Note: This Bitdefender Premium VPN Review is of the standalone premium VPN service and not the VPN service that comes as part of the full security suite.
Since having my data stolen earlier this year, I have been on a vendetta to secure my sensitive information of late. Yes, like many of you, my personal details are now in the cesspools of the dark web, waiting to be nominated for malicious use.
It sounds scary when you put it like that! 🤣
With some newly found vulnerabilities, my security march started with changing all of my passwords before quickly proceeding to purchase Bitdefender’s password manager to stay on top of the abundance of login details I have accumulated over the years. Next, I installed antivirus software, and while all of that is wonderful for locally managing my security, I needed something to protect me online too.
I’m not one to put all my eggs in one basket. However, having trawled the web for the best VPN solutions, I found myself back on Bitdefender’s website more than most. It was cheaper, delivered upon what I believed I would need, and I was already impressed with the password manager’s functionality.
So, to heck with it, I can break my rule every once in a while!
Here’s how my 7-day free trial has been! 👇
Bitdefender Premium VPN Review Contents:
- VPN Dashboard
- Key Features
- Speed & Performance
- Security & Privacy
- Streaming Services
- Servers & Locations
- Pricing & Plans
- Review Verdict
Bitdefender VPN Dashboard
Upon setting up Bitdefender’s VPN service, I couldn’t help but notice that the dashboard was similar to the password manager’s. There’s a clear theme at Bitdefender, focusing on simple and intuitive displays for easy navigation. The dashboard will not blow you away, but it will make finding what you need extremely easy.
To be clear, I am reviewing Bitdefender’s Premium VPN service and not a review of the bolt-on that comes with the full security suite. The dashboard of the security suite will, of course, look slightly different due to the increase in features. Nevertheless, I was impressed overall with the layout of the application.
There’s a sidebar menu that allows you to access all of the VPNs features and settings alongside a taskbar button on your Windows machine for tight controls. When you open the dashboard, the software will let you know whether you are connected to a VPN server. You can also choose your location from here. The VPN will automatically set your location; however, I would recommend playing around with these settings a little to find the best servers and locations for your own connection.
Beyond that, the setup and dashboard for windows deliver a fairly no-thrills experience that is intuitive, with ample support prompts along the way. I have seen commentary that the macOS version is a little lacklustre, but only noobs play video games on macOS anyways, and they deserve to get hacked.
No, just kidding – maybe! 🤣
Key Features
Available on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, the features for each application will vary slightly. However, each application will deliver the core fundamentals of what a good gaming VPN service should provide.
For Windows, you get the full feature stack of Bitdefender’s VPN service, which includes split-tunnelling, auto-connect options and unlimited encrypted traffic for up to 10 devices. For someone like me who is always on the move, the latter came in very handy.
In addition, you can access geo-restricted content while bypassing ISP throttling which again is extremely useful when trying to stream from highly popular applications. Nobody likes having their download speeds clipped, now, do they?
There are encryption and tunnelling protocols, logging and a kill switch that completely shut downs your connection should you be compromised. For gaming at home, you probably won’t need this killswitch all too much.
However, for LAN parties and peer-to-peer gaming sessions, there’s no guarantee that somebody won’t be trying to steal your data.
That said, there is no malware blocker or SmartDNS functionality with Bitdefender’s VPN services which is a slight letdown. I can see why Bitdefender has not included SmartDNS, as that would allow users to watch blocked content from certain regions without data encryption which goes against what VPNs are supposed to provide.
Yet, malware-blocking technology seems to be a standard feature that I feel Bitdefender should have included here.
Ad-blocking and anti-tracker technology are available, however.
Speed & Performance
As I am sure you are acutely aware, internet speeds in Australia can often be horrifically slow. So, I was very sceptical about how connecting to my favourite streaming services and web applications via a VPN could deliver the promised speeds.
However, when I started using Bitdefender’s VPN service, my concerns were promptly quashed. There was a slight stutter to getting connected in the first place; however, once connected, the general experience was extremely smooth. A great feature of Bitdefender’s VPN is that your ISP is not throttled for bandwidth which makes for a pleasant experience.
Utilising a 1GB per second data centre, I connected to Bitdefender’s nearest location and found steady speeds of around 250Mbps which for where I live is relatively decent. For context, downloading directly from my Xbox Series X caps out at around 100Mbps, so I was extremely happy to see that I wasn’t capped as much with Bitdefender.
VPN Security & Privacy
For VPN security features, Bitdefender is on par with other leading VPN services, which is nothing short of what I expected. Based out of Romania, the home base of Bitdefender sits within a privacy-friendly country with a stack of features to keep you safe.
For Windows users, there are encryption and tunnelling protocols that utilise AES-256 encryption. For anyone not familiar with encryption standards, AES-256 encryption is the protocol that both the Australian armed forces and our national banks utilise.
So yeah, you’re pretty secure!
The protocol that Bitdefender uses goes by the name of Catapult Hydra, which is touted to be extremely fast. So much so that it has won multiple awards in this department. For security, there is little documentation on how secure Catapult Hydra is compared to others; however, the general consensus is that it is pretty secure.
Streaming Services
While my primary use case for Bitdefender’s VPN service was, of course, to browse the internet anonymously, streaming every once in a while is always a nice treat. After all, it’s the next best alternative when your eyes need a break from FPS games!
Having spent most of my life in the UK, BBC iPlayer is a big one for me and historically, I have had trouble accessing this from Australia. This was another reason why I chose Bitdefender, as BBC iPlayer is included with the package. Connecting to BBC iPlayer was seamless, and there were zero buffering issues despite having suffered from this using dodgy free VPN services in the past.
While BBC iPlayer and YouTube are practically all I watch, other users might be disappointed to learn that Bitdefender does not support Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime. If you are a big couch potato, you may want to look for an alternative here, as there are no signs of Bitdefender including this as part of their package very shortly.
I could be wrong. However, I would have thought this would be included by now, given that other VPN services are using this as their flagship feature. This makes Bitdefender best for unblocking websites rather than streaming services. Which, for most, will be just fine.
Servers, Locations & Data
Until recently, one of the major drawbacks I frequently read on other Bitdefender VPN reviews was the lack of server locations. However, it would appear that Bitdefender has since improved its range with up 49 locations; instead of 30.
With the full Bitdefender Premium VPN subscription, you will enjoy 4,000+ servers within 48 countries. No matter your location, you will receive unlimited encrypted traffic across ten devices and no traffic logs.
Bitdefender now stands much taller than it used to in this department, and I highly doubt you will ever need to access the other countries that are currently unavailable.
Pricing & Plans
As with the Password Manager, Bitdefender’s VPN service comes with two really simple pricing plans. There’s a monthly subscription and a yearly subscription. The monthly subscription costs $8.99 per month for the full VPN suite, and the yearly subscription cuts this down by 50% when you pay for 12 months upfront.
There is a footnote stating that the 50% discount is only valid for the first year before your plan will return back to the total price. However, as with nearly every major VPN service provider, I have no doubt Bitdefender will be chucking discounts at you via email to resubscribe for the following year.
At this price point, both the monthly and yearly plans are relatively affordable. And, when you consider that Bitdefender is also slightly cheaper than NordVPN, if you are not interested in streaming from Disney+ or Amazon Prime, you will enjoy better value here.
Personally, unless you are really into streaming services, there is better value in Bitdefender’s full security suite, which comes with both a stripped-down version of their VPN service and a password manager. While you get all the goodies by subscribing to each of the respective dedicated licences, the best value solution is the security suite.
Bitdefender Premium VPN Review Verdict
All things considered, Bitdefender VPN is a solid choice for security-conscious internet users whose primary purpose is to protect data over using VPNs for streaming. A worthy purchase for just a cup of coffee a month.
If you are looking for a renowned VPN service that is stable, ridiculously secure and cheaper than other A-grade services in Australia, Bitdefender puts up a good argument.
The pricing is reasonable, and your data is secure from both Bitdefender employees and the internet. Plus, there are apps for both desktop and mobile. Oh, and BBC iPlayer works like a charm!
I was disappointed with the lack of malware blocking, as this feature should always be included with any security technology. However, this is where Bitdefender’s Premium Security Suite starts to look a little better value for money for all-around protection.
With regular upgrades, should Bitdefender increase the variety of streaming services on offer, I do not doubt that their VPN service will start to compete seriously with others on offer for gamers. After all, we gamers do like a good stream session every now and again!
Content Disclaimer: This Bitdefender Premium VPN review has been independently written, having personally used the software since July 2022. GamePro has not been commissioned by Bitdefender, nor have we received content royalties for this article. This includes financial payment, free advertising, gift vouchers or free software subscriptions.
Should you click on any link to Bitdefender and make a purchase, GamePro may receive a small commission. But that’s just how we keep this website alive! Feel free to hit the comments with any questions about our experience with Bitdefender’s premium VPN solutions, and we’ll endeavour to respond as soon as possible.
