AdGuard VPN Review
Community-sourced VPN review based on real Reddit & Twitter discussions
AdGuard VPN gets talked about a lot in the same breath as AdGuard’s ad blocker, and that’s really where it shines: it’s easy to turn on and forget, and people like how it pairs with ad blocking and DN...
What the Community Says
AdGuard VPN gets talked about a lot in the same breath as AdGuard’s ad blocker, and that’s really where it shines: it’s easy to turn on and forget, and people like how it pairs with ad blocking and DNS filtering. Some folks also like the idea behind its TrustTunnel protocol, which is meant to make your traffic blend in more like normal HTTPS—handy if you care about privacy or dealing with censorship. If you already use AdGuard (or AdGuard Home on your router), it can feel like a clean, all-in-one setup.
The biggest complaints are about reliability and performance—slow speeds for some people (especially on mobile data), app crashes, and annoying connectivity quirks on Android setups. iPhone users also call out battery drain, and there’s frustration around marketing promises (like availability in certain countries) and calls for clearer independent auditing. Another common theme: it may not play nicely with other VPN apps, so it can feel a bit “use our VPN or nothing” if you rely on a different VPN provider.
Strengths
- Easy to use day-to-day
- Pairs well with AdGuard ad blocking
- Strong DNS filtering options
- Useful for censorship-heavy networks
- Works nicely with AdGuard Home/router setups
Weaknesses
- Slow speeds for some people
- Battery drain complaints on iOS
- Crashes and connectivity issues (especially Android)
- Doesn’t play nicely with other VPN apps
- Trust and auditing questions
Summary generated 1 week ago from 78 community mentions
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Reviews about "Privacy"
27 reviews">their apps are not open source, I feel like I can't trust them. Closed-source doesn't automatically mean something is untrustworthy, just like open-source stuff doesn't automatically mean something is trustworthy. Open-source stuff ca..."
"I just set the DNS on my devices to point to the AdGuard DoH/DoT servers. No apps and no subscription (I don't have any need to customize it, or track whatever stats they provide). As far as being open source is concerned, while that is pr..."
"Popular apps & platforms are waaaay more scrutinised, open source or not (it does not matter in some communities since inspection is not illegal), than open source apps that have a user base of some hundreds of thousands or some million..."
"TrustTunnel: AdGuard macht sein VPN-Protokoll Open Source Images: https://external-preview.redd.it/jlNi8u58zLNYPx46thje8FnSaH5t3zRjDJZgzUoULKw.jpeg?auto=webp&s=68591546ab9802a53d847be208e72714b32890aa "
"AdGuard VPN goes open-source with TrustTunnel, a custom protocol that can mimic regular web traffic. The technology is now available for developers to use, tweak, and build upon, marking a significant step toward more accessible privacy tools. https://t.co/NhsMm5tVTc"
"@raaxwel @T3chFalcon @AdGuard_VPN lets you use a VPN and adblocker"
"Can we trust AdGuard? I've seen AdGuard being recommended quite a bit for blocking ads and trackers. Therefore I'm thinking about buying an AdGuard Premium license and using their apps on all my devices (mobile and desktop). However, sin..."
"Firefox browser Then adguard, ublock, and id recommend adding a third one of your choice I also suggest sponsorblock, privacy badger, and ghostery, plus getting a VPN, so far proton has been the best free option"
"This. I have the flint 3 and love this router. Run it with adguard home and nextdns and alot of devices and its super fast"
"I mean most companies straight mine on your computer by various modules. Either be a database update, and you think "Yeah, am safe" or OS on, by masking options, so on. Norton Crypto was the most honest when they said "We mine, nobody wins"..."
"Best alternative, don't use cloud based "assistants". Switch to a more privacy based phone OS like GrapheneOS ETA: also ditch Microsoft windows and find a flavor of Linux that suits you. Ditch all Google (gmail, chrome google search YouT..."
"Unfortunately a VPN doesn't help when you visit the same sites and use your same logins. Without setting up a public DNS on your device, like adguard DNS or cloudflares DNS, your ISP can still figure out where youre going as you are using t..."
"...------- You seem experienced so this shouldn't take you too long to set up. - local DNS (Pihole, AdGuard, etc) - wildcard for your different servers/ domains - reverse proxy for your services - can buy a cheap domain to get the re..."
"@typecraft_dev private vpn, ci worker, pinhole/adguard home"
"@ProtonVPN Chat, I don't use VPN, I am cooked? (I do use Adguard DNS tho)"
"@NordVPN Too bad it's not available on Android. Android users are stuck with very poor protection using the standard threat protection forcing the need to use private DNS to get real protection. Epic fail! #Nextdns #adguarddns #controld"
"@wzardkaka @X pake private connection dns adguard & vpn udah belum?"
"@_V3C7 @uwukko Running your own DNS server with VPN forwarding is a great privacy setup. What DNS software are you using in your homelab - Pi-hole, AdGuard, or something else?"
"@OPPOSITETIMELIN @raaxwel @T3chFalcon @AdGuard_VPN Oh thanks... Maybe a "silly Netshield" can do the same if you use their DNS"
"@brave @brave Please allow extensions Brave Sheilds + Adguard extension + Ublock extension + proton vpn extension."
"@ForeverScept Mullvad + ad guard dns + starlink = privacy, freedom and no ads"
"Decided to fully torture a Raspberry Pi 3 😄 WireGuard + self-hosted AdGuard DNS Ads and trackers blocked, all traffic routed through VPN How did you spend January 1st? https://t.co/4NGz9eubQ1"
"Definitely a big step. Many providers are black listing ADguard IPs. Can we get more IPs and rotating feature? Also independent audit will help people to trust ADguard much better"
"Oh, by the way, when are Adguard vpn going to follow through on that promise of a Also independent audit?"
"[Android] Connectivity issues when using Adguard via VPN-Tunnel to my home network A decent while ago, I set up Adguard as a Raspberry Pi-install and used a WireGuard VPN-Tunnel to my Router (a FritzBox) to route my phone traffic through t..."
"um isn’t Adguard the formerly Russian company, now headquartered in Cyprus? I personally chose NextDNS"
"Adguard ADVERTISES more. Doesn’t mean it’s better. Suggest reviewing the Hagezi block lists which includes a cut down version identical to Adguard. Since you can run these a ton of ways FOR FREE, why pay a subscription? Second, DNS bl..."