AdGuard VPN review: a fast sleeper hit for internet privacy

While AdGuard is best known for its popular ad blocker and Domain Name System (DNS) services, AdGuard VPN is a free and inexpensive privacy solution that hides your location, encrypts internet traffic, and unlocks geo-blocked content.

I reviewed AdGuard VPN to check how well it stacks up against the best VPNs available. The company claims its custom VPN protocol is faster and better than competing solutions. I put it to the test, checking speed and reliability, customer service, and security to help you decide if it’s the streaming and privacy solution you’ve been looking for.

Tiers and pricing

The free version of AdGuard VPN lets you test the features and use it anytime, but there are restrictions. Most notably, internet data is limited to 3GB per month. That won’t last long if you’re streaming 4K video or torrenting large files. You get access to fewer servers and protection for two devices. There are better free VPNs with fewer restrictions.

With a subscription, AdGuard VPN is unlocked so you can use it freely on up to 10 devices at once with no data cap. You can run the VPN full-time if you need anonymity or use it freely anytime you want to browse internationally like you’re a local.

The monthly fee for AdGuard VPN is $11.99, which is about average for the industry. For the best deal on monthly service, check out Mullvad a robust open-source VPN that costs a little over $5 per month.

You get a better deal if you subscribe for longer. An annual plan costs $47.88 ($4/mo.) and a two-year subscription is just $71.76 ($3/mo.)

Design

I installed the AdGuard VPN app, which took less than a minute. It’s a medium-sized window that’s somewhat small but roomy enough to show what I need without scrolling.

A cartoon ninja stands at the ready behind the green connect button. When the VPN is on, the ninja ducks behind a nearby shrub and a white disconnect button appears. It’s a little silly but serves to convey the status of the VPN at a glance.

To the right, AdGuard VPN shows a list of server locations with the fastest appearing in a separate section at the top. A search bar lets me quickly find particular countries and cities to connect to and bookmark my favorites for quicker access.

Tabs along the top of the window open Exclusions, Stats, Support, and Settings. The layout is simple and easy to understand.

Some work- or school-related web apps might expect you to connect from a particular location. Exclusions let me specify apps and websites that can bypass the VPN tunnel, showing my actual location and running at full speed.

App settings include toggles for a kill switch that blocks internet access if the VPN unexpectedly disconnects, automatic launch, and automatic connection.

AdGuard VPN also lets me choose from several DNS services. The default is AdGuard DNS. Ad-blocking and family filtering are optional. I could also select from third-party services like Google, CloudFlare, and more.

Features

AdGuard created its own VPN that works better with its ad-blocking extension, but you don’t need to use AdGuard to enjoy the speed and protection of AdGuard VPN and it really is fast.

I have a gigabit Ethernet connection with uploads and downloads at a little over 900Mbps. When I use a VPN, transfer speeds drop to around 560Mbps down and 60Mbps up. That’s still more bandwidth than I need in most cases, but faster is better.

AdGuard’s custom VPN protocol minimizes round trips for transfer confirmation, shortening the time it takes to deliver content. I found it to be the fastest VPN I’ve ever tested.

I connected to a Canadian server that’s 1,000 miles away and was surprised to see SpeedTest report 936Mbps down and 91Mbps up. Downloads were as fast as if I weren’t using a VPN! New York is just across the border so when I measured 792Mbps up and 64Mbps down it wasn’t as shocking.

For a bigger challenge, I switched to European servers. Distance takes a toll and AdGuard VPN isn’t immune when connecting to overseas locations. Still, download speeds ranged from 522Mbps to 633Mbps for the UK, France, and Germany. Upload speeds were around 5Mbps. Upload latency was quite good for such distant servers, a bit over 100ms, but download pings varied greatly from 145ms to 561ms.

Even when VPNs perform this well, servers on the other side of the planet are almost always slow. I connected to a server in Australia and was amazed to see 662Mbps downl0ads. Latency was also relatively quick at 200ms, but uploads fell to 2Mbps.

I also checked the AdGuard VPN extension, assuming I’d get similar results. For some reason, it was much slower. For example, the download speed plunged to 416Mbps when I tested the fastest location again with the extension. That’s a 56% penalty for using the extension.

Overall, I was very impressed with the performance. AdGuard VPN lets me browse and stream with excellent speed, hiding my location and displaying foreign content as if I’m a world traveler.

An AdGuard VPN subscription comes with AdGuard DNS at no extra cost, which blocks malware, trackers, and ads. I tested the malware safeguards by visiting Wicar.org. AdGuard DNS successfully blocked all 13 downloads and exploits.

However, it’s fairly easy to earn a perfect score in spot checks on a well-known antivirus testing website. I found Microsoft Defender, Windows’ built-in solution, did just as well.

If you want complete malware protection, I still need to invest in high-quality antivirus software.

Support

AdGuard VPN provides support via email. I tested the response time, asking about the number of servers available currently instead of the more generally available information about the number of countries and locations.

An automated response informed me that AdGuard VPN support was handling a high volume of inquiries and would respond as quickly as possible. It took more than a day to get a reply.

If you need quicker answers, you might be able to find solutions in help articles or community forums. For a VPN with more responsive support, I was pleased with Surfshark’s 24/7 live chat.

Privacy and security

AdGuard’s VPN privacy policy clearly states that it doesn’t share or sell your personal information. It also promises not to keep logs of your browsing activity.

The company has earned the trust of a large user base with its open-source ad blocker and DNS services, starting in 2009. AdGuard VPN is much newer, launching in 2020 and while the company plans to release it as open-source software, it hasn’t done so yet.

Most leading VPNs boast independent audits that verify best practices are followed for security and to confirm no-logging claims. However, AdGuard VPN hasn’t been audited. That means you need to assess how much you trust the company.

AdGuard’s internal security seems good. I couldn’t find any records of data breaches.

Is AdGuard VPN right for you?

In my testing, the AdGuard VPN app surpassed the speeds of even the fastest streaming VPNs, and the results with the Windows app were consistent worldwide. An AdGuard VPN subscription also includes AdGuard DNS with simple blocking of malware, trackers, and ads.

While an AdGuard VPN subscription is affordable, with an average monthly cost as low as $3, the are better VPN deals with even lower prices.

If you want an all-in-one solution, Surfshark is an excellent VPN that can also protect your computer from malware. You can add the surprisingly effective Surfshark One Antivirus for less than a dollar.

If you need a VPN to use at school while connected to a public network, AdGuard VPN’s custom protocol shouldn’t raise any alarms.

AdGuard VPN is one of the best VPNs you can find, but it lacks some special features and has fewer configuration options than VPNs like NordVPN or Proton VPN.