CyberGhost VPN Review 2024

About CyberGhost

With over 10 million users worldwide, CyberGhost has emerged as a true heavyweight in virtual private networks. Whether you’re researching internet providers or reading VPN reviews, you’ll find CyberGhost consistently topping the lists. Industry experts widely respect the provider for its robust offerings. Proof of CyberGhost’s rapid growth can be seen in its expansive server network, which currently includes 8,000+ locations globally.

CyberGhost VPN has been around since 2004, and it was originally owned by German tech entrepreneur Robert Knapp. In 2017, the company was sold to Crossrider Limited, which is a London-based online distribution and digital product company from Israel. They rebranded to Kape Technologies PLC in March 2018 and own other top VPNs including ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and Zenmate VPN.

We tested CyberGhost VPN to see how it performs, from connection speeds to logging practices. Keep reading to see if it’s one worth getting.

Is CyberGhost Good for Streaming?

CyberGhost lived up to its streaming reputation as a VPN for accessing entertainment, as it successfully unblocks multiple streaming sites with ease.

CyberGhost & Netflix

When it comes to streaming, CyberGhost is one of the best VPNs for Netflix and other major streaming services. Yes, Cyberghost unblocks Netflix libraries across multiple regions, which is pretty much always the first question people ask. In addition, they have an extensive list of streaming websites they can access, which include the following listed below.

US Streaming Platforms:

• Amazon Prime US 
• Netflix US (Android TV and Firestick)
• Hulu 
• HBO Now 
• CBS
• Crunchyroll
• YouTube Red
• Eurosport 
• NBC
• Fox 
• Comedy Central 
• Spotify 
• ESPN 
• Pandora 
• Firestick 
• Sling TV
• ESPN+
• Youtube TV
• Disney+

UK Streaming Platforms:

• Netflix UK (Android TV and Firestick)
• BBC iPlayer 
• Channel 4
• ITV 

Intl Streaming Platforms:

• Netflix FR
• Netflix DE
• CBC
• Fox Sport 
• Globo 
• Globo Sportv Brazil 
• TF1 
• ORF 
• Radio France 
• RTL 
• Europe1 
• ZDF 
• 7TV 
• Netflix DE 
• ARD 
• Zattoo DE 
• Rai Play 
• Disney+ IT 
• Netflix Japan

So, what’s the secret behind their success? It’s the sheer number of server options, as well as the time and effort dedicated to bypassing geo-restrictions. Streaming services like Netflix will directly block an IP if it’s used too many times, which is why many VPN servers are useless after a while.

CyberGhost continually adds new locations to its ever-expanding network, so you can always reconnect to a new location if you do have any issues. It’s clear that CyberGhost is one of the better providers in terms of unblocking content, especially in smaller markets such as Germany, which aren’t shown enough love by most VPNs. 

If they run into any issues, they just get more servers, as they engage in an endless game of cat and mouse with streaming services that are desperate to protect their IP rights. 

Of course, the average user doesn’t care about international broadcasting agreements where content can be region-locked or aren’t available in some markets altogether.

CyberGhost goes above and beyond in this regard, although it’s unrealistic to expect the service to work flawlessly 100% of the time. We saw no issues with the various streaming platforms we tried during testing, although that probably won’t always be the case. However, CyberGhost will continue to get new servers for streaming, starting the process over again.

The bottom line is, if you just want to watch stuff, look no further than CyberGhost for your streaming needs.

Does CyberGhost Allow Torrenting?

In terms of torrenting, only some CyberGhost servers are compatible. They explain that they have to block P2P protocols for certain servers either due to strategic or legal reasons. That doesn’t seem like a great start, but they do go on to explain their position in more detail.

For example, they might not want to slow down other users who are on the server, or they may have to comply with complex legalese in regions such as the US, Russia, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong, which sometimes force CyberGhost to block torrent traffic.

You’ll be able to find a checkmark next to a list of compatible P2P servers, or you can just check the “For downloading” tab on the left to be sure.

However, it’s worth mentioning they state that “using CyberGhost for downloading copyrighted content is illegal and an abuse of our service.” So, I’d bear that in mind before setting out to get the latest box sets or cracked releases.

It’s clear that they’re open to torrenting, as long as you’re not downloading outrageous amounts of copyrighted material. Again, it gets fairly high marks in this category, and they’ve improved over recent years as they continue to add more compatible server locations to the list.

Platforms & Devices

CyberGhost is available on a range of different platforms and devices, with the regular subscription plan allowing for seven simultaneous connections altogether. That’s reasonably generous, and you should be able to share it with a few family members if you’re aiming to get the best value for your money.

They have typical desktop clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as native iOS and Android apps. CyberGhost will also work with selected Android TVs and Amazon Fire TVs, as well as on later iterations of Apple TV (3 and above) and Roku.

If you’d prefer to cut out the middleman, the following smart TVs are compatible:

• LG SmartTV with webOS 
• Samsung SmartTV with Tizen OS

You can also install it on most game consoles, including the PS5 and Xbox X.

• PlayStation 3 
• PlayStation 4 
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox One 
• Xbox 360 
• Xbox X
• Nintendo Switch 
• Nintendo Wii U 
• Nintendo Wii

They have a VPN extension for Chrome as well as Firefox VPN addon, and they also offer a Cookie Cleaner service for both of the browsers. This is a plugin that is designed to give you control of your online preferences, personal data, and private details. It’s another good feature, adding another small layer of privacy.

I had no problems whatsoever with either the macOS/iPhone versions of their software, with the apps running in the background with little to no input needed on my behalf.

Once again, CyberGhost has gone above and beyond compared to many other VPN providers, and it’s hard to fault them in terms of compatibility. Their device list is extensive, and the apps I tested were properly developed and worked as intended.

From smart TVs to routers, CyberGhost deserves plaudits for the way they’ve embraced a large number of devices. Most users will stick to either the desktop or mobile version, but it’s nice to have a choice.

How Fast is CyberGhost?

Connection speeds are always important for any VPN user. As your connection is being routed through their servers, it’ll have a direct impact on the overall speeds you can achieve, so the faster the better! 

Slower speeds will have an impact in terms of lag and buffering, and pages will take longer to load up. It’s not ideal if you’re planning to use the VPN for Zoom meetings or want to watch content while it works in the background. You’ll also have to deal with a higher ping, which isn’t great if you’re planning to use the VPN for tasks like online gaming. 

In the first image, you’ll see my average speeds with no VPN connected for parity. (I’m based in the UK, and it came in at about 110 Mbps.)

The second is with the VPN connected to one of CyberGhost’s US servers, located in Maryland.

As you can see, speeds took a significant hit, coming in at under 50% compared to the norm. Meanwhile, ping was incredibly high and would surely see a laggy experience if used for gaming or anything particularly intensive online activity. It’s quick enough to stream content, but it’s not impressive. (At least the VPN was working properly, showing my location as somewhere in Elkridge.)

Finally, I decided to try out their optimized UK server closer to me, which should see good results in theory. After all, it’s only a few miles away from where I’m located, and it’s a physical server rather than the virtual variety.

It’s not exactly blistering when compared to the speeds seen with no VPN connection, but it’s way above what is recommended for tasks like watching 4K videos. (For example, Netflix advises having a consistent minimum download speed of at least 25 Mbps, so it’s more than adequate.)

If you don’t have the fastest connection to begin with, you could see more of an impact than I did If you don’t have the fastest connection to begin with, you could see more of an impact than I did personally, which is why the longer money-back guarantee is so important.

The connection itself is fairly consistent, with no unexpected dropouts or major lag to report. I left it on overnight to be sure and came back to see 17 uninterrupted hours of usage. As long as your connection is stable, it’ll work without activating the killswitch for any unnecessary reasons.

I’m happy to report that CyberGhost has decent speeds, although they’re not exactly amazing in comparison to the very best you’ll find on the market. However, they do make up for it with a long list of server locations, as we’ll discuss in detail below.

Server Locations & Network 

CyberGhost has a massive server network, encompassing 91 countries worldwide. At the current time of writing, they have 114 different locations on offer, with 8,085 servers altogether.

That’s a ridiculous number compared to the average provider, and as you can see, they cover lots of smaller countries and regions, too. (Some VPNs have 20-100 server locations, so 8,000+ is a massive amount.)

This VPN has a footprint in almost every region, including Africa, China, the Middle East, and South America. This is great for users who would prefer to connect to a location that isn’t as far away to improve either speed or ping. Locations are much the same, with enough variety to suit the needs of most people. 

None of the servers were particularly overloaded during testing, although it will depend on the time of day, as well as other external factors. You can also see how many users are on a server at any time and the exact distance to the server from your current location. It’s a decent amount of information, and it all helps when selecting the right server.

It’s worth noting that some servers are virtual rather than physical boxes located in the region, such as their servers in China, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia. However, that’s understandable, and they can still be used to access local websites and services in the respective territories.

It’s hard to fault CyberGhost in this regard. Their server network is massive, and they’ve helpfully split them, so you won’t have to start searching if you’re looking for a location to unblock a specific service. They’re even open to requests for new locations.

Privacy & Logging Practices

CyberGhost has one of the stronger logging policies you’ll find, that is listed in plain English on their website. The important bit is as follows:

OKAY. It’s pretty unequivocal, and it’s laid out in simple terms. They have no logs and don’t keep any important data that can be used to identify their users. 

CyberGhost does record log-ins of accounts for statistical purposes, with the daily log-in data deleted after 24 hours. The reason they do so is to ‘more accurately record the number of people they have using the service’, although they have no idea how they use the VPN. 

Being based in Romania is a bonus, although they also have ties to Israel, Germany, and the UK. It’s not ideal to be linked to the latter, especially as the UK is a member of the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance alongside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. However, its jurisdiction is in Romania, which does make it stronger than many others.

Censorship

A key aspect for many users is how a VPN deals with online censorship. It’s a great way to judge how they’ll react if they’re asked to hand over data, while it’s important if you live in a region that is affected by more invasive measures. If CyberGhost is the only thing that is stopping you from getting in serious trouble, you’ll need it to work perfectly 100% of the time.

First and foremost, any VPN should work to mask your location and your IP address for the duration of the time that you’re online, keeping you away from trackers, and other invasive measures.

Heavily marketed as a method to bypass online censorship, CyberGhost does have many of the tools you’ll need to stay safe while you’re online. The no-logs policy will come in handy here, as they only keep basic information that isn’t identifiable. After all, according to their logging policy, they should have “no idea about your traffic data such as browsing history, traffic destination, data content, and search preferences”.

As their servers are based in Romania, you won’t have to worry about falling under a jurisdiction that could lead to further issues with relevant authorities. Of course, that’s only when using their special ‘NoSpy’ servers, which are based in a crowdfunded data center owned by CyberGhost. It was built with the clear objective of keeping users’ data safe from mass surveillance and third-party meddling.

They go on to clarify that: “Only the CyberGhost team can access, control and operate the NoSpy servers. This drastically reduces the risk of exposure and interference from external actors.” Meanwhile, they also have a killswitch which definitely works as intended, giving me a couple of notifications that the connection had dropped, but only when I had booted my computer each morning.

In June 2020, the Chinese government passed a controversial national security law for the region of Hong Kong, which caused a number of VPN providers to leave the market instantly. CyberGhost released a blog post at the time, reiterating that their Hong Kong servers will stay in place for the foreseeable future:

They take a strong stance in terms of online censorship, as evidenced by the service they continue to provide for users based in affected regions. They seem to be following through with their promises as a privacy advocate for the time being.

Security & Encryption Protocols

Encryption is key in terms of security while you’re using a VPN. After all, what use is a strong logging policy if they can’t keep your data safe in the first place?

Is CyberGhost safe? The clue is in the name, and CyberGhost will work to obfuscate your connection as advertised. Their encryption is the same found with any other serious provider, using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 256-bit keys. It’s good enough for the likes of the NSA, and it’s near impossible to crack with currently known means.

It works regardless of the application you use and keeps you safe from tasks like Deep Packet Inspection. They note that “CyberGhost VPN allows the usage of nearly all Internet programs, regardless of its purposes and keeps your IP address reliably hidden while you surf, download or stream.”

They go on to state that the only exception is the sending of emails “to keep spammers out of the service.” That’s fair enough, although it is worth remembering if you need to send multiple personal messages via email.

In terms of protocols, CyberGhost supports the following on various devices and platforms:

• OpenVPN
• L2TP/IPSec 
• PPTP 
• WireGuard
• IKEv2

Most people will stick with the recommended settings, but once more, it’s better to have a choice just in case, and it will make a difference for advanced users.

It’s a decent selection, and encryption is easily handled in the background. It’s another aspect that earns the VPN high scores, while they release a Transparency Report every three months to detail the number of requests for data they get from various authorities around the globe.

Their Q3 2021 Transparency Report notes 108,122 DMCA complaints, malicious activity flags, and police requests they received over the period. Only 13 were requests that came from the police, although they had nothing to hand over as they keep no user data.

A 10-year report looking at the period from 2011 to 2021 reflects a large number of DMCA complaints, with police requests and malicious activity flags also trending upwards.

CyberGhost Features 

CyberGhost has a range of additional features that make it one of the better VPN providers if you’re hoping to get the best value for your money. For example, they have a number of extra privacy layers, which are found by clicking the tab in the lower-left corner of the desktop app.

Ad and malware blocking

You’ll be able to block ads, online tracking, and malicious websites from spamming your computer, while data compression (to minimize data usage) is another great feature that you won’t find with many other VPNs. I tested this out by heading over to a local news website, which fills its pages with every ad imaginable. CyberGhost wasn’t able to eliminate all of them, but it’s not bad for an extra feature that comes at no additional cost.

HTTPS redirect

Another good feature is an automatic redirection to the most secure version of any website you visit (in most, if not all, cases HTTPS), so you won’t have to worry about their security being compromised due to old certificates or outdated code.

Dedicated servers for streaming and torrenting

Many VPNs have a “try it and see” approach to unblocking streaming services. Instead, CyberGhost has servers that are specifically designed to bypass some of the bigger platforms (such as US Netflix and BBC iPlayer), and they’re updated regularly. CyberGhost is also one of the best VPNs for torrenting and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on multiple servers, too. If you’re unsure of which torrenting site to use, check out our list of best torrenting sites in 2022.

You can purchase a dedicated IP address that isn’t shared with other users for $3.75 per month.

Killswitch

It has an automatic killswitch, which always comes in handy, and they have 24/7 customer support via email or live chat. If you’re having network issues, you can use the app to analyze the connection, hopefully using it to troubleshoot any problems without having to get anyone else involved. 

Our CyberGhost review scores highly when it comes to their feature-laden software, which helps to keep you safe and secure while you’re online. The same goes for their mobile apps, which offer similar protections on the go. This VPN is solid as it is, but the features do make it tempting if you’re looking for an all-in-one online security software package.

CyberGhost Pros & Cons 

Of course, no two VPNs are created equally, so we’ve identified some of the main pros and cons we found while using CyberGhost over the past week or so. We haven’t mentioned everything you’ll find in the full review, but it’ll give you a better idea of exactly what the provider has to offer, as well as typical drawbacks you can expect.

How Much Does CyberGhost Cost? 

• 1 Month: $12.99/mo. 
• 12 Months: $4.29/mo. 
• 3 Years + 3 Months: $2.29/mo.

CyberGhost has simplified subscription plans, and they’re aiming to hook you onto one of their longer offers with some great savings. The twelve-month deal is fairly cheap, while their latest 3 years + 3 months plan works out to just $2.29 per month.

If you’re planning to use the VPN extensively, it does make sense to look at one of the longer offers, as the savings are substantial. They offer deals fairly regularly, whether it be for a cheaper price or giving away additional months. Coming in at just under $90 for three years, it’s definitely a tempting offer.

I grabbed a month for testing purposes, although they did try to push me towards the longer deal with a warning message before I could proceed: “The 3 Years + 3 Months plan includes the biggest savings and is fully refundable for 45 days.”

This brings me to the next point. CyberGhost has risk-free plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee This brings me to the next point. CyberGhost has risk-free plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee for the longer plans, which is halved to 14 days for the monthly subscription. It’s longer than most 30-day trials offered by other VPN providers, and it gives you ample time to test it out for yourself before committing. I’ve never heard of any issues in terms of getting money back, and you don’t have to give a reason if you decide to leave.

Additionally, users can add a dedicated IP address at sign-up, which is a step up from a normal VPN connection. It costs $3.75 per month, which works out to be more than the VPN itself with the longer plans. However, those that truly need one might see this as a good deal.

Again, pricing is fair, although you will have to pay a premium if you only want the VPN for a single month. 

Free Trial

After some research, I found that CyberGhost does offer a 1-day free trial on most devices and platforms. It’s not very long to test out the VPN, but it will help you experience CyberGhost’s user interface and explore its server options before committing to a subscription. I didn’t have to hand over any payment info, but I did have to make an account, and verify my email address before I was allowed to get started.

Overall, CyberGhost’s pricing does make it more competitive. It also offers a wide array of payment methods, from cryptocurrency to PayPal. It’s one of the cheapest premium VPNs on the market if you’re looking at the longer deal, and it seems like a bargain considering what’s on offer.

For extra savings, take advantage of CyberGhost coupons today.

Do We Recommend This VPN?

On the surface, CyberGhost has it all – features galore and a massive server network. In fact, you could connect to a different server every day for 10 years if you wanted to do so. However, no VPN service is perfect.

It’s great if you’re looking for a solution for streaming, and their logging policy is airtight. They have apps for every device imaginable, and it’s useful if you want additional privacy features such as their NoSpy servers or ad-blocking capability.

CyberGhost speeds are exactly what you’d need to support frequent streaming, and its massive network is enticing if obfuscating geoblocks is the main aim for you. Yet, can you really trust Kape Technologies considering their history in the advertising sector? They now position themselves as a strong privacy advocate, and their software does seem to do the job effectively. They’ve taken on the likes of China in the past, and it’s also priced competitively, which helps.

CyberGhost isn’t just a VPN; it’s really an all-in-one solution for your online security needs, and that’s not a bad thing by any means. You’ll have to buy into their ecosystem to see the best results, and that means trusting them with a lot of personal data.

Overall, CyberGhost does deserve to be commended for its dedication to providing a strong service that promotes online privacy and security. Try an extended 45-day money-back guarantee trial or check out other VPN deals available today.