McAfee Secure VPN Review 2025: Is It Any Good?

McAfee Secure VPN is a good VPN for secure browsing, but that’s about it. There are honestly much better premium VPNs out there, like ExpressVPN, which is more secure, faster, better for streaming, and more.

The provider comes with all essential security features, including a kill switch, military-grade encryption, and a no-logs policy. It also maintains good speeds on nearby servers, it has a decent server network, and its apps are simple to use.

However, McAfee Secure VPN also has some drawbacks — it doesn’t work with any popular streaming sites, it allows torrenting but doesn’t say which servers support it, and its split-tunneling tool (that’s only on Android and iOS) isn’t user-friendly. Also, the provider lacks a smart TV app and doesn’t offer router support.

McAfee Secure VPN is available as a standalone purchase, but it’s better to get it as part of the antivirus bundles — this way, you also get access to a very good antivirus program. McAfee Secure VPN is included in all of McAfee Total Protection’s deals (Ultimate, Advanced, Premium, and Essential). The VPN also backs all long-term purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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McAfee Secure VPN Full Review — Fine for Browsing, but It’s Pretty Basic

I spent the past weeks testing and researching McAfee Secure VPN to see how it compares to other top VPNs on the market — it’s a pretty basic VPN that’s only good for securely surfing the web.

I like that the VPN comes with all essential VPN security features, thus ensuring it can protect your web data. I also like how it has split-tunneling — even though it’s only available on Android (and it’s somewhat inconvenient to use).

That being said, McAfee Secure VPN falls short when compared to other top competitors — for example, ExpressVPN provides access to way more extra features, also works with 100+ streaming sites (McAfee Secure VPN doesn’t work with any streaming services), and has the fastest speeds out there.

McAfee Secure VPN Plans & Pricing — Best Purchased as Part of a McAfee Antivirus Bundle

McAfee Secure VPN has several yearly deals starting at $3.33 / month — all of which allow 5 connections. That’s on the lower end of the industry average of 5–10 connections, so it’s not too impressive — top competitors like Private Internet Access and Surfshark allow unlimited connections, for example.

It’s available as a standalone purchase, but I recommend getting it as part of the antivirus bundles, which begin at $39.99 / year. This way, you also get access to McAfee Antivirus, which is one of the best antivirus services on the market. So, you get to secure your web traffic and also protect your device against malware.

McAfee Secure VPN accepts credit/debit cards and PayPal (payment options may differ depending on your region). I think it’s a shame it doesn’t also accept cryptocurrency payments, as they provide better privacy than standard payment methods.

The provider backs all long-term purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee. In addition, it also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for automatic renewals, which is double the timeframe most other VPNs offer.

Overall, I recommend getting McAfee Secure VPN bundled together with McAfee’s antivirus, as you get better value that way.

McAfee Secure VPN Features — All the Basics, but It Lacks Advanced Security Features

McAfee Secure VPN has the following industry-standard VPN security features:

• 256-bit AES encryption. This makes your VPN traffic 100% unreadable so that nobody can spy on it. The provider uses the same level of encryption that the banks and the military use.
• No-logs policy. The VPN doesn’t collect your device’s IP address or web traffic (the websites you browse, or the files you download).
• Kill switch. This feature disables web traffic if the VPN connection drops to stop your data from leaking outside of the VPN tunnel. All of McAfee Secure VPN’s apps come with a kill switch (it’s called Safe Reconnect).

This VPN offers the WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols on Android and iOS — these are 2 of the best VPN protocols for speeds and security. However, on its Windows app, you’re stuck with just WireGuard. Pretty much all the top VPNs on the market have multiple protocols on their desktop apps, which gives you more flexibility.

The reps also couldn’t tell me what leak protection the VPN has. I ran leak tests on servers in 10+ countries and didn’t notice any IPv6, DNS, or WebRTC leaks, which is good, but I’d still like for the VPN to clearly state what kind of built-in leak protection it has.

Customer support also told me that the VPN doesn’t have advanced security features, like perfect forward secrecy (changes the encryption key for each VPN session) or RAM-only servers, which ensure that each server reset wipes all data.

McAfee Secure VPN has split-tunneling, which lets you pick which apps use or don’t use the VPN connection. However, the feature is only available on iOS and Android, and it’s not that convenient to use.

My main complaint is that the split-tunneling tool bundles system apps with third-party apps — for example, it gives me the option to split-tunnel my smartphone’s calculator and calendar apps. That’s a bit annoying, as it forces me to scroll through a long list of apps to find the third-party apps I want to split-tunnel.

To be honest, Private Internet Access has a much better split-tunneling feature. It’s available on more platforms (Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux), and it lets you split-tunnel both apps and websites.

Overall, McAfee Secure VPN provides good security, as it has all industry-standard security features. It’s a shame the VPN only gives you 1 VPN protocol on Windows and doesn’t come with advanced security features. Also, it comes with split-tunneling, but it’s not that great.

McAfee Secure VPN Privacy & Security — No Logs VPN, but It Hasn’t Been Audited + Unclear Privacy Policy

McAfee Secure VPN claims to have a no-logs policy — it doesn’t log your IP address or web traffic (the sites you browse). It also doesn’t collect your bandwidth usage and connection timestamps. It only collects your email address, which it requires when you sign up and communicate with you.

The provider’s no-logs policy hasn’t been audited though, which means that you’re placing your trust in its word. Most top competitors (like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access) have had their no-logs policies independently audited and confirmed. Additionally, its privacy policy is non-VPN specific — it doesn’t provide information about what data McAfee Secure VPN does or doesn’t collect.

McAfee Secure VPN is headquartered in the US, which is a part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of counties that share surveillance data with each other). This is a bit concerning, considering the lack of evidence that McAfee Secure VPN truly doesn’t log any user data.

Overall, it’s difficult to trust McAfee Secure VPN’s no-logs policy because it hasn’t been independently audited, and its privacy policy is very unclear.

McAfee Secure VPN Speed & Performance — Good Speeds on All Servers

I ran speed tests in all 48 countries where McAfee Secure VPN has a server to determine my average VPN connection speeds. First, I started with a speed test without being connected to the VPN to see what my baseline speeds were. After that, I connected to a local server in my country (Romania). Here are my speeds:

Next, I tested my speeds while connected to a distant server in the US. These are my speeds:

When I tested a local server, I maintained pretty good connection speeds. All the sites I accessed loaded instantly, and HD videos loaded instantly, too. I also watched a few 4K videos, and they loaded in less than 2 seconds (and didn’t buffer at the start).

My speeds remained good on distant servers too, though they were noticeably slower than on nearby servers. When I browsed websites, most of them took around 2 seconds to fully load. Also, HD videos loaded instantly, but 4K videos took around 4 seconds to load (and there was minor buffering when I skipped through them).

Overall, McAfee Secure VPN maintains good speeds on both nearby and distant servers, though you might experience some minor slowdowns on distant servers. If that’s a deal-breaker for you, just get ExpressVPN instead since it’s the fastest VPN on the market.

McAfee Secure VPN Servers & IP Addresses — Decent-Sized Network, but Poor Torrenting Support

McAfee Secure VPN has servers in 48 countries. The provider doesn’t disclose the total number of VPN servers — I asked the support reps about this, but they told me they don’t have access to this information.

The provider has servers in most parts of the world, so a majority of users will be able to connect to a nearby server location to get fast speeds. If you think the number of locations is too small, I recommend getting ExpressVPN, which offers servers in 105 countries.

McAfee Secure VPN’s servers support torrenting, but the provider sadly doesn’t say which servers are optimized for P2P downloads. The reps told me that the P2P servers are pretty random, and they change often. This is annoying, as most top VPNs either allow torrenting on all servers or clearly say which servers allow and don’t allow torrenting.

Overall, McAfee Secure VPN has a medium-sized server network, but I don’t like how it fails to specify which servers allow torrenting.

McAfee Secure VPN Streaming & Torrenting — Not Great for Either

I don’t recommend using McAfee Secure VPN for streaming. The VPN isn’t compatible with any top streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or BBC iPlayer. If you’re interested in streaming with a VPN, just get ExpressVPN since it works with 100+ streaming platforms.

While McAfee Secure VPN allows torrenting, it doesn’t say which servers support it. I tested 5 different countries, and they all allowed me to download torrents, but the provider’s support reps told me that the P2P support is “random”. By that, they mean that some servers allow torrenting, while others don’t, and that this might change at any time. Also, the reps said they can’t say which specific servers support torrenting.

To be honest, there are significantly better P2P VPNs out here. Private Internet Access, for example, allows P2P downloads on all servers that are located in 91 countries — plus, it also has additional P2P-related features (port forwarding and SOCKS5 proxies) that might boost your torrenting speeds

Overall, McAfee Secure VPN isn’t good for streaming, and it’s only decent for torrenting. It’s not compatible with top streaming platforms, and it doesn’t say which servers allow torrenting (so you need to test them one by one, which is inconvenient).

McAfee Secure VPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps — User-Friendly

McAfee Secure VPN only has apps for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. This is pretty limited, as most top competitors work on more platforms — for example, ExpressVPN also has apps for smart TVs and even routers.

I downloaded and installed the Android app on my smartphone. It’s easy to install and use, and it’s more feature-rich than the Windows app since it comes with split-tunneling and lets you change your VPN protocol.

I also installed the Windows app on my Windows 10 PC. It’s simple to navigate, and I like that it has a quick-connect feature that automatically connects you to the fastest server for your location. Plus, there are explanations available for the (very few) settings and features that the app has.

Overall, McAfee Secure VPN has user-friendly apps, but the cross-platform support is very limited (it only has apps for iOS, Android, and Windows).

McAfee Secure VPN Customer Support — Good Support Library & Reps Are Friendly but Lack Knowledge

McAfee Secure VPN’s customer support is just OK. You get access to multiple support channels, including a support library, 24/7 live chat support, email support, and even phone support (not a lot of VPNs have this).

The provider’s support library is pretty good. It provides access to setup guides, troubleshooting articles, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Most of the guides are easy to follow, and I like that there are also video tutorials available for some topics.

I tried out the VPN’s live chat support multiple times. You have to fight your way past a useless chat bot to talk to a real person, and it kept trying to get me to call support instead. I also found that the reps can only answer really basic VPN-related questions. For example, they can’t answer questions about the type of leak protection the VPN offers, how the P2P support works, or if the service uses perfect forward secrecy.

Email support is also available, though you won’t be able to use it directly. Instead, the live chat reps might redirect you to email support sometimes. The email reps reply in under 24 hours, but they’re too only able to answer basic VPN questions.

McAfee Secure VPN also offers 24/7 phone support in 60+ countries, which is really good. The phone support is available in the US, so my colleague who lives there tested it out — he told me it’s pretty good, as the reps answer fast and are friendly. But just like with live chat and email support, they can only answer basic VPN questions.

Is McAfee Secure VPN Secure & User-Friendly in 2025?

McAfee Secure VPN is good for basic and secure web browsing, as it comes with all industry-standard security features (a kill switch, a no-logs policy, and 256-bit AES encryption). It also has a decent server network and good speeds on nearby servers, and it comes with apps that are simple to use.

However, the provider has some issues I can’t ignore. For starters, it’s not compatible with any popular streaming platforms, like Netflix or BBC iPlayer. What’s more, it has P2P support but it doesn’t say which servers allow torrenting. In addition, split-tunneling is only available on Android and iOS, and it’s inconvenient to use. Finally, it lacks a smart TV app and router support.

McAfee Secure VPN is available as a standalone purchase — but I honestly recommend getting it as part of McAfee Antivirus’s bundles since you also get access to a really good antivirus this way. All long-term purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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