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VPNs for ad-blocking Where the lesser-known VPN providers gain footing, though, is when it comes to offering perks that the big names don’t offer. And for Windscribe VPN, those perks start with a free version and limitless simultaneous connections for subscribers. From the basic user interface, which looks like a throwback to late-’90s LAN software, to the more pressing issue of frustratingly inconsistent connectivity, Windscribe was disappointing in early usage tests. I couldn’t even connect to either of the Sydney locations initially, giving up after more than a minute with no connection. As I drafted this review, I attempted to reconnect to one of the Sydney locations and Windscribe was doing its typical loop of not connecting on the first try. After five minutes of not connecting, Windscribe killed my internet activity, which is what the Firewall, or kill switch, feature is supposed to do, but it’s frustrating in this instance if you’re hoping for a VPN that lets you click and connect without having to monitor it. Later I’d learn that disconnecting and reconnecting to a nearby (or sometimes the same) server tends to fix this, with Windscribe taking around 13 seconds to successfully connect and only a second or two to disconnect when it’s playing nice. That said, a failed connection tends to hang before you can reconnect. More concerning was how difficult it was to get through my basic speed tests—to Sydney (local server), Los Angeles (closest US server) and London (closest UK server)—which took a lot longer than usual because a handful of the 10 servers I was testing with sporadically failed to connect. This lack of server reliability is particularly concerning in light of the low count for countries and locations: just 65 countries and 187 server location options. One of the ways I knew I was connected on PC was the regular appearance of a warning message telling me that there was a conflict between Windscribe and a seemingly random rotation of applications whenever it first connected. While I appreciated the heads up and the option to reduce the impact on the CPU, it’s not the best way to know you’re connected. The Windscribe Android experience was a lot smoother, with faster and more reliable connection times (around five seconds) and speedier switching between locations from the server list or favourites, both of which sit beneath the simplified connectivity portion at the top of the screen. Windscribe on Android also supports split tunnelling, so you can choose which apps use the VPN and which ones don’t, though it’s a shame other platforms aren’t currently supported. Using my Superloop NBN 100/40Mbps Fibre-to-the-Curb home internet connection for testing, the table below showcases how Windscribe performs when connecting to servers in Sydney, Los Angeles and London. For context, my NBN connection is capable of a maximum 99.02Mbps download speed and 44.34Mbps upload speed (though a Superloop technician says the copper connection is impacting maximum potential speeds). To give you an idea of how Windscribe VPN might work with your NBN connection, take a look at the table below. It takes the current download averages for the providers we track in our comparison engine, then uses the 24% and 56% download speed changes of my tests between Los Angeles and London, respectively, to give an indication of what speeds you can expect from Windscribe VPN. The three columns on the right break down the number of simultaneous streams per connection, and while Netflix allows a maximum of four per 4K account, Hulu and BBC iPlayer have option for unlimited streams. ExpressVPN scores some easy wins when it comes to the number of servers (3,000+ vs 187 locations) and countries (94 vs 65) but is limited to five simultaneous connections while Windscribe has unlimited. Both services have admirable customer logging policies, Smart DNS add-ons, helpful customer support and browser extensions. In terms of streaming, both services can access all of the local and international streaming services we test with, but Windscribe has fast results across the board, whereas ExpressVPN was slow to stream Netflix US content and had moderate buffering speeds for Hulu in my tests. Overall, this is a tighter competition than these comparisons usually tend to be. There’s an easy case to make for going with the cheaper Windscribe VPN, especially if you want a VPN for streaming, but ExpressVPN still has the greater versatility.
