Users have various purposes of using VPNs which depends on their needs and locations. However, one of the most primary purposes is to keep the activities private.
The major downside to IPVanish is that it is based in the US. This will raise red flags for anyone who wants complete privacy.
The main reason for it is the fact that the US is one of the five eyes countries. Still, IPVanish is a decent VPN provider in terms of performance and apps.
However, we found it to be a little expensive in our IPVanish review. So, let’s see why this is the case and what else is there!
IPVanish Review Summary
With a nice brand name and the claim of being “The World’s Best VPN Service”, we analyzed everything in our IPVanish Review.
To sum it all up, IPVanish provides good encryption and security features despite the fact that it is based in the US.
Additionally, it offer a good number of servers with average speeds, however, there are services which have more servers and locations and are available at a cheaper price.
Also, it is not a very preferable VPN service for torrenting users as it has a very few P2P servers. Overall, we didn’t find it to be the best VPN service, neither the fastest in our IPVanish review.
But, it is decent enough and can be used if you are an occasional user and willing to invest some extra bucks in a reliable VPN with regards to service.
Our IPVanish Review Score
- Features: 4.4
- Apps: 4.4
- Security: 4.2
- Speed: 4.2
- Overall: 4.3
IPVanish Controversy
An incident occurred in 2016, where the US Department of Homeland Security was looking for evidences against a person who was accused of posting some links to child pornography.
After suspecting his IP address, the special agent traced it back to Highwinds Network Group who owned IPVanish at the time of the incident.
Initially, when the company received a non-legally binding summons, the company confirmed that the IP address belongs to them but they did not handover any data due to their no logs policy.
However, the company suggested the Homeland Security Investigations to submit second summons requesting subscriber information more detailed in nature.
The detailed logs were handed over to the authority by IPvanish.
Although the actions of the accused were despicable and thankfully he has been caught for his deeds. But, there are thousands of users who legitimately aim to protect their privacy on the web for legitimate reasons.
Lying to them about keeping no logs and then handing over the detailed logs of one user is clearly cheating and the breach of trust.
However, the company is now owned by StackPath since February 2017 and they have clarified that they strictly follow the no logs policy and they do not have any logs at all, not even from the past.
IPVanish is not the first VPN provider who have been accused of handing customer data over to the authorities. However, it certainly is a big stain on the credibility of IPVanish.
Still, it should be noted that it was a onetime incident and since the takeover of StackPath, there is no controversy or accusation of such kind has arrived.
Now that the very important controversy has been clearly described, we are moving on to our IPVanish review about features.
IPVanish Features Review
In our IPVanish review we figured out that it is not a super features rich service, however, all the basic features and performance of this VPN is worth discussing.
So we will talk about all the major aspects regarding the features that IPVanish offers.
Anonymous Torrenting
There are a very few good services which support P2P file sharing and provides users the ease of anonymous torrenting.
IPVanish is one of those few services which support P2P file sharing and allows users to download torrents anonymously.
IPVanish has servers that support p2p which makes it great for users who want to keep this activity private. allows torrenting on a few servers which are optimized for P2P. In the past, these few servers used to have a lot of traffic which made them busy for many users.
However, they have improved significantly to provide a better support for users who are willing to download torrents with better speed and anonymity. It is not the best service for torrenting, but a considerable one.
256-bit AES encryption
Like all the other great VPN providers, IPVanish too uses 256-bit AES encryption i.e. the military grade encryption protocol.
It might sound a little too common as all the major service providers uses this protocol, but it is worth noting because it is commonly used because of the fact that it is quite secure and helps prevent data sniffing for privacy focused users.
Decent speed
While analyzing all the features for our IPVanish review, we did notice that the speed provided by IPVanish is actually very good in comparison with its competitors.
We cannot say that it is the fastest VPN service which is going to give you the best speed possible, but it certainly is one of the considerable choices for someone who is looking for a VPN that provided decent speed.
We tested the speed on several servers and on average the drop in speed was around 18% to 20% as compared to the connection speed without using a VPN.
It must be noted that if your base connection is decent then you certainly can expect a great speed.
IPvanish Speed Test Germany
IPvanish Speed Test Canada
Netherlands IPvanish Speed Test
IPvanish Speed Test USA
24/7 customer support
Another noticeable thing about IPVanish is its customer support which is round the clock available for the assistance of the users, like several others, but we noticed that the response time of their customer support is above average.
In addition, the troubleshooting guides and setup guides of IPvanish are also very user friendly, by which even a not too tech savvy person can setup the VPN on his or her devices.
10 simultaneous connections
This is one of the best feature of IPVanish, having 10 simultaneous connection is very convenient but at the same time I think its a bit of overkill.
With one account of IPVanish, the user can connect upto 10 different devices using the same single account, simultaneously.
If you want to share your account with your friends and families then IPVanish is the best choice.
So, these are the outstanding features we found in our IPVanish review, which makes it seem like a decent service.
With that said, we evaluated the prices as well and it seems a little too much considering the features and service overall. Let’s move to the review about the pricing of IPVanish.
IPVanish VPN Prices
IPVanish offers three different pricing plans which include the monthly, quarterly and annually billed plans.
1 Month: $10/month
3 Months: $8.99/month i.e. $26.99/3 months
1 Year: $6.49/month i.e. $77.99/Year
If we compare this pricing with other VPN providers in industry then we’d say its decent.
The critical part is that all those services provide better features, support, and performance as well. So, in the light of this comparison, we think that the price of IPVanish is a little too much considering the service.
All the plans come with a 7-day money back guarantee, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited server switching and other features.
IPVanish could do well if they have more payment option for the accessibility of its users.
IPVanish Review of Protocols
When it comes to VPN protocols, IPVanish does offer enough to keep most of the users’ satisfied, but the protocols that IPVanish offers do not include all the major ones.
This providers offers OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, iKEv2 and PPTP VPN protocols. By default OpenVPN is the choice and it certainly is the most commonly used VPN protocol among the VPN users because of the speed and privacy it provides.
Still for some advanced users, the PPTP and L2TP protocols are also available. For some reason, IPVanish does not support the SSTP protocol.
IPVanish VPN Servers & Locations
In our IPVanish review about the servers and locations, we found that IPVanish does not have the largest network of servers in the industry, however, the network of servers they have are owned by them.
They offer 1100+ servers in more than 60 countries around the globe from which users can connect.
The breakdown of these is, Europe 400+ servers, North America 500+ servers, Central & South America 20 servers, Oceania 70+ servers, Asia 60+ servers, Africa and Middle East 10+ servers.
The good part is that their network pf server is growing as they are focusing on getting more servers on new locations so that the users can specifically choose from a wider range of countries.
Now is the time that we go on IPVanish review for iOS, Mac, Windows, and Android apps. Generally the apps have just fine reviews overall so we are going to see why is it just fine, not awesome, not too bad.
IPVanish Review for Mac
While reviewing IPVanish VPN for Mac, we realized that the app certainly is easy to use, however, it is not a very attractive interface in comparison with a few other providers.
The Mac client of IPVanish includes all the features integrated within the app including the
- internet kill switch,
- the option for automatic IP switching,
- and the API load balancing. This helps in automatically selecting the best server for the user based on his or her location.
Additionally there are four protocols available in the mac app including L2TP, IPsec, iKEv2 and OpenVPN.
IPVanish supports OS X 10.10 and all the higher versions. The server selection is not that complicated. You can choose one yourself or let the app decide.
IPVanish for Mac is actually great in terms of functionality, but there is a lot of room of betterment in UI.
Also, the automatic server selection does not seem too accurate at all times and takes a little more time than it should. In terms of performance, the app is quite impressive and the features integrated are useful.
IPVanish Review for iPhone
The app of IPVanish VPN for iPhone and iPad is in conformity with other apps. The UI is not very attractive but the app is good in usability and functionality.
Also, the feature of 3D touch to connect IPVanish on your iPhone is really cool and convenient. The iOS app has a feature that allows you to automatically connect to a VPN whenever you login on an unknown WiFi device.
The app also has the option to select best server based on the location of the user but sometimes it takes longer to connect.
In addition, the iOS app of IPVanish gives freedom to select all the servers in more than 60 countries to all the premium users.
There are some UI issues in the iOS app but overall the functionality and usability is good.
When you compare the iOS app with IPVanish’s Android app, you won’t find much difference. IPVanish has made sure that their apps give the same look and feel on all devices.
Anyhow, it is a nice working app for iPhone users if they can spend a few extra on this than they usually can for a VPN.
IPVanish Review for Windows
Out of all the apps of IPVanish for different platforms, the VPN app for Windows is the most advanced one in terms of features and options.
The Windows app of IPVanish is loaded with all the discussed features along with IPv6 leaks protection for better privacy, internet kill switch to stay safe even in the instances of disconnections, LAN blocking to stay anonymous, OpenVPN scramble to get you through all firewalls, and the dual interface for your convenience.
IPVanish’s windows app works on Windows 7 or higher.
The app also gives the ease to select any of your desired server with just a click or you can go a little deeper if you are a pro user.
That is the main purpose of the dual interface, however, it is only for the Windows operating system.
So, the Windows app is the most impressive because of the dual interface and integration of all the useful features. It surely is recommendable, but we still believe that it still is a little overpriced.
IPVanish Review for Android
Lastly, IPVanish VPN for android is again not too impressive because of the minor details and limited features. If we compare the app with other providers then there are way better android VPN apps than IPVanish.
Apart from basic VPN functionality, other features in this app include OpenVPN scramble and API load balancing.
IPVanish’s android app work smoothly and has a good UI. Its easy to use and navigate and it supported on 4.0 and higher versions of android.
Overall, the app for android is slight less impressive in terms of performance and usability.
IPVanish Review for Router
Users can easily buy routers which has IPVanish pre installed. You can try out Flash Routers and InvizBox, this can save you the hassle of setting up IPVanish manually.
Also, IPVanish VPN support routers running ASUSWRT, ASUS-Merlin, DD-WRT, and Tomato firmware.
For DD-WRT and Tomato flashed routers, IPVanish recommends getting the pre-configured router for obvious reasons and to ease the users.
However, the users can manually setup on any router running any of the mentioned firmware by themselves using their manual guides to setup routers.
The great advantage of setting up IPVanish on router is that it only counts as one connection out of 10 in total. Then you can connect as many devices with the router as you wish which will still fall under that one VPN connection.
Final Words
Overall, in our IPVanish review, we can say that it is a decent VPN provider offering good VPN features, speed, performance, and support.
However, it still seems a little overpriced considering the fact that it has a network of servers which is just average in terms of size when compared with other competitors.
IPvanish does not offer any unique features that would justify the price they are charging. In addition, the controversy surrounding IPVanish is also another critical point which might be a turn off for various privacy oriented users.
Still the service is decent in terms of performance and support. It surely is recommendable but there are some better options available in the industry.
