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IPVanish Essential
Specs
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, Android
- Devices: Unlimited
- Support: 24/7 live chat
- Free version: No
Tiers and pricing
IPVanish has straightforward pricing with two tiers: Essential and Advanced. You can choose a monthly, annual, or two-year subscription period, and longer terms offer more savings.
Design
IPVanish has a nice, modern design. It opens with a map, showing worldwide server locations as pins. I can zoom and drag the map to find a location or select the location button in the left sidebar to browse and search the entire list. The list shows server loads so I can find one that has enough capacity available to offer good speeds.
Features
The most basic function of a VPN is protecting your privacy, and IPVanish Essential did a good job of hiding my IP address and location without any detectable leaks. However, the best free VPNs safeguard your identity just as well.
To stand out, a VPN should offer enough worldwide servers to handle its customer base without any significant slowdowns. In my initial tests of IPVanish Essential, I was disappointed with sluggish performance when connecting to nearby U.S. and Canadian servers, even when I chose a low-load server.
Support
IPVanish claims 24/7 support, so I tested that by opening a chat. It was in the afternoon on a weekday. A chatbot replied quickly to my question about whether ping or load was a more important metric. The AI noted both affect performance in different ways and gave me a link to learn more.
Privacy and security
IPVanish’s privacy policy states clearly that it doesn’t sell or rent your personal information to third parties. However, it allows sharing "where our services use third-party advertising." I didn’t see any ads in the app and haven’t noticed a rise in spam. Still, the privacy policy isn’t clear about third-party sharing.
Is IPVanish right for you?
Overall, IPVanish’s speeds were good, particularly for European servers. However, I had to tinker with my connection protocol to get the best results. The app’s automatic protocol always chose WireGuard, even when IKEv2 was significantly faster.
If you don’t mind fussing with settings a bit, the price is right and the cost doesn’t skyrocket when it’s time to renew. There’s no limit on simultaneous connections so it’s a good choice if you need a VPN on several devices.
That said, there are faster streaming VPNs that offer great speed with no hassle. Premium VPNs like NordVPN offer more features, while Surfshark beats IPVanish’s performance while matching its prices.
While it has malware and ad blocking that work well, neither IPVanish plan matches the robust malware protection of high-quality antivirus software. The 24/7 live chat proved to be hard to access and slow.
IPVanish Essential offers great value for the price, but there are some issues that make it hard to recommend. It’s a good idea to research the best VPNs before selecting a long-term subscription.
FAQs
- Can I use IPVanish on multiple devices?
- Yes, IPVanish allows unlimited simultaneous connections.
- Is IPVanish free?
- No, IPVanish does not offer a free version.
- What is the difference between IPVanish’s Essential and Advanced plans?
- The Advanced plan includes additional features, including a secure browser extension, 1TB of cloud backup storage with sync, and phone support.
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