OysterVPN is a small, Ireland-based VPN service that launched in 2023. It positions itself as an affordable, streaming-focused option that prioritizes user privacy—a commendable goal. However, the service still requires significant improvements to address errors, bugs, and unreliable features before it can compete with more established providers. This time around, OysterVPN performed worse than it did in our 2024 tests, with DNS leaks, low performance scores, and unstable features like WireGuard. In addition, the lack of disclosed audit results raises concerns about trustworthiness, and simple grammatical errors throughout the apps and website give the service an unpolished feel. Overall, it lacks the reliability and features necessary to compete with Editors' Choice winners such as NordVPN and Proton.

How Much Does OysterVPN Cost?

OysterVPN’s monthly subscription starts at $5.99 and is often discounted to $4.49 per month during holidays. Similarly, the yearly subscription has a base rate of $39.99 and a promotional rate of $29.99. OysterVPN also offers a rare lifetime membership for $59.99, with a limited-time offer of $44.99. 

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Notably, the advertised holiday rates on the plan page didn't work after clicking over to the payment portal. Instead, it stated that the entered coupon code was invalid.

In addition, it is best to avoid the lifetime subscription. Services change, and data breaches occur frequently in the VPN space—a service can be acquired by another provider or shut down entirely. If so, a lifetime subscription may turn out to be worthless.

The only difference between the plans is that lifetime subscribers get access to a “free” password manager for a year. The password manager is unnamed but appears to be a bespoke solution by OysterVPN rather than a collaboration with another service. The announcement page for the password manager states that it comes bundled with all yearly subscriptions, but this no longer appears to be the case, as there is no mention of it on the payment page.

Each plan is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to receive a refund if you’re dissatisfied with the service. Payment options are limited to major credit cards and PayPal. There are no anonymous payment options, such as cryptocurrency or cash.

As you can see in the chart above, OysterVPN is affordable, but it isn’t the cheapest option. Mullvad VPN notably offers €5 monthly (approximately $5.82) pricing and doesn't fluctuate due to discounts, making it one of the best cheap VPNs I've tested. Windscribe offers configurable server-based plans starting at $3 per month. 

What Do You Get for Your Money With OysterVPN?

OysterVPN covers the basics. It only supports five simultaneous connections. That figure is decent for the price, but you can get unlimited connections from competing options, such as TunnelBear, for a slightly higher monthly cost. Beyond device connections, many of the advertised benefits of each plan are basic VPN features, such as “unlimited server switching” and “unlimited data.” I have yet to come across a paid VPN that imposes any caps on switching servers or data usage. 

The feature page mentions an ad blocker designed to eliminate pop-ups and other ads. However, there is no mention of an ad blocker in the Windows desktop client. I still encountered ad clutter on text-based sites, and I observed no change in pre-roll ads on sites like YouTube when connected to the VPN. 

OysterVPN advertises P2P-optimized servers with DNS leak protection. I tested for leaks using Dnsleaktest and observed a full IP leak during multiple tests while connected to various OysterVPN servers and protocols. I would not recommend using the service for privacy-sensitive tasks, such as torrenting.

Split tunneling is available, but only for websites. You cannot route applications out of the VPN tunnel. A kill switch is available under the Network Protection tab and will terminate internet access if the VPN connection is lost.

What VPN Protocols Does OysterVPN Offer?

OysterVPN lets you connect via IKEv2, OpenVPN (UDP & TCP), PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, and WireGuard. The service automatically selects IKEv2; if you prefer a different option, you’ll want to change this setting. WireGuard was implemented within the last year, but it did not work during my testing. I was unable to successfully connect using the protocol and was stuck waiting endlessly for it to secure a connection. I tried using the protocol again a few days after my initial test and had intermittent success: some servers connected just fine, while others got stuck in the same connection-pending state. I reached out to Oyster VPN regarding this issue, and a spokesperson stated they were unable to replicate it and recommended users switch to IKEv2 when encountering protocol errors.

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Several protocols (including L2TP and PPTP) have been cracked for years and are no longer considered secure. We’d prefer these removed, as uneducated users could inadvertently connect to one of these protocols and leak their data. However, my DNS leak experience shows that such instances aren’t limited to just those legacy protocols.

OysterVPN Servers and Server Locations

You get a modest server network with OysterVPN. The company features roughly 424 servers in 37 countries. The information for each server is equally limited. The app doesn't offer details regarding server load or latency on the server page or in the desktop client. The US has the most locations, with 10 spread out across the country. Next up is India with just three locations.

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It appears that OysterVPN uses virtual servers and does not disclose this. My tests of India servers showed that all of them were actually routing through Singapore. Given that finding, I decided to check other locations to see if this was a trend. Turkey was also being routed through Singapore. The Thailand server refused to connect. Both Sweden and Hong Kong were routed through servers in their respective countries. US servers all routed through the US, but the city-level information was often incorrect. The Phoenix, Arizona server was routing through Ashland, Virginia. The New York server was routing through Ashburn, Virginia, or, sometimes, Dallas, Texas.

I reached out to a spokesperson at OysterVPN regarding these discrepancies, and they stated that this could be due to a proxy routing system that the VPN uses to bypass blocks on streaming platforms. However, I experienced routing errors on servers that were not labeled for streaming at all, such as in Turkey. This dynamic proxy routing system isn't mentioned on Oyster VPN's streaming page, either. I would like to see further transparency from OysterVPN regarding its server infrastructure and routing methods. While the server and connection mismatch may be benign, it can still make for a confusing experience.

I also experienced multiple errors with the connection screen. Sometimes it would show "None" when connected to a server, and I also had multiple instances where it would show "Connected" while still listing my actual location and IP address at the top of the dashboard.

Your Privacy With OysterVPN

OysterVPN is located in Ireland and owned by Oyster Digital Solutions Ltd., which launched its VPN services in early 2023. Ireland is ideal because it is outside the 14 Eyes spying collective and has no mandatory domestic data retention laws.

According to the privacy policy, the service retains certain information. Since there are no anonymous payment methods, those details are stored along with a sign-up email address. It classifies connection timestamps as mandatory data collection. I have seen other VPNs, such as Windscribe, eliminate tracking connection timestamps entirely, so it is possible to find a service that doesn’t require that level of data retention.

OysterVPN uses third-party merchants to handle payment, so you can expect those entities to handle your payment data as well. Analytics are kept regarding how users interact with the OysterVPN site. Those analytic details include geographical region, device type, page interactions, and conversion statistics. All of this data is stored for the user’s subscription length plus 30 days from the date of account cancellation. Information is stored and accessible only via encrypted access keys, but there is no mention of the nature of this storage. It is unclear whether OysterVPN uses RAM-based servers or HDD-based storage. It is also unclear whether employees have access to this data. 

The privacy policy states that the VPN undergoes “security audits to ensure data protection practices are robustly deployed.” However, no independent audit of OysterVPN has been conducted or published to date. Audits and reports are not a guarantee of quality and are admittedly imperfect tools, but undertaking them meaningfully is still valuable. An Oyster VPN spokesperson was unable to provide any prior audit results when asked, citing internal policies, but they did claim that the results of an audit will be publicly available in three months' time.

Can You Watch Netflix With OysterVPN?

I test every VPN against five regional Netflix catalogs to determine if it can reliably unblock content worldwide. Results fall into one of three categories: Open, if content is completely accessible with no restrictions; Limited, if only Netflix original content is available; and Blocked, if the VPN is detected and no content catalog is shown. You can read more about how I conduct this test in my article on the best VPNs for Netflix. 

OysterVPN provided unrestricted access to all libraries, except for those in Canada. The chart below shows the full results for OysterVPN and its competitors:

Speed and Performance

Even the fastest VPNs affect performance. Specifically, you can expect a decrease in download and upload speeds, along with an increase in latency. Depending on the severity of the performance hit, pages may load more slowly, and online games may feel sluggish and inaccurate. To compare the impact of each VPN, I take a series of speed measurements using Ookla's Speedtest tool, both with and without the VPN running, from a box located in Portland, Oregon. I connect to the closest server offered and then calculate the percentage change between the two. (Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)

OysterVPN didn’t perform well in these tests. Download speeds went down by 81.38%. Upload speeds decreased by a further 87.67%. Worst of all was the latency, which increased by 601.86%. I still found these speeds adequate for web browsing and video streaming. That said, you may have a different experience, especially if you have a slower base internet connection. 

Because your experience with a VPN will differ dramatically depending on when, where, and how you use it, I strongly advise against using speed as a deciding factor when purchasing. Instead, I suggest focusing on features, cost, and the privacy protections a VPN provides.

You can see the full results in the table below:

Hands On With OysterVPN for Windows

I tested OysterVPN on an Intel NUC 12 “Serpent Canyon” running the latest version of Windows 11. The VPN lacked a Windows security certificate in 2024, which caused some trouble during the last test. That problem has been resolved, but I encountered a separate issue with signing up. OysterVPN sends credentials to your email when you make an account, but I never received mine. I had to reach out to support to request a separate email, which took around 24 hours to receive. The password input also doesn’t integrate well with password managers, since most special characters aren't allowed.

Once you've configured the app, you’ll be greeted by a simple dashboard with a white-and-blue-green design. The right-hand side features a connection screen with your nearest server automatically selected. Servers take up most of the left-hand side.

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A gear icon opens the settings, where you can toggle split tunneling and protocols, and troubleshoot issues. The troubleshooter simply restores OysterVPN to default settings. That is useful, but I’d also like to see some links to the help center and a quick contact link for customer support.

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While I appreciate a simple dashboard, OysterVPN’s is a little too sparse. I’d like to see more server details, such as active load and latency, and an icon indicating whether the server is virtual. There is often a mismatch between the server you click on and where OysterVPN says your connection is going, which makes it difficult to trust the server menu as a whole. The screenshot below illustrates the issue: I was attempting to connect to New York but was actually routed to Dallas, Texas.

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Some quality-of-life features would be welcome. A connection map would help add some polish, but the VPN needs to work out its routing errors first. While not critical, I do appreciate dashboards that show me how much data is being used during a session. Likewise, details regarding currently connected devices would be helpful in staying under that low five-device limit.

Hands On With OysterVPN for macOS

The macOS version of OysterVPN shares the same general layout and design as the Windows variant. The main visual differences are a noticeable drop in graphic quality, with most images having pixelated borders, and the streaming icon that was present on Windows has been replaced with the word “streaming” to indicate the appropriate servers. I also could not get the client to show my connected server above the connection button. Instead, it would only show an offset of "None," as though I were not connected at all.

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All protocols are available on macOS, but split tunneling is not supported. There are also some curious misspellings throughout the macOS app. For example, Ireland’s 02 server is labeled as “Irealand,” and a button in the settings menu has a link to “imporve OysterVPN.” These errors are not critical, but they do raise questions about what else may have been overlooked if basic details are incorrect.

Hands On With OysterVPN for iOS

I tested OysterVPN on an iPhone 14 running iOS 16.3. It was easy to install the VPN directly from the App Store. The design is polished and has a more premium feel to it compared with the Windows app.

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The main dashboard remains functionally the same, with a connection button prominently displayed at the center. The differences are more apparent in the settings menu. A smooth slide-over animation gives menu switching a quality feel. The help menu is more robust with direct links to support articles and chat assistance. Split tunneling and kill switch options are not available on iOS. 

Advanced features on mobile have been replaced with a section containing links to a DNS leak checker, an IP address checker, and a password generator. The password generator did not work for me on either my mobile device or desktop. There is no password generator option in the desktop app, but the password generator on mobile worked.

Hands On With OysterVPN for Android

I tested OysterVPN’s Android app using a Samsung Galaxy S23 FE running Android 14. Installation was a breeze with a direct download from the Google Play Store. Much like iOS, the mobile version's design and overall feel are superior to its desktop counterpart.

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It’s normal for VPNs to struggle a bit more with implementing features on iOS compared with Android. iOS presents additional hurdles and security implementations that make development more challenging. I was surprised to find that OysterVPN’s Android app offered fewer protocols compared with its iOS counterpart. The Android version only supports OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols. Split tunneling is now available on Android and supports both apps and websites.

Customer Service and Support

On the surface, OysterVPN’s support center looks standard. It features well-organized sections covering a range of topics, questions, and potential issues that a user may encounter. A search bar at the top lets you filter the entire catalog at once if you aren’t sure which header a particular issue would be under. 

Some of the guides are well put together, while others lack depth. Most installation instructions include images and provide a step-by-step guide, but some are simply bullet points, such as the one for iOS. A few guides throughout the support center had errors. This article on fixing a slow connection on Windows is missing an internal link under the “Try the Manual Connection” header. 

Overall, the guides cover the basics. A small green chat bubble in the bottom-left corner leads to a live chat where you can speak to an agent. I was unable to reach an agent and instead received a response stating that all tokens had been used, which could mean the AI assistant's request filter to actual agents was out of commission. Any further attempts were met with the same message or no reply at all. I reached out to Oyster VPN regarding the error, and a spokesperson said the technical team is aware of the issue and is working to fix it.

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I eventually reached customer support via email to request login credentials, as mine were never sent to my email address when I signed up for the service. That response took a little over 24 hours, but it was still a process that could have been avoided by allowing users to create their own accounts during payment.