Skip to Content

Best IPVanish Alternatives

Best IPVanish Alternatives

Looking for the best IPVanish alternatives? You’ve come to the right place. We will discuss the best options that are fast and secure.

When using a VPN, your web traffic goes to an encrypted server so that all your online activities are kept private from your ISP. The sites will not see your real IP address, but the IP address of the VPN provider. It can also unlock streaming services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer, as well as sites you can’t access in your area or country.

There are a lot of VPN providers out there and IPVanish is one of them. Just in case you’re not sold on IPVanish just yet, you can try out the following alternatives:

  1. Private Internet Access VPN
  2. ExpressVPN
  3. NordVPN
  4. Private VPN
  5. CyberGhost

What makes them comparable to IPVanish? Are these other services better? Read on and find out.

Best IPVanish Alternatives: What Is IPVanish?

IPVanish is a paid VPN service. Some of the features they have for their VPN offering include:

  • IPv6 leak protection, which just means your IPv6 address is also hidden on top of your IPv4. Some VPN services only hide your IPv4 address.
  • DNS leak protection, which means that the assigned DNS you are using will also not be visible.
  • OpenVPN scramble, which encrypts your data to make it undetectable by firewalls, thus giving you access to systems that restrict VPN traffic.
  • SOCKS5 web proxy, or routing your traffic to a server using a proxy. This will give your traffic a new and random IP address.
  • Unlimited bandwidth, which allows you to browse and stream whatever you want. You don’t get download limits or bandwidth caps.
  • Unlimited P2P, which allows you to download torrents and other files through person-to-person file sharing sites with no limits.
  • IP address cycling, which allows you to change your IP address automatically. You get a new IP address every 45 minutes.
  • Port forwarding, which allows you to bypass the Network Address Translation firewall so you get faster connection speeds. This feature can make way for speedier torrent downloads as well as allow you to access your computer remotely.
  • Access via UDP/TCP. There are two types of protocols that you can use with a VPN. User Datagram Protocol gives you fast speeds and is the preferred connection method for most VPNs. However, UDP may be unreliable than Transmission Control Protocol. TCP is also less likely to be blocked by firewalls because of its use of common ports such as 443 and 80. With IPVanish, you don’t have to choose one over the other and you can access sites via VPN with either connection method.
  • Internet kill switch automatically disconnects your device from the Internet if your VPN connection is lost. This means that your real IP address is never going to be accidentally exposed if the VPN service encounters problems.

IPVanish: Pricing

You can get a one-month subscription for $12. That may sound steep, but IPVanish does offer discounts on a time-limited basis. For instance, as of April 2020, they are offering a monthly subscription for only $5 and that rate goes down: $4.50 if you pay quarterly and $3.25 per month if you commit to a yearly contract.

Best IPVanish Alternatives: IPVanish VPN

It’s going to be difficult to top the VPN services offered by IPVanish. For one, it’s a very easy-to-understand service with its user-friendly and intuitive interface. It also has hundreds of servers that you can use and these are scattered all over the world. Plus, it offers unique features that make keeping you anonymous and safe a whole lot easier.

That being said, IPVanish does have a rather expensive subscription price, especially if you don’t wait for their discounted offers. So it is not surprising if some people find that spending $12 a month might be a bit too much. As such, what are the best alternatives to IPVanish?

1. Private Internet Access VPN

private internet access

The draw of Private Internet Access VPN is that it’s easy to use and it has some of the best features you can ever want in a VPN. It hides your IPv4, IPv6, and DNS addresses and it has a kill switch feature that will disconnect your devices from the Internet to prevent leaks in case the VPN gets disconnected. You can also choose to access it via TCP or UDP.

Private Internet Access VPN also offers unlimited bandwidth, so you don’t have to worry about caps. It also has port forwarding. While this VPN service is headquartered in the United States, they do have gateways in close to three dozen countries spread across more than 50 regions.

What’s more, this VPN provider is hell-bent on keeping you secure. They don’t keep logs of your activities and they offer different types of encryption such as AES-128 or AES-256. They have transparency reports that tell users of the many times various governments have asked for their logs and they couldn’t accede to the requests because there are no logs to speak of.

This VPN service, however, doesn’t unblock Netflix from other countries. You can’t use it for accessing content from the streaming service’s international sites such as Japan, Australia, or the United Kingdom. It can, however, let you access Netflix US and BBC iPlayer. PIA is also a good choice for those who like to download torrents. It has fast upload speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and port forwarding. Other technologies you can get from PIA aside from the VPN-related features are the malware and tracking protection, ad blocker, SOCKS5 proxy, and split tunneling.

PIA is also very fast, with a rated speed loss of less than 10 percent when you use a nearby server. Pricing for PIA is somewhat similar to IPVanish, with monthly rates ranging from $2.85 to $10, depending on whether you pay monthly, bi-annually, or yearly. And while there is no free trial, you can rely on their 30-day money-back guarantee.

PIA has more than 3,300 servers in 62 locations encompassing 42 countries. You also cannot choose which servers you’re going to connect to.

Payment and Subscriptions

PIA VPN has three tiers of subscription, where you pay less per month the longer the period you commit to. Monthly rates are at $10 per month, but if you sign up for six months upfront, you only pay a monthly fee of $6. The biggest money saver is when you sign up for an annual subscription.

For this, PIA gives you two months free, so for the first year, you only pay $2.85 per month. Then you will have to pay $40 for the succeeding years. Even without the free months, you’d still only pay $3.33 per month.

Private Internet Access VPN at a Glance

Feature  
Bandwidth cap None
Logging Policy No Logs
Data Leaks No
Servers 3,386
IP Addresses 3,386
Countries 42
Torrenting Unlimited
Cheapest Price $2.85/mo over 12 Months
Protocols L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN (TCP/UDP), PPTP
Encryption AES-128 and AES-256
VPN Features DNS leak blocking, first-party DNS, IPV6 leak blocking, TCP Port 443 support, VPN kill switch, WebRTC leak blocking
Other features Adblocker, SOCKS, Split Tunneling
Platforms Windows, iOS, Android, Linux
Payment options Credit Card, PayPal, Bitcoin

Why We Recommend This Service

PIA is a safe VPN to use because they have no logs of your activities while also keeping your webRTC, IPv4, IPv6, and DNS addresses all hidden away. It’s also a good choice for those who use Netflix in the US and BBC iPlayer.

Things You Should Know Before You Decide on PIA

PIA uses only bare metal servers, which is very secure. However, this setup means that the company will need to choose the number of countries that it has servers in and prioritize only those with enough demand. The live customer support is rather limited, so you will have to rely on other methods, which may take more time.

What’s more, PIA may not be ideal for you if you want to use it to access sites in China and other countries where there is a whole lot of censorship in Internet traffic.

2. ExpressVPN

express vpn

ExpressVPN is one of the most recommended VPN services around the world, and it’s easy to see why. For one, they don’t collect any personally identifiable logs. But unlike PIA, the do gather data about when you connected to their service, the server you chose to connect to, and how much data you transferred daily.

The service has more than 3,000 IP addresses from 160 cities in 94 countries. This means that you will always have access to a server nearby, which can help if you need your VPN connection to be speedy.

If you want to watch content from various streaming services, this one is for you. You can get foreign flavors of Netflix, the BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, and others. Torrents and P2P file sharing are faster too. If you are into Chinese sites, then ExpressVPN is also for you. This VPN service works in China, as well as other heavily censored territories.

ExpressVPN can also be used in any platform, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android. It’s also compatible with a wide selection of streaming devices and game consoles, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox, Playstation, and Roku.

Payments and Subscriptions

ExpressVPN starts with a $13 monthly rate but gets cheaper with its six-month package that slashes the price down to $10. If you want to save more, you can get the yearly package that cuts the price down to $6.67 per month. You also get three free months when you opt for the annual package.

ExpressVPN at a Glance

Feature  
Bandwidth cap None
Logging Policy No Logs
Logging Server usage data but anonymous
Data leaks No
Servers 3,000+
IP Addresses 3,000+
Cheapest Price $6.67/mo over 15 Months
Protocols: IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN, PPTP
Encryption: AES-256
VPN Features: DNS leak blocking, IPV6 leak blocking, VPN kill switch, first-party DNS, and WebRTC leak blocking
Other features: Split tunneling
Payment options: Credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, AliPay, and UnionPay

Why We Recommend This Service

Using ExpressVPN guarantees that you will not have any IPv4, IPv6, WebRTC, or DNS leaks. You can also download torrents and P2P files all you want. Plus they have a server network that is spread across close to a hundred countries.

It’s a very safe VPN to use. But the biggest draw for ExpressVPN is the fast speeds that you get to enjoy. It’s exceptionally speedy and highly reliable. What’s more, customer service is responsive and fast.

Before You Decide on ExpressVPN

If you are looking for the most affordable VPN service out there, then this isn’t for you. Plus, if you are on an iOS device, there is no Internet kill switch that you can use. It’s also one of the more expensive VPN services out there.

Check out how ExpressVPN compares to others

3. NordVPN

Nord VPN

NordVPN is an excellent VPN provider that is both secure and fast. Enjoy a safe and secure connection to the internet with advanced security protocols and unlimited file-sharing. You can easily connect to a huge network of more than 5,500 servers in 58 countries. You don’t even have to pay an arm and a leg to experience all these.

NordVPN offers the same kind of leak blocking, Internet kill switch, and UDP/TCP connections are other VPN services that we have reviewed provide. They also offer double VPN, which routes your traffic through two servers, each time encrypting it for added privacy. The only downside to having this extra layer of protection is that your connection speed is drastically reduced.

If that is not something you want to do, then you can opt to use the Onion over the VPN feature that NordVPN offers. This feature allows you to route your traffic through the Tor network. The Tor over VPN capability allows you to access sites in heavily censored countries such as Russia and Turkey. However, doing this can also slow down your traffic.

NordVPN also offers the CyberSec suite, which is comprised of security software such as an ad blocker, anti-malware, and one that prevents DDoS attacks. On top of these, you can access more than 400 streaming sites with this VPN service. It also allows you to download torrents and P2P files on some of its servers.

New VPN users will like how NordVPN is very easy to use while also keeping up with the technical aspect of VPN usage. You can use this on any platform and they provide you with their own apps for you to use. Plus, if you ever hit a roadblock, you can easily get answers from the 24/7 live chat support and online resources.

Pricing and subscriptions

NordVPN offers four different plans, starting with $12 per month if you pay monthly. The prices get cheaper, however, the longer the time you commit to the service:

  • $6.99 per month for a one-year plan
  • $4.99 per month for a two-year plan
  • $3.49 per month for a three-year plan

NordVPN at a Glance

Feature  
Logging Policy None
Data Leaks None
Servers 5,500+
IP Addresses 5,500+
Countries 58
Cheapest Price $3.49/mo over 36 Months
Protocols IKEv2/IPSec, OpenVPN, WireGuard
Encryption AES-256
VPN Features DNS leak blocking, first-party DNS, TCP port 443 support, VPN kill switch, WebRTC leak blocking
Other features Double VPN, SOCKS, TOR via VPN Server
Payment options Credit card, Bitcoin, AliPay, and UnionPay

Why We Recommend NordVPN

NordVPN has been providing users with a safe, fast, and reliable VPN service for many years. It can encrypt your traffic and uses all the best VPN technologies, ciphers, and protocols. It doesn’t keep any logs of your activities.

It allows you to do everything you can possibly need with a VPN connection: watch Netflix shows, download files over P2P and file sharing sites, or access otherwise prohibited sites.

Before You Subscribe to NordVPN

You should know that NordVPN fell victim to a hacking attack in 2018. They only admitted to it in October 2019, a full 19 months after the incident. There are also some differences when it comes to what you can do depending on the platform you’re using.

For instance, Windows and Android devices often have problems with protocol flexibility, and you cannot stream content on smart TVs and Firestick. It’s also not that reliable for circumventing the Great Firewall of China.

Check out how NordVPN Compares to Others

4. PrivateVPN

privatevpn

PrivateVPN claims that it can unlock anything and protect everything. For the most part, they deliver on that promise. They have consistent speedy connections, doesn’t log anything, and has IP, DNS, and WebRTC leak protection, and works with streaming services from all over the world. You can also use this service to download from P2P and torrent sites using any server they have, which is hosted in close to five dozen countries.

PrivateVPN uses Stealth VPN protocol, which makes it an ideal service for use in China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, as well as other countries where you find widespread and heavy censorship. You can also access TOR via a VPN with this service.

You can set this up automatically on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. If you’re a Linux user, you can find setup and configuration guides that you will need to do manually.

PrivateVPN at a Glance

Features  
Bandwidth Cap None
Logs None
Data Leaks None
Servers 150+
IP Addresses 7,000+
Countries 59
Cheapest Price $1.89/mo over 2 years
Protocols IKEv2/IPSec, L2TP/IPSec, OpenVPN, PPTP
Encryption AES-256
VPN features DNS leak blocking, first-party DNS, IPV6 leak blocking, TCP port 443 support, VPN kill switch
Other Features SOCKS, TOR via VPN Server
Payment Options Credit card, Paypal, Bitcoin

Why We’d Recommend PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN lives up to its name with its use of the AES-256 encryption, OpenVPN protocol, and other VPN features that other services offer. They also have very useful online resources for those who are still grappling their way through the world of VPNs, and there is a live chat option for those who’d rather just ask questions.

This service comes really cheap: $7.12 per month if you pay monthly, or $1.89 per month if you opt to pay for 24 months outright.

Before You Subscribe to PrivateVPN

One of the downsides to PrivateVPN is that they only have 150 servers spread over 59 countries. However, they do have 7,000 IP addresses for you to use. It may not be a problem to find a server to connect to, but there is a higher chance that you will find it difficult to find a nearby server.

PrivateVPN also doesn’t have browser extensions, which means that you won’t have an easy way to connect your browser to a VPN server. Instead, you need to connect to the VPN service via the apps that they provide.

5. CyberGhost

cyberGhost

CyberGhost consistently gives its users fast, reliable, and safe connections. It can unblock several streaming sites and supports torrent downloads. You can also rely on a large server network and one of the best customer service in the industry.

What sets CyberGhost from other service providers is that it has servers that are optimized for a certain type of activity. For instance, some servers are best used for P2P, and some are perfect for streaming. The company also has static IP addresses and NoSpy servers for you to use. You can also set your connection to force HTTPS to allow you to connect to non-HTTPS sites.

CyberGhost at a Glance

Features  
Bandwidth Cap None
Logs kept Yes, but data is anonymous
Data Leaks No
Servers More than 5,800
Countries 89
Cheapest Price $2.75 per month over 36 months
Protocols IKEv2/IPSec, OpenVPN
Encryption AES-256
Security DNS leak blocking, first-party DNS, IPV6 leak blocking, VPN kill switch
Other features Split tunneling, TOR via VPN
Payment Options Credit card, Paypal, Bitcoin

Why We Recommend CyberGhost

With CyberGhost, you have access to the same levels of protection and accessibility that other VPN services have. What’s more, it’s affordable, costing only $2.75 per month if you get a three-year subscription.

Before You Subscribe to Cyberghost

While it does have fast local connection speeds, it has very slow when it comes to international connections. This means that you will need to get a server that’s closer to where you are if you want speedy connections. But that shouldn’t be a problem with the service’s more than 6,000 servers based in 89 countries.

Out of all our recommendations, CyberGhost is the only one that logs some of your information, such as the account information, logins per day, connection attempts, successful connections, and country of origin. It also gathers hardware information such as your BIOS ID and date, video ID, and CPU ID, among others. However, these collected data is anonymized. The service doesn’t keep personally identifiable data.

Check out how CyberGhost compares to Others

FAQs About IPVanish

Question: What should you look for in a VPN?

Answer: There are several considerations for getting the best VPN. For one, your VPN should be able to secure your Internet traffic without slowing down your speed too much. It should keep zero or minimal logs and keep you anonymous at all times. It helps to have data leak protection for any protocol that you might use, including IPv4, IPv6, and DNS.

Furthermore, it should encrypt your traffic data, be easy to use, and versatile enough to protect any device, operating system, or platform. All in all, it should also be affordable and has stellar customer support for those times that you need help.

Question: Are VPNs legal?

Answer: VPNs are okay to use in most countries, including the United States. However, some countries have passed laws against VPN use. China
-Turkey
-Iraq
-Russia
-Belarus
-North Korea
-Turkmenistan

Question: Should you always use a VPN?

Answer: One of the things that you sacrifice when using a VPN is your connection speed. Thankfully, if you choose one of our recommended VPNs, the difference will be very minimal so the slowdown might not even be noticeable.

If you are viewing geo-blocked content or are concerned with your privacy, then you should probably keep it on. However, if you have bandwidth caps, then you can load the geo-blocked content you want to read or watch and turn off your VPN. You may still be able to consume the content on the loaded page but you will not be able to open new pages.

Best IPVanish Alternatives: Final Thoughts

If you are currently evaluating VPN services, and you are still deciding whether or not IPVanish is the best for you, then you should consider these alternatives. Some of these VPN services have roughly the same offerings, but one or two has additional features that you might need.  For instance, when it comes to pricing, PrivateVPN gives you the biggest discounts with monthly subscription rates of less than $2.

Of course, if you are looking for a free ride, there are other VPN services that you can check out as well. However, these services may have a monthly data cap, such as Windscribe’s 10-gigabyte limit. Or there might be things that you can’t do, such as downloading from torrent sites, which ProtonVPN doesn’t allow you to do.

All in all, IPVanish and all five of these recommended alternatives, is still your best bet if you want to make sure that you’re safe online.

Further reading: