CyberGhost is a Romanian VPN provider you’ll see on most Top 10 VPN lists around the web. While I previously praised it for its great potential, I now decided to revisit and test CyberGhost to see if all that potential finally materialized as a truly great VPN service.
Is CyberGhost safe to use? Does it offer an automatic kill switch? Can it reliably unblock Netflix? Is it great for torrenting? And, most importantly, is it still one of the easiest-to-use VPNs on the market?
I’ll answer these and more questions in my in-depth CyberGhost VPN review to help you find out if this service fits all your needs.
Overview
- Rank: #3
- Based in: Romania
- Servers and locations: 5600+ servers in 90+ countries
- Logs: minimal data collection
- Encryption and protocols: main protocols OpenVPN and IKEv2, military-grade encryption (AES-256)
- Netflix: Yes
- Torrenting: Yes, allowed on P2P-compatible servers
- Apps: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV & Fire Stick, Android TV
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- Price: from $2.75/month
- Free version or trial: 24-hour free trial
- Website: cyberghost.com
Security and privacy features
Let’s start with the most important aspect of every VPN – how it can secure your privacy online. Overall, CyberGhost is a very secure solution, especially if you’re not relying on it to hide you from the world’s top intelligence agencies.
Encryption and tunneling protocols
CyberGhost uses the bank-grade 256-bit AES encryption, which is the gold standard for encryption among VPNs. This cipher is practically unbreakable. Unless the attacker who’s trying to brute-force it has several billion years to spare.
Currently, CyberGhost supports the following protocols (not all are available on every device):
- OpenVPN (UDP and TCP)
- IKEv2/IPSec
- L2TP/IPSec
- PPTP
Pretty much every top-rated VPN offers support for the OpenVPN protocol, and CyberGhost is no exception. Since this protocol is more secure than most alternatives, it’s a welcome addition. In fact, the OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec protocol pair should be sufficient for the vast majority of CyberGhost users.
That being said, make sure to avoid PPTP unless you really know what you’re doing. It’s an unsafe and obsolete tunneling protocol that should only be used in exceptional circumstances. That’s why it’s disabled by default and can only be set up manually.
All things considered, CyberGhost’s offerings encryption and protocol-wise are basically industry-standard.
Kill switch
CyberGhost has an automatic kill switch, which is an essential security feature that cuts off your internet connection in case your VPN coverage drops. Although it’s always on (which means you can’t toggle it on or off), it’s a must-have whenever you use the VPN.
Throughout my tests, I found CyberGhost’s kill switch to work perfectly whenever I dropped my VPN connection – the automatic kill switch shut my network connection down immediately.
No IP or DNS leaks
CyberGhost has no DNS or IP leaks. It won’t expose your identity by leaking your IP address or DNS requests, which means your online activities will remain anonymous.
To make sure CyberGhost is leak-proof, I ran some DNS and IP leak tests by connecting to a German server – I was assigned the IP address 84.17.49.131.
After getting the CyberGhost IP address, I proceeded to check whether my IP address or any of my DNS queries were leaking. Let’s look at the results:
As we can see, CyberGhost has no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks.
Privacy-friendly location: Romania
CyberGhost is based in Romania, which has very privacy-friendly legislation and doesn’t belong to any intelligence-sharing alliances such as the Fourteen Eyes surveillance network. This significantly reduces the possibility of any US-based copyright holders or foreign government agencies gaining access to their network.
Their privacy-friendly location allows CyberGhost to have an actual no-logging policy, which means they know almost nothing about you.
No-logging policy
CyberGhost’s no-logs policy looks great. According to it, they do not log:
- Real IP addresses
- Assigned servers (that you log onto via their network)
- The times you log in or log out
- Traffic data
- Conversations carried out over the CyberGhost network
Moreover, CyberGhost doesn’t “merge” any personally identifiable data like payment details, while the Privacy Policy states that “it’s not possible to record which account logged into which server at what time or to connect a real person to a certain CyberGhost VPN account.”
This means that, combined with CyberGhost’s privacy-friendly location, your data is safe whenever you turn on this VPN.
CyberGhost works with Tor
With CyberGhost, you can route your online traffic through the Tor network on top of your VPN tunnel to gain an additional layer of protection. Tor compatibility is a feature offered by few VPNs, adding to CyberGhost’s already solid security arsenal.
Cryptocurrency payments
Paying for your VPN subscription with cryptocurrencies is a surefire way to increase your anonymity online. Fortunately, CyberGhost offers an easy Bitcoin payment option via the BitPay platform.
Does CyberGhost support my device?
It probably does. CyberGhost VPN offers apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and Amazon Fire TV & Fire Stick. It has browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, while also providing full support for routers, NAS, and Chromebooks.
You can use CyberGhost on 7 devices simultaneously for the cost of a single subscription as well.
CyberGhost desktop apps: Windows and macOS
The CyberGhost Mac app differs from the Windows version – it doesn’t allow you to choose the protocol and lacks a few security features. Other than that, they have an almost identical interface and functions, including AES-256 encryption, the automatic kill switch, and Split Tunneling (named Exceptions in the CyberGhost app).
The home screen features four main interactive elements: Power button, Settings cog-wheel, Favorite server drop-down menu, and the Arrow button, which switches between the Compact and the Expanded views.
Servers can be sorted by their distance, load percentage, name, and tagged as Favorites.
In the For torrenting and For streaming sections, you’ll find servers for torrenting and watching geo-blocked content.
Connection Features, among other options, offer to block malicious websites, ads, and online tracking. For maximum security, I recommend you to turn these on as they’re off by default.
The Connection tab under Settings gives you the choice of the protocol, DNS servers, and protection against IPv6 leaks.
The kill switch is on by default, and you cannot deactivate it.
Overall, I can safely say that CyberGhost offers some of the most user-friendly apps on the market. Their design is incredibly streamlined and intuitive, making daily VPN usage a breeze.
CyberGhost mobile apps: Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad)
CyberGhost apps for Android and iOS look good – the GUI seems a perfect fit both for computers and mobile devices. What’s different, however, is that they’re less functional than their desktop counterparts. For example, neither the Android nor the iOS app lets you choose your protocol or have the kill switch feature.
With that said, downsized feature offerings are the norm with the vast majority of VPN providers.
The Android app has quite a few web protection options not present in the iOS version. Some of them are port randomization, data compression, as well as blockers against ads, malicious websites, and online tracking.
You can find the CyberGhost Android app either on Google Play or download it directly as an APK file from cyberghost.com.
The iOS app is by far the easiest to use, in part due to its limited feature package compared to the desktop and Android versions. You can easily connect to your chosen server by tapping a location, with a load percentage and the number of users connected displayed next to each item on the list.
The CyberGhost iOS app is available on the App Store.
CyberGhost for web browsers: Chrome and Firefox
CyberGhost has browser extensions for both Chrome and Firefox. These extensions offer very basic functionality and are best used as simple add-ons to quickly change your location without compromising your connection speed.
Other platforms for CyberGhost
CyberGhost supports Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Fire Stick devices as well, so you can set the VPN up on your smart TV to seamlessly enjoy geo-blocked video content.
Also, you can use CyberGhost to protect your entire connection by manually setting it up on your router. You can find setup instructions for your particular router model on the official website.
Speed: one of the fastest VPNs?
When testing speed, there are too many variables to account for. As such, try for yourself to get an idea of the speed in your location.
My original speeds for download and upload settled around 240 Mbps:
- Download: 236 Mbps
- Upload: 243 Mbps
- Ping: 4 ms
CyberGhost shows each server’s load, so I’ve always chosen the least loaded one.
UK, London
- Download: 89 Mbps (62% drop-off)
- Upload: 133 Mbps (45% drop-off)
- Ping: 59
US, New York
- Download: 102 Mbps (56% drop-off)
- Upload: 33 Mbps (86% drop-off)
- Ping: 114
Japan, Tokyo
- Download: 71 Mbps (69% drop-off)
- Upload: 9 Mbps (96% drop-off)
- Ping: 284
Overall, I can conclude that CyberGhost offers fast speeds across the globe, but I’m aware that results may vary using a different connection.
Netflix and other streaming services
Cyberghost’s Netflix capabilities are good – the speeds are excellent, and geo-unblocking is mostly reliable across streaming platforms.
You can access the US Netflix library via specialized For streaming servers. Other regions are accessible as well, albeit less reliably so, as shown in our in-depth CyberGhost for Netflix tests.
CyberGhost for Kodi
CyberGhost for Kodi does a great job of unblocking content, offering you:
- Hulu
- Amazon Prime
- BBC iPlayer
- YouTube
- YouTube Red
- Sky
- ZDF
- TF1
- CBS
- MTV
- Pandora
- Spotify
- Zattoo
And that’s just some of the media platforms that you can access with CyberGhost.
Connection speed tests gave mixed results, but European and North American audiences should be fine.
To learn more, check out our dedicated CyberGhost for Kodi article.
Does CyberGhost support torrenting?
Yes, CyberGhost supports torrenting.
CyberGhost’s torrenting capabilities are excellent: the service offers enough security for P2P users, has a good distribution of servers, and doesn’t block or throttle P2P traffic.
What’s more, the speeds are great, and CyberGhost’s no-logging policy ensures the company can’t hand over any information about you to the authorities. Which means you can safely leech away while staying off the radar.
To find out more on this subject, see our CyberGhost for torrenting article.
Support: CyberGhost live chat, guides, and FAQ
CyberGhost is pretty good in terms of customer support, especially if you compare it to the lower tier of VPN services on the market. Compared against highest-tier VPNs, CyberGhost support is almost as good but somewhat lacking a bit in the self-help section.
CyberGhost offers How-To Guides, a Troubleshooter, FAQ, and 24/7 live chat. There’s no phone support, but you can submit a request form on the website.
How-to guides provide instructions on dealing with the most common issues not only on the most popular platforms but also on game consoles, Kodi, or Linux.
Troubleshooter addresses general questions, such as connection and speed problems or issues with the user’s account and subscription.
The FAQ answers some of the basic inquiries about the VPNs and CyberGhost in general, privacy, servers, P2P, and such.
We tried asking customer support some questions and found the 24/7 live chat agents helpful, knowledgeable, and quick to reply. We’ve encountered reports of support reps telling customers to wait for an email, but this is normal with problems that require complex solutions.
Pricing: is CyberGhost a good deal?
If you opt for a long-term subscription, CyberGhost is actually a great deal. There are four different pricing plans you can choose from:
- 1 month ($12.99/month)
- 1 year ($5.99/month)
- 2 years ($3.69/month)
- 3 years ($2.75/month)
You can also get a dedicated IP address in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, or France for $5/month.
All options offer the same features, including 7 simultaneous connections and a 45-day money-back guarantee (14-days for a 1-month subscription). This refund policy works very well – I had absolutely no problems with it.
There’s also a 24-hour CyberGhost free trial. It has a lot of the features available to paying customers and will give you a good sense of what you’re getting into without the need to enter your credit card details or other personal info. This is a substantial advantage over many premium VPN services that sport only money-back guarantees.
CyberGhost has a list of payment methods that covers all the main bases – credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, as well as some other location-specific options.
Is CyberGhost a good VPN?
Yes! CyberGhost is not only one of the most popular, but also one of the better VPNs on the market.
This service has a great set of features for novices – the sleek and user-friendly interface makes everything straightforward, eliminating the need to spend more time than necessary when trying to find the right server for your needs. It’s good for streaming and torrents and is currently one of the cheapest tools at the top end of the market.
In short, CyberGhost’s popularity is certainly well-deserved – while it’s not the ideal tool for grizzled VPN enthusiasts, the vast majority of everyday users will find CyberGhost a great service.
After reading your CyberGhost review I am tempted to give them a test run and see what they can do. They seem to have a lot going on for them so we’ll see how it goes. Thanks.
CyberGhost combined with Adwcleaner has protected me against viruses and malware and protected my identity a lot of times. The VPN works great and I never seen a dns leak until now.
It is great that Cyberghost also has malware block. With excellent torrenting capabilities, good cost, and server locations in over 90 Countries, cyberghost looks like a good decision with good ratings.
I did the 24 hour trial, they don’t give access to the important security features, a popup says ” You cannot use this feature unless you go Premium” (pay up), plus it dropped my connection about 8 times in 3 hours. A tech support window opened and I complained. They told me to pay for the 30 day money back guarentee. That means they are just trolling for newbie money, and real techies will recognize this insult. You just get their basic VPN and without a Kill Switch (not without premium), or other protections, it’s just pedestrian VPN, there is no way to tell if it’s worth buying so DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THE 24 HOUR FREE TRIAL OF CYBERGHOST. IT’S A WASTE OF TIME TO GET YOU TO SPEND MONEY. It’s also a very stupid approach, as I might have purchased their product if I had gotten to use all their security features and settings and found them to my liking. Seems a bad way to do business, so I don’t trust them. Since CG dropped my internet connection a few times I would give them ZERO STARS, and would recommend ‘STAY AWAY FROM CYBERGHOST’.
Hi Giles,
While limited free trials are always annoying, I’d like to point out that an overwhelming majority of other good VPN services don’t offer a free trial at all – limited or otherwise. There’s also no basic version of CyberGhost, only the free trial and the paid version. Anyway, hope you find more luck elsewhere.
If you are truly interested in giving this provider a test drive, a 30 day, risk free subscription seems to be the smart idea. You would receive the full suite of services & have up to 30 days to try it. Love it & eat your words or don’t & cancel & get a refund & come back with another eloquently written rant.
It offers only one-day free trial and I am not sure if this is for me. I checked the reddit rating, and it doesn’t seem to be very encouraging
I just have to say that the 2 providers at the top of this list DO NOT offer any free trial.
Additional to the free trial, CyberGhost also offers a full refund after 30 days & Kevin stated he had no issues with this when he used it. I would think that’s the way to test them rather than the 24 hour free trial. You have a full 30 days to live it or cancel & get a refund, risk free.
I think this is the path I am going to take. There have been so many crack downs on internet tv providers recently, I need to protect myself.
I like Cyber Ghost because it apparently doesn’t keep logs and has a malware block. You can choose the country you want, or let the app choose for you. I mostly use it to protect my device while on public wifi or for private browsing at home when I don’t want my ISP to track what I’m doing. I have had no problems with speed in connection either on my android device, or my PC running Windows 10. Cyber Ghost offers a free trial for a test for one day and 45-day money-back guarantee, have no logging policy and actually the best in prices i.e. if you are subscribing for the two-year plan. I will definitely recommend the application to anyone anytime, any day.
While CyberGhost is well worth a try it does have a few drawbacks. I don’t know for sure if they can be trusted since they’ve change ownership, they are more expensive than other (seemingly better) VPNs out there and their live chat is good but not great. I expect more from a service that is in the top 10 of VPNs.
I think that CyberGhost increasing their limit to seven devices was a game changer. That, combined with their improved customer service and 45-day money-back guarantee, is enough of an incentive for me to give them a try. Thanks for the detailed review!
I agree! Their service was pretty below average before that, buy they managed to change, adapt and overcome! Many other similar VPNs out there should do the same to become good options.
Tbh I don’t really trust anything made in Israel or owned by israelis. They are spies for the American government in my opinion. It’s a pitty, CyberGhost sounds really good.
We did a small correction there: Kape Technologies is an international company based in the UK and with branches in other countries, including Israel (Tel Aviv). One of the company’s most important backers is also an Israeli billionaire named Teddy Sagi. As for your concerns – it can’t really be said they’re entirely unfounded, after all, both Israel and the UK have a connection to the 5 Eyes surveillance alliance. It must be said, however, that CyberGhost should not be equated to either of these governments and they have a clear (if slightly problematic) privacy policy. So unless you’re doing something extremely shady, using CyberGhost is fine.
I was also a bit worried about it being connected to the 5 Eyes alliance, but your clarification does make sense, Kevin. It seems they take users’ privacy seriously, I may give CyberGhost a chance.
CyberGhost doesn’t work at all in Oman whatsoever. I’m currently in the country for business purpose and quite shocked to learn that the VPN is blocked by ISP here. Fortunately I have NordVPN and IvacyVPN which work flawlessly. For IvacyVPN, in order to work we need to install Tunnelblick or openVPN and use the config files given, the app won’t work no matter what.
Hi Freddy,
Thanks for the info! Have you tried switching between different protocols on CyberGhost?