SlickVPN Review 2023

Founded in 2011 and based in the United States, SlickVPN is still a lesser-known VPN provider. It makes many bold claims on its website such as its unique “HYDRA protection” and the ability to unblock Netflix and other streaming services. But how well does it work in reality? We did some extensive testing to find out. Read our full SlickVPN review below to find out if this provider is worth your while.

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SlickVPN: A Short Review

Pros	Cons
30-day money-back guarantee	Slow speeds
Accepts Bitcoin	Lack of features
	Not user-friendly
	No mobile apps
	Pricey

SlickVPN offers apps for Windows and Mac but requires manual setup on iOS, Android, Linux, and routers. This limits its user-friendliness right off the bat since not everyone would be comfortable with performing such a setup on their mobile devices. At the same time, the Windows and Mac clients need improvement as they currently have a somewhat cumbersome look. It allows 5 simultaneous connections but this is not of much use given the lack of mobile apps.

As for functionality, SlickVN uses just the OpenVPN protocol and has a limited server network compared to other options like Surfshark and CyberGhost. Moreover, its speeds are poor and the VPN servers are difficult to connect to. That is, the app takes a long time to establish a VPN connection, often failing completely. So, it’s not a reliable provider.

We had no luck unblocking Netflix and other streaming services. Moreover, it’s pricier compared to other VPN services that offer a lot more value at a lower price. For all the details, continue reading our full SlickVPN review below.

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Speed – How Fast is SlickVPN?

Speed is an essential aspect to consider when choosing a VPN. After all, you don’t want to be stuck with slow-loading web pages or videos. SlickVPN scores 4/10 on speed because of the following:

• Our speed test results revealed that it significantly slows down download speeds across different servers.
• We experienced frequent slowdowns when connected to SlickVPN with webpages taking a long time to load and videos not streaming smoothly.

Speed test results for SlickVPN

We used the trusted website speedtest.net to check the speeds of SlickVPN. We connected to servers in different countries and ran the tests to get an idea of how the VPN performs. The table below summarizes our results.

Server	Download (Mbps)	Upload (Mbps)	Ping (MS)
No VPN	91.66	94.26	3
US (New York)	44.4	15.99	173
US (Seattle)	16.81	88.76	313
UK (London)	41.53	71.15	40
Japan	9.28	82.43	487
Australia	7.09	47.92	573
The Netherlands	74.88	79.58	11
Brazil	11.61	65.26	397
Canada (Montreal)	21.56	87.16	173

As you can see, the download speeds dropped pretty significantly no matter which server we connected to. We got the best results when connected to the Netherlands. The rest of the locations gave poor speed test results. Upload speeds were better than download speeds but this still impacted daily use.

Speed during daily use

We did not have a pleasant experience when browsing with SlickVPN. It slowed down web pages and caused videos to be stuck on buffering. Moreover, there were many times when we couldn’t connect to the VPN servers at all. We experienced infinite loops of ‘Waiting’ and ‘Reconnecting’ which was a waste of time.

So, we don’t recommend SlickVPN for any online activity, whether it’s general surfing, streaming videos, downloading torrents, or gaming. Instead, you can look into our list of the best VPN providers that are fast, reliable, and cheaper than SlickVPN. Our top recommendation is NordVPN.

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Safety – How Secure is SlickVPN?

The whole point of using a VPN is to enhance your security online. So, it’s vital to assess a VPN service on how safe it is. SlickVPN scores 5/10 on safety due to the following reasons:

• SlickVPN uses the OpenVPN TCP or UDP protocol.
• It does not have a clear privacy policy about user data collection and usage.
• SlickVPN has a kill switch on Windows but not on Mac.
• To create an account, you need to provide your email address.

Protocols

SlickVPN’s protocols are limited to OpenVPN TCP or UDP with 256-bit encryption. Although the SlickVPN website states that IPSec is available on iOS and macOS, we could not find this option in the app. So, this provider is pretty limited compared to other VPNs that offer several protocols including the highly secure WireGuard.

Logging and privacy

SlickVPN claims that it does not collect user data but its privacy policy is rather vague and lacks transparency. It mostly focuses on the website and what happens with your account information. It states that the VPN does not collect your browsing history but there is no mention of other types of data such as your connection dates and times, crash reports, etc.

Further, SlickVPN is based in the United States which is part of the 5 eyes intelligence alliance and does not have strong privacy laws. Therefore, you should be cautious about using this VPN service.

Kill switch

SlickVPN offers a kill switch on its Windows app and it works pretty well. A kill switch automatically disconnects from the internet if your VPN connection drops. This prevents sensitive information from leaking through on an unsecured connection. Unfortunately, this feature is not available on SlickVPN’s macOS app.

HYDRA technology

SlickVPN claims to offer a ‘revolutionary’ feature called HYDRA technology. But this seems similar to the multi-hop VPN technology offered by NordVPN and a few others. Basically, when you connect to one server, your traffic is rerouted through the VPN network to another server before making its way to the destination. This could possibly make it more difficult for others to track your online activities, but in practicality, it’s not going to make much of a difference for most users.

Does SlickVPN leak your data?

When connected, SlickVPN changes your IP address for anonymity. It also offers an additional feature of randomly changing IP addresses. This means the service automatically changes your IP every few minutes. You can enable this option in the “Preferences” section of the app. It helps to enhance your anonymity by assigning you random IP addresses that cannot be traced back to you.

We did not encounter any IPv4/IPv6 leaks. Further, it’s got DNS leak protection as well as WebRTC leak protection. So, we can confirm that SlickVPN keeps you well-protected in this regard.

What information does SlickVPN need?

To sign up for SlickVPN, you just need to provide your email address and a payment method. It’s among the VPNs that accept Bitcoin as payment, which means you can sign up completely anonymously.

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Usability – How User-Friendly is SlickVPN?

A VPN needs to be user-friendly so that you can use it every day with ease without the need for special tech skills. We rate SlickVPN 6/10 on usability due to the following:

• The website is well laid out and the installation process is straightforward.
• The app could have a better interface as the current one looks somewhat unappealing.
• SlickVPN is pricey when compared to other, better options.
• The customer service is helpful but a bit slow in responding to issues.

SlickVPN’s website and installation process

The SlickVPN is pretty well laid out and easy to navigate. At the top is a menu that takes you to different sections such as “Pricing” and “Protocols.” Or, you can scroll down on the homepage to read more about the VPN and see the prices.

To begin the installation process, click the “Protect me now” button in the center of the page and then follow the steps:

1. Select a plan from the three options.
2. 
3. Enter your email address and select a payment method.
4. 
5. Fill in your payment details and complete the payment by following the on-screen instructions.
6. Once done, you will receive an email containing instructions to complete setting up your account.
7. 
8. Using the instructions in the email, you need to log in to the SlickVPN website to get your login credentials for the app. These credentials are automatically created by SlickVPN and you cannot change them.
9. 
10. Click on “Download SlickVPN client” on the left-side menu to go to the SlickVPN download page. Here you can get either the Mac or Windows client.
11. 
12. Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Note: On macOS, we got a warning that the app cannot be opened because the developer is not verified. That is, macOS flagged SlickVPN as potentially dangerous, so we hope the provider gets this issue sorted out. We bypassed the warning and used the app. We did not experience any security issues while doing so but the app was frequently unresponsive which hampered the overall experience.

SlickVPN’s appearance and ease-of-use

When you open the SlickVPN app, you need to enter the credentials that the provider created for you. These are available when you sign in to the SlickVPN website as explained above.

As you can see, the interface is a bit cumbersome as the “Connect” button is visible even without logging in. This can be confusing to new users.

To select a server location, click on “Locations” in the left-hand pane. We noticed that SlickVPN took quite a long time to connect to different locations and often the connection failed altogether. This was pretty frustrating and needs to be fixed by the provider.

To access the settings, click on “Preferences” in the left-hand pane. Then, click the “Networking” tab to customize VPN options.

Pricing and payment methods

SlickVPN has three subscription options:

• A monthly plan at $10.00 per month
• A six-month plan at $5.00 per month, billed $30.00 every six months
• An annual plan at $4.00 per month, billed $48.00 every year

There’s no free trial option but all plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can cancel if you’re not satisfied with the service. On the whole, SickVPN is pricier compared to better options like Surfshark. The provider accepts PayPal, credit cards, or Bitcoin for payments. Using Bitcoin means you can buy a VPN completely anonymously. There’s also the option to pay by cash, check, or money order if you like. For this, you need to write to SlickVPN for details.

Customer service

SlickVPN offers decent customer support. While there’s no live chat support, you can send an email and get a response within a few hours. We contacted support for help with using the Mac app and got a satisfactory response, though it took a while. It would be great if the provider can add live chat support.

Additionally, the SlickVPN website offers setup tutorials, support guides, and FAQs. However, some of these are not very in-depth and one of the links didn’t work. So, it may not be very helpful for beginners.

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Server Network – Can SlickVPN Unblock the Internet?

Servers are the backbone of a VPN and one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing a provider. SlickVPN performs poorly in this area and we rate it 4/10 based on the following reasons:

• It has 150+ servers in 41 countries.
• We could not unblock any streaming services with SlickVPN.
• It allows torrenting on all servers but the speeds are too slow for this to be effective.
• SlickVPN does not currently offer dedicated IPs.

Number of servers and locations

SlickVPN has 150+ servers in 41 countries. This is quite a small network compared to leading providers like NordVPN or Surfshark which offer thousands of servers. Moreover, SlickVPN’s servers don’t always work efficiently and are difficult to connect to. Here’s a complete list of the countries available:

• Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
• Asia Pacific: Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey
• The Americas: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Panama, and the United States

SlickVPN and streaming (Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, BBC iPlayer)

Platform	Can SlickVPN unblock it?
Netflix	✖
Disney Plus	✖
Hulu	✖
BBC iPlayer	✖

SlickVPN claims to unblock geographically restricted streaming services but in practice, this isn’t true. We could not unblock Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer. We contacted customer support but they were unable to provide a helpful resolution to this. This sounds a bit like iProVPN where we could not even connect to its servers, so we were not able to do any streaming at all. So, if streaming is your priority, we recommend going with some of the best VPNs for Netflix such as Surfshark, which can seamlessly unblock almost any streaming service.

SlickVPN and torrents

SlickVPN allows torrenting on all its servers. But we found that its speeds are much too slow for effective torrenting. Moreover, its location in the United States makes it untrustworthy as your online activity may be shared with authorities. We hence recommend checking out our list of the best VPNs for torrenting and going for a provider like NordVPN, which is super fast and reliable.

Dedicated IP address

A dedicated IP address means that you will always have the same anonymous IP address when connected to a VPN. This is usually available as an add-on service with some providers. Unfortunately, SlickVPN does not currently offer dedicated IPs. So, if this is something you would like, we recommend going with CyberGhost, which is among the top providers that offer this option.

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Our Experience With SlickVPN

To sum up our SlickVPN review, we were quite disappointed with this provider because it does not deliver on what it promises. It has clients for Windows and Mac but requires manual setup on Android and iOS. So, it’s not very beginner-friendly. Moreover, it offers just the OpenVPN protocol by default, unlike other VPN protocols which have more options and customization.

Further, SlickVPN has pretty slow speeds and we experienced errors connecting to many server locations. It is too slow for torrenting and gaming. Plus, it did not work to unblock any streaming services like Netflix. Even with such lackluster performance, it’s more expensive than some of the best VPNs that offer much better value.

So we recommend you steer clear of this VPN service and check out trusted options like NordVPN, Surfshark, or CyberGhost, which are all reliable and affordable.

• Click here to get a free trial with NordVPN
• Click here to get a free trial with Surfshark
• Click here to get a free trial with CyberGhost

SlickVPN Review: Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question about SlickVPN? Check out our FAQ section below. Click on a question to view the answer.

Is SlickVPN good?

SlickVPN does not qualify as a good VPN because it is quite slow and has a small, unreliable server network. It also can’t unblock streaming services and doesn’t have many key features. So, we recommend avoiding it and going for top-rated VPNs like Surfshark or NordVPN.

What is SlickVPN?

SlickVPN is a VPN provider based in the United States. It has apps for Windows and Mac, but it doesn’t work very well because it’s slow and lacks basic features. To learn more about this provider, read our full SlickVPN review.

Who owns SlickVPN?

SlickVPN is a private company based in the United States. This is concerning because the US is part of the 5 Eyes alliance, which allows governments to gather data on people’s online activities. So, it’s a privacy risk.

Can you watch Netflix with SlickVPN?

SlickVPN claims it can unblock Netflix, but our tests indicate otherwise. We unsuccessfully tried to access the US Netflix library through multiple SlickVPN servers. We recommend trying one of our best Netflix VPNs instead.