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English e-mail support
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No chat support
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No phone support
Shellfire is a decent VPN provider at first glance, but it does have a few issues when it comes to usability. The VPN service is based in Germany and is utilized by over 250,000 citizens worldwide. The interface is cluttered, connection speeds are unreliable and relatively slow compared to most other VPNs on the market, which is disappointing if you require a VPN for activities like streaming and gaming. A single subscription comes with just 1 simultaneous connection, which is far less than most providers offer.
However, Shellfire does come with a decent free option, unlimited bandwidth, and a proprietary pre-installed router VPN. There is also a 14-day money-back guarantee, half the industry average but still good to see. Shellfire is successful at accessing a handful of streaming sites, including BBC iPlayer, although it won't get you access to Netflix.
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Free VPN tier
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Accepts Bitcoin as a payment
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Router VPN option
Pros
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Unclear privacy policy
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Short money-back guarantee
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Member of 5/9/14 Eyes
Cons
Type of IP offered: | Shared |
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Simultaneous connections / Users: | Unlimited |
OS support: | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows |
VPN Promotion: | Get VPN from Shellfire VPN for 3.39$ per month |
- Bitcoin
- Mastercard
- Mastercard Debit
- Paypal
- Paysafecard
- Visa
- Visa Debit
- Visa Electron
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Italy
- Japan
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
Shellfire VPN Security
For most users, security and privacy protection are the main priority when choosing a VPN service. When you connect to a VPN server, your internet traffic will be re-routed through an encrypted tunnel of servers so that no one, including cybercriminals, advertisers, and other third parties, can access or decipher it. So we've analyzed the security features on offer as part of this Shellfire VPN review.
Shellfire utilizes industry-standard military-grade 256-bit AES encryption to ensure private internet access. There is support for the standard list of VPN protocols, too, including OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP. The Shellfire Wi-Fi router utilizes the newer, secure WireGuard protocol.
Shellfire VPN also comes with a free version. However, this is significantly less secure than the premium apps as it operates on bank-grade 128 encryption instead of the industry-standard military-grade. Therefore, we would suggest only using the free version in case of emergencies.
Torrenting is supported by the VPN, although it will be necessary to contact Shellfire's customer support team to find out information about suitable servers for such activities. It appears that torrenting is supported on Shellfire's servers in Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands.
When looking for a VPN, it is a good idea to choose a VPN provider that offers a strict, transparent no-logging policy. If a VPN does not offer a no-logs statement, there is no way to ensure that they are not storing and sharing your private information with third parties for profit. If you are concerned about your online security and anonymity, we would suggest looking at VPN providers like ExpressVPN or NordVPN, both of which come with independently audited no-logs policies.
Shellfire VPN claims it doesn't store any user data. However, it also states that this does not mean that users can commit online crimes without punishment. Shellfire's privacy policy states that if a valid warrant is presented, the company will cooperate with German authorities and give them access to a particular user's live internet traffic streams.
Unfortunately, Shellfire does not offer a strict no-logs policy. As the company has not completed an independent audit of its policies and services, there is no real way to tell how much of your data is actually stored. Therefore, we would advise against this VPN is your main priority is privacy protection.
Shellfire VPN Features
Shellfire VPN may look like a decent VPN service initially, but it is fraught with issues. The client interface is not well-designed, making it awkward to use. VPN connections are unreliable, and speeds are less than average, making it largely unsuitable if you are looking to stream video content in high-definition or 4K.
Shellfire VPN also comes with a fully integrated VPN router, which is useful for any users that want to protect all of the devices on their network simultaneously, especially considering that the provider only offers 1 simultaneous device connection on a standard subscription plan. Users do not need to know how to manually install a VPN service as everything is pre-installed.
The platform may initially look promising, but the clients leave much room for improvement in functionality and features. So, if you are looking for a well-designed, easy-to-use VPN, we would suggest looking elsewhere.
Fortunately, the VPN service comes with a decent free version, which is useful for users who want to test the VPN before committing to a paid plan. However, the free version offers slightly lower security standards than the premium option, with 128 bank-grade encryption instead of military-grade AES-256. Connection speeds are limited to just 1000Kbps, and there is access to just 2 country locations, Germany and the United States. This means that the Shellfire VPN is not useful for anything more than the simplest of internet tasks.
There is no standard free trial of Shellfire VPN, although there is a free tier as well as a 14-day refund guarantee. While this is significantly less than the industry average of 30-days, it is still good to see a guarantee. If you are not happy with the service provided, request a refund, and you'll get your money back as long as it's within 14 days of purchase. The money-back-guarantee is risk-free, and no questions will be asked.
When it comes to pricing, subscription plans start at an eye-watering $9.44 per month if you want the freedom of a rolling monthly contract. This price drops to $5.99 per month on the annual plan or $4.48 on the 2-year subscription plan. Although this is relatively affordable, it is not the cheapest option on the market and is more than double the price of Surfshark on its 2-year plan.
You can also buy the company's proprietary Shellfire Box VPN Wi-Fi router as part of the annual plan. This will set you back $133.95 for the first year, which equals $11.16 per month. This drops back to the standard price of $90.95 or a monthly price of $7.58 per month. On the 2-year plan, router protection costs $187.95 or $7.83 a month for the first term and $135.95 every two years thereafter, or $5.66 a month.