What PureVPN gets right

PureVPN has a simple pitch: a fully audited, working VPN at a price that's hard to match. It won't outperform NordVPN or ExpressVPN on speed or iPlayer reliability. But for most people's everyday streaming needs it does the job, and it does it for a fraction of the cost of the higher-end options.

If you're new to VPNs and not sure whether you'll actually use one regularly, PureVPN is a low-risk way to find out. And if you decide you want something more polished down the line, the step up to NordVPN or ExpressVPN is always there.

PureVPN has also been around a long time, longer than a lot of newer budget providers that have popped up in recent years. That matters more than it might seem: a provider that's survived over a decade in a competitive market, and rebuilt its trust after a rocky patch we cover further down, has generally had to get the fundamentals right to stick around.

Streaming performance

PureVPN works with the main UK and international streaming services: BBC iPlayer, Netflix UK and US, Disney+, Channel 4, and My5. For these everyday services it's reliable enough for regular use. Sky Go is where it struggles most: it's the hardest streaming service to unblock with any VPN, and PureVPN didn't get through on every attempt. ITVX was more consistent.

PureVPN labels some servers as streaming-optimised, and these are worth going to first rather than picking a standard server, especially for iPlayer. It took us a couple of minutes to find them the first time, but once you know where to look they're easy to get to. When we tried iPlayer using one, we got through on the second server we picked, which took about thirty seconds all in. If the first server you land on doesn't work, our general guide on switching VPN servers covers why that happens and what to try next, and it applies just as well here.

For Netflix, PureVPN got through to both the UK and US libraries consistently. Netflix is aggressive about blocking VPN IP addresses, and PureVPN keeps enough clean IPs in rotation that access was generally consistent. We did need to switch servers a couple of times across our sessions, which is pretty normal with any VPN and Netflix.

Honest comparison: iPlayer works with PureVPN, but you may need to try a couple of servers before getting through. That's a normal part of using a budget VPN. If you want better first-attempt reliability, NordVPN has a stronger track record for iPlayer specifically. If your streaming keeps stalling partway through rather than failing to load at all, it's also worth clearing your browser's stored data using our cache and cookies guide, since a stale session token can look like a VPN problem when it isn't one.

Speed and reliability

The most important tip for PureVPN: switch to WireGuard in the protocol settings before you do anything else. The default on some platforms is IKEv2 or OpenVPN, which are older and noticeably slower. Switching to WireGuard takes about thirty seconds and makes a real difference. If you've never changed a VPN protocol before, the steps are broadly the same across most providers, so our protocol switching guide is a useful reference even though it isn't PureVPN-specific.

With WireGuard active, speeds were more than adequate for HD streaming on a standard UK broadband connection. There's a bigger speed gap compared to NordVPN and ExpressVPN, but it's not the kind of gap that causes buffering. We streamed without any issues once WireGuard was selected. For context on why this gap exists at all: older protocols like OpenVPN encrypt and route traffic less efficiently than WireGuard, so the processing overhead is higher, which is part of why our VPN speed guide recommends checking your protocol first whenever a connection feels sluggish.

Connection stability was solid throughout our time with it. We didn't run into unexpected drops during streaming sessions. We tested the kill switch by cutting the connection mid-stream: it clamped down straight away, and checking our IP immediately afterwards showed our real address hadn't been exposed. Reconnection after a forced drop was a little slower than the higher-end options, but not by enough to cause any real frustration. If your connection drops more often than this on your own network, our piece on why a VPN keeps cutting out walks through the more common causes, most of which sit on the network side rather than with the VPN provider itself.

Privacy and security

Based in the British Virgin Islands, PureVPN sits in the same jurisdiction as ExpressVPN: outside the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and beyond the reach of UK and US data-retention laws (laws that require companies to keep records of your internet activity).

PureVPN's history: the 2017 logging incident, in context

This is worth its own section rather than a single line, because it's the thing most people ask about when PureVPN comes up. In 2017, when the company was based in Hong Kong, PureVPN provided connection logs to the FBI that helped identify a suspect in a cyberstalking case. At the time, PureVPN's privacy policy made claims about not logging user activity that didn't fully match what the company was actually able to hand over, and that mismatch is what damaged trust in the brand for years afterward.

What's changed since then is substantial, not cosmetic. PureVPN relocated its legal base to the British Virgin Islands, rebuilt its logging policy from the ground up, and commissioned an independent audit from KPMG to verify the new no-logs claim rather than just asserting it. That's the same pattern NordVPN and ExpressVPN have followed to build trust: an external, named auditor checking the policy against the actual infrastructure, not just a promise on a webpage.

We think it's fair to judge a company on where it is now rather than freezing it at its worst moment nearly a decade ago, provided the current claims hold up to scrutiny, which the KPMG audit suggests they do. But we also think you deserve to know the history rather than have it glossed over, which is why we cover it here directly rather than burying it in a footnote.

The no-logs audit and leak protection today

The no-logs policy has been audited by KPMG, who confirmed that no connection logs, IP addresses, browsing activity, or session timing data is retained under the current setup. One audit round is fewer than NordVPN and ExpressVPN have had, but it's a real, independent check from a well-known firm, and it covers the infrastructure PureVPN runs today rather than the Hong Kong-era setup involved in the 2017 incident.

DNS and WebRTC leak protection is on by default. We ran a leak test straight after connecting for the first time and came up clean, with no DNS or WebRTC leaks showing across any of the browsers we checked. If you're ever unsure whether your own connection is actually protected, our guide on how to check if your VPN is working walks through the quick tests you can run yourself in a couple of minutes.

Apps and usability, device by device

PureVPN has apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. The interface is a bit busier than NordVPN or ExpressVPN: there's more going on visually, and finding specific features takes slightly more navigation. It's not a bad app, it's just clearly built by a company optimising for feature count over minimalism, and it shows.

On Windows and macOS, the desktop app groups servers by streaming, gaming, and general-purpose categories, which helps once you know what you're looking for but adds an extra step compared to a flat server list. The Android app was easy enough to navigate for everyday use once we'd found our way around, even if it's not quite as slick as the higher-end options; menu labels occasionally use slightly different wording than the desktop app for the same setting, which can be a little disorienting if you're used to one platform and switch to the other. The iOS app is the most stripped-down of the three, with fewer of the extra categorisation options but a simpler connect screen as a result.

The Android TV app is a genuine advantage over ExpressVPN and NordVPN for anyone with an Android TV box or an Amazon Fire TV Stick that supports it, since it means a native app rather than relying purely on a router setup. Performance on TV hardware was acceptable for streaming, though menu navigation with a remote control is noticeably clunkier than using a phone or mouse, which is true of most VPN apps built for TV platforms rather than being specific to PureVPN.

The kill switch is in the settings menu and needs to be switched on manually on every platform that supports it. It's worth doing before you connect for the first time so your real IP is always protected if the connection drops unexpectedly.

Split tunneling is also available on the Windows and Android apps, letting you choose specific apps or programs to bypass the VPN tunnel entirely while everything else stays routed through it. It's a less prominent feature in PureVPN's menus than in ExpressVPN's, so it's worth checking Settings if you specifically want it, but it's there for anyone who needs one app, like a banking app or a game sensitive to added latency, to connect directly while the rest of your traffic stays protected.

The dedicated IP add-on, in more detail

One option PureVPN offers that NordVPN and ExpressVPN don't include in the same way: a dedicated IP address add-on, purchased separately from the base subscription. A dedicated IP is an address that only you use, rather than one shared across hundreds of other PureVPN users at the same time.

The main benefit is fewer blocks. Shared IP addresses get flagged by streaming services and banking sites more often, simply because so many different people are using the same address for different things; if one of them trips a fraud filter or a VPN-detection system, everyone sharing that address can end up blocked as a result. A dedicated IP sidesteps that entirely because your usage history is the only one attached to it.

It's genuinely useful for a specific type of user: someone who logs into the same banking or work system regularly and is tired of being flagged for "suspicious login location," or someone who kept hitting streaming blocks on a shared address even after switching servers a few times. It's an extra cost on top of the subscription, so it's not something we'd recommend to everyone, but it's a real point of difference worth knowing about if either of those situations sounds familiar.

Getting started with PureVPN

Here's how to get up and running:

  1. Sign up on the PureVPN website. The long-term plan is the best value. You can get started here.
  2. Download and install the app. PureVPN has apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and more. Download from the website or your device's app store.
  3. Log in and switch to WireGuard. This is the most important step. Go into Settings, find Protocol, and switch to WireGuard. Do this before you connect.
  4. Enable the kill switch. Still in Settings, turn on the kill switch. This stops your real IP from being exposed if the VPN drops mid-session.
  5. Connect and test. Tap Quick Connect, then open your streaming service. If a server isn't getting through, head to the streaming-optimised server category in the app and try one of those.

The WireGuard step is the main thing most people miss when setting up PureVPN, and it makes a noticeable difference to the speeds you'll see. From downloading the app to streaming with WireGuard active took us around four minutes, most of which was the download itself.

Pricing and plans

PureVPN's prices shift with promotions, and the site is priced in USD rather than GBP, so the amount you'll pay in pounds depends on the exchange rate at the time. The best thing to do is check the website directly for the current rate. That said, even at full price the long-term plan is consistently one of the cheapest audited VPNs available. The monthly plan is considerably more expensive and only makes sense if you need a VPN for a short period.

One subscription covers up to ten devices at once. The 31-day money-back guarantee is slightly longer than most competitors: if it doesn't work for you, you have a full month to test it and request a refund. Watch out for add-ons at checkout, like the dedicated IP option covered above or extra security bundles; they're optional, but the checkout flow does present them, so it's worth reading each screen rather than clicking through on autopilot.

Verdict

PureVPN does what it promises at a price that's hard to argue with. It gets through the main UK streaming services, has a verified no-logs policy, and covers ten devices on one account. The interface takes a little getting used to compared to the higher-end options, and having to switch to WireGuard manually is an extra step that shouldn't be necessary.

Set against the other two VPNs we recommend, the trade-off is straightforward. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are faster and more consistent on the harder streaming services, but PureVPN costs meaningfully less and still covers the everyday basics competently, backed by a genuine independent audit rather than just a promise. If budget is your priority and you want a VPN that handles the basics without fuss, PureVPN delivers. Go in with realistic expectations and you won't be disappointed.