CryptoStorm Review in USA 2023 – Is It Worth The Price?

CryptoStorm is an expensive VPN service accessible at $4.33/month price. It offers servers in different countries that don't support US Netflix. The provider has managed to earn 2.7 stars rating.

CryptoStorm-Review-in-USA

CryptoStorm is an open-source VPN service that follows an innovative token-based approach. Apart from this, the brand has heavily invested in providing various anonymous payment methods to its subscribers.

While comparing this VPN to other VPNs during our CryptoStorm review in USA, we found CryptoStorm quite mediocre. The VPN hails from Canada but also has roots in Iceland. We also found its various attributes like pricing, server network, logging, security, and refund policy not encouraging at all. As a result, we rate this VPN 2.7/5.0 stars.

Above all, the service has not described the exact number of server locations as compared to other VPNs such as ExpressVPN that explain the actual number of servers on their official site. If you wish to discover VPNs other than CryptoStorm, read our VPN reviews 2023 guide.

Our Verdict

Overall Rating :

5.3 / 10

Ranked #50 out of 56 VPNs

CryptoStorm Category Ratings

  • 4 / 10

  • 3 / 10

  • 8 / 10

  • 6 / 10

  • 5 / 10

  • 4.5 / 10

  • 7 / 10

  • 4 / 10

  • 5 / 10

  • 6.5 / 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 Findings — CryptoStorm Review in USA

Here were our key findings through our CryptoStorm review in USA:

  1. Pricing — CryptoStorm pricing plans are a bit expensive.
  2. Server Network — CryptoStorm doesn’t mention the exact number of servers it offers.
  3. Security Protocols and Encryption — CryptoStorm has an impressive set of security features.
  4. Speed — Disappointing speeds. Not worth the money.
  5. Streaming — Can CryptoStorm unblock Netflix?
  6. Compatibility — Works with most devices but requires a third-party client for installation.
  7. Online Censorship — Doesn’t work in China or other countries with restrictive laws.
  8. Customer Support — Unresponsive or takes too much time to get back.
Pros
  • Top-notch security features
  • Multi-hop feature
  • Lifetime subscription

Cons
  • Small network of servers
  • Customer support is non-responsive
  • Unable to unblock Netflix or BBC iPlayer
  • Connection speeds are slow at times
  • Expensive pricing plans

Pricing — How much does CryptoStorm costs in USA?

CryptoStorm VPN follows a relatively expensive pricing tactic in general. The provider delivers four types of pricing plans including free VPN to its users. You can consider these packages in the form of:

CryptoStorm relies on a token-based pricing system which is one of its kind. You buy the tokens to use the VPN and opt for a one-time or recurring subscription.

Payment Methods:

You can subscribe to PayPal at the cost of US$1.86. However, you can use the said account for 7 days only. On the other hand, you can avail of this plan after paying US$52 on yearly basis. This way, you may obtain an exclusive multi-login feature too.

You will have to pay US$6.00 upfront if you want to subscribe to the CCBill package. The same goes for the Bitcoin package as you can get the said plan at the cost of US$6.00.

You can pay US$16 to avail of the subscription to the Altcoin plan valid for two months. In this case, you may secure your two different devices instantly.

cryptostorm-price-payment-plan

CryptoStorm payment and pricing plans, pick which one suits your needs best.

Similarly, you can pay your dues with PayPal, Credit Card, and Bitcoin too. If you want to use an anonymous payment method, you are free to avail yourself of numerous coin payment options.

These are Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Classic, Smart Cash, Beam, Blackcoin, and so on. Likewise, if you review the refund policy of CryptoStorm thoroughly, you would realize that their policy is not conducive to users.

In case you have not used your token’s duration of more than 50%, you are eligible to get a refund. To attain the refund, you will need to send an email to support@cryptostorm.is.

CryptoStorm-Refund-Policy

CryptoFree

CryptoStorm’s free VPN service is called CryptoFree. It offers unlimited bandwidth, however, you’re limited to using only one server in France. It doesn’t include port forwarding or transparent .onion/.i2p access either. Apart from that, you can use it for as long as you want. CryptoStorm claims that compared to the rest of the free VPNs, theirs is completely safe and trustworthy.

However, we decided not to risk our chances by using a free VPN regardless of the assurances presented by the Cryptofree VPN page on Cryptostorm’s website.

Cryptostorm is quite expensive, considering all its packages. For affordable alternatives and awesome discounts, check out our specially curated list of VPN deals right now!

Server Network — How many servers are offered by CryptoStorm in USA?

CryptoStorm VPN doesn’t exactly specify the number of servers on its website. However, you can still check out here, whether your country made the cut or not.

cryptostorm-server-network

CryptoStorm has a global network of servers.

The physical servers are known as bare-metal servers. In addition, the service has not disclosed any information about virtual server locations. Therefore, you have every right to differentiate between these types of servers in detail.

Nonetheless, CryptoStorm has 17 server locations in USA in cities like Charlotte, Dallas, Seattle, New York, and others. Spain, Italy, Germany, and Canada also host more than one server location. The rest of the countries only have one server location.

Based on our CryptoStorm VPN review research, the VPN doesn’t offer any servers in Africa, Oceania, and South America which is unfortunate.

Security Protocols & Encryption — How secure is Cryptostorm in USA?

CryptoStorm is a secure VPN as it offers great security and privacy features. It makes use of OpenVPN and works over an SSL/TLS channel. The VPN also uses ChaCha, an algorithm optimized for mobile devices.

At present, the service only offers a handful of tunneling protocols to its subscribers. They are only providing OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols. Luckily, an OpenVPN protocol uses 256-bit military-grade encryption by default.

cryptostorm-security

CryptoStorm has terrific security features.

On the privacy front, CryptoStorm has to take further steps to sustain its users’ anonymity.

IP Leak:

Here are our IP leak test results:

IP-Leak-CryptoStorm-Test

CryptoStorm passed our IP leak tests.

DNS Leak:

Here are our DNS leak test results:

DNS-Leak-Test-CryptoStorm

CryptoStorm passed our DNS leak test easily.

WebRTC Leak:

Here are our WebRTC leak test results:

WebRTC-Leak-CryptoStorm

CryptoStorm passed our WebRTC leak test with ease.

Virus Test

We ran through its Windows setup file through Virustotal to see if it exposed any virus or malware. To our surprise, it passed the virus detection test with excellence.

Virus-Test-CryptoStorm-VPN

We found no malware in CryptoStorm’s set up file.

Speed — How fast is CryptoStorm in USA?

CryptoStorm VPN does not offer decent connection speeds to its users. We connected to its Denmark server while using a 30 Mbps internet connection. We received a download speed of 13.11 Mbps and an upload speed of 7.79 Mbps upload speed.

Speed-CryptoStorm

The speeds provided by CryptoStorm were highly disappointing.

The above screenshot suggests that there is a decline of 17% in speed and a very high ping rate of 236ms making it very unsuitable for any tasks whatsoever. Unfortunately, at such speeds, it wasn’t possible for us to stream, browse, play games or do anything else. Even if we managed to do so, we only received high pings and buffering which heavily affected our experience.

Streaming — Does CryptoStorm unblock Netflix in USA?

No, Unfortunately, you cannot use CryptoStorm VPN to access in USA Netflix media library from anywhere. For that reason, you will have to choose some other VPNs that unblock Netflix in no time such as a premium VPN like ExpressVPN as it can unblock a huge variety of streaming services including Netflix in USA.

In terms of streaming, CryptoStorm disappointed us as it provided us with insufficient speeds which made it impossible for us to stream a single video without any buffering. Even loading a 1-minute video was hard due to the constant buffering.

Other VOD Streaming Service

Similar to Netflix, CryptoStorm failed to unblock most of the video-on-demand services we tested it with. It didn’t work on Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, or any other streaming service. If you want to stream video this VPN is definitely not the one for you.

bbc-iplayer-geo-restriction-error

If you access BBC iPlayer using CryptoStorm, you’ll receive this geo-restriction error.

Is CryptoStorm good for Torrenting in USA?

No, CryptoStorm isn’t good for torrenting even if all of its servers provide P2P networking and support torrenting. Given the slow speeds provided by CryptoStorm, we’d highly discourage our readers from using this VPN for torrenting.

Although through CryptoStorm’s set of security features, all your torrenting activities will be anonymous. But if you aren’t going to get the end result you want, using this VPN is pointless.

Compatibility — Which devices are compatible with CryptoStorm in USA?

In terms of compatibility, CryptoStorm VPN has ticked all the boxes correctly. The provider supports multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. It is also compatible with routers too. However, there are no browser extensions or apps for smart TVs.

cryptostorm-supported-os

Installation Apps and Easy to Use in USA

To download any of these apps you’ll require a third-party client like OpenVPN which can be a bit of a hassle. Especially if you’re an amateur VPN user. Although you’ll find the user interface of CrytoStorm VPN a bit outdated but supposedly there’s a charm in that. We didn’t find it appealing though.

The app offers four tabs; Startup, Connecting, Security, and Advanced. You can easily maneuver your way and configure the settings as per your requirement.

Here are the set up tutorials for each OS: Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Mac, and routers.

Online Censorship

CryptoStorm is not a suitable VPN for bypassing online censorship placed by the government or ISPs. Sadly, CryptoStorm’s OpenVPN tunnel is not capable of bypassing the Great Firewall of China or other similar countries with restrictive laws. Even the CryptoStorm WireGuard feature does have stealth protocol to avoid DPI.

Given CryptoStorm’s slow speeds, you’re bound to land in hot waters as they are not reliable to keep your identity anonymous. Furthermore, most of its servers are located too far from China to actually work.

Customer Support — Is CryptoStorm Customer Support helpful in USA?

CryptoStorm offers multiple support options. The primary option is contacting its customer support through email. However, we believe waiting for a reply may take forever since CryptoStorm’s customer support is known for being unresponsive. Perhaps, if you’re lucky you may get a reply sooner rather than later but there’s no guarantee.

Another way of contacting CryptoStorm customer support is through its live chat. However, their live chat is hosted by a third party and some people may be a bit hesitant to try it out. We know we sure were. We weren’t even able to get in touch with a representative either which was a bust.

cryptostorm-live-chat

We were not impressed at all with CryptoStorm’s live chat feature.

You may use its Webchat option to solve your queries instantly. Similarly, you can post your problems on its forum as well.

By doing so, you can get the solutions timely. You can approach them on Twitter too. Last but not least, you can overcome your technical issues if you contact them on Github.

cryptostorm-contact-us

Alternatives to CryptoStorm

In case you wish to use a VPN other than CryptoStorm, read the below-mentioned VPN reviews thoroughly.

FAQs — CryptoStorm Review

Yes, you can use CryptoStorm DNS in USA as long as you get its subscription. It’s a feature that can help in hiding your IP from ISPs and avoid having them detect that you’re using a VPN.

CryptoStorm VPN is an average VPN, neither good nor bad. On one hand, it is a suitable option for people who want to protect their privacy regardless of the costs. Whereas on the other hand, it provides insufficient speeds, cannot unblock major streaming sites, and offers unhelpful customer support.

No CryptoStorm isn’t free. But you can try its counterpart CryptoFree VPN which may or may not be reliable. However, you’ll only have the option of using one server which is France through Cryptostorm free VPN. We’ve also observed much slower speeds comparatively.

Do We Recommend CryptoStorm in USA?

No, we do not recommend CryptoStorm.

We have to conclude this CryptoStorm review in USA here. During the analysis, we found its various feature quite interesting and above my expectations.

They offer several anonymous payment options to their users. That said, its official site looks a bit confusing. If you are a novice in the domain of online privacy, you may face issues while understanding the jargon.

Conversely, the pricing factor is on the higher side. In addition, the service is not an ideal choice for Netflix unblocking too. We can safely say that CryptoStorm will take ample time to make a mark in the online privacy industry.

Based on the above review, we would give CryptoStorm a 2.7/5.0 rating overall.