CyberGhost VPN review: great value, but no privacy audit yet

CYBERGHOST is a well-known name in the VPN arena and one that sits comfortably in the sweet spot between features and pricing.

But is it actually any good? We tested CyberGhost for two weeks and here’s everything you need to know about this VPN.

CyberGhost is a solid VPN service option with plenty of security features

*If you click on a link in this piece, we may earn affiliate revenue.

CyberGhost VPN, from £1.59 per month – buy here

CyberGhost is undoubtedly one of the cheapest VPN services money can buy, and yet it’s all but limited in both privacy and security features.

Unfortunately, the service has not undergone a third-party security audit. However, its privacy policy seems to cover all the bases.

We tested CyberGhost on Windows 11, but the VPN is also available on Windows 10, as well as macOS, Linux, and routers.

Of course, you can also get the CyberGhost apps for Android and iPhone devices from the Play Store and App Store, respectively.

CyberGhost VPN review: at a glance

All in all, CyberGhost is a valid VPN service offering some impressive features at a relatively inexpensive price.

It offers strong security capabilities, an impressive range of specialized servers and a modern-looking client.

The latter may need some tweaking in the future (it doesn’t currently show notifications when it disconnects, for instance), but that’s secondary when considering CyberGhost’s overall capabilities.

The number of supported devices in a single subscription is also higher than most VPN providers, and CyberGhost can successfully unlock most streaming websites.

Down below is a complete overview of CyberGhost’s features, including security, privacy and much more.

Tested: February 2022, Windows 11

Pros:

Large server fleetOptimised servers for streaming sitesSeven simultaneous connectionsLong-term subscription cheapFast speedsClient is visually appealing

Cons:

Client is a bit clunkySlower speeds on NoSpy serversOwned by Kape TechnologiesExtras and 1-month subscription expensive

What is CyberGhost VPN?

CyberGhost offers a number of useful security features

Headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, CyberGhost VPN was founded in 2004 and started offering its VPN service in 2011.

In 2017 the company was acquired by the Crossrider Group (now Kape Technologies), a company known for some time for its malware distribution tactics.

CyberGhost is not the only VPN service under the Kape brand, which also acquired ExpressVPN in 2020.

Just like ExpressVPN, however, CyberGhost remained a separate company after the acquisition.

And despite the VPN service provider not having undergone an official third-party audit like NordVPN, it does publish quarterly transparency reports.

These include the number of DMCA complaints received, malware activity flags, and police requests to share users’ identities or online histories.

How much does CyberGhost VPN cost?

CyberGhost is cheaper than most of the VPN services we have tested

CyberGhost, £9.99 per month – buy hereCyberGhost, £35.4 per one year (save £84.48) – buy hereCyberGhost, £56.4 per two year (save £183.36) – buy hereCyberGhost, £62.01 per three years + three months (save £327.6) – buy here

It’s important to start this section by saying that CyberGhost is one of the very few (respectable) VPN providers offering an actual free trial.

In addition, the company also provides a 45-day money-back guarantee (against the 30-day money-back guarantee of most VPN providers).

In terms of subscription prices, Cyberghost is a strange beast. Its monthly cost, if considering the basic subscription, is one of the highest on the market.

However, if you look at the longer-term plans, particularly the 39-month one, prices go drastically down.

In fact, we want to argue here that the latter is possibly the cheapest VPN subscription we have seen so far.

The only alternative with a similar price tag is Surfshark, which will cost you £44.50 per two years. And while this is slighter cheaper than CyberGhost’s two-year plan, Surfshark does not currently offer a three-year plan.

Additionally, CyberGhost offers dedicated IP addressed at a starting price of £4 per month (£3 if you subscribe for three years), and a dedicated Password Manager for £2.50 per month (£1.39 if you pick the yearly subscription option.)

Finally, to ensure customers’ anonymity, Cyberghost allows Bitcoin payments, alongside the more traditional Paypal and Credit/Debit payment options.

CyberGhost VPN: server and server locations

CyberGhost offers a vast fleet of servers

According to the company’s website, CyberGhost currently has more than 6,000 servers in 88 countries around the world.

Users can just click/tap on the big round button to automatically connect to the server with less usage or they can manually select a server from a list.

Server options are actually one of our favourite elements of the CyberGhost VPN.

In fact, in addition to regular servers, users can choose to use their own Dedicated IP (purchased separately), but also a number of specialized servers.

These include ‘NoSpy’ servers, which are the result of a crowdfunding campaign. Located in Romania, these servers are entirely owned and managed by CyberGhost, rather than the typical reliance on third-party server providers.

Just keep in mind that NoSpy servers are only free if you sign up for any plan that’s longer than a month, otherwise you’ll have to pay extra for them.

Cyberghost also offers dedicated servers for gaming. These are servers with particularly low ping and/or closer to your location.

Something worth mentioning here: the vast majority of Cyberghost’s dedicated servers come with Ping and Distance indicators, to help you pick the best one for every occasion.

Finally, Cyberghost also has specialized servers for torrenting and streaming (more on this later.)

CyberGhost VPN: security and privacy

CyberGhost has solid security features, but no privacy audit yet

When it comes to privacy practices, Romania is technically outside of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances‘ area of operation.

Because of this, CyberGhost claims it can enforce its No-Logs policy with full government support.

At the same time, CyberGhost VPN has not yet undergone a third-party security audit, unlike NordVPN.

In addition, the fact that the company is now owned by Kape Technologies may make some users feel unease.

Still, at the time of writing, no leaks or reports of malpractices have been discovered by CyberGhost VPN users.

In addition, the service offers some privacy-focused features, including Prevent DNS leaks, Automatic Kill-switch and Block content toggles (the latter not always working flawlessly.)

In terms of security, CyberGhost VPN offers solid protection across the spectrum.

These include features like the aforementioned NoSpy servers, but also three separate VPN protocols (OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard), Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size to fix speed issues, and a disable IPv6 connections option designed to reduce the attack surface of your network.

CyberGhost VPN: speed and performance

We have mixed feelings about the CyberGhost VPN client

At a first glance, the CyberGhost VPN client is a sleek, modern one, very intuitive and easy to use.

It is also one of the lightest we have tested, taking up just 96MB of RAM when connected. The only lighter VPN client we have tested is ExpressVPN, taking up roughly 75MB.

The CyberGhost VPN client is very light

So why the mixed feelings I hear you asking? Well, simply put, it’s about the client’s ‘expanded’ interface.

Why the ‘collapsed’ version of the client is very intuitive and includes all the information you might need at a glance, the expanded one has a weird resizing behaviour that will make it hard to navigate on smaller screens.

That being said, if you managed to ‘view’ the whole thing, the CyberGhost VPN interface is pretty standard and easy to use.

A last note about this VPN’s client (at least on Windows), sometimes ads appear on screen with promotional offers, something one does not necessarily want to see after paying for a VPN subscription.

In terms of speeds, CyberGhost VPN performed remarkably well on most servers.

The only real slowdowns we have noticed were when using the NoSpy servers and some U.S. ones.

Down below is a breakdown of speeds using different server options.

No VPN

Best server location (London)

NoSpy server (Bucharest)

Gaming server (Frankfurt)

Torrent server (London)

Streaming server (New York)

Some considerations to keep in mind regarding these speeds.

When using the Best Server option, both download and upload speeds almost remained the same as when not using a VPN. Quite remarkable.

In addition, the dedicated gaming servers performed fairly well too, with decent speeds and a ping of roughly 20ms (anything below 25ms is generally considered very good ping.)

Also, CyberGhost’s streaming-focussed servers come with handy descriptions to help you pick the best option for particular streaming services.

CyberGhost VPN offers various servers specifically for unblocking streaming sites

We have tried watching Netflix using dedicated U.S., Japanese and Italian servers, and the service worked perfectly on all three, displaying correctly localised content.

The only downside in terms of speed here regards the NoSpy servers, which reduced both download and upload speeds almost by half and brought the ping up to 50ms.

While this is still possibly a good compromise for extra privacy and security, you may want to use a different server for online gaming, for instance.

How many devices can be supported on CyberGhost VPN?

A subscription to CyberGhost VPN grants you access to seven simultaneous connections.

These include both mobile and desktop devices, as well as routers and any other device supporting the installation of the service.

The number is at the higher-end of supported connections when compared to competitors.

In fact, after Surfshark, which includes an unlimited number of connections in a single subscription, all other VPN services we have tested offer fewer.

ExpressVPN, for example, allows for up to five device connections, and NordVPN six.

CyberGhost VPN: is it any good?

CyberGhost ticks most of the VPN boxes at a very appealing price (if you opt for long-term plans).

It is excellent to unblock streaming sites, and its NoSpy servers grant extra privacy and security when compared to many competitors (though they are slower than other CyberGhost servers).

A CyberGhost subscription also grants you access to seven simultaneous connections, which is more than most VPN providers.

On a negative note, the Kape Technologies’ acquisition has cast some shadows on the company’s future privacy policies.

However, at the time of writing, the company’s no-logs policy seems authentic, reinforced by the publication of quarterly reports.

It would be good to see a third-party security audit for CyberGhost in the near future, as that would cement the company’s privacy position in the VPN arena.

However, even without it, CyberGhost VPN is still an excellent choice well worth its price.

CyberGhost VPN, from £1.59 per month – buy here

How we test VPN services

Our experts at The Sun use Ookla to test the speed of the VPN services we review. We are based in London, and currently testing speeds via Wi-Fi. All tests are conducted using the same machine and at the same distance from the router.

We test and review each VPN using the same processes, and judge them by the same criteria each time.

These criteria are price, server quality and location, security and privacy, speed and performance, and number/type of supported devices.

All of our reviews are editorially independent and free from bias.

Make sure you know your country’s laws and regulations if you’re unsure about how you’re using a VPN service.

Enjoyed our CyberGhost VPN review? Then why not have a look at our pick of the best VPNs for Netflix in 2022.

We have also written about the best antivirus software, both free and paid.

For additional tech recommendations,feel free to check out our dedicated Sun Selects Tech page.

*If you click on a link in this piece, we may earn affiliate revenue.