Offbeat browser Opera has recently expanded its growing list of capabilities with an affordable VPN option. Unlike Opera's free VPN, Opera VPN Pro can secure all of your machine's web traffic. However, it requires you to install and use the Opera browser just to control it, and it lacks features we've come to expect from the best VPNs. It's a decent—if limited—choice for existing Opera browser users. But if you're looking for an excellent VPN and not a browser, you'll be far better served with Proton VPN, our overall Editors' Choice winner for VPNs and free VPNs.
How Much Does Opera VPN Pro Cost?
At launch, Opera VPN Pro's most attractive aspect was its price of just $5.99 per month. That has since risen to $7.99 per month. Although it's still significantly cheaper than the $10.03 monthly average we've seen among the VPNs we track, that's a steep price hike—especially compared with the 5-euro-per-month ($5.49 at the time of writing) Editors' Choice winner Mullvad VPN.
Opera VPN Pro is available at reduced rates with long-term subscriptions, as are most VPNs. Those have also seen hefty increases, however. An annual subscription with Opera now costs $47.88—a big jump over its previous sub-$30 price. It's worth noting that this is still well below the $66.95 average we've seen for VPN annual plans. Opera also offers a six-month VPN Pro subscription for $29.94. An Opera representative told us that all plans renew at the same price, so there's no slippery introductory pricing to worry about.
While long-term subscriptions save you money, we caution against starting with one. Instead, we recommend choosing the shortest possible subscription so you can test the VPN in your own home. If everything goes smoothly, you can upgrade your subscription later.
Similar Products
Despite the higher price, Opera VPN Pro is not only still one of the cheapest VPNs we've reviewed, but it is also free to use. Using Opera VPN’s free tier limits your choice of servers, however, and the service only routes your Opera browser traffic through the VPN connection—nothing else is protected. Free users can also only select servers in broad areas—Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
It's a simple and convenient free option, but there are other free VPNs worth considering. TunnelBear VPN lets you connect an unlimited number of devices and use any of its worldwide server networks for free, but it limits you to 500MB of data per month. (This can be raised to 1.5GB by participating in promotions.) Proton VPN is our top pick for free VPNs because it places no limit on the amount of data free subscribers can consume. Opera's free VPN also allows unlimited data, making it more alluring.
Although its price is attractive, we found it difficult to purchase Opera VPN Pro. To buy a subscription, you either need to download and install the Opera browser or visit a special site with the Android browser. This focus on the browser is a running theme for Opera VPN Pro—and not always a good one. Note that while you can also buy Opera VPN Pro for MacOS, only the free version is available for the iPhone.
You can purchase Opera VPN Pro with any major credit card. Other VPN services provide more privacy-respecting purchase options. Editors' Choice winners IVPN and Mullvad VPN both let you purchase their products by sending cash to their respective HQs, for example.
What Do You Get for Your Money With Opera VPN Pro?
When you switch on a VPN, all your web traffic is encrypted and routed to a server operated by the VPN service. This means that your ISP can't see anything you do online, nor can anyone else who is snooping on your connection. It also hides your true IP address, which makes it harder to track your online movements and can stymie attempts to divine your physical location as well. All VPNs do this, so we examine what else each VPN provides to differentiate them.
The best VPNs we've reviewed provide multi-hop connections, which route VPN traffic through a second VPN server for additional security. A few VPNs also offer direct access to the free Tor anonymization network. Opera VPN Pro has neither of these features, but it's clear that—for better or worse—Opera VPN Pro is built around convenience rather than feature parity with the competition. Editors' Choice winners NordVPN and Proton VPN are two of the small group of VPN services that offer both these rarely seen features.
Nearly every VPN we've reviewed includes a Kill Switch. This blocks any web traffic into or out of your computer in the event the VPN is disconnected. That way, you can be assured none of your data sneaks out unencrypted. Opera VPN Pro is notable in that it does not have this feature, which is curious. It does, however, include a setting to automatically reconnect if the VPN disconnects. This is useful, but we’d like to see a true Kill Switch included, too.
Confusingly, the free version of Opera VPN does provide split tunneling, which lets you send traffic to and from apps or domains outside the VPN connection, but Opera VPN Pro does not. The free Opera VPN lets you set bypass rules so specific domains will not use the VPN connection. The company explained that because Opera VPN Pro encrypts all device traffic, while the free VPN only encrypts Opera browser traffic, the feature isn't applicable. We disagree, and we'd like to see Opera VPN Pro add split tunneling.
With an Opera VPN Pro subscription, you can connect up to six devices simultaneously. That's a bit higher than the average of five simultaneous connections we see across the industry. However, some VPNs have abandoned this limitation entirely. Avira Phantom VPN, IPVanish VPN, as well as Editors' Choice winners Surfshark VPN and TunnelBear VPN, place no limit on how many devices you connect at a time.
(Editors' Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company.)
Many VPN apps are now part of larger collections of privacy and security tools, whether it's established antivirus companies adding VPNs to their suites or VPN companies expanding into new territory. Surfshark VPN and NordVPN both offer their own antivirus tools, and Proton VPN gives customers access to secure email and calendar, with secure file storage and a password manager available as well. Opera VPN Pro is tightly integrated into its browser, which includes built-in ad and tracker blocking, in addition to a number of unique features.
VPNs are useful tools for improving your privacy, but they won't protect against every threat. We strongly recommend readers enable multi-factor authentication wherever it is available, use a password manager to create unique and complex passwords for all accounts, and use standalone antivirus software on their machines.
![What Is Two-Factor Authentication?](https://zmgvideos.mashable.com/cms/2019/5/4e8cd2c5-8eec-cb8a/uploaded_thumbnail.jpg)
What VPN Protocols Does Opera VPN Pro Offer?
Opera VPN Pro creates VPN connections on Windows and macOS using the IPSec protocol. On Android, Opera uses either IPSec or OpenVPN. On iOS, Opera VPN Pro uses the WireGuard protocol.
OpenVPN has long been our preferred choice among VPN protocols, as it is open-source and can be examined for any vulnerabilities. WireGuard is the open-source heir apparent to OpenVPN and has seen wide adoption across VPN services. We'd like to see Opera add support for OpenVPN and WireGuard more widely across its platforms.
Opera VPN Pro's Servers and Server Locations
Opera VPN Pro provides servers in 33 countries around the world, which is quite a bit below the 52-country average we've seen across the VPNs we’ve tested. Note, however, that if you are using the free desktop browser VPN, you only have access to three locations.
We are disappointed to see that the choice of countries is not geographically diverse. There are no servers in South America or Africa, two entire continents often ignored by VPN services. Opera VPN Pro does provide servers in Hong Kong and some regions with repressive internet policies, such as Turkey. It does not provide servers in Russia or Ukraine.
Because of its slate of server locations, it's probably not well suited for world travelers or anyone who needs to appear as if they are in specific locations around the globe. HMA VPN, notably, offers servers in 190 countries, but it relies heavily on virtual locations to accomplish that feat.
Some VPN services use virtual servers, where a single hardware server hosts multiple virtual ones, or virtual locations, where a server is configured to appear someplace other than its physical location. Neither is inherently problematic, but we like to see transparency about how companies use each of them. A representative from Opera told us that all of Opera VPN's servers, both free and Pro, are physically located where they claim to be. We were also told that Opera VPN only uses physical servers, not virtual ones.
Like many companies adding a VPN to an existing product, Opera has had help with its VPN infrastructure. Free members use servers owned and operated by Opera itself, while VPN Pro subscribers use NordVPN's servers. We've reviewed NordVPN many times over the years and have been satisfied with the efforts the company has taken to secure its infrastructure and protect its customers' privacy.
Some companies, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN, use diskless or RAM-only servers. These are servers configured to save nothing to disk, and all the data they do hold is lost should someone attempt to physically remove the machine. A company representative told us that Opera VPN only processes user traffic in RAM, does not write any of this information to disk, and uses "strong encryption standards" to secure its infrastructure.
How Does Opera VPN Pro Protect Your Privacy?
Opera VPN Pro’s privacy situation is a little more complicated than that of VPN services. To use the Opera VPN, you must install the Opera browser, which includes numerous other features, all of which can affect your privacy in different ways.
First, let's look at what we know about the company's privacy policy as it relates to the VPN alone. In this policy, Opera says it does not log the sites you visit or any of your online traffic or activities, nor does it log your originating IP address. This is true for both free and VPN Pro customers. An Opera representative confirmed this to us as well and said that the company does not monetize its VPN traffic. That's as it should be.
The policy goes on to acknowledge that the infrastructure for VPN Pro is operated by a third party, which we were told is NordVPN. The company explains that NordVPN only receives a random identifier in order for customers to access its infrastructure but does not have access to any other user information.
Opera is owned by the company Opera Norway AS and is headquartered in Norway. It operates under Norwegian law. NordVPN, for its part, operates under Panamanian law. Opera does not issue a transparency report to disclose its interactions with law enforcement nor what information the company has been compelled to provide—if any. Nor does the company maintain a warrant canary. It should consider doing both. We asked how the company would respond to legal requests for information. A company representative told us that Opera would inform law enforcement that it had no browsing information to share.
![What Is Two-Factor Authentication?](https://zmgvideos.mashable.com/cms/2019/5/4e8cd2c5-8eec-cb8a/uploaded_thumbnail.jpg)
Many VPN services release third-party audits of their applications and policies to give customers confidence that the companies are good stewards of their data. Editors' Choice winner TunnelBear VPN, for example, has committed to releasing annual audits and has done so for years. Opera's free VPN application and infrastructure were audited by Cure53 in 2022. That's excellent. However, we'd like Opera to consider additional auditing that verifies the company is upholding its privacy policy. Opera notes that NordVPN, which operates Opera's Pro VPN infrastructure, has also passed several third-party audits. You can read about them in our review of NordVPN.
Using the Opera browser or other services beyond the VPN might expose more of your personal information than just using the VPN and nothing else. The browser stores user interactions with services like the built-in newsfeed or Shopping Corner in order to customize the content you see. This can include articles you've read and your approximate location. The company notes in its privacy policy that this information is associated with a random ID, not directly with your profile, and that using these services is optional.
On Android, the privacy situation is even more confusing. Opera's privacy policy says that the company uses several different IDs along with other information—such as categories of sites you visit, but not the sites themselves—to serve targeted ads to the users of some of its free services, such as in-app news. While the company works with "advertising partners" to serve these ads, Opera says your personal information is not transmitted to them and will be deleted after one year. That's a long time to retain such information, but having a date for deletion is a better privacy practice than many companies offer.
To its credit, Opera spells all this out in its privacy policy and provides some information about how to opt out of this data collection. It's also not alone in this practice. Hotspot Shield VPN monetizes its free service by serving ads through its Android app. It's important to note that these caveats to Opera's privacy policy do not relate to the VPN, free or otherwise.
This would be less of a problem if Opera had modeled its VPN after Mozilla VPN. That service requires the use of a Firefox account, but it provides a standalone application and does not require you to use the Firefox browser—or any other Mozilla application. This greatly simplifies the privacy situation for that product. Mullvad VPN goes much further, doing away with automatic payments and user accounts in order to avoid storing any customer information.
Hands On With Opera VPN Pro for Windows
We tested Opera VPN pro on an Intel NUC 11 (NUC11PHKi7C, 'Phantom Canyon') desktop running the latest version of Windows 11. Unlike virtually every other VPN we've reviewed, Opera VPN Pro does not have a standalone application for Windows. Instead, you'll have to download and install the Opera browser. We found we weren't able to even buy a subscription without first installing the Opera browser (although the company's documentation notes there's an alternative method for Android devices only). For existing Opera users, this is handy since you won't have to install yet another app. For everyone who doesn't use the Opera browser, you'll either have to start using Opera or put up with an unused browser gathering dust on your hard drive.
Although you must use the company's browser to use Opera VPN Pro, the VPN will encrypt the traffic for your entire machine. In our testing, we checked IP addresses in Google Chrome and Opera, and they were the same each time. The VPN connection also persists even when the Opera browser is closed.
You access the VPN controls from the pinky-purple VPN box in the URL bar of the Opera browser. Although installing VPN Pro adds a taskbar icon, this just toggles the VPN. Changing locations has to be done from the Opera browser. The VPN controls are straightforward, with a large button to connect the VPN occupying the majority of the window. We appreciate how easy it is to get Opera VPN running.
The currently selected server appears just below the Connect button. Click this to select a VPN server location from a list. Unfortunately, Opera VPN Pro does not let you select specific servers or cities, only countries, nor does it provide any information on load or latency for servers.
Below the current server, Opera VPN Pro shows an IP address, but it was not clear to us what IP address was displayed. It was not our true IP, nor was it the IP we were assigned when the VPN was switched on. A company representative explained that this was because IP addresses are assigned by NordVPN, which runs Opera VPN Pro's infrastructure. It might be better not to display these IP addresses since they apparently don't mean much.
It's just as well that Opera VPN Pro doesn't have its own application because it doesn't have much in the way of features. Opening the Settings reveals just a few options, the only significant one being a toggle to automatically reconnect if the VPN becomes disconnected. Although this was toggled off in our testing, the VPN appeared to automatically reconnect anyway, which is a bit odd.
We don't test for the reliability of each VPN because, in general, most VPNs do a great job of providing a stable and secure connection. During our speed testing, however, we noticed that Opera VPN Pro disconnected several times. While it's entirely anecdotal, this is unusual behavior for a VPN.
Many of our readers are keen to use VPNs to access online streaming content. In our testing, we found that while connected to a US-based Opera VPN server, we were only able to access a subset of Netflix's US content. What was available played just fine.
When we test VPNs, we always check to see if it has changed our public IP address and if DNS requests are being taken over by a resolver that doesn't belong to our ISP. When we tested Opera VPN Pro, however, we found that our DNS requests were consistently being handled by our ISP. We contacted Opera, who discovered the root cause of the problem and issued a software patch to fix it. We updated our software and used the DNS Leak Test tool to confirm that our DNS requests were handled correctly. The fact that our concerns were taken seriously and swiftly resolved has left us satisfied with our experience.
Opera VPN Pro Speed and Performance
When using a VPN, you should expect increased latency, as well as slower uploads and downloads. To compare the impact of different VPNs, we find the percent change between Ookla Speedtest results taken with and without the VPN. You can read more about your testing in our piece on how we test VPNs.
(Editors' Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company.)
We found that Opera VPN increased latency by 41.9%, which is just below—that is, better than the median across all VPNs we've tested. Unfortunately, that's the one place where Opera VPN Pro did well. Our results show that it reduced download Speedtest results by 60.7% and upload results by 55.4%. Note that we have not yet tested the free version of the Opera VPN, which uses a different server infrastructure.
You can see how Opera VPN Pro compares to the other VPNs we've tested in the chart below. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we now test VPNs throughout the year and publish the latest results in this chart.
In general, we don't believe you should select a VPN on Speedtest results alone. For one thing, cost and privacy protections are far more important. For another, network performance can be affected by time of day, local network conditions, and geographic location.
Hands On With Opera VPN for iPhone
There's no Pro version of Opera for the iPhone, so we tested the free edition for those who want to use the service on all their devices. As with the free Windows version, the iPhone VPN only works with Opera's browser. For this test, we used an iPhone 12 mini running iOS 16.5.1.
To enable the VPN connection in the Opera browser, you tap the three lines in the bottom right corner of the screen to open a menu. You can tap the VPN button to establish an instant connection to the fastest available server, or you can navigate to Settings and choose your VPN server location. To connect, simply choose a region, and Opera VPN will make the connection.
Unlike other VPNs we’ve reviewed, Opera’s free VPN for iOS only offers connections to three regions: Americas, Asia, and Europe. It also lacks a Kill Switch and advanced networking settings, whereas Proton VPN offers both.
We usually visit DNSLeakTest.com to perform an extended test, but it did not work with Opera on the iPhone. Instead, we visited browserleaks.com/dns and ran a test to see if Opera VPN was leaking our real IP address or DNS requests. It wasn't.
To get a sense of the service's performance on the iPhone, we watched a YouTube video of adorable hamsters exploring an array of colorful and difficult mazes. The video took a few seconds to load, which is unusual, but it eventually started and played without any pauses due to an unstable or slow connection. To test the free Opera VPN connection’s live streaming capabilities, we watched a streamer play through Baldur’s Gate 3. Again, the stream took several seconds to load, but we didn't experience any skips or buffering issues while watching.
An Oversimplified Experience
Opera is clearly striving for simplicity with its VPN. Instead of building an entirely separate app, Opera bakes the VPN directly into its web browser. Opera VPN Pro is also affordable, and its free service—while limited to only protecting your browser data—is extremely convenient. And we're very glad to see support extended to iOS. That said, the simplicity of a browser-based VPN also falls apart if you don't already use the Opera browser. Although Opera seems to do an admirable job of protecting your privacy, if you use more of the company's services, more of your data may be gathered and potentially used to target ads.
As we said earlier, if you're in the market for a free VPN, you should take a look at Proton VPN, our overall Editors' Choice winner. If it's an easy-to-use app that still has plenty of extra features you're after, check out TunnelBear VPN, another Editors' Choice. We also strongly recommend Mullvad VPN and IVPN—two services that go further to protect your privacy.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for SecurityWatch newsletter for our top privacy and security stories delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters