BulletVPN Review

BulletVPN is a service that has managed to garner quite a bit of respect in the VPN industry. In this BulletVPN review, I will answer some important questions about this VPN provider. 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. Furthermore, OpenVPN is the default tunneling protocol, meaning you’ll have good security right out of the box.

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 Fourteen 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).

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, the Android version only has the OpenVPN tunneling protocol.

Additionally, 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

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

Bullet VPN is a great choice for Netflix or other streaming platforms. 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, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.

Overall, BulletVPN does a good job at getting around those pesky geo-restrictions imposed by streaming services.

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 right 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/month
• 6 months: $9.16/month
• 1 year: $5.49/month

BulletVPN plans are pricey even compared to some of the market leaders. The longest subscription that you can get is one year, and the 6 simultaneous connection limit is mostly on par with the competition.

If you’d like to try out this VPN service without spending a dime, you can get a 1-day free trial by signing up through one of the mobile apps. Alternatively, you can contact customer support and simply ask for a free trial. After that, you have a 30-day money-back guarantee as a safety net.

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 adequate security and utility for entertainment purposes. It will let you unblock Netflix and other streaming services, as well as torrent to your heart’s content.

While this isn’t the most feature-rich VPN out there, BulletVPN does a decent job and might just be the tool for you.

FAQ

Is BulletVPN safe?

Yes, BulletVPN uses military-grade encryption (AES-256) and the following protocols:

• OpenVPN
• PPTP
• L2TP/IPsec
• IKEv1 and IKEv2

While testing no IP or DNS leaks was detected.

Does BulletVPN work with Netflix?

Yes, while testing for this BulletVPN review we accessed three popular Netflix libraries – Canada, UK and USA.

Is BulletVPN good VPN ?

For a new users, BulletVPN does lots of magic – it unblocks Netflix, is secure, has no-logs policy, allows torrenting and supports several devices. But the high price and low server amount hold it back. Nonetheless, a good choice for casual use.