Astrill VPN Review New Zealand [Updated for 2024]

Astrill VPN is a well-known choice for people in China, but it’s also one of the priciest options and doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee. Luckily, you can take advantage of the Astrill Black Friday deal (83% off).

Is Astrill the right VPN for China, and should you consider it if you live elsewhere? After testing it, I found that while it’s great for China, it struggles in other areas. The VPN has slow speeds and clunky apps with connection issues. The mobile versions lack many features, and it’s not ideal for torrenting or gaming.

If you’re not in China, I suggest you check out my list of best VPN Services available today.

Pricing New Zealand — Rating: 5.5/10

Astrill VPN has one of the most costly pricing plans for its users . Like any other VPN service, the service comes with three packages that include all the features except a refund policy or money-back guarantee. Although there are certain perks available only to VIP users.

The Astrill VPN price packages look something like this:

Apart from these pricing plans, you can avail of other services in the form of dedicated IP, VIP add-on, and Astrill VPN router too .

You can get the above-described services at the cost of:

• Dedicated IP – $5.00/month
• VIP Add-on – $10.00/month

Payment Methods

Currently, Astrill VPN delivers a comprehensive list of online payment options including:

• PayPal
• Bitcoin
• UnionPay
• American Express
• Maestro
• VISA
• Master Card
• Perfect Money

Astrill also offers a free trial for 7-days. You can simply sign up for the account and use the Asrtrill free trial for 7 days without paying a single penny.

Servers New Zealand — Rating: 8.5/10

Astrill provides servers in 112 cities across 57 countries to its users . Its servers are all-physical and diverse. Mostly they cover all the continents with servers specifically in Asian countries. In one way, it helps resolve any congestion issues Asians may face.

Currently, Astrill offers servers in 5 countries of the Americas, 36 countries in Europe, 11 countries in the Asia Pacific, and 6 countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Although the Astrill VPN server list is small in number and pales in comparison to other providers, Astrill promises better performance due to its reliance on dedicated VPN services .

Security — Rating: 9.5/10

In terms of security features, Astrill VPN has quite an impressive set which makes it completely safe and secure. It is easy to see why:

There are many tunneling protocols that you can use which include OpenWeb, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, WireGuard, OpenConnect IPSec, StealthVPN, SSTP, Cisco, and IKEv2/IPSec.

Astrill VPN uses AES 256-bit encryption to make sure your traffic and internet connections are safe. Good protocol support compiled with advanced 256-bit strong encryption means you are 100% safe from the potential threats of the cyber industry.

Additional Security Features New Zealand

Other than the core security features, Astrill also offers the following:

Astrill VPN Kill Switch Feature

Astrill VPN offers other essential privacy benefits such as Kill Switch . When you lose your VPN connection, your IP address is at risk of being exposed to your local ISP.

To prevent this from happening, Astrill provides a Kill Switch feature. This feature kills your internet whenever you lose your VPN connection. To toggle this feature, go to the privacy option in the settings tab.

Astrill VPN Private IP

The standard Astrill plan offers shared IP addresses to users. However, you can get dedicated (Private) IPs as well if you want your VPN sessions to run through a single IP that belongs entirely to you. The Private IP extra feature will cost you an additional $5/month.

Astrill VIP Add-on

This add-on offers faster speed and lower latency, especially for gaming users situated in Asia. In addition, it offers additional anonymizing features such as multi-hop.

This feature is quite expensive, however, costing an additional $10/month.

Does Astrill VPN Keep Logs New Zealand?

Astrill has a fairly strong logging policy. For instance, they store connection time, IP address, and device type for the duration of your VPN session. However, this information is deleted permanently as soon as you disconnect from the VPN, so the company doesn’t retain any sensitive information about you.

This makes Astrill a secure VPN that you can rely on for your privacy protection. You can learn more about the logging policies of different VPNs through the one-detailed guide.

IP Leak Test:

The VPN was easily able to pass the IP leak test.

DNS Leak Test:

Astrill VPN had no trouble with the DNS leak test either.

WebRTC Leak Test:

The WebRTC test results also came clear for Astrill.

Virus Test:

I tested its Windows setup file to check if it exposed some viruses or not. Luckily, the app does not contain any malware.

These results show that Astrill has good leak protection in place.

Speeds New Zealand — Rating: 8.0/10

Astrill VPN is considerably fast with excellent speeds across its network, according to our VPN Astrill review research. To check how fast it is, I performed the Astrill VPN speed test using a 30 Mbps internet connection. Here are the results:

First up is a US server which gave a pretty good speed. I receive a download speed of 20.53 Mbps and an upload speed 0f 18.45 Mbps along with 57 ms pings.

The UK server also delivered decent speeds, though it dropped somewhat in relation to the US server. I received a download speed of 18.74 Mbps and an upload speed of 13.21 Mbps along with 79 ms pings.

I also tested a German server. This was the slowest of all the ones tested, but still not bad considering how a lot of VPNs are unable to reach this mark. I received a download speed of 16.86 Mbps and an upload speed of 14.21 Mbps along with 72 ms pings.

Therefore, Astrill VPN is a reasonably fast service. Based on our experience, you’ll not face any issues performing your day-to-day tasks using Astrill VPN’s services. Best of all, its long-distance connection works quite well. However, there’s a possibility you may face issues with its short-distance connections as it provides high pings, therefore reducing the speeds.

As a result, Astrill VPN may not prove itself effective for gaming purposes.

Streaming New Zealand – Rating: 4.5/10

Astrill VPN works fine with Netflix on specific servers. Since Netflix has been cracking down on VPN providers to prevent users from violating geo-restrictions, many servers that were functional before are no longer effective for Netflix.

You can connect to its US – Dallas 1 server to unblock the US Netflix media library anonymously. Other servers such as US Chicago also work well for this purpose:

Other Streaming Services

I also tested it for BBC iPlayer and the provider managed to unblock it on its UK-Manchester servers:

Apart from unblocking Netflix US, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer, Astrill VPN isn’t effective in bypassing geo-restrictions of other streaming services. That’s why it’s smart enough not to brand itself as a streaming VPN.

Torrenting New Zealand

Astrill works with P2P and torrents on specific servers. Every Astrill VPN P2P server is marked with a golden star symbol next to them. If you want to connect to torrent websites and download P2P files, you must be connected to these servers.

As per our experience, Astrill managed to pick up the average bitrate speed and thanks to its P2P-optimized servers, it is a good option for torrenting. You can also make use of the port forwarding feature and security measures which can ensure you download risk-free torrents.

I could download a 2GB file within 15 minutes easily. Although the speed dropped a couple of times, it always rose back within a few seconds which was a huge relief. Most of the VPNs fail to pick up speed or take too much time to download even the smallest files which can be painstaking.

Compatibility – Rating: 7.5/10

Astrill VPN is compatible with Windows, macOS, Android, Linux, iOS, and routers. To our surprise, they also support the TOR browser too.

Installation Apps and Easy to Use

As far as their usability goes, the apps are simple and easy to use. Once you have downloaded the app on your preferred device, you can start using the service in a moment. However, the user interface feels a bit outdated, something that was a part of Windows XP or thereof. I didn’t find it to our liking.

On the other hand, Astrill VPN offers a user interface that only needs your email address and password to log in. After logging in, you may choose your desired protocol, be it OpenVPN or Stealth VPN hassle-free. It doesn’t require a third party client to download the Astrill VPN apps on specific devices either so that’s a huge relief.

Astrill VPN also offers set up tutorials for different operating systems on its website; step-by-step guides and video tutorials as well.

Astrill VPN for Windows

The Windows VPN client appears quite ugly, to be honest. But it is easy enough to use and get going. You can select your preferred server and protocol from the home screen, which makes the app quite convenient for users.

Astrill VPN for macOS

Astrill VPN Mac looks and behaves exactly the same as the Windows app with the same home-screen functionality for server and protocol selection.

Astrill VPN Android App

The Astrill VPN android app is much more appealing than its desktop counterparts. However, its functionalities and behavior remain largely the same with a few differences.

For instance, there’s no built-in kill switch mechanism in the Android Astrill VPN app. Aside from this, there are no drawbacks and the app works flawlessly otherwise.

Astrill VPN iOS App

The Astrill VPN iPhone app has minor stylistic changes as compared to the Android version, but it is pretty much the same other than the design. You can toggle the VPN on and off from the home screen and connect to your desired one from the same as well with a decent connectivity response.

Bypass Censorship New Zealand — Rating: 9.0/10

Astrill VPN is still one of the few VPNs that work in China and other countries with restrictive laws. That’s majorly due to the StealthVPN protocol and Smart Mode feature that have been designed to bypass website blocks and internet shutdowns. The provider offers strong proprietary protocols that obfuscate your VPN traffic, making it undetectable to firewalls.

With Astrill VPN in China, users can hide their IP addresses and can access streaming websites and popular social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. So, if you’re fed up with Chinese censorship, you can count on Astrill VPN to bypass online restrictions in the country.

However, keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to download Astrill VPN in restrictive countries because VPN websites are generally blocked in the country. So, if you’re traveling to such countries, download the VPN on your laptop/devices beforehand.

Customer Support New Zealand — Rating: 8.0/10

Astrill VPN has satisfactory customer service . It offers an extensive FAQ section, a knowledge base, email support, live chat, and set up tutorials as well.

I clicked on the live chat option on its website. I was asked to provide an email address and our question. I typed out a query and within a minute heard back from a representative of Astrill VPN. Given the live chat is active 24/7, the quick reply definitely left an impression in our book.

The customer representative immediately spotted the issue once I described it and lend us a hand in the most polite manner. Regardless of the queries I asked, the representative took his time to explain each and everything. Overall, I had a great experience and chat with Astrill’s customer support.

Do I Recommend Astrill VPN New Zealand?

Yes, I do recommend Astrill VPN after my review. It offers some strong benefits, like a free trial and the ability to work in China. Plus, it easily unblocks Netflix and supports torrenting with good speeds.

However, Astrill VPN has its drawbacks. Many users have reported dissatisfaction, and it has a poor rating on Trustpilot. Additionally, the VPN has a limited server network and is more expensive than other top brands that offer better features and performance. This is why I rated it 3.0/5.0 stars during my Astrill VPN Review New Zealand. While Astrill is decent, it’s not the best option available.

Alternatives to Astrill VPN in New Zealand

If you are not interested in this service, you can read some of the reviews below:

• ProtonVPN review
• SaferVPN review
• Buffered VPN review
• Keezel Review 
• Safeweb VPN Review
• OverPlay review
• ZenVPN review
• Hola VPN review
• Unlocator review
• VPN Gate review
• NordVPN review

FAQs: Astrill VPN Review New Zealand

Final Words