IPVanish Review
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Overview
Highwinds Network Group launched IPVanish in 2012, and it continues to be one of the top VPNs around. Its super-fast server speeds and versatile apps make it excellent for streaming, file sharing, and gaming. Options for security and servers are top notch. IPVanish works great with P2P applications, and its strict zero logs policy makes it good for those wanting anonymity, despite being subject to U.S. privacy laws. Cons include less-than-stellar customer service, relative difficulty of use, and the fact that it’s blocked by Netflix. IPVanish is a solid VPN service overall, but our top-rated NordVPN provides a faster speeds and a better overall experience at a lower price.
Speed & Performance: 9.5
IPVanish is extremely fast, both uploading and downloading. This feature alone makes it an awesome choice for gamers and those exchanging large files (including P2P), and is why IPVanish is one of our best VPNs for torrenting. We saw close to an almost unbelievable 80Mbps downstream, and upstream speeds were comparable, even with servers halfway around the world. Latency was very impressive as well. P2P users can select SOCKS5 proxy access—which is even faster. (If you aren’t familiar with the difference, VPNs scramble your internet activity to make it undecipherable by third parties, while proxy servers do not use encryption. VPNs offer better privacy technology, while SOCKS5 just conceals online identity.) The only con is a minor drag in connection times, at an average of 14s.
Unblock Content: 9.0
IPVanish lets users around the globe access sites and services like Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Google/Gmail, YouTube, Torrenting, Kodi, and BBC iPlayer. One big strike against IPVanish is that it does not work to unblock Netflix.
Security & Privacy: 9.5
IPVanish uses both its own and third-party DNS servers, letting consumers choose what they prefer (third-party servers are less secure). Encryption is high quality, and features like port 443, killswitch, and DNS leak blocking are supported. They have a firm zero logs policy, never logging any details of your connection, they say, even temporarily. Although it’s based in the US, our scrutiny of their internal operating procedures confirmed that they protect users’ privacy very well.
Server Locations: 8.9
IPVanish offers enough servers covering popular locations on most continents to satisfy the majority of users’ needs. In the US, it covers both coasts and the southern states well; it lacks coverage in the Midwest and central northern states. Mainland Europe and the UK are well-covered, as is Asia, with 77 servers. Australian customers have 49 servers in Sydney and an additional 13 elsewhere in the country, giving great performance. Coverage is not good in Africa or Central and South America, with very few servers located there.
Ease Of Use: 7.8
This is where IPVanish is not quite as outstanding as some, especially for beginners. The design seems unintuitive, and some views lead to frustrating delays and confusion in getting connected. (For example, when choosing a location, you can find yourself scrolling through a non-ordered server list, not realizing that if you just start typing it will jump ahead.) Some app settings (desktop, IOS, and Android) are confusing, and can only be changed when disconnected, which is not intuitively obvious or clearly indicated. Filter settings don’t transfer across views, and we couldn’t get the sort options in the List view to work. Connection is only allowed to the fastest server on the map. All these may be overlooked by experienced users in exchange for speed. The dashboard view is very clear for connection settings, and the advanced settings are nicely organized with ample visual cues and connection details.
WHAT WE LIKE
- Auto-connect to best server for a country
- Nice dashboard view with clear connection settings
- Advanced settings are well organized
WHAT WE LIKE LESS
- Unintuitive and unattractive design
- Some screens don’t work well, if at all
- Usability issues, especially for newbies
Customer Support: 8.3
Compared to some providers, IPVanish does not get top marks for support, especially since it’s somewhat difficult for beginners to use. They do not have live chat or video tutorials available. Although the FAQs cover many simple issues, the section is not very user-friendly to search and navigate. Email support is better—responses were easy to understand and well written.
Value For Money: 9.3
IPVanish is a good overall value, with superior speed and performance, and lots of advanced options and server choices. It can be difficult for inexperienced users, with some non-intuitive features and limited customer service interfaces. Our #1 NordVPN gets better marks in this category.
WHAT WE LIKE
- Server speed & performance are superb
- Lots of advanced features & options
- Good server selection
WHAT WE LIKE LESS
- Blocked by Netflix
- Not beginner-friendly
- Customer service is limited
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