We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
Editor's Note: We value our relationship with our readers, and we strive to earn your trust through transparency and integrity. We are in the same ownership group as some of the industry-leading products reviewed on this site: ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Private Internet Access, and Intego. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.
When it comes to features, ease of use and customer support, ExpressVPN is miles ahead of IPVanish.
Though IPVanish still has some great features like split tunneling (on smartphones), kill switch and leak protection, ExpressVPN has these and more. Its extra features include Smart DNS, browser extensions, larger server network, etc.
IPVanish on the other hand is cheaper, especially with its monthly subscription. ExpressVPN’s pricing is however justified by its quality of service and excellent customer support.
ExpressVPN is far much faster than IPVanish.
All VPNs affect your connection speeds due to the added encryption, but some VPNs offers superior speed rates. IPVanish offers decent speeds, but ExpressVPN is known for its lightning speeds just as its name suggests. This can be attributed to the larger server network. During our tests, IPVanish reduced our speeds by 37%, and we only experienced an 18% speed cut with ExpressVPN.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Download speed reduction | 11% (UK) | 37% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 16% (FRA) | 30% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 24ms | 363.25ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 11ms | 10ms |
| Unblock successful for |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
ExpressVPN has more servers spread across a larger region.
IPVanish owns its own server network which makes it a tier-1 VPN service. However, this network only consists of 1,300+ servers spread across 75 locations in 50 countries. While this is not a small number, it can’t be compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000+ servers across 160 locations in 94 countries.
Further, ExpressVPN has more servers that are not blocked by popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, etc.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 3,300 | 1000 |
| Server Countries | 105 | 55 |
| IP Addresses | 1,500+ | 40,000 |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow
ExpressVPN has an ever-present customer support team, unlike IPVanish.
Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish provide their users with email support, FAQs, installation guides, troubleshooting guides, and a community forum.
However, ExpressVPN outdoes IPVanish in that it has a 24/7 live chat system where users can get assistance instantly and at any time.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
ExpressVPN is one of the most user-friendly VPN services despite also providing advanced options for power users. The VPN’s new app shows users their best server as well as the last two locations. To connect to any of these three, all you need is just a single click.
Apart from that, you can easily customize your connection from the settings page. Available options include choosing a protocol and activating features such as a kill switch, IPv6 leak protection, DNS leak protection, an automatic kill switch.
During our tests, the VPN performed excellently and we didn’t notice any issues.
IPVanish recently toned down its features to make the VPN clients more usable. It’s now easy to use, and the apps still have very many options if you like to tweak your connection.
On the main page, I display your current location and connection status, providing you with convenient access to reconnect to your previous location.
All its servers are available from a drop-down list on this page, and so new users won’t have a problem using the app. You can still customize your connection by opening settings, or even open the server page and select your desired one using a map.
Generally, IPVanish performs well and it can be installed and used simultaneously on up to 10 devices.
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