CyberGhost VPN review | Macworld

Price When Reviewed

$2.03 a month for two years + 2 free months. Usually $12.99 a month.

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We’ve been testing out plenty of VPN services in recent months, and CyberGhost VPN definitely deserves a spot near the top of the pile – but not for the reasons you may think.

Rather than offering a bevy of extra features or bolt-on paid subscription additions, it keeps things simple. It offers a slick, easy-to-use app across multiple platforms, capable of connecting to a huge number of servers across the globe, and does so with minimal fuss.

That makes it ideal for watching Netflix from another country, routing your traffic away from untrustworthy open Wi-Fi networks, or just about anything else. It’s also refreshing to see so many core features included in all plans, including kill switch support and split tunneling, and no restrictions on bandwidth.

CyberGhost’s no-logging audit history is also impressively thorough, and if you’re not sure if it’s for you, there’s a 45-day free trial.

Find out how CyberGhost compares to other options in our round-ups of the best VPNs for Mac, Best VPNs for iPhone and Best VPNs for iPad.

Features & Apps

You can download CyberGhost apps for just about any platform, including via Chrome extension and on game consoles. I’ve been doing our testing on both the Mac and iPhone apps, and both have worked well, offering a nice and simple “click and go” connection process to minimize friction throughout.

Naturally, there’s a nifty menu bar item that can drop down to offer server selection, but unlike other apps, CyberGhost actually primarily exists there–you drop it down, and then click to expand it.

Once you do, it looks just like any other VPN service at first glance–a list of server nations runs from top to bottom, with many offering multiple locations. A double click will connect you, but the sidebar also handily suggests locations for downloads, streaming, and your own favorites. If you’re new to circumnavigating geoblocks, this could be ideal for learning where the best place to start is.

In terms of advanced features, you’ll find encryption as standard across servers, and split tunnelling to help prioritize traffic where you need it. An automated kill switch can also cut your connection if your VPN drops out, while ‘Block content’ will block DNS domains for ads, trackers, and malware.

It doesn’t offer anything like Proton VPN’s Secure Core, or additional features like a Password Manager, but it does mean the only options for subscription tiers are whether to add a dedicated IP address or not. That simplifies things drastically from its rivals with more convoluted plans.

Performance

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As I’ve covered in prior VPN reviews, my connection isn’t the best, but it does offer an “everyman” speed of around 60mbps.

In my experience, I was still able to hit around 45-50mbps depending on the time of day with the WireGuard protocol.

That marks it slower than some of the speed kings in the industry, putting it behind Surfshark, NordVPN, and ExpressVPN.

While you can select between WireGuard, IKEv2 and OpenVPN, I found the app did a good job of picking the best one for any given situation, and defaulted to letting it pick its own protocols. Testing on all three put it behind those competitors, but not by a lot–it was still hitting 45mbps on OpenVPN, for example.

In terms of servers, there are over 9,000 located in over 100 countries, with the company investing in additional locations at the tail end of 2023, notably in South America and Asia. It’s just shy of the likes of ExpressVPN, but still a whole heap more than you’ll likely ever need.

I was able to move between Netflix locations with ease, and even do some shopping with no drawbacks.

Privacy & Security

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While the CyberGhost app doesn’t offer anything like the Dark Web monitor offered by NordVPN, it does have an automated kill switch to immediately cut your connection if the VPN drops out for any reason.

This is baked-in, so there’s no option to turn this off. I’m not sure why you’d want to, admittedly, but other apps give you more granular control of things. The DNS blocking feature is also just a switch away, and while it doesn’t let you pick and choose what you want to block, it’s much easier to use in its current format.

Audit-wise, CyberGhost VPN had a second independent audit conducted a couple of months ago. You can see the full results here, but in short, it’s all good news. Deloitte Audit Romania verified the company’s strict no-logs policy, meaning no one can access records of what you’re doing while connected to CyberGhost.

Pricing and plans

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As I mentioned earlier, CyberGhost does a great job of packing all of its features into a pretty compelling package with just one main plan.

That takes away some of the choice paralysis with some other VPN providers that tuck additional features behind new pricing tiers. Whatever plan you buy, you’re getting the full set of servers, up to seven connections at once, and just about every feature.

As we’ve covered in every other VPN review, two-year plans can be a risk–although the deep discount from CyberGhost will no doubt make it tempting. Plans start from £1.78 per month for 24 months, but as always we’d advise caution in case legislation changes. On the other hand, however, it does mean that your investment is smaller–and the 45-day money-back guarantee is positive too.

Should you get CyberGhost VPN?

A great VPN that’s ideal for newcomers, CyberGhost’s impressive audits and array of servers, combined with decent speeds and easy-to-use apps, make it an ideal place to start.