Brave VPN Review 2026: Is the Browser’s Built-In VPN Worth It?

Brave VPN is the easiest VPN to start using if you already browse with Brave. The button is in the toolbar; there’s no separate app to install, and once it’s on, it protects every app on the device along with the browser. The price is where my doubts begin.

I’ve used Brave as my main browser for years, so I went into this Brave VPN review hoping to like its VPN. I re-tested it on my usual connection in Europe, with fresh speed tests, streaming checks, and leak tests. Its privacy setup is genuinely clever.

Whether the rest justifies what Brave charges is another question.

Brave VPN Review at a Glance

How Much Does Brave VPN Cost?

Brave VPN has one plan. It costs about $100 a year, or roughly $8 a month, and about $10 if you pay month to month. Either option covers up to 10 devices across Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You start with a seven-day free trial, but Brave requires a card for it and charges you automatically once the week ends.

After that, there’s no money-back guarantee, because Brave lists no refund policy. So cancel before the trial ends if the VPN doesn’t convince you.

That’s hard to justify when dedicated VPNs cost less and refund you within 30 days: NordVPN’s two-year plan is about $3.50 a month, and ExpressVPN is about $3.

How Brave VPN Works: Setup, Apps, and Devices

Brave VPN is built into the Brave browser on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. On a computer, you click the VPN button in the toolbar, and on a phone, you switch it on in Brave’s settings. Start the trial, and you’re connected.

Although it starts in the browser, Brave VPN isn’t a proxy. My tests confirmed that it protects traffic from every app on the device, unlike Opera’s free VPN, which covers only the browser. That alone puts it ahead of browser VPN extensions.

The app itself is very basic: a connect button and a server list. Its settings offer little more than Smart Proxy Routing, a support form, and subscription management, and the Android version looks the same. Beginners will find it easy, but mostly because there’s so little to configure.

Compatibility is the bigger limit. There’s no Linux app yet, though Brave says one is coming, and there’s no router setup or TV app. When I attempted to sideload it onto a Fire TV Stick, it didn’t work because the VPN requires the Brave browser. If you watch on a TV, a VPN with a native TV app is the better choice.

As for support, it’s by ticket only, with no live chat. You open a form from the VPN settings, add your email and a description of the problem, and Brave replies by email.

Its help center covers the common problems well, and the community forum is active, so many questions already have answers there.

Security Features and Leak Tests

The VPN covers the basics and little else. Here’s what it includes:

• WireGuard protocol, used by default, with IKEv2 on iOS in some cases. You can’t choose the protocol yourself.
• 256-bit encryption, the standard on every reputable VPN.
• Kill switch, which blocks your connection if the VPN disconnects. Brave’s feature list says it’s always on in Windows and a toggle on iOS, while its help center describes it as an iOS feature. When I unplugged my network cable mid-session, it blocked my connection right away.
• Firewall, Guardian’s filter for ads, trackers, and malware across the whole device. It blocked 94% of test domains on my ad-blocking test, an excellent result.
• Smart Proxy Routing, which sends traffic for sites that block VPNs through a proxy instead, on iOS and desktop.

The missing list is longer. Brave VPN has no split tunneling, no multi-hop, and no obfuscation, which disguises VPN traffic on networks that block it.

As a result, it isn’t a VPN to rely on in China or other censored countries. NordVPN, which costs less, includes obfuscated servers, Double VPN, and malware protection.

For leak tests, I connected to servers in New Zealand, the US, Singapore, and Germany, then tested each one on ipleak.net and browserleaks.com. My own IP address and DNS servers never appeared, so Brave VPN passed every leak test.

Privacy and Logs: Audited in 2024

Brave VPN uses servers operated by Guardian, a US company, and Brave itself is based in the US. US law lets authorities demand user data, so the question is what Guardian keeps.

The privacy policy lists three things the service processes: a pseudonymous user ID, your IP address while you’re connected, and your email address if you contact support. The IP address is used for the connection itself and isn’t logged.

Brave also signs you in with a one-time credential tied only to proof of purchase, so it says it can’t tell whether a subscriber has ever connected. It’s a clever design, and few VPNs go that far. On top of that, Assured, a Swedish security firm, audited Guardian’s apps in February 2024 and its servers in April 2024.

Brave says that work verified its no-logs policy. Both reports are public. However, it was a one-time check, while the most transparent VPNs repeat their audits every year.

Speed Test Results: Fast Nearby, Slow Far Away

Brave advertises speeds of up to 500 Mbps, so my 190 Mbps connection was well within its range. I tested on a Windows 11 PC wired to the router, three times a day for three days, on UK, US, and Japanese servers.

On the UK server, Brave VPN lost 14.8% of my download speed, which you won’t notice while browsing or streaming in HD. Distance made it much worse, and the Japanese server cut my speed roughly in half.

For context, the dedicated VPNs I tested on the same connection lost about 8% to 13% on average. So choose a server close to you whenever the location doesn’t matter for what you’re doing. Upload speed followed the same pattern, so large uploads and video calls to distant servers slow down too.

Streaming and Torrenting Results

Brave doesn’t advertise streaming, and my tests showed why. Brave VPN couldn’t unblock BBC iPlayer on two UK servers, in Brave or in Edge, even in private windows.

Netflix looked promising at first. On a UK server, the account switched to prices in pounds, yet UK-only titles never appeared, and the US library failed the same way. It also couldn’t unblock Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount+, YouTube TV, or Sky Sports.

It did work with a few free channels that don’t check for VPN traffic. Even those stuttered in Full HD, because the connection speed fluctuated.

If streaming is part of why you want a VPN, a VPN built for streaming, such as NordVPN or Proton VPN, is a better use of the money. Torrenting went better. Brave VPN allows P2P on every server. When I downloaded through qBittorrent on a nearby European server, the client showed the VPN’s IP address, and the speed dipped only slightly.

Choose a nearby server for large files, since the distant ones lose too much speed.

Server Network

Brave lists 300+ servers in 40+ countries and regions, and you can choose a server by city. Most are in Europe and North America, with a few in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, and Japan. That’s a small network for the price.

Proton VPN, for example, covers 149 countries for less than half the cost. If you want an IP address in a specific country, check Brave’s location list before the trial ends.

Brave VPN Alternatives

If the price or the missing features put you off, these three cost less and do more. I compared each one with Brave VPN on the same tests:

• NordVPN lost far less speed on distant servers and unblocked every streaming service Brave VPN failed on. My Brave VPN vs NordVPN comparison has the details.
• Proton VPN repeats its no-logs audit every year, adds Secure Core double-server protection, and has a free plan. See how Proton VPN and Brave VPN compare.
• ExpressVPN has apps for TVs and routers and the simplest setup of the three. It won seven of eight rounds in ExpressVPN vs Brave VPN.

Want to keep Brave as your browser? The best VPNs for Brave include extensions that work in it on desktop.

Verdict

Brave VPN does what it promises. It shields your whole device, passed every leak test, and backs its no-logs policy with an audit and a sign-in that Brave can’t link to you. At this price, however, that’s the minimum.

What decides it against Brave VPN is the combination of cost and limits: no refund after the trial, a speed loss that roughly halves your connection on distant servers, and almost no streaming. I’d consider it only if you live in the Brave browser on a phone or laptop, never stream, and want one switch with nothing to set up.

Everyone else gets more from NordVPN for less than half the price.

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