BulletVPN is a relatively new VPN service, but it has already garnered some respect in the industry.
In this BulletVPN review, I will answer some important questions about this young VPN tool. Does it have strong encryption and a kill switch? Can you use it to unblock Netflix? Is BulletVPN good for torrenting? You’ll learn all of this and more.
Overview
Security and privacy features
When it comes to security and privacy, BulletVPN has you covered with some great features, as well as a privacy-friendly location and logging policy.
Encryption and tunneling protocols
BulletVPN uses military-grade encryption (AES-256) and the following protocols:
- OpenVPN
- PPTP
- L2TP/IPsec
- IKEv1 and IKEv2
As you can see – this is quite a wide variety. However, I’d like to point out that the VPN’s default protocol is PPTP, which is a terrible choice for security.
Hence, I highly recommend changing it right away to protect your online activity.
Kill switch
Contrary to what other BulletVPN reviews may claim, this VPN does have a kill switch as well as what’s known as the Bullet Shield.
The kill switch cuts off all internet traffic if you get disconnected from the VPN server due to issues on the server-side.
If your kill switch is off, your device might reconnect automatically via your regular ISP connection, exposing your IP address to the resource you’re accessing, as well as telling about your activities to your ISP.
Bullet Shield will stop all traffic if your connection drops due to some other issue or due to manually disconnecting.
IP or DNS leaks
I took an online test to see whether there were IP or DNS leaks.
Firstly, I logged into my BulletVPN account and connected to a VPN server in Belgium.
Once I checked for IP leaks online, I saw the same IP address BulletVPN gave me:
The IP addresses match, meaning there are no leaks.
Business location
BulletVPN is based in Estonia, which is a good, privacy-friendly location to operate a VPN from. The country has no data retention laws and isn’t part of surveillance alliances like the 14-Eyes.
Logging policy
BulletVPN has a clear and concise Privacy Policy document, confirming that the VPN does not collect logs of any user activity. Neither can they link any other collected information to any specific user. But that’s not all.
Here’s how the policy continues: “We do not collect any logs of user browsing history, connection history, traffic and data transfer, or DNS queries, nor do we store VPN connection logs of any type.”
BulletVPN also states that they don’t sell, trade, or disclose any data to “outside parties or otherwise unauthorized persons.”
There’s no specific mention of the police and other government authorities. But on the positive side, even if they were forced to share data, it would be entirely useless.
Anonymous purchase
If you wish to purchase BulletVPN anonymously, you can do so by using Bitcoin. Having this option adds another layer of staying private online.
Speed
BulletVPN promotes itself as having “blazing fast speeds.” I find such claims doubtful most of the time. But let my test results speak for themselves. For starters, here’s my baseline speed:
Then I tested the speeds of different VPN server locations:
Germany
- Download: 85.42 Mbps (63% drop-off)
- Upload: 81.71 Mbps (71% drop-off)
- Ping: 68
The US
- Download: 38.91 Mbps (76% drop-off)
- Upload: 86.69 Mbps (92% drop-off)
- Ping: 47
Australia
- Download: 29.18 Mbps (88% drop-off)
- Upload: 9.71 Mbps (97% drop-off)
- Ping: 332
With the speed of my regular connection in mind, these are poor speeds. Nevertheless, if your connection is as good as or better than mine, you will be able to enjoy HD and 4K video streaming (assuming your device supports these resolutions).
As mentioned, PPTP is the default protocol. This is an old and vulnerable protocol. Changing it may also impact the speed.
I recommend trying OpenVPN over UDP for the best possible security and speed combo. Although L2TP/IPsec isn’t as secure as OpenVPN, it may sometimes offer better speed. So, it’s worth exploring the options.
Does BulletVPN support my device?
You can get the apps for your preferred device by going to the VPN provider’s website:
BulletVPN desktop apps
BulletVPN works on both Windows and macOS.
BulletVPN has a user-friendly interface, making it easy to install, set up, and start connecting.
On the Home screen, you see a big Connect button and below it, the currently selected location as a button. On the left, you find the main menu.
Nonetheless, I need to point out two issues here. First of all, while testing the VPN app for this BulletVPN review, I did experience occasional problems with some of the servers:
Another minus for me is the need for an extra click – the need to disconnect to change the location.
My problem with this is that the app allows you to open the Locations screen even when connected to a server. However, when you select another server, this is what you get:
So, you need to click OK, return to the Home screen, disconnect from the current location. Then, go back to the Locations screen, select a location, and, yes, click the Connect button. There’s some development to do on this front.
BulletVPN mobile apps
BulletVPN works on both iOS and Android. You can get the apps on the Apple store and Google Play respectively.
Once you install the app, you’ll get to sign in:
After that, you can explore the app, but don’t forget to first connect to your chosen country:
You’ll connect by pressing on the grey circle. You’ll know you succeeded once it changes to green:
When exploring the app, you’ll notice it has fewer features than the desktop one.
For example, you only get to choose between two protocols:
To change any settings on your mobile device, you would need to disconnect from the VPN and then connect again. This can get pretty annoying, especially if you want to tweak more than one feature.
Other BulletVPN apps
Despite its young age, BulletVPN supports quite a good range of platforms:
- Routers
- PS3/PS4
- Amazon Fire TV
- Fire TV Stick
- Kodi
Some of these devices need manual configuration. But don’t panic, the instructions on the website should guide you through the steps just fine.
Netflix and other streaming platforms
Considering that this is a young VPN, it’s pretty impressive that I was able to access three popular Netflix libraries while testing for this BulletVPN review.
Netflix US
It’s not like you can use all US servers to bypass Netflix detection. But I managed to access Netflix through the Chicago server.
I also tried to run the Netflix speed test but ended up with an error message. Not that it matters much since my general speed test showed that the Chicago connection was 32Mbps.
Netflix UK
I got lucky by connecting to the London4 server. Again, the rest of the UK servers failed to stream Netflix.
Netflix CA
Yes, you can also stream the Canadian catalog if you choose the Toronto server. I failed with the other Canada servers. I also attempted to use Netflix AU and JP, but both resulted in the usual streaming error message.
It’s possible that you can also use this VPN to stream Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Nevertheless, despite what other BulletVPN reviews may claim, I couldn’t stream BBC iPlayer at all. On the whole, though, I was reasonably impressed with this VPN’s performance.
Does BulletVPN support torrenting?
Good news again – yes, you can use BulletVPN for torrenting and P2P file-sharing in general. Whether you’re using BitTorrent, uTorrent, or Vuze, torrenting will work on any of the BulletVPN servers.
Still, you may experience some issues with the server of your choice. If that ever happens, contact the support team to get it fixed.
The average speeds should be just fine for downloading and uploading large files. Should you have concerns for some reason, though, check out our best VPN for torrenting list..
Support
BulletVPN has the following support options:
- Live chat
- An FAQ database
- Setup guides
- Troubleshooting
- Support tickets
The good news is that BulletVPN does have live chat support. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always seem to work.
Depending on its availability, you’ll either find a green Help or Chat button in the bottom left corner. If the button says Help, it means that you can send a message to the support team and they’ll get back to you.
In a proper case scenario, this won’t take longer than 24 hours. If you’re lucky, it could be within the hour.
Pricing
BulletVPN has three simple pricing plans:
- 1 month: $10.98
- 6 months: $9.16/month
- 12 months: $7.50/month
BulletVPN plans are pricey even compared to some of the market leaders. The service not offer any option longer than one year, and the 6 simultaneous connection limit is mostly on par with the competition.
This VPN solution doesn’t have a free trial. While this may be a bit off-putting for some users, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee to ponder.
The refund policy is straightforward – I didn’t find any catch there. Some other VPNs have conditions you must fulfill to be eligible for a refund.
BulletVPN accepts the usual options – credit cards and PayPal. And, of course, the icing on the cake is an anonymous payment option – Bitcoin.
Should you get BulletVPN?
BulletVPN offers decent security and utility for entertainment purposes. It will let you unblock Netflix and torrent to your heart’s content.
While this isn’t the most cost-effective VPN out there, BulletVPN does a decent job and just may be the tool for you.
No notifications! Would be nice if it displayed connection status in the notification bar (Android) or in the task tray on Windows. Also, it doesn’t automatically connect when starting your PC. Not cool.
I love BulletVPN, I mean they have a lifetime deal so that is pretty affordable.
Well it doesn’t sound bad at all ! It’s not that expensive, even though you can have NordVPN for a longer period of time and a little bit less, but overall it’s quite convincing ! Thanks for the review.
I used BulletVPN for a while and it was a good enough service. It worked for torrenting and unblocking Netflix. But it should really lower it price since it’s not worth that much.
Loving this one, except for the price! It’s a little out of my pocket, but I love how well it works with Netflix. Oh well, I guess I can sacrifice a little bit of dough to get to watch my favorite shows. I’m keeping my eye out for better ones, though, because I really am not a big fan of how much of a strain it is on my wallett.
Based on your review, I’ve decided to give BulletVPN a try and they are pretty decent. They may not be the fastest providers but Netflix works flawlessly, no logs, easy to use and the privacy settings are good. That’s pretty much all I need.
Indeed, if streaming or torrenting is your main reason to use a VPN, BulletVPN won’t be your best choice. The good news, though, is that there’s plenty of great VPNs for both Netflix and P2P enthusiasts.
A good service it seems, but not a great option for starters considering the price. But BulletVPN did very well, I wasn’t expecting that. The speed is a pity, since many people use VPNs to watch Netflix or download torrents.