McAfee Safe Connect VPN Review 2025: Is It Safe to Use?

McAfee Safe Connect isn't the best VPN available, but it's a solid feature if you're already using McAfee antivirus. Although we thought it was lackluster the first time we reviewed it, the service unblocked all the Netflix libraries we tested and passed all its leak tests. 

However, McAfee Safe Connect VPN is a basic VPN. It has servers in only 47 countries and the only features are a kill switch and split tunneling.

We'll break down the pros and cons in this McAfee Safe Connect VPN review.

At a glance

Price	$35.99–$79.99/yr (first year only)
Free version	Yes
Max # of connected devices	5
# of servers	Unlisted in 47 countries
VPN protocol	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv22, IPSec
Encryption	AES-256
No-logs policy	No logs
Headquarters	United States
Netflix access	Limited
Learn more	Get McAfee Safe Connect VPN

We last tested McAfee Safe Connect VPN on April 8, 2025.

Our experience

Installing McAfee Safe Connect was smooth and we were happy with how quick and easy connecting to servers was. It even recommends a server that would give you the fastest connection, which made it easy to get started.

The software was doing decently in our speed tests...until we hit Australia. The app tried to connecting to this server indefinitely, so we had to end the task and try again. Luckily we only had to do this once. 

The worst part is this had actually happened to us last time we tested it too, which was half a year ago. However, this was the only performance issue we experienced this time around, so it's good to note that the product has gotten better.  

If you’re getting the McAfee security suite (McAfee Total Protection) anyway, you might as well benefit from the VPN when you can. You’ll receive some encryption, so it could be fine for low-risk situations like checking directions on public Wi-Fi or reading a news site in a cafe. 

Who is McAfee Safe Connect VPN best for?

• Recommended for someone who wants a light VPN bundled into their security software.

McAfee Safe Connect isn’t the most robust or reliable VPN available. However, it was able to encrypt our web traffic.

This is definitely not a great option if you’re looking for real security. If you’re on public Wi-Fi and want something light to encrypt your traffic, you may be ok using this VPN.

McAfee Safe Connect VPN prices and subscriptions

McAfee VPN's payment options are pretty straightforward: you'll pay anywhere from $35.99–$79.99/yr (first year only). It only offers annual plans, there's no way to pay per month. 

You can purchase the VPN alone, with McAfee security, or in the full bundle (McAfee Total Protection), including McAfee security and identity theft protection. You won’t get any extra VPN features by including security or identity protection, but you will expand the features available to you in the McAfee dashboard.

Because the VPN is meant as an addition to McAfee security, there aren’t any additional features as you move up in price. Your best value would be the Privacy + Security plan because it’s the same price as the Privacy plan and adds antivirus.

We don’t suggest purchasing the VPN as a standalone product, as there are other VPN services with more features and better security.

Features	Privacy	Privacy + Security	Privacy + Security + Identity
Price	$39.99/yr (first year only)	$39.99/yr (first year only)	$89.99/yr (first year only)
VPN
Antivirus
Identity theft insurance
Data cleanup tools
Learn more	View plan	View plan	View plan

McAfee Safe Connect VPN features

As far as VPNs go, McAfee Safe Connect’s features offering is fairly conservative. If you’re looking for a VPN with a lot of robust and interesting add-ons, this is likely not it. But if you’re looking for a security bundle that includes a way to encrypt your traffic, this could be what you’re looking for in a VPN.

Server count and countries

• Unlisted in 47 countries

McAfee won’t give you an exact total on how many servers it offers, but it tells you that you can choose from 47 countries. When you connect to the VPN, the fastest VPN server is recommended. You can, however, use the drop-down menu to choose another location if you want to be specific.

You won’t be able to get really granular with your server location with McAfee. There aren’t a ton of options, including no way to filter or search the server locations that are available.

What you can do, however, is use it to appear like you’re in a general location. This will suffice for geo-specific content, like checking the price of a new VPN in the country where you’re headed next.

No-logs policy and headquarters

• McAfee Safe Connect VPN logs policy: No logs
• McAfee Safe Connect VPN headquarters: San Jose, California, United States

McAfee Safe Connect seems almost like an afterthought for the security giant. There’s a single line in the privacy policy stating, “Note that if you use our VPN services, our VPN servers do not look at or log any information that you send or receive on the internet.” 

That’s great and all, but there isn’t much more information than that. Even that line is a little unclear. If there are truly “no logs,” then just outright state, “We log nothing.”

Also, the Safe Connect website claims its VPN has been independently audited, but the provided link takes you to a TunnelBear webpage. Apparently, the McAfee VPN uses TunnelBear’s technology. 

So do the logs follow McAfee’s privacy policy or TunnelBear’s policy? It’s unclear, and we couldn’t get more answers from customer support either.

McAfee's headquarters are located in the U.S., which also gives us pause. The U.S. is part of the Five Eyes alliance, which is a grouping of countries that have entered into intelligence sharing agreements. That means McAfee VPN could be legally required to hand over your internet activity if requested. 

This, combined with the unclear logs policy, is dissuading. 

Kill switch

Safe Connect is a fairly bare-bones product, but it does include a kill switch. But don’t go looking for the phrase “kill switch” because it’s marketed as “safe reconnect.”

It does the same thing: interrupting your internet connection in the event the VPN disconnects. This security feature is meant to keep your IP address safe if your VPN connection fails.

Split tunneling

Safe Connect VPN now offers split tunneling, but its only available with a couple of streaming services. Other VPNs allow you to list specific websites and apps you wish to be excluded from the VPN connection, but we're glad Safe Connect added this feature.

If you want to use a VPN for most of your online activities while using some sites or apps that block VPNs, you’ll want to get a VPN that offers split tunneling. It’s helpful to keep most of your activity private while still allowing you access to sites you want.

VPN protocols

While we found a support page that stated you can choose from a variety of VPN protocols, we were unable to find that option on the Windows app. The protocols listed are WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and IPsec. 

After asking customer support, it was determined that you can only choose which protocol you want to use when using the Android or iOS app. The Windows version connects to WireGuard by default and you can't change it manually.

McAfee Safe Connect VPN test results

Considering we already had issues with connection, we weren’t optimistic about completing our tests with this VPN. Here's what happened for each feature we tested.

Speed tests

• Speed test results: McAfee Safe Connect dropped our download speeds by an average of 28%. 

When we test VPNs, we compare how the different servers available with the software differ in terms of impact on your internet speeds. Even the best VPNs will likely slow down your speeds a little.

We tested McAfee Safe Connect on a laptop running Windows 11 from a physical location in the U.S.  

	No VPN	US to US	US to CA	US to EU	US to AU
Download speed	424.86 Mbps	379.16 Mbps	186.14 Mbps	364.61 Mbps	296.95 Mbps
Upload speed	464.07 Mbps	196.28 Mbps	134.25 Mbps	116.32 Mbps	68.68 Mbps
Latency (ping)	17 ms	14 ms	60 ms	120 ms	196 ms
Download speed % difference	N/A	-10.76%	-56.19%	-14.18%	-30.11%
Upload speed % difference	N/A	-57.70%	-71.07%	-73.93%	-85.20%
Latency % difference	N/A	-17.65%	+252.94%	+605.88%	+1,052.94%

Connecting to servers in the U.S., U.K., and Australian servers was actually pretty unremarkable. It didn’t slow our speeds too significantly with these servers, and we didn’t notice a difference while using our laptop. 

The only server that significantly dropped our speeds was the server in Canada, which dropped our download speed by over 50%. Otherwise, McAfee Safe Connect provided decent performance. 

Netflix tests

• Netflix test results: McAfee Safe Connect unblocked all the Netflix libraries we tested. 

One benefit of using VPNs is unblocking geo-restricted content on streaming services. Netflix is the most persistent about stopping the usage of VPNs, so we test every VPN we review with the service. 

	US to US	US to CA	US to EU	US to AU
Did it work with Netflix?

During our last round of testing, McAfee Safe Connect failed to unblock the Netflix U.S. and the U.K. libraries. Netflix detected the VPN and blocked us from viewing anything.

However, McAfee Safe Connect had no trouble at all during our most recent testing. Every library we tried loading with ease and when we clicked through to stream some shows, there was no buffering. 

DNS tests

• DNS leak test results: McAfee Safe Connect passed its DNS leak test.

Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet’s address book. It allows us to type in website addresses, and the computer uses DNS to translate that into internet language and guide us to the right website. 

Computers read each other’s IP addresses during this exchange, and Safe Connect kept ours hidden. That’s a bonus!

WebRTC leak

• WebRTC leak test results: McAfee Safe Connect passed its WebRTC leak test.

If DNS is the address book, then WebRTC is the internet’s phone book. It’s the technology we use to make video and voice connections online. Whether you’re using Zoom or recording your voice sans video, you’re using this technology. 

McAfee Safe Connect also prevented WebRTC leaks during its latest around of testing. 

Kill switch test

• Kill switch test results: McAfee Safe Connect passed its kill switch test. 

This is usually the part where we use IPleak.net to see if our real IP address shows up when switching servers with the kill switch on. Turning on this functionality has frozen the app in the past, so we didn't have high hopes.

This time though, McAfee Safe Connect VPN kept our real IP address a secret. We switched from a server in France to a server in Denmark and there were no leaks. 

McAfee Safe Connect VPN compatibility

McAfee claims compatibility with both Microsoft and Apple products. You should be able to use the VPN on your computer or phone if it’s running one of these operating systems.

According to their customer support, McAfee Safe Connect is compatible with:

• Windows
• Android
• iOS
• macOS
• Chrome OS

McAfee Safe Connect VPN customer support

McAfee does boast 24/7 customer support, which is available through chat or phone. Thankfully it was relatively easy to get connected with an agent, and is accessible through their support page.

Live chat and phone

We connected to a live chat agent almost immediately at 1 PM Eastern Time on a Tuesday. Though the agent was nice and tried to help, our question seemed a bit more technical than what they're used to so it took a bit to clarify what we wanted and to get an answer.

If your question is related to more standard things, like issues connecting or billing questions, then this chat option is likely good enough.

Online guides

Though McAfee has plenty of guides, they actually relate to everything McAfee and not just the VPN. This made it more difficult to find relevant answers and their search function wasn't the best we've seen.

Top alternatives

If you’re searching for a VPN provider with a lot of features and tight security, you may notice that Safe Connect doesn’t fit the bill. The options below are some of the best VPN services available, which include all the security features a VPN should offer:

McAfee Safe Connect VPN FAQs

Bottom line: Is McAfee Safe Connect VPN good?

Overall, McAfee Safe Connect is a basic VPN provider that can get the job done. We were pleasantly surprised by its most recent test results, having only minimally dropped our speeds, unblocked all Netflix libraries we tried, and blocked any data leaks. If you're all in on McAfee Antivirus, it might be worth using. 

If you’re looking for a strong and secure VPN service, we recommended NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN, which can keep your IP address and online activity hidden. You’ll also likely notice faster speeds and better webpage loading times. VPN users are usually interested in online privacy and safe internet access, especially if your connection drops.