CyberGhost vs Atlas VPN: Which wins?

Comparing the multitude of VPNs on the market can be confusing. Slick marketing makes a VPN seem impressive, particularly when it claims to offer the fastest speeds or strongest security. It’s unrealistic for you to try them all, so we’ve done it for you. Below, we’ll compare CyberGhost and Atlas VPN, letting you know exactly what each has to offer.

We’ve tested dozens of VPNs and CyberGhost and Atlas VPN are among the very best. In this post, you can read our findings regarding pricing, performance, security, support speed, and more. By breaking everything down into easy-to-digest sections complete with side-by-side comparison tables, we hope to make the decision a little less daunting.

Our team performed an exhaustive analysis of what these VPNs had to offer. Here’s what they found:

Summary: CyberGhost vs AtlasVPN

CyberGhost vs Atlas VPN pricing

CyberGhost and Atlas VPN aren’t too far apart price-wise. Indeed, both VPNs offer monthly and annual subscriptions. CyberGhost is slightly the more expensive of the two. A single month is priced at $12.99 USD compared to the $11.99 of Atlas VPN.

It’s normal that the shorter the commitment, the more you can expect to pay per month. The biggest savings come with the multi-year plans. Both VPNs have long-term subscription options with savings of over 80 percent. This works out at $2.19 a month (for 26 months) in the case of CyberGhost, while with Atlas VPN, you can get two and a half years of coverage for just $49.21 — that works out at just $1.64 a month.

Regardless of the Atlas VPN plan you choose, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it risk-free. CyberGhost’s money-back guarantee is even longer at 45 days. However, it only offers 14 days for its one-month plan.

Best Deal for CyberGhost:Get an 83 percent discount and an extra three months free with CyberGhost’s three year plan. This equates to $2.11 a month.

Best Deal for Atlas VPN:Pay only $1.82 a month at a saving of 83 percent when you choose the Atlas VPN two year subscription plan.

CyberGhost vs Atlas VPN features

The vast majority of VPNs make apps for desktop and mobile. CyberGhost and Atlas VPN are no exception. As such, you’ll have the option of downloading and installing the VPN on your Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. In fact, both VPN services have apps for Amazon Fire TV and Android TV as well as a command-line app for Linux.

If you’d like to use CyberGhost with your wifi router, you’ll have to set this up manually. Atlas VPN, however, doesn’t support routers at all for the time being. While only CyberGhost has browser extensions (available for Chrome and Firefox), Atlas VPN has MultiHop (Double VPN) servers. This security feature routes your data through two locations for an extra layer of encryption.

You’ll also find that both VPNs provide an ad blocker at no extra cost. CyberGhost even has its own private browser, which is free for all users. Another feature the two VPNs have in common is split tunneling (available on the Android app in both cases). With it, you can choose which apps can bypass the VPN connection and use your ISP’s default gateway.

Netflix and streaming comparison

You’ve probably noticed that there are times when you can’t access certain websites and services due to your location, particularly when you’re abroad on vacation. Geographic restrictions are nothing new and are particularly common among streaming services that must comply with copyright and licensing agreements.

With a VPN, you can change your IP address and make it appear as if you’re accessing content from the location in which it’s accessible. The good news is that CyberGhost and Atlas VPN are great for streaming. In fact, they each offer streaming-optimized servers, though CyberGhost has a slight edge here. That’s because it specifically tells you which services each works with.

In our latest testing, both VPNs securely accessed multiple Netflix libraries including Netflix US. They also worked with the likes of Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+.

Which of these VPNs work in China?

According to the Freedom on the Net 2023 report by Freedom House, China is “the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom” and has been for nearly a decade. The Great Firewall of China is highly sophisticated and has many methods to ensure users can’t access certain content. This includes IP address blocking and URL filtering.

If you try to access the websites of CyberGhost or Atlas VPN (or indeed almost any major VPN) in China, you’ll find them to be blocked. Furthermore, neither VPN is a reliable option for browsing safely in the country. If you need a VPN that consistently works in China, take a look at our best VPNs for China. Remember that you’ll need to download and install them ahead of your arrival.

Setup and interface

We’re big fans of each provider’s apps. They’re both very clean, with searchable server lists and the ability to connect in a single click. Equally important, the settings menus are neatly-divided into tabs, making it as easy as possible to find whatever you’re looking for.

CyberGhost takes the hassle out of choosing a server by telling you exactly which task each is best suited for. If you want to watch TV, just pick a streaming server. For P2P activity, choose a torrenting server. Easy. It also provides a few important details about your connection including your new IP address and how much data you’ve used.

Atlas VPN makes things even simpler. It has a stripped back settings menu that gives you a good level of control without ever being overwhelming. Additionally, the server list is split into a few different categories, making it easy to find one that’ll fit your needs.

The mobile apps are near-identical to their desktop versions, albeit with a slightly different interface. There’s no expandable menu in this case with CyberGhost and Atlas VPN offers a footer menu instead of a fixed side menu. Either way, they’re certainly mobile-friendly and accessing settings can be done in a couple of clicks. The various options can mostly be quickly toggled on and off.

Servers and performance

There’s a huge difference between CyberGhost and Atlas VPN here. CyberGhost has more than 10 times as many servers as its rival and covers twice as many countries. In fact, it has one of the largest networks of any major provider. AtlasVPN does offer servers in all of the most popular locations, though, and even some less-common places like the UAE.

Here’s a full list of where you can find CyberGhost and Atlas VPN servers:

With CyberGhost, you’ll be able to access more content while traveling abroad thanks to the higher number of server locations. You also shouldn’t have any trouble finding a low load server regardless of the country selected. Performance-wise, both VPNs are among the fastest VPNs we’ve tested. While both offer unlimited bandwidth and allow for HD and even 4K streaming, CyberGhost is the faster of the two. We recorded average speeds of 296 Mbps in our most recent tests compared to 270 Mbps for Atlas VPN).

Security

CyberGhost and Atlas VPN have pretty similar security offerings. For example, both support WireGuard and IKEV2, offer 256-bit AES encryption with RSA-4096 keys, and a kill switch. This last feature cuts your internet traffic and prevents data from being exposed should the VPN connection fail.

That said, each provider has a couple of extra tricks up its sleeve. CyberGhost can send your data over a random port, helping you browse securely on networks that normally block VPN traffic outright. It also lets you create smart rules that connect to specific servers in specific situations.

AtlasVPN, meanwhile, has automatic ad and tracker-blocking, a built-in data breach monitor, and Privacy Pro servers that’ll change your IP address periodically.

Privacy

Just because a VPN offers security features doesn’t guarantee it fully protects your privacy. Indeed, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. For example, the country in which the VPN is headquartered or incorporated. CyberGhost is headquartered in Romania due to it not having any mandatory data retention laws. Atlas VPN operates out of the US, which is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

Both VPNs operate no-logs policies. Neither CyberGhost nor Atlas VPN keep logs by which you can be identified as a user. Your IP address and browsing activity are not recorded and stay private. Both keep minimal connection logs (connection attempts) but this isn’t uncommon. Further, you don’t need to provide much personal information to sign up with either VPN service — only an email address. This could even be a burner account.

Unlike some VPN providers, CyberGhost and Atlas VPN each offer an anonymous payment option. You can pay in Bitcoin with either, although Atlas VPN also accepts Ethereum and Ripple. If you use a Bitcoin mixer/tumbler, you can maintain anonymity by ensuring the funds can’t be tracked back to you.

Customer Service

One of the many advantages quality paid VPN services have over free VPNs is that they offer customer support. In the case of both CyberGhost and Atlas VPN, there’s live chat and email support. AtlasVPN’s live chat is only accessible with a paid subscription. Neither provider has phone support; very few VPNs offer it.

It may be that you prefer to find the answer yourself, in which case, you can use the searchable knowledge bases provided by both VPNs. CyberGhost’s help section is far more extensive, but both include setup guides, troubleshooting sections, and FAQs. CyberGhost and Atlas VPN also have YouTube channels with video tutorials, although it has been over a year since either posted a video. Of the two, CyberGhost has more content on offer.

The Winner: CyberGhost

CyberGhost and Atlas VPN are among the best VPNs we’ve tested. If you choose Atlas VPN, you’ll benefit from MultiHop servers, an unlimited simultaneous connection allowance, faster email support, and more affordable subscription plans. Despite this, it’s CyberGhost that comes out on top.

With CyberGhost, you have access to a much larger network of servers (approximately 11,000 in 100 countries). It’s also slightly faster, making it the best option for streaming, torrenting and gaming online. There are also more extras included with your subscription such as Chrome and Firefox browser extensions, as well as router support. CyberGhost offers a longer money-back guarantee of 45 days, which is plenty of time to try it risk-free.

See also:

• ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost
• NordVPN vs CyberGhost
• Surfshark vs AtlasVPN

Methodology: How we compared CyberGhost and AtlasVPN

CyberGhost and AtlasVPN are both leading providers, so picking a winner was remarkably difficult. To ensure we created as fair a comparison as possible, we decided to examine each area of their operation in minute detail, from their speeds to their streaming ability to their audit history. Here are some of the things we looked into:

• Network scale: We checked the number of available servers and locations. These determine which content you can access. Additionally, we looked into whether either provider used virtual servers, since this changes which data-protection legislation applies.
• Performance: VPNs are constantly upgrading their servers to provide peak performance. We run speed tests to track these improvements, testing three locations at multiple times of day, then averaging the results to get the most representative speed.
• Security and privacy: We look into every aspect of a VPN’s security, starting with making sure they’re using up-to-date protocols and encryption standards. We also look for kill switches, leak protection, no-logs policies, and evidence of independent audits.
• Versatility: We check to see if providers are suitable for video calling, torrenting, gaming, and accessing platforms like Max, Disney Plus, and BBC iPlayer.
• Ease of use: The more welcoming a service is to newcomers, the better. Features like task-specific servers, 24/7 support, and a wide range of apps all contribute to this. We also like to see extensive help sections and a total lack of connection limits.
• Price: To make sure you pay as little as possible, our team looks into any long-term discounts, free trials, or money-back guarantees that a service might offer. We don’t just consider the cheapest price, but also which VPN provides the most features for your money.

If you’d like to learn more about how we put VPNs to the test, check out our full methodology post.

CyberGhost and AtlasVPN: FAQs

See also:

• NordVPN vs CyberGhost
• ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost
• ProtonVPN vs AtlasVPN
• PrivateVPN vs AtlasVPN