Zoog VPN began back in 2013 on the Isle of Man just off the coast of the UK. Although a separate entity, they were still governed by the UK’s strict data retention laws.
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The company then relocated to Greece, which is a bit, more VPN friendly.
The company claims to offer lightning-fast connection speeds, which are very secure and with the utmost privacy and watertight privacy policy.
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This Zoog VPN review looks at a service, which doesn’t pack a whole host of features, and comes with a small server network compared to other providers.
Can they back up their claims, or is it just marketing speak?
Recommended For
- A good choice for beginners
- Good for users who want privacy
- Suitable for torrenting and streaming
Pros
Cons
Plans and Pricing
One of the biggest draws to Zoog has to be its pricing. It is highly affordable when you sign up for extended periods.
Not only this, but there is a Free plan available, yet this does come with limitations. This only allows three connections on one device with a 2GB monthly data allowance.
There is limited P2P, and it doesn’t allow full streaming content access. It also comes with lower levels of VPN protocols for encryption.
This can suffice for some users, yet you can easily find a better data allowance from a free VPN in the market.
Once you get to the paid options, things are a bit different
2 Years
$1.75
Billed $39.99 for 24 months
6 Months
$3.99
Billed $23.99 for 6 months
1 Monthly
$7.99
Billed $7.99 for 1 month
All the paid VPN services give access to all servers with unlimited data. P2P is allowed on all the nominated servers, and you can access all streaming content. When you look at the payment methods, this comprises a decent number; you can choose from PayPal, Credit cards, Paymentwall (includes Litecoin and Ethereum), and Bitcoin for more privacy. There is a 7-day money-back guarantee, yet users should check the refund policy before committing. You will find some stipulations on how you can use the VPN service before you are entitled to a full refund.
- Claim within 7 days
- You sent an email with a username and the reason for canceling
- You have used less than 2GB of bandwidth
- You have allowed the support staff chance to resolve technical issues
- You purchased directly from zoogpn.com
Adding to this, there are only credit/ debit cards and PayPal payments, which will be refunded.
Key Features
Privacy
Unless you are using the free option, you get some of the best OpenVPN encryption. It utilizes AES 256-bit ciphers, and the VPN protocols used comprise IKEv2, L2TP/ IPSec, and PPTP.
In most cases, ZoogVPN offers enough security without going overboard with options.
Zoog does use an RSA-2048 handshake, DHE-2048 PFS, and Perfect Forward Secrecy, which makes it highly secure.
As we saw, in the free option, all the protocols are weaker, so it may not be the best choice to stay secure.
Logging
One of the most important things any VPN review looks at is a company’s logging policy. Zoog doesn’t disappoint in this area and sticks to their zero logs policy.
There are no records of online activity, IP addresses visited, or the logging in and out of your online sessions.
All the company stores are the supplied email address and bandwidth usage. The only time they may share information is with the likes of PayPal and card supplier to confirm payments.
Ease of Use
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Supported Devices
Zoog supports 5 simultaneous connections on any of the premium plans. In the free, you can only use it on 1 device.
Apps
App support is on the high end compared to some of the competition. There is support for Windows, macOS, Android, iPhone and iPad, Linux, FireTV, Android TV, Blackberry, and it can be installed on some routers.
In the case of a router installation, this would act as one device so it can cover multiple home devices.
Sign-Up
When users first sign up for Zoog, it is straightforward, and they only ask for basic information.
With just your name, email address, and password to create the account, this is followed by your payment option.
There are then the options to renew your plan automatically, and then the tick box to accept the Zoog terms and privacy policy.
Setup
When you have signed up, there is a setup wizard you can download for any relevant device you have.
Once you download the VPN client, the setup is straightforward and takes next to no time. The interface is on the basic side, and advanced users may feel it lacking.
The interface is easy to use and to get going; all you do is hit the power button. This selects the appropriate server if the auto option is selected.
You can easily select servers manually by clicking the arrow at the side and choosing one of the available server locations from those listed.
Aside from connecting and disconnecting from various servers, there are little options for users to do anything else.
Advanced Features
Although there are not too many advanced features in Zoog, there are enough to lift it above a basic VPN.
Unlike before, there is now a Kill switch, although this is only on Windows and macOS. Mobile devices are still lacking in this department.
Socks5 Proxy is available, yet this needs a premium subscription. This can be configured for many apps such as torrent clients, Skype, and browsers such as Chrome and the Firefox FoxyProxy add-on.
ZoogShadowing is a feature in the Android app; this is their obfuscation feature that can help bypass firewalls or country restrictions.
Browser Extensions
At present, there are still no browser extensions available.
Performance
Speed Test
To some degree, every VPN slows connections a little. Providers that have small networks are often more susceptible to this rather than the big players.
Zoog is continually expanding the number of there VPN servers. They claim they cherry-picked dedicated 1Gbps servers and have their DNS servers.
The company now offers 1000+ IPs that covers 50+ locations in 26+ different countries. These span five continents, yet the remote VPN connection options are limited.
The good thing is all these offer unlimited bandwidth. In the speed tests, it was a surprise to see they delivered pretty close to their claims of blazing-fast speeds.
Although locations are limited, for users in certain areas where there is a concentration of servers, this should suffice for accessing streaming services.
Customer Service
For a company, which is so affordable, it was a pleasant surprise to find chat support at such a high level.
There are not many providers that offer live support, never mind 24/7 live chat. Customer support extends on the web site with a resources section, an FAQ section, and a ticket support option.
While there are many options, it would be nice to see the FAQ’s extended as it only covers the more basic questions.
If submitting by the ticket system, users can expect a reply within 24 hours.
Netflix
Netflix is the test of any VPN to see if it is a worthy choice for streaming. If you head to the webpage and open the VPN-Servers-page, it runs through all their servers.
These don’t just highlight server health, but the streaming companies you can access from a specific server.
US Netflix can be accessed from a few of their US servers – USC – Dallas 2, USE – Buffalo, USW – Los Angeles, SG – Singapore 3 (optimised for APAC users)
UK Netflix – UK – London 4
Japan Netflix – JP – Tokyo
Ireland Netflix – IE – Dublin
India Netflix – IN – Pune
German Netflix – DE – Frankfurt 2
Canada Netflix – CA – Montreal 1
The BBC iPlayer can be accessed by using the London 2 VPN server.
Torrenting
As for the streaming, you can run through the servers on the website, or inside the app, you can see which servers allow torrenting. There is a little P2P icon at the side of the sever to highlight this.
If they are grayed out, this means they are prohibited in this region. With above-average speeds, it can be a decent option for anyone looking to keep their costs down while downloading free movies.
Wrap Up
Zoog is a very budget-friendly VPN, but is it the best VPN out there for the price? It may be one of the best, but it could do with more features.
Is Zoog VPN safe? This is another question, and in testing, it is as safe as any others, which fall in this price bracket.
It seems they do enough to keep users safe, but it comes without the backup of countless reviews saying it delivers the best security.
To sum it up, you get what you pay for. The company is still trying to grow, and as it does, so might its reputation.
Until that time, there are other options out there, although this may appear better value, it still hasn’t proved itself. (Get ZoogVPN and SAVE 86% right here)
