Atlas VPN Review 2024 – A Freemium VPN with Great Unblocking Capabilities
While Atlas VPN has a lot to offer, including advanced features like malware blocking and split tunneling, where the VPN shines is privacy protection and unblocking geo-restricted content. The company’s strict no-logs policy is backed by AES-256 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption along with IPSec/IKEv2 and WireGuard protocols.
Pros&Cons
Pros&Cons | Check Positive and Negative Sides
Features Table
Summary of the Features
| Headquarter | The USA |
| No-log policy |  |
| Kill switch | |
| Included # devices with 1 license | Unlimited |
| Server locations | 49 countries |
| Number of servers | 1000+ |
| Torrents support | |
| Netflix support | |
| Split tunneling | |
| Multi-hop (VPN chaining) | |
| Encryption type | ChaCha20 and AES-256 |
| Customer support | 24/7 support, live chat, request form, email support, and online help center |
| Trial version | |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
| Website | https://atlasvpn.com |
Features Overview
In-depth Features Overview
Location & privacy policy
Though headquartered in the USA, a founding member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, Atlas VPN has a strict no-logs policy that bars the app from collecting private user data. However, the company does collect some necessary information like your email address and payment information to process your purchase and offer basic services without issues. Read the company’s privacy policy to learn more about the information the app collects.
Kill-switch
Atlas VPN apps come with a kill switch that automatically disconnects your connection in case your device suddenly gets disconnected from the VPN. I always make sure to turn on the kill switch immediately after launching a VPN app unless it is turned on by default. The Shield feature can be accessed from the Assistant tab of the Atlas VPN app and you should turn it on too.
Number of devices with a license
You can connect an unlimited number of devices using one premium Atlas VPN license and there are apps for Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows devices. With just over 1000 servers across more than 49 locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, Atlas VPN has an expanding network of servers optimized for speed and P2P file sharing.
What is SafeSwap & Shield features?
Another unique feature of Atlas VPN that I loved using is SafeSwap. SafeSwap is a unique Atlas VPN feature that routes your traffic through multiple different IP addresses that automatically rotates throughout your online sessions. Atlas VPN also actively blocks malicious websites to keep users safe from phishing, malware, and viruses. The Shield feature disables third-party trackers, blocks malware, and keeps a list of known trackers on the web.
Is data breach monitor any good?
In short, yes, this is very cool feature. Unlike some of its closest competitors, Atlas VPN comes with its built-in data breach monitoring tool that alerts users when personal information is leaked in a data breach. The data breach monitor scans numerous publicly leaked databases for credentials connected to your email addresses or other private data and alerts you without any need for manual checks. You can get instant security alerts, check your data breach history, and learn more about vulnerable credentials.
Support
Atlas VPN offers 24/7 customer support to both free and premium users via live chat and email tickets. I was surprised by the swiftness and efficiency with which my queries were resolved by the company’s customer support representatives through both email and the live chat feature. The website’s online help section is comprehensively written and offers a lot of help for both new and advanced users.
What about the log policy?
I have found out that the company doesn’t collect and/or store the sensitive info. Here is an excerpt from the official website:
Speed Tests
Check Server Speed Tests
I used Speedtest by Ookla to test the speeds of Atlas VPN’s servers in Asia, Europe, and the USA. Without a VPN connection, the download and upload speeds of my internet connection were 49.38 Mbps and 7.20 Mbps, respectively. On connecting to an Atlas VPN server in London, UK, I recorded a decent download speed of 38.31 Mbps and 6.61 Mbps.
The server in Amsterdam, Netherlands again offered a decent download speed of 31.10 Mbps and an upload speed of 5.96 Mbps.
General browsing and video streaming on the London and Amsterdam servers were smooth and without any lags. I was able to stream HD content on YouTube and unblock geo-restricted content on BBC iPlayer while I was connected to the London server of Atlas VPN.
To check the latency and speed fluctuations on distant servers, I connected to and tested a couple of Atlas VPN servers in New York, USA, and Tokyo, Japan. The USA server offered a download speed of 29.74 Mbps and an upload speed of 6.23 Mbps, while the Tokyo server offered a download speed of 19.46 Mbps and an upload speed of 6.13 Mbps.
While the download speeds did drop considerably on connecting to the distant servers in the USA and Japan, I did not notice any lags while gaming online or during video streaming. The upload speeds curiously remained quite close to my original upload speed without a VPN thereby suggesting that the Atlas VPN can be quite good for torrenting and P2P file sharing.
DNS Leak Tests
DNS Leak Tests at dnsleak.com
While testing various Atlas VPN servers across Asia, Europe, and the USA, I could not find any DNS, IPv6, or WebRTC leaks. Although I am unsure about the extent and sophistication of Atlas VPN’s leak protection, my actual IP or location did not leak once during the several rounds of tests I conducted on sites like DNS leak test, IP/DNS Detect, and DNS Leak Tests. The leak protection features are turned on by default in the Atlas VPN apps so that users don’t need to turn it on from the settings to keep their connection safe.
Atlas VPN Trends
What Are The Trends?
I used Google Trends to check the interest over time in “Atlas VPN” in the USA over the past 12 months to get an indication of the popularity of the keyword in Google Search. Interest in the software product was higher than average throughout the last year and even peaked during September 2023. The upward trajectory of the Google Trends graph was an indication of the rising public interest in the product.
On comparing “Atlas VPN” with competitors like “PrivateVPN” and “Surfshark VPN”, I found that there was a higher interest in Atlas VPN than in either of its older competitors. While higher public interest in a new product is not uncommon, the consistency of the interest in Atlas VPN when compared to its competitors suggests that the product is indeed offering something different, and perhaps better, than its competition.
Atlas VPN Reputation
Reputation and Users’ Feedback?
Notwithstanding the detailed reviews from numerous software reviewers and tech experts on the internet, public opinion and real user reviews are what set the tone for a software product’s reputation and eventually its sales. Once I went through several positive reviews from top tech sites, I explored some tech forums, social media platforms, and review websites like Reddit, Twitter, and Trustpilot, among others, to see what real users of the product thought about it.
On Trustpilot, Atlas VPN scored a decent TrustScore of 3.9 out of 5 stars from 377 user reviews. Most of the reviewers praised the VPN app’s affordability, usability, and efficiency in unblocking geo-restricted content. Users were also impressed by the app’s user-friendly interface, encryption protocols, and fast load times. However, as some users pointed out, the VPN’s limited network of servers, though fast, may lead to occasional congestion during peak hours.
Some users on social media were up in arms about the company’s customer support as they thought it to be poor.
Conclusion
Should You Buy It?
Atlas VPN is an affordable and efficient VPN service with easy-to-use apps for Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Despite its youth compared to some of the giants of the industry, Atlas VPN has quickly become the talk of the town thanks to its selection of practical features and affordable premium plans.
