PureVPN for Mac Review 2022: Features, Price and Alternatives

Bottom Line

With a focus on speed and security, PureVPN offers almost everything you could want in a VPN service for Mac. It not only bolsters your privacy while you’re browsing the web, but it also protects you when you use unsecured Wi-Fi networks — and allows you to access certain (but not all) streaming services that are unavailable in your home country.

PureVPN is fully compatible with Apple silicon chips, which means it’s wonderfully speedy on the latest Mac models. It also offers decent download speeds. However, the macOS version does miss out on some neat features that are only available on Windows, which is a little disappointing.

Intro

When it comes to protecting your privacy online, nothing works better than a reliable virtual private network (VPN). A VPN conceals your browsing activities so that no one — not the websites you visit, PureVPN, or even your internet service provider (ISP) — can see what you do or what you download. And there are plenty of excellent options to choose from if you use a Mac.

PureVPN is one of those. It offers an outstanding number of servers, promises some of the best security available, and is backed up by an independent audit, conducted by KPMG, that proves PureVPN lives up to its claims of not storing logs of your history and activities, IP addresses, or other sensitive data.

It’s everything you could want in a VPN, at least on paper. But how does PureVPN really perform in the real world? We’ve been using it for almost two weeks now to find out.

Features

Like all good VPN providers, PureVPN gives users plenty of choice when it comes to connectivity options. In fact, it has one of the largest server fleets we’ve seen from a VPN, including more than 2,200 in North America, more than 3,000 across Europe, and more than 560 in Asia.

What’s more, PureVPN is satisfyingly fast. Using a VPN, which routes your browsing traffic through different servers so that the websites you visit cannot track it back to you, is always going to slow you down a little. But thanks to its completely self-engineered service, PureVPN is one of the fastest VPN services I’ve used.

On a 500 Mbps broadband connection, I regularly saw speeds in excess of 420 Mbps on my Mac — despite being connected over Wi-Fi. That’s almost as good as the 450-470 Mbps I get without using a VPN, and it makes downloading large files, like movies and software updates, pleasingly quick.

Sadly, when it comes to streaming from international services, PureVPN can be less impressive. I tried to access the U.S. versions of Disney+ and Netflix in the U.K., and they wouldn’t work through PureVPN. However, I did have some success accessing the U.S. version of Amazon Prime Video.

First-time setup on a Mac is about what you would expect from a VPN. It’s no simpler or more complicated than most other VPN apps, so you shouldn’t run into any complications, even if you’re a novice Mac user. Once PureVPN is up and running, you don’t really have to worry about it if you don’t want to. Simply keep it connected and it’ll continue to do its thing in the background. However, there are some advanced options — like port forwarding — for those who need them.

Sadly, Mac users don’t get as many features as those using PureVPN on Windows. Automatic protocol selection, which intelligently selects the best connectivity protocol depending on what you’re using the internet for, is missing.

Price

There are a number of subscription options available for PureVPN. If you want to pay on a monthly basis, it’ll cost you $10.95, which is in line with other top VPN services. There’s also a 12-month plan priced at $38.95, which works out at $3.24 per month, and a 24-month plan that’s priced at $53.95, which works out at just $1.99 per month with three additional months thrown in free of charge.

A single PureVPN account can be used on an unlimited number of devices, and there are PureVPN apps available for Android, iOS, Google Chrome, and more. But bear in mind that you can only have ten active connections at any one time.

Summary

PureVPN is a reliable and secure option for any Mac user. Its massive range of servers gives you plenty of flexibility, while stable connectivity should allow you to browse and download without having to worry about unexpected disconnects. It has also impressed us with its speeds, which could be attractive for those who have suffered significant slowdowns with other VPN providers in the past.

You may run into issues if you’re planning to use PureVPN to access international streaming services, but that can be hit or miss with most VPN providers. For everything else, you should find PureVPN to be more than good enough.

Alternatives

1. Private Internet Access
2. NordVPN
3. CyberGhost
4. TunnelBear