IPVanish Review

Feeling frugal? Then IPVanish might be the VPN you’ve been looking for.

IPVanish is a recommended VPN here at VPN Hound: mainly because of its ridiculously cheap first year price, but also because of the sheer number of features, and its simplistic design. This VPN is suited to anyone who needs to hide their internet identity, surf in complete secrecy, or unblock basic content services like Netflix and YouTube TV.

IPVanish, headquartered in the US, has excellent throughput in particular via WireGuard tunnelling. It comes with a plethora of useful extras, such as the “On Demand” function that lets you configure your VPN connection to function with your favorite Wi-Fi network or app. As an added bonus, the SOCKS5 proxy is built in, making it a fantastic tool for BitTorrent users, too.

Overview: Positives & Negatives

IPVanish has certain flaws, but keep in mind so do all VPN services.

Its apps may feel overly simplistic and it’s sadly based in the USA which isn’t the best country for privacy protection nor avoiding censorship. But, there are a lot more points to cover here, not least the low cost which makes it an attractive choice for price conscious consumers.

Ultimately, IPVanish stands out for being affordable, and both feature-rich and user-friendly. It’s a safe and dependable choice for streaming services like Netflix that are blocked in your country, but there’s a lot more to it too, so let’s delve in.

Torrenting with IPVanish

Let’s start with Torrenting. IPVanish supports torrenting reasonably well, but it does come with a few caveats.

It’s certainly a VPN to consider for anonymous downloading via Torrents, however it’s worth pointing out that it isn’t the best VPN here by a long stretch. Why? Because there are no dedicated torrent servers available; all P2P functionality is handled by the same set of servers as the rest.

And this really shows in the connection delays.

But, once I was able to connect to all of the peers, I saw download rates of around 14MB/s – which isn’t too bad. I’ve seen higher rates with NordVPN and CyberGhost, which are probably the better choices for those who wish to torrent or use P2P a lot over VPN, but they’re more pricey.

If you’re on a budget and don’t do a lot of torrenting but want the ability to do so should the need arise, IPVanish is fine. Plus, those who value privacy and security above speeds, may find IPVanish’s complimentary SOCKS5 proxy to be an invaluable tool. Keep in mind that the top VPNs provide this functionality too, though.

Streaming: Is It Any Good?

Here’s a comparison with ExpressVPN, the king of streaming VPNs:

While it’s streaming capabilities aren’t bad, those looking for a dependable and trouble-free streaming experience may want to look elsewhere. Particularly if you’re only really looking for a VPN for streaming alone.

While it’s streaming capabilities aren’t bad, those looking for a dependable and trouble-free streaming experience may want to look elsewhere

While IPVanish can bypass geo-restriction on some of the most popular streaming sites, it may have trouble with others, like Hulu, ITVx and Amazon Prime Video. IPVanish’s lack of dedicated streaming servers or “specialized servers” also means you may experience buffering or slowdowns when watching videos online.

Those wishing to maximise their streaming experience may be better off with one of the other ‘premium VPN providers, such as NordVPN or Surfshark. Streaming-optimized VPN servers, combined with high speeds and additional features, make it possible to safely access a broader selection of content from a wider variety of sources.

Does Netflix work?

Yes. I could get the libraries and even the non-library content to work using several US servers, but this did involve some creative switching of servers to find the optimum one first.

Other VPNs have specialized servers and you really notice that they’re lacking here, as it requires a bit of manual work first.

Other VPNs have specialized servers and you really notice that they’re lacking here, as it requires a bit of manual work first.

European servers proved a bit harder. When thinking about IPVanish VPN’s ability to bypass Netflix’s regional locks, it’s hard not to be struck by the contradictions. The VPN service, on the one hand, made it possible to watch Netflix in the without any interruptions or delays. Yet, it was proven wanting in unblocking the majority of European Netflix libraries.

It’s clear that some VPN services can provide a temporary relief from geo-restrictions, and that’s the case here: there isn’t yet a permanent solution on IPVanish.

BBC iPlayer – Does it work?

Yes, eventually.

IPVanish VPN’s potential to bypass BBC iPlayer’s geo-restriction presented a number of obstacles for me. Mainly that although the site could be unblocked and eventually accessed, it broadcast quite low quality content and also suffered from buffering issues. I tried this on several different locations but the results were the same.

It’s important to note that not all VPNs will work with every streaming service, and that you may need to experiment to find one that doesn’t have any restrictions on the content you want to watch. As a result, customers who want to access BBC iPlayer via VPN, may want to look into alternate providers that have had consistent success in the past. And that doesn’t, sadly, include IPVanish.

Does it work with Hulu?

When I put IPVanish VPN to the test with a number of different streaming services, frankly what I saw was less than ideal. IPVanish was able to unblock Netflix (US, UK, and Indian libraries), HBO Max, YouTube, and BBC iPlayer – but not many others.

Streaming services like Hulu and a few others remained inaccessible – presumably being blocked by regional filters. There were errors or time-outs galore. These restrictions on accessing specific streaming sites highlight the need of selecting the appropriate VPN provider with specialized servers – it really does make a difference.

Does IPVanish work with Kodi?

I realze that fewer people are using Kodi now, so this advice applies to most of the TV streaming devices.

Thankfully, IPVanish VPN can be configured to function with a variety of them, including Kodi boxes, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and even Roku. Specifically, for the former, IPVanish provides an .apk file that can be downloaded and installed on Kodi – download it here.

The Amazon Fire TV or Amazon Fire Stick, 2nd generation or later, is required to  access content via Amazon on IPVanish (or most VPNs).

Roku will also function, but it will need extra hardware in order to connect to IPVanish properly – either using a DD-WRT / Tomato router is the best option.

In general, then, IPVanish is an okay choice for streaming, especially for those who want to watch Netflix and YouTube TV in the USA. But, IPVanish’s features may fall short if you need to access more specialized streaming. It’s a shame, because IPVanish’s availability of apps for the Fire TV, Fire Stick, and Fire Cube simplifies the streaming experience for users, as we’re about to cover shortly.

SugarSync: Do you need it?

Before we come to pricing, I need to cover what SugarSync is and if you need it – because some IPVanish plans come bundled with it and some don’t.

SugarSync is a cloud-based backup and synchronization solution that allows you to access and manage your data from any computer, phone, or tablet. By data, I mean anything – your audio files, personal files, it’s a bit like DropBox but more secure.

SugarSync’s end-to-end encryption and cross-platform availability make it ideal for many businesses / individuals who value the safety and confidentiality of their sensitive information and need to store & share it with their employees from any location and on any device.

In other words, if you or your company regularly accesses files from a cloud-based location, or if you need to store and transfer huge volumes of data, this service may be worth looking into, but for most users I would suggest personally to skip it and save the cash.

It’s worth noting that SugarSync isn’t included with every IPVanish VPN subscripotion/plan but does cost extra if you want to use it.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s look at the pricing.

IPVanish Pricing

IPVanish is indeed one of the cheapest VPNs around – but this comes with the caveat that you need to pay upfront to get the cheapest price.

This is because, as with most VPNs now in 2023, the price for a 1-month subscription is the most expensive, and it pays to get a 12-month, 24-month or even a 6-month plan for the best value.

Saying that, IPVanish is one of the cheapest VPNs if you want a shrot-term 1 month subscription. Here’s a comparison:

How cheap is it?

It’s important to note that, at $10.99 per month, IPVanish VPN is cheaper than the calculated average of $11.14 per month for VPNs. For an annual subscription, this works out a lot cheaper and this would be my suggestion – at only $53.99 per year.

So, here we have a VPN service that charges less than average but offers useful extras – a plus point of IPVanish here, but if you want the cheapest VPN around with loads of features then you’ll want to consider either Mozilla VPN or Mullvad instead.

However, it’s important to point out that the annual price is ONLY for the first year. The annual price in the 2nd year is higher – something to watch out for.

To clarify, the first year’s membership is $53.99, which is cheaper than the annual average price for the VPNs I’ve evaluated ($70.44), but the second years’ subscription fee goes up to $89.99! While this is now, sadly, standard procedure for several VPN services, I don’t like it and worry that some customers will be caught off guard by the increase in cost.

Alternatively, for $49.00 a year, you could subscribe to Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN, the most affordable/cheap VPN at the moment.

In our digital world, privacy is vital, but clearly VPNs can be costly – if you’re looking for a truly free VPN, then TunnelBear’s free plan has limited data (500MB/month), while ProtonVPN’s plan is free with flexible pricing and no data limits. The catch is that its connection speeds are incredibly slow. All things considered, it’s important to choose wisely based on your own needs, and remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Payment methods

Sadly, there is no Bitcoin or crypto payments here. IPVanish only accepts credit cards or PayPal – so no cash or other anonymous methods. For those seeking anonymity, IVPN accept cash payments directly to their headquarters, so if you’re paranoid then use them instead. 🙂

IPVanish is indeed one of the cheapest VPNs around – but this comes with the caveat that you need to pay upfront to get the cheapest VPN price.

With that in mind, IPVanish’s monthly fees may seem steep at first, but they’re actually rather affordable when you consider the extensive set of features you get.

Credit cards and PayPal are both acceptable methods of payment when using IPVanish VPN. Notably, the service does not support cryptocurrency payments any more, though they used to. This is a shame for those who want to pay for their VPN with crypto.

Free trial

There is a IPVanish free trial, but it comes with an interesting drawback: You need to sign up for an annual (not monthly) plan to be eligible.

For many users, this might be problematic because, if you’re like me, you may want to try out the service first before paying for it for a full year. So to put it another way, IPVanish’s 30-day money-back guarantee only applies to annual subscriptions, so make sure you sign up for the right one.

By the way, there are better VPNs with free trials that don’t have this restriction, if that’s what you’re after. Lastly, just to point out that all IPVanish plans, with or without SugarSync AND regardless of how long you pay for, come with an unlimited number of simultaneous devices i.e. connected at the same time.

Can I get IPVanish for Free?

Kind of.

The premium service (for mobile devices) comes with a 7-day free trial – this gives you full access to all of the features. Whether you’re staying for longer or just testing the trial, you’ll need to download the IPVanish software from either iTunes Store or the Google Play store and create an account to begin the free trial.

When signing up for a new account, subscribers can choose the free trial plan they want to use and will need to confirm the subscription via the app store directly. IPVanish’s desktop client supports sign in with a free trial account, giving you access to all the same protections, protocols, and server locations (again, this is only on a premium subscription).

Add the free trial and the 30-day money-back guarantee together, you’ll get access to premium IPVanish VPN service for free for a total of up to 37 days. If you’re interested in trying out the service before committing to paying, this is a great way to test out IPVanish and put it through its paces.

How Fast is IPVanish? Performance specs

IPVanish provides lightning-fast connections thanks to its support for WireGuard – one of the quickest tunnelling protocols on the VPN scene. As a result, it’s one of the fastest VPNs in the world.

Interestingly, WireGuard is IPVanish’s default tunnel for all applications and according to our results, the download speeds are generally high to very-high, and these kinds of performance levels are maintained at 80%-90%, i.e. there is little to no loss. Upload speeds are often similarly fast, depending on your location and the server you connect to.

OpenVPN, another tunnelling protocol available on IPVanish, also has respectable throughput rates.

The data from our 5 days of recent testing is shown in the table below. This list features the three other most popular VPNs, chosen by our users.

So to summarize, it’s fast compare dto all but NordVPN – widely regarded as the fastest VPN. That’s still not bad!

What else do I need to know?

OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP, and PPTP are just some of the tunnelling protocols that IPVanish users can take use of.

According to VPN Hound tests, IKEv2 connections are much quicker than OpenVPN ones, which wasn’t expected. While download speeds were generally more stable and increased, upload speeds decreased significantly in many situations, by an average of 70%.

While using OpenVPN, users should expect a 20% decrease in download speeds and a noticeable slowdown in upload speeds too. In addition, both protocols had longer-than-usual ping delays, so maybe don’t use OpenVPN for gaming.

L2TP is being phased out by most VPN companies, yet IPVanish still supports it. Download speeds typically decline by 65% when using this protocol, and upload speeds typically drop by 30%. L2TP’s flexibility with a wide variety of devices is its main selling point, but the ping times weren’t great either, and I don’t recommend to use it now.

Because of its security flaws, PPTP is the tunnelling protocol I least recommend. Most VPNs don’t use it either. VPN Hound tests also showed that it was the slowest option, so there’s little reason to choose it.

When using PPTP, speeds were reduced by an average of 86% when downloading and 93% when uploading. In addition, ping times were quite slow, making it a sluggish performer.

Here’s the summary:

About IPVanish Servers

While not the most important factor, having a large number of servers is definitely something to look at when choosing a VPN service. Why? Because if your user base is roughly dispersed over the globe, then a larger fleet of servers can help you avoid congestion and keep your connection speeds both stable and fast.

IPVanish has a larger-than-average number of countries here, with roughly 2,000 servers in ~75 locations.

Here’s a quick list, if you want to view the full list of server locations then click here.

• 🇺🇸 United States
• 🇨🇦 Canada
• 🇲🇽 Mexico
• 🇧🇷 Brazil
• 🇦🇷 Argentina
• 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
• 🇫🇷 France
• 🇩🇪 Germany
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands
• 🇸🇪 Sweden
• 🇮🇹 Italy
• 🇨🇭 Switzerland
• 🇪🇸 Spain
• 🇮🇪 Ireland
• 🇷🇺 Russia
• 🇹🇷 Turkey
• 🇮🇳 India
• 🇸🇬 Singapore
• 🇯🇵 Japan
• 🇦🇺 Australia
• 🇳🇿 New Zealand
• 🇿🇦 South Africa

And it’s worth mentioning that there is an additional layer of security here, as the company behind IPVanish actually owns all of the servers (i.e. they’re not rented, like with others). I’ll cover this later.

Comparison

So in summary, IPVanish’s total server count isn’t the highest, but it’s still a good service that gives customers a lot of flexibility in choosing from VPN servers in locations all over the world. If you’re subject to government georestrictions where you are, then you should be okay with IPVanish.

But what about the numbers compared to other VPNs?

Does it use virtual locations?

No. A virtual location is a VPN server that appears to be located somewhere other than where it is actually physically located. This isn’t necessarily a negative; this setup can be used to provide coverage in dangerous regions by placing servers in safer countries. However, IPVanish claims that none of its servers are virtual locations. ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries with only a few virtual locations.

It does have some negatives though, such as being unavailable in China (more on this below).

Let me clarify something, as this causes a lot of confusion: a virtual location is different to a “virtual server” – a virtual server is a software-defined server, which may host several other servers on a single physical server. IPVanish uses virtual servers, which is a good policy so long as the company retains control of the underlying hardware.

Certain VPN service providers, such as ExpressVPN, have started deploying diskless or RAM-only servers since these types of servers are more difficult to physically manipulate. Because the data is not stored on the hard drives of these servers, it is more difficult for anyone to access the data or modify it in any way.

Although IPVanish VPN claims to own and operate 80% of its servers, none of them are RAM-only servers (at any of its locations). Instead, they assert that all of their servers are protected by a robust encryption system. Of course, encryption is a vital layer of protection that helps to safeguard your data, even though IPVanish’s method might not provide the same level of safety that diskless servers do.

IPVanish does have a higher level of control over its network, though – a substantial amount of its infrastructure is also owned by them, not just the servers. This type of setup usually results in improved overall performance and dependability.

Privacy Policies

As a starting point, IPVanish VPN’s privacy policy contains straightforward language: i.e. not monitoring or logging user activities, gathering minimum data, and not selling or renting personal information. The policy’s fairly extensive description of its methods, however, makes it significantly more difficult to understand than, say, TunnelBear VPN, which strikes a better balance between clarity and readability.

It is typical practice for VPNs like IPVanish to process “aggregated anonymized data” in order to improve their service, so don’t be too alarmed.

 It is unclear from their policy whether or not total session duration is included in the data collected

Despite the company’s assertion that it does not log connection times, it is unclear from the policy whether or not total session duration is included in the data collected. The gathering of data by businesses should be limited as much as possible, and it is crucial to recognise that anonymized data is not always as anonymous as we may imagine.

IPVanish VPN’s extensive list of cookies and third-party analytics tools it uses, coupled with its explanations for doing so, is a particularly impressive feature of its privacy policy.

Who owns IPVanish?

Like a lot of VPNs (that are now owned by the same ~3 corporations), IPVanish is owned by a company called Ziff Davis, who also own StrongVPN and Encrypt.me.

On their website, they don’t mention nor make it easy to find, in fact their website says that they are owned by Mudhook Marketing, LLC, which is part of NetProtect. All these companies are based in the USA, which is a potential problem for the paranoid, as I’ll cover next.

Should I worry about the Five Eyes?

IPVanish is based the USA, which is one of the Five Eyes member countries, hence the company has been accused of having ties to the intelligence alliance. Those concerned with privacy have voiced concern over the possibility of third parties monitoring their internet activity.

Interestingly, the US Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed IPVanish in 2016. The incident prompted a debate into whether U.S.-based VPN providers can reliably ensure user privacy, despite IPVanish’s claims that it maintained a strict no-logs policy and did not store any personally identifying information about its users.

IPVanish, though, has denied participation in the Five Eyes or any other government surveillance operations, which has raised some eyebrows with many in the VPN scene. The company asserts its impartiality and a firm dedication to customer confidentiality.

But always remember, you should do your own due diligence and read the privacy policy and terms of service carefully before signing up for any VPN service.

Has IPVanish been audited?

No.

Does IPVanish work in China?

Not really. I couldn’t ever get IPVanish to work with the Great Firewall of China, and Wikipedia confirms as much.

So if you plan on traveling to China or need to access local Chinese content, IPVanish probably won’t be the best VPN here, due to the country’s strict internet laws and overbearing restrictions. The Great Firewall of China is meant to prevent “unauthorized” access to restricted sites that go against government policy, and citizens are required to have a license to use VPNs.

It is worth pointing out, however, that IPVanish says that manual configurations can be used in China, but even then, the company doesn’t guarantee reliable access. Thus, if you’re a newbie to VPNs or rely heavily on Chinese content, it’s best to consider other VPNs that work reliably in China.

[best_vpns_list]

IPVanish on Windows

IPVanish VPN offers user-friendly apps that are well-designed and easy to use. We loved testing them here at VPN Hound.

However, generally speaking these apps are more suited to advanced users because of the multitude of features, arcane settings, and detailed stats available about the connection.

Dedicated apps are available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS users. Just to point out, Linux users will have to go through the cmd/Command Line Interface since there is no GUI available. Sorry!

Windows 11

Frankly, I didn’tt find the IPVanish client to be especially helpful. Firstly, the green Connect button in the app’s upper right corner allows instant access to the internet and that works fine.

While I do like how straightforward this method is, there is a chance that first-time users will not realise the app is ready to go until they try to actually do something with it!

The software also has drop-down menus which let you connect to your preferred country, city, and ultimately server. The “Best Available” option is used by default for all of these features and it works well. That said, the ability to quickly narrow your focus to a specific region, city, or even server from the app’s home screen is a major selling point. Some users may find it difficult to navigate the numerous drop-downs and menus.

If you want a comparison, then TunnelBear provides a fun, light-hearted program that’s bright yellow and helps you connect to the internet in a flash. One of its strongest suits is that it is easier to use than IPVanish thanks to its user-friendly layout. If you’re a newbie to VPNs, then I strongly suggest starting with TunnelBear (they even do a free trial).

How do I download on Windows?

To download IPVanish, follow these simple steps.

1. First, go to the IPVanish website and click on the “Apps” button.
2. Then, click the “Download Now” button and select the operating system you want to install it on. Open the downloaded file and install the app following the instructions provided.
3. After the installation is finished, you will need to use the credentials you created to log in to your account.
4. After that, all that’s left to do is connect to the server of your choice and start using IPVanish securely for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. 🙂

IPVanish on Android

Some of the best VPNs for Android know this well: the simpler the app, the better.

Both the iOS and Android versions of the IPVanish VPN app perform the same functions; however, the Android version has a more straightforward appearance. And that’s why we love it.

Meither of these apps, however, come with a kill switch. Yet, there are a few features that are exclusive to the Android app, such as an obfuscation toggle and a split tunnelling option.

IPVanish has added helpful status information for oyur peace of mind, such as your new (VPN) IP address, the name of the server, location, and the amount of time spent connecting in order to make accessing the VPN before it worked. This might sound OTT but it’s actually useful in finding the best ping.

In terms of its GUI , the application lets you select between a light and dark mode. Handy if you’ve enabled dark mode in Android, as it automatically recognizes it here and uses the same rule. So, no need to manually enable Dark Mode now. Cool!

All of this is great, but it isn’t as beautiful as ExpressVPN’s app layout, which is our favorite here at VPN Hound.

Kill Switch: Does it work well?

If your connection to the VPN server drops, IPVanish does thankfully have a kill switch feature. This will immediately disconnect you from the web, almsot by magic.

It’s possible to tailor the kill switch to your needs with a few extra settings too – for instance, by blocking LAN access, the device is cut off from local network devices; this is especially helpful if using  public Wi-Fi. A good tip, to avoid data leakage while using a torrent client, I’d suggest to limit access to any local networks other than the VPN connection.

In general, the kill switch function performed as expected, protecting private data while online. It was pretty much instant, too.

Adblocking

There is no ad blocking feature with IPVanish… and actually I quite like that. It’s refreshing to see a company keep it simple, and also it’s generally best practice to use your own free Adblocker such as Ghostery, uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus – all are free and updated regularly.

The best VPNs will always have extra privacy features that make it difficult to monitor you online and guarantee that using their VPN won’t interfere with your regular activities.

So it’s a shame that IPVanish doesn’t allow access to the Tor anonymization network, and it doesn’t support multi-hop connections either. These are used by VPNs to make its users’ connections even more difficult to track and intercept.

Is there Split tunneling?

By using split tunneling, you can tell your devices which data to send through the VPN and which to send “in the clear”. It’s useful if you want to access your online bank account for example, as most banks do not allow any sort of VPN connection. Split tunnelling is available with IPVanish VPN, however it’s restricted to Android devices only. That’s a bit of a shame.

If you want all of these: i.e split tunneling, multi-hop connections, adblocking and access to Tor, then you’ll need to use either ProtonVPN or NordVPN.

What addons do I get?

Regular readers will know that VPN companies love to bundle extras with their plans these days. These typically include things like static IP addresses or access to high-performance server hardware for an additional fee.

IPVanish does not provide any such addons, and doesn’t pretend to.

IPVanish does not provide any such addons, and doesn’t pretend to. Their argument is that there are dedicated companies already doing that – for example, TorGuard offers an impressive range of add-ons for considerably less than what most VPN providers charge. And they have a point.

In addition to VPN services, some providers have expanded their offerings to include other privacy-enhancing tools like password managers such as Remembear and encrypted file lockers like NordLocker. For example, Hotspot Shield provides a Pango account that grants access to other privacy-protecting services for free.

It isn’t completely barebones here though: IPVanish does offers backup space and syncing via SugarSync as discussed above, and LiveDrive, as well as an antivirus subscription add-on called Vipre that includes anti-tracking tools. You have to pay more for these though.

Verdict on IPVanish: Is it a good VPN?

IPVanish VPN’s unlimited simultaneous connections and extensive worldwide (owned) server network make it a great choice for those fairly new to VPNs. It doesn’t have the features that more expensive VPNs have, such as ExpressVPN – there is only limited Netflix and streaming here.

But, regardless, the flexibility of its server connection options is another plus.

IPVanish ideally needs to undergo a public third-party audit and start publishing a transparency report if it wants to restore customers’ faith in the service’s commitment to data security. Some may be concerned that it is part of the Five Eyes. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a privacy-focused VPN, as your first priority.

All in all, its prices are cheap, particularly for the first year, but its lacklustre privacy and security measures leave much to be desired.