The most expensive mainstream VPN ($300 per 2 years, $30/mo monthly) with the most hostile refund stance: 'All sales are final and refunds are not possible once purchase is made.' What you buy is a legitimately strong censorship-evasion stack - proprietary StealthVPN/OpenWeb protocols, a Supercharged China server tier, VIP latency add-on, BTC and even Monero payment, unlimited household devices - wrapped in opaque, unaudited, closed-source software.
by the vpncomparison editorial desk · review version 2 · prose updated 2026-09-28 · facts as of 2026-09-28 · how we verify
Astrill VPN is a commercial service founded in 2009, registered in Liechtenstein and marketed to travelers and expats, especially those in China. It offers strong censorship-evasion tools like StealthVPN and OpenWeb, supports Monero payments, and allows unlimited device connections. However, it operates with zero published transparency: no logs policy, no audits, no warrant canary, and a rigid "all sales final" refund stance.
Astrill makes no public claim about logging, and there is no evidence - audit, court test, or policy - to verify a no-logs stance. It does not publish a warrant canary or transparency report. Based in Liechtenstein, a country outside major surveillance alliances, this jurisdictional advantage is undermined by complete opacity. The software is closed-source, and user voices on HN reveal technical users sandboxing the client due to trust concerns.
Astrill charges $30/month, $180/year ($15/month), or $300 for two years ($12.50/month billed upfront). No renewal price is disclosed, but since the longest plan is two years with no refund window, you’re locked into that cost. With zero refund days and “all sales final,” this is one of the most inflexible pricing models in the industry. Real 3-year cost? At least $450 if you renew every two years.
Astrill supports OpenVPN, WireGuard, and its proprietary obfuscation protocols StealthVPN and OpenWeb, designed to bypass firewalls like China’s GFW. It includes a kill switch, split tunneling, multihop (via VIP add-on), dedicated IPs, and P2P/streaming support. Servers span 50+ countries with apps for major platforms and router firmware. While feature-rich, performance claims are untested by us, and the closed-source nature limits independent verification.
Ownership is undisclosed, and Astrill provides no transparency about corporate structure or oversight. Data quality is reported, not verified. Red flags include a stagnant refund policy from 2019, rising prices, and no audits or logs policy. User reports on HN confirm its role as a China expat staple but also highlight distrust in the client’s system access and past failures during GFW upgrades.
Astrill is built for censorship resistance, using proprietary StealthVPN and OpenWeb protocols specifically engineered to evade deep packet inspection in countries like China and Iran. It maintains “Supercharged” servers for China and offers a VIP add-on for optimized routing. However, as one HN user noted, even Astrill can fail after major firewall upgrades - no commercial tool guarantees permanent access.
Only consider Astrill if you’re in a heavily censored country and need a proven, albeit expensive and opaque, workaround. Avoid if you value transparency, refunds, or independent verification. The provider pays affiliate commissions in Bitcoin - up to ~$21 per sale - making it a favorite among review sites, though it funds no independent scrutiny.
| Intro price | $12.50 /month |
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See the 3-year total next to the marketing number: true-cost calculator →
has an affiliate program via in-house · published terms: 'Earn an average of $21 per sale, one of the highest in the VPN industry' - commissions calculated per subscription plan purchased; payouts in Bitcoin only ('Payouts are made in Bitcoin (BTC); no other payment methods are supported')
The only provider we verified that publishes a concrete average per-sale amount - and pays exclusively in BTC. - CPA estimate ~$21
If we sign up for this program, every link here becomes rel="nofollow sponsored" and this box stays. Until then our links are plain redirects with zero tracking. Ranking logic physically cannot read affiliate fields - here is the proof.
Before you pay: check the renewal price, the refund window, and whether a cheaper or free path covers your use case - the honest checklist.
Based on our checks as of 2026-09-28: Astrill VPN scores 5.9/10 in our weighted review. We logged 3 red flags (listed above). User reports, ownership and the incident record are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.
Full access to Astrill’s network, including StealthVPN, OpenWeb, multihop (via VIP add-on), dedicated IPs, and unlimited device connections. You also get support for Monero payments and router installations, but no open-source code, audits, or refund option.
Renewal pricing isn’t disclosed. The two-year plan costs $300 upfront. After that, you’ll pay at least $15/month or more. Over three years, expect to pay a minimum of $450, with no refund if it stops working.
None. Astrill does not publish a no-logs policy, audit, or warrant canary. Its logging practices are entirely unverified, making trust a matter of faith, not fact.
It’s designed for it, using StealthVPN and OpenWeb to beat deep packet inspection. Many expats rely on it, but as HN reports confirm, it can fail after GFW upgrades - censorship resistance is never guaranteed.
Yes. Astrill accepts Bitcoin and Monero, and signup requires only email verification and CAPTCHA. While not fully anonymous, Monero payment offers strong financial privacy.
You lose service with no refund. The “all sales final” policy means you’re out the full amount. Given the lack of transparency, there’s no public continuity plan or exit strategy disclosed.
No free tier exists. For censored regions, consider open-source, community-driven tools like Outline or Psiphon, which are free and transparent. For privacy-focused users, audited providers like Mullvad or IVPN offer better accountability at lower risk.
The most honest VPN on the internet, and in 2026 still the one this industry is measured against: numbered accounts, cash or Monero accepted, open-source client
The anti-affiliate champion candidate holds up: no affiliate program (stated out loud on the homepage), flat honest pricing, quarterly warrant canary, annual th
The best-evidenced no-logs claim in the business - twice tested in US courts (2016, 2018) and twice found to have nothing - plus the cheapest long-term renewal
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