IPVanish VPN review
A powerful VPN with some surprising features
(Image: © IPVanish)
With WireGuard included, IPVanish is incredibly flexible, attractive, and blazingly fast. Although the apps have some quirks and could be more usable, we recommend this provider if you're seeking for a bit additional VPN strength.
Pros
- Lots of features
- Unblocks BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Disney Plus
- Connect unlimited devices simultaneously
- Excellent WireGuard speeds
- 'No log' policy independently audited
Cons
- Didn't unblock Amazon Prime Video
- Some usability issues on desktop apps
- Below average OpenVPN speeds
A popular VPN service with a broad list of capabilities, including ones you won't frequently find elsewhere, is US-based IPVanish.
With 40,000+ shared IPs and 2,000+ servers (100 more have been added since our last assessment), IPVanish boasts a respectable-sized network spread across 75+ different locales.
While some VPNs offer more, IPVanish bills itself as "the world's only Top Tier VPN service provider" on its website. The company has far more control over the setup and operation of the network and servers because it owns and manages own servers rather than renting out other people's hardware.
All of IPVanish's servers are supposedly P2P-friendly, and we were able to download torrents from each of our five test locations.
IPVanish subscription options:
- 12 month plan - $3.33 per month ($39.96 total cost)
A variety of apps are available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and even Amazon Fire TV. In addition, IPVanish offers numerous setup instructions for routers, Linux, Chromebooks, and other platforms.
There are no strict restrictions on the amount of concurrent connections you may establish with IPVanish, so feel free to install, configure, and set up as many devices as you wish. However, it's still a significant increase over the standard 5 device restriction you'll get from many providers, and we speculate that the firm may contact you if you reach 20 and are still using it.
Starting with the enhanced WireGuard service, broad protocol support is provided. There is support for OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP, SSTP, and PPTP from IPVanish, but if you prefer something other, don't worry.
The older protocols are less convincing to us because most providers have long since abandoned PPTP because it is so unsafe. However, if you know what you're doing and only use it when security is not a concern (unblocking a website, for example), it could be helpful to have a backup option.
If you require assistance, live chat support is available around-the-clock, but even here, IPVanish goes above and beyond what we anticipated. There is phone help available every day of the week (9 am to 5 pm CT, or UTC – 6), with numbers in the US, UK, Australia, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil.
 |
| IPVanish offers discounts on its regular price when you sign up for a longer plan (Image credit: IPVanish) |
IPVanish pricing
The starting price for IPVanish's VPN service is $10.99 per month (opens in new tab).
The initial term of a new quarterly plan(opens in new tab) costs only $5 per month, but the price doubles to an obscenely expensive $10 at renewal.
At $3.75 a month, the annual subscription (opens in new tab) seems like a good deal, especially since it also comes with VIPRE Antivirus Security. However, take note that this is a limited-time offer, just like with the quarterly plan. On renewal, prices increase to $7.50.
The VPN + Backup service from IPVanish is no longer offered, and none of the company's most recent plans include SugarSync.
A different service could considerably reduce your prices if all you want is a VPN. A 3-year contract with Private Internet Access costs $79 up front and only $2.03 per month for the first 39 months (the first three months are free). IPVanish charges $44.99 for the first year, $89.99 for years two and three, and $225 for all three.
If you plan to use the included VIPRE Advanced Security, IPVanish appears to be a better price. It is a robust security package that offers firewall protection for up to 10 devices, antivirus protection, and ransomware defense. But take note: only Windows and Mac devices are protected. From companies like Norton or Bitdefender, you'll get superior protection and support for iOS and Android.
 |
| IPVanish accepts both credit cards and PayPal (Image credit: IPVanish) |
If you choose to sign up, IPVanish takes card and PayPal payments but does not currently allow Bitcoin.
IPVanish promises a 30-day money-back guarantee, but read the fine print because it only applies to yearly plans. Plans with monthly billing are ineligible.
 |
| IPVanish protects your privacy with encryption and secure protocols (Image credit: IPVanish) |
Privacy
The majority of IPVanish apps include several measures for preserving your privacy. A kill switch, DNS, and even IPv6 leak protection are features of the Windows build that help to lessen the possibility of your traffic or identity being revealed online.
The iOS app's ability to automatically connect when you access public Wi-Fi networks, but ignore others that you feel are safe, is one privacy benefit (home, work, whatever they might be). The VPN can then largely be left to automatically turn on and off as needed, protecting your privacy at all times.
 |
| All of the DNS leak tests we performed showed that IPVanish didn't leak any of our information (Image credit: IPVanish) |
We tested the service using a number of leak-detecting websites, including IPLeak, DNS leak test, and others to ensure that your anonymity is truly protected. The apps consistently protected our identity and traffic, therefore none of the testing turned up any problems.
 |
| IPVanish keeps zero logs on its users (Image credit: IPVanish) |
Logging
The privacy statement for IPVanish opens with the succinct and comforting sentence, "IPVanish is a zero-logs VPN service provider, which means that we do not maintain a record of any connection, traffic, or activity data in regards to our Services."
The document lists the information that IPVanish gathers via the website, along with the registration and payment processes. We just saw the information we expected to see: cookies, website statistics, email address, and so forth. There is nothing malicious or unusual.
The comforting remarks from IPVanish aren't the only ones. In April 2022, it provided more support for them by writing a blog post(opens in new tab) stating that Leviathan Security Group had "audited our technology and independently verified that our no-log VPN service complies with our Privacy Policy."
A production server, documentation, system settings, employee interviews, and other aspects of the audit's extremely thorough nature were all examined. If you're interested, you can get the whole report at the link in the IPVanish blog article.
It's good to see a supplier who has the guts to submit to this level of examination, and we hope it will inspire other providers to follow suit.
 |
| We used a number of speed testing services to determine the performance of IPVanish (Image credit: nPerf) |
Performance
SpeedTest's website and command line app, SpeedOf.me, and nPerf are some of the benchmarking services we use to gauge VPN performance from both a UK data center and a US residential location (both have 1Gbps connections). Each benchmark is run five times with OpenVPN, five times with WireGuard, and once more several hours later (for a total of at least 120 tests). The results are then analyzed to determine what is happening.
UK OpenVPN speeds of 120-160Mbps were underwhelming. Although the US results were more respectable at 300Mbps, they were still just mid-range and far below OpenVPN leaders Hide.me (550-580bps) and Mullvad (700-710Mbps).
When we moved to WireGuard from IPVanish, however, everything changed, with download speeds reaching 700 Mbps from our location in the UK and 890 Mbps in the US. Only Hide.me (900Mbps) and TorGuard (950Mbps) received higher scores, putting IPVanish in an impressive third place out of our most recent 25 speed tests.
 |
| IPVanish unblocked US Netflix in our testing, but didn't manage the same feat with Prime Video (Image credit: Netflix) |
Netflix and streaming
According to IPVanish, it provides "safe access to all of your favorite streaming sites... free from video lag and buffering." We haven't always had that in previous reports, so we were interested to see how the service did this time.
Bypassing the VPN protections of BBC iPlayer and enabling us to stream anything we wanted, it got off to a wonderful start.
Disney Plus was easily unblocked by IPVanish as well. That's wonderful news because we couldn't access the platform during our previous review.
US We were pleased to discover that IPVanish unblocked US material because Netflix is frequently the most challenging hurdle. However, the service didn't work well with Netflix in other regions. If you sign up, make sure to thoroughly try unblocking if it might be a problem for you.
In our final test, Amazon Prime Video detected the VPN and refused to stream any content, which was more bad news.
Though other suppliers perform better, three out of four is a respectable outcome. In our most current unblocking tests, CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, Hotspot Shield, NordVPN, ProtonVPN, and Surfshark (among others) all received a perfect score.
 |
| This is the user interface of IPVanish's Windows client (Image credit: IPVanish) |
Windows app
Whatever your platform, IPVanish tries its best to assist you in getting started. For Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Fire TV, there are apps available. Although there are no browser extensions, the help pages offer training on routers, Chromebooks, Linux, and more in addition to setup instructions for Chrome and Firefox.
When we grabbed the Windows software, it was installed and ready to use in a matter of seconds.
The app's Quick Connect screen initially appears crowded, but that's mostly because it contains so many features. Since the interface is cluttered with tabs, buttons, icons, and lists, it could be difficult at first to navigate it intuitively if you're a VPN rookie.
When you click Connect, a status screen that provides uncommonly detailed information about the protocol being used, connection time, server name, and data uploaded and downloaded appears. Even a nice-looking real-time graph of your upload and download speeds is displayed by the client. (Essential? Although it's doubtful, you have to commend the developer's efforts.)
 |
| You can also view IPVanish's locations as a country list (Image credit: IPVanish) |
With only one click, you may switch to a more standard nation list if you don't like this UI. Again, IPVanish has added new functions, although this is more similar to other programs. A search box allows for keyword filtering of the list. The list can be sorted by response time, load, or nation. With a single click, you may add servers to a Favorites list, and they can then be logically presented at the top of the country list rather than being hidden on a different tab.
 |
Map
The map layout on the app is actually superb—possibly the finest we've seen from any VPN provider.
The map, for instance, is dynamic and functions as you would anticipate rather than being some fixed visual. You can move about by clicking and dragging, and you can zoom in and out and vary the degree of detail by clicking the zoom buttons or turning the mouse wheel.
The map also contains information that is actually helpful. By double-clicking the marker in the default zoomed-out view, for example, which shows 155 servers roughly in the vicinity of California, you can connect to the location that is closest to you.When you zoom in, though, servers in Los Angeles, San Jose, Phoenix, and Las Vegas will appear; you can double-click on any of these to connect if you're nearby.
Oh, and if you're sick of Windows VPN apps with crammed fixed-size map interfaces, no worries — IPVanish's can be freely scaled, or even maximized, letting you utilize your display to its fullest extent. (That doesn't just help the map; it also provides you extra room in the other panels.)
 |
| You can easily change VPN protocols from within the settings of IPVanish's Windows client (Image credit: IPVanish) |
Settings
There are a good number of settings in the Settings box. In addition to OpenVPN TCP and UDP, you can select between WireGuard, IKEv2, SSTP, PPTP, and L2TP protocols. You can select an OpenVPN port (1194 or 443). Both DNS and IPv6 leak prevention are present. The IPVanish OpenVPN driver may be repaired if it has been harmed by another VPN, and you can inspect the OpenVPN logs within the interface to solve issues. You can also specify which server IPVanish uses when the client launches.
The kill switch on the client wasn't activated by default, so we did some experiments. The outcomes were outstanding in every way: regardless of the methods we employed to sever the connection or the protocol, the client promptly alerted us with a desktop warning and, if we had selected that option in Settings, automatically rejoined without ever revealing our real IP.
 |
| The IPVanish Mac app is visually appealing, and a solid effort overall (Image credit: IPVanish) |
IPVanish review: Final verdict
To keep everything going properly, IPVanish provides boosted WireGuard performance, fully configurable apps, and quick live chat support. However, there are some drawbacks as well, and IPVanish can't quite compete with the finest VPN services due to usability flaws and a smattering of lesser bugs.
0 Comments