CyberGhost VPN Review – Affordable Pricing, Solid Performance, And Fast Support

CyberGhost has long been one of the top VPNs on the market, highly recommended for its ability to unblock streaming platforms and its powerful Windows app. 

However, a recent change in ownership has raised red flags among users regarding its privacy and security policy. 

Find out if these concerns are justified and also explore the main features in this Cyberghost vpn review.

How Fast Is CyberGhost VPN?

Whichever VPN you choose, there’s a certain trade-off involved—you have to sacrifice some speed to get privacy. We tested CyberGhost’s performance with our 200Mbps symmetrical connection.

Overall, the average speed drop across all server distances was around 30%, which is on par with all the top VPN providers.

When connected to a UK server, the Cyberghost download speed decreased by an average of 10%—a result that’s expected when connected to a server physically near you.

The more distant the servers, the bigger the speed reduction—we had an average of 50% slower download speeds when connecting to overseas servers (US, Asia). 

This may sound like a lot, but in regular usage, you won’t feel any difference while browsing or streaming. Unless you are an avid torrent user, whether you use CyberGhost secure VPN or not, the speed will feel the same. With no significant loss of speed, this is one of the best providers out there, even when compared to market leaders such as ExpressVPN.

The upload speed suffers similar losses to the download speed. This is fine for symmetrical internet connections, but if your ISP offers only asymmetrical connections, you may notice fluctuations from time to time.

If gaming is your thing, then you’re probably most worried about the latency. Fear not, CyberGhost VPN has you covered. When connected to physically nearby servers, the ping jumped from 3ms to 7ms. The latency increase is acceptable on most servers except the furthest ones—any place further than 10,000mi causes almost 200ms lag, which is unobtrusive in regular usage, but unacceptable in gaming.

Security and Privacy

Below we explore the various privacy and security features offers by CyberGhost.

Shady Past?

CyberGhost was established in Romania in 2011 as a free VPN service. In 2017, it was acquired by Israeli company Crossrider (now known as Kape Technologies). Crossrider was infamous for implementing adware into its products, but now they’ve turned a new leaf and rebranded to Kape Technologies. 

Another potential concern for users is that Kape Technologies is based in the UK, which is subject to certain data retention laws. CyberGhost remains distinct, operates independently from its parent company, and is subject to Romanian regulations.

Encryption

CyberGhost VPN utilizes AES 256-bit AES encryption. This is currently the highest encryption standard available and is impossible to crack. 

VPN Protocols

On top of the unbreakable encryption, with CyberGhost, you can choose between OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard® protocols, each with its own advantages. An exception here is macOS, where the IKEv2 protocol is available, but you can also use WireGuard.

Jurisdiction 

CyberGhost VPN is based in Romania, a very privacy-friendly country. This is one of the CyberGhost VPN key advantages since Romania is not part of the 14 Eyes Alliance. 

This means that CyberGhost will not give out any of your personal information even if a government body requests it. Since not even CyberGhost knows your real IP address and the websites you visit, the chances of your data being shared are very low. 

Independent Audits

In March 2012, CyberGhost VPN passed an independent audit by QSCert. This guaranteed that the information safety management system used by the company is compliant with the industrial standards ISO27001 and ISO9001. Although they haven’t had any external audits recently, they publish yearly and quarterly transparency reports.

Kill Switch

All of CyberGhost’s VPN apps have an automatic kill switch. This is especially important for mobile devices since wireless connections are known to be unstable. The kill switch prevents any leaks which may occur if your connection unexpectedly drops.

DNS Leaks

Having its own private VPN servers, CyberGhost can effectively prevent IPv6, RTC, and DNS leaks. This, coupled with the automatic kill switch, ensures no data is leaked in any way.

We put the CyberGhost app to the test, and sure enough, after testing several different servers, there were no IP or DNS leaks. 

Shared IP Address

Same as most commercial VPN services, CyberGhost users share the IP addresses. Because the servers’ pool of IP addresses is limited, they are allocated dynamically, which means that multiple users can share one IP address. If you need a dedicated, static IP address, CyberGhost offers that option too.

Split Tunnelling

CyberGhost has a split tunnelling feature that is currently only available on Android. You’d be hard-pressed to find a VPN that offers split tunnelling on Apple devices, even if you opt for widely popular ones like NordVPN. That’s because the latest versions of iOS and macOS don’t yet support this service.

However, a similar functionality, known as Exceptions, is included within Smart Rules (more on this below). You can use this special CyberGhost feature both on desktop and mobile apps. As a bonus, the provider uses 100% bare metal servers.

All in all, CyberGhost offers solid privacy protection and is one of the most secure VPN services.

Smart Rules 

“Smart Rules” is a bundle of features available in most CyberGhost apps that helps you automate your connection depending on the scenario.

Servers and Server Locations

CyberGhost VPN has one of the largest and most diverse global server networks.

At the time of writing, CyberGhost VPN boasts close to 6,900 servers in 113 locations across 91 countries. Out of those, 658 are physically located in the UK.

By comparison, NordVPN has 5,400 servers and ExpressVPN around 3,000, so CyberGhost can definitely hold its own against these VPN giants. 

We tried connecting to different servers across the globe, and the CyberGhost connection dropped zero times. The server loads were constantly balanced.

NoSpy Servers

For the extra wary, CyberGhost also offers connection via its specialized NoSpy servers. They are located in the company’s private data center in Romania. These servers operate on premium hardware and have a dedicated uplink and a wider bandwidth than the regular servers, enabling even faster speeds. 

VPN’s Primary Uses

People need VPNs for all sorts of reasons, but the below ones are the most common.

Streaming

Probably one of the primary reasons why anyone uses a VPN service is to unblock region-locked content on Netflix and other streaming services. 

CyberGhost VPN can easily bypass the geo-blocks and unlock every show and movie on Netflix. It even has servers optimized for streaming, so you won’t have issues watching Netflix US in HD resolution.

In addition to Netflix, our tests found out that CyberGhost VPN easily unlocks Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and many others. 

You can also use CyberGhost for Kodi via the native CyberGhost VPN Android app.

Torrenting

When it comes to torrenting and VPNs, the major issue is whether all servers support P2P sharing. Luckily, with CyberGhost torrenting is easy and seamless.

This VPN has specialised torrenting servers which ensure safe and quick downloads and seeding without any limit. What’s more, the VPN’s dedicated servers automatically provide users with the best IP address and virtual location for torrenting, making the entire process even easier. 

Gaming 

Is CyberGhost good for gaming? Short answer—yes.

When connected to a local server, the gaming experience is smooth, but when connected to overseas servers, you might experience some lag due to the physical distance.   

Although you can’t directly install this VPN on consoles like Xbox and PlayStation, there’s an easy way to configure a VPN on the router which connects the console to the internet, effectively giving it a VPN connection.

Supported Platforms

With the possibility to use CyberGhost VPN on up to seven devices simultaneously, one might ask: which devices can I use it on?

You can download CyberGhost VPN on almost all devices and platforms available to consumers.

There are dedicated apps for CyberGhost VPN for desktop (Windows, Linux, macOS), mobile (Android and IOS), and smart TVs (Android TV, Amazon Fire TV / Firestick, Apple TV), which offer the full functionality. 

In addition, CyberGhost VPN is compatible with all devices which natively support one of the following protocols: OpenVPN, IPSec, PPTP, or L2TP/IPSec. On its website, the company has step-by-step setup guides for routers and also for devices like Raspberry Pi, Synology NAS, and satellite receivers.

Browser Extensions

You can install the CyberGhost vpn extension for Chrome and Firefox. No CyberGhost account is needed to use them, and they offer all the basic protection, but you’re limited to only four countries: the US, the Netherlands, Romania, and Germany.

Tor Compatibility

For the extra careful people out there, CyberGhost also works with the Tor browser. Nowadays, Tor compatibility is common among VPNs, although some like Hotspot Shield don’t offer it.

Using CyberGhost and Tor together will give you an additional layer of protection. Keep in mind that this might slow the connection even more because the traffic has to travel through both the VPN servers and Tor’s relay servers.

Pricing

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a VPN, you’ll be happy to hear that CyberGhost is quite budget-friendly.

Free Trial

You can install the free versions of the CyberGhost Chrome extension and Firefox add-on, but they come with limited functionality, and the VPN connection will only work for your web browser. That’s why you’d want to consider the full subscription. The company offers a 24-hour trial for desktop clients and a seven-day trial for mobile apps.

Plans

There are four plans to choose from, depending on the length of the subscription you want to commit to:

CyberGhost offers a 45-day money-back guarantee on all plans except for the monthly one. In this respect, it’s more generous than some of the competition—ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and HideMyAss have a 30-day refund period. It is also worth mentioning that all CyberGhost subscriptions offer unlimited data traffic.

CyberGhost has monthly and seasonal deals. The discounts are automatically activated at checkout, so there’s no need for coupons and promo codes.

Overall, CyberGhost deals seem to be a tad better than those of competitors. 

Warning:

Several websites claim to offer things like “CyberGhost VPN free download,” “CyberGhost VPN premium apk,” or “CyberGhost 12 months free.” Never download CyberGhost from anywhere except the official website, and be careful with your login information.

Add-on Features

On top of the default subscription, you have the option to include the CyberGhost Security Suite (Windows only) for €1.29/month. With this, you’ll also get antivirus software and Privacy Guard.

An additional €3.75/month can get you your own dedicated static IP address. 

Payments

You can pay for your CyberGhost subscription plan with PayPal or credit/debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express).

For those big on privacy, they also offer Bitcoin payments processed by BitPay.

Customer Support

CyberGhost hosts a very extensive knowledge base, including guides, an FAQ section, and troubleshooting tips.

If you need direct CyberGhost support, you can contact customer reps by email, the contact form on its website, or its 24/7 live chat support, available in English, German, French, and Romanian.

When we tried to contact representatives on the live chat, we had to wait for about 10 minutes before we got in touch. Prompt and friendly, the rep was very helpful in answering all of our questions.

Overall, CyberGhost’s customer service is top-notch and comparable to that of market leaders such as NordVPN.

CyberGhost Alternative Options

We liked CyberGhost a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best option for your needs. If you’re still not sure it’s the right VPN for you, check out some of the alternatives below.

The Bottom Line: How Good Is CyberGhost?

At the end of the day, you just want an efficient VPN service with affordable pricing, solid performance, and fast support. All things considered, with CyberGhost, you will get that and more.

In addition to great speeds and helpful features, the security offered by CyberGhost VPN is one of the finest out there. Even though the CyberGhost trial period may be too short, you will have no problems receiving a full CyberGhost refund if you cancel CyberGhost within the money-back time limit.

While you might want to look for another VPN solution, if you’re in China or the UAE, anywhere else in the world, you’ll be fine.

After exploring the features and performance of this CyberGhost, we recommend it as your daily go-to VPN provider.