16th May 2015
Summary:
This time around I reviewed Spotflux to see what kind of features they had to offer with their service.
Pros:
- compatible with all systems
- unlimited bandwidth
- 45-day refund policy
- great customer service
Cons:
- limited support hours
- slow connection
- no monthly plans
Overall Score: 68/100
This score is much lower than the 97/100 scored by our best VPN – Express VPN.
While their great refund policy and customer service certainly sets them apart, they lot some major points for the slowness of the connection.
To get Spotflux, sign up here: Spotflux
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VPNs are a simple and effective way to protect your online privacy, as well as open up your access to any content you want.
This easy to use technology tricks servers into thinking you’re somewhere you’re not with IP address blocking technology, and secure encryption protects your privacy.
There are a lot of VPNs out there to choose from, so it’s important to choose wisely and make sure you’re getting the best deal for your hard earned money.
Here I’ll go through the features and perks that you need to keep an eye out for, as well as review Spotflux to see how the compare to the competition.
Will Spotflux Work on My Operating System?
The easiest way to rule out some contenders is to see if they’re even going to work on your operating systems.
Make sure they’re compatible with all of your devices, so you can secure your connection no matter what you’re using.
Spotflux is compatible with all devices and operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
It has software and app platforms for all of them, so you can use it interchangeably between all of your devices.
Rating: 5/5 – Compatible with all systems
What Kind of Features Does Spotflux Have?
The features of a VPN are some of their finer selling points, and are a good way to separate the good ones from the duds.
I’ll show you what you can expect from the best VPNs, and what Spotflux has to offer their customers.
Feature #1: Multiple Connections
This refers to the number of simultaneous connections you can have under one account. It’s really helpful to have at least two, so you can protect both your home and mobile connections.
Spotflux actually allows up to five, which is more than enough for one person, and plenty to go around in a household.
Rating: 5/5 – Up to 5 connections
Feature #2: Money Back Guarantee
Since this is a service rendered completely online, a money back guarantee gives you added peace of mind in knowing that the company isn’t just going to take your money and run.
In a manner of speaking, it gives them a reason to keep you happy. Spotflux actually has a really great refund policy.
They allow all of their customers up to 45 days to claim a refund, regardless of the reason.
After that period of time, they’re pretty strict, but still – a month and half to get your money back is pretty good.
Rating: 5/5 – 45 days to get a refund
Feature #3: Number of Servers
This one’s important, so pay close attention here. The more servers a VPN has, the more choices you and the rest of their customers have.
This means you can select from a pool of servers in your area with the least traffic and the fastest connection. Having at least 50 servers to choose from is ideal.
Spotflux unfortunately only has 10 servers worldwide, which really limits your options.
Should the server you depend on in your country become too busy to be fast and efficient, you’ll be hard pressed to connect to another one close by.
Rating: 1/5 – Only 10 servers
Feature #4: Referral Program
This refers to a program that some companies offer their customers in exchange for sending them new business.
While it’s not the most common feature, it does have the nice effect of putting money back in your pocket, so it’s one to keep an eye out for nonetheless.
Spotflux says that while they don’t currently have a referral program, they are working on one.
For the time being, you won’t be getting any perks for recommending their service, but keep your ears open for an update on this one.
Rating: 0/5 – No referral program yet
Feature #5: Data Logging
Data logging is the unpleasant and invasive practice of storing logs of users’ internet activity.
While it may be commonplace for government agencies and even ISPs, it has no place in a VPN’s service agreement.
True to the nature of their business, Spotflux never keeps any logs of their users’ activity.
Rating: 5/5 – Truly anonymous browsing
Feature #6: Bandwidth
If you stream a lot of movies or music, pay close attention to this one. Some VPN providers actually put caps on your monthly bandwidth – those guys don’t deserve your money.
Don’t settle for anything less than completely unlimited bandwidth with any service plan.
Spotflux doesn’t put any limits on their customers’ bandwidth, so you can totally go crazy with streaming Netflix and pirating – erm, purchasing music online.
Rating: 5/5 – Stream to your heart’s content
How Secure Is It?
With people clamoring to watch Game of Thrones at work and Skype in China, security is a facet of VPNs that sometimes gets left in the dust.
However, this is an important part of this service that can protect you from all sorts of nasty things like identity theft and government surveillance.
The strongest encryption out there is 256 bit, so you want to make sure you at least have the option of using that. Also check and see if you can select your security protocol yourself.
This will really help you with getting the most out of your connection in terms of speed versus security.
Spotflux has the strongest encryption on the market, with a 256 bit OVPN protocol.
You can also adjust your connection’s security level by switching from UDP or TCP, depending on how fast or reliable you need it to be.
Rating: 5/5 – Strongest encryption
What’s the Set-Up Process Like?
Though VPNs are rapidly gaining in popularity, there’s still a large portion of internet users that are completely unfamiliar with them and how they work.
An easy set up process means that anyone can use them, regardless of their experience level.
Some VPNs require you to manually configure the connection, which is tedious and time consuming. Look for ones that have a simple download and install procedure.
That’s how Spotflux works. Just go to their website, or visit them in the app store on your mobile devices.
Download the software that’s compatible with your system, and begin the installation process. All of your settings are automatically configured from there.
Rating: 5/5 – As easy as it gets
Is it Easy to Use?
Once you get the software installed, you should be able to hop on and off the connection with little trouble.
If it’s not as simple as selecting a server and connecting, then you’re jumping through too many hoops for such a simple process.
Spotflux is very easy to use. Just select a server from their drop down menu, and hit connect to get moving.
They have simple settings you can go in and adjust to optimize your connection, with the ability to choose either a TCP or UDP protocol.
Rating: 5/5 – Settings easy to adjust
Logging In
With Spotflux, you log in upon the initial set up process. After that, you stay logged in on your device, even when you close and restart the program.
Changing Servers
Switching servers is really simple with Spotflux.
If you run into a slow connection and want to try your luck on another server, just disconnect, go through the drop down menu and select a new one, and hit connect. Done.
What If I Need Help?
Customer service is no doubt the most crucial part of any service, but especially a technical one like virtual private networking.
If the company isn’t worried about keeping their customers happy with fast and effective support, you shouldn’t be worried about giving them your money – there are plenty of fish in the sea.
24/7 Support?
The most important part of great customer service is no doubt that they be 24/7. Otherwise, you could be waiting days for a response, and all the while unable to use what you’re paying for.
Spotflux is pretty upfront about that fact that their support isn’t 24/7.
When asked for their hours, they responded that they try to answer service request outside of business hours, but that their typical support hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. EST.
Rating: 2/5 – Limited support availability
Channels
This refers to the ways you can get in touch with customer service. The more the better no doubt, but what you really want to look for here is a live support feature like chat or phone service.
These channels will offer you the most prompt service.
Unfortunately Spotflux only offers support via their e-mail ticket system, so you may find yourself waiting a while for assistance.
Rating: 2/5 – Only e-mail support
Customer Support Test
The best way to see just how effective a company’s customer service is is by putting them to the test.
I contact Spotflux’s customer support both during peak and off business hour, to see how their response times varied, and just how polite and helpful their support staff really were.
E-mail Support Test #1 – Thursday/10:22 p.m.
I sent my first request to Spotflux’s customer support well outside of normal business hours, in the hopes that I could gauge how fast their response was when asked a question overnight.
I got an answer almost as soon as their department opened, but I did have to wait overnight since it was outside of their support hours.
Result: 9 hours 24 minutes
Rating: 3/5 – Had to wait overnight for a response
E-mail Support Test #2 – Friday/7:41 a.m.
This time around I got a much faster response time, having obviously caught them during their service hours.
Once again, they were polite and professional, and answered all my questions without any of that typically annoyed ‘you’re buggin’ me’ customer service attitude.
Result: 13 minutes
Rating: 5/5 – Very fast, polite service
Despite their limited customer service hours, I could tell that Spotflux really prioritized their customers’ needs. They got to me as fast as they could, and were extremely helpful each time.
One other thing I really liked was that I got someone right here in the US that was fluent in English, so there wasn’t that added difficulty of dealing with a language barrier.
Overall Support Rating: 8/10 – Professional support with fluent English speakers
How Fast is Spotflux?
Okay, so here’s the thing. Everyone out there claims to have the fastest connection. They’re definitely not all right.
The only way to really tell though, is much like with customer service – you just have to try it out.
Since speed is a major factor in deciding on a VPN purchase, I put Spotflux’s connection to the test, comparing it to my home internet connection.
Without Spotflux
With Spotflux
So as you can see my connection was significantly slower with Spotflux.
Normally there’s a slight difference in speed just because of the extra security added to the connection, but this much is way outside of the norm, and basically unacceptable.
Rating: 2/5 – Very slow connection
How Much Does Spotflux Cost?
After you’ve gone through all of the features and decided which ones you can’t live without, you need to check out their prices and see how they compare to some of their competitors.
Getting what you pay for isn’t necessarily true in this business, so don’t let rock bottom prices scare you away. You shouldn’t even consider paying more than $15 per month.
So here’s the thing with Spotflux. Their prices are really low, shaking out to less than $2 per month with their premium plan.
However, unlike most VPN providers, they don’t allow you to purchase anything less than a year’s worth of service at a time.
For someone just needing coverage temporarily, this is pretty inconvenient, and may be a deal breaker.
Rating: 3/5 – Low prices, but no month to month
The X Factor
The X factor deals more along the lines of how the company presents themselves.
Sometimes you get an awesome feeling – their website is easy to navigate, their marketing is straightforward and gives you all the facts, and their software is slick and intuitive.
The not so great companies have tangled webs of information on their sites, with vague policy guidelines, and software that’s dated and complex.
With Spotflux it’s somewhere in the middle. Their site looks professional enough, but as I was perusing it I noticed that all of the page links led right back to a different part of their main page.
Basically whatever information you didn’t get from their home page, you are just outta luck on. The whole thing just seemed kind of redundant and frustrating to me.
Their software was nice enough, but I guess just nothing really noteworthy.
The design was simple, but there was nothing that really set it apart from anything else I’ve ever used – highly forgettable.
One nice thing though is that this company is homegrown, right here in the US, for you American users it’s a great way to support an on shore business.
Rating: 10/20 – American company, but not the best site
Conclusion
Well, with any luck you feel like one smart shopper now, and are totally prepared to get your money’s worth out of a VPN. Spotflux was our victim this week, let’s see how they did.
Pros:
- compatible with all systems
- up to 5 connections
- great refund policy
- unlimited bandwidth
- no data logging
- top notch security
- easy set up process
- simple to use
- great customer service
- fluent English speaking staff
- low rates
Cons:
- no referral program
- only 10 servers
- no live support feature
- limited customer service hours
- not much information on their site
- no monthly plans
- slow connection
Overall Score: 68/100
Overall, Spotflux wasn’t the flashiest VPN, but they made up for it with great service, low rates, and some great features that added some serious value to their service plans.
