Astrill VPN Reviews 94

They charged me 30usd and wrote that transaction didnt work even though my card was charged imediately. Avoid those scammers.

The background:
I have been an Astril client since 2018 when I lived in China. When I moved out of China, I continued using Astril because I needed their Chinese client to continue doing some things within the country (some banking apps, entertainment apps etc)

Last month I updated my subscription and the Chinese client has since been removed. Since the service I was paying for was no longer provided,I asked for a refund. I received a flat "no".

They pointed me to a skeletal policy that says: "No 1: All purchases are final". I hopelessly tried to explain to customer service that beyond your policy, there is such a thing as customer protection law and you cannot take people's money and not offer services in return. I tried to explain that this is illegal. They could not care less.

So I looked into it. At first I was going to report the company to the according customer protection authorities as well as to the Apple store, but that would not get me my money back. I also looked into where the company operates from. Even though it is established as a British company, it actually operates as an offshore in the Seychelles for this exact reason. It gets around laws pertaining to internet usage and as a bonus to them, it makes it all the more difficult for consumers to file an official complaint against the company.

However, Astril uses an intermediary to complete its payments. I noticed that the invoice I received was from a different company. Unlike Astril, money handling intermediaries are subject to a lot stricter rules of conduct. Also, whenever you make a payment online, the intermediary bank will hold onto your money for a certain period of time until the purchase is finalised. The reason for this, is to avoid situations such as mine, where the customer did not received what he paid for.

Your solution:
Do not go to the Astril customer service and ask for a refund because you will not get it. Go to your emails, check the intermediary bank that send you the invoice and then visit their website. Usually there is a link on the invoice and you can click directly on it.

In my refund statement I declared that I had accidentally purchased something I did not want (which is true since the service was not available) and I got my money back within 3-4 hours.

I hope this helps. I am so tired of "clever" companies trying to swindle us out of our money. Sorry Astril, I was a dedicated customer until you tried to play dirty with me.

###WARNING###
All sales on our web site are final and refunds are not possible once purchase is made.

###
I bought their private IP address of San Jose, proves it redirects to HK which made some AI software not available any more. Contacted their support for refund, they say:

"All sales on our web site are final and refunds are not possible"

Laugh at myself for being scammed :)

Actually insane this company exists, im sure they've gone through many payment processors as it's basically a scam. $30 for a vpn that barely even works and is slow is crazyyy. Somehow they've tricked AI search into saying its the best VPN with 98% of the time working in China. This is a flat out lie, it barely works in China and when it does its slower than dial up LOL. They don't do refunds which obviously is the biggest red flag known to man.

I paid for their VPN then when I went to download it wound there was an incompatibility between my system software and their VPN, no problem, I'll just ask for a refund as I never used their services. But their policy is to not refund. I've had tech issues and so forth with other companies but they always provide a refund if it's a reasonable request.

If you are using their website, be prepared for a lack of clarity and little compassion for mistakes:
I initially paid for my 1 month astrill vpn subscription upfront. However, at the end of the month I had an unpaid invoice which I had misinterpreted to be an outstanding fee from my previous month. After paying, I quickly realized that this was actually a renewal for the following month despite there being zero indication throughout the process that this was the purpose of the payment. After consulting with their customer service, I was referred to the refund policy which offers no refunds. Needless to say, I double paid for something without even knowing I was doing so until they already had my money.

I paid my $30 and within 30 minutes of efforts, it was obvious I would not be able to install Astrill VPN on my new Microsoft Surface PC with Windows 11. I immediately deleted the attempted install and wrote customer service requesting a refund. Customer service offered me a lot of very technician suggestions and after another 30 minutes, it was obvious it would not work and again requested a refund. Two weeks later I wrote back and let them know I was still waiting for my refund, and this time customer service told me no refunds would be given and that it is stated that their product is not compatible with my Microsoft PC and Microsoft Win 11 and this is stated on their web site. At the time, I could not find this mentioned anywhere, and their own people gave me detailed instructions how to install. Long story short, do not waste your time or money with these people. Since I their product did not work, and since I never used it, and with the same day request, they should have refunded me the $30.

Very disappointing experience with Astrill VPN.

I subscribed on 2025-12-05 and cancelled before 2026-01-05 because I only needed the VPN for one month while traveling in China. Despite cancelling, I kept receiving emails saying my account was about to expire along with invoices. The system is very confusing and the emails look like invoices that need to be paid, so I ended up paying two extra months even though I did not use the service after 2026-01-05.

When I contacted support, they told me that all purchases are final so no refunds can be issued.

This billing and notification system is misleading and makes it very easy to pay for months you never intended to use.

So inconsistent. More like ASStrill

Can't believe i signed up for a year for this terrible service.

The most inconsistent vpn, overtime it's just been getting worse and worse.

Don't use it, find an alternative.

I used Astrill in China for a fairly long time (2013-2019) and it used to be excellent. However, in the past few years, something has changed and it is just total rubbish. I spend half my time trying to find a server that actually works. While using my Chinese data/SIM abroad, the VPN just doesn't work at all, couldn't access Googlemaps etc. could only use if I was on WiFi. Customer service is appalling, prices are extortionate. DO NOT BUY. Look elsewhere!

Astrill VPN DOES NOT work in China. Their policy is not to give any trial so that you pay $30 to testi it. Once you realize that it does not work and contact them, they say that according to their privacy policy they do not provide any refund. Stay away.

Hi Dario,

Sorry to hear about this experience, and we understand that can be frustrating.

Unfortunately, as per our Terms of Service, all sales on our website are final and adjustments are not possible once purchase is made.

However we can assist you with your issue. We are here 24/7.

Best regards,
Astrill VPN Support

We bought it for a month before going to China. Couldn't get it working. When we gave up and received no service, we asked for a refund. They send you a link about their refund policy. No refund! Be warned. $40 US mistake.

Usei para as minhas férias na China, e nunca tive problemas. Funcionou bem

I am a pensioner living in New Zealand and have used Astrill for more than ten years. My circumstances have changed and I can really no longer afford their outrageous price. Unfortunately when I paid my last account a couple of weeks back I didn't realise until too late that it was in US dollars not NZ dollars which almost doubles the amount. I immediately emailed and stated my error. No reply. I tried again today and the reply was basically "too bad, we never give refunds" In this country that would be illegal.
Be very careful with a company that has this zero customer satisfaction attitude.

Bullsh1t VPN service. Not stable, and any site knows i am using VPN, even though i do have private IP adress. And again - not reliable.

Astrill is supposed to be "the" VPN to use in China, but I have found it to be extremely limited in terms of server options, inconsistent at the best of times and frequently useless during the non-best of times. It has an app whose functionality is reminiscent of a 1990's Win98 bit of software. When it needs to updated, the only notice you get is the one saying "you can no longer use this app until you update it," which is a bit behind the power curve since the app needs to work in order to download the (new) app, at least in China. Like most things these days, it's better than nothing... but not by much.

There was no clear indication or warning before paying for their service. What I mean by this is, I was looking for a VPN to use with my particular modem. It is the latest model, the GL-MT6000, with OpenVPN. They didn't have any warning that it wouldn't work. Only after I purchased it could I check. They don't even offer refunds. Don't use this service; there are more trustworthy ones.

Bad experience. Astrill left me stranded in a foreign country (in China) with sick family back in my home country. Forget about astrill. No taxi, no connectimg with family without vpn!
After I finally found free reliable Chinese vpn that only takes data (find me on wechat I'll share the name!) astrill blamed me that I had 2 vpn's that's why astrill didn't work! Ha... did you read my 1st and 2nd sentence? Result, i now have ended up with 2 phones, and a relentless fight for what is right and a flight back home.... it's too complicated! astrill just gave me a very bad experience! Bad!
Astrill I'm still waiting to hear from your ceo... somewhere your middle management are not giving proper feedback ! CEO CALL ME.
Lesmari (name in wechat)

Absolutely horrendous service. There’s zero reinvestment into their app — no meaningful updates, no improvements, just the same caveman-era UI that feels like a bad joke in 2025. The OpenWeb mode? Doesn’t even connect anymore, it’s dead weight.

When it does manage to connect, the speeds are complete sh1t — unstable, inconsistent, and nowhere near what you pay for. It genuinely blows my mind that this company still exists