AVG Secure VPN 2020 for Windows — Review & Test

69%

69%

Decent

AVG Secure VPN is a simple product which does its main job – protects user on the unsecured public Wi-Fi. But it doesn't offer any advanced features and has a very limited choice of server locations. Performance is pretty good with a minimal impact on download speeds.

Price is also very reasonable (only $3.99 / month if you get the yearly subscription) and you can try it completely for free for 30 days. But read the AVG privacy policy carefully.

Pros

• ✅ Simple user interface
• ✅ Minimum impact on download speed
• ✅ Good price
• ✅ Free 30-day trial

Cons

• ❌ Lack of advanced features and settings
• ❌ Not many server locations
• ❌ Worrying company privacy policy
• ❌ Pretty average customer support

• Features

  6
• Price

  9
• User Interface

  8
• Server Locations

  6
• Performance

  9
• Privacy Policy

  5
• Customer Support

  5
• User Ratings (6 Votes)
  5.3

AVG is notoriously known for their free antivirus software, but they also produce many other security products, including a VPN. The company was acquired by one of its main competitors Avast in the summer of 2016. So how does AVG Secure VPN compare to Avast SecureLine VPN? It looks pretty much the same and is also very similarly priced at $7.99 per month or $47.88 per year (e.g. $3.99 per month). The great thing is that it also comes with a free 30-day trial.

Just like Avast SecureLine VPN, AVG Secure VPN is a multi-platform product suitable for Windows PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices, but you need to obtain a license for each operating system separately. In this review, we will focus on the Windows version only. Unfortunately, there is no browser extension.

The product doesn't offer any advanced features like Kill Switch, multiple protocols or simultaneous connection. However it does support P2P connections (in the selected locations), so you can use it when downloading torrents. Another nice feature is auto-connect to a VPN server when you connect to the unsecured Wi-Fi network (e.g. at the airport). Like many other VPNs, AVG uses AES-256 encryption and Open VPN on UDP protocol.

It's a simple product for common users and a good combination if you are already using AVG free antivirus. The price is also very reasonable and you can download a free trial to test it out for 30 days (no credit card required). See the detailed features overview at the end of our review.

If you are looking for something more advanced with a ton of settings and customizations, it's better to try some other VPN solution.

AVG Secure VPN Free Download

What is quite unique about the AVG Secure VPN is the free trial. It doesn't require any personal or payment information – you simply download and install it – and you can use it completely for free for 30 days with no limitations at all.

Other VPN products usually don't offer a free trial and if they do, it's just for a couple of days or requires a credit card. That's not the case with AVG, so give it try by clicking on the button below.

Download AVG Free Trial »

Pricing & Discounts – How much does AVG Secure VPN cost?

AVG Secure VPN is one of the cheaper products, but it doesn't offer a monthly license by default (you can select later during the checkout).

The yearly subscription costs $47.88 (e.g. $3.99 per month) which is a really good deal, but you can even lower the monthly price by selecting a 2-year subscription ($2.99 per month) or 3-year subscription ($2.49 per month).

All purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. There is no field for coupon codes during the checkout process, so we assume they are not available at all.

User Interface – Is AVG Secure VPN easy to use?

If you compare the AVG Secure VPN user interface with the Avast one, you will notice they are extremely similar. The main difference is that Avast is part of the antivirus interface, while AVG is a standalone application.

But the ON/OFF switcher, server location selection and links (privacy policy, open browser) are pretty much the same. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as we find the user interface very straightforward and clear.

If you open settings (the cog wheel icon in the top-right menu) there is actually not much to set up. You can enable/disable auto-connect when connected to unsecured Wi-Fi or enable/disable Windows systray notifications. That's about it.

Server Locations & Countries – Where can you connect?

The list of server locations is pretty poor, to be honest. AVG Secure VPN offers only 29 cities in 21 countries. That is even lower than Avast (33 countries) and Private Internet Access VPN (28 countries). Plus, out of those 29 cities 7 are located in the US. So if you are looking for a product with a wide selection, look somewhere else.

The full list of locations includes:

• Africa – South Africa (Johannesburg)
• Asia Pacific – Australia (Melbourne), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore (Singapore), China (Hong Kong)
• Europe – United Kingdom (London [P2P]), Germany (Frankfurt [P2P]), Spain (Madrid), France (Paris [P2P]), Italy (Milan), Finland (Helsinki), Sweden (Stockholm), Netherlands (Amsterdam [P2P]), Poland (Warsaw), Czech Republic (Prague [P2P]), Russia (Moscow, Saint Petersburg)
• India – None
• Middle East – Turkey (Istanbul)
• North America – United States (Chicago, Dallas, Miami [P2P], New York [P2P], Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle [P2P]), Canada (Montreal, Toronto),
• South America – Mexico (Mexico City), Brazil (Sao Paolo)

The list is extremely small, but unless you are traveling to any countries outside the list you should be fine.

Does AVG Secure VPN Support YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, Amazon Prime & BBC iPlayer?

During our testing, AVG Secure VPN worked well with YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, Google, and Facebook.

However, as with every VPN we have tested so far, it didn’t work with BBC iPlayer which requires UK location. It looks like BBC iPlayer is automatically blocking all VPN accesses. It looks like the only VPN provider who has figured out how to stream on BBC iPlayer is Private Internet Access VPN.

Performance & Internet Connection Speed Test

AVG's infrastructure seems to be pretty good as we saw only a low impact on connection speeds during our testing. Servers in Brazil and Australia were really slow, but otherwise, the download and upload speeds were decent with less than 50% loss in average.

Location	Ping (ms)	Download (Mbps)	Upload (Mbps)
No VPN (benchmark)	11	36.09	4.78
USA	172	17.34	2.70
Germany	26	31.63	4.40
Australia	390	8.63	1.72
Brazil	250	11.07	2.12
United Kingdom	44	21.10	4.33
Russia	54	24.49	4.24

For testing, we used free web service by Ookla.

The benchmark connection parameters for this test was a ping of 11 ms, the download speed of 36 Mbps and upload speed of 5 Mbps. The fastest server was in Germany, but we were surprised by Russia as that's a location where we usually see a big impact. Other locations like the US and the UK were quite OK and you probably wouldn't notice the difference during the regular browsing session.

Customer Support

In terms of customer service, AVG doesn't offer many options unless you are willing to pay $79 per single session. There is no live chat, so you need to submit a support ticket and wait until someone will get back to you via e-mail.

There is also a phone number for the user in the US (1-844-234-6038) and in the UK (0800-085-4139) which promises a free consultation. But if you need to get something fixed you need to pay a lot of money. A one-time session costs $79 which is more than the 2-year subscription.

The FAQ section is rather general, but at least provides some technical details about the product like the protocols and encryption used and minimum system requirements. AVG is quite active on social media, but you can't expect detailed technical support there.

Privacy Policy & EULA – What kind of information is AVG Secure VPN collecting?

The dedicated Privacy Policy for AVG Secure VPN (that's where you land when you click on the link in the product interface) says they do not actively monitor what you are doing and sharing, but when AVG receives a complaint about misuse they will investigate it. They also specifically talk about distributing pirated content (e.g. movies or music), but overall this is standard and nothing to worry about.

What's much worse is the standard AVG Privacy Policy for all products, including the VPN. AVG is actually collecting a lot of data, including some personal information like your e-mail, phone number (!), SIM card number (!), geographic location, IP address, and lots of other data which can identify you. AVG also may share your non-personal data with third parties, and your personal data when authorized by law or when it's necessary to comply with a valid legal process. This also means that AVG is storing logs with all this information, but may not be related to VPN usage.

Surprisingly the AVG Secure VPN product page says “We have no idea what you do online when using our servers. We don’t track traffic so if we get asked? We can’t tell.” Anyway, we've put “?” in the detailed overview as it is really not clear to us.

Legally AVG is part of Avast group which is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Avast Software B.V.), but it looks like most of their management is from the United States.

Overall it is pretty bad. We understand this may be a standard privacy policy for huge security companies, but if you worry about your personal data and identity there are better products which value their users' privacy. For example, NordVPN has a pretty strict no-log policy and is legally based in Panama. However, if you are a common user and not doing anything wrong or shady online, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Conclusion – Is AVG Secure VPN worth $50 per year?

AVG Secure VPN is a simple product whose main job is to protect users on public Wi-Fi networks. It doesn't come with advanced features or a large list of server locations, but it is a relatively cheap and fast VPN. It is a good combination with AVG antivirus, although it works as a stand-alone application.

However, be careful about AVG's privacy policy as they may collect a lot of data about you, including personal information. But that may be more related to other AVG products and not the VPN.

If you are not sure, just give AVG Secure VPN a try and download it for free for 30 days. No risk.

Appendix – Detailed Features Overview

Protocols	OpenVPN, UDP
Encryption	AES-256
Store Logs	?
Server Locations	21 Countries, 29 Cities
P2P Connections	Yes (8 Servers)
Simultaneous Connections	1
IP Addresses	Unknown
Compatibility	Windows, Android, macOS, iOS
Kill Switch	No
Customer Support	FAQs, Ticket, Phone (Paid)
Price for 1 Month	$7.99
Price for 1 Year	$47.88
Accepts Bitcoins	No
Free Trial	Yes (30 Days)
Money-back Guarantee	Yes (30 Days)