Overview of IPVanish vs ExpressVPN
If you want to find the best VPN for torrenting, privacy, streaming, geo-unblocking, or gaming, it is important that apart from the usual reviews you also read comparisons to find out why your chosen VPN may or may not be the best for you. Although this theoretical battle of IPVanish vs ExpressVPN may look like a predetermined one with ExpressVPN winning all rounds, you may still wonder how hard IPVanish can fight for its position on our rank list. Let’s see this fight in a round by round breakdown because it may not be such an obvious win after all.
Security & Privacy
Well, this is the round where most of the VPN services would most likely bleed out or just give up the fight against the British Virgin Islands-based ExpressVPN. This VPN takes its no logs policy strictly as it has been proven by a real-life case when the Turkish police ended up with no user data in an investigation. Express has neither DNS nor IP leaks, which is also ensured by its effective internet kill switch. This provider offers top-notch security features (e.g., split tunneling), which make it difficult for other services in the market to surpass this high level of security and privacy.
In the other corner, we have IPVanish with its Tier-1 VPN server fleet, which means that this VPN boasts 1000+ own servers for the highest possible level of anonymity. So far, so good. As a matter of fact, it gets even better. IPVanish, basically, offers very similar premium security features, including zero traffic and usage logs, IP and DNS leak protection, a kill switch, and the latest VPN protocols (e.g., OpenVPN). However, in the end, this service comes up short on the feature front.
Truth be told, this almost seems like a balanced fight at first sight. Well done, IPVanish. But, hold on a sec. There is still something, the last blow from ExpressVPN: IPVanish is based in the US, which means surveillance-friendly jurisdiction seasoned with data retention. There you go.
And, when we thought there was still a chance after such a blow to finish close to a tie in this IPVanish vs ExpressVPN sparring round, the leader struck again with an inescapable backhand punch as it offers a number of safe and anonymous payment methods, including Bitcoin. IPVanish has no anonymous payment option, which could be a big no-no sign for the more privacy-sensitive users.
It was close, but the last two punches introduced IPVanish to the floor. Can it still stand up again to fight through this battle?
Speed
This is obviously an essential round to win for an overall winner wannabe. Without good all around speeds, you can forget about enjoying your protected online experience.
In terms of speed, we can say that both these top fighters are quite fast. Although IPVanish claims to be the “fastest VPN” in the world, ExpressVPN may beg to differ. In fact, Express has a built-in Speed Test, which is available from the VPN software menu; they have nothing to hide. So, you can see for yourself what kind of speeds you can expect for all the servers in a list. This is certainly a punch in IPVanish’s face.
ExpressVPN also has double size server fleet, i.e., 2000+ speed-optimized servers in 94 countries, which surely ensure faster speeds than IPVanish. Nevertheless, we have to mention that this is a rather relative area and there could actually be certain regions of the world where IPVanish may beat this top player.
All in all, we can say that considering overall speeds, ExpressVPN seems to be the winner here, but IPVanish was also quite impressive in this round.
Ease of Use
This is a tricky round. Why? Because the ExpressVPN clients have a minimal design and are very easy to use; on the other hand, IPVanish boasts a much nicer and more professional-looking interface, which is almost as intuitive as its opponent.
But this is not a beauty contest round, right? So, let’s get back to reality for a sec. If we focus on the ease of use, we must be strict and give this round to… well, ExpressVPN again. Truth be told, though, IPVanish was quite close to ending this one in a tie.
Torrenting and P2P
Now, the fight is really getting more exciting and more balanced at this point, halfway into the match.
A lot of users start using a VPN mainly because of torrenting. So, this is a very important round for most. Let’s see what our fighters have to offer.
IPVanish is actually called by some as “a torrenter and gamer’s dream” and our IPVanish review also confirmed this claim because it really seems like this service has all it takes to be one of the best VPNs for torrenting. Well, if we turn a blind eye to the US jurisdiction and the Five Eye country base, that is.
When it comes to torrenting, it’s obvious that you need the most secure VPN that has true no logs policy and, preferably, has proven it, too. In this light, we must give this round to Express VPN again even though IPVanish also seems like a good choice if you can trust it despite its jurisdiction.
Netflix and China
Yes – Yes and No – Not really; which one is which one do you think? Oops, when we thought IPVanish could finally get up off the floor, it gets two roundhouse kicks right on its jaw.
In summary, we must say that ExpressVPN ruled this round as it can still be used with Netflix and in China as well. IPVanish has stopped supporting Netflix as their servers got blocked and chose to give up the Don Quixote fight against the windmill. When it comes to IPVanish in China, well, the provider offers troubleshooting and manual connection guides for the main platforms because their IP addresses are mostly blacklisted by this major censor state.
So, if Netflix or your being located in China is your main reason to use a VPN, this round could be a decision maker.
Compatibility
And, when you expected it the least… almost unbelievable… but IPVanish seems to be standing again mustering enough power to land a punch. In this round, we are holding our breaths because, in the beginning, it really looks like an equal fight.
Basically, we can say that the ExpressVPN vs IPVanish battle is quite equal in this round. They both support practically the same platforms, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and routers. However, ExpressVPN has some more up its sleeve, such as BlackBerry, PlayStation, Xbox, Apple TV, Firefox, and Safari. A slap in the face, but IPVanish doesn’t give up just yet and comes back with a mid-strength punch empowered by its Windows Phone support.
It seems that this was just enough for this VPN provider to gain some momentum and to even throw a punch back at Express backed up by the 10 simultaneous devices with one plan as opposed to the 3 devices ExpressVPN allows you to use.
One of the toughest rounds so far. We must say it’s a draw all things considered.
Support
A VPN service without fast, friendly, and effective support is like an Olympic swimmer with one arm (no offense meant to the disabled). Such a service is rarely without technical or other issues, which require the fastest possible solutions. Let’s see what the IPVanish vs ExpressVPN battle presents us in this round.
To be frank, this is another area where ExpressVPN has proven to be a world leader; well, surely one of the best supports on the market. So, to beat its professional, friendly, and quick overall support (including live chat) is almost a mission impossible. IPVanish has grown a lot in this field in the past years because it didn’t even use to have the live chat support option before, which is indeed the most important for a premium VPN service. However, this VPN is still not the Tom Cruise of this fight… mission failed.
So, while we do appreciate the effort IPVanish is putting in its customer support, ExpressVPN is still at the top and stands on solid ground even if it didn’t wash the floor with its opponent in this round.
Pricing
Surprise, surprise! This will be a memorable moment for IPVanish when it reflects back on this match; most likely, its best round in the ExpressVPN vs IPVanish virtual battle.
Express is one of the most expensive premium VPN services. Would you have thought? Well, you have got to pay for the quality and features this VPN software provides you, right? Top-notch service for top-notch prices.
We are actually not that surprised that IPVanish managed to send ExpressVPN on the floor in this round. Its prices are much more budget-friendly even if not the cheap category for sure. As a matter of fact, the 1-year plan is around $22 cheaper than what Express has to offer.
But before IPVanish could strike another, ExpressVPN finishes the battle with a knockout: It has a 30-day money-back guarantee as opposed to a 7-day money-back guarantee from its opponent.
What a fight, ladies and gentlemen!
ExpressVPN vs IPVanish – which is better?
In all fairness, we believe that IPVanish performed very well in this IPVanish vs ExpressVPN comparison match. We knew, of course, that it’s almost impossible to beat the overall champion.
It should be clear from this battle that ExpressVPN is the better choice if you have the kind of money and want top-notch online security and privacy with all possible functions (e.g., Netflix, torrenting, and leak protection).
However, if you are looking for a cheaper VPN service that may not be as anonymous, yet it can provide you with reliable geo-unblocking, gaming, P2P file-sharing, and even streaming from certain media centers, you may want to give IPVanish a chance.
