Atlas VPN Review

It’s hard to find the best VPN on the market since users have different priorities – some focus on security features, others want to stream content or download torrents, and for many – having a free VPN provider (or nearly free) is the most important factor.

Atlas VPN was created in 2019 but is already among the top-tier list of VPN service providers. Atlas VPN not only offers a free VPN service, but even the premium plan is very affordable yet full of features. And how about the amazing speeds?

In this Atlas VPN review, we will see what makes this US-based VPN service trusted by millions of users worldwide and which are the flaws that don’t let it become #1 on our list.

Customer Experience

When reviewing the top VPNs, it often comes down to what the actual user experience is since most offer similar services, and real-world use is what matters the most.

Atlas VPN reviews in Trustpilot show 4.4 stars out of 5, with more than 170 reviews submitted. While this is a small number, considering how many reviews Atlas VPN’s competitors have, you should still keep in mind that the US-based VPN is still new. The score is similar to NordVPN’s but trails behind the leader here, PrivateVPN, and other strong competitors like ExpressVPN, PIA, and Cyberghost.

We would prefer Atlas VPN’s customer service team to answer problems in Trustpilot rather than trying to allocate customers to reach the CS team over email since transparency is key here.

What impressed us was the portion of genuine reviews submitted. It’s hard to make a statement since we don’t have the capacity to identify with 100% accuracy which reviews are authentic and which are not. However, from our experience with review platforms, we can identify patterns, and Atlas VPN seems to have primarily genuine reviews.

Furthermore, Atlas VPN offers 24/7 customer support over live chat and email support, which is great. The documentation could be better, though.

Usability

Usability is an area where the Atlas VPN app scores low. Neither the Windows app nor the Atlas VPN for Mac app is perfectly optimized. Moreover, Linux is not even supported, which isn’t good news for many.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you cannot connect a device through a router which most great VPNs already offer. On the other hand, Atlas VPN is a great VPN for mobile devices. It operates well on iOS and Android.

The mobile apps are lightweight and intuitive, and on Android, you even have split tunneling. Still, we could rather see it available across a range of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and iOS, but it’s better than having no options.

On the bright side, Atlas VPN offers a very generous no-limit policy, letting you connect as many devices as you wish at the same time. There are very few VPNs that have a similar proposition to customers.

Price

One area where Atlas VPN shines is the pricing plans. If you’re unwilling to pay for VPN services, you can get the Atlas VPN free forever plan.

You cannot expect to get much value from it, though. You can connect to only 3 servers, streaming is not available, and the monthly traffic is capped at 5GB which is certainly not enough for heavy users. Still, for moderate use, it can work well.

Atlas VPN price options are also worth your attention. The monthly subscription will make you pay $10.99 each month, which is more than PrivateVPN and Tunnelbear but less than ExpressVPN and Surfshark.

The annual plan is very generous – you will have to pay $39.42 or $3.29 per month. In fact, it’s among the most generous annual plans we have found. However, the 3-year plan would see you get the most value. You will only pay $71.49, which equals $1.83 per month – an outstandingly low price!

To add even more value to their proposition, the people behind Atlas VPN have added a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Security features

Atlas VPN is packed with some very good features – AES-256 encryption (military-grade), DNS leak blocking, a kill switch, and IPv6 leak blocking. On top of that, Atlas VPN has a SafeSwap function that rotates your IP address to even further secure your web traffic.

We have to say SafeSwap servers are based only in three countries: US, Netherlands, and Singapore. The good news is you also have access to multi-hop (double VPN), which secures your network even further. Of course, at the cost of your speed.

We would have loved to see Smart DNS and split tunneling available, as it would make Atlas VPN an even more valuable software package. The kill switch was also “kind of” working, as it had some glitches here and there.

Atlas VPN rents its servers, which is another downside. On top of that, they are not RAM-based. Given that the company is based in the US, it could be a major flaw.

Streaming

The free version of Atlas VPN cannot stream content. However, if you subscribe to the paid plans, you will get access to Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. Atlas VPN has dedicated servers for streaming which is good news if you’re into watching content.

However, Atlas VPN occasionally fails to open Netflix UK and Netflix Japan, which are benchmarks for good performance. In general, the VPN provider does well with UK-based platforms such as Channel 4 and BBC iPlayer, but there is only 1 UK server at your disposal. As a result, if anything happens to this server, you will lose access.

If you want to find a good VPN for streaming, then you should consider PrivateVPN, ExpressVPN, and NordVPN.

Torrenting

Atlas VPN has 750 servers, all of which support P2P torrenting. That is amazing news for fans. The WireGuard protocol lets you download files very quickly, and it is in the VPN A-league of torrenting.

It eclipses even proven high-speed VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. But there are some issues we can’t overlook. The lack of port forwarding makes it impossible to seed, which is important for many. However, it’s not the end of the world.

What could cause worry is the lack of private-owned DNS servers by Atlas VPN. Given the fact this VPN provider is based in the US, any leak could result in a lot of trouble for you, as the US is one of the most stringent countries when it comes to copyright claims.

Speeds

We have already mentioned how fast Atlas VPN can be. The local test showed between 2% and 5% speed loss which is an insanely fast speed. This is a great piece of news for streaming fans who want to experience no lagging and buffering issues when watching 4K content.

The long-distance connection also suffers from slight losses, despite the small number of servers. In general, cross-border and even cross-continent connections would keep you at least 60% of your max speed which we consider a great sign. However, there is no coverage in Africa which is bad news for people who live there or travel for business and leisure.

Atlas VPN seems as if it would be an amazing VPN for gaming. However, it lacks one crucial element – stability. That’s why it can go from 3-4ms to 50ms in no time, which could ruin your gaming experience, especially in games that require you to have a consistent connection (primarily shooting games).

Verdict

Atlas is a great VPN with a freemium plan that will get the job done smoothly – and fast. While the free version of Atlas offers much less than its premium counterpart, it’s still a great service for simple tasks like casual browsing, keeping your information private outside of public hotspots, and accessing restricted content. The premium plan, on the other hand, allows you to stream, download torrents, and surf through the net at high speeds. And you get all that within two bucks per month!