EchoTunnel
EchoTunnel is a small, independent VPN that keeps things deliberately simple: WireGuard by default, a working kill switch, and clean apps on the major platforms. It performs well on nearby servers and is priced aggressively on long plans, but it lacks the independent no-logs audit, server footprint and streaming muscle of the established names. Reasonable for everyday privacy on public Wi-Fi; not the pick if unblocking libraries or obfuscation in China is your priority.
The cryptography is standard and modern: WireGuard with ChaCha20 for daily use, OpenVPN with AES-256-GCM as a fallback for restrictive networks. EchoTunnel advertises a no-logs policy, RAM-only servers and its own DNS resolvers, and our leak tests on Windows and Android showed no DNS, IPv4 or IPv6 exposure with the kill switch armed. The gap is verification — there's no third-party audit or transparency report to back the policy, which is the main reason it scores below the audited majors. Anonymous signup and crypto payments help if you'd rather not tie an identity to the account.
WireGuard does the heavy lifting here, and on servers within a few hundred miles we typically saw 80-90% of an unprotected gigabit line retained — enough that streaming and large downloads feel unaffected. Latency on nearby endpoints stayed low enough for casual online gaming, usually in the 10-25 ms added range. Long-haul hops are where the small network shows: transpacific and South American routes were noticeably slower and more variable, with fewer alternative servers to switch to when one is busy.
The monthly plan is unremarkable value, but the two-year deal lands in the budget tier at roughly $3 per month, which is where EchoTunnel makes its case. Eight connections and unlimited bandwidth are included at every tier, with no artificial feature gating between plans. There's a 30-day refund window and a free trial on mobile via the app stores, but no permanent free plan. If you only want a month or two, the discount math doesn't work in your favour.
The apps are stripped back in a good way: one connect button, a searchable server list with ping indicators, and a settings page that fits on a single screen. Windows and Android get the fullest feature set including split tunneling; the macOS and iOS clients are simpler, and the Linux client is a command-line tool rather than a GUI. There's no router firmware or browser extension, so covering a TV or console means manual OpenVPN configuration or sharing a connection from a PC.
EchoTunnel states it keeps no connection or activity logs and runs its servers in RAM-only mode. That claim has not been verified by an independent audit, so you're relying on the provider's word rather than third-party evidence.
Inconsistently. Some US and UK servers unblocked Netflix during testing while others returned proxy errors, and BBC iPlayer was largely blocked. If streaming is your main reason for buying a VPN, a provider with dedicated streaming servers is a safer bet.
Yes, within limits. P2P is allowed on marked servers, speeds are strong via WireGuard, and port forwarding is available in a handful of locations. The kill switch held up in our tests, which matters most for torrent clients.
Not reliably. There are no obfuscated or stealth protocol options, so standard WireGuard and OpenVPN traffic is easy for deep packet inspection to identify and block.
Eight simultaneous connections on every plan, which covers a typical household of phones and laptops without needing a second subscription.
No permanent free tier. You get a short mobile trial through the App Store and Google Play plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans.