Avira Phantom VPN is made by Avira GmbH, a German company that is known for its antivirus software. This VPN offers basic features—in fact, too basic that you can also find these same features on other VPNs.

Avira VPN has a network of 38 server locations, AES-256 encryption, and multi-device support. We believe that they are worth using, but that there are better options in our Top 10 VPN providers list.

Click on the image below to see Avira Phantom VPN for yourself, along with their other security products!

Features

Avira may be a smaller VPN provider in terms of network size, but they have packed their VPN client full of useful features. Let’s take a look at Avira VPN’s features:  

• AES-256 encryption: This is a highly-secure encryption standard that’s widely used by banks, governments, and many other sectors. With this encryption, Avira VPN can block hackers and secure your sensitive data like passwords, financial details, and private files.
• Multi-device support: You can simultaneously connect as many devices as you like. Avira VPN works with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It also has a browser plug-in for Google Chrome.
• VPN protocols: Although not listed on the website, Avira VPN uses various VPN protocols. For Windows and Android devices, the VPN will use OpenVPN; however, you can’t tweak the settings to either OpenVPN/UDP or OpenVPN/TCP. For Mac and iOS, this VPN will use IPSec.
• Privacy policy: Avira VPN has explicitly stated which of your data is being logged and which ones are not.
• Leak protection: Avira VPN has IP and DNS leak protection. It also supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
• Kill switch: In case your VPN connection suddenly drops, Avira VPN will cut your Internet connection. This feature is only available on paid plans.

Avira VPN offers all of the basic functionalities that you want to see in a VPN service, while still making their client easy to understand and use.

Servers & Countries

Avira VPN has 38 server locations across 27 countries. The list covers major locations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. While Avira doesn’t indicate the exact numbers of its VPN servers, the company says it owns and maintains them all.

Reliability & Speed Tests

We downloaded the Windows app from Avira Phantom VPN’s website to perform our tests. The process of downloading and installation was quick. It’s also easy to use as the app will set itself to connect to the nearest server by default.

The app shows all of the server locations and their latency. If you pick a location with good latency (those in yellow), switching or connecting to the fastest VPN server will be a breeze.

VPNs tend to reduce connection speed because of the encryption they use. Avira Phantom VPN is no exception here. Here’s the speed before we turned on the VPN.

Below is the speed when we connected to a US server in Chicago:

The download speed had a 20% drop, the latency shot up, and the upload speed was reduced to merely a small fraction of the original value. While this isn’t unusual with a VPN, it was slightly higher than other providers we’ve reviewed.

We tested the connection with another server in the UK server below. The speed reductions were worse here than those we saw with the US.

The speed reduction could be due to Avira’s small network of servers. Avira has not explicitly listed how many servers it operates, but its 27-country presence is smaller than those of top VPN providers. Power users may not be impressed with these speed figures, but Avira VPN should be fine for light activities like opening emails, checking social media, and general web browsing.

Pricing & Payments

Avira Phantom VPN is offered in one free version with a data limit, and three paid plans:

• Free plan: You’ll get 500 MB of data allocation per month. If you register with an email address, the allocation will increase to one GB. The free plan has no kill switch feature and minimal customer support.
• Monthly Pro plan for multiple devices: At $10/month, you can use this plan on any supported device (Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android).
• Monthly Pro plan for mobile devices: At $4.99/month, this plan only applies to mobile devices. To download the app for iPhone or iPad, go to the AppStore. For Android devices, you can get the app from Google Play. Note that for Android, Avira offers a seven-day free trial to test the VPN service.
• Annual Pro plan: If you want a long-term plan for all your devices, then the one-year plan should suit your needs. To subscribe, you have to shell out $78 for a one-time payment. This translates to a monthly rate of only $6.50, which is cheaper than the rate of the monthly plan for multiple devices.

If you want to test the Avira VPN’s functions first, you can do so with the free plan. If you want to get the kill switch feature and access all support channels, then choose the monthly or annual plan.

Avira only accepts credit cards and PayPal as modes of payment. The site only lists the annual plan as having the 30-day money-back guarantee, so be aware of this before purchasing.

Support

We find Avira’s support page to be a bit of a mess. The page is not solely for Avira Phantom VPN; it also contains information for other Avira products. If you go there, you will find the following support options:

• Email and phone support: Unfortunately, this channel only applies to paid plan subscribers. Those looking to buy will be disappointed.
• Local search engine: Type your search terms here to be given matching threads that apply not only to VPNs, but also to other Avira products. Below the search bar, you’ll see a list of commonly asked questions.
• Ask the community: If you can’t find a satisfactory answer from old threads, you can post your question to be answered by community members. Type your question in the search engine bar, then click “Ask the community.” You’ll be directed to a new window where you can add more items before you post your inquiry.

• Tweets: This is a window that displays tweets found on Avira’s actual Twitter page. There’s a link that will direct you to that Twitter page.
• Videos: Some educational videos and tutorials are found here. Unfortunately, there are few videos related to Avira VPN.
• Latest News: The recent updates on all Avira products are found here. The news articles are categorized by product.

If you’re a free user, you can only get help by searching answers in the relevant threads or perhaps by posting a question in the forum or Twitter. If you’re subscribed to a paid VPN plan, you get more support choices through phone and email.

Policies & Logging

Avira VPN doesn’t track the websites you have visited. Avira’s privacy policy states,:

“If you use Avira Phantom VPN we do not collect any data about the web pages you visit or the services you use on the internet. The information we require for our billing system only tells us when someone was online and what data volume was utilized.”

Avira VPN has explicitly listed the types of data it records and doesn’t record.

With regards to data requests from authorities, Avira states:

“Our policy is as follows: we cannot share what we do not know. We must legally comply with the legislation of countries in which we operate. So we make sure that if authorities do come knocking on our door, we have no sensitive information to share, notably what our customers use the VPN for or what websites they visited.”

They have no official policy on torrenting. However, be wary as Avira takes copyright issues seriously, as indicated in its DMCA page. If Avira finds one of its VPN users repeatedly committing copyright infringements, the company won’t hesitate to terminate that user’s account.

Expert Recommendation

Avira Phantom VPN’s app is easy to use as connecting to a server is a breeze. The interface is so simple that there’s not a lot to tinker with in the app’s settings. For instance, you can’t tweak the OpenVPN configuration. Moreover, Avira has a small network of servers, and it noticeably slowed down our connection speeds.

Avira VPN has a clear-cut privacy policy, which is a good thing. The provider has explicitly listed what kinds of details are and aren’t logged. Germany has strict data retention laws, and the country being part of the Fourteen Eyes alliance, could bring some uncertainties to the most paranoid privacy-conscious users.

Take advantage of Avira’s ability to offer many security product by clicking the image below!