FrootVPN Review: Exploit-Proof but Slow

FrootVPN claims to be the best VPN service. A bold claim. And it is a good reason to update my review and test this provider unbiasedly once more.

FrootVPN is based in the offshore jurisdiction of Seychelles. However, its country of origin is Ukraine.

This affordable VPN (although it doesn’t have a free plan) offers a good range of countries but only has an app for Windows. It is possible to set it up for other devices manually, using settings for three VPN protocols of your choice.

If you are interested in this provider, keep on reading and you will find out:

• FrootVPN’s characteristics
• Its pros and cons (including Netflix and torrents tests)
• Why it’s necessary to check out its alternatives

You can use the quick navigation menu for easy access to a section you need:

• FrootVPN’s characteristics
• FrootVPN’s pros
• FrootVPN’s cons
• Peculiarities of use
• Plans and prices
• Information about the owner company
• Conclusion
• Top 3 alternatives

FrootVPN’s characteristics

Basic functions

• Obfuscation of the IP and the URLs of the websites you visit
• Site unblocking
• Reliable traffic encryption
• Several protocols to choose from

Extra functions and possibilities

• Expanded Kill Switch functions
• Torrenting allowed
• Supports Netflix

While FrootVPN doesn’t have too many apps, it offers a wide range of countries to choose from, the Kill Switch technology (which protects the user’s location data when the VPN reconnects), the ability to use torrents without restriction, and the ability to watch Netflix. And all of those for a pretty low price.

The one-month subscription is particularly cheap compared to the industry’s average: $4.99 against the usual $10-11.

It’s a shame that FrootVPN is only convenient to use on Windows.

I have tested all the features of FrootVPN and divided them into pros and cons.

FrootVPN’s pros

Location choice

FrootVPN offers a good choice of locations: 150+ servers in 32 countries, which is an average number. It should be sufficient to complete most tasks.

Available countries list:

(AG, AU, BR, CA, CN, CH, CR, CZ, DK, FI, FR, ES, DE, IS, IL, IT, JP, KR, LU, MY, MX, NL, NZ, PA, PL, PT, SG, SE, TR, UK, US).

The US and the UK have the biggest number of servers.

If you are looking for a larger list of available countries, I can recommend NordVPN  ($3.49) or CyberGhost VPN ($2.75) that both have 60 countries.

Extended Kill Switch function

It is known that the Kill Switch feature protects users from their real location being leaked when reconnecting to a VPN.

FrootVPN provides not a simple, but an extended Kill Switch in its PC app. It is possible to choose what apps this function should affect.

It’s a really useful setting. Most of the time, there is no need to block the PC entirely if a change of location or an automatic reconnection happens after disconnecting from a VPN server. It’s usually enough to protect only the web-browser, an online game, or a torrent client.

More than that, FrootVPN’s account control panel includes a manual on how to achieve maximum torrenting anonymity with the Kill Switch.

Torrenting-oriented

FrootVPN makes no secret of the possibility to use its servers for torrenting. It even gives tips to its users on how to maximize their security while doing so.

This and the fact that FrootVPN:

• Keeps no logs,
• Has a Kill Switch,
• Encrypts the data with the use of AES-256 which is the US official encryption method for top-secret state information,

make it a great choice for torrenting and the use of KODI.

However, wait until you read about this provider’s speed in the FrootVPN’s cons section before you start using it.

Netflix support

I managed to connect to Netflix and watch a US-only movie on the first try.

However, I was only able to watch it in the lowest quality, and my connection was unstable. The reason for it is the provider’s low speed.

If you want to 100% unblock Netflix with high speed for the best video quality, you can use our VPNs for Netflix review.

Protocol choice

Many VPNs do not allow their users to change the VPN protocol. FrootVPN offers the choice of three protocols: OpenVPN (UDP and TCP), PPTP and L2TP.

Is it a useful possibility? Frankly, it’s rather not because PPTP and L2TP are not very secure protocols. There is some utility in having them, as they allow you to manually set up the VPN for devices without OpenVPN support.

However, if OpenVPN is blocked or banned in a network, FrootVPN can be handy.

What is more interesting and useful is the presence of the stunnel protocol which is based on OpenVPN [1]. It cannot be used from the app, but you can download its config files.

This protocol lets you create a tunnel that is invisible to VPN scanners employed by company networks or by countries with Internet censorship. It uses the X.509 digital certificate [2] used for https, which allows it to look like a regular https connection.

However, the connection happens not via port 443 that is used for https but through port 993. It can be blocked.

Port 993 for stunnel in FrootVPN’s config

You can read more about the use of stunnel in the FrootVPN’s Peculiarities of use chapter.

So, that sums up the pros of FrootVPN. Now I will tell you about the cons. There are quite many of them, as is the case with almost any other VPN.

FrootVPN’s cons

Speed

The speed of FrootVPN is poor. On ten servers out of the ten I tested, it was lower than 5 Mbps.

The speed is 3.68 Mbps on a Norse server

Here are a few more examples of low speed:

• US: 3.75Mbps
• LU: 2.29Mbps
• HK: 1.87Mbps

This speed would have sufficed for 3G. The thing is, FrootVPN doesn’t have mobile apps. To use it on smartphones or tablets, one has to manually set up the settings for a chosen server or to install an OpenVPN client and import FrootVPN’s config files into it.

FrootVPN’s speed is too slow for Wi-Fi and wire-connected Internet. Even some of the free VPNs offer higher speeds.

I recommend using fast VPNs. They almost do not affect your speed, and you have more opportunities such as fast torrenting, online gaming, and high-quality video viewing.

Only has an app for Windows

FrootVPN isn’t convenient to use because of the lack of apps for most of the popular platforms. It has an application for Windows, but there are more mobile users than desktop users in 2020. Therefore, most of the potential customers have to either bother with manual settings (which is really inconvenient if you change your location) or install third-party software for OpenVPN and import config files into it.

Doesn’t sound great, does it? It is somewhat helped by the fact that the provider offers a guide.

Settings for various devices

With that in mind, FrootVPN’s promise of 5 simultaneous connections doesn’t sound so tempting.

At the same time, there are great cheap VPN services that offer apps for all or, at least, most of the platforms.

Peculiarities of use

In this chapter, I will provide some tips on how to use FrootVPN effectively.

Using stunnel

FrootVPN offers its advanced users (as the installation requires experience in installing tools and setting up network connections) the use of the stunnel protocol.

It works slower than the regular OpenVPN because it creates two tunnels. One of them is going to the local port 1194. And then traffic is transferred to the stunnel tunnel.

To run VPN with stunnel, you have to download config files from this page on FrootVPN’s official website, import or copy it into your OpenVPN (which you can download here).

Then you have to run the .bat command file (it is included in the config) and activate the respective connection in OpenVPN.

To work with the stunnel protocol, you’ll need to download and install a free tool for Windows, Android, or Linux from stunnel’s official site.

Problems with the Quick Connect button in the app

After leaving sleep mode or after being idle for a long time, the app won’t react when you press Quick Connect. The only thing that helps is fully loading the app out through the system tray and restarting it:

Be careful if your torrent client is active when you do it because the Kill Switch will be turned off along with the app.

Possible IP leak on UDP

If your ISP restricts UDP-connections, you can use TCP instead. But you may not know it. When using the FrootVPN app, if there are problems with UDP, your VPN won’t start but the app will not notify you about that.

To make sure that your VPN is working correctly, you have to pay attention to the flags that the app displays. If the topmost flag shows your country while the connection is established, it means things are going badly and your IP isn’t hidden. If, on the other hand, the top and the bottom flags are of the same country you have chosen, then everything is okay:

Plans and prices

FrootVPN is a paid-only VPN that doesn’t provide a free trial. So you can only use this service if you buy a subscription.

As I have already mentioned, this provider offers low prices. The one-month plan is the most interesting one as it costs about 2 or 3 times cheaper than such a plan of most other VPNs.

These are the prices of FrootVPN:

• $2.99/m when subscribing for 12 months ($35.88/y)
• $3.99/m when subscribing for 3 months ($11.97 per 3 months)
• $4.99 when subscribing for 1 month.

FrootVPN’s plans and prices

FrootVPN accepts the following means of payment:

• credit cards,
• PayPal,
• Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Blackcoin, Bytecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Emercoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Monero, Peercoin, Primecoin, Reddcoin, Ripple, Zcash),
• Perfect Money.

Information about the owner company

FrootVPN is made by Edelino Commerce Inc. which is registered in the offshore jurisdiction in Seychelles.

Edelino Commerce Inc:

Address: Suite1, Second Floor, Sound & Vision House, Francis Rachel Str. Victoria SEYCHELLES

Phones: +13105702425, +380677720444

Website: frootvpn.com

Judging by the phone numbers, FrootVPN has Ukrainian roots. Combined with its offshore jurisdiction (which is outside of intelligence alliances and countries with harsh copyright legislation) and the ability to pay for it with cryptocurrencies anonymously, it makes this provider well-suited for tasks that require extra confidentiality.

Edelino Commerce Inc. develops not just VPNs but also other IT products.

Conclusion

So, is FrootVPN the best?

Absolutely not! However, I cannot place it among outsiders either.

It suits advanced users who are not too picky about their Internet speed. It is also remarkable because you can pay for it with cryptocurrencies such as Dash.

So, what is FrootVPN a good fit for, and for what is it not?

A good fit for:

• unblocking websites,
• hiding your location reliably,
• torrenting,
• watching Netflix low quality,
• undetectable VPN use with the stunnel protocol.

Is not a good fit for:

• macOS and iOS,
• tasks that require high speed,
• beginner PC users.

This service is aimed at Russian-speaking customers first and foremost. It is obvious from both the official website and the app being localized into Russian as well as from the payment methods and the software being difficult to use (save for the Windows app). However, it doesn’t mean that FrootVPN can be used only by Russian-speaking users.

Because of its rather deal-breaking cons, I recommend that you take a look at the top 10 VPN services list before you buy FrootVPN. There you can find providers that offer great speeds, apps for all platforms, and various payment methods.

Top 3 alternatives

• NordVPN – the best VPN for torrenting, Netflix, website unblocking, etc. 5000+ servers in 60 states, fast speed, and VPN obfuscation for $3.49/m. Also, it can be used for free.
• CyberGhost VPN – a great one-size-fits-all VPN service that has a free trial and dedicated servers for anonymous torrenting and streaming. $2.75/m. 5900+ servers in 90 countries.
• Surfshark – the best affordability-to-quality ratio. VPN obfuscation, apps for all platforms, can be paid for via regular methods or cryptocurrencies.

References

1. Stunnel on Wiki
2. Digital certificate x.509 on Wiki