AdGuard VPN Review 2024: Is the Free Version Any Good?

AdGuard Software Limited is best known for its ad blocker. However, it also offers a fully-fledged VPN service with a few interesting features. Our favorite thing? It has a free limited version.

Good free VPNs are extremely rare nowadays, so our AdGuard VPN review will focus on the free service. The traffic cap ruined the experience for us. We didn't mind limited speeds, servers, and connections, but only 3 GB per month was a deal breaker for us.

Keep reading to learn all about our experience with the free AdGuard VPN.

AdGuard VPN review at a glance

Who is AdGuard VPN best for?

• Recommended for: Casual VPN users on a budget who want to unblock streaming services.

AdGuard VPN’s free version is ideal for unblocking Netflix U.S., BBC iPlayer, and similar services. It can also help you bypass network restrictions in your school or workplace. However, 3 GB per month is not a lot — it translates to only 3 or 4 hours of streaming, depending on the quality.

AdGuard’s free VPN includes U.S. and U.K. servers, which is good news if you want the best streaming libraries. The 20 Mbps speed cap, on top of the 3 GB bandwidth limit, will further restrict your streaming quality.

We recommend the free version if you occasionally want to unblock a movie or show unavailable in your country. However, it's too limited to ensure long-term privacy and security. We advise buying the unlimited version if you're looking for 24/7 VPN protection. Alternatively, you can skip the guesswork and pick one of our best VPNs for this year.

AdGuard VPN pros and cons

AdGuard VPN prices and subscriptions

AdGuard VPN might appear affordable, but it's actually pricier than Surfshark. Its feature set is decent but not rich enough to justify the current price tags. That's why we wanted to test the competitiveness of its free version — could it outshine Proton VPN free, for example?

Here's a quick comparison of AdGuard's free and premium VPNs:

Paying for AdGuard VPN will remove the traffic limitations. However, you won't get much else apart from a slew of DNS servers. Granted, you can use them to block ads, adult content, malware, and phishing, but a bundled service like Surfshark One can do all this. We also recommend skipping content-filtering DNS servers for dedicated parental control apps.

All in all, AdGuard VPN is not a great deal. If you want a free VPN with unlimited traffic, go with Proton VPN. Remember that free VPNs without bandwidth caps usually don’t work with Netflix. If you're looking for top-tier paid tools, we recommend NordVPN or Surfshark.

AdGuard VPN cost

AdGuard VPN features

AdGuard VPN offers decent features – from proprietary stealthy protocol and split tunneling to its DNS service. However, it can’t rival the advanced options of the biggest VPNs on the market. Learn more about AdGuard VPN below.

Server count and countries

• VPN servers in over 50 countries

AdGuard VPN operates servers in 50+ countries and 60+ locations worldwide. It doesn't share the number of servers, though, which indicates a less-than-impressive network. That said, it was a true geo-unblocking powerhouse during our testing.

AdGuard’s free VPN offers servers in 10 locations:

• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Poland
• United Kingdom
• United States (Dallas, Miami, and New York)

As mentioned, AdGuard offers a variety of DNS servers. You’ll mostly use them for geo-unblocking, but they can also block ads and filter content. They’re not as nuanced as dedicated apps, but they performed well during our testing.

Using AdGuard DNS Family Protection will activate SafeSearch and Safe Mode in your browser. This can protect your children and other family members from explicit and disturbing content.

The client doesn't let you create a list of favorites for easier access. You also can't see real-time server loads to avoid crowding. However, the available pings will help you find the fastest server for your location.

No-logs policy and headquarters

• AdGuard VPN logs policy: No logs
• AdGuard VPN headquarters: Cyprus

AdGuard VPN operates from Cyprus, which puts it outside the Eyes Alliance. Since we're talking about an EU country, the GDPR rules also apply to your data.

The company boasts a no-logging policy, so let's see what user data they collect:

• Your email and password during registration
• Billing info through Paddle
• Your traffic volume and subscription duration
• If you're having problems with AdGuard VPN, you can allow it to log anonymized diagnostic data to help you.

AdGuard VPN also uses cookies on its website and records communication with customer support. Therefore, we never recommend sharing personal data with customer support agents.

After our investigation, we can say that AdGuard maintains a safe logging policy. It doesn't log your activity or any data that could identify you as an individual. That said, we'd like to see this confirmed by an independent audit in the future.

Security features

AdGuard VPN's feature roster is enough to ensure your online safety. However, it lacks advanced options that can truly customize your experience.

Here's what AdGuard has at the moment:

• VPN protocols: AdGuard VPN protocol is a proprietary tunnel with stealth and AES-256 encryption. This allows it to mask your VPN traffic while keeping you anonymous.
• Kill switch: When enabled, a kill switch will cut your internet access the moment your VPN loses connection. This prevents your info from leaking out.
• Anti-malware DNS servers: Some of AdGuard's DNS servers can block malicious websites. However, they only follow a list of known malware hotspots; they won't block new threats until they're updated to include them. So, DNS servers can never replace a reliable antivirus program.
• Exclusions: AdGuard's split tunneling allows you to exempt apps and sites from VPN protection. It prevents speed drops caused by unnecessary encryption. For example, you can watch YouTube unprotected while using a VPN to download torrents. You can also conserve your bandwidth with a free version.

Our experience with AdGuard VPN

We tested AdGuard VPN apps for Windows and Mac. Installing them was quick and effortless. The clients are simple, beginner-friendly, and easy to navigate. Using the apps is as simple as picking a server and clicking the large "Connect" button. The home screen also gives server recommendations based on your location. We particularly liked the addition of Dark Mode.

The apps worked well, and we didn’t experience any bugs or sudden disconnects. The menu system is straightforward, and everything is easy to find. We had zero problems locating features and options we wanted to test.

AdGuard VPN test results

As mentioned, the free version of AdGuard VPN has significant limitations. However, we still wanted to test its speed, security, stability, and overall performance. Check the final results of our hands-on testing below.

Speed tests

• AdGuard VPN speed test results: Passed
  

We tested AdGuard’s free VPN’s speed on a Mac device via the Speedtest website. Since the free version doesn't offer servers in Asia and Australia, it's not the best option if you live there.

We first measured our benchmark speed without the VPN. We then tested all the available servers to see how they would affect our original score. We conducted our testing in the U.S.

As expected, our speed was capped at 20 Mbps, but we were generally getting a few megabytes over that. We presume our upload was limited to 20 Mbps as well since that's what we got in the U.S. If that's correct, AdGuard VPN absolutely nuked our upload on its U.K. and EU servers.

The ping values were high in the EU and the U.K., so AdGuard is not a great VPN for online gaming. We didn't experience any debilitating lag or unexplained disconnects during our tests.

AdGuard VPN speed test results:

AdGuard VPN Netflix tests

• AdGuard VPN Netflix test results: Passed
  

A good VPN lets you access the best Netflix libraries and avoid ISP throttling. Your internet provider can see your streaming and might slow you down to conserve bandwidth. They can also see your VPN traffic but can't know what you're doing due to encryption.

Since AdGuard’s free VPN offers U.S. and U.K. servers, we have the best streaming catalogs covered. Surprisingly, the service consistently unblocked Netflix U.S. for us. We got zero proxy errors or warnings during our streaming tests.

We also tested it successfully with Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Crunchyroll. As mentioned, AdGuard VPN proved to be a true geo-unblocking powerhouse.

AdGuard VPN Netflix test results

DNS and WebRTC leak tests

• AdGuard VPN DNS leak test results: Passed
• AdGuard VPN WebRTC leak test results: Passed

A Domain Name System (DNS) converts readable domain names into IP addresses. A DNS leak can reveal your IP address, location, or the sites you want to visit. Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) allows web browsers and mobile apps to communicate in real-time and send voice, video, and generic data to each other. A WebRTC leak indicates the unwanted visibility of your IP address.

During our AdGuard VPN testing, we didn’t experience any DNS or WebRTC leaks. Our data remained anonymous at all times.

AdGuard VPN compatibility

We want our VPNs to cover as many popular platforms as possible. Here's AdGuard VPN's compatibility list:

• Windows
• Mac
• iOS
• Android and Android TV
• Routers (indirect protection from gaming consoles and Apple TV)
• Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera

AdGuard VPN customer support

AdGuard's official website offers a support center where you can:

• Read the FAQs
• Access the knowledge base with setup manuals
• Discuss problems with their community on Reddit and Telegram
• Report issues and suggest new features on GitHub
• Get the latest news from the AdGuard blog

We would still prefer a 24/7 live chat with competent support agents. The only "real" way to contact the AdGuard support team is via email, and the wait times are very long. Customer support is another aspect where AdGuard fails to live up to more popular VPNs.

AdGuard VPN alternatives

AdGuard VPN is a mid-tier service that can't compete with more popular providers. That's why we wanted to recommend some alternatives with better price-to-value ratios.

• NordVPN: NordVPN has 6,200+ VPN servers worldwide to help you bypass geo-blocks while providing fast speeds and strong security features. Some of its unique offerings are a dedicated IP, obfuscated servers, and Onion over VPN.
  
  Get NordVPN | Read NordVPN Review
  
• Surfshark: Surfshark is one of the most affordable premium VPNs. It allows you to connect to unlimited simultaneous devices and offers 3,200+ servers around the globe with reliably fast speeds.
  
  Get Surfshark | Read Surfshark Review
  

AdGuard VPN FAQs

Bottom line: Is AdGuard VPN good?

AdGuard VPN is a mid-tier VPN with some interesting features. Since the premium version can't compete with the top players, we primarily tested its free apps for this review. We wanted to compare it to the best free VPNs.

We liked its geo-unblocking capabilities, which consistently allowed us to access Netflix U.S. and other streaming services. Its impressive collection of DNS servers can also hide your IP and block ads, malware, and unwanted content. The AdGuard VPN protocol is secure and stealthy, allowing you to hide your VPN traffic. The company doesn't log any dangerous info, and it's located in Cyprus.

That said, AdGuard’s free VPN is severely limited due to its 3 GB monthly cap. As such, you can use it to stream for a few hours or browse a bit longer. Going premium isn't worth it when you can just buy NordVPN or Surfshark.

4.0

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

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On AdGuard VPN's website

AdGuard VPN

• Free VPN that unblocks Netflix
• Unlimited speed and bandwidth for premium plans
• Free VPN has bandwidth caps
• Premium competitor plans offer more value for the price

Author Details

Mars Groves

About the Author

Mars is a California-based cybersecurity professional and writer currently pursuing a B.S. in Cybersecurity. With interests ranging from OSINT to ethical hacking and threat intelligence, Mars leverages his two years of writing experience to produce informative content on topics such as Internet guides and VPNs.