Witopia is a small service that’s gotten some critical buzz. However, it’s still less popular than the top VPNs. Is this a hidden gem, or is there a reason it’s trailing behind the giants of the industry?
After testing all of its features, I’ve concluded that WiTopia can’t compete with the best VPNs. It has slow speeds, buggy apps, a vague privacy policy, and many other issues. For a similar price, you can get much more value. I recommend you try one of the best VPNs available today that offer faster speeds, reliable apps, clear privacy policies, and more.
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Short on Time? Here Are My Key Findings
Pros
Cons
WiTopia VPN Features — 2024 Update
5.8
💸
Price
|
2.49 USD/month
|
📆
Money Back Guarantee
|
30 Days |
📝
Does VPN keep logs?
|
No |
🖥
Number of servers
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254+ |
💻
Number of devices per license
|
8 |
🛡
Kill switch
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Yes |
🗺
Based in country
|
United States |
🛠
Support
|
24/7 live chat |
📥
Supports torrenting
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No |
Streaming — Average Quality With Some Troubleshooting
6.8
WiTopia VPN can safely access streaming platforms, but it takes some work. It’s also only truly optimized for secure viewing of US streaming platforms.
Editor’s note. The VPNs we recommend usually adhere to strict no-logs policies, so they don’t see or record the sites you visit while connected to their servers. So, you’ll be solely responsible for how you use them. My team and I ask that you please use any VPN lawfully and comply with all copyright regulations.
Works With: Netflix, Max, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer
Netflix worked without issues during our tests.
It took 5 seconds to load videos, and there was no buffering
There was a slight grain to the video, but otherwise this test was promising. Max was a hassle, but we eventually got a secure stream. At first it said Max wasn’t available, even when we were connected to US servers.
Eventually, we found servers that worked, but even then, we still had to wait, sometimes up to 20 seconds, before the video resolved into HD. We could safely watch Amazon Prime Video with its optimized server for US Prime Video. However, we couldn't watch other Amazon Prime libraries since regular servers didn't work.
Witopia let me watch the full episode without quality drops
We also had to troubleshoot to watch BBC iPlayer with an encrypted connection. WiTopia’s Manchester location eventually worked, but our videos never resolved into HD.
Its Hulu optimized servers could securely access Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ from anywhere. The regular servers didn’t work with Hulu. We were able to watch in great quality although it took 4 or 5 seconds to reload when we skipped around. The experience with Disney+ was similar, but the video did briefly freeze at one point.
However, be aware that both the Hulu optimized and Amazon optimized servers give you IPs in the US. Unfortunately, WiTopia could not safely access Disney+ UK and Italy libraries.
You can check out this list of the best VPNs for safe streaming to watch your local content in better quality without extensive troubleshooting.
Speed — Slow in Every Category
2.4
To gauge its overall performance, we tested several of WiTopia’s international servers for speeds. That was the only way we could compare it to its top competitors.
Unfortunately, WiTopia VPN was slow no matter what we tried. For this review, we asked our speed expert in Indonesia to perform at least 10 tests for each server to create averages. OpenVPN was the fastest protocol, so we used it for our chart.
Speeds dropped 84% on nearby servers and 76% on distant ones
Strangely, the nearby servers dropped her speeds more than far away locations. This could be due to overcrowding, or poor performance from individual servers. The top VPNs usually drop your speeds 10-20% on closeby servers and around 40% on locations over 6,000 km away.
The Russia server sdropped our tester's speeds by 77%
Since there are more WiTopia servers close to where I live, I did extensive tests as well. But, even on servers about 300 km away, my speed dropped 86% on average. So, it’s likely you’ll get slow speeds with WiTopia no matter where you live.
Upload and download speeds were always poor, but I actually found some servers with decent ping. However, if you want a VPN that can keep you safe while you maintain great speeds in every category, take a look at our list of the fastest VPNs.
Gaming — Minimal Lag During Online Play
7.0
I was impressed that WiTopia let me play a fast-paced shooter game without additional lag. The ping rates are the most important speed factor when you’re playing online. You’ll want it below 85ms to enjoy your games without annoying lag that adds a delay between your inputs and your character’s reactions.
WiTopia gave me a 65ms ping, perfect for smooth gameplay
The lag increased a little with more distant US servers, but that’s to be expected. Overall, it can be a solid gaming VPN as long as you can find a nearby server and have decent base rates. With no servers in your vicinity, you’ll need a different service to get the proper ping.
Server Network — Small With Significant Connection Issues
4.6
WiTopia only offers 254 servers in 43 countries. Most top VPNs will offer thousands more servers in at least double that number of countries. I do appreciate that all its servers are city-level, and you get 15+ US locations to choose from.
There are a solid number of European locations, but most countries in the region only get 1 city. For example, this is the case in places like Austria, Belgium, The Czech Republic, and Denmark.
The server spread in Asia isn’t bad, and it also offers cities in Australia and New Zealand, handy if you’re in Oceania. However, the server selection in Africa, South America, and the Middle East is quite slim.
I like the search bar, and you can connect through the map
Unfortunately, I faced many annoying connection issues. The first time I connected, I got stuck with the Dallas location I’d selected. Even when I “disconnected” from the server, I was still showing this Dallas IP during leak tests.
A support agent told me there was some incompatibility between my Windows device and the WireGuard protocol. I had to exit from the app and restart my computer just to get that location to go away.
The issue never returned since I was afraid to use WireGuard at this point. However, once I fired up a premium VPN (CyberGhost), I had no issues connecting to its servers through WireGuard. So, I’m not confident it was a problem on my end.
I faced several other glitches with the WiTopia app. Sometimes it would freeze, or I’d have to wait several seconds for the server list to pop up. In other cases, I had to hit the connect button several times before anything would even happen.
On a somewhat positive note, WiTopia owns some of its servers and rents others. It claims this isn’t a security issue since only WiTopia employees have access to the servers’ data. However, some people have more peace of mind knowing a VPN solely owns its infrastructure. On the plus side, all of its servers are physically located.
It does not offer dedicated IPs, which many providers allow you to access for an additional fee. This can be helpful if you need a consistent address for something like web hosting. In the end, I was left unimpressed with WiTopia in this category. You can find a VPN with a larger network that has no connection issues in this list.
Security — Solid but Missing Some Features
6.8
WiTopia can keep you safe, but you’ll miss out on some handy features. On the positive side, it offers the necessary encryption levels and protocols to hide your true location at all times and protect you from hackers.
I tested every working protocol, and there were never leaks
DNS and IPv6 leak protection are provided with all of its native apps. WiTopia also automatically connects you with its own secure DNS.
Unfortunately, there is no split tunneling feature on any device. It also doesn’t offer double VPN, which lets you route your traffic through multiple servers. I feel that military-grade encryption offers enough protection, but some find it useful. Lastly, it doesn’t offer any type of ad-blocker.
In short, WiTopia’s security features are adequate, but there are better VPNs if you want the latest and most user-friendly security options. You can check out this list to find the top VPNs for security.
Encryption & Protocols
WiTopia will protect you with excellent encryption as long as you choose the right protocol. Many of its options allow you to choose AES 256-bit encryption, which is a practically unbreakable level used by militaries and banks around the world. Every device is offered solid protocols, but they do differ as we’ll discuss in a later section.
You can see a list of its protocols below:
- OpenVPN. This is considered one of the safest options since it’s open-source. That means it’s checked for vulnerabilities by security enthusiasts around the world. You can choose the UDP version for reliability and TCP for speeds. You can also opt for 128-bit or 256-bit encryption. Unfortunately, 256-bit slowed us down a lot, which usually doesn’t happen with top VPNs.
- WireGuard. Normally, this is the fastest protocol available. It encrypts your connection with the ChaCha20 cipher. This is generally considered to be nearly equivalent to AES-256 protection. Sadly, I could never use this protocol successfully on my Windows app.
- IKEv2. While it’s an older option, this protocol gives you a faster way to use AES 256-bit encryption. However, you’ll want to use OpenVPN for maximum security.
- Stealth Modes. This is essentially WiTopia’s obfuscation option. It hides your VPN use, which can be useful for the restricted networks you might find at work or school.
In addition, you can manually configure L2TP or PPTP protocols on some devices. These are older options that I wouldn’t go through the hassle of setting up.
Kill Switch
This is a necessary feature that I’m glad is included, but it’s unfortunate it’s not offered for mobile apps. This blocks your internet connection if the VPN suddenly disconnects. However, it doesn’t block your connection while you’re switching servers like some other VPNs do. I’d recommend exiting your browser and apps before switching locations.
Privacy — Vague Policy With Some Concerns
5.6
WiTopia is probably privacy-friendly, but I wish its policies were more detailed. Its top competitors make it much more specific what they do and do not store. There have also been no independent audits, and it’s headquartered in a country within the 5-Eyes Alliance.
I believe it’s highly likely WiTopia respects your privacy, but the best VPNs give you many more assurances. You can look into this list to see the VPNs with the best no-logs policies.
Does WiTopia VPN Keep Logs? Maybe
Its policy states it will never monitor or record your online activities but isn’t clear otherwise. For example, it doesn’t state anything about IP addresses. I have no reason to believe it stores these, but I wish it was explicit about this.
Most VPNs need to store some anonymized data, but WiTopia makes no mention of this. To keep their services working, many VPNs need to record things like connection timestamps, the amount of data you use, etc. I have no idea if WiTopia does this because the policy says nothing about it.
When I reached out to support, they had no further explanations of the policy for me. They simply said: “I believe the privacy policy we have there does cover in full the information we offer.”
Was WiTopia VPN Audited? No
WiTopia VPN has never undergone a third-party audit of its systems or policies. The top VPNs usually have reputable companies come in to prove they follow their policies. I understand this can be expensive, but I always feel safer using VPNs that have gone through this process.
Based in the US
WiTopia keeps its headquarters in the United States, a known surveillance state. The US is a core member of the 5-Eyes Alliance, a coalition of governments that have agreed to share their citizens’ data.
If a VPN has a solid enough privacy policy, you may not need to worry about something like this because they’ll have no data to share if the government requests it. Unfortunately, WiTopia’s vague policy makes this a bit concerning.
Does WiTopia VPN Work in China? Yes
WiTopia claims many of its customers use the VPN in China.
WiTopia staff recommend you start with Stealth Mode first
Since it’s not the most popular VPN, it can be difficult to find specific use cases, as you would with a more proven China VPN like Astrill.
While the Chinese government has banned many VPNs, there have been no publicly-reported cases of them going after the individuals who use them. We recommend reading up on the current laws before deciding to use a VPN in the country. My team and I are firmly against any illegal activities.
Torrenting — Okay for P2P
5.6
I could download files with WiTopia. Support staff told me they’re “agnostic” when it comes to torrenting. I assume this is for legal purposes. There isn’t much on the website about torrenting, but I was able to successfully connect to P2P networks during all my tests.
On the US-Redding server, I could complete a 700MB file in about 22 minutes. With no VPN connected, I can download that same copyright-free movie in 3 minutes. Most VPNs will slow you down a bit, but I’ve found other VPNs that don’t reduce my torrenting rates this much.
It also doesn’t offer port forwarding. This is a feature that can significantly improve your speeds on P2P networks. Overall, there are much better options for this activity, and you can see a list of the best VPNs for torrenting here.
While torrenting is legal in most countries, downloading copyrighted files isn’t. My team and I are firmly against copyright infringement, so we only recommend downloading torrents within the public domain.
Installation & Apps
5.2
Installation & Apps — Easy Set-up; Glitchy Apps
WiTopia’s apps are easy to use and install when they’re not glitching out. As I detailed in the server network section, my app was constantly freezing up and loading incorrectly.
The "Preferences" button will take you to its settings
Thankfully, I never had any issues setting up. Since it’s a simple app, you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding its various settings.
Overall, the design is intuitive and modern. I just wish the apps weren’t so prone to glitches.
Setup & Installation
WiTopia is straightforward to install, but this is partly because it doesn’t support that many devices. On supported desktop or mobile devices, you can easily download and install it through its website or within your app store.
With no free option, you have to sign up before you download
There is no Linux app (so no GUI). However, you can connect to its servers through manual connections on these and some other devices, but I’ll explain why I don’t recommend that in the following section.
To stay safe on your smart TV, gaming console, or streaming device, you’ll have to find a different VPN. You can check out this list of the best VPNs for non-compatible devices here.
Device Compatibility
There are apps available for the 4 major operating systems, but desktop versions of WiTopia are far superior. Browser extensions aren’t offered, and you can only use it on a router by purchasing a new one it sells. That’s the only way you can easily use it on any other devices.
There are manual configurations for Linux, Blackberry, Amazon Firestick and Amazon TVs, Boxee, Chromebooks and more. However, these are complicated, often require additional software, and are missing essential security features.
Compared to its top competitors, WiTopia is lacking in this area. Many of them make it easy to install their apps onto smart TVs straight through your television’s store. They also let you install the VPN directly on several different router types. Plus, many VPNs with similar prices also offer fully-featured Linux apps.
Desktop — Apps for Windows and Mac
These apps have the most features, including a kill switch, but they can be buggy. So, although you can access all the protocols and other security features WiTopia has to offer, I can’t guarantee they’ll work.
Android and iPhone (iOS)
Mobile devices don’t get a kill switch, so I can’t consider them completely safe. This is not actually that uncommon with smaller VPNs, but there are providers that give you a working kill switch for Android and iOS apps. Phones can also only connect to WireGuard+ and IKEv2 protocols natively.
I recommend you consider one of the VPNs in this list which offer much better apps for phones.
Router Compatibility
WiTopia sells ASUS model CloakBox and CloakBox Pro routers that come with a 1 year subscription. The Pro version is its name for its gaming router. It features enhanced specs like more RAM, core processing power, and faster USB ports, but it will cost you more.
If you’re shopping for a new router, I think it’s a great idea to purchase one with a VPN installed. However, there are many better VPNs that also sell pre-installed routers or let you set up their service on the router you already have. If you’re looking to protect every device in your household all at once, I suggest you read this list of the top VPNs for routers.
Simultaneous Device Connections
You can connect up to 8 devices at once with a WiTopia subscription. I tested this by connecting a Windows laptop, 2 Android phones, and an iOS device. With each connected to the same server, I could still stream YouTube videos with no additional buffering or quality issues.
However, there are many VPNs that offer more connections at once, or even unlimited connections (like Private Internet Access). So, keep that in mind if you need to protect tons of devices.