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iTop VPN Review 2021

Update: November 15, 2021
Highlights
  • Affordable pricing
  • Customizable use
  • Weak encryption protocols
Score
7.4

Our iTop VPN score

  • Speed
    6.5
  • Safety
    8.0
  • User-friendliness
    7.5
  • Servers
    7.5

iTop VPN Review (2021): A 100% Free VPN, But Is It Any Good?

iTop VPN hit the market back in 2016. While it’s not a new VPN service, it didn’t have time to adapt to the market like some of the big players in just five years. VPN services like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or CyberGhost had more time to factor in customer demands and use them to provide a better service.

Still, iTop VPN does a lot of things right. In this iTop VPN review, we’ll look at what it can do, who it’s good for, and what it lacks. Above all, we’ll help you determine if it’s the right VPN to use in 2021.

iTop VPN Short Review

ProsCons
Decent server selectionNo torrenting support yet
No logging policyLackluster support
Affordable pricingNo support for OpenVPN, IKEv2, PPTP, or L2TP

iTop VPN has a lot of advantages. The interface is better suited for people that want to customize their VPN experience. It’s also a relatively fast VPN, and it offers enhanced security with essential features like a kill switch.

On the other hand, iTop VPN doesn’t have the same amount of encryption protocols, no support for torrenting, and a subpar support system. Compared to a popular VPN provider, it may fall short sometimes.

Specifications iTop VPN
Operating systems
  • Windows
  • ,
  • iOS
  • ,
  • Android
Simultaneous connections
  • 5
Netflix
  • Works with Netflix
Logs policy
  • Zero logs
Payment methods
  • Paypal
  • ,
  • Other
  • ,
  • Credit card
Money-back guarantee
  • Yes
Works with
  • Netflix
  • Android
  • Windows
  • Gaming
  • Disney+

Speed – How Fast is iTop VPN?

iTop VPN is not as fast as some of our other top best VPN picks. While the speed is not abysmal (in most cases), it can still have a clear impact on your anonymous browsing.

And that matters a lot for a VPN. You’ll most likely be using iTop VPN to stream regionally restricted content, browse multimedia social platforms, or download and upload files. That’s what it’s used for. So a dip in speed when connecting to a VPN server is problematic.

Before we look at the speed results, it’s important to remember that this may vary based on your location and internet speed. For this iTop VPN review, we tested the internet connection speed from our location (Romania).

ServerDownload (MBPS)% DownloadUpload (MBPS)% UploadPing (MS)
No VPN439.57100%404.03100%4
“Fastest” server (recommended by iTop)22.025%4.051%137
Germany (Frankfurt)276.7562.95%9.602.37%53
France86.2219.61%9.592.37%82
The U.S (Los Angeles)5.431.23%0.270.06%364
Japan (Tokyo)5.891.33%0.420.1%580
Netherlands124.4728.31%6.091.5%77
The UK127.6229.03%5.751.42%82

Connection to a nearby server already led to a huge decrease in speed, but we do have to point out that iTop doesn’t have a “local” server in Romania. When we chose the server that iTop recommended as “best” (both in terms of security and proximity), it automatically connected us to a Moscow server.

This means that if you’re closer to one of iTop’s servers, the speed drop you’ll experience won’t be as drastic.

Unfortunately, ping increases dramatically when you’re connected to a distant server with iTop VPN. As you can see from our test, the difference will be visible in your traffic. This will mostly translate to buffering times when trying to watch something online. That’s a problem since people usually need faraway servers to access regionally restricted shows or movies. If you live in Europe and want to watch something on a US or Japanese website, don’t expect much from iTop.

However, speed in daily use for anonymity and safety is decent when using nearby servers. This is enough to make it a good pick for anyone that wants to enhance their online security and privacy.

Safety – How Secure is iTop VPN?

iTop VPN is a safe VPN app. While it doesn’t employ the most advanced encryption protocols, it still protects your data. It has a strict no-logging policy and a kill-switch in case your internet connection fails abruptly.

In short, this is what iTop VPN does for your safety:

  • 256-bit encryption
  • TCP, UDP, and HTTP encryption protocols
  • Kill-switch for enhanced security
  • DNS protection
  • Browser & device protection

Protocols

iTop VPN states that they use “military-grade encryption.” But is that true? iTop VPN uses 256-bit encryption, the same kind used by most VPNs. However, it only has three different encryption protocols at its disposal, as we found during our iTop VPN review. There’s no mention yet of IKEv2 or any of the advanced protocols.

  • TCP encryption: a layered encryption protocol that is widely used in the industry, although iTop’s version isn’t related to the OpenVPN standard many other VPNs work with.
  • UDP encryption: an encryption protocol that works in tandem with TCP, and ensures higher network speeds. iTop’s version, again, isn’t associated with OpenVPN.
  • HTTP protocol: HTTP is not an encryption protocol per se, it’s rather a system for data transfer.

This may look complicated, but the key takeaway is that iTop VPN is not as secure as other options, like ExpressVPN or CyberGhost. These apps use more advanced encryption protocols, like OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP/IPSec, or IKEv2. So maybe the “military-grade encryption” claim was a bit overblown.

And this is not just a compromise in online security. The lack of an OpenVPN protocol also poses compatibility issues. For example, you can only install an OpenVPN-compatible VPN service on most Wi-Fi routers. Unfortunately, iTop VPN won’t work for that.

Logging and Privacy

We use VPNs to enhance our security and privacy online. If you can change your IP and encrypt your connection when browsing the web, you can feel more comfortable online. And all of that can be undone if your VPN logs your data.

Thankfully, as we noted during our iTop VPN review, this one has a no logs policy. This means that your data is safe when using the VPN service. In their own words: “iTop VPN for Windows will firmly stick to the No-Log Policy, so under no circumstances will this VPN track, nor record any information of your profile”

However, we can only analyze what iTop says about its logging policy. There have been no independent audits of the company, and they have no technology to prevent them from logging data, like ExpressVPN has.

For our iTop review, we also looked at the company’s Privacy Policy. It’s your average policy. We couldn’t find anything to show a predisposition for privacy violations, or extraordinary dedication to privacy.

What we do want to highlight is that iTop VPN has a built-in adblocker. This doesn’t prevent companies from getting your information if you choose to share it with them, but it improves the user’s experience when browsing the web.

Kill Switch

Another outstanding feature we’d like to highlight during our iTop VPN review is its kill switch. Whenever your VPN connection is interrupted, the VPN service will immediately “kill” your computer’s connection to the internet. This way, whenever your network is at risk, you’ll be protected. Your ISP, or any eavesdroppers, will never know that you were using a VPN.

However, when you install iTop, it won’t have the kill switch automatically activated. You need to go to “Privacy & Security” then toggle “Kill Switch” on to enjoy the added protection.

iTop VPN Software Screenshot Kill Switch

Other Security Features

Besides their encryption protocols and the kill switch, iTop VPN also features:

  • DNS Protection. This prevents your system’s DNS settings from being changed.
  • Security Reinforce. This changes device settings to make your Windows PC safer and blocking malicious apps.
  • Browser Privacy. This changes browser settings and data to ensure anonymity and privacy.

Screenshot of iTop's VPN software showing security features

DNS protection is available to all iTop users, but the Security Reinforce and Browser Privacy are only available if you have a paid subscription to iTop. While they’re not a necessity for a great VPN, these extra quirks help you stay safe online, and they show iTop’s dedication to the security of their users. Compared to many free VPN providers, the features available are great, even if you don’t get unlimited bandwidth.

Usability – Is iTop User Friendly?

iTop’s VPN interface is fairly simple, even if it’s a bit more crowded than your average VPN dashboard. Their site might confuse some people, and the installation process may seem a tad bit complicated. For a short rundown, here are the main takeaways:

  • The iTop interface is intuitive.
  • The design of iTop’s app is very modernistic.
  • You can quickly toggle the extra security features.
  • The website of iTop can cause confusion sometimes.
  • You’re not prompted to log in as soon as you open the iTop app.

iTop’s Website

iTop VPN Screenshot Homepage

iTop’s website isn’t bad, but it can cause some confusion. The interface is beautiful, and its design is top-notch. However, you might run into issues when trying to log into your premium account. The platform doesn’t update to reflect that. In fact, if you’re logged in and you click “Get iTop VPN” it will open the pricing page, even if you already purchased the VPN service.

Other aspects are more straightforward. All sections are intuitive, and the site is rich in information to figure out what their VPN service can do.

Installing iTop

You may encounter a few hiccups when installing the iTop VPN client as well. The process itself is simple. You just need to download the executable installer, follow the default Windows wizard instructions, and you’re done.

You’ll just run into some trouble when trying to unlock VIP features. When you first open the app, you’re not prompted to log into your account. The default experience you get is the free version of iTop. Logging in isn’t rocket science, you just need to enter your credentials in the bottom-left corner of the screen. But it’s still an extra step that may cause some confusion.

Another excellent thing we’d like to point out in our iTop VPN review: they have apps available for all major platforms, including Windows, iOS, and Android.

iTop’s ease of use

Using iTop VPN daily is very intuitive. While they have more options than your average VPN server choice, you can get the hang of it in a really short time.

iTop VPN offers dedicated servers for streaming, social media use, or gaming. If your needs don’t fall in any of those categories, you can just click on “All Servers”. This will open a list of all iTop servers that you can use.

iTop VPN Pricing And Support

iTop’s pricing is different from the norm. It’s one of the few VPN services that offer a free version, available for use by anyone. However, it’s not a viable long-term alternative if you want to stream online content. You don’t get unlimited bandwidth. The free version of iTop VPN limits the traffic they anonymize to 700 MB per day. There are only several free VPN services that offer more, so kudos to iTop. But if you need more, you’ll need to get one of these plans:

iTop VPN Screenshot Pricing Page

These tiers are slightly cheaper than the market norm. A monthly subscription is $11.99, a 6-month subscription is $6.99/month, and a 1-year subscription costs $2.31/month. All plans come with a 15-day money-back guarantee.

Unfortunately, support is not the best. They don’t have live chat or phone support on hand for their users. If you need help, you’ll need to submit a ticket. The average response time reported by iTop is 24-48 hours. Others, like ExpressVPN, offer faster response times and even provide live chat.

But, as we pointed out earlier during our iTop VPN review, once you get a subscription, you can use it on several popular platforms.

iTop’s Server Network

iTop has over 1800 servers. Even if that’s not as much as some of the best VPN services out there, 1800 is still quite a bit. If you need a reliable connection port, you’ll find it. Unfortunately, the locations of the servers are not as varied as those of other top-tier VPNs. This means that you might not find a nearby (and implicitly fast) connection in all countries.

iTop also doesn’t offer dedicated IP addresses, which means unlocking streaming services like Netflix might be harder. But it’s not impossible. In fact, iTop VPN tries to differentiate itself from the competition by having a great variety of servers for specific purposes.

iTop VPN – Key Features

iTop VPN has servers dedicated to a bunch of online activities, from streaming the latest releases on US Netflix to playing PUBG from specific countries. These are the main options:

  • For Streaming: Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix.
  • For Social Media: Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, Omegle, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok.
  • For Gaming: Roblox, PUBG, COD Warzone.

Screenshot of iTop's VPN software showing specialized servers

iTop VPN proudly states that they can unblock Netflix US. That’s a bold claim, considering many other VPNs fail to allow easy access to US Netflix. When we put this claim to the test… it was hard to verify. It took us about 10 minutes to boot Netflix up. The lag caused by connecting to distant servers was just too much. So even if iTop VPN can unblock Netflix US, the buffering times are likely to dampen your experience.

The same is true for gaming servers. If you want to play something like PUBG or Warzone, you need to make the most out of each frame. That’s not possible with lag. For a slower-paced game like Roblox though, iTop does its job well.

And for social media, the VPN is a good pick. If you’re the victim of government censorship, you can use this affordable VPN to circumvent regional restrictions and enjoy free access to information. That’s extremely valuable, and a big plus for iTop VPN in our book.

Lastly, iTop doesn’t offer support for torrenting. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the VPN to torrent, it’s just that they don’t have dedicated servers for it. In turn, download speeds can dip a lot when using iTop.

Conclusion – Do We Like iTop?

iTop isn’t the best VPN out there. But we liked it. It works fairly well, and they have a large server network. It also and offers enhanced security to its users. Above all, iTop VPN is also pretty affordable, especially for a longer time commitment. The dedicated servers make it very easy for people who want to get this VPN for a specific purpose.

On the other hand, the inconsistency in speeds and the drop-off might be a bit much for some people. It doesn’t have an impressive list of protocols, and its support is lacking. If you don’t want to spend a lot and need a decent mid-tier VPN, iTop VPN might just be a good pick in 2021.

iTop VPN Review: Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have any queries about iTop? Let us help you. Just click on any of the questions below, and you’ll find your answer.

Yes, iTop VPN has a free version. However, it lacks the advanced security features of the premium version. They also cap your network use at 700 MB/day, which is not nearly enough to use it consistently. For a true VPN experience, you’ll need the premium version.

PrivadoVPN is the best free VPN on the market. It has no speed cap, a decent amount of servers, and it works with US Netflix. iTop is also a decent alternative that has a free version. For more info about that, read our iTop VPN review.

iTop VPN works similarly to your average VPN provider. You pay for a subscription, install their app, choose a server and change your IP. However, it sets itself apart from the competition with a free version, customized server purpose, and gaming support. Click here to find out more about how iTop VPN works.

To cancel an iTop VPN subscription, you’ll need to submit a ticket to iTop. Unfortunately, there’s no automated system to take care of this, but a simple support request will cancel your current subscription.

What Our Experts Have to Say

“iTop isn’t the best VPN out there, but we definitely like it. It's missing a few key features, and the support could do better, but it has a large server network, and offers enhanced security to its users.”
Our score
7.4
David Janssen
David Janssen
iTop VPN is good, but there's a lot of room for improvement. The competition is incredibly high in the VPN space, and these guys have a lot of ground to cover if they want to compete with the likes of NordVPN or ExpressVPN. There's a marked difference in the speeds once a connection is established, so a lot of your experience is going to depend on your location.
iTop VPN is good, but there's a lot of room for improvement. The competition is incredibly high in the VPN space, and these guys have a lot of ground to cover if they want to compete with the likes of NordVPN or ExpressVPN. There's a marked difference in the speeds once a connection is established, so a lot of your experience is going to depend on your location.
Naj Ahmed
Naj Ahmed
At first glance, iTop VPN looks sharp and sleek. But, they have to really work on their infrastructure in order to compete with the big names. However, if you need a casual VPN for some basic browsing, and just want something that's better than your average proxy, iTop VPN might be a good choice.
At first glance, iTop VPN looks sharp and sleek. But, they have to really work on their infrastructure in order to compete with the big names. However, if you need a casual VPN for some basic browsing, and just want something that's better than your average proxy, iTop VPN might be a good choice.
Visit iTop VPN