VPNSecure Review

Choosing a VPN can involve some legwork in terms of knowing which features are available at what price. VPNSecure helps you wade through all of this complexity and test out the features on your own without having to enter a credit card.

This makes the VPN quite unique because many trial periods involve signing up with a credit card—it’s easy to forget when you registered and find yourself paying for the app after the seven-day or 30-day trial period ends.

While VPNSecure does throttle the connection to allow only 2GB of downloads per month, it still gives you a nice glimpse of how it all works by testing the interface, extra features, and what you can do with the VPN app.

And, VPNSecure does offer some nice extras. One of them is that you can choose your level of encryption (which they call a “cipher”) as a way to control your speed. If you want less encryption and more speed, you can scale back the encryption. If you want the most encryption possible, then you can sacrifice some Internet speed.

The main benefit to any VPN service is protecting your IP address, your internet connection, and—let’s be honest—our Netflix viewing. With a VPN app like VPNSecure you don’t have to think about a DNS leak, using an HTTP proxy, or obscuring your internet in some other way. It all happens on the fly using a remote VPN server. You can rely on the Android VPN app on your mobile device, connecting with an Apple iPhone to enjoy unlimited bandwidth, and use the app on multiple devices for simultaneous secure connections.

VPNSecure prices and plans

A slightly lower monthly plan and a genuinely free plan

As mentioned in the outset, the fact that VPNSecure offers a free plan that is limited to 2GB of downloads is unique. It means you can kick the tires on the product and see if you like the interface, extra features, and the security options available.

Beyond that, VPNSecure is a little lower-priced than some of the big names of VPNs such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and TunnelBear. At $9.95, it’s about $2 cheaper than many VPN clients when you pay by the month. The pricing doesn’t scale down as much as other clients, however. When you pay for the six-month rate, the price per month is $8.32—other clients sometimes lower the price more than that. VPNSecure offers a pricing plan when you pay by the year as well—it costs $11.83.

That said, the three-year pricing plan is quite reasonable. It figures out to $2.99 per month, which is one of the most affordable pricing plans you will find for a VPN.

VPNSecure also offers a full version you can test for a seven-day trial period, which does require that you add a credit card number. Unlike the 30-day free version with a 2GB limit, this version includes the unique MetaSearch feature with no limits.

^{Data effective 4/23/2020. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.}

VPNSecure: Free trial version

No credit card required for the trial version

Many VPN clients let you test out their VPN service for free, but there are strings attached. You have to provide a credit card number, which means you might forget to cancel. (It also means you are handing over a credit card to a new company you might not trust yet.)

With VPNSecure, all you need is an email address to get started with the trial version, which lasts for 30-days and limits the overall downloads to 2GB. That’s enough to grab a few audio files, share documents, visit websites, and maybe download a TV show. You will quickly reach the 2GB limit, but at least you can inspect the interface and take it for a test drive.

VPNSecure: MetaSearch for safe searches

A unique feature meant to make your searches more secure.

Every time you do a search on the Internet—whether you have a VPN or not—you are revealing a lot about yourself. For example, if you search for “baby diapers”, you are telling advertisers that you have kids. Even if your Internet connection is secure, you are still typing that data into a search field (likely on Google).

VPNSecure offers a unique search function called MetaSearch. During our testing phase, the feature was in beta and enabled, although the company has not rolled out the feature for all users (they say it will be available soon).

It’s worth noting because not many clients offer a safe search function. When you type in search criteria, MetaSearch keeps the data private and also doesn’t show any ads as you review search results.

VPNSecure: Cipher speed and security settings

Select the encryption level you want to control speed.

All VPN clients will add encryption to your connection—called forming a VPN tunnel. It’s the reason you can surf securely and safely—no worries about a hacker stealing your personal information, someone spying on your web visits, or about how you have compromised your privacy in other ways.

The one caveat here is that encryption tends to slow your Internet connection speed by as much as 10-15% (with some VPN clients that use advanced encryption, the speed can lower by as much as 20-25%). The good news with VPNSecure is that you can select the level of encryption you want and therefore control the speed leveling.

For example, you can select from either 128-bit AES encryption or 256-bit encryption. When you do, you can essentially pick lower security and faster speed or higher security and slower speed. You might decide you need more advanced security for a movie download but not for normal browsing on the web. VPNSecure calls this the “cipher” setting, and it’s easy to find in the main settings control panel.

Our pick: The best VPNSecure plan

Best: Free Trial (30 days)

Who it’s best for: Those who want to test out the interface and features
Why we recommend it: Not many VPN clients offer a free version with no credit card

We recommend taking VPNSecure for a test drive if you’re still unsure about committing to a monthly plan. Although it’s limited, you’ll get a feel for the service and can decide whether you want to continue. After 30 days, we recommend starting with the One month option to see how it feels without the limitations.

^{Data effective 4/23/2020. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.}

Recap: Is VPNSecure good?

VPNSecure is a good VPN to test out and try, especially if you’re new to the VPN market. Because there’s a free trial that lasts seven days, and another free trial that’s limited by bandwidth that lasts 30-days, it’s a good way to see if you like the VPN provider. It’s even a good way to see if you like a VPN at all for your Internet surfing.

Prices and plans: Reasonable pricing compared to the big names

• Free trial – Free
• One month – $9.95/mo.
• Six months – $8.32/mo.
• One year – $6.66/mo.
• Three years – $2.99/mo

Standout features:

• Free trial version
• MetaSearch secure for searches
• Cipher speed and security settings

FAQ

How does a free trial really help?

When a VPN offers a free trial with no credit card required, it means you can protect your privacy and test out the VPN app with no strings attached. Very few VPN companies offer this option. A free trial is often meant to convince you to keep using the VPN.

Why is safe searching important?

You might think of “safe searching” as an oxymoron. People surf for nefarious things and they don’t want anyone to know. Yet, there are valid reasons to want to search privately—namely, so advertisers don’t bombard you and can’t tell what you are searching for.