Bitdefender VPN Review

Using a virtual private network (VPN) can make your web browsing experience more private and secure. However, with so many VPN companies out there, it can be difficult to determine which are the best VPN services.

Bitdefender is one VPN provider you may be considering. This guide covers its VPN services and compares it to the competition to help you make an informed decision.

Best for all-in-one VPN subscription options

Bitdefender sells a single VPN plan for personal use with two ways to pay for it: monthly or annually. Bitdefender VPN stands out from the competition in several ways, which are highlighted in the pros and cons section below.

Bitdefender VPN Pros and Cons

Pros explained

Affordable month-to-month plans

Many VPN providers reserve their most competitive monthly rates for purchasers who commit to long-term plans. That’s true of Bitdefender as well, but its month-to-month rate of $6.99 is more affordable than much of the competition.

For example, consider the following monthly rates for other popular VPN services:

• NordVPN: $12.99 to $14.99
• ExpressVPN: $12.95
• TunnelBear: $9.99

Supports 10 simultaneous connections

Bitdefender lets you connect ten devices to your VPN account at the same time. This may be enough for your entire family to use Bitdefender on their laptops, cellphones and tablets.

Ten devices is also more than what many competitors offer. For example, NordVPN allows six simultaneous connections, and ExpressVPN allows up to eight (but only six on its monthly plan).

Includes ad blocking at no additional cost

Your VPN subscription with Bitdefender comes with a built-in ad blocker and an anti-tracking feature. Some competitors, like ExpressVPN, don’t offer the same feature or do so at an increased plan cost.

Offers 24/7 live chat support

If you experience difficulty with your Bitdefender VPN, you can reach out for support anytime thanks to the company’s 24/7 live chat assistance. You can also find answers to common questions and instructions for common tasks online via the company’s help center.

Cons explained

Only has one VPN protocol

Bitdefender only supports the Catapult Hydra protocol. It doesn’t allow you to choose from other protocols, such as OpenVPN or IKEv2. While that may not be an issue for the average Joe, advanced users may want or need to use a different type of protocol to connect to certain sites.

Catapult Hydra offers fast download speeds, but some governments and network administrators can detect it. This means that you could have trouble accessing all of the sites you want to connect to when using the service. For example, Bitdefender may not be the best VPN connection for Netflix and other streaming sites if you’re trying to bypass their geo-restrictions.

Offers one plan with no room for customization

Bitdefender sells access to its VPN through an all-inclusive plan offering, which users can pay for monthly or yearly. That can be a positive if you want all of the features the plan includes, but it also gives you no option to pay less for only the features that you need. This all-or-nothing approach won’t be a fit for everyone.

Pricing for business users is not publicly available

If you’re interested in a VPN for business, you will need to contact Bitdefender directly to get a quote. The company doesn’t advertise the price of its business plan, which complicates the shopping process for customers trying to decide between different service providers.

Bitdefender VPN plans

The company has only one plan for personal and family users. That means if you want to purchase a VPN from Bitdefender, the main consideration will be whether to pay once annually or on a monthly basis.

Bitdefender Premium monthly plan

The Bitdefender monthly plan gives you access to a VPN with the following features:

• Unlimited encryption while browsing the web and streaming

• Access to more than 4,000 Bitdefender VPN servers in over 50 countries

• 10 simultaneous connections

• Support for all major platforms, including Android, Windows (PC), Mac and iOS

• Integrated ad blocker and anti-tracking tools

• 24/7 live chat customer support

• Split tunneling

The subscription auto-renews until you cancel it, which you can do by contacting customer support. The company also offers refunds within 30 days of purchase, which you can receive by contacting refunds@bitdefender.com or by filling a form on Bitdefender’s website.

Bitdefender Premium yearly plan

The Bitdefender annual plan offers the same service as the monthly option but with a different pricing structure. You pay for an entire year of VPN service upfront and have no recurring payments until the plan renews a year later. In exchange for this long-term commitment, Bitdefender cuts your monthly price by more than half.

Bitdefender VPN pricing

There are two Bitdefender VPN price options to choose from. You can either pay $6.99 per month or $29.99 per year (roughly $2.50 per month). The annual option gives you a more affordable monthly rate but requires you to pay for the full year in advance, which increases your upfront costs.

One other thing to note is Bitdefender’s seven-day free trial. This lets you download the app and try the service before committing to a plan. The company also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means, if you pay for a plan and end up not liking it, you may be able to get a full refund.

Bitdefender VPN financial stability

Bitdefender is a privately owned company based out of Romania. The company’s financials are not publicly available since private investors own it. This makes it difficult to assess Bitdefender's financial stability. However, we do know that the company was able to raise $180 million in 2017, which suggests a relatively high valuation.

From a user perspective, your most important consideration will be whether the company is stable enough to continue providing its VPN service throughout the duration of your subscription. There are no indications that Bitdefender is facing financial troubles.

Bitdefender VPN accessibility

Below, we take a look at how accessible Bitdefender is both as a service and as a company.

Availability

If you pay for a VPN, you want to be able to access the service across all of your devices. Bitdefender lets you do that, as it’s compatible with the following operating systems and platforms:

• Windows (PC)
• Mac
• iOS
• Android
• Chrome and other web browsers

You can also log into your account on up to 10 devices at the same time, so the service will be available on your phone or tablet even if your partner or a family member is using it simultaneously on their laptop.

Contact information

Bitdefender offers 24/7 customer support, which you can access online or over the phone. It has a live chat service available on its website, along with a help center that has how-to guides and answers to common questions.

You can reach the company at (+1) 954-414-9631 in the U.S. You can also send a message to Bitdefender by filling a form on its website; customer support will contact you by email.

User experience

Bitdefender’s user experience is a better fit for beginner and intermediate VPN users than it is for advanced ones. You can complete the installation process in a few clicks and won’t have to download multiple programs to access all of the features that come with your subscription.

Experienced users won’t be able to change their VPN protocol while using Bitdefender. There are also no advanced packages or upgraded offerings for users with more specific VPN needs.

Bitdefender VPN customer satisfaction

Bitdefender currently has a 4.8/5-star rating on the iOS App Store and a 4.7 rating on the Google Play Store. Each rating is based on thousands of reviews from verified customers.

Individual reviews are a bit of a mixed bag. But one thing to note is that some users reported having certain web pages blocked while using Bitdefender.

How we evaluated Bitdefender VPN

While completing our Bitdefender VPN review, we considered each of the following factors:

• Pricing: We compared Bitdefender’s pricing to that of the competition to evaluate its affordability.

• Features: We looked at Bitdefender’s features for beginner and advanced users to assess its usefulness for both types of customers.

• Customer reviews: We evaluated customer reviews on major platforms to assess consumer satisfaction with Bitdefender.

• Availability: We considered platform and VPN server availability to evaluate how accessible Bitdefender is to users with differing needs.

You may need to conduct further research if these factors don’t cover all of the details that matter to you in a VPN. You can also review this guide if you’re still trying to decide if you need a VPN.

Summary of Money's Bitdefender VPN review

Bitdefender’s VPN subscriptions are priced competitively and come with extra features like ad blocking and anti-tracking. The company also offers 24/7 customer support, allowing for more simultaneous connections than many competitors.

That being said, Bitdefender isn’t a great fit for advanced users or those with more specific VPN protocol needs. The service lacks some of the customizability that these users would need to achieve their security goals. Additionally, Bitdefender's privacy policy indicates that they do store some user information and that there are circumstances under which that information could be shared with third parties.