Namecheap VPN: Ultra-Secure Protection

If you've heard about Namecheap before, you're probably familiar with its various hosting services. That's not the only thing they specialize in; they're offering their own top-notch VPN. Namecheap VPN supports torrenting, unblocks some streaming websites, and is fast.

Namecheap VPN Speed

In this section, we checked how Namecheap VPN fares against its competitors in terms of speed tests, number of servers, geographic distribution, and their fastest available protocol.

1. Speed tests

Namecheap VPN surprisingly has decent speed when it comes to testing. This makes Namecheap VPN better than others for highspeed requiring activities such as streaming, torrenting, and gaming.

2. Number of servers and geographic distribution

Short explanation: NameCheap VPN has 1000+ servers distributed over 50+ countries.

Long explanation: Server locations are just as important as the price. Namecheap has you covered in this area; they have over 1000 servers in more than 50 countries and 75 locations. The good news is you can use the service for torrenting and streaming, but we'll get into the details later.

3. Fastest available protocol

Short explanation: IKEv2 is the fastest available protocol by Namecheap VPN (recommended).

Long explanation: In the VPN world, many protocols exist, with differences between protocols making the difference in how secure a VPN is, how fast, and whether it can bypass geo-censorship. It is noteworthy to mention that it's more oriented towards mobile devices, though.

Security & Privacy

Namecheap VPN provides high-quality security protocols to protect your information. They publish regular independent security audits to provide their users insight into its policies and security protocols.

The most important features regarding security and privacy include:

1. Encryption and protocols

Namecheap VPN provides AES-256-bit encryption, which is the standard for the industry. It is so secure to the point that governments, militaries, and banks utilize this type of encryption to secure their data.

Are you new to VPNs?

For Namecheap VPN, use the IKEv2 protocol for speed, use OpenVPN protocol for security, and use OpenVPN TCP protocol to bypass geo-censorship (obfuscation).

Pro mode: The protocols available for Namecheap VPN include:

2. Logs policy

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN does not have a true no-log policy (no activity logs policy).

Long explanation: Namecheap VPN admits to logging some information, as described by them. They log information on bandwidth and connection as to what exactly that means; there was no further explanation.

3. Kill switch 

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN has a fully functional kill switch feature.

Long explanation: Namecheap VPN comes with a kill-switch feature, a feature that turns off the Internet if the VPN is disconnected to avoid any IP or DNS data leaks.

4. RAM-based servers

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN doesn't have RAM-based servers.

Long explanation: A RAM-based server means that the data, instead of being saved to SSD drives, is saved on RAMs. This is advantageous to security because RAM is wiped clean every time the servers reboot.

5. VPN based country

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN is based in the US.

Long explanation: Namecheap is based in the US, inside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance. VPN companies based inside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance are considered a possible security threat as these countries are known to spy on their citizens and share information internally. (Read more about what the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance is.)

6. Warrant canary

Short explanation: Namecheap doesn't have a warrant canary system.

Long explanation: A warrant canary is an indirect method to warn customers of governmental attempts to subpoena where the presence of the warrant on the company's official website means the local government hasn't tried anything yet.

If the warrant canary is removed from the company's page, they are asked for logs.

Namecheap VPN in Practice

In terms of the application of VPNs in the real world, we dive further into how Namecheap VPN fares against the rest in the following categories:

1. Streaming

Everybody's looking to watch new content on Netflix. If it's not available in your country, you're probably looking for a VPN to access geo-restricted content. Well, guess what? It works perfectly when it comes to unblocking Netflix in the United States, which offers one of the most extensive Netflix libraries. In addition, we found it capable of bypassing Disney+ geo-restriction as well.

Sadly, it doesn't access other streaming services like BBC iPlayer, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. Still, you can use it for torrenting and downloading anything you want privately. Namecheap VPN is useful if torrenting blocked in your country, it'll give you a private internet connection to avoid any legal action.

2. Torrent

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN allows torrents. However, Namecheap VPN doesn't have specialized torrenting servers.

Long explanation: Namecheap VPN allows torrenting via P2P networks. Protecting your connection while using a VPN is essential since many torrent websites host pirated and illegal content. Keeping your IP masked also protects you from any malicious content with viruses, malware, or any other threats.

It is important to note the base country location (the US) is inside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance, despite the no activity logs policy, so proceeding with care is advised.

3. Gaming

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN doesn't have specialized gaming servers.

Long explanation: when it comes to gaming, the reason why you would want to use a VPN for games is variable, but one thing is clear, which is no one wants to lag at all. (Read more on The Uses of VPN in Gaming).

Companies with specialized gaming servers make sure your gaming experience will be smoother than with companies that don't have specialized gaming servers.

4. Dedicated IP servers

Short explanation: doesn't have dedicated IP servers.

Long explanation: While using a VPN, you would want a dynamic IP (an IP that changes whenever you reconnect to a server). In certain situations, this is not the case. A dedicated server is recommended in the following situations:

• Business security
• Frequent online payment security
• Avoid getting blacklisted on websites
• Avoid CAPTCHAs 

5. Geo-censorship bypass (Obfuscation)

To bypass geo-censorship, use the scramble option in addition to setting your protocol to OpenVPN TCP. The scramble option is enabled in the settings and lets you access VPN even in countries that blocked it.

6. Split tunneling

Short explanation: Lacks split tunneling.

Long explanation: The split tunneling feature means you can selectively use your VPN on a certain type/source of data outgoing from your device.

Split tunneling in certain situations is favorable. For example, you're torrenting while playing a video game or watching a YouTube video.

In such a scenario, you would want only the torrenting encrypted. VPN encryption will slow the connection speed relative to not using a VPN since the encrypted data is larger than non-encrypted.

7. Tor over VPN

Short explanation: Namecheap VPN has Tor over VPN support.

Long explanation: The torrent onion router (Tor) is a P2P program used to enter the dark web. Using a VPN adds an extra layer of anonymity, especially at the entry node, with the addition of data encryption. However, pay extra attention when viewing the dark web; a non-5/9/14 Eyes Alliance VPN is preferable.

Compatibility Support

Let's just start by telling you that Namecheap VPN is one of those VPNs that is compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android, and Routers. That's right. You can download it for the whole family to use. You can download it on your router through OpenVPN, but only if your router has firmware and supports OpenVPN files.

Namecheap VPN is compatible with:

• Android
• Windows
• iOS
• macOS
• Router
• Linux

Namecheap VPN doesn't have any browser extensions.

User Experience

1. Supported languages

Namecheap VPN supports the English language only.

2. Customer support

Namecheap's customer support is available whenever you need them. Whether you want to submit a ticket, contact them on live chat, or check their FAQs and their extensive knowledge base. Namecheap's live chat will answer you within a minute, and for the price you're paying, I think that's more than enough.

The only downside is there's no phone or email support. But I mean, what do you need it for when you've got all these platforms to contact them. Am I right?

Namecheap provides customer support in the following forms:

• Live chat
• Knowledge base
• FAQs

Pricing & Payment

There are three different Namecheap VPN plans. Let's take a look at the plans below:

• Monthly Plan: The monthly plan's first month is for free. That's right! It's completely FREE. However, after the first month, it renews at $5.88/month.
• 1-Year Plan: There's an 83% discount at the beginning, so the price starts from $1.00/month, which means you'll only pay $12 for the first year, but the price renews at $34.56.
• 3-Year Plan: There's a 68% discount on the 3-year plan which means you'll be paying $1.88/month and a total of $67.88/month.

While the first free month is a great advantage to decide if it's the VPN of your choice, you'll get better value for money with their yearly plans. The good news is all three plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if it's not the one you want to use, you'll get a refund.

Available payment methods include:

• Major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
• Paypal
• Cryptocurrency

Do We Recommend It?

If you're looking for a cheap VPN with good value for your money, then yes, we do recommend it. However, if you're using it to access geo-restricted content, it's not the best one for you. Other VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN are the best in the market that'll unblock any streaming service of your choice.

Give it a try and decide if it's the one for you; there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. Plus, at the price you're paying, I think you won't even think twice.