In an ideal world, any piece of software would work without a hitch – including VPNs. We’re not there yet, so the next best thing is having someone there to fix problems as they arise. That’s where 24/7 live chat comes into play.
- Why Is 24/7 Live Chat Support Necessary?
- Top 10 VPNs with 24/7 Live Chat
- Astrill VPN – How NOT To Do 24/7 Live Chat
- Which VPN Has the Best 24/7 Live Chat Support?
Why Is 24/7 Live Chat Support Necessary?
Pretty easy answer: timezones. The numbers might sound staggering, but 1.125 billion people use VPNs all around the world. Moreover, top quality providers offer servers in most major countries. As such, they need to cover every timezone if somebody needs help.
On an individual level, it’s just good sense for a company to keep their users happy if they expect to stay in business. If you have any problems whatsoever, someone should be there to talk to you and help you to the best of their ability.
And if that doesn’t work out, someone needs to be there to handle VPN refunds from Google Play and similar third party vendors. Canceling your subscription within the 30 day money-back guarantee period won’t guarantee an automatic refund if you didn’t pay through the provider’s website.
With that out of the way, here are ten great VPNs that have 24/7 live chat support.
Top 10 VPNs with 24/7 Live Chat
I wanted to ask something more complex than the usual “can I use your VPN for torrenting?” Settled on how each provider handles Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS). After half an hour of chatting with an ExpressVPN support rep, I decided on something easier.
For the rest of the providers, I decided to ask if their VPN supports HBO Max. I was mainly interested in this aspect since it’s a pretty new service. It’s good to have some insight into whether providers are keeping up with new streaming sites.
None of this detracted from my experience with ExpressVPN – think of the more difficult question as a test of why they consistently top everyone’s VPN lists.
1. ExpressVPN
Support response time: <1 minute
First off, I appreciate the fact that I didn’t need to insert any personal data (such as name or email) to begin the chat. That’s a good sign that they care about your privacy, even if you aren’t a subscriber.
As mentioned, the whole conversation took about half an hour – but that wasn’t through any fault of the support rep. They were very helpful, and in the end managed to answer why PFS was useful when their TrustedServer technology means no useful data touches ExpressVPN hard drives.
I suppose my question was more suited for technical support than sales. Not that there was any separate chat for sales or technical support like with other providers. Still, they did a pretty good job! Max points. (Disclaimer: there are no actual points.)
2. NordVPN
Support response time: <1 minute
Before anything, let’s take a moment to appreciate that they placed a mini-FAQ in the chat section for easy access. No need to fumble around the homepage for the FAQ section. That said, you’ll need to add a name and an email to chat with a live rep – so keep that in mind.
The support reps (yes, reps) were so fast to respond that I ended up with two of them at the same time in the chatbox. In fact, both of them joined before the Customer Care bot had time to post the automated “we’ll be with you ASAP” message.
One of them left shortly after, and the remaining one responded to my question pretty fast. Nothing much left to say – they were fast and helpful as expected from a top-quality provider.
3. CyberGhost VPN
Support response time: <1 minute
CyberGhost offers live support through Zendesk (like several other providers on our list). When you type in your question, a list of potential answers pops up, which is a nice touch.
Once again, you need to add a name and email before chatting with a real person. The support rep was fast to respond if a bit too formal for my casual question. Won’t hold that against them, all they need to do is answer your concerns in a manner you can understand.
4. Surfshark
Support response time: <1 minute
A very similar experience to CyberGhost, since Surfshark also provides 24/7 live chat through Zendesk. You’ll need to insert your name and an email to chat with someone, which is a common theme already.
Once again, the search results when you type in a question aren’t all that relevant, but we’re not rating their search engine here. Support was courteous, fast and to the point, and that’s all we ask for from 24/7 live chat.
5. Private Internet Access (PIA)
Support response time: <1 minute
I wasn’t very sure where to direct my general info question so I just sent it to technical support since my problem wasn’t tied to a PIA account. Name and email required as always.
The support rep’s English wasn’t the best, but I had no problem understanding them. They were kind enough to tell me that PIA works with HBO Max, but it might take a bit of trial and error because “it’s like a cat and mouse game that catches our IP.”
Can’t argue with that.
6. IPVanish
Support response time: <1 minute
For some reason, the 24/7 live chat button wasn’t there when I visited the IPVanish home page. I had to click the small Live Chat button at the top of the page for it to pop up, which might leave some people confused if they don’t notice it.
As always, you’ll need to input some details before reaching live chat. Kind of makes me wish I went easier on ExpressVPN‘s support rep. In any case, once you do that you’ll be redirected to the live chat. They were fast to respond, though their English was a bit off – no problems communicating, though.
Their answer wasn’t very direct, and a bit more sales than I would’ve liked, but that’s up to preference (and no surprise since I chose the sales department). If you’re curious, it was a “works for some users, try our VPN 30 days for free” situation.
7. VyprVPN
Support response time: <1 minute
Right off the bat, I had a bit of trouble locating the live chat button. I just needed to scroll down a bit for it to pop up. Clicking the Support button at the top of the page works just as well.
Like other VPN providers, their live chat support comes from Zendesk – through their in-chat search engine seemed to offer more relevant results. You’ll need to input a name and email for a response. I suppose this helps prevent spam.
After the initial greeting, the chat was idle for a couple of minutes before I got a reply. I wrote it off as them asking around if VyprVPN works with HBO Max, though other support reps did warn me I’d have to wait in advance.
All in all, it was an alright experience and the wait wasn’t that long anyway.
8. ibVPN
Support response time: <1 minute
Finally, another VPN provider whose 24/7 live chat doesn’t ask me for any details for a simple yes or no question. The support rep offered short, to the point answers, without the usual customer support pleasantries.
I personally appreciated it, though others may not – it’s all up to preference.
9. Ivacy
Support response time: <1 minute
You only have to enter your email this time, though you do have the option to add your name if you want. I did that just so the customer care bot wouldn’t say “hello, customer!”
On the opposite end of the spectrum from ibVPN is Ivacy, whose support rep greeted me as warmly as if I were at a gala reception. Unfortunately, they couldn’t help me with my question as they had not tested the VPN with HBO Max. They did remind me that they have a good refund policy if I decide to test it out for myself.
Unfortunately, this is the first time I had technical issues with the live chat.
If I changed the tab or window, I could no longer type anything in the chatbox until I refreshed the page. This happened on Firefox and Opera, on two different PCs, so it wasn’t just me. Any browser extensions (such as uBlock and uMatrix) were completely disabled as well.
Moreover, sometimes I simply couldn’t click on the live chat button anymore – once again fixed by refreshing the page. Not the best impression for a VPN with a $1 trial. This is more on the web designers’ end, so customer support can rest easy.
10. SaferVPN
Support response time: <1 minute
Let’s keep this short. Name, email, fast response. I was asked to test it myself and I’d receive a full refund if the VPN didn’t work with HBO Max. It was about what I expected, considering I got about the same answer from Ivacy as well.
I didn’t mind – after all, customer support isn’t there to test out every streaming site. That’s why VPN providers have robust money-back guarantees in place, so you can test these things out risk-free. At least it wasn’t as bad as this next entry.
Astrill VPN – How NOT To Do 24/7 Live Chat
Support response time: 2 minutes
Speaking of web design, Astrill’s live chat is a bit rough around the edges. I haven’t had to open a new window like this for tech support in over a decade. We’re only going to judge the customer support quality so let’s move on.
The chatroom opened pretty fast, but I had to wait a couple of minutes before I was greeted by a representative. Then another ten or so minutes for the actual solution. This was the slowest response so far, and I assumed they were checking whether the service actually works before offering an answer.
Love the 2000s forum emojis, though. Brings me back. 
Well, it turns out the support representative didn’t actually check anything. In fact, I’m not sure what happened during those ten minutes. This how the conversation played out.
I haven’t received any reply for a few good minutes after that so I just checked out. Perhaps asking potential customers if they don’t mind sharing their streaming account credentials isn’t such a good idea?
Thought I’d exemplify what NOT to do when you offer 24/7 live chat as a VPN provider.
Which VPN Has the Best 24/7 Live Chat Support?
My favorites were ExpressVPN and ibVPN for not requiring any personal details to start the chat. Obviously, you could use a fake name and email, but that’s just an extra hassle for a one-minute conversation.
Otherwise, most providers were on equal footing, aside from a few hiccups from Ivacy’s website and… whatever happened with Astrill.
As you can see, you can expect a response time of under a minute with any of these ten providers. If you’re interested in the overall provider quality, check out our list of the best VPN services in 2020.
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