Old-school, and proud of it
AirVPN’s homepage looks like it hasn’t chased a design trend in years. Glossy blue header, a cloud logo with ‘The air to breathe the real Internet’ in chunky white type, rounded grey buttons, Verdana everywhere. It’s built on forum software, so the community, client area and site all share the same skin. Before you’ve read a word, the header shows your own IP address in red, a ‘Guest access’ label, and a live counter. On my visit it said 49,543 users online and 688,105 Mbit/s total bandwidth. That counter is a nice bit of transparency, and also a little humbling if you came in thinking you were anonymous already.
The tech sheet
This is where AirVPN is happiest. The page reads like a spec sheet written by people who care: OpenVPN and WireGuard, OpenVPN on ports 80, 443 and 53 over both TCP and UDP, and every server also accepting OpenVPN over SSH, SSL or Tor for networks that block normal VPN traffic. Encryption is listed as AES-256-GCM or CHACHA20-POLY1305 with 4096-bit DH and RSA keys, with re-keying every 60 minutes. They also promise a guaranteed minimum of 4 Mbit/s each way and explicitly say they don’t oversell bandwidth.
For torrent users the big one is port forwarding with dynamic DNS, which many mainstream VPNs dropped years ago. All protocols are allowed, p2p included, with optional block lists for ads and trackers. Five simultaneous connections per account, unlimited server switches, no traffic or time limit.
Privacy promises
The homepage says there’s no monitoring or logging of activity, and that you aren’t forced to enter personal data when you open an account, ‘not even a real e-mail address’. The cookie bar fits the tone: ‘We do NOT use cookies to profile or track users.’ The tagline calls it a VPN ‘operated by activists in defense of net neutrality, privacy and against censorship’, and the whole site reads that way.
Prices on my visit
The price box was refreshingly upfront: 2 euros for three days, 7 euros for a month, 15 for three months, 29 for six months, 49 for a year and 79 for two years, with a three-year option listed below that. The three-day pass is a cheap way to test speeds from where you live. No ads anywhere, just the ‘Get AirVPN’ button.
Speed and usability
The site felt a bit slow to fully settle, probably the embedded video and the forum engine, and on a phone it’s usable rather than pretty. Streaming fans won’t find the glossy ‘unblock Netflix’ pitch here; this is a tool for people who want control.
Verdict
AirVPN is the VPN for people who read the specs page first. Torrenters who need a forwarded port, people on censored networks, and privacy nerds will feel at home. If you want a one-tap app and marketing that holds your hand, Proton or a mainstream brand will feel friendlier.
