IpVanish
IPVanish, one of the top VPN software providers on the market, offers reliable and speed connections and impressive security for great value. In this review, we will discuss IPVanish's speed, performance, ease of use, customer support, pricing plans, and the ability to access popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Pros
Cons
Quick Stats
Does IPVanish VPN pique your interest? Read our review to find out more about it.
IPVanish Speed
This section checked how IPVanish fares against its competitors in terms of speed tests, number of servers, geographic distribution, and fastest available protocol.
1. Speed tests
IPVanish is reportedly one of the fastest VPNs. It scores top points when it comes down to the speed it provides. So whether it's for streaming, torrenting, or gaming, IPVanish makes sure you won't feel any lags or speed drops.
2. Number of servers and geographic distribution
Short explanation: IPVanish has 1500+ servers distributed over 70+ countries.
Long explanation: IPVanish has a remarkable server network of more than 1,500 servers in more than 70 different countries worldwide. You can auto-connect to the fastest server in your country of choice.
3. Fastest available protocol
Short explanation: PPTP is the fastest available protocol by IPVanish (not recommended to use. Instead, IKEv2 is a fast, more secure alternative).
Long explanation: In the VPN world, many protocols exist, with differences between protocols making the difference in how secure a VPN is, how fast, and whether it can bypass geo-censorship. Typically, the trade-off is between speed and security, with the PPTP protocol typically being the fastest but the least secure.
Security and Privacy
IPVanish claims that IP address, location, and browsing activities stay completely hidden.
They don't offer advanced security features like malware protection or ad blocking, which isn't a significant setback since these are extra features; it is better to get such features from specialized services.
To experience the highest online privacy level, you can try CyberGhost risk-free with its 45-days money-back guarantee.
The most important features regarding security and privacy include:
1. Encryption and protocols
IPVanish offers 256-bit encryption, which is used by governments and official entities. 256-bit encryption is a great way to hide your data and your identity while browsing. The VPN does a great job of keeping your identity hidden while you browse the web.
Are you new to VPNs?
For IPVanish, use IKEv2 protocol for speed (PPTP is faster but isn't safe at all, so it is not recommended), use L2TP protocol for security, and use OpenVPN protocol to bypass geo-censorship (obfuscation).
Pro mode: In terms of available protocols, IPVanish provides PPTP, L2TP, IPSec, IKEv2, and OpenVPN protocols for users.
| Protocols | PPTP | L2TP | IPSec | IKEv2 | OpenVPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows | All platforms | mac OS, iOS, Android, Linux | All platforms | All platforms |
| Security and encryption | Basic encryption (weakest). It supports encryption keys up to 128-bits, and uses MPPE (Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption) | It doesn't provide encryption on its own unless combined with IPsec. | IPsec encryption | IPsec encryption | AES Encryption (most secure) |
| Firewall | TCP port 1723 and IP port 47 (easiest to block/ least reliable) | Uses UDP port 1701 | Uses UDP port 500 (easy to block) | UDP ports 500 and 4500, and ESP IP Protocol 50 | uses 443 port (hard to block) |
| Speed | Possibly the fastest due to low encryption (fewer data to transfer) | Relatively slow | Fast | Generally fast (faster than OpenVPN) | Generally fast |
2. Logs policy
Short explanation: IPVanish claims to have a true no-log policy.
Long explanation: IPVanish claims a zero-log policy (i.e., they don't gather any information, supposedly). At least, that is what they claim.
In 2016, IPVanish got a request from the US government for user logs as part of a criminal investigation. Unfortunately, they handed out data on the user in question, including his online activities, despite claiming to have a zero-log VPN.
That being said, IPVanish officially stated that they changed their privacy policy since then. This is one of the drawbacks of being located in the US, a part of the Five Eyes Alliance.
3. Kill switch
Short explanation: IPVanish has a kill switch feature.
Long explanation: IPVanish has a kill switch feature. A kill switch protects your privacy by disconnecting you if your VPN connection fails, hence keeping both your IP and DNS leak-free.
4. RAM-based servers
Short explanation: IPVanish doesn't have RAM-based servers.
Long explanation: A RAM-based server means that the data, which is saved to a RAM, gets erased with every reboot, unlike with SSD drives. This adds to a VPN's security, especially when it's based in the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance territory and has had logging scandals.
5. Based country
Short explanation: IPVanish is based in the US.
Long explanation: IPVanish is based in the US, inside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance, which can pose a security risk, such as the 2016 incident discussed previously.
6. Warrant canary
Short explanation: IPVanish doesn't have a warrant canary system.
Long explanation: A warrant canary is an indirect method to warn customers of governmental attempts to subpoena. The presence of the warrant on the company's official website means the local government hasn't tried anything yet.
If the warrant canary is removed from the company's page, it means they were asked.
IPVanish doesn't have a warrant canary system. In addition, usually, all the well-known VPN providers have had third-party audits of their log policies. However, IPVanish has not undergone any third-party audits.
More of the same, the company also does not issue a regular transparency report discussing its interactions with law enforcement.
IPVanish in Practice
In terms of the application of VPNS in the real world, we dive further into how IPVanish fares against the rest in the following categories:
1. Streaming
The essential thing in any VPN is its ability to bypass geo-restrictions and blocked content. IPVanish has proved to unblock Netflix US with a fast connection and good streaming quality.
The VPN enables you to unblock other streaming services such as; Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, ESPN, DAZN, and HBO Go. However, you might find it frustrating to use it for streaming, especially if you compare it to other competitors like CyberGhost and Private Internet Access.
With IPVanish, you might have to switch servers a few times before you can unblock the restricted content, which might affect your streaming experience, a problem which you will never have to face with CyberGhost or Private Internet Access.
2. Torrent
Short explanation: IPVanish allows torrenting. However, IPVanish doesn't have specialized torrenting servers.
Long explanation: When it comes to torrenting, IPVanish offers unlimited P2P connections, which enables you to torrent safely and anonymously all the time. It offers 250 GB of secure cloud storage available to all subscribers through its collaboration with SugarSync.
This means that you can back up all your music, work, or movie files to safe cloud storage and keep them secure without any extra cost.
The good news is that all of IPVanish's servers support torrenting; however, the bad news is none of these servers are optimized for torrenting. That being said, even without optimized servers, your connection speeds will still be super-fast, and you might not feel any sort of drop in speed.
If you want to try torrent-optimized servers, you can try them risk-free with CyberGhost's 45-day money-back guarantee.
3. Gaming
Short explanation: IPVanish doesn't have specialized gaming servers
Long explanation: When it comes to gaming, the reason why you would want to use a VPN for games is variable, but one thing is clear; no one wants to experience any lag.
Companies with specialized gaming servers make sure your gaming experience will be smoother than with companies that don't have specialized gaming servers.
4. Dedicated IP servers
Short explanation: IPVanish doesn't have dedicated IP servers.
Long explanation: When using a VPN, you would want a dynamic IP (an IP that changes whenever you reconnect to a server). In certain situations, this is not the case; a dedicated server is recommended in the following situations:
- Business security
- Secure online payment
- Avoid getting blacklisted
- Avoid CAPTCHAs
If you need a dedicated IP for one of the above reasons, our top recommendation would be Private Internet Access.
5. Geo-censorship bypass (obfuscation)
Like most VPNs on the market, IPVanish's servers and website have been blacklisted by the Chinese government, which means that you cannot download the VPN or log into your account in China.
A handful of VPNs work in China and can actually guarantee to bypass the Chinese government's advanced firewalls safely. In this case, the geo-bypass is not so consistent. However, if you go for it, your best bet would be with the OpenVPN protocol.
6. Split tunneling
Short explanation: IPVanish has the split tunneling feature.
Long explanation: The split tunneling feature means you can selectively use your VPN on a certain type/source of data outgoing from your device.
Split tunneling in certain situations is favorable. For example, if you're torrenting while playing a video game or watching a YouTube video, you would want only the torrenting to be encrypted.
VPN encryption will slow down the connection speed relatively, since the encrypted data is larger than non-encrypted.
7. Tor over VPN
Short explanation: IPVanish has Tor over VPN support.
Long explanation: Torrent onion router (Tor) is a P2P program used to entaccess the dark web. Using a VPN adds an extra layer of anonymity, especially at the entry node, with the addition of data encryption.
Still, regarding IPVanish's history with logging, going to the dark web is not recommended with an IPVanish Tor over VPN.
Compatibility Support
For an intermediate-level VPN provider, they offer a good number of device compatibility. IPVanish is compatible with all major platforms, including Windows, Android, Linux, macOS, iOS, Windows Phone, and Chromebook.
IPVanish even works on routers; therefore, you can simply install it on your router and get protection for your whole network.
The excellent news is that you can log in with your subscription to an unlimited number of devices. This is a convenient feature for large families and small businesses. This is an advantage over the other VPNs, which allow a limited number of devices per account.
IPVanish is compatibility summary:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
- ChromeOS
- FireOS
IPVanish is available as an extension on:
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
User Experience
1. Supported languages
IPVanish supports the following languages:
- English
- French
2. Customer support
If you ever need to contact their customer support, you have several options to do so; you can reach out through email and phone or the 24/7 bot live chat, or you can try to find your answers in the online knowledge base.
Moreover, IPVanish offers several support phone numbers for 7 different countries, including the US, UK, Mexico, Spain, Australia, Brazil, and Germany.
You can use the online knowledge base to find useful information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), setup and installation guides, and other helpful information for beginners or advanced users.
IPVanish provides customer support in the following forms:
- Live chat
- Phone support
- Knowledge base
- Email and tickets
- FAQs
Pricing and Payment
IPVanish's standalone subscription plans give you the same features whether you sign up for 1 month or a year. The longer your commitment is, the lower the price you will pay. You have to note that auto-renewal is turned on by default in your plans.
The initial prices for the VPN plans are $3.49/month renewed at $10.99 for the 1-month plan, an initial price of $44.99/year renewed at $89.99/year for the 1-year plan, and $89.99 for the first two years, renewed at $89.99 for the two-year plan.
IPVanish provides another set of plans, including extra storage, which basically gives you 500GB of sync & secure cloud storage to save up your important files. The VPN + Storage plans costs initially $3.84/month, renewed at $10.99/month for the 1-month plan, and an initial $44.99/year for the 1-year plan renewed at $99.99.
IPVanish offers limited payment options, including; major credit and debit cards and PayPal. Cryptocurrencies are no longer an option. This means there aren't any anonymous payment options, and unfortunately, you need to give them your billing information.
You have up to 30 days to try it and get a full refund with their 30-day money-back guarantee unless you got your subscription through the iOS app store, which doesn't support the 30-day guarantee.
Available payment methods summary:
- Major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
- Paypal
Final words
IPVanish is user-friendly, lightweight, and doesn't cost much. It also offers flexible subscription plans and 24/7 customer support. IPVanish has dedicated apps for all major platforms and provides the highest encryption level, the 256-bit encryption. Overall, it's a good VPN option for torrenting; however, an average choice for streaming.