Avast VPN: The Best VPN For You?

When the popular antivirus company Avast announced they would be offering a VPN service, many customers were excited at the prospect of the top provider of digital security pushing into the privacy space.

Unfortunately, Avast Secureline VPN has yet to live up to the hype. The app (both on mobile and desktop) is relatively featureless, only offering a fraction of the security protocol and customization options that privacy enthusiasts demand from a reliable Avast VPN.

So what are the alternatives to Avast Secureline? Are they any good? Read on in our guide to find out!

Is Avast VPN Good?

Where Avast Is Lacking?

Unfortunately for everything that Avast gets right there are also critical areas where it comes up short.

The first and most obvious is that there are no customization options. You cannot set a preferred protocol choose a default server to connect to or even activate a kill switch.

Netflix working with Avast Secureline is great but it is the only streaming service the VPN unlocks content for. And they only unlock Netflix library for the United States. If you are trying to watch a show that is only available in the UK or Canada you are out of luck. Not to mention that users of Hulu, HBO, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime or Disney Plus would not have any unblocking capabilities.

Finally there is the pricing. We broke down Avast Secureline VPN convoluted and confusing pricing scheme in our full review but here’s a recap.

Prices vary depending on how many devices you want to cover whether you buy the service on mobile or desktop and there are only two payment options. The mobile app is the only place to purchase a monthly or bi-yearly subscription (the desktop is annual only). However the option to pay with PayPal is nice.

In sum, there is a lot to love about Avast Secureline but there are a lot of areas where the Avast VPN needs to improve.

We have compiled a list of VPNs that offer many of the features perks and streaming services that Avast Secureline VPN is missing.

Best For Streaming – CyberGhost VPN

Best For Security Customization – IBVPN

Almost any VPN worth it’s salt will let you change the encryption protocol you connect through. But IBVPN goes the extra mile when it comes to encryption and overall strong security practice.

IBVPN has dozens of different encryption configurations to choose from. You can even choose the level at which standard encryption protocols protect your connection (128-bit AES up to 512-bit).

The service also uses what’s known as a “double VPN”. Essentially, if someone manages to detect your first IP address and wants to try to tie it back to your real identity, they’ll be greeted with yet another VPN node, making it virtually impossible for anyone to detect who you are or where you’re connecting from.

In addition, IBVPN also makes it super easy to get on the Tor network. If you really want to go the extra mile on security, there are connection options that automatically route your connection through Tor nodes. These keep you completely obscured on an Onion-only connection.

In comparison, Avast doesn’t even let you pick the security protocol you want to use. IBVPN’s plethora of security options makes even top tier providers like ExpressVPN shake a little in their boots.

Best For Extra Features – PureVPN

When it comes to packing in the most features for your dollar no one does it quite like PureVPN. In our review of the service, we found that not only does PureVPN offer the standard features you would expect from a modern VPN (kill switch DNS protection, IPv6 leak protection etc) but the company also offers a slew of its own proprietary features to boot.

One of the best innovations is Split Tunneling which lets you customize which apps on your computer route their traffic through your standard network and which connect through your VPN.

Split tunneling is perfect for anyone who wants to keep the load on their VPN connection as minimal as possible.

You can also turn your desktop or laptop into a VPN-enabled hotspot a feature that is unique to PureVPN.When it comes to extra features Avast still has a long way to go.

Wrap Up

As we mentioned in the intro, there are a few things that Avast gets perfectly right. The connection reliability, speed, and US-based Netflix streaming are outstanding aspects.

With this in mind, there are plenty of other VPNs who take what Avast VPN does to another level. Secureline is fine for what it is, but if you really want a premium VPN, there are better options.

IBVPN is the way to go for security enthusiasts. PureVPN has got you covered back to front with extra features. CyberGhost is essentially a one-stop-shop for all things streaming.

Considering everything we’ve discussed, it’s clear that Avast Secureline VPN must step up its game if it wants to compete with the biggest VPN providers.