ClearVPN Review

How Much Does ClearVPN Cost?

As part of this ClearVPN review, we have compared the subscription plans, prices, and guarantees on offer. ClearVPN offers 3 different subscription plans. You can get the VPN solution on a rolling monthly contract for $12.95, which is relatively expensive especially considering the lack of advanced security features.

As with most other VPN services, the monthly subscription price falls significantly if you commit to a longer-term. On its 1-year plan, the monthly price comes in at $7.75, or $92.95 paid annually, and down to $109.95 overall on the 2-year plan. However, this still makes the VPN provider one of the most expensive on the market, even compared to some of the best premium services.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, though, so you can test the product for a month and request a full refund if you are not completely happy with any aspect of the service. If the browsing experience, internet speed, access to streaming content, security vulnerabilities, or server locations disappoints, you can receive a full refund, no questions asked.

ClearVPN accepts a limited number of payment methods, including credit card, debit card, UnionPay, and PayPal. There is, unfortunately, no support for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which may pose an issue for any security-conscious users that want to remain completely private and anonymous on the internet.

Although ClearVPN may not be a bad choice for many beginner users, it does cost significantly more than some of the best VPNs on the market, such as NordVPN and Surfshark. These services offer a greater number of server locations, first-rate VPN protocols, faster server connection speeds, support for more devices, access to more streaming sites, stronger privacy features, and a better overall experience.

Is ClearVPN Good for Streaming?

Access to geo-restricted content on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube and more, is becoming an increasingly popular reason for downloading a VPN. Therefore, as part of this ClearVPN review, we considered it necessary to test the streaming performance of the ClearVPN app.

On its website, ClearVPN states that it can successfully overcome geo-restrictions on sites including BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and HBO Max. However, while testing several servers on the ClearVPN network, it became apparent that the app cannot access BBC iPlayer, even on the specialized iPlayer option in the ClearVPN app, which is disappointing. The VPN did enable access to some streaming libraries, including English Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video.

Does ClearVPN Have a Good Server Network?

As part of any VPN review, it is necessary to consider the number of servers and locations available. If a VPN does not offer a wide server network in a decent range of locations, you may be unable to access certain geo-restricted sites. If you cannot find a server close to your actual geographic location, you may experience slow internet speed on long-distance connections.

Clear VPN offers a relatively small number of undisclosed servers in a limited array of locations across the UK, US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

Therefore, unless you are located in one of these countries, you may be met with slow connection speeds. Due to the small network, some servers may become overwhelmed and congested by too many users, slowing server speeds even more.

What Privacy Features Does ClearVPN Offer?

To ensure your online activities are anonymous and private, a VPN reroutes your information through an encrypted tunnel of servers so that it is indecipherable and protected from prying eyes. MacPaw ClearVPN utilizes military-standard AES-256 bit encryption as standard to ensure its users and private information are protected.

Clear VPN also offers innovative DynamicFlow software that automatically analyses the current connection status, including servers, restrictions, and limitations, and connects users to the best available server in terms of speed and geographical proximity. This ensures secure connections, low ping, and fast speeds.

There is support for a range of privacy protocols, including IPSec, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. ClearVPN also offers its own protocol, which it claims will eliminate vulnerabilities and ensure high-speed connections.

Unfortunately, there is no IP leak protection with ClearVPN, and during testing, the VPN appeared to display our actual IP address rather than that of a VPN server, which is worrying.

ClearVPN is operated by MacPaw, a Ukrainian-based internet software company. The provider, unfortunately, does not offer a no-logging policy and collects some amount of data. According to its privacy policy, the company collects and transfers data to be processed and stored in the United States, a country with strict data retention laws. MacPaw also admits to processing user data in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The MacPaw privacy policy states that the VPN automatically collects data when you use or access its site, products, or VPN and records it in log files. This logged data may include your IP address, web browser settings, VPN session date, timestamps, browser configuration information, language settings, and cookie data.

The company also collects specific information related to your devices, hardware, and software and specialized device identifiers for devices using MacPaw products. Therefore, it is necessary to remain cautious when using the product. Most premium VPNs offer such as NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer an independently audited no-logs policy.

Is ClearVPN Compatible with All of My Devices?

ClearVPN offers well-designed easy to use apps for macOS, iOS, Windows, and Android. The Android app has received decent reviews on the app store, unlike the iOS version. The clients are easy to use, and switching between various servers is relatively quick and easy.

To switch to a different country or server within the client, it is first necessary to choose your reason for using the VPN before choosing the location and clicking ‘Activate.’ During testing, we had significant issues with the Windows app, which perhaps points to the company’s focus on Apple products and its mac and iOS devices, which is disappointing.

During speed tests, the VPN performed relatively well and reached average speeds of up to 37Mbps. However, on long-distance server connections, speeds dropped significantly, which is concerning considering the limited number of servers and locations available.

When you launch the VPN on Windows, it offers a range of shortcuts to select from, including Quick Actions for easy access to the best available servers for streaming, secure web browsing, or connecting to a server in a specific country. The VPN only offers access to servers in 16 countries, and there is no option to filter the server list.

There is also no option to choose a particular protocol such as OpenVPN or IKEv2 or select the level of encryption. This is chosen automatically by the Dynamic Flow technology, which will also select the best available server in terms of speed and country location.

ClearVPN is arguably not the best choice for users that want to control their VPN connection as it does not offer many configurable features. However, the various shortcuts on offer provide easy access to different servers for particular tasks.

Does ClearVPN Offer Good Customer Support?

If you need assistance while setting up or using the Clear VPN product, there is help available on the website through the Support Center, including a Help Desk and contact form. The Help Desk combines four categories: FAQs, About ClearVPN, Manage your Account, and Apps and Connectivity. If you need to speak to a support agent, enter your email address and information in the contact form.

Is ClearVPN a Good VPN?

Overall, Clear VPN offers some interesting features; however, there is significant room for improvement in its no-logging policy, streaming performance, server speeds, and security features if it is to ever compete with some of the best VPNs on the market.

ClearVPN also comes at an extremely high monthly price, even on its long-term plan, which is disappointing considering the lack of advanced features on offer. We would be inclined to recommend a cheaper yet more premium provider such as Surfshark, which comes with greater streaming performance, stronger encryption technology, IP leak protection, a significantly larger network of servers, and a reliable built-in kill switch.

Author Cliff Durward

Hi, I'm Cliff. I'm based in Cleveland, Ohio, with my wife and two kids. I have a keen interest in cybersecurity and have been writing about it for around a decade now. Due to my background in computer science, I am familiar ...
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