VPN Monster Review

MonsterVPN was founded in 2014 and it remains one of the top apps in the country.

The company behind it is actually based in Seychelles, meaning that it doesn’t have to abide by any of the strict internet laws in Russia. The main language, however, is Russian.

If you want a temporary VPN option without any costs involved, Monster has a free version you can download. It’s good for 35 days.

It offers some amazing features like kill switch, double VPN, and even time-zone changing. 

So, how does it rank among other VPNs available on the market?

Let’s check it out.

But before I move on, I have to mention that there are several operators using the same name. If you’re looking to get this one after reading my VPN Monster review, look for a website in Russian .

Monster VPN Features

Monster VPN offers some handy features. I singled out the best among them:

Cross-platform Support

The platform works with:

• Windows
• macOS
• Android
• iOS
• Linux
• Routers

Just remember that if you want to get VPN Monster for Android, you have to type the name of the app in Russian (ВПН Монстр) to download it. Otherwise, the Play Store or App Store will show another VPN with the same name.

With the iOS app, you have to set it up manually through OpenVPN connect.

When setting it up on your router, you can download the configuration file from the website.

Kill Switch

VPN Monster has a kill switch feature, which is always a good thing.

It’s a security function that keeps your real IP hidden even if you unexpectedly lose connection to the server. It blocks all external connections.

I’ll talk about VPN Monster security later on, but the kill switch is a very good start.

Double VPN

This vendor has also included a double VPN feature. Basically, it means the app encrypts all your online communications twice for extra security.

So, you don’t have to worry about nosy third parties getting their hands on your data. Even if they blow your cover, all they’ll see is another VPN server.

Unlimited Bandwidth

Unlimited bandwidth is great, whether you stream a lot of media or you just don’t want your ISP to throttle your bandwidth.

This doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful. If you use it up too much, there’s a chance you’ll be ruining the experience for other users on the same server. 

Six Simultaneous Connections

With one VPN Monster account, you can connect to different servers from up to six devices at once. If you have family members or roommates who want to change their virtual address as well, this is a good deal. Many users have praised this particular aspect in their VPN Monster reviews.

If you want more, services like CyberGhost allow up to seven simultaneous connections on multiple devices.

VPN + TOR

Monster VPN works with Tor. This open-source software makes keeping your convection anonymous even easier.

VPN Monster Advanced Features

The advanced features are also pretty neat. They include:

Time Zone Change

The app really does everything it can to make sure websites and services don’t know you’re using a VPN. It even changes the time zone on your computer.

Judging from user-generated VPN monster reviews, customers really like this feature.

VPN Monster Servers and Locations

According to the website, there are 120 VPN Monster servers in 40 countries across the world.

If you’re a free user, you only get access to some of them.

VPN Monster free servers available are:

• Luxemburg
• Norway
• Hungary
• US (New York)

Once you upgrade, the list of servers you can choose from becomes much longer. It includes 30 servers in Russia, two in Ukraine, and an additional one in the US. There are also some unusual locations like the Isle of Man.

There sure are VPNs with more servers and locations but the list here is decent. Not many apps include locations such as India, Latvia, and Kazakhstan.

VPN Monster Speed

While writing this VPN Monster review, I turned to speedtest.net to check how fast the servers are.

Just keep in mind that you can always expect your download and upload speed to drop when using a VPN.

So, let’s check out how the app performed.

Before we move on, here’s a screenshot of my base speed in Serbia without the app running.

The first server I hopped onto was the one in Luxembourg. The download speed remained almost the same, with a decrease of less than 6% while upload dropped by 6%.

Moving on, I connected to the Norway VPN Monster server. The drop in download speed I got was a little less than 12%. My upload speed went down by 22%.

The final server I tested was the Hungary one. The result was a 61% decrease in download and a 39.5% in upload speed. I was, however, prepared for this, as the app warned me.

The only real issue I came across was when I connected to the US Server. speedtest.net was unable to find the optimal option for it and complete the test. The speed I got while trying to run it seemed rather poor. This wasn’t just a temporary thing as I got the same issue over the course of a few days.

The overall impression is that you can get some amazing speeds with VPN free Monster. And if the server isn’t as fast, the operator mentions it in the app.

VPN Monster Privacy and Jurisdiction

Monster VPN is a Russian product. This is a country with a strict internet privacy policy. However, the company behind it, SC Source Network, is actually registered in Seychelles.

This means it doesn’t have to abide by any of Russia's rigorous data tracking laws.

The Republic of Seychelles is one of the governments that don’t like keeping track of what people and organizations are doing on the Web. This African country is far beyond the reach of the Fourteen eyes. So, you can use the VPN Monster app safely, knowing no one can get your data.

Another important thing to mention is that the company has a no-logging policy that makes it even safer to use.  It doesn’t store your IP address, activity log, browser history, connection times, or traffic received.

Plus, when you upgrade, you get the option to manage your own logs.

VPN Monster Security and Protocols

To check whether VPN Monster is safe, I scanned the company’s website for anything security-related. Most importantly, I looked for any info on which security protocols the app uses.

This provider relies on the OpenVPN (TCP and UDP) protocol, which is great news.

The operator also mentions it uses 256-bit AES encryption and SHA-512 hashing algorithm with TLS authorization.

I already mentioned the kill switch function in this VPN Monster review. It’s another layer of security VPN Monster offers.

VPN Monster Leak Test Results

So, how does VPN Monster perform when it comes to hiding your traffic data?

To test this, I turned to ipleak.net.

Here are the results I got after connecting to the Norway server.

And this is how it performed with the Hungary one.

Both tests showed your data is safe as long as you’re connected to one of the Monster servers.

VPN Monster and Streaming Services

If you’re looking to unblock content from streaming services, using a VPN can help.

Unfortunately, this service isn’t effective against giants like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

While writing this VPN Monster review, I managed to unblock Peacock, but the server was just too slow to play the movie I chose.

How Good Is VPN Monster for Torrenting?

When you’re sharing a file using a P2P sharing protocol like BitTorrent, your IP address is exposed. Luckily, you can hide it with a VPN. The problem is, not all of them allow this type of data transfer.

So, is VPN Monster a good VPN for Torrenting?

Yes, as long as you connect to a torrent-eligible server.

This shouldn’t be much of a problem as quite a few of them have been built with P2P file transfer in mind.

Server locations include, but are not limited to:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Israel
• Italy
• Norway
• South Africa

I wanted to make sure this info from the company’s website is true. Using the VPN Monster for PC, I hopped onto the Norway server and tried downloading some media files.

This is the download speed I got on uTorrent with my base connection in Serbia. 

And this is how fast it went when I connected to the Norway server. The 27.5% decrease in speed is somewhat expected. I was still able to get the file on my computer relatively quickly.

The final test I ran included choosing a Luxembourg server and downloading another media file. This server hasn’t been designated for torrenting. As expected, the VPN Monster torrent speed was extremely low and the file never started downloading.

Can VPN Monster Bypass Geoblocking?

One of the things I really liked about VPN Monster is that it can obfuscate your traffic. This means that websites and services won’t even know you’re using it.

Although the site doesn’t mention whether you can use the service in China, this should be enough to bypass the country’s Great Firewall.

As mentioned above, the app can also automatically change the time zone of your computer to ensure it’s matching that of the server.

Ease of Use

The service is available on all major devices. This means there’s VPN Monster for Windows, Mac, and Android. It’s also available on iOS, but you have to enable it through OpenVPN Connect.

The app has the same design across all devices and is extremely easy to use. That is as long as you know Russian.

In my email exchange with the company representatives, I was told the company is planning on making the app available in English as well. This will be a real game-changer.

However, the agents were unable to tell me when the English version will become available.

Customer Support

The website has plenty of information on the app, especially for new users. Once again, the only problem is that everything’s in Russian.

If you don’t understand it, the only thing you can do is put the entire text into Google Translate.

If you choose to contact the customer support team via email, however, you can do it in English.

After reading some user-written VPN Monster reviews, I got the impression that getting a response from the agents isn’t easy.

However, when I sent them an email, I received a detailed response (in English) just a couple of hours later.

VPN Monster Price

Like the majority of VPNs, this one also has several pricing plans.

You can use the VPN Monster free version for either three or 35 days, depending on whether or not you’re ready to verify your account via SMS.

This free plan only offers access to several servers in Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, and the US (New York).

If you want more virtual locations to choose from, you have to get one of the VPN Monster VPN Premium plans:

• Month to month: $8.18
• Semi-annual: $24.54
• Annual: $38.18

If you’re not happy, you can get your money back in seven days.

VPN Monster Review - Verdict

VPN Monster is a very good option depending on what you need the service for.

If you’re just browsing the web, and you want to keep your data safe, the app is flawless.

It has some amazing security features and neat additional functions.

The only big issue is streaming. VPN Monster won’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and other major platforms. Considering the price, you’d expect it to be able to bypass all of their restrictions as well.

The other problem is that the app is entirely in Russian. With some help from Google Translate, you might be able to use it, but it’s hardly ideal.

For the sake of this VPN Monster review, I did ask the customer support agents if an English version is in the works. They confirmed, however, there is no official statement.

To sum up, if you’re a light user - go for it.