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CyberGhost regularly appears high on the list of top VPNs, but it's not without drawbacks. In this CyberGhost review, we weigh the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision when purchasing your next VPN.
Key Takeaways: What Is CyberGhost & Is It Good to Use?
CyberGhost is an easy-to-use VPN with several affordable plans and a vast array of features to help you enjoy maximum security and privacy.
This VPN’s specialized servers for streaming and gaming offer effective geo-unblocking and smooth, lag-free viewing, but its upload speeds suffer a little.
CyberGhost offers native apps for all major operating systems, some smart TVs and routers, giving you the freedom to protect practically any device.
Facts & Expert Analysis About CyberGhost:
Protocols: CyberGhost offers three secure protocols — OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard — all of which are effective at keeping your data private.
NoSpy Servers: CyberGhost fully owns and manages its NoSpy servers at its headquarters in Romania, a country subject to strong EU privacy laws.
Simultaneous Connections: The app restricts you to only seven simultaneous connections, but you can get around this by installing the app on your router, thereby protecting all devices on your network with just one connection.
In this comprehensive CyberGhost review, we’ll take a deep dive into a virtual private network known for its user-friendly applications, affordable pricing and dedicated streaming servers. We’ll discuss why these features help CyberGhost rank among the best VPNs on the market.
We’ll also take a look at the aspects of the service that could be improved, such as its slower-than-average speed performance and lack of features on its mobile apps. Our goal is to provide you with all the information you need to decide whether the VPN is worth your money.
Time's up
06/12/2022
Rewrote this review. CyberGhost has added a password manager tool to its arsenal, and introduced a token-based system for dedicated IPs to keep users truly anonymous.
07/13/2022
Updated the review to reflect accurate speed testing.
09/28/2022
Updated the review to include the independent audit by Deloitte.
10/25/2022
We uUpdated to reflect changes in pricing.
12/22/2022
Updated with details from CyberGhost’s November 2022 press release.
11/02/2023
Updated the article to reflect ExpressVPN’s expansion of server presence from 94 to 105 countries.
04/08/2024 Facts checked
We retested all aspects of CyberGhost and rewrote this review, including adding a section on how to install CyberGhost.
07/22/2024 Facts checked
Added information about the Exceptions feature on Windows, CyberGhost’s quarterly transparency reports, and some updates since April.
What Is CyberGhost & Who Is It For?
CyberGhost is a virtual private network (VPN) service headquartered in Romania. The company’s range of desktop and mobile apps can be used to hide your real IP address by routing your internet traffic through one of their secure servers located around the world. With an active VPN, your internet service provider can’t see your web traffic.
After launching in 2011, later in 2017 CyberGhost came under the umbrella of Kape Technologies, a U.K.-based cybersecurity company that owns other top VPN service providers including ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. In 2023, a fellow Kape Technologies VPN, ZenMate, merged into CyberGhost VPN.
CyberGhost is known for its ease of use for beginner VPN users, but also for its customization, for users who are more savvy with VPN features. It’s also an affordable VPN, and it offers a 45-day money-back guarantee on longer plans (14 days on the monthly plan).
The Cloudwards Expert Opinion
If you’re looking for the fastest connection possible, CyberGhost isn’t it. Though it outperforms many lesser VPNs, it struggles to compete with higher-tier services like Surfshark or NordVPN.
CyberGhost may be flawed with speeds, but it’s a very good option otherwise, especially for beginners. In fact, it ranks on our list of the best VPNs for beginners. Whether you use the CyberGhost app on Windows, Mac or smartphone devices, you’ll find a level of beginner-friendly simplicity that makes it easy to fine-tune its numerous settings to your liking.
If you want to try CyberGhost, this is one of the few VPNs to still offer a free trial: 24 hours on Windows and macOS, a three-day trial on Android and a seven-day trial on iOS devices. However, you can also take advantage of the 14-day refund period on the monthly plan (45 days on the longer plans).
Cyberghost specializes in security features and lets you modify them to your needs. Features like the kill switch and leak protection are a breeze to set up, and all prove effective at maintaining your privacy when connected to the Internet.
NoSpy Servers
NoSpy Servers are wholly owned and controlled by CyberGhost at a secure data center near company headquarters in Romania. Eschewing third-party control limits the risk of unauthorized access to the physical hardware used to run the service.
Another benefit is that their hardware has a dedicated uplink that provides better speeds. However, the downside is that all of these NoSpy servers restrict you to a Romanian IP address. Obviously, this is problematic if you want to access geo-restricted content in other countries.
Smart Rules
The “smart rules” feature lets you set custom rules for how and when CyberGhost should establish a VPN connection.
You can configure the app to automatically connect in the following situations:
Whenever you connect to a new network.
When CyberGhost is launched.
When you launch a specific application.
Instead of automatically connecting, you can have the app ask you what to do in certain cases. The “Exceptions” tab on Windows also functions like a split tunneling feature, letting you specify individual websites that you don’t want to pass through the VPN connection.
The Android app also includes split tunneling by name, with an interface recently revamped to be more user-friendly. Thanks to its Android features, CyberGhost stacks up well against the best VPNs for Samsung phones.
Specialized Servers
CyberGhost offers a library of servers optimized for streaming, gaming and torrenting. The streaming servers in particular proved very effective at unblocking geo-restricted content on platforms like Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer. Visit our guide on how to unblock websites if you’re curious about how we did it.
These servers are specifically fine-tuned to ensure a smooth streaming experience with no buffering or lags.
Privacy Guard
CyberGhost includes a unique feature for Windows users called Privacy Guard, designed to counter some of Microsoft’s in-built invasions of your privacy. You can activate this setting from the Privacy Guard tab on the left-hand side of the Windows app.
Each time you activate Privacy Guard, you’ll choose how strict you want it to be. It’ll then walk you through a list of features you can disable to keep Microsoft from gathering information on you, which can all be managed from the CyberGhost app. You may need to reboot before some changes take effect.
Though all of CyberGhost’s apps vary slightly in terms of layout, each one is intuitive. You never have to look far to find the exact setting you’re looking for. The setup process is quick and simple, with tools and features that are so easy to use that even first-time VPN users should have no problem setting up their connection to their exact specifications.
How to Install CyberGhost
The first step to private browsing with CyberGhost is to install it on the device you want to protect. In this tutorial, we’re using Windows, though the process is identical for macOS users. For those using an iOS or Android device, you can find CyberGhost in your OS’s app store and install it as you would any other app.
Pick your preferred plan and proceed to the checkout. Once you’ve entered your email and card details, click “subscribe now” to activate your subscription and create an account.
Download CyberGhost
Log in to your new account on the CyberGhost website and navigate to “download hub.” Choose your operating system and click “download” to save CyberGhost to your device.
Install CyberGhost
Open the folder on your device with the saved download and look for a file named “CyberGhostVPNSetup.” Open that file to launch the installation process. Confirm that you want to install the app via your operating system’s prompts, and the rest of the installation will run automatically.
Accept the Terms and Conditions
Finally, to complete your installation, you’ll need to click “accept” to agree to the terms and conditions.
How to Set Up & Use CyberGhost
With CyberGhost installed, your next task is to sign in using the account credentials you created in the steps above. With that done, the next stage involves configuring the settings and connecting to your preferred server.
Choose Your VPN Protocol
CyberGhost automatically selects a protocol for your network connection. You can change this by clicking on the gear icon on the CyberGhost home screen to open up your settings. Then, use the VPN protocol dropdown menu to select your new default protocol.
Choose a Server
You can connect to the default “best server location” determined by the app. However, to select a specific server location, open the server location dropdown menu to find a few recommended servers or click “more servers” to open the full server menu.
Connect to Your Server
To select a server, simply click on it. On smartphone devices, the app will then automatically connect to the server. On desktop devices, you need to manually tap the large power button on the home screen to establish a connection. You’ve successfully connected when the power button turns from a dim purple color to a bright yellow.
Testing CyberGhost on Desktop: macOS & Windows Apps
We conducted most of our CyberGhost VPN research using the Windows desktop app but also made sure to test out the MacOS version.
At first glance, both apps appear similar, with only minor discrepancies in the interface layout. For example, the “settings” button is located at the bottom left on Windows, whereas it’s at the top right on Mac. This can be a little confusing if you switch from one OS to another, but it’s certainly no less intuitive overall.
Once you dive into those settings, more noticeable differences emerge. For starters, there’s no OpenVPN protocol available on MacOS. The Windows version also adds an MTU setting that may improve performance on slow connections.
The Mac version also includes leak protection features specifically designed to route Apple features through the VPN. One interesting difference we noted is that the MacOS VPN did a better job at bypassing geo-restricted content than its Windows counterpart.
Though we broke through the likes of Netflix and Hulu on all devices, BBC iPlayer was tougher to get through on Windows. We tested this multiple times on both devices and found that Mac got us in the first time, every time, whereas Windows frequently required two or more attempts with different servers.
Testing CyberGhost on Mobile: Android & iOS Apps
CyberGhost’s Android and iOS apps are essentially a slimmed-down version of the desktop apps. Each is equally easy to use, but some features are sorely missing from the mobile version.
We tested the iOS version and found that we could use the “WiFi protection” smart rule to determine the action the app should take when it detects new secured and unsecured networks.
As with the desktop apps, options here include:
Automatically connecting
Asking before establishing a connection
Never connecting
Terminating a connection
Those options are useful. What’s less useful is that the iOS app omits some of the more advanced smart rule features, like split tunneling and the ability to trigger a connection when you launch a particular app.
Conversely, Android offers both split tunneling and WiFi protection, though no other smart rules are available. Your choice of protocols also varies depending on the app you use. Android has OpenVPN and WireGuard available, while iOS offers IKEv2 and WireGuard.
Other than that, the process of choosing and connecting to a server location is essentially the same and should be intuitive no matter which device you use.
In addition to the standard desktop (Windows, MacOs) and smartphone (Android, iOS) apps, CyberGhost has native apps for Linux, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. Other smart TVs and game consoles that typically don’t allow VPN use can be protected by enabling the smart DNS feature, which redirects your DNS queries through CyberGhost’s servers.
This enables you to bypass geo-restricted content on those devices, but it doesn’t encrypt your internet traffic. It’s useful for streaming content but not so much for activities that require high security.
Despite having so many options available, all CyberGhost plans are limited to just seven devices. Fortunately, it’s one of the best VPNs for routers. Installing the VPN on your router is a relatively simple process that allows you to get around those restrictions and simultaneously protect all devices connected to your network, no matter how many.
Elsewhere, you can add a browser extension to both Chrome and Firefox. These are free to use and a great way to quickly enable secure, private browsing. However, the choice of server locations is limited.
CyberGhost Pricing: How Much Does CyberGhost Cost?
90 % – Excellent
At just $2.03 per month, CyberGhost is a budget-friendly VPN with some of the lowest prices of any top VPN app. It offers one standard plan with access to all features, sold in three subscription durations.
Pricing Plan Breakdown
The app’s all-inclusive plan becomes cheaper the longer you sign up for. The best value is the two-year plan, which costs $2.03 per month and includes an additional two months’ usage free of charge. If you’re looking for a more short-term solution, you can opt for either the six-month plan for $6.99 per month or the monthly plan for $12.99 per month.
CyberGhost Plans
*The 2-year plan includes 4-months free which breaks down the 56.94 t0 $2.03 per month.
*The price under the 2-year plan is billed yearly after the first two years.
CyberGhost discontinued its free plan back in 2018, but you can still try the service for free with a limited trial.
How long your trial lasts depends on the device you use:
— 24 hours
— 24 hours
— three days
–seven days
If you sign up for a paid plan but decide to cancel, the money-back guarantee means you can get your money back as long as you request a refund within the set period. For subscriptions of six months or longer, the refund period is 45 days, while monthly plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
CyberGhost Speed
70 % – Decent
CyberGhost delivers speeds that are sufficient for most daily tasks. However, it doesn’t reach the top ranks in terms of raw speed.
CyberGhost Speed Test Results
Download Speed(Higher is better)Upload Speed(Higher is better)Latency(Lower is better)
To gain insight into CyberGhost’s speeds, we used a virtual machine in the U.S. with a set, unthrottled internet speed. Working from a baseline of 100 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads, we tested connections using the OpenVPN protocol. The results showed that the VPN provider has a long way to go before it can catch up to some ofthe fastest VPNs on the block.
Download speeds may not be terrible, but the service underperforms compared to the likes of Surfshark and NordVPN. It’s not just that CyberGhost is slower than average when it comes to downloads, but also that its average speeds are widely inconsistent. Our NordVPN vs CyberGhost article has more detail on how both VPNs’ speeds compare.
CyberGhost fairs a little better in terms of uploads, with fewer fluctuations and speeds that are least competitive with other top VPN providers. In fact, our daily automated speed tests showed that it occasionally tied with or outperformed NordVPN.
Security: Is CyberGhost Safe?
85 % – Very Good
CyberGhost earns high marks for security, thanks to a useful set of features that allow you to tweak your private internet access to your preferred specifications.
Where CyberGhost falters is its lack of server obfuscation, which can be essential for circumventing the growing problem of major services like Netflix blocking VPNs.
CyberGhost Security Features
Automatic kill switch: A kill switch is a vital component of any good VPN. This useful feature cuts off your device’s internet access whenever your connection drops to prevent you from accidentally exposing your data on an unprotected network.
CyberGhost’s kill switch is automatically switched on by default. If you don’t want to use it for any reason (such as with an application that doesn’t work properly on a VPN), you can turn it off in the privacy settings.
Dedicated IPs: CyberGhost offers a dedicated IP address for an additional price. Using this feature means you’ll always get the same IP address across all your VPN apps and can claim it for yourself instead of sharing one with other users, as with normal VPN IPs.
A dedicated IP address makes it easier to access services like online banking, which typically include extra security measures like CAPTCHAs when you try to log in from a different IP address than usual. It also eliminates the chances of being banned from a website due to others misbehaving on the same IP address.
RAM-only servers: CyberGhost runs on RAM-only servers that delete all data every time they’re rebooted (about once an hour), providing an extra layer of assurance for the no-logs policy.
Malware- and ad-blockers: CyberGhost comes with free malware blocker and an ad blocker for added protection. Unfortunately, the content blocker isn’t customizable, so there’s no way to tell CyberGhost to block malware but not ads. Instead, it comes with a simple on-off switch, which is disabled by default.
CyberGhost Detailed Security Analysis
Notes From the Lab: VPN & Encryption Protocols
Protocol:
Encryption
Devices
IKEv2
AES-128
Windows MacOS iOS
OpenVPN
AES-256
Windows Linux Android Routers
WireGuard
ChaCha20
Windows MacOS Linux Android iOS
CyberGhost offers a choice of three industry-standard protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard. Though it doesn’t offer any unique or proprietary protocols, these tried-and-trusted options ensure reliable security no matter which device you’re using.
OpenVPN — An open-source protocol that offers an effective balance of speed and security.
IKEv2 — IKEv2 is fast, secure and stable. One of its biggest strengths is that it lets you maintain your VPN connection even when switching wireless networks.
WireGuard — A relatively new and lightweight protocol that prioritizes speed and ease of use, WireGuard is faster than OpenVPN but offers fewer configurable options, meaning it may be unsuitable for those who prefer more finely tuned control over their VPN connection.
Notes From the Lab: DNS Leak Test Results
We ran Wireshark tests on multiple servers. Each time, the stream revealed fully encrypted our connections with zero leaks.
Even after multiple tests, we detected no DNS leaks or WebRTC leaks, and our real IP address was kept hidden at all times.
Privacy: Is CyberGhost Private?
85 % – Very Good
Our research showed that CyberGhost as a standalone company has a strong commitment to privacy, with no history of data breaches. It has a no-logs policy backed up by RAM-only servers that wipe data every hour.
Since 2019, CyberGhost has published transparency reports every quarter, with the latest available for download on its website. These reports combine release notes with a warrant canary, listing the number of police requests and other legal complaints it receives.
Despite receiving upwards of 50 police requests each year, CyberGhost is not known to have ever given up information on a user, which is a very good sign.
Privacy Policy: Does CyberGhost Keep Logs?
CyberGhost has a strict no-logs policy that claims that data such as your search and browsing history, downloads and personal details aren’t tracked, stored or shared while using the VPN.
When you access your account on the company’s website, CyberGhost collects personal data such as your name, email address, location and billing information. CyberGhost claims that this data is not linked to your VPN use but rather is used for vital service delivery and billing-related purposes. A Deloitte audit verified this claim, but only up until 2022.
One area of concern is that CyberGhost does share VPN usage data with parent company Kape Technologies and the various brands it controls. On the plus side, being based in Romania means that CyberGhost has no legal obligation to keep activity logs, and it can’t be forced to hand over information to the police due to its RAM-only servers.
So, even if CyberGhost responds to information requests from police and government agencies, it replies by revealing that it has no data to share. This is the main reason we’re not especially worried about the Kape connection.
Despite the issues with CyberGhost’s speeds, it’s still more than capable of streaming in full HD quality, and its streaming-specific servers efficiently unblock most geo-restricted content on major streaming platforms.
CyberGhost’s streaming-optimized servers make it one of the best VPNs for Netflix. By connecting to a specific Netflix-ready server, we were able to stream movies and shows in full HD with zero buffering or lags. The excellent geo-unblocking capabilities allowed us to unblock Netflix in most other countries, albeit with varying degrees of streaming quality.
Netflix Canada and European versions of the site (U.K., Spain, France) all delivered the same smooth viewing experience, with no buffering even when we skipped over chunks of the movie. With Australia and Japan, however, we could still access Netflix but found that it struggled to maintain a continuous HD stream.
Other Major Streaming Platforms
Testing CyberGhost with other streaming platforms yielded mixed results. We breezed into Disney Plus, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video without any problems, but only when using the servers specifically designated for each streaming service. If we connected to a general server and then tried to access these sites, we often found that VPN detection flagged them.
BBC iPlayer gave us a bit of a challenge on Windows, though we soon cracked it by switching servers. Once we were in, iPlayer and all of the services listed above presented no issues in terms of streaming quality. There was slight buffering when we scrolled through a show on iPlayer, though no more than we typically experience with our unprotected connection.
CyberGhost VPN Server Locations
75 % – Good
CyberGhost’s server network extends across 100 countries, offering broad coverage on all continents. This includes a strong presence in North America (nine countries, 21 locations), Europe (46 countries, 57 locations) and Asia (22 countries and locations).
Global Distribution of VPN Servers
Region:
Countries
Locations
North America
9
21
South America
9
9
Europe
46
57
Asia
22
22
Africa
5
5
Oceania
2
4
Middle East
6
6
Europe, Asia and the Americas are all well covered. In fact, CyberGhost is one of the few VPNs that offers servers in China, so with it you’ll surely be able to get a Chinese IP address and stream Chinese sites like Youku or use exclusive Chinese apps like WeChat (though there are other ways to access the messaging app, as you’ll read in our best WeChat VPN guide).
Although there aren’t as many server locations in Africa, Oceania and the Middle East, there are still more than we’d typically see from other VPN services. This makes CyberGhost a good service to get a UAE IP address or a Nigerian IP address.
Of the 124 locations available, the majority are powered by servers physically located in those countries. A little less than 40% of the network uses virtual servers, especially to reach locations in South America, India and Africa. If you’re in one of those places and not getting the performance you’d like, your server may not be as close as you thought.
CyberGhost Customer Support
80 % – Good
CyberGhost is easy to come to grips with, but if you do run into a problem, there’s plenty of help available. The platform offers an expansive knowledgebase with a wealth of troubleshooting guides, useful FAQs and step-by-step setup tutorials conveniently organized by operating system.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you always have the option to talk to a service agent via live chat or email. The company also runs its own subreddit where it occasionally responds to basic troubleshooting queries, though this is far better for getting help from fellow CyberGhost users than CyberGhost itself.
Email & Live Chat Support: Speed & Quality
Accessing support from your account dashboard on the website takes you directly to a chatbot. This does a decent job of directing you to knowledgebase articles relevant to your problem. If those don’t help, you can click through to the main support hub to send a support request or access the excellent, live, 24/7 support.
Most of our live chat queries were answered in under 60 seconds by knowledgeable agents, who usually came up with the solution to our problems within minutes.
Email support was among the fastest we’ve ever encountered, though this support channel is still best reserved for non-urgent matters. We sent three emails and found that it took between two and three hours to get a response.
CyberGhost vs Other VPN Services
NordVPN, our top pick, offers better speeds than CyberGhost while also packaging more features than either CyberGhost or ExpressVPN. Read our NordVPN vs CyberGhost article for more details.
Another alternative is Surfshark, which offers affordable long-term plans and is one of the few VPNs to come with unlimited simultaneous connections. You can read our CyberGhost vs Surfshark article to see how they compare.
Of all the elements that CyberGhost gets right, its affordable pricing may be the most significant. CyberGhost’s cheapest plan costs less than half the price of ExpressVPN’s lowest subscription term and lasts twice as long — though ExpressVPN performs better overall, especially in speeds. Read our CyberGhost vs ExpressVPN article to see why we think ExpressVPN is a stronger choice.
The Verdict: Is CyberGhost a Good VPN Service?
Having tested CyberGhost as thoroughly as possible, we found that the service’s upsides far outweigh its drawbacks.
Other VPN apps may have less of an impact on your overall connection speed, but CyberGhost is still more than fast enough to deliver high-quality streaming. Meanwhile, the advanced security features and customizable settings give you complete control over your privacy.
What do you think of this CyberGhost VPN review? Have you tried CyberGhost? Does your experience differ from ours? Is there a key highlight or downside that we’ve overlooked? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
FAQ: CyberGhost VPN Review
Yes. CyberGhost is a trustworthy VPN that uses industry-standard protocols and has a strict no-logs policy to maintain your privacy.
CyberGhost is cheaper and more beginner-friendly than NordVPN, but NordVPN beats CyberGhost in terms of speed.
CyberGhost’s main disadvantage is that its upload speeds are slower than those of many top VPNs, and it uses a lot of virtual servers in the Global South.
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Download Speed(Higher is better)Upload Speed(Higher is better)Latency(Lower is better)