CyberGhost review: A solid VPN package! (2023)

CyberGhost is a solid VPN.

With servers in 91 countries, OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2 support, ensured security and additional features like NoSpy servers, Killswitch compatibility and split tunnelling, there’s much to like here.

If you’re opting for a long-term subscription, CyberGhost offers a complete package for a great price.

It’s slower than the best-of-the-best ExpressVPN, relies quite heavily on virtual servers and doesn’t have its own proprietary protocol. Still, it’s easy to use, is available on almost any device and will allow you to watch streaming services abroad.

See also:

• Private Internet Access review: An affordable, reliable VPN! (2023)
• ExpressVPN review: The best VPN at being a VPN! (2023)

Price

Defining a VPN’s value is much harder than simply looking at the price. There’s a lot more to consider. Factors such as how many devices are covered, how long the subscription lasts, how many servers the VPN has and whether or not it comes with additional add-ons or bonus features all need to be considered.

CyberGhost has three payment options. There’s a one-month option costing $12.99/month, a six-month option costing $6.99/month and a two-year option costing $2.19/month. Our special offer gives you an extra two months for free when signing up for the two-year subscription.

Our findings show that, on average, the best VPNs cost $4.33/month for a 24-month subscription. This means a 24-month CyberGhost subscription is a very good deal. If you’re not looking for a long-term subscription, though, at $12.99 for a single month, CyberGhost is slightly more expensive than the average of $12/month.

Devices/Availability

A CyberGhost subscription allows you to cover up to seven devices. Our research shows that this is right on the average. It’s important to know that some VPNs now offer unlimited device coverage. The best for this is Private Internet Access. However, Surfshark, Windscribe and IPVanish all offer unlimited coverage as well.

CyberGhost has an easy-to-use app and is available on almost any device you can think of:

You can also install CyberGhost on a router to cover all devices without being limited to seven. To do this, you will need a specific router compatible with OpenVPN. It works well. However, I didn’t find it nearly as easy as installing ExpressVPN on a router. I also found the ExpressVPN router much more user-friendly and reliable.

Is CyberGhost secure?

To evaluate how secure CyberGhost is, we ran a series of tests. These tests measure for any DNS leaks when using the VPN.

What is a DNS leak test?

A DNS or Domain Name System is a database of internet addresses categorised by domain names. When you search a domain name like ReviewsFire.com, it will be recognised by the DNS and map that name to the website’s IP address.

When you do this, your device sends a query to a DNS server, where it asks for the IP address of that site. You can access the website once the DNS has provided you with the IP address.

A VPN like CyberGhost will reroute your online traffic through its network. This traffic includes the DNS requests you generate when accessing websites and web pages.

If the VPN is secure, the DNS requests will go through the VPN’s encryption process and go directly to your VPN DNS servers. If it isn’t secure, it will go to a server provided by your local internet service provider (ISP).

When performing a DNS leak test, if you see your local ISP pop-up, you’ll know the VPN connection is not as secure as it should be.

CyberGhost DNS leak test results:

CyberGhost has its own proprietary DNS leak test software. When using this, we found all of our data, including our DNS requests, were going directly through the VPN servers, meaning there were no leaks.

Additionally, we used third-party software, DNSleaktest.com, to test how secure CyberGhost is and found no DNS leaks during testing.

Additionally:

It’s also important to note that CyberGhost claims it has a “no-logs policy.” This means that the VPN doesn’t keep records of your online activity while using the VPN. This can include your IP address, browsing history, session duration, DNS queries, accessed content, bandwidth usage and more.

To verify its sincerity, CyberGhost was independently audited by Deloitte. Interestingly, to get the report, you have to request it from Deloitte Romania; however, there hasn’t been any news or announcements to suggest that Deloitte found that CyberGhost wasn’t staying true to its no-logs policy. This means when you use CyberGhost, you are fully secure and anonymous.

Speed

To measure the speed of CyberGhost, we connected to multiple servers worldwide and initiated download and upload speed tests. This can be affected by numerous factors, such as the speed of your internet connection and how far away you are from the server, but to accommodate this, we measured the speeds with CyberGhost turned on against our speeds with it turned off.

	OpenVPN Download Speeds (Mbps)	OpenVPN Upload Speeds (Mbps)	WireGuard Download Speeds (Mbps)	WireGuard Download Speeds (Mbps)
VPN off	930	516
CyberGhost US server	192.29	2.63	182.44	3.65
CyberGhost UK server	139.19	1.90	277.14	1.91
CyberGhost Vietnam server	232.24	4.32	314.18	4.31

These speed tests were conducted in New Zealand, and the results weren’t great. First, we see massive drops in both download and upload speeds in all three locations. This was the case for both the OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols.

We found that ExpressVPN and its Lightway protocol achieved far better speeds.

	Download Speeds (Mbps)	Upload Speeds (Mbps)
VPN off	937.07	520.93
ExpressVPN US server	824.62	6.96
ExpressVPN UK server	794.95	3.70
ExpressVPN Vietnam server	761.90	3.81

Protocols

CyberGhost supports three protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2 and WireGuard. A VPN protocol is a set of rules that define how data is transmitted and encrypted when using a VPN service.

Different VPN protocols have their own ways of encrypting data. Some are faster than others, while some are more secure than others, but they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

CyberGhost’s options are standard for the industry. 

OpenVPN is a highly secure protocol. It’s often regarded as the benchmark for ensuring a secure VPN connection. OpenVPN is an open-source software which allows it to be scrutinised and tested by independent users. It’s compatible with several different encryption cyphers and can be configured to use both TCP and UDP connections. The only weakness is it does tend to be a bit slower than other protocols. However, it’s incredibly secure. You can read more about OpenVPN here.

WireGuard is a newer protocol that prioritises speed. It’s also open source, so it is available for third-party scrutiny and has a very light code base at only 4,000 lines of code. Releasing in 2019, WireGuard is becoming increasingly popular thanks to its increased speed, performing 3x faster than OpenVPN. It also doesn’t use much bandwidth. But it’s not as secure as OpenVPN. You can find out more about WireGuard here.

IKEv2 is known for its speed and reliability. It’s incredibly popular for mobile devices. You can read more about IKEv2 here.

CyberGhost doesn’t have its own proprietary protocol, though. ExpressVPN has a very good Lightway protocol, and NordVPN has NordLynx. Proprietary protocols are completely controlled by the VPN provider, meaning they can constantly fix and update it. CyberGhost lacks this reliability, but the protocols it does support are solid options.

Servers

CyberGhost claims it has over 9,000 servers around the world. But this isn’t a great way to measure a VPN’s effectiveness, as thousands of servers may be in the same location. For example, CyberGhost has just under 2,000 servers in the US alone.

A better way to measure a VPN’s effectiveness is by looking at how many countries the VPN has servers in. CyberGhost has servers in 91 countries. This is a very good amount. Our research shows that the top 20 VPNs only have servers in 71 countries worldwide.

But, 54% of these servers are virtual servers. In comparison, less than 3% of ExpressVPN networks are virtual servers. This means it has a much larger network of dedicated physical servers and is generally quicker and more reliable.

There are two types of VPN servers: physical and virtual. We consider physical servers the gold standard as they’re dedicated hardware setups in the country where you want your IP address to be based. This means the registered IP your VPN gives you and the server providing it are physically located in the same country. 

Dedicated servers are usually faster than virtual servers. They’re generally more reliable and are also customisable as the hardware is dedicated to that server. This means if a server is having problems, a VPN can quickly fix it.

Virtual servers act like physical servers, but they don’t have hardware solely dedicated to them. They’re installed on already existing hardware and are then rented by VPNs. This means it’s not a physical server built and maintained by the VPN.

They’re often a bit slower than physical servers as they share resources with other servers, and because most of the time, they’re rented, it can be difficult to fix issues and errors with them. CyberGhost must rely on the server owner to fix any issues with its virtual servers. 

With that said, most of the time, they work fine, and you won’t be able to tell the difference. Virtual servers are very good at allowing a VPN to provide IP addresses in countries where installing or building a physical server is impossible.

For example, CyberGhost can give you an IP address based in China. However, the server won’t be in China. It will be in a location where VPN servers are easier to build or rent. For example, CyberGhost’s Chinese server is actually based in Singapore.

Core Features/ Add-Ons

CyberGhost has kill switch support. This security feature will turn your internet connection off if the VPN connection disconnects. It adds good security, ensuring you remain anonymous when online.

It also supports split tunnelling, which allows you to divide your internet traffic between a VPN connection and a direct internet connection. That means you can select apps and programs you want to run through the VPN while simultaneously having other apps and programs using your normal internet connection. This is great if you’re using an app that doesn’t respond well to the VPN like Outlook not working with VPN.

CyberGhost allows you to purchase a dedicated IP address. This means you won’t share the IP address it provides you with anyone else. This helps prevent you from coming across issues like CyberGhost not working with Netflix. It also has in-built ad-blocking software. And for an extra $2.13/month, you can purchase CyberGhost’s own antivirus and security suite.

One of the best features CyberGhost provides is NoSpy servers. These servers are specially designed to provide an extra layer of security and privacy for users.

1. Enhanced Privacy: NoSpy servers are located in a separate, high-security data centre in Romania, where CyberGhost is headquartered. This reduces the risk of government surveillance or interference when using the VPN.
2. Strict No-Logs Policy: Like all CyberGhost servers, NoSpy servers maintain a strict no-logs policy.
3. Strong Encryption: NoSpy servers, like other CyberGhost servers, used strong encryption protocols to protect user data during transmission.

Verdict

CyberGhost offers a range of pricing options, with its two-year subscription standing out as a very good deal compared to the industry average. The service supports up to seven devices, which is on par with many competitors, but some VPNs now offer unlimited device coverage.

In terms of security, CyberGhost performed well in DNS leak tests, and its independently audited “no-logs policy” adds a layer of confidence for privacy-conscious users. However, speed test results in some locations were not as impressive as some other VPNs, like ExpressVPN.

CyberGhost supports three standard protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard, offering a good balance of security and speed. The server network is extensive, covering 91 countries, but a significant portion of these servers are virtual, which may affect speed and reliability.

CyberGhost offers valuable core features like a kill switch, split tunneling, dedicated IP addresses, ad-blocking, and even an optional antivirus and security suite. The NoSpy servers, located in a high-security data center, provide enhanced privacy and security.

Overall, CyberGhost offers a solid VPN service with a good balance of features, though its speed and server types could be areas for improvement depending on your specific needs.