UnblockMeVPN vs Astrill: comparison for users in and traveling to China

Astrill is a specialist VPN for mainland China users. It has been around since 2009, has a loyal user base, and is known for reliably working on mainland networks. We respect that product. Here is an honest comparison so you can decide which fits your use case.

Where Astrill wins

• Track record. Astrill has been operating since 2009 with continuous presence on East Asia use cases. We are newer.
• StealthVPN (OpenWeb) protocol. Astrill's proprietary obfuscation has been refined specifically against mainland DPI for over a decade.
• Brand recognition among expats. If you ask in an expat forum, more people will say they have heard of Astrill.
• Mature router support. Astrill sells pre-configured routers for long-term residents.
• Multiple protocol choices per server. Astrill lets you pick the protocol per-connection in a way we do not currently expose.

Where UnblockMeVPN wins

• Price. Astrill is materially more expensive than we are on current monthly, annual, and multi-year pricing. We are $9.99/mo, $5.99/mo annual, and $3.99/mo on 2-year.
• Hysteria2 with salamander obfuscation. Newest-generation UDP/QUIC obfuscation. Astrill does not currently ship Hysteria2.
• Bitcoin via self-hosted BTCPay. Astrill accepts Bitcoin but through a third-party processor.
• Device limit. Astrill caps at 5 simultaneous devices, the same as we do.
• Modern transport stack. Our Hysteria2 + Cloak + OpenVPN combination covers a wider range of network conditions than a single stealth transport alone.
• Public threat model. We publish what we log and why. Astrill's privacy documentation is less detailed.

Feature comparison

Feature	UnblockMeVPN	Astrill
Hong Kong servers	1	Yes
Tokyo server	Yes	Yes
Monthly price	$9.99	$30
Annual price	$5.99/mo	$15/mo
2-year price	$3.99/mo	$12.50/mo
Hysteria2	Yes	No
Cloak / TLS obfuscation	Yes	StealthVPN (equivalent)
Primary protocols	OpenVPN UDP/TCP + obfuscated transports	OpenWeb / StealthVPN / OpenVPN
Bitcoin (self-hosted)	Yes (BTCPay)	Third-party processor
Devices per account	5 simultaneous	5
Ownership	POD RV LLC (Hawaii)	Registered Liechtenstein company
Track record in East Asia	Newer provider	Continuous since 2009

The honest framing

Astrill is the incumbent. If you already use Astrill and it works for your setup, there is no urgent reason to switch — you are paying more than you need to, but it works.

If you are evaluating VPNs fresh in 2026 and your main driver is best modern transport stack at the lowest price, the math favors us. If your main driver is longest continuous track record, it favors Astrill.

Both providers offer a refund window. The cheapest way to decide is to try both for a week and pick the one that feels smoother on your actual network.