Our Kaspersky VPN review will cover the features, functionality, and plans of the Russian VPN and weigh up its pros and cons. We’ll also explore the question, “Is Kaspersky VPN safe?”

You are viewing: A Full Kaspersky VPN Review – Tested, Reviewed, and Compared for 2023

While Kaspersky is one of the leading online security solutions available today, some have questions about the company – so we’ll help address whether Kaspersky VPN is right for you.

What is Kaspersky VPN?

Kaspersky Lab, which provides the software, was founded in 1997 and is one of the oldest and largest cybersecurity and antivirus companies.

Its eponymous founder, Eugene Kaspersky, says, “We pride ourselves on developing world-leading security that keeps us – and every one of [the] 400 million users, protected by our technologies, and [our] 250,000 corporate clients – one step ahead of potential threats.”

Kaspersky VPN Review Pros and Cons

The testing we conducted for our Kaspersky VPN review found the platform to be robust and reliable overall. However, like any software, it’s not without its downsides. Here’s a summary of its main strengths and weaknesses so you can see whether it aligns with your main priorities:

In 2017, there were reports that Kaspersky was collaborating with the Russian government to use its technology for intelligence purposes. This prompted the US Department of Homeland Security to ban federal agencies from using its services.

Following the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, the American government then warned US firms against using Kaspersky tools.

The company has not been subject to sanctions due to the conflict, however, though many firms have closed their Russian operations and stopped doing business with Russian companies. Given all this, it may not be the best fit if you need a VPN for professional purposes and frequently collaborate with international businesses.

Kaspersky has taken steps to address this and has moved a significant amount of its infrastructure outside of Russia.

What’s more, its tools generally receive very positive reviews. Kaspersky VPN is highly effective for downloading files, and its fast connection speeds ensure you can stream videos in high quality. Families and businesses can also benefit from the fact that you can run up to 10 devices on one account.

How Much Does Kaspersky Cost?

Kaspersky offers affordable pricing and a choice of plans for those on a budget. Here’s a quick look at its offerings.

Free Plan

While limited, Kaspersky’s free plan is still a worthwhile option for occasional users or those on a tight budget. The main drawback is the 200MB daily traffic cap, which would only allow a few hours of online browsing or 10 minutes of streaming HD videos.

The free plan automatically selects a server, so you can’t choose a specific location to access geo-restricted content. Other providers with free versions, like AtlasVPN and ProtonVPN, offer a small selection of servers, including in the US.

The free Kaspersky VPN, nevertheless, has a variety of security features and filters, and you can choose which protocol to use.

Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection

The starting price for Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection is $29.99 for the first year and then $42.99 annually. It’s a competitive rate that works out at around $3.60 per month.

You can also subscribe on a monthly basis for $6.99 per month, and there’s the option to go from five devices to ten with an annual plan for an additional $20 in the first year or $22 in subsequent years.

Kaspersky’s VPN Secure Connection product has the standard features of a paid starter plan, including a kill switch, split tunneling, and access to all 2,000+ servers. There’s also streaming support, so you can use Kaspersky for Netflix, Amazon, and other services.

Kaspersky VPN Premium Plan

Although there’s a sharp price increase to $74.99 for Kaspersky’s Premium Plan, you get a host of new features that more than justify the cost. The main ones to note are antivirus tools, parental control features, and identity protection.

You also get 24/7 support with the premium plan, which includes phone, email, and live chat, and there’s remote assistance to help you with the installation and maintenance of tools.

With both paid plans, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee, and while it’s not particularly promoted, there is a Kaspersky VPN free trial, which runs for seven days.

As with many VPNs, Kaspersky’s renewal price is higher than the introductory cost. You’ll get a notification, though, so you can cancel if you want by logging into the platform before the auto-renewal.

If you need assistance with canceling your plan, it’s also possible to contact the customer support team directly.

Reviewing the Core Kaspersky Features

Kaspersky VPN offers a range of tools to boost your online security and let you access web content from different geographic locations. Here, we’ll look at the main features in depth.

It’s worth noting that Kaspersky has added more features recently, including extra protocols, servers, and split tunneling, which is why you’ll find mixed information online about the tools it offers.

Global server network

There are over 100 Kaspersky server locations worldwide, including the US, UK, and China. It also has over 2,000 servers globally, which puts it in close competition with leading solutions like ExpressVPN and SurfShark.

As is standard, you can use a smart algorithm to find the optimal server for your needs. We also appreciated the addition of “favorites,” which lets you save the countries you use most often.

When we tested the servers, Kaspersky automatically linked us to Germany and held this connection for the following hour we spent browsing online. We didn’t experience any lags, and our speed tests revealed no significant impact.

Kill switch

Kaspersky’s kill switch feature turns off your internet when your VPN connection drops, so there’s no data leakage. You immediately regain access when you reconnect to Kaspersky.

You won’t find the kill switch with the Kaspersky free VPN, but this is fair enough, and you’re unlikely to need it as a casual, occasional browser.

We found the kill switch to be easy and intuitive to use. There are brief instructions for the tool, and there’s a link to a help page.

Split tunneling

Sometimes, you may want to split your traffic so only some of it is running on a VPN-encrypted connection. For example, you may find some websites or apps won’t let you access them if they can detect a VPN, or you may simply want to route some apps directly for the fastest possible connection.

Kaspersky’s split tunneling tool lets you specify which apps it should protect.

It’s notable that Kaspersky offers split tunneling for Mac devices. Many VPNs, even leading providers like NordVPN, don’t offer this due to the unique configurations required to make the feature work.

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The interface is simple – you just have to enter the apps you want Kaspersky to protect. If successful, you should see them listed in the white box.

Support for multiple devices

With Kaspersky’s paid plans, you can have up to 10 devices connected simultaneously. There are other VPNs on the market, like ExpressVPN, that include all connections at one price, while some allow unlimited connections.

Child safety features

One of Kaspersky’s standout features is the Safe Kids child safety product. Most VPNs on the market don’t include anything comparable.

You can keep kids safe by filtering their web searches and blocking inappropriate content. Kaspersky also gives you a log of what they’ve looked at. YouTube is often contentious, as it’s popular with children but also has explicit content, so we were impressed by the YouTube Safe Search features.

We also loved Kaspersky’s time management features. You can schedule and limit time online and show kids how long they’ve been browsing. That way, you’re not just telling younger users what to do but educating them on healthy screen time.

Smart home security

Another of Kaspersky’s standout offerings is its protection for your smart devices. Any tech you own that connects to the internet is potentially vulnerable to attack.

Kaspersky allows you to manage the online security of these devices in the same place as your phones and computers. There’s also remote installation, so it’s easy to set up.

As you might expect, smart home protection comes with Kaspersky VPN’s Premium plan – meaning users who don’t want it won’t have to pay for it.

Customer support

We were pleasantly surprised by Kaspersky’s knowledge base. There are lists of how-to guides by feature and user FAQs, and Kaspersky’s website also lets you filter by operating system and translate support information into 27 languages.

If you can’t find answers to your questions in the knowledge base, you can contact customer support 24/7 via email, chat, and phone, and the company also offers remote assistance. There are also several premium support packages depending on your needs.

Is Kaspersky VPN Safe?

As a VPN’s primary purpose is to safeguard and anonymize your online activity, our Kaspersky VPN review will now explore the security features in more detail.

Protocol support

If you’re not familiar with VPN protocols, you can select “auto” to allow the software to choose for you. This means you can maintain a high level of protection without having to dig into the technical details.

Encryption

Both these standards are thought to be virtually unbreakable at present.

IP masking

Although this should be sufficient for most users, it’s worth noting that some competitors offer more advanced tools. For example, AtlasVPN has SafeSwap, and SurfShark has an IP Rotator and Randomizer, which change your IP address repeatedly, so it’s harder for anyone to monitor your activity.

No logging policy

You may have concerns about governments requiring Kaspersky to hand over information. However, as with all good VPNs, the company doesn’t maintain logs, so it doesn’t have anything to hand over.

Kaspersky VPN Compatibility

Having installed Kaspersky VPN on multiple devices, we can say the service is relatively consistent across different operating systems. Here’s a breakdown of what the user experience and features are like on various popular platforms.

Android

You can download Kaspersky VPN for Android, provided you have version 5.0 on, and your device can support a screen resolution of 800×480.

Kaspersky’s minimal design works well on a small screen, and there’s no difficulty with installation or setup. The experience was also consistent with the desktop version, so we could see what to do and follow the same steps.

You can also make use of favorites and push notification settings on Android.

iOS

Kaspersky VPN for iOS is available for customers with version 14.0 onwards. There are a few differences with the Android app, like the appearance of icons – but these are fairly minor.

The fact Kaspersky has a split tunneling feature for iOS, while many providers don’t, is also a major benefit.

Windows

You can install Kaspersky VPN for Windows on any computer with 150MB of memory available and 1GB of RAM (for 32-bit operating systems) or 2 GB (for 64-bit operating systems).

As with Android and iOS, there are a few differences in layout and appearance, with the menu bar in a different location. As navigation is clear, though, this doesn’t interfere with the user experience.

Mac

Kaspersky VPN for Mac is available for version 10.13 onwards and requires 200MB on your hard drive and 1GB of RAM.

The Mac experience is consistent with iOS but with a few differences in appearance when compared with Android and Windows, such as icon appearances and placement. We were also happy to see the split tunneling feature available on Mac.

Kaspersky VPN vs. Top VPN Competitors

When choosing a VPN, it’s helpful to compare it with other leading solutions on the market. This can help to confirm if it’s good value for money and how the feature set compares. Here’s a look at how Kaspersky stacks up against other top VPNs.

At a glance, you can see Kaspersky VPN is good value for money. Its costs are comparable to other platforms, and it includes all the features you’d want.

The biggest draws are Kaspersky’s smart home and parental control features. Few other VPNs offer these, and installing them separately would mean juggling various software products.

However, Kaspersky VPN doesn’t have as versatile a range of security features as some providers. For example, it doesn’t have a multi-hop capability like SurfShark, which adds an extra layer of encryption to your internet traffic.

While there are many reputable VPNs on the market, Kaspersky more than matches them for price and quality. If you’d like to compare more options, read our guide to the best VPN service providers.

What is Kaspersky VPN Good For?

You’ve no doubt got an idea of what you’d like to use Kaspersky for, but exploring all its possible applications may highlight some features you didn’t know about. Here’s everything Kaspersky VPN can do for you.

Protecting anonymity

System intrusions now account for 34% of personal data breaches where hackers access their victim’s personal details.

Kaspersky VPN can prevent malicious actors from eavesdropping on your browsing activity. Masking your IP address makes it difficult for anyone to pinpoint your location. It also encrypts your internet traffic so hackers can’t see what web pages you’re accessing.

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Hackers can do a lot of damage even if they’ve just got your name, address, and email. In business, you could even risk penalties for leaking customer details and violating GDPR rules.

Securing financial transactions

When you’re making payments online, hackers can intercept your transactions and get hold of your banking credentials.

VPNs like Kaspersky use encryption to ensure nobody can read sensitive information like your credit card number or banking passwords. This feature is especially useful if you need to use public WiFi, where security is weak.

Accessing geo-restricted content

Often, websites and online services restrict foreign users from accessing specific content. For example, Netflix and Disney+ have a library of shows and movies that are specific to each country they operate in.

Kaspersky VPN allows you to connect to local servers so you can access geo-restricted content. As you can switch between servers all over the world, you can watch almost anything you like.

Gaming online

Kaspersky can improve your gaming experience in several ways. You can connect to servers in countries with fewer players for easier matches, for example.

You can also get additional security against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, where hackers attempt to overwhelm a service to take players offline.

Kaspersky VPN Server Locations

If you’re interested in using Kaspersky VPN for a specific country, here’s a complete list of its server locations. There are over 2,000 servers and 102 locations overall.

Is Kaspersky VPN Good? A Look at Kaspersky Reviews

We’ve looked into a wide range of Kaspersky VPN reviews online to see how the platform performs over time for different users and in different use cases.

Overall, Kaspersky VPN has strong ratings, with 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store and 4.9 on Google Play.

Many Kaspersky VPN reviews state that users are happy with the platform’s speed and level of security. Some noted they’d been using it long-term or had switched after finding competitors were too costly. The consensus also seems to be that Kaspersky is good value despite being one of the lower-priced providers.

Users also praise Kaspersky for its responsive customer support. We also noticed that the team was active on the app stores, giving advice on issues and prompting customers to contact them directly.

A few Kaspersky VPN reviews were critical, though. These users generally pointed to issues with usability relating to notifications or missing features – some of which have since been added. However, many also balanced their criticisms with positive points about Kaspersky.

How We Tested Kaspersky VPN

Our Kaspersky VPN review aims to give you as much information about the solution as possible to help you make an informed purchase decision. That’s why we’ve approached it from as many angles as we could to provide a thorough understanding of how it works.

Nothing beats hands-on experience, so we downloaded Kaspersky and checked how it performed in different scenarios. We let it run in the background as we went about our normal tasks, such as watching shows and browsing the net, and we also ran tests for speed drops, for IP address leaks, and on the kill switch feature.

Our team also has deep experience with cybersecurity technology, threats, and the legal landscape, and we’ve reviewed a range of other VPNs, so we’ve brought our background knowledge to bear and can provide guidance on how Kaspersky compares with its features.

While testing Kaspersky gives us a lot of valuable information, it’s not the same as using the platform long-term, however. Because of this, we’ve analyzed user reviews and commentary across reputable sites like Trustpilot and G2 and the Reddit user community to get a sense of how it performs over time.

As Kaspersky continuously updates its platform, we gave more weight to recent reviews recorded in the last six months to a year.

Once we’d collected all the information we needed, we looked for inconsistencies. For example, we considered whether our experience matched user feedback and what the reason might be for any discrepancies, building all of this into an all-encompassing Kaspersky VPN review.

Our Other VPN Guides

Our Kaspersky VPN review aims to help users decide whether to invest in the platform. However, if you’re still considering other solutions or want to do further research, you might be interested in our other VPN guides:

• The best VPN apps
• The best VPNs, according to Reddit
• The top VPNs for business
• The best VPNs for Netflix streaming
• The most affordable VPNs on the market

Concluding Our Kaspersky VPN Review – Is Kaspersky Worth It In 2023?

If you’re new to VPNs or prefer a minimal interface, Kaspersky is a great option. The simple, intuitive design, brief explanations, and lack of pop-ups make it easy to navigate. You won’t find yourself getting frustrated trying to figure out the settings or getting the tools to work.

Kaspersky is also budget-friendly, with relatively low costs and flexible plans. You can test the features using the free version or make use of the generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

One caveat, though, is that while the company has attempted to repair its reputation following allegations of collusion with Russian intelligence, and tests are very favorable, some users may still be wary.

Others may be uncomfortable using a service with links to the Russian government while the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues. Ultimately, users will have to decide for themselves.