Proxy.sh Review

Who are they? Where are they from?

According to Proxy.sh:

Price / Packages

The Ordering Process

According to Proxy.sh:

After putting this to the test and ordering the $5 package, I’m glad to report that their claim is valid. Check out process is simple and quick. After submitting your e-mail and making the payment, your VPN access details are e-mailed. This process is shown below.

Congratulations Page

Payment Options

They support more than 85 different payment methods. Some of them are really convenient and secure. A few of them are: Bitcoin, SMS, Phone, Paypal

Package Configuration

Four packages are currently offered.

Quick: $2 / 72 hours

Basic: $5 / month – $40 / year

Solid: $10 / month – $90 / year

Dedicated: $25 / month – The custom tailored solution is a dedicated VPN hand crafted with love by their engineers. It requires a pre-payment of 6 months to 1 year. The “basic” one year package is the best value for most users. Go with the “solid” package if your country is not listed in the “basic” package.

Software & Connectivity

Nowadays, many devices have built-in VPN support. From PC to smartphones all the way up to routers. However, most VPN providers offer their own VPN clients. The VPN clients make it easy to connect, since you don’t have to configure much. But the biggest advantage I see is that you can easily switch between servers.

Proxy.sh currently offers Windows, Linux and Mac OS X GUI clients. For smartphones they recently added Android and Apple iOS apps. As I use both Windows and Kubuntu Linux, you get to see how they both perform.

Windows Client

I will spare you the boring installation screenshots, as it’s all pretty straightforward. Once you open the Safejumper client and log in, you get to choose from a list of servers.

The client is easy to use, stable and has a clear interface. It uses the OpenVPN protocol and you can choose between numerous TCP and UDP ports. It’s a shame that selecting a location happens through a drop-down menu. I would prefer a collapsible list of hubs for a better overview. It would be also nice if the city was shown.

When you click on Status from the tastkbar icon, you will see the connection details like IP address and data transfers. Would be nice to see the IP from the main screen or in the taskbar icon. It would also be handy if the settings screen is opened when you (double) left-click the taskbar icon.

Linux Client

As you can see below the Linux client is pretty much the same as the Windows version. A noticeable difference is the drop-down menu which is much longer compared to the Windows version, it gives you a better overview.

Android App

Safejumper offers Android and Apple iOS apps. I have tested the Android app and when looking at the iOS Safejumper screenshots, it can be assumed that both are very similar in terms of looks and functionality.

The app interface is very clean and straightforward. In my opinion it’s better than the Windows/Linux/OSX client so maybe they could port some ideas from the Android app.

Download Safejumper for Android 4.0+ and see more screenshots.

Download Safejumper for iOS 5.0+ and see more screenshots.

Connectivity Options

According to Proxy.sh:

It’s worth mentioning that every package offers extras (DNS, TOR, SOCKS, etc.)

Speed

I have tried many speed test sites like speedtest.net but they are very unreliable when used with a VPN or proxy. Most of the time the download/upload speed is wrong. Therefor, results of reviews using sites like speedtest.net can not be trusted. That’s why I have tested the old-school way by downloading from a fast http link and uploading to a remote FTP server. This method is reliable because it’s a real world scenario.

Speed Testing

The test is performed with a 150 / 15 Mbps cable connection in Amsterdam area. For the download speed test a Ubuntu ISO is downloaded from University of Twente, The Netherlands. For the upload test a file is uploaded to a server in the Netherlands. Keep in mind that my max upload speed is only 15 Mbps so it does not mean the VPN can’t go faster if it reaches it.

Ping is performed on the download server, University of Twente, The Netherlands. NetWorx Speed Meter is used for monitoring. Download link used for test: http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/os/linux/ubuntu-releases/13.10/ubuntu-13.10-desktop-amd64.iso

Results without VPN:

Downloading @ 150 Mbps

Uploading @ 15 Mbps

Ping statistics for 130.89.149.20: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 9ms, Maximum = 10ms, Average = 9ms

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Results Proxy.sh node: Netherlands 1

Downloading @ Average Transfer Rate 28 Mbps – Maximum Transfer Rate 42 Mbps

Uploading @ 15 Mbps

Ping statistics for 130.89.149.20: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 17ms, Maximum = 17ms, Average = 17ms

Servers

The $10 Solid & $25 Dedicated packages currently offers the following locations and in total 200+ nodes.

Server Locations

The $5 Basic package currently offers the following locations and in total 50+ nodes.

United States, Ukraine, Germany, Russia, France, Netherlands

Reliability

Connecting to most nodes goes quickly without problems. However, when trying to connect to some nodes, Safejumper does not connect. Sometimes when connected, connection does not work. In both cases, Safejumper should not show those defective nodes as select-able, but it does.

I checked the nodes on their Network Status page and the one I could not connect to did show as offline (red), but the one I was connected to and had no working connection showed as online (green).

Level of Privacy

This is where Proxy.sh shines. There are not many VPN services which you can order by providing just an email address. No logs are kept. They are not based in the United States.

Proxy.sh is the first VPN provider that introduces the Transparency Report and they are also a member of the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse.

Proxy.sh VPN can safely be used with BitTorrent and other file-sharing apps, even if you share copyrighted material.

Proxy.sh statement about logging:

Support

The questions I asked were quickly and satisfactorily addressed, within four hours. They have a great and comprehensive knowledge-base which should answer most of your questions. You will also find tutorials, downloads and extra services like Tor and DNS.