CyberGhost VPN Review

Streaming, Does CyberGhost VPN Work with Netflix?

Yes, CyberGhost VPN is suitable for Netflix streaming. In fact, it has servers optimized for high-speed streaming for Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBOMax, and Netflix among others.

One aspect that most people are unaware of is that streaming services have sophisticated block mechanisms for each region. By sophisticated we mean that only a number of VPN providers can unblock this type of content.

Fortunately, CyberGhost VPN is one of them.

Thanks to the use of special streaming servers, CyberGhost VPN opens the door to premium content from any region. This allows you to enjoy Netflix, HBOMax, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and many other streaming services by simply choosing the country you want to connect from. Moreover, CyberGhost VPN has prepared a group of servers especially optimized for streaming.

In the images above you can see how with a couple of clicks you can access restricted content from anywhere in the world regardless if you are using macOS or Windows 10. And thanks to CyberGhost VPN’s optimized servers, you can do so with the best quality available.

Using Netflix as a reference, we ran several tests to check the service in some of the most popular regions such as the United States, Italy, and Japan.

We also performed other tests, but this time using the initial screen where all the servers are listed.

In the vast majority of cases, we had no connectivity issues, except for two specific servers in the United States, Miami and Washington, where we were unable to connect to Netflix.

In both cases, we got an error after several seconds.

This test shows that you should indeed use the recommended streaming servers to avoid connection problems. On the other hand, it also brings up an interesting point. Unlike other providers such as NordVPN and ExpressVPN, you have a limited number of servers for streaming, especially if you want to watch US content.

Is this a disadvantage of CyberGhost VPN? In our opinion, it is not. Or at least, not necessarily. It is almost impossible to test the bandwidth available at peak times on a particular server. As mentioned, the only thing that this test shows is that the number of servers optimized for streaming is lower than that of other providers.

P2P, Does CyberGhost VPN Allow Torrenting?

Yes, CyberGhost VPN has special servers for torrenting. Additionally, CyberGhost VPN’s friendly user interface makes it very easy for you to choose between the closest server, a server with more privacy, or a server with higher speed. However, there is a catch.

While unblocking streaming services is complex, providing a high level of privacy and performance while downloading torrents is an even greater challenge.

CyberGhost VPN is aware of what it takes to offer top-notch torrenting service. For this reason, similar to the case of streaming, it has provided a shortcut in the main menu for download-optimized servers.

Once you click on “For downloading” in the case of macOS or “For torrenting” in the case of Windows 10, the UI displays the list of P2P optimized servers available around the world.

And that’s when you start to notice the differences between the versions of CyberGhost VPN for macOS and Windows 10.

On macOS, we were delighted to see that the traffic status of each server was displayed in real-time.

This information is extremely useful, as it allows you to choose the server based on your priorities. The higher the traffic, the lower the available bandwidth and therefore the lower the maximum download speed. However, more traffic also means more anonymity since there are more users sharing the same IP address.

In other words, you have control between speed vs. anonymity, which is an advantage that few VPN providers offer.

Sadly, the Windows 10 version does not offer the same information. Instead, it displays the distance between your current location and the VPN server.

This information is not as useful as the server’s traffic level, as it only helps you choose the closest server. In fact, unless you work on the road, once you bookmark a couple of VPN servers near you this information becomes irrelevant.

Since the largest user base uses Windows, we find this to be a downside to CyberGhost VPN. We would like to say that this is the only difference between CyberGhost VPN’s Windows and macOS applications. But it is not.

CyberGhost VPN Windows Vs. macOS Apps

There is no doubt that the user experience is seriously affected when the UI or the functionality between different platforms is not the same. Today it is very common for users to work with different platforms and operating systems, both at work and at home.

It is for this reason that we attach so much importance to uniformity between VPN UIs. Beyond the aesthetic differences inherent to each operating system, we consider that any radical difference in the functionality of the application can be a huge inconvenience for many users.

Unfortunately, that is the case with CyberGhost VPN.

Let’s start with the Privacy settings located on the main screen.

In macOS, the only option available is the control to enable or disable the blocking of unwanted content (ads, trackers, and malware).

In Windows 10 on the other hand, in addition to the unwanted content blocker, you have the control to enable and disable DNS leaks and the Automatic Kill Switch. It should be noted that the Kill Switch is enabled by default in macOS and cannot be disabled.

As far as Smart rules are concerned, the changes are even more noticeable.

In Windows 10 there are four tabs available, while in macOS there are only two, Startup rules and Wifi rules.

The differences between the Windows 10 and macOS applications for these two tabs are minimal. However, the remaining two tabs that are only available for Windows 10 have to do with a crucial functionality, Split Tunneling.

In another section, we will discuss in more detail how CyberGhost VPN handles split tunnelling, but for now, you should keep in mind that this functionality is only available on Windows 10.

Privacy and Smart settings aside, there are also notable differences in the preferences of each application. The settings of the Windows app have three sections, General, CyberGhost VPN, and My Account, of which we will focus on the first two. For its part, the macOS app also has three sections, but only one is relevant General settings.

General settings in macOS allow you to choose whether to run CyberGhost VPN at startup, check for updates automatically, MTU settings, and most importantly, the protocol to use. Although we will discuss the protocols later, it is important to know that only IKEv2 and WireGuard are available by default on macOS. To use the OpenVPN protocol you will need to manually install Tunnelblick and configure a new VPN profile in CyberGhost VPN.

The General tab in Windows is very similar, with the difference that you can choose between Light and Dark themes. Protocols and other options are available in the CyberGhost VPN tab.

As you can see in the image above, the Windows 10 app does have OpenVPN installed by default, along with IKEv2 and WireGuard. Additionally, the options to use TCP or UDP protocol (OpenVPN), use a random port to connect (OpenVPN) and disconnect IPv6 connections when activating the VPN is offered.

When reviewing the differences between the Windows and macOS interfaces we can’t help but think that they are created by different development teams, which explains the inconsistencies in the user experience and functionality of each.

CyberGhost VPN Kill Switch

Kill Switch is a mandatory feature for all modern VPNs, as it prevents your IP from being leaked in the event that the secure connection is dropped.

As mentioned in the previous section, CyberGhost VPN has a Kill Switch for both Windows 10 and macOS. Additionally, the Android and iOS versions also have this feature enabled by default.

Speciality Servers

One aspect that will probably not be to the liking of advanced users is the speciality servers offered by CyberGhost VPN. Or rather, the lack of them.

The only “speciality” servers that CyberGhost VPN has are those that we have already discussed, which are optimized for torrenting and streaming, and the servers with dedicated IP addresses (which require a separate subscription).

Otherwise, CyberGhost VPN does not offer the possibility of using Double VPN Servers, Onion Over VPN Servers, or Obfuscated Servers as do other providers such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Or at least not using the standard VPN subscription.

For an extra cost, CyberGhost VPN offers what it calls “NoSpy servers“, which in simple terms, are obfuscated servers with a high level of privacy located in Romania, a jurisdiction that is not required to share information with the 5 Eyes.

Does CyberGhost VPN Support VPN Split Tunneling?

Yes, CyberGhost VPN has support for Split VPN Tunneling, but only for Windows and Android apps.

A feature that is very handy for regular users of VPN services is Split Tunneling. This is a feature that consists of diverting part of the traffic to pass through the VPN, while the rest continues to use the local IP as normal.

One of the advantages of split tunnelling is that it makes it possible to ensure that a secure connection is used in certain circumstances (for example, when downloading torrents). Although CyberGhost VPN has this feature, it is not formally called “split tunnelling”, and we think the reason for this is that it is somewhat limited.

Most VPN providers support three modes of Split Tunneling, App Exclusion, Inverse Split, and URL Split. CyberGhost VPN, on the other hand, passes all traffic through the secure connection by default.

In the Smart rules menu, CyberGhost VPN offers the possibility of creating a list of URLs that do not pass through the VPN, which in practice is URL Splitting.

CyberGhost VPN also allows you to create a list of applications that will automatically initiate a secure connection. This is not actually split tunnelling, but at least it is a precautionary mechanism in case you forget to activate the VPN when using such applications.

Supported Protocols

Although we have briefly mentioned the protocols supported by CyberGhost VPN, in this section we will address this topic in greater detail.

OpenVPN. This is one of the most widely used protocols in the market due to its flexibility, security, and high performance. As expected, CyberGhost VPN supports this protocol for both UDP and TCP connections. It is pertinent to note that this protocol is only available by default on Windows, Android, Linux, and Fire TV apps. As mentioned earlier,  to use OpenVPN on macOS you will need to manually install Tunnelblick, which is certainly an inconvenience to keep in mind.

IKEv2. It is a protocol that stands out for being very fast and secure, specially designed to be used both on computers and mobile devices. Unfortunately, CyberGhost VPN only supports this protocol on Windows, macOS, and iOS, leaving Android devices out.

WireGuard. This is by far the most advanced VPN protocol at the moment. It offers faster speeds than OpenVPN, highly encrypted connections, and top-notch connection stability. While WireGuard is still under active development, most VPN providers have begun to adopt this promising protocol. In the case of CyberGhost VPN, WireGuard is available for Windows (CyberGhost 8 only), macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and Android / Fire TV App.

Although on paper CyberGhost VPN claims to support the leading protocols on the market (OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard), in practice we noticed a huge disadvantage with respect to its competitors. Not providing a native OpenVPN solution for macOS or a solution (even a workaround) for using WireGuard on Android puts CyberGhost VPN at a clear disadvantage compared to NordVPN and ExpressVPN. While these shortcomings do not affect the average user (who uses the default protocol supported by their device) it can be a dealbreaker for advanced users.

Supported Platforms

The expectation today is that VPNs support a wide variety of devices. In this sense, CyberGhost VPN supports the following platforms.

• Windows 10, 8, 7
• macOS 10+
• Linux
• Android 7+
• iOS 11+
• iPadOS
• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Smart TV’s with Smart DNS
• Routers supported by DD-WRT, TomatoUSB, and TomatoUSB Merlin firmware
• Streaming consoles with Smart DNS support
• Gaming consoles with Smart DNS support
• Other devices with varying level of support (Synology NAS, Raspberry Pi, and more)

In this section, it is relevant to return to the topic of user experience. As previously mentioned when comparing the macOS and Windows apps, CyberGhost VPN does not provide the same functionality on all platforms. Moreover, the UIs, although similar, do not have the same layout. In our opinion, this is a drawback, especially in modern homes where it is common for different operating systems and devices to converge.

Another aspect related to the platforms supported by CyberGhost VPN has to do with our experience using the app for macOS.

While we applaud the fact that CyberGhost VPN is one of the few providers to offer a native app for the new Apple Silicon M1 Chip, our experience was not entirely satisfactory. During the setting up, the program failed to install correctly. After downloading the program again, we noticed that the installation process (which normally takes a few seconds) took longer than expected. Furthermore, during the week we were testing CyberGhost VPN the app froze twice and we even had a kernel panic restart (the first since we bought our Mac last year).

All in all, we hope this is just an isolated incident that will be resolved in future versions of CyberGhost VPN, however, if you are using a Mac Mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac with the M1 chip you may want to keep this type of issue in mind.

CyberGhost VPN Servers Locations

CyberGhost VPN is one of the providers with the largest presence around the world. At the time of writing, CyberGhost VPN has 6982 servers, in 114 locations in 91 countries.

That figure far exceeds competitors such as NordVPN for example, at least on a global scale.

We say this because in the case of the United States (one of the main locations given the boom in streaming content) CyberGhost VPN has 1306 servers in 11 cities, while NordVPN has 1970 servers in 15 cities. For reference, ExpressVPN has servers in 23 cities in the USA, leading its competitors in this regard.

Simply put, CyberGhost VPN is a good alternative for people who need to connect to different VPN servers in various countries, but it is not necessarily the best option for streaming content given its lower server count in the US and other high-traffic destinations. For a complete list of CyberGhost VPN servers, click here.

Customer Support

CyberGhost VPN has several support channels, including its Live Chat, its extensive FAQs, and its contact form.

One of the features we praise about their support page is that they keep users updated on any issues, as was the case with Channel4 and ITV during our tests.

Like other market-leading providers, you can also get a wealth of guides and tutorials on CyberGhost VPN’s YouTube channel.

However, another trend that CyberGhost VPN follows is not offering a contact phone number, which can be a problem for some.

CyberGhost VPN Price

If price is a deciding factor for you, then CyberGhost VPN may be the alternative you’ve been looking for.

CyberGhost VPN plans range from $2.25/month (3-year plan) to $12.99/month (monthly plan).

Now, to give you a better perspective of the value CyberGhost VPN offers, let’s compare it with one of its major competitors NordVPN.

Although both services have different plans, below is a comparison of their prices.

Monthly plan

• CyberGhost VPN from $12.99 per month
• NordVPN from $11.95 per month
• Winner NordVPN

Other plans

• CyberGhost VPN, from $2.25/month (3-year plan), from $3.49/month (2-year plan), from $3.99/month (1-year plan)
• NordVPN, from $3.67/month (2-year plan), from $4.92/month (1-year plan)
• Winner CyberGhost VPN

Now, leaving aside the seasonality of VPN prices, the results are very interesting.

If you don’t feel comfortable signing up for a 1-3 year plan with CyberGhost VPN, then NordVPN offers you a better price on a monthly plan. On the other hand, if you feel that CyberGhost VPN is for you, then you can get a better price by signing up for long-term plans.

However, before making a decision, it is essential that you take into account what each provider offers. If you have already read the other sections, you will have already noticed that CyberGhost VPN may not meet some of your expectations. In our opinion, CyberGhost VPN’s price offers excellent value for those users who do not need advanced features such as those provided by NordVPN or ExpressVPN.

Speed & Performance

Talking about the speed of the internet connection is another controversial topic. Similar to the case of privacy, there are no 100% reliable speed tests. In this case, it is not the responsibility of the tool itself, but rather of variable factors such as the level of service saturation, latency, interference, and many more.

However, performing consecutive tests of the connection speed with and without the VPN activated can give us an (approximate) idea of how much overhead the service has.

That being said, we use the following procedure to test the speed of CyberGhost VPN:

• We made use of an ad-free and open-source test to measure the speed of the Internet connection.
• We used a 4G LTE broadband service as a base since it is slower and more limited than a wired service.
• Our tests were done from the American region using first servers in the USA, then in the UK, and finally in New Zealand.

Let’s start with the base speed (without activating CyberGhost VPN) at the time of starting the tests.

The base speed, in this case, 13.91 Mb/s, will allow us to determine how efficient CyberGhost VPN is. Ideally, this speed should be maintained regardless of the distance to the server. Let’s see what happens when choosing a server in the USA.

This is the closest server to our location, and even so, we noticed a drop of almost 8% in download speed. Additionally, we can see how the latency and retransmission are almost the same.

Let’s try now with a server in Europe.

As expected, the drop in download speed increased. In this case, we measured a 27.9% lower speed as well as an increase in latency and retransmission.

It now remains to test with a server on the other side of the world, in New Zealand.

To our surprise, the speed is basically the same as from Europe, probably due to the lower congestion of this server. The latency value shows that we are further away, however, we are a bit worried about the high retransmission, so we did another test but this time in Japan.

Not bad. Japan is closer to our location than New Zealand, but further away than the UK. Even so, the drop in speed was only 19.6%.

As previously mentioned, although these tests are not completely reliable, they at least give us a clear perspective of what to expect from CyberGhost VPN in terms of speed.

• The speed drops we have measured range from 8% to 27%, which does not make CyberGhost VPN the fastest provider we have tested. For your reference, you can check our review of NordVPN (spoiler alert, it’s 2x faster than CyberGhost VPN).
• While distance to the server is a key factor in speed, so is the number of users connected to the server. In this sense, CyberGhost VPN has the advantage of telling you (at least on macOS) which server is being used the least.

Privacy, Does CyberGhost VPN Log My Data?

No, CyberGhost VPN doesn’t track, collect, or share your private information.

CyberGhost VPN is a company that takes privacy very seriously. Proof of this is the measures it has taken to ensure that your data is kept private.

• Zero-log policy. CyberGhost VPN doesn’t collect connection timestamps, session information, bandwidth usage, traffic data, IP addresses, or any other user data as stated in their no-logs policy.
• Based in Romania. Not being subject to EU or US jurisdictions, CyberGhost VPN has no legal obligation to share your data.
• Crypto friendly. While you can sign up using your credit card, debit card, and other traditional payment methods, CyberGhost VPN also allows you to pay using Bitcoin, thus adding an extra layer of privacy.

CyberGhost VPN review: Verdict

After our extensive analysis of CyberGhost VPN, we can draw several conclusions.

CyberGhost VPN offers an intuitive user interface, ideal for people who are new to VPNs.

Moreover, from a pricing point of view, CyberGhost VPN offers very attractive plans, as long as you are willing to commit to long term plans.

All in all, CyberGhost VPN can be a good alternative for people who do not require advanced features, and who are only looking for a VPN provider at an affordable price.