Brave VPN Review: Honest Assessment 2025

Last week, I found myself in a hotel room with spotty Wi-Fi, desperately trying to stream the season finale of my favorite show. The dreaded buffering wheel kept spinning, and I was getting increasingly frustrated. This scenario probably sounds familiar to many of you—we've all been there, right? That's when I decided to try Brave VPN, which I'd heard about from a tech-savvy friend. But is it really worth it? Let's dive into this Brave VPN review to find out.

Understanding What Brave VPN Actually Offers

Many people misunderstand what a VPN actually does—it's not just about accessing geo-restricted content (though that's a nice perk). At its core, Brave VPN is a dual-purpose tool that combines a firewall and a virtual private network.

Brave VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, creating a secure tunnel between your device and the websites you visit. It's built right into the Brave browser but protects your entire device across all apps—not just your browsing activity.

Key features include:

• No-logs policy (they claim to keep zero records of user activity)
• Coverage for up to 10 devices with one subscription
• 300+ servers across 40+ regions
• Integration with the Brave browser ecosystem

Pricing and Availability

Brave Firewall + VPN is available for:

• $9.99/month
• $99.99/year
• Includes a 7-day free trial

It works on Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS (with Linux support coming soon). You must have the Brave browser installed to use it, even though it protects all apps.

The Installation Experience: Too Many Services?

Here's where things get a bit... concerning. Upon installing Brave and its VPN, I noticed something that made me raise an eyebrow—multiple background services running with system privileges:

• Brave Elevation Service
• Brave Update Services (multiple)
• Brave VPN Service
• Brave VPN Wireguard Service

These services install themselves without explicit permission during updates and run with high-level system privileges. For a product that markets itself on privacy and security, this approach feels contradictory and somewhat invasive.

Performance: Does It Slow Down Your Connection?

The million-dollar question for any VPN: will it tank my internet speed?

Brave claims their servers have 10 Gbps uplink speeds, but they're refreshingly honest about real-world performance. Under typical conditions with multiple users, they suggest speeds up to 500 Mbps are realistic (depending on your base connection).

In my testing, I experienced about a 15-20% drop from my normal speeds—noticeable but not deal-breaking for most activities. Video streaming worked without major issues, though occasionally I noticed slightly longer initial loading times.

How Does It Compare to SafeShell VPN?

While researching alternatives, I came across SafeShell VPN, which takes a different approach with its streaming-focused service.

Speed Comparison

SafeShell VPN impressed me with its lightning-fast speeds that showed minimal impact on my baseline connection. Their servers are specifically optimized for streaming, which explains why I experienced less buffering compared to Brave VPN when watching high-definition content.

Features Comparison

Privacy Approach

Brave emphasizes its no-logs policy and unique credential system that prevents them from knowing if you've even used the VPN. SafeShell similarly prioritizes security with its proprietary "ShellGuard" protocol, though with more focus on performance for streaming services.

The Real-World Experience

During my two-week test, I used both VPNs in various scenarios. Brave VPN performed adequately for general browsing and basic streaming, but SafeShell VPN clearly had the edge when it came to accessing streaming libraries and maintaining consistent speeds.

What really stood out was SafeShell's ability to handle multiple streaming services simultaneously without noticeable degradation in performance—something that Brave struggled with when I tried to stream while also downloading files.

Final Thoughts: Is Brave VPN Worth It in 2025?

Brave VPN offers solid protection and reasonable performance, especially if you're already invested in the Brave browser ecosystem. However, I have reservations about:

1. The number of system-level services it installs
2. The somewhat invasive update mechanism
3. The requirement to use the Brave browser

For general privacy needs, it's a decent option. But if streaming is your priority, SafeShell VPN delivers superior performance with less system overhead.

Remember that hotel room with spotty Wi-Fi I mentioned at the beginning? I ended up switching to SafeShell VPN halfway through my trip, and the difference in streaming quality was night and day. No more buffering wheel—just smooth, uninterrupted viewing.