Shellfire VPN Review

Our rating
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40%
Features Read more toggle icon
35%
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Shellfire is a decent VPN provider at first glance, but it does have a few issues when it comes to usability. The VPN service is based in Germany and is utilized by over 250,000 citizens worldwide. The interface is cluttered, connection speeds are unreliable and relatively slow compared to most other VPNs on the market, which is disappointing if you require a VPN for activities like streaming and gaming. A single subscription comes with just 1 simultaneous connection, which is far less than most providers offer.

However, Shellfire does come with a decent free option, unlimited bandwidth, and a proprietary pre-installed router VPN. There is also a 14-day money-back guarantee, half the industry average but still good to see. Shellfire is successful at accessing a handful of streaming sites, including BBC iPlayer, although it won't get you access to Netflix.

    Pros

  • pro icon Free VPN tier
  • pro icon Accepts Bitcoin as a payment
  • pro icon Router VPN option

    Cons

  • con icon Unclear privacy policy
  • con icon Short money-back guarantee
  • con icon Member of 5/9/14 Eyes
Price Starting At: 3.39 $ / monthly 55.26 $ / annually
For New Users: 14 -day money-back guarantee
Number of servers: 37+
General information
Type of IP offered: Shared
Simultaneous connections / Users: Unlimited
OS support: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows
VPN Promotion: Get VPN from Shellfire VPN for 3.39$ per month
Capabilities
Unlimited Bandwidthcross iconKill Switchcross iconSplit Tunnelingcross iconZero Data Loggingcross iconFree Version / Trialcross iconMobile Appcross iconFirestick Compatiblecross icon
Payment options
  • Bitcoin
  • Mastercard
  • Mastercard Debit
  • Paypal
  • Paysafecard
  • Visa
  • Visa Debit
  • Visa Electron
Geolocations available
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Isle of Man
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Shellfire VPN Security

40%

For most users, security and privacy protection are the main priority when choosing a VPN service. When you connect to a VPN server, your internet traffic will be re-routed through an encrypted tunnel of servers so that no one, including cybercriminals, advertisers, and other third parties, can access or decipher it. So we've analyzed the security features on offer as part of this Shellfire VPN review.

Shellfire utilizes industry-standard military-grade 256-bit AES encryption to ensure private internet access. There is support for the standard list of VPN protocols, too, including OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP. The Shellfire Wi-Fi router utilizes the newer, secure WireGuard protocol.

Shellfire VPN also comes with a free version. However, this is significantly less secure than the premium apps as it operates on bank-grade 128 encryption instead of the industry-standard military-grade. Therefore, we would suggest only using the free version in case of emergencies.

Torrenting is supported by the VPN, although it will be necessary to contact Shellfire's customer support team to find out information about suitable servers for such activities. It appears that torrenting is supported on Shellfire's servers in Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands.

When looking for a VPN, it is a good idea to choose a VPN provider that offers a strict, transparent no-logging policy. If a VPN does not offer a no-logs statement, there is no way to ensure that they are not storing and sharing your private information with third parties for profit. If you are concerned about your online security and anonymity, we would suggest looking at VPN providers like ExpressVPN or NordVPN, both of which come with independently audited no-logs policies.

Shellfire VPN claims it doesn't store any user data. However, it also states that this does not mean that users can commit online crimes without punishment. Shellfire's privacy policy states that if a valid warrant is presented, the company will cooperate with German authorities and give them access to a particular user's live internet traffic streams.

Unfortunately, Shellfire does not offer a strict no-logs policy. As the company has not completed an independent audit of its policies and services, there is no real way to tell how much of your data is actually stored. Therefore, we would advise against this VPN is your main priority is privacy protection.

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Shellfire VPN Features

35%

Shellfire VPN may look like a decent VPN service initially, but it is fraught with issues. The client interface is not well-designed, making it awkward to use. VPN connections are unreliable, and speeds are less than average, making it largely unsuitable if you are looking to stream video content in high-definition or 4K.

Shellfire VPN also comes with a fully integrated VPN router, which is useful for any users that want to protect all of the devices on their network simultaneously, especially considering that the provider only offers 1 simultaneous device connection on a standard subscription plan. Users do not need to know how to manually install a VPN service as everything is pre-installed.

The platform may initially look promising, but the clients leave much room for improvement in functionality and features. So, if you are looking for a well-designed, easy-to-use VPN, we would suggest looking elsewhere.

Fortunately, the VPN service comes with a decent free version, which is useful for users who want to test the VPN before committing to a paid plan. However, the free version offers slightly lower security standards than the premium option, with 128 bank-grade encryption instead of military-grade AES-256. Connection speeds are limited to just 1000Kbps, and there is access to just 2 country locations, Germany and the United States. This means that the Shellfire VPN is not useful for anything more than the simplest of internet tasks.

There is no standard free trial of Shellfire VPN, although there is a free tier as well as a 14-day refund guarantee. While this is significantly less than the industry average of 30-days, it is still good to see a guarantee. If you are not happy with the service provided, request a refund, and you'll get your money back as long as it's within 14 days of purchase. The money-back-guarantee is risk-free, and no questions will be asked.

When it comes to pricing, subscription plans start at an eye-watering $9.44 per month if you want the freedom of a rolling monthly contract. This price drops to $5.99 per month on the annual plan or $4.48 on the 2-year subscription plan. Although this is relatively affordable, it is not the cheapest option on the market and is more than double the price of Surfshark on its 2-year plan.

You can also buy the company's proprietary Shellfire Box VPN Wi-Fi router as part of the annual plan. This will set you back $133.95 for the first year, which equals $11.16 per month. This drops back to the standard price of $90.95 or a monthly price of $7.58 per month. On the 2-year plan, router protection costs $187.95 or $7.83 a month for the first term and $135.95 every two years thereafter, or $5.66 a month.

Summary

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Is Shellfire VPN Good for Streaming?

Many users choose to download a VPN for the sole purpose of accessing geo-restricted content on streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO, and more. Depending on your geographical location, you may be unable to access certain video content due to geo-restrictions or blocks. By connecting to a VPN server, you can replace your IP address with that of a server located in the same country as the content you wish to access in the hopes of unlocking it.

However, Shellfire does not offer the same standard of streaming performance as some of the best VPN providers like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark. It may enable access to Hulu, HBC, Fox, Crunchyroll, ABC, CBS, and even BBC iPlayer, although there is no support for Netflix, which will likely disappoint most users.

How Much Does Shellfire VPN Cost?

There isn’t a standard no-cost trial. Fortunately, Shellfire offers a 14-day refund guarantee, which is significantly less than the industry average. However, it is still enough time to test the product before committing to a paid plan. If you’re not happy with the service that Shellfire offers request a refund, and it will be granted swiftly, no questions asked.

There is also a free option with the VPN service, although this is less secure than the premium version with 128 encryption instead of 256 encryption. There is a speed limit of 1000Kbps, and users have access to a restricted server list with locations in just two countries (the United States and Germany).

In terms of pricing, if you want the freedom of a rolling monthly contract, you’ll be paying an expensive $9.44 a month. However, as with most VPNs, this price will drop if you commit for longer. The VPN comes in at $5.99 a month on the annual plan or $4.48 a month on the 2-year plan. This makes the VPN product one of the most expensive options on the market.

There is a decent range of payment options, including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Paysafe, and bitcoin. If you want to keep your identity as anonymous as possible online, we would recommend paying for the service with Bitcoin.

Is Shellfire VPN Secure?

Shellfire VPN offers a decent range of privacy features, although it cannot compare with some of the best VPNs regarding internet security protection. There is military-grade AES 256 encryption and the standard list of protocols, including OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP/IPSec. The Shellfire Box Wifi router operates on the secure WireGuard protocol.

Does Shellfire VPN Keep Logs?

Although Shellfire claims it doesn’t store private user information or connection logs, there is no way to confirm this. The company has not yet completed an independent security audit of its privacy policies and services, which is disappointing and concerning for privacy-conscious users that wish to remain anonymous online.

Does Shellfire VPN Have a Good Server Network?

The best VPNs will offer extensive server networks across a wide range of countries. Shellfire offers a relatively restricted network with a small number of servers and IP addresses spread across 37 countries, including the United States, Turkey, the Isle of Man, India, South Africa, and Iceland.

What is Shellfire Box VPN?

Shellfire Box VPN is Shellfire VPN’s proprietary 4K Wi-Fi router that supports video streaming in 4K and file downloads of up to 50Mbps. Using a router VPN connection will allow you to protect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously, including those that do not typically support a VPN connection, like Apple TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks, Xbox’s, Playstations, and more.

How Much Does Shellfire Box Cost?

Users can also purchase the company’s proprietary Shellfire Box VPN router as part of the 12-month subscription plan. This will cost $133.95 or $11.16 a month for the first year and $90.95 or $7.58 a month each year thereafter. There is also the option to purchase the Wi-Fi router as part of the 2-year plan. This will set you back $187.95 or $7.83 a month for the first term and $135.95 every two years or $5.66 a month thereafter.

With a Shellfire Box subscription, you’ll get encrypted internet access with military-grade 256 bit, support for 4K video streaming, protection for all of your devices, unlimited data bandwidth, servers in 37 countries, and download speeds of up to 50Mbps.

Does Shellfire VPN Offer Wide Device Support?

Shellfire VPN offers devices for the most popular devices, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. There is support for manual setup on additional devices like Linux too. However, a single subscription comes with support for just 1 simultaneous device connection. This means that you can only ever use the VPN on one device at a time. Most VPNs offer support for at least 5 simultaneous connections, so this is disappointing.

If you need to protect multiple devices with a VPN, we would recommend taking a look at Surfshark, an extremely affordable service that comes with unlimited simultaneous connections for as little as $2.49 a month.

Is Shellfire VPN Easy to Use?

The Germany-based VPN provider comes with app support for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Unfortunately, the Windows app is not well-designed and is relatively awkward to use. During testing, the app also became unresponsive, which is concerning. The Shellfire VPN apps come with a useful list of servers that display their speeds and security levels; however, there is no way to sort the server list. There is also the option to select a server location on the map, but this is also somewhat awkward to use.

Is Shellfire VPN Fast?

During a speed test, the Germany-based VPN did not surpass speeds of 14Mbps, which is extremely disappointing, and much less than most premium providers offer. Such low speeds will likely mean users will struggle to stream video content in high-definition or 4K without lagging or buffering.

Does Shellfire VPN Have Good Customer Support?

If you run into any difficulties while setting up the Shellfire VPN app, a help section available on the website. It is also possible to contact the customer support team via Facebook, Twitter, email, or web form. Many VPN services will offer 24/7 live chat; however, this is not available with Shellfire.

Is Shellfire VPN Good?

It is clear from this Shellfire VPN review that Shellfire is not the absolute best or most powerful VPN service on the market. At first glance, the VPN seems promising, but it does have a significant number of issues. The client interface is poorly designed, connections are slow and unreliable, and there’s support for just 1 simultaneous connection, much less than the industry average.

There are some positives, though; the VPN does come with a proprietary Wi-Fi router VPN, called Shellfire Box, which is useful for anyone who is not confident to install the service manually. There is a free option too, which may be handy in emergencies. However, it is necessary to note that the free tier utilizes bank-grade 128-bit encryption instead of the industry-standard AES-256 bit encryption. Overall, Shellfire is a decent VPN, but it cannot compete with other premium VPNs on the market.

Shellfire VPN Alternatives

Shellfire has quite a few issues that need to be resolved before we could suggest it as a good VPN. So, we would recommend looking at NordVPN, Cyberghost, or Surfshark, all of which perform better and come at a lower monthly cost.

Author Cliff Durward

Hi, I'm Cliff. I'm based in Cleveland, Ohio, with my wife and two kids. I have a keen interest in cybersecurity and have been writing about it for around a decade now. Due to my background in computer science, I am familiar ...
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