Windscribe Review
One of the best free VPN options
Verdict
Windscribe’s free tier is excellent, and its streaming-friendly subscription service is also worth a look.
Pros
- Generous free tier
- Wide range of endpoint countries
Cons
- Some rivals are faster
- Only five WireGuard connections can be registered at any given time
Availability
- UKRRP: £6.45
- USARRP: $9
Key Features
- Free tier available: Windscribe offers a generous free tier that comes with 10GB of monthly data and endpoints in 10 countries.
- Paid tier offers endpoints in 69 different countries:If you subscribe to the paid-for tier, you get access to 69 different countries, which is useful if you want a specific endpoint.
Introduction
Windscribe is a Canadian VPN service that’s gained popularity as a result of its free service, low prices and reliable performance.
It’s consistently reliable for streaming, and although it lacks long-term subscription options, its annual and monthly subscriptions are both very cost-effective. They’re not the cheapest by any means, but they come in around the middle of the pack in most of my group tests, which makes it a worthwhile upgrade fee if you already use and like the company’s free tier.
Windscribe has previously ranked top in our best VPN group test, but has now dropped down our recommendations following disappointing performance in our latest speed test results. Note that, although Windscribe allows you to connect an unlimited number of devices, only five of those can be using the fast WireGuard protocol. If you need to connect a sixth, you’ll be asked if you want to remove the oldest registered device.
Pricing and Subscriptions
Windscribe offers a generous 10GB-per-month free tier. Free users get access to locations in 10 countries, not including any of the Windflix video-streaming endpoints. Pay for the full service and you get access to endpoints in 65 countries.
If you like the service enough to pay for it, you can either pay for the $9/£7.33 monthly plan or spend $69/£56.19 upfront for the yearly plan, which works out cheaper in the long run.
Note that the annual fee has increased by $20 since my last full review of this product, and the current GBP to dollar exchange rate isn’t doing UK customers many favours. However, there are no hidden renewal fees waiting to surprise you. You can even pay using cryptocurrency, if you feel that will help keep you anonymous (although it won’t on its own).
Features and Usability
- Transparent on which data it logs
- Features include kill switch and ad blocker
Windscribe’s privacy and logging policy clearly indicates what data it does and does not keep, with only total bandwidth consumption and the time your account was last used stored in the long term. The service supports anonymous payment via Bitcoin, and you don’t have to provide an email address to sign up.
The Canada-based firm is transparent about its privacy policies and, although it keeps some logs to help manage its service, it says that it doesn’t keep any identifying information. Windscribe maintains a live transparency report, showing both DMCA and law enforcement data requests. None have ever been complied with because Windscribe doesn’t log any identifiable user data.
In 2021, Windscribe – to its credit – admitted that a pair of older servers seized by Ukrainian authorities in the course of an investigation were unencrypted, although the company says that no users data was at risk due to the service’s no-logging policy. Windscribe has since taken measures to update the security across its server fleet and depreciated older, less secure client protocols that it previously supported.
I’m not a fan of the company’s use of the opportunity to knock industry peers who’ve suffered similar seizures, but at least its claims about not keeping any identifying logs appear to be solid. Windscribe publishes source code for much of its software but has not commissioned and published results of a third-party audit of its security and logging claims.
I found the Windows desktop client simple to use, including a solid range of extra security features. By default, Windscribe activates its integrated firewall feature, which includes a kill switch that prevents any internet traffic from being transferred if you lose your connection to the VPN for any reason. You can also share your encrypted connection as a secure wireless hotspot, if your router supports the feature.
Windscribe’s powerful integrated ad-blocker is handy, but I found that it entirely blocked access to some ad-gated websites and services. Options in your online account management interface allow you to instantly apply features including ad- and tracker-blocking, as well as an anti-malware filter. These settings are also available via the app.
Performance
- Below-average speeds for select endpoints
- Impressive speeds for free tier
All of my testing was carried out on a virtual desktop physically located at a data centre with a high-speed internet connection in London. This testing setup produces results under optimal connection conditions. VPN clients are tested on their default settings.
| UK | Netherlands | United States | Average | |
| Windscribe (OpenVPn) | 84 Mbps | 43.2 Mbps | 20 Mbps | 49.07 Mbps |
| Windscribe (WireGuard) | 198.40 Mbps | 226.40 Mbps | 24.80 Mbps | 149.87 Mbps |
| Reference Group Average HTTP | 191.20 Mbps | 166.11 Mbps | 110.35 Mbps | 155.88 Mbps |
This month’s tests saw a bit of a drop-off compared to my last rest of Windscribe, particularly for tunnels from Europe to North America. Overall performance improved when I forced the service to always use the WireGuard protocol, as you’ll see from the results table above, but throughput via US endpoints remained slow in the face of repeat tests. This can safely be regarded as an atypical issue on the day of testing, rather than representative performance. Connection speeds to the US are usually well over 150 Mbit/s.
Windscribe’s free users benefit from the same blistering speeds as paying customers, although they have access to a restricted range of endpoints, which can – but usually does not – result in contention.
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Should you buy it?
You want a free VPN:
Windscribe is one of the best free VPNs available, offering both 10GB of monthly data and access to endpoints in 11 different countries.
Final Thoughts
Windscribe has a lot of strengths, and is generally reliable for both reasonably fluid day-to-day web browsing and streaming.
The service supports a wide range of devices and is generally easy to use. It’s generally fast, provides a technically unlimited number of simultaneous connections, and its pricing is super-competitive. Windscribe isn’t just one of the best free VPN providers around, it’s also one of the best paid-for services, and its subscriptions are very reasonably priced.
It isn’t the fastest in my latest tests (that honour goes to NordVPN, Surfshark and ProtonVPN), but Windscribe is one of the best general-purpose VPN services around. However, if security is a priority then Perfect Privacy has established its privacy credentials through unfortunate government equipment seizures, which Windscribe hasn’t been unlucky enough to suffer thus far.
How we test
We run tests from a London-based connection that typically sees speeds between 500Mbps and 700Mbps, which means that we’re able to get a good idea of what each VPN’s maximum speeds currently are.
We test multiple endpoints from each provider in three locations: the UK, the Netherlands and the U.S.
Tested speeds with three endpoints: UK, USA and the Netherlands
Researched security and no-logging claims
Tested all available features
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FAQs
Yes, Windscribe has a free tier, although you can only use 10GB of data each month, which could disappear quickly if you’re watching video etc.
It is perfectly legal to use Windscribe as a VPN. However, using the VPN to bypass geolocation restrictions can break the terms and conditions of certain sites and services such as Netflix.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
