Overview of IPVanish vs ExpressVPN
If you want to find the best VPN for torrenting, privacy, streaming, geo-blocking, or gaming, it’s 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 battle between 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 in our rankings.
Let’s see this fight in a round-by-round breakdown because it may not be such an obvious win after all.
Security and 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 very seriously, as it has already been proven by a real-life case when the Turkish police ended up with no user data after seizing an Express server 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 (such as 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 1,000+ 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 seemed like a balanced fight at first sight. Well done, IPVanish. But, there is still one more thing, the last blow from ExpressVPN: IPVanish is based in the US, which means a surveillance-friendly jurisdiction seasoned with data retention. And there that goes.
And, when we thought there was still a chance to finish close to a tie in this IPVanish vs ExpressVPN sparring round, the leader struck again, since 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 would 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 a double size server fleet, i.e., 2,000+ 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’s.
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 5 Eyes country base, that is.
When it comes to torrenting, it’s obvious that you need the most secure VPN that has a true no-logs policy and, preferably, has proven it too. In this light, we must give this round to ExpressVPN again, even though IPVanish also seems like a good choice if you can trust it despite its jurisdiction.
Netflix and China
Just 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 being located in China is your main reason to use a VPN, this round could be a decision maker.
Compatibility
Finally, 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 its allowing 10 simultaneous devices with one plan, as opposed to the 5 devices ExpressVPN allows you to use.
One of the toughest rounds so far. We must say it’s a draw, with all things considered.
Support
A VPN service without fast, friendly, and effective support is like an Olympic swimmer with one arm. 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 the world leader – well, at least one of the best supports on the market. So, beating 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 since it didn’t even 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.
ExpressVPN support includes a 24/7 live chat, extensive Troubleshooting guides, a Support Ticket system, a blog, and of course support via email.
IPVanish, on the other hand, can only offer an FAQ/Support Center and support via email.
So, while we do appreciate the effort IPVanish is putting in its customer support, ExpressVPN is still at the top.
Pricing
Luckily for IPVanish, this is the best round in the ExpressVPN vs IPVanish battle.
Express is one of the most expensive premium VPN services. This is because you really do end up paying for the quality and features this VPN software provides you. Top-notch service for top-notch prices.
We are actually not that surprised that IPVanish managed to send ExpressVPN to the floor in this round. Its prices are much more budget-friendly, even if they aren’t the cheapest VPN around. 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 the 7-day money-back guarantee from its opponent.
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 the 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 can allow you to access geo-blocking content, gaming, P2P file-sharing, and even streaming from certain media centers, you may want to give IPVanish a chance.
I think if security isn’t your main concern, than using IPVanish is a feasible option. However, in my understanding, I think anyone who uses VPN would be wanting to stay away from being under the surveillance of the 5 eyes group. But, it depends I guess.
Color me confused. I see a comment from someone praising this but the review makes ExpressVPN sound better. Under what circumstances would I want to use IPVanish instead of ExpressVPN? I don’t know much about virtual private networks so anything people here can tell me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
A very close fight. At some points, the challenge is very neck and neck, but when it comes down to it, ExpressVPN clinches the day with lead in several critical areas such as its location, its network of servers and optimized servers, the compatibility of its apps with different platforms, and its refund policy.
Depending on where you live, using a VPN that is based in a Five Eyes country such as IPVanish for torrenting can be a problem. Especially if you live in the US. As we said in our IPVanish vs ExpressVPN article, if you want to stay on the safe side, you might not want to try your luck with any VPN coming out of Five Eyes country and choose ExpressVPN.
IPVanish is actually quite good! Yeah I know that it’s part of the 5 eyes group but that’s not really THAT important when torrenting, right? At least that’s what I use it for.