CactusVPN Review in USA [Updated 2024]

CactusVPN is a VPN service based in Moldova. It offers 4 different pricing plans that are relatively expensive. The provider covers 22 countries and has 36 servers in total that don't support streaming & torrenting. The service has earned a 3.0-star rating overall.

CactusVPN-Review-in-USA

CactusVPN is a Moldova-based VPN service that is not as widely known as some of the other brands in the industry but possesses decent security features.

In this CactusVPN review in USA, we evaluated its key features and found it possesses some good qualities. For instance, it offers consumers a safe, dependable connection and has a good logging policy. It claims to work in China and support P2P activities. Moreover, CactusVPN is based outside of the 5 Eyes and has excellent customer support over live chat.

But wait does Cactus VPN work with Netflix Outside USA? Yes, it does! Cactus VPN can unblock Netflix and a number of well-known streaming services in USA. You can download CactusVPN apps on any device using their setup guide tutorials.

However, it has some negatives as well such as the fact that the service does not have a huge server spread like ExpressVPN or NordVPN. Furthermore, the service has to improve its performance in areas like speed for video streaming and torrenting in USA.

Overall, the VPN has earned a rating of 7/10. You can check more best VPN ratings calculated by us in our unbiased VPN reviews.

Our Verdict

Overall Rating :

7 / 10

Ranked #17 out of 56 VPNs

Our Verdict - CactusVPN Review
Cactus VPN Category Ratings
  • 5.8 / 10

  • 7.2 / 10

  • 8.1 / 10

  • 5.9 / 10

  • 6.1 / 10

  • 6.0 / 10

  • 7.8 / 10

  • 7.9 / 10

  • 7.3 / 10

  • 8.2 / 10

Why Should You Trust Us?

We have spent thousands of hours and days testing 160+ VPN services using our carefully curated testing process to recommend you the best VPN. Here are a few statistics:

  • tick_doneTotal Hours of Testing1000+
  • tick_doneWeekly Speed Tests110
  • tick_doneVPN Services Reviewed160+
  • tick_doneStreaming Platforms Tested Daily50+
  • tick_doneIP & DNS Leak Tests Performed100+
  • tick_doneHow Much we have spent on testing$30,000+


KEY Features – CactusVPN Review in USA

To test CactusVPN features we have used the following criteria:

  1. Pricing – CactusVPN prices start at $3.95/mo.
  2. Servers – Cactus VPN offers 36 servers in 22 countries.
  3. Security – CactusVPN security reviews are quite satisfying as they include strong encryption, a kill switch, a strict no-logs policy, and secure VPN protocols.
  4. Speed – It offers fairly decent speeds on its nearby servers in USA.
  5. Streaming – CactusVPN works with streaming services like Netflix Outside USA.
  6. Torrenting – CactusVPN offers several P2p optimized servers.
  7. Device Compatibility – It offers easy-to-use apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.
  8. Bypassing – Surprisingly, Cactus VPN works in China.
  9. Customer Support – You can reach out to them via email and live chat. Although live chat support is not available 24/7.

Pros
  • Value for money
  • Offers Smart DNS features for unblocking streaming sites
  • Offers P2P support
  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Can make payments via Bitcoin

Cons
  • Small choice of servers
  • Underpowered apps
  • Slow speed on UK servers


Pricing – How Much Does CactusVPN Cost in USA?

CactusVPN offers reasonable price plans for their service in USA, which benefits individuals on a tight budget. There are 4 main plans and several smaller ones with fewer services in USA. Plans with discounts for long-term commitments are offered on a monthly, quarterly, yearly, and two-year basis.

CactusVPN Plans Pricing
1 Month $9.99/mo.
3 Months $23.99/mo.
 1 Year $69.99/mo.
2 Years $94.99/mo.

cactusVPN-pricing-in-USA
The good thing about this service is no matter which bundle you select, you will receive the same benefits. And all of its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

You may buy CactusVPN subscriptions in USA using your standard credit/debit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies, and additional methods including UnionPay, iDEAL, Przelewy24, Boleto Bancario, and WebMoney.

cactusVPN-payment-methods-in-USA

In addition, CactusVPN has an exclusive free trial feature in its armory. The CactusVPN free trial lasts for 3 days and offers all of the app’s functions in their entirety. You can test it free for three days without using providing your credit card information. All you need is a valid email to sign up for CactusVPN free.

Note: It can be difficult to sign up for a free trial because it isn’t included on the landing page; instead, one must search for “CactusVPN free trial” on Google.


CactusVPN – Servers and Locations

CactusVPN offers a small network of 36 VPN servers in 22 countries. It shouldn’t be a problem for most people because the majority of servers are located in the most popular locations. We were able to connect to five of its US servers, and they remained steady while we browsed.

Here you can see it as well:

CactusVPN Server Countries CactusVPN Servers Locations
Australia Sydney
Brazil Franca
Canada Montreal
Japan Nagano
Germany Nuremberg
Netherlands Amsterdam
UK London
US Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City,

Depending on the proximity of these servers, you receive fast, slow, or average speeds.

CactusVPN employs both physical and virtual servers. The VPN provides 7 dedicated P2P servers, but, unfortunately, none are designed for streaming.

cactusVPN-servers-in-USA

Moreover, all of the servers at CactusVPN are outsourced rather than owned. You receive a shared static IP address. This means that other individuals are accessing websites using the same IP address as you, making it impossible for others to trace anyone’s activity.


CactusVPN – Privacy and Security in USA

Is CactusVPN safe to use in USA? Yes, CactusVPN is safe to use VPN service in USA. It is packed with OpenVPN, SSTP, PPTP, IKEv2, and L2TP/IPsec. It is pretty well equipped to deal with hackers, malware, and other internet demons.

For encryption, it uses AES-128, which is an extremely strong standard of encryption that won’t fail you if any tries to break through with brute force or other common hacking techniques.

Jurisdiction – Where is CactusVPN Based?

CactusVPN is based in Moldova which is outside the jurisdiction of any Five Eyes Alliance. This is a good thing because a VPN can go to extreme lengths to protect user information, but it cannot withstand pressure from the government or any other authority to hand over customer data.

Hence, it is better for your VPN to be located in a privacy-friendly country like Moldova, a country far away from the clutches of American and British intelligence agencies.

Additional Security Features

CactusVPN offers a few additional features as an insurance policy for your safety, giving you the peace of mind to surf the web without constantly being on your toes:

CactusVPN App Killer

The CactusVPN app killer (Internet kill switch) is a feature that can be configured to shut down any app of your choice in the event that your VPN connection is lost. This way, your online activities through any apps remain invisible to the outside world even if your VPN session is interrupted.

CactusVPN-App-Killer-in-USA

You can make a list of those apps you want to secure in case the VPN disconnects in USA.

CactusVPN DNS Leak Protection

With CactusVPN, you get DNS leak protection, ensuring that your DNS requests are carried out in a safe way without revealing any details about your identity or the activities you perform online.

CactusVPN Smart DNS Feature

CactusVPN offers a Smart DNS feature to unblock famous streaming services that are only available in certain regions. Connect to multiple devices and enjoy your favorite geo-blocked content anonymously escaping ISP throttling.

cactus-vpn-smartdns-in-USA

You can use the Cactus VPN or Smart DNS feature for unblocking purposes.

Does CactusVPN Keep Logs?

CactusVPN keeps no sensitive logs relating to users. The provider does not collect your IP address, traffic logs, connection timestamps, bandwidth, or session duration.

cactusvpn-logging-policy-in-USA

As such, this is an impressive privacy-affirming policy that every VPN provider should be adhering to at the bare minimum.

Leaks – Does CactusVPN leak IP, DNS, and WebRTC?

There is no denying CactusVPN is a leak-proof service. Testing the VPN for privacy leaks, came completely clear. Here are the results:

IP Leak Test:

Testing the VPN for IP leaks, we found no evidence of any problems here whatsoever:

CactusVPN-IP-Leak-Test-in-USA

DNS Leak Test:

The DNS leak test results were also perfectly fine:

CactusVPN-DNS-Leak-Test-in-USA

WebRTC Leak Test:

CactusVPN takes care of your WebRTC satisfactorily as well:

CactusVPN-WebRTC-Leak-Test-in-USA

Virus Test:

We checked its Android app link from VirusTotal and it was free of any malware:

CactusVPN-Virus-test-in-USA


CactusVPN – Speed and Performance in USA

CactusVPN offers speeds that are on the lower end of the average in USA. In order to offer you a trustworthy impression of how fast is CactusVPN in USA, we evaluate servers in the UK, the USA, and the Netherlands servers for average and maximum speeds.

To test the VPN speed, we used a 35 Mbps base connection to test the speed of the VPN on different servers.

Connected to the US server, we got only 10.97 Mbps in download speed. which isn’t awful but not very fast either:

cactusVPN-us-speed-in-USA

The CactusVPN speed test results on the Netherlands server were slightly better at 11.24 Mbps:

cactusVPN-netherlands-speed-in-USA

Finally, the UK server showed a further decline in speed but by a very small margin:

cactusVPN-uk-speed-in-USA

Our testing shows that CactusVPN speeds are quite respectable. CactusVPN is undoubtedly in the top half of the market with an average download speed of 33 Mbps and a maximum download speed of 200 Mbps.

For those seeking the best fastest VPN, exploring the fastest VPN services in the USA is recommended because of the potential for even faster speeds and enhanced performance


CactusVPN Streaming – Does CactusVPN Work with Netflix Outside USA?

To check CactusVPN Netflix in USA streaming compatibility we connected to CactusVPN US servers

During our CactusVPN review in USA, frankly speaking, CactusVPN failed to work with Netflix when we tried its various servers. Although the service claims to be working with Netflix, it also points out that Netflix is always looking for new ways to block the service, so it won’t always work in USA.

Other Streaming Services in USA

We also tried CactusVPN for unblocking BBC iPlayer in USA. This also failed and we were denied access to streaming our favorite shows on BBC iPlayer.

However, there are a lot of best VPN for streaming that work reliably with every streaming platform.


Torrenting – Does Cactus VPN work with Torrenting in USA?

Yes, CactusVPN supports torrent downloading in USA on 10 of these servers located in the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, and Germany, and only 1 in Asia (Malaysia). So, if you’re looking to download torrents, these are the servers you should use.

cactusvpn-p2p-servers-in-USA

Connect to any of these CactusVPN P2p servers to secure your torrenting activity.

Most of its torrenting servers are located in Europe, so if you are located somewhere far away, you can experience lag and connection instability. You can find the servers overcrowded because there are so few of them. However, when we connected to their P2P server in the Netherlands, we were pleased by how quickly CactusVPN torrents such big files.

CactusVPN’s torrent-friendly features like a kill switch, no-logs policy, and DNS leak protection will help you download files anonymously. However, you must configure the DNS leak protection option before torrenting. That ought to be turned on by default!

You can also check out other Best VPN for torrenting if you want more P2p server options and best VPN with DNS leak protection in USA.


Compatibility – How Much Compatible CactusVPN is in USA?

CactusVPN is compatible with major used devices in USA. It offers dedicated apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV, and Firestick/Fire TV. You can have a CactusVPN browser VPN downloaded on your chrome & Firefox easily.CactusVPN-Compatible-Devices-in-USA

 

CactusVPN App for Windows & macOS

The CactusVPN desktop apps for Windows and macOS are the same in terms of interface as well as features. In both apps, you can connect to your preferred server location from the “VPN Service” tab and access the settings, app killer, and smart DNS service through separate tabs for each.

cactusvpn-desktop-and-macos-app-in-USA

The app works quite well and is extremely easy to use.

CactusVPN App for Android & iOS

The Android app has a slightly different interface, streamlined for mobiles. You can choose a location from the main screen and change protocols between OpenVPN UDP and OpenVPN TCP from the settings. You can also set it to reconnect automatically in case the connection is dropped. It lacks the Kill Switch feature which the desktop apps are equipped with. Overall, the app is visually appealing and functions smoothly. As for ratings, CactusVPN has a 4.2-star rating on Google Play Store.

cactusvpn-app-for-android-and-ios-in-USA

The iPhone/iPad apps of CactusVPN are very similar to the Android version of the VPN. It offers the same features and interface and is also the same in what they both do not offer i.e. Kill Switch. The iOS app only supports the IKEv2 protocol, which is a fast and strong protocol.

Overall, It is a well-designed app that is stable and lightweight. As for ratings, CactusVPN has a 4.3-star rating on iTunes Store.


Bypass Censorship – Does CactusVPN Work in China?

Yes, CactusVPN should work in China. Although we haven’t tested its functionality in China. But according to the provider, the SoftEther protocol does work for some Chinese users due to its inherent firewall-bypassing properties. However, there’s no guarantee that this will work considering the increasing sophistication of Chinese internet restrictions.


CactusVPN Customer Support in USA

The customer support of CactusVPN is exceptionally good in USA. It offers comprehensive setup guides related to CactusVPN apps, frequently asked questions (FAQs), a Learning Centre with in-depth articles, live chat, and email assistance.

cactusvpn-customer-support-in-USA

The setup guides explain how to use the apps, VPN, Smart DNS, and proxies of CactusVPN in USA. They offer helpful screenshots and are simple to follow. Everything from account-related queries to problem-solving is covered in the FAQs. In-depth materials are also available in the CactusVPN Learning Center to assist you in understanding VPNs, cyber security, and online privacy.

All of these assistance areas were incredibly helpful to us. Although we hardly needed to get in touch with customer service via live chat or email because we already found out how CactusVPN works from one of their guides.

They have highly responsive live chat support which was responded to in less than 5 seconds when we reached out with a question:

Cactusvpn-customer-support-in-USA

In general, CactusVPN offers excellent customer service. There are numerous helpful manuals, as well as reliable and responsive live chat and email support alternatives. The only drawback is their live chat will not be available to you 24/7.


CactusVPN Alternatives in USA

If you are still unsure if is CactusVPN good for your online privacy, you can search for our best VPN reviews written on different VPN services. These VPN services are:

FAQ – Cactus VPN Review in USA

Yes, CactusVPN access Netflix {intent origin%%tl%in%parent%us%} {region variation%2%}. It uses Smart DNS to unblock streaming platforms that are geo-restricted {intent origin%in%tl%in%parent%us%} {region variation%2%}. Moreover, with the help of CactusVPN’s Smart DNS, you can stream content in HD and without any buffering thanks to its user-friendly interface and quick speeds.

Yes, CactusVPN is quite safe to use in USA. It offers secure protocols, 256-bit AES encryption (the same kind used by banks and the military), and a kill switch to stop data breaches (WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2) to protect your data.

No, CactusVPN will not slow down your speeds in USA. It offers reliable speeds that are great for gaming, streaming, and browsing in USA.


Conclusion – Do We Recommend Cactus VPN?

Yes, we recommend CactusVPN. After finishing this CactusVPN review in USA, we explored that the service possesses all the desired ingredients to become a major player in the online privacy industry.

Is CactusVPN a good VPN in USA? Yes, this VPN service offers a good list of features including App Killer (Internet Kill Switch) and protocols such as SoftEther not offered by most providers. The best part about this VPN is its brilliant customer support.

On the contrary, this VPN fell short on other domains quite considerably in USA. For instance, it has average speed, is unreliable for Netflix streaming, and has a small server spread as well.

Based on the above Cactus VPN reviews in USA, the service has received a 7/10 rating overall.