs, Live Chat & Email |
| Trust Pilot Score | 4.6 | 3.1 |
| Website | ExpressVPN | SwitchVPN |
Alternatives to SwitchVPN in Japan
Not satisfied with the features offered by SwitchVPN? Don’t worry! Try these alternatives for SwitchVPN check out their reviews in Japan that might be helpful:
- FrootVPN review Japan
- WiTopia VPN review Japan
- SpyOFF review Japan
- ZenVPN review Japan
- VPN One Click review Japan
- Norton VPN review Japan
- Perfect Privacy review Japan
- Private Tunnel review Japan
- VPNBook review Japan
SwitchVPN Review In Japan: Do I Recommend SwitchVPN?
Yes, I do recommend SwitchVPN in Japan. And why not? After all, it works with Netflix, and torrenting and offers a lot of security features in Japan as well. I also love the fact that it offers apps that are super easy to use and modern looking. Overall, it is a very underrated VPN service in Japan that most people don’t know about.
That being said, it does have a few issues. For instance, it is headquartered in the US which should be concerning for privacy-conscious folks. In addition, I also wish that it offered more servers to compete with other VPN providers in Japan like ExpressVPN or Surfshark.
Overall, after weighing all the pros and cons in this SwitchVPN review in Japan, I’ve given it a 3.0-star overall rating. If it was a bit cheaper, I would have no issue revising its rating. So, if you want to go for SwitchVPN, that’s well and good, but if you want to try something else, check out our unbiased VPN reviews in Japan.
