When it comes to choosing a VPN service, you'd ideally find a balance between functionality, price, and privacy. Atlas VPN is one of the few premium providers that offers a completely free version with all the basic VPN features. It offers decent speeds, good streaming capability, unlimited simultaneous connections, and has a lot going for it.

However, when it comes to protecting your privacy and security online, does Atlas VPN measure up to the competition? In this Atlas VPN review, we delve into the pros and cons of Atlas VPN, with focus on the free plan, and help you determine if it's the right VPN service for you.

Atlas VPN: Free vs. Premium

As noted, both free and premium versions of Atlas VPN are available, so how do they compare?

Does Atlas VPN Collect and Share Your Data?

A key factor when choosing a VPN is the jurisdiction of the provider. The location of a VPN provider is important because it determines the laws and regulations that govern the service.

Atlas VPN is based in the United States, which is not an ideal location for a VPN provider. The US is a member state of the Five-Eyes alliance, which is a group of countries that can legally force VPN providers to share user data with the government.

However, Atlas VPN operates under a zero-logs policy and has no history of sharing user records with the government. According to Atlas VPN's customer support team and privacy policy, the no-logs policy applies to both premium and free plans.

Should a VPN’s Location Matter to You?

If you are primarily seeking a VPN for streaming or preventing your ISP from seeing your online activities, Atlas VPN probably gets the job done.

However, if you want maximum privacy, we recommend you to consider a verified no-logs service that is based outside any intelligence sharing alliance. We'd also advise you to explore VPNs with RAM-only servers for complete peace of mind.

Atlas VPN's Server Network

Atlas VPN’s free plan lets you connect to three servers in two countries and three locations. These include two servers in the US and one in the Netherlands. This isn’t nearly as good as some other free VPNs, such as Windscribe and Hide.me, which offer servers in up to 10 countries on their free plans.

The premium version, on the other hand, lets you connect to 750 servers in 45 locations. These include specialized MultiHop+ and SafeSwap servers that anonymize your activity.

Security and Privacy

Atlas VPN uses robust security features to protect your internet activity. It offers an automatic kill switch, split tunneling (limited only to the Android app), and a data breach monitor that informs you whenever your personal data is leaked in a breach.

The premium version also features specialized SafeSwap and MultiHop+ servers that protect your data with additional encryption. It also offers a SafeBrowse feature that actively blocks ads, malware, and tracking.

Leak Tests

We ran Atlas VPN through several IP and DNS leak tests. Fortunately, the VPN passed all the tests as we didn't find any personal data leaks.

Privacy Policy

Atlas VPN claims to operate under a strict no-logs policy. But when we dug deeper into their logging policy, we found that it collects some data related to your device and operating system. Fortunately, this is all non-identifying data that can't be used to track your physical location, so it isn't a deal-breaker.

Atlas VPN is fairly new in the VPN space, so its privacy policy is yet to be tested through real world incidents. Several established VPNs, including ExpressVPN and PIA, have had their logging policies verified through independent audits and real-world incidents.

Encryption and Protocols

Atlas VPN uses AES 256-bit encryption, which is the industry-standard for top-tier security. It ensures that your data and internet activity is safe and secure from unauthorized access.

Atlas VPN also offers a range of VPN protocols and allows you to customize your connection for better security and speed. You can choose between WireGuard and IPSec/IKEv2, which can meet most of your needs. Unfortunately, Atlas VPN doesn't yet support OpenVPN which is a popular protocol used and trusted by millions now.

Does Atlas VPN Have a Data Cap?

While Atlas VPN's free plan is enticing, it comes with a significant limitation. The service puts a data cap of 5 GB/month on its free plan so it isn't suitable for downloading or streaming for too long.

The free plan works fine for normal browsing, but if you frequently engage in heavy streaming activities, we recommend considering the premium plan.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Atlas VPN?

As with every VPN, Atlas VPN has a fair share of advantages and disadvantages.

Do We Recommend Atlas VPN?

If you’re a VPN beginner on a limited budget, Atlas VPN is probably the right option for you. It has an excellent free plan and the most affordable premium plans on the market.

The free plan lets you connect to three servers in two countries, which support streaming and P2P traffic. The premium version allows you to access Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer from 750 servers in 45 locations. Also, there's no limit on the number of devices you can protect with a single subscription.

That said, there's still plenty of room for improvement. You don't get browser extensions or native apps for routers. Some of the features, like split tunneling, aren't uniform across the apps. Additionally, you may occasionally encounter connection failures and slow speeds on some servers, which isn't surprising for a VPN in this price range.

But for the average user who just want to stream or bypass geo-restrictions, Atlas VPN is worth trying.