Octane VPN Review
16th April 2015
Summary:
This week we took a look at Octane VPN to see how good of a value it is for the money. Here’s what we found out:
Pros:
- unlimited bandwidth
- plenty of servers
- low monthly rates
- 7-day money back guarantee
Cons:
- limited software compatibility
- sluggish connection
- slow customer service in off-hours
Overall Score: 62.5/100
This score is much less than the 97/100 scored by our top rated VPN – Express VPN.
Though Octane VPN isn’t the fastest or most simple VPN software, their low monthly rates may appeal to some customers.
You can sign up for Octane VPN right here: Octane VPN
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Using a VPN is a simple and effective way to protect your privacy on the internet, while getting access to any blocked content you’re after.
Content restrictions can be found anywhere from the local level, on office-based networks, to a larger scale government censorship programs.
Not only can these blocks get in the way of web sites you may want to visit, but they can even block web based services like Netflix and Skype.
Moreover, VPNs are a great way to protect yourself from the ever growing trend in cybercrime.
Particularly if you access the internet on public Wi-Fi networks, you put yourself at risk to have your information stolen, your privacy invaded, and sensitive personal information compromised.
There are plenty of VPNs out there to choose from, and honestly, it’s hard to filter the good ones out from the rest of the white noise marketing.
I’ve systematically reviewed one of them today, Octane VPN, not only to show you how this particular one stacks up in terms of quality and value, but to help you know how to shop for a VPN.
Let’s take a closer look at Octane VPN and some of its features, to see if it’s worth your hard-earned money.
Will Octane VPN Work on My Operating System?
As you begin your search for the perfect VPN for you, the very first thing you want to look at is which operating systems their software is compatible with.
If you use a variety of devices, you’ll want to make sure that the software is going to work on all of them, so that you don’t need to sign up with a different company to cover other devices.
The answer to this question isn’t a simple one when it comes to Octane VPN.
Their client software is only compatible with Windows and Mac systems, but you can technically set up a connection on just about any device if you manually configure it.
However, we’re scoring here based on software compatibility, and Octane VPN is only compatible with two out of five major operating systems.
Rating: 2/5 – Only compatible with Mac and Windows
What Kind of Features Does Octane VPN Have?
This is the nitty-gritty of a VPN. The features are the real selling points of any VPN, and options can vary a lot.
Here we’ll break down exactly what Octane VPN has to offer its customers, so you can make the most informed purchase possible.
Feature #1: Multiple Connections
Having the ability to connect to more than one device at a time with software is a huge plus.
Most of us use at least two Wi-Fi-enabled devices on a daily basis – a home computer or tablet, and a smartphone.
Being able to use the VPN software on both devices at the same time without paying additional fees will offer you protection both at home and on the go.
Octane VPN really shines here, allowing their customers to have up to five simultaneous connections at a time – great for households with a lot of gadget users.
Rating: 5/5 – Up to 5 connections!
Feature #2: Money Back Guarantee
Nothing builds my confidence in a company like a money back guarantee.
If things don’t go well with the company, you want to make sure they stand behind their product with a solid refund policy, so that you’re not out your money and stuck with software you hate.
Octane VPN has a 7-day money back guarantee, so you can rest assured that if you start using their software and don’t like their service, you can get a full refund within a week.
Rating: 5/5 – 7 Day Refund policy
Feature #3: Number of Servers
Pay particularly close attention to this category if you travel a lot. Simply put, the more servers a VPN has to choose from, the more options you’ll have for establishing the fastest connection possible.
With plenty of locations to pick through, you can select the one with the least internet traffic that will keep web content in a language you can understand.
Octane VPN actually has a pretty impressive network of servers, with locations in 91 cities around the world.
What I really like about their server network is that all of them aren’t concentrated in North America and Europe, so you can actually use this one everywhere from South America to Japan.
Rating: 4/5 – Impressive server list
Feature #4: Referral Program
If there’s one thing VPN providers understand, it’s the value of good old-fashioned worth of mouth advertising.
A few companies out there will actually offer you freebies for getting friends and family to sign up with their service, so this is a feature that’s worth your while for them to have.
Not surprisingly, since this isn’t a very common feature, Octane VPN doesn’t have a referral program at this time.
Rating: 0/5 – No referral program
Feature #5: Data Logging
Much of the purpose of a VPN is to protect the users’ privacy, and give you the ability in today’s age of surveillance to actually have an anonymous browsing session.
It’s therefore pretty pointless for you to sign up for a VPN with a company that logs any of your activity.
Octane VPN doesn’t keep any record of their customers’ activity, so your privacy and anonymity is guaranteed.
Rating: 5/5 – No activity monitoring
Feature #6: Bandwidth
All of you Netflix addicts and Skyping social butterflies: pay attention to this category.
If you do a lot of streaming and downloading, or just generally go through data plans like crazy, make sure you sign for with a VPN that isn’t going to nickel and dime you on bandwidth.
Octane VPN actually gives their customers unlimited bandwidth with all of their service plans, no matter how cheap or short their duration.
Rating: 5/5 – Unlimited bandwidth with all service plans
How Secure Is It?
Security is a major priority when it comes to selecting a VPN.
You want to make sure that the encryption is strong enough to protect you from cyber-attacks, and also keep surveillance software from looking at your personal information and internet activity.
Octane VPN is very secure, with a couple of different options to customize your security. While their standard PPTP encryption is only 128-bit, with the OpenVPN client, you get 256-encryption.
It’s really up to you to decide how important this feature is to you, and then go from there, but Octane VPN has you covered with a couple of options to choose from.
Rating: 5/5 – Strong encryption with protocol options
What’s the Set Up Process Like?
I can’t tell you how many VPNs I’ve used that have such a lengthy and complicated set up process.
The thing is, not everyone that uses VPN software is going to know the ins and outs of it, and every one of them is a little different.
Connections that require a lot of manual configuration to set up aren’t worth the time, with so many simpler options out there.
Octane VPN was super easy to set up – all I had to do was find the software that was compatible with my system, download and install it, and it was ready to rock.
Rating: 5/5 – Set up anyone can handle
Is it Easy to Use?
The easier a VPN is to use, the faster you’ll be able to connect and disconnect.
Not only is it convenient to have simple, straightforward software, but in the long run it saves you a lot of headaches with trying to deal with tech support.
Octane VPN’s software had a few more features that I thought were necessary, with several tabs and a bit of an over-complicated layout.
However, it was simple enough to connect to a server, and the parts that I was really concerned with were easy enough to understand.
Rating: 3.5/5 – Software a little overloaded with options
Logging In
Logging in to the software was very simple, and if you leave the program open, it won’t time out, so you can connect and disconnect at will without having to log back in all the time.
Changing Servers
Changing servers was a little bit more complicated.
Rather than have a drop down list where you can just select one and connect, you have to go into your server options, create a folder, and add your desired server(s) to it.
Then you can go in to your connection and select that folder, at which point the software just picks one out of it to connect to.
Overall, the process seemed a little unnecessarily complicated, and I didn’t really see much of a point to the whole folders system.
What If I Need Help?
Customer service is one of the absolute most important categories when sizing up a VPN. Since it’s a technical service, at some point or another, you’re bound to need technical support.
Web-based services should be held more responsible for good customer service since there is no brick and mortar place to get help.
Here we’ll go through Octane VPN’s customer service, to give you an idea of what you can expect in terms of tech support and general service questions.
24/7 Support?
A company that has support available any time, day or night, is extremely helpful.
Since this is a business that works around the globe, many of the users and the company are in different time zones, making round the clock support crucial for covering everybody.
Octane VPN has 24/7 support, though there is no live chat feature, so ultimately we just have to kind of take their word for it. We’ll see just how 24/7 it really is in the Support Test coming up.
Rating: 5/5 – Round the clock support
Channels
What this category refers to are the different ways you can contact customer service. The more options they have for reaching them, the more convenient it’s going to be for you in the long run.
Unfortunately, Octane VPN only offers e-mail support, so you won’t be able to receive instant customer service with them. Be prepared to wait a little while for assistance since there is no live feature.
Rating: 3/5 – No live support
Customer Support Test
Here’s where we really see just how well a VPN company’s customer service performs when put to the test.
I contacted Octane VPN’s support staff at two different times of day – once during peak business hours, and again in the middle of the night – to see how their response time and service compared.
E-mail Support Test #1-Saturday/12:19 a.m.
I sent my original inquiry in the middle of the night to see how quickly I could get a response well outside of normal business hours.
It took a really long time to get a reply, about 10 hours. This isn’t very efficient for customer service.
Result: 9 hours 59 minutes
Rating: 2/5 – Long wait for service
E-mail Support Test #2-Sunday/9:00 a.m.
The second response I received was much faster – only a 20 minute wait. I’m not sure, but based on the wait times for these two inquiries, it looks like their support may not be 24/7 after all.
Maybe you’ll have a different experience, but it looks to me like there’s not anybody around after hours. However, service was very helpful and courteous.
Result: 20 minutes
Rating: 5/5 – Very fast service during the day
I was really impressed with how helpful and polite Octane VPN’s customer service was.
The large difference between the response times leads me to believe that they’re either understaffed outside of business hours, or there’s not actually someone on the other end of the support line 24/7.
Overall Service Rating: 7/10 – Great service, sluggish at times
How Fast is Octane VPN?
Having a fast connection is absolutely crucial, especially if you like to watch movies online.
While most VPNs claim to have a super fast connection, the only way to really know for sure is to run a speed test on them.
I did just that, comparing the speed of the VPN connection to my standard home internet.
Without Octane VPN
With Octane VPN
As you can see, my connection was a bit slower with the VPN connection. In my experience, these results are slower than average, so OctaneVPN is going to score a bit lower in this category.
Rating: 3/5 – Not the fastest connection
How Much Does Octane VPN Cost?
For more people, this category makes or breaks whether or not they sign up for service. Sure, you want quality, but in the end, it’s a competitive market, and there are plenty of deals to be had.
Octane VPN is one of the more affordable VPNs out there, with super-low rates starting at about $4.17/month when you purchase a year at a time.
What I really like about their pricing system is that you can actually purchase one- or three-day plans too, which is great for travelers who need temporary coverage in foreign countries.
Rating: 5/5 – Low rates with short term options
The X Factor
This final category is really just based on your overall impression of the VPN provider.
There is something to be said for the fact that these online services have no brick and mortar building to walk into and get a feel for their legitimacy.
So it’s up to their online presence to really make you feel at ease with trusting them with your security.
Overall, I got the impression that Octane VPN was a pretty good service, but their website was really thrown together and sloppy – I actually found spelling errors.
The fact that exact information was difficult to find on the specs of the VPN made me think that they just didn’t know how to market their product, or were trying to sell something of a poor quality.
Rating: 5/20 – Website sloppy, information difficult to find
Conclusion
Octane VPN is not the worst, nor is it the best, but it does have plenty of features and solid encryption. Let’s recap:
Pros:
- allows up to 5 connections
- large list of servers
- 7-day money back guarantee
- unlimited bandwidth
- no data logging
- easy to set up
- secure 256-bit encryption
- low monthly rates
- flexible service plans
Cons:
- software only compatible with Windows and Mac
- no referral program
- complicated software
- unreliable customer service
- only e-mail support available
- connection can be slow
- website is sloppy and uninformative
Overall Score: 62.5/100
Overall, while Octane VPN has great monthly rates and super flexible service plans, their connection is sluggish, and the customer service could be faster.
To get Octane VPN, sign up here: Octane VPN
To see the highest rated VPN that scored a 97/100, click here: Express VPN.
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