IPVanish Review: Review of Features and Tests

In 2025, IPVanish underwent a major glow-up, delivering meaningful improvements across performance, features, and privacy, while expanding its global reach. In this all-encompassing IPVanish review, I’ll break down what’s new and what it means for users.

I will answer the following questions based on my analysis of the latest version of IPVanish:

• What has changed with IPVanish’s performance, features, and pricing? Is it still one of the top VPN providers today?
• What advantages and disadvantages does IPVanish have currently?
• Should you use IPVanish?

IPVanish pros and cons

What features is IPVanish going to have in 2026?

IPVanish, founded in 2012, has faced a shifting VPN landscape with rising competition and changing expectations. Since February 2025, it has improved speeds and content access by adding data centers in major cities and moving closer to peering exchange points to lower latency.

In 2025, IPVanish added 700 servers in 56 countries, bringing its total to over 3,200 servers in 113 countries and 148 locations. This growth puts IPVanish alongside the leading VPNs and makes it an appealing choice for many users in 2026. IPVanish has been around long enough to be a well-established name, but the VPN market has changed quickly in the last few years. Many competitors have been moving fast on new features and polish, so the real question is how well IPVanish is keeping pace.

To its credit, IPVanish has added several genuinely useful features recently. There’s a Link Checker for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android that flags suspicious URLs, and a QR Code Checker on mobile to verify QR links before you open them.

It also includes a Secure Browser, which is rare for VPNs. It runs your browsing session in a cloud sandbox, streams it to you, and clears everything when you’re done. This can help protect you from tracking, fingerprinting, cookies, and some online threats.

IPVanish has also expanded its main VPN features to more devices. Split Tunneling and a Kill Switch are now on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, FireTV, and Android TV. The Kill Switch is now easier to use on Android TV and Fire TV because it’s built into the main app. For networking, IPVanish added WireGuard router support for Linux through the account portal, and still offers OpenVPN for those who want it.

However, your experience may still depend on where you are and how you use the service. Features like Scramble might work better in some regions, and speeds can change a lot based on your location and the time of day. If you’re comparing VPNs, it’s a good idea to test a few server locations you plan to use and run some speed and stability checks yourself.

IPVanish pricing

IPVanish now offers two tiered subscription plans with flexible billing options. Both plans include identical features and functionality, with pricing varying based on subscription length and plan tier.

Essential

The Essential plan starts at $12.99/month for a 1-month subscription. For longer commitments, you can save significantly: the 1-year plan costs $3.33/month ($43.54 billed upfront), and the 2-year plan offers the best value at $2.19/month ($57.22 billed upfront).

Advanced

The Advanced plan is priced at $14.99/month on a month-to-month basis. Annual billing brings the cost down to $4.49/month ($53.88 upfront), while the 2-year commitment reduces it further to $3.29/month ($78.96 billed upfront).

Both plans provide the same core VPN functionality, so your choice between Essential and Advanced depends on your specific needs and budget considerations.

What’s its log-in and privacy policy?

I thoroughly read every sentence in the provider's Privacy Policy, and I'm happy to tell you that IPVanish neither collects nor keeps any information about its users. Here's what the VPN provider's policy says about it:

"IPVanish does not collect, monitor, or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network service, under any circumstances, on any platform".

I was glad to find out that even connection logs aren't collected:

"We do not track user activities outside of our Site, nor do we track the website browsing or connection activities of users who are using our Services".

But it gets even better. IPVanish invited Schellman Compliance, LLC, a leading attestation service, to independently audit its systems in February 2025. The results confirmed that IPVanish truly operates as a no-log VPN provider.

Besides, IPVanish now publishes quarterly transparency reports through its new Trust Center. These reports list all requests they receive from DMCA, government agencies, law enforcement, civil cases, national security letters, and flagged malicious activity. The best part is that the reports show that zero data was provided to any of these organizations, since there is nothing to provide under their no-logging policy.

IPVanish has also taken steps to collect less of your data from the beginning. Mobile users can now sign up without providing an email address or login credentials, while web signups only need an email, payment method, and zip code (for the US and Canada). If you cancel your subscription, the provider automatically anonymizes your account after 45 days. Many VPN providers do not offer this.

What does all this mean for you?

It makes your online experience truly private – not only will third parties be kept in the dark, but IPVanish itself won't know what you do online or who you are. That's cool! It's a very important feature, especially for countries where governments monitor their citizens a lot.

What encryption methods are applied?

It’s AES encryption with a 256-bit key. What do you think? Reliable enough?

Yes!

It’s one of the safest encryption methods that can codify your traffic and not influence internet connections as well. (Still, the speed depends on the tunneling protocol applied in the service.)

What protocols are used?

The following protocols are used in the IPVanish software: OpenVPN UDP, OpenVPN TCP, IKEv2, L2TP, PPTP.

As you can see, there’s a great choice of sustainable protocols (except PPTP which is too weak to secure internet connections).

When I tested the IPVanish Windows software, I chose OpenVPN UDP as it’s the fastest protocol. And it’s secure, too.

What IPVanish protocols do I recommend to apply? It depends on what you are going to do on the Internet.

Both types of OpenVPN are good for online streaming (especially in HD and Ultra HD). It’s fast and secure.

If you care only about your security, and blazing speeds aren’t important for you, IKEv2 and L2TP are a good choice.

Obfuscation of the OpenVPN protocol: what it is, why it’s needed, and why it’s useless with IPVanish

IPVanish has the obfuscation feature on all of its servers. It is called Scramble. The service has now added OpenVPN protocol support to its iPhone and iPad apps, along with Scramble in both TCP and UDP modes – a significant update since iOS doesn't support OpenVPN by default.

Some countries employ technical means to restrict advanced users’ ability to bypass censorship. They track and block VPN connections.

But how is it possible if a VPN protects and hides all of your traffic?

Simply enough. The thing is, any tunneling protocol (you can read more about how the VPN technology is designed on this page) that VPN services use leaves “traces”. They are certain footprints that are commonly repeated in the transferred data sets. Specialized technical means can spot them on the go.

To bypass these devices, various modifications of the popular OpenVPN protocol were developed. They allow altering the footprints and make the detection of the VPN usage harder or even impossible.

Then why isn’t it effective with IPVanish?

Because the governments of such countries don’t simply track the use of a virtual private network but also, first and foremost, blacklist all known VPN servers. And the servers of IPVanish are already on the blacklist.

That’s why it’s not important whether or not IPVanish has obfuscation because its servers are unavailable in any case. This is especially true in China.

Besides government censorship, there are corporate rules. Some companies prohibit the use of third-party VPNs and install detection systems as well. I can’t tell you for sure if obfuscation works in those conditions because breaking the internal regulations of a company goes against my principles.

If you are interested in a VPN that can bypass VPN blocking, you may read our rating of the best paid and free VPNs for China.

What are other useful features?

SOCKS5 web proxy helps you to mask your IP when the connection is not encrypted. It’s applied for P2P and VoIP connections.

Unlimited simultaneous connections on multiple devices is the largest number among the VPN providers I know. If you know the service that allows you to use more devices, let me know.

What do simultaneous connections mean?

You can save your money if you want to secure all your devices, and you have many of them. You just need to obtain one of IPVanish’s plans and download necessary apps compatible with all your gadgets.

24/7 customer support is available via an online chat. I contacted them before subscribing to ask more about the service. Later I asked them why I failed to connect to their servers. In both cases, I got fast and professional assistance.

IPVanish is one of the few VPN services that can be used for Kodi. It has apps that are compatible not only with Windows, Mac, and Android but also with Smart TV.

Servers and platforms

The most important characteristics of a modern VPN are likely what platforms it supports, what operating systems it has native apps, and how developed its technological infrastructure is.

What platforms does IPVanish support?

IPVanish works on multiple devices and platforms. Let’s see what they are.

First of all, it has very user-friendly apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. If your OS is Linux, you will have to configure a VPN protocol manually. What protocols? For Linux, it’s PPTP and OpenVPN. Don’t worry as there are detailed instructions on how to do it.

Besides, there’s an extension for Chrome that is installed in a few clicks (that’s real!) and protects your personal information when you surf the Internet via this browser.

IPVanish also has apps for Kodi, Fire TV Stick, and other TV platforms. It also offers router settings and even sells routers with the VPN already set up.

IPVanish is the most downloaded VPN app on the FireTV store. When Amazon launched its new VegaOS for FireTV devices in 2025, which is based on Linux and made older FireTV apps incompatible, IPVanish released a VPN app on the first day VPNs were supported. It remains one of the few VPNs available for this audience.

How many servers does IPVanish provide and what are their speeds?

IPVanish has made some great improvements to its server network since my last review. The service has grown by 700 servers across 56 countries in the past 12 months, which means IPVanish now has 3,200+ servers across 113 countries and 148 locations, matching most top VPN providers.

The company has also worked on improving speeds and content access across its network. They've added multiple data centers in prime cities and moved closer to peering exchange points (where telecoms meet up and exchange traffic) to reduce latency.

But here's the really exciting news: IPVanish has added 568 RAM-only servers across 19 locations. Why does this matter? RAM-only servers don't store any data permanently – everything gets wiped when the server restarts, adding an extra layer of privacy protection. You can access these through the iOS, macOS, and Android apps by clicking on the Locations tab and filtering by RAM-only.

So how fast is it really? Our tests show that IPVanish performs exceptionally well using the WireGuard protocol, securing its spot in the top 3 of our fastest VPNs.

In terms of download speed, it retained about 80% of the original performance in key locations, which is impressive. Upload speed was similarly strong, depending on the server and location. It's safe to say IPVanish has earned back its reputation as one of the faster VPN providers out there.

How to use IPVanish?

So, I tested the app for Windows for this review. What can I say about it? As for me, it’s quite simple to set up and use it: both for beginners and advanced users. It took me a few minutes to download and set up the software. What steps did I follow?

• I visited the site and went to the ‘’Apps’’ section.
• The system defined my OS and with one click I managed to download the necessary app.
• Then I opened the installation package and in a few clicks, the software was ready to use.

What about the interface?

It’s quite intuitive and user-friendly, but I’m not pleased with the black color of the app. It’s a bit confusing to see it. But it’s just my point of view ☺All in all, it was easy to use it as everything is clear and understandable: what to click and how to connect to a server.

What about its settings?

The main menu consists of 5 sections:

‘’Quick Connect’’– for quick connections to the best server.‘’Server list’’– for choosing servers for connections.‘’Account Details’’– with the information about your subscription.‘’Settings’’– with the necessary configurations for using the app.‘’Information’’ – with Terms of Services and Licenses.

What can you find in ‘’Settings’’?

The settings are divided in general, connection and diagnostics.

In general settings, you can configure the startup of the system and the IPVanish app itself.

Here is how you can do it in the app:

As far as connection settings are concerned, you have to configure them as you won’t be able to connect to IPVanish servers without them.

I didn’t know that and first I failed to connect several times, but when I chose the protocol and installed the necessary TAP drivers, the connections were successful.

For secure and fast using of the service, I chose OpenVPN UDP and enabled Kill Switch and all kinds of data leak protection. Here’s how I did it:

By the way, I found out that IPVanish is not available Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria or Sudan because of the local policy, so if you are going to these countries, you should install the app before you are there.

Here is the extract from their TOS that confirms it:

"Our Services are not intended to be used in countries where offering or providing the Services is illegal, and we do not offer the Services in such countries or to citizens of such countries, including the countries of Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria or Sudan".

What do I like about IPVanish?

It’s user-friendly and intuitive. I didn’t have to read any guides or contact online support to use it.

What do I dislike about IPVanish?

I failed to connect to some servers, so I have to look for the ones that work. To my mind, they should the interface’s color. But it’s not obligatory ☺

How to get IPVanish for free?

The provider of IPVanish doesn’t offer any free trial, still, you can save you money and use it for 7 days free of charge. But you have to prepay and then ask for a refund. Be sure that you manage to do it within the first 7 days after your subscription.

Here’s the screenshot from their TOS:

VPN tests

In this section, I will tell you about the test results of IPVanish in more detail and describe a dangerous issue its app for Android has.

IP Leak Test for IPVanish

Does IPVanish leak your IP?

I tested about 15 servers located in different countries, and no IP leaks were detected. The tests were conducted with whatsmyip.com and myip.com.

The kill switch feature was running quite well. I’m pleased with it as my private data was protected.

All of that is mostly relevant to Windows. If you are using the Android app, be careful: some settings combinations and unsteady Wi-Fi or 3(4)G signal may cause the leak of your real location.

I’ll explain. If the auto-connection is turned off, the change of the network (such as from one Wi-Fi to another or from Wi-Fi to the mobile Internet) makes the VPN connection fail and renders all traffic unprotected without displaying any message about the VPN deactivating. IPVanish will only stop updating the visualization of traffic use.

If IPVanish had a kill switch on Android, there wouldn’t be such a problem. It is only included on PC, though, so be careful with the settings.

By the way, even if the auto-connect option is on, it won’t save you from a short location data leak at the moment of reconnection. Keep that in mind when you use torrents or video services that offer free content delivered via the P2P technology (Popcorn Time, Kodi, etc.).

IPVanish speed test

I tested different locations and servers: EU, US, and other regions.

In particular, I tested 5 servers in Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and 5 servers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, and a few US servers.

The speeds are quite fast on most servers, the slowest were the ones located far from my real geo-location. Besides, you have to choose the servers that work as some of them are blocked and show a connection error.

This is the fastest server I managed to find for my geo-location. I applied OpenVPN UDP for my connections.

Here are the speed results for some other servers:

Thus, I am quite pleased with the speeds. If you want faster speeds, you have to try different protocols and locations.

Test for Netflix

Does IPVanish work with Netflix?

Not all servers, but there are a few US servers that manage to unblock Netflix US content.

How did I find out about it?

On this website, I found the film that is available only in the USA. It’s ‘’Svaha. The Sixth Finger.’’

Then I chose 10 IPVanish’s US servers and tried to stream this film. It’s worth saying that some of them were blocked as I saw Error Code: M7037-1111.

But 5 out of 10 tested servers unblocked Netflix US. The locations of IPVanish servers that work for Netflix:

• Dallas
• Salt Lake City
• San Jose
• 2 servers in Atlanta

Test for Hulu

I managed to access the Hulu website without any problems but unfortunately, as soon as I attempted to watch a movie, it determined I was using a VPN. So IPVanish can help you sign up for Hulu but not to watch its content.

Information about the company owner

IPVanish was founded in 2012 by Mudhook Media Inc. but in 2017 and 2019 it changed its owner. Now it belongs to J2 Global which is a large tech company founded in 1995. In 2019, it acquired IPVanish and two other VPN services as a part of its NetProtect project.

It’s too early to say how the change of the owner influences the provider because too little time has passed. Perhaps, we will soon see significant improvements in its work. In any case, we will update this review whenever any considerable changes occur.

J2 Global Inc address:

6922 Hollywood Blvd Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90028 United States

website: j2global.com

Conclusion: pros and cons

Is IPVanish worth using? What are its pros and cons?

Here's my conclusion:

IPVanish has made significant strides and is now a strong contender in the VPN market. It's worth trying as it offers numerous advantages with only a few remaining drawbacks:

So, should you use IPVanish? The answer is much more favorable than it used to be. Unless you reside in China, engage in extremely sensitive activities that may draw government attention, or have very specific geo-unblocking needs for niche services, IPVanish is now an excellent choice.

The service has dramatically improved its speed performance, expanded its server network to match top competitors, and demonstrated a genuine commitment to privacy through independent audits and transparency reports. The frequent app updates and support for virtually every VPN-capable platform make it a reliable and user-friendly option for the vast majority of VPN users.

Top 3 alternatives to IPVanish

NordVPN

I ranked as #1 ‘’All-round’’ VPN in the list of the best VPNs for 2026. It’s perfect for streaming on Netflix and torrenting.

Useful features:

• Compatible with a ton of platforms;
• Logs aren’t kept (proved by an independent audit);
• Torrenting;
• 30-day money-back guarantee;
• CyberSec;
• Tor over VPN/Double VPN.

$3.09 per month if subscribed for 3 years (Best price!)

Surfshark

To my mind, it’s the best ‘’Budget’’ VPN among cheap services. And here is why I think so:

Useful features:

• Logs aren’t kept ((proved by an independent audit);
• Good intuitive apps;
• Torrenting is allowed;
• IP/DNS leak tests are successful;
• Unlimited devices;
• Works with Netflix.

2 years – $1.99 per month if subscribed for 2 years (Best price!)

CyberGhost VPN

I ranked as the best VPN for torrenting and Netflix. Why? Here are the reasons why:

Useful features:

• Intuitive apps for multiple platforms;
• Ad-blocker;
• P2P is allowed;
• Servers aren’t blocked by Netflix;
• No IP and DNS leaks;
• Tor is supported;
• 45-day money-back guarantee;

3 years – $2.03 per month if subscribed for 3 years (Best price!)

I hope that you enjoyed my IPVanish review! If you are still not sure if it’s good or you want a good free VPN, read my recent overview of free VPN services.