VPN Speed Comparison to watch Netflix from Singapore -- Astrill, HMA, ExpressVPN and IPVanish

[B3307SR]

I've been looking for a VPN service with a decent speed, to watch Netflix from Singapore. So I need to connect to a US-based server. The speed difference between the 4 VPN that I tried is really surprising.

before we start, here's the baseline speed, without any VPN:

ok here it is. first, HideMyAss. USD11.52/mo or USD78.66/year. After trying so many servers in LA, San Jose, Chicago etc, this is the best that i can get. Keep buffering when I watch netflix, requested for a refund (great customer service btw, they really gave me the refund).

next, expressVPN. This is the most expensive option with USD12.95/mo or 99.84/year. Very sleek interface, loved it. Too bad that the best download speed that I can get is via their Chicago server, is even slower than my 3G connection.

IPVanish. ranked no1 VPN here and there. USD10/mo or USD77.99/year. Their software is the ugliest of all and speed failed to impress.

Now, Astrill. This VPN is often mentioned in this forum but hardly seen in various VPN review websites. USD29.95/3 months or USD69.95/year. The cheapest among the four that I tried. And here it is...

What I dont really understand is that how can there be so much difference in the speed? I saw speed test results in some websites showing that they can achieve 30 to 40 Mbps with IPVanish and expressVPN with their US server, but how can it be so slow from Singapore? Distance? I'm connecting to US VPN server with Astill and still getting close to 30Mbps.

And I guess paying more for the subscription cost doesn't guarantee better speed that we're getting .

 

[oric1]

I subscribed to Astrill too and this is my 2nd year with them. Love the speed & support especially Astrill VPN applet for ASUS Router.

BTW, are you streaming Netflix via Singapore (US) server? Found that streaming movies from China are also quite smooth.

 

[chercm]

I subscribed to Astrill too and this is my 2nd year with them. Love the speed & support especially Astrill VPN applet for ASUS Router.

BTW, are you streaming Netflix via Singapore (US) server? Found that streaming movies from China are also quite smooth.

same here . happy with Astrill

 

[PUREopennet]

Teleport

Side track a bit, I am using teleport to watch Netflix. You don't need to do any thing on your side, it is enable by default for all MyRepublic customers. It is free for now till June. After that, $5 per month.

channzone

 

[B3307SR]

I subscribed to Astrill too and this is my 2nd year with them. Love the speed & support especially Astrill VPN applet for ASUS Router.

BTW, are you streaming Netflix via Singapore (US) server? Found that streaming movies from China are also quite smooth.

right now I'm still on the 7-days free trial period from Astrill, so I couldn't access too many server yet. Is it faster to connect to netflix via the Singapore (US) server?

 

[ak6110]

I subscribed to Astrill too and this is my 2nd year with them. Love the speed & support especially Astrill VPN applet for ASUS Router.

BTW, are you streaming Netflix via Singapore (US) server? Found that streaming movies from China are also quite smooth.

Same here too, I am very happy with Astrill.

 

[joel_winston]

How come you can so high speed with astrill. I also using it but my speed is around 6 Mb/s

 

[oric1]

right now I'm still on the 7-days free trial period from Astrill, so I couldn't access too many server yet. Is it faster to connect to netflix via the Singapore (US) server?

Back in 2012, during my 7-days free trial, I requested to have access to all the servers and they granted me.... not sure about now.

Using Astrill Singapore (USA) server. Tested during peak hour. Judge for yourself

Using Astrill Singapore (2) local server. Also during peak hour.

 

[oric1]

How come you can so high speed with astrill. I also using it but my speed is around 6 Mb/s

Which server did you use?

 

[tekster]

Side track a bit, I am using teleport to watch Netflix. You don't need to do any thing on your side, it is enable by default for all MyRepublic customers. It is free for now till June. After that, $5 per month.

channzone

can you at least do some speedtest instead of blatantly trying to sell yr product here?

pls do our community a favour.

 

[PUREopennet]

Speedtest result

can you at least do some speedtest instead of blatantly trying to sell yr product here?

pls do our community a favour.

What can speedtest result tell you? The speedtest result only tell you a packet sent and received at certain speed.

It cannot tell you whether your connection can sustain a continuous of data received over a long period of time, which video streaming is all about.

Correct me if I am wrong.

channzone

 

[ho_kailiang]

how do you guys connect to astrill vpn server? they have an astrill application, astrill vpn dialer..

 

[oric1]

how do you guys connect to astrill vpn server? they have an astrill application, astrill vpn dialer..

There are various ways (Astrill Wiki).

On my PC, I'm using their app.

 

[tekster]

What can speedtest result tell you? The speedtest result only tell you a packet sent and received at certain speed.

It cannot tell you whether your connection can sustain a continuous of data received over a long period of time, which video streaming is all about.

Correct me if I am wrong.

channzone

Better than u attempting to sell yr fibre with mere words.

 

[azrin619]

haaa...,
anyway, since I'm on MR and tweaking IPv6 route thru HE, my friends leeching my connection for their Netflix. in actual fact, the technology is quite simple if you got BGP route management.

so rather than wasting $15 or so, ask your friend nicely who is on MR to tompang their connection for AUTHENTICATION level VPN, and then skip the rest after you signed in.... subjective to their connection and router limits.

having said that, speedtest is NOT A REAL FACTOR IN VPN....as pretty useless FYI. all these websites uses CDN and it's subjective to the CDN route policy. I know cos I got a few CDN friends who shared me this policy recently last week during the summit.

Netflix only needs 15mbps or so, anything is a good bonus.
I'll try this out once the gigabit patch work comes in.....
have fun

 

[kitsura]

I've been using IPvanish for more than a year and i think for the price and support it is still one of the better ones around. Just a sample I took from some of their servers. But of course speed varies based on server loads and routes. And speedtest is not really an accurate measure of speed since the speedtest server itself could be the bottleneck.

 

[Imperado]

Just got IPvanish.. seems like april 14 they stop keeping logs.. so should be safe to climb bukit timah right?

Anyone using it?

What server you all use?

Servers i tried so far only get 1-3 mbps only lehhh =(

 

[trento]

im trying HMA right now. Speed tests are terrible but watching Netflix is ok.

i'm not really into all this networking stuff but there are some handy instructions given to configure on the router and it works for a noob like me. Convenient as i can watch Netflix on Apple TV too.

Would appreciate more reviews if possible.

btw, im thinking of downgrading from Singtel (150mbps) to M1 (100) cos it's the cheapest plan. Any thoughts on whether will affect VPN performance?

 

[zitseng]

im trying HMA right now. Speed tests are terrible but watching Netflix is ok.

i'm not really into all this networking stuff but there are some handy instructions given to configure on the router and it works for a noob like me. Convenient as i can watch Netflix on Apple TV too.

Would appreciate more reviews if possible.

btw, im thinking of downgrading from Singtel (150mbps) to M1 (100) cos it's the cheapest plan. Any thoughts on whether will affect VPN performance?

I tested HMA, and also found the speed too slow. In my case, slow enough to make Netflix not so enjoyable. Astrill has been superb so far.

 

[willieaames]

im trying HMA right now. Speed tests are terrible but watching Netflix is ok.

i'm not really into all this networking stuff but there are some handy instructions given to configure on the router and it works for a noob like me. Convenient as i can watch Netflix on Apple TV too.

Would appreciate more reviews if possible.

btw, im thinking of downgrading from Singtel (150mbps) to M1 (100) cos it's the cheapest plan. Any thoughts on whether will affect VPN performance?

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