Celo VPN Review

CeloVPN is a highly customizable VPN. But is it really a good VPN?

Introduction

Overview

Celo VPN is a good, relatively new VPN service for power users with impressive speeds, incredible customizability, and designated streaming servers. However, they have only a few servers.

This review of Celo VPN contains the results of tests between 3 September 2020 and 3 November 2020.

This document is a continuously being updated with fresh data each month in order to be accurate and consistent.

Is Celo VPN a good VPN? Is it worth getting?

Privacy & Anonymity Summary

They have a no-logs policy and accept anonymous payments through cryptocurrencies. We can use their service by giving only the email address.

Speed & Performance Summary

The browsing, downloading, and torrenting speeds offered are great and comparable with some of the best VPN services available today.

Functionality & Application Summary

Celo VPN is for technical people and for those who know very well about VPNs, so beginners will find it very hard to use. Most of the protocols and features need manual setup.

Reputation & Support Summary

Celo VPN and their parent company have never been involved in any controversies, scandals, or data breaches. There are no privacy concerns involving Celo as yet.

Price & Value Summary

At a price of $7 per month and $66 per year, Celo VPN is a great option for power users and those who would like to have no limits to the VPN connection customizations.

Proof

How Was Celo VPN Rated?

Review Criteria

I've rated the VPN on multiple elements across five categories, and analysed the results to give you a good understanding of the service.

  1. Privacy & Anonymity

    Does the VPN leak any data while in use? Do they collect or store logs? Do they allow you to anonymously purchase the service? Do they employ a variety of security protocols to keep you anonymous online?

  2. Speed & Performance

    Does the VPN offer fast speeds (on par with browsing without a VPN connection)? Are these speeds consistent? Or do they drop off or fluctuate too much?

  3. Functionality & Application

    Does the VPN work well? Is it easy to install and use? Does it unblock geo-restricted content? Can it unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer?

  4. Reputation & Support

    Is the VPN a reputable seller with a strong track record of happy customers and good reviews? Does it provide outstanding customer and tech support? Does the VPN and their parent company have a track record of honesty, transparency, and its customers' best interests at heart?

  5. Price & Value

    Does the price of the service match (or exceed) the quality of experience? Does the VPN represent value for money?

Privacy & Anonymity

Does Celo VPN have a logging policy?

Yes, Celo VPN is a no-logs VPN service. They claim that they do not log any user activity, do not keep any server logs, and do not share the personal information with any third parties. Also, we have to give only our email address to use their service.

Does Celo VPN have a kill switch?

Celo VPN has a kill switch on MacOS.

What security protocols does Celo VPN use?

Celo VPN uses OpenVPN UDP, OpenVPN TCP, IKEv2, WireGuard, and V2Ray/VMess protocols. However, each protocol needs a manual setup.

Speed & Performance

Is Celo VPN fast?

The WireGuard protocol provides impressive speeds, but the OpenVPN - UDP protocol provides only average speed.

Does Celo VPN provide consistent speeds?

Yes, the speeds provided are consistent.

Functionality & Application

Is Celo VPN easy to use?

No, Celo VPN is not easy to use for beginners or non-technical users. It is designed for technical people who would like to go beyond the customizations that traditional VPNs offer, and hence everything from protocols to kill switches have to be manually configured.

Celo VPN OpenVPN general settings on Windows

Celo VPN is a highly customizable VPN service.

Celo VPN proxy configuration on Windows

Manual proxy configuration on Windows.

Does Celo VPN support split tunneling?

Celo VPN’s apps don't support split tunneling as such, but it can be configured manually on different platforms.

Is Celo VPN good for torrenting? Do they approve of using P2P technology?

Yes, Celo VPN does approve of using P2P technology, and most of their servers support torrenting. We ran a few tests to see if their servers provide good torrenting speeds. To our surprise, the speeds were very impressive - it was faster than some of the popular VPN services.

Is Celo VPN good for Netflix?

Celo VPN was able to successfully unblocked geo-restricted Netflix content in out of countries. I couldn't watch any geo-restricted Netflix content.

Is Private Internet Access good for BBC iPlayer?

Is Celo VPN good for streaming?

What are some good features of Celo VPN?

  • Highly customizable
  • Shadowsocks & SOCKS5 proxy included
  • Up to 8 simultaneous connections
  • Designated streaming servers in the UK and US

Reputation & Support

Is Celo VPN trustworthy?

Considering their overall reputation, support response, and business practices, Celo VPN is a trustworthy VPN service.

Does Celo VPN have live chat support? Are they responsive?

Where are they based? What jurisdiction are they under?

Celo VPN and their parent company are based in Australia.

Who is the parent company?

Celo VPN is owned by Celo Net Pty Ltd, an Australian private company.

Have Celo VPN or their parent company been involved in any controversies or scandals?

No, Celo VPN and their parent company are relatively new, and they have never been involved in any controversies or scandals.

What do most customers say they like about the service?

Many Reddit users recommend Celo VPN for streaming the US and UK libraries.

What do customers most dislike about the service?

Price & Value

How much does Celo VPN cost per month?

Celo VPN offers four different plans, a monthly plan costing $7 each month, a 3-month plan costing $18, a 6-month plan costing $35, and a yearly plan costing $66.

Celo VPN plans and pricing

Celo VPN pricing in USD.

Is Celo VPN worth the money?

Yes, considering the features, speed, and customizability, Celo VPN is worth the money for power users.

What payment forms do they accept?

Celo VPN accepts credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, Diner’s Club, American Express, Discover, and JCB, Paypal, different cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc.

The accepted payment methods by Celo VPN

Celo VPN accepts credit cards, PayPal, and various cryptocurrencies.

Do they have a trial or a money-back guarantee? What is their refund policy?

Celo VPN offers a 10-day money-back guarantee. They claim that they’ll gladly refund money if a user is not 100% satisfied with their service. However, refund requests made after 10 days are not processed.

Conclusion

Who is Celo VPN good for?

Celo VPN is great for power users and technical people who want complete freedom over the VPN settings. It is a no-logs VPN service and has specialized streaming servers, so power users who have privacy concerns, or use VPN for streaming will particularly love Celo VPN.

Who is it not suitable for?

Beginners, older people, and even those who do not know much about how VPNs work will find it extremely hard to set up and use Celo VPN.