Are you looking for an honest IPVanish vs HMA comparison?
Both IPVanish and Hidemyass share a troubled past when it comes to how they handled user privacy on their servers.
Are they are better today then they were a few years ago?
We’ll compare IPVanish with HMA along the lines of their connection speeds, streaming support and privacy policies.
I hope that by the end of this IPVanish vs Hidemyass comparison, you’ll be able to choose between either HMA or IPVanish.
So let’s get started.
Here is a quick summary.
| IPVanish | Hidemyass | |
| Website | ipvanish.com | hidemyass.com |
| Servers | 1,400 | 1,000 |
| Jurisdiction | United States | United Kingdom |
| Streaming | Netflix US, Hulu, Amazon | Netflix US, iPlayer |
| Speed | 4.2/5 | 3.9/5 |
| Torrenting | P2P servers | P2P servers |
| Kill Switch | YES | YES |
| Works in China? | NO | YES |
| Devices | 10 | 5 |
| Pricing | $ 6.49/month | $ 3.99/month |
About
IPVanish is a US-based VPN company that provides you secure access as well as IPv6, DNS and WebRTC leak protection.
Here is a detailed IPVanish review.
HMA, on the other hand, is a UK based VPN service provider that enables you to securely access the internet and access geo-restricted content on platforms like Netflix and iPlayer.
Here is a more detailed HMA review.
Server Collection
Which vpn has more servers between IPVanish and HMA?
In order to have more options when choosing a server to connect to, a vpn needs to have a huge server collection.
It makes it easier to switch if for example you are not impressed by the speeds you are getting on a particular server.
IPVanish currently only has a collection of 1,300 servers that are concentrated in just 75 countries in a different continents.
Hidemyass, on the other hand, has a total of 1,000 servers but spreads them over 140 countries which is a very large geographical region.
Clearly, even though both have around 1,000 servers, HMA does a much better job at spreading out their servers than IPVanish.
If you are looking for a vpn that covers a larger geographical region then I recommend Hidemyass.
Streaming
What about the abilities of both HMA and IPVanish to stream Netflix…
Which one between IPVanish and HMA has better streaming capabilities?
Let’s now compare IPVanish vs HMA in terms of their abilities to unblock content on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu and iPlayer.
IPVanish, from my tests, is able to unblock Netflix for the US using their servers that are based in the United States.
Apart from their servers being blocked for Netflix in other countries, other platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer also completely block IPVanish.
HMA, on the flip side, is able to unblock Netflix for various other countries apart from the US using their servers based in those countries.
You just have to try the servers one by one as the streaming is not very flawless.
In addition to Netflix, HMA is able to stream content on BBC iPlayer.
However, it was also blocked on Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Clearly, HMA has better streaming support than IPVanish.
If you are looking for a vpn that will enable to to stream content from both Netflix and iPlayer then I recommend Hidemyass instead of IPVanish.
Speed
It is great that both IPVanish and HMA will enable you to access Netflix…
But will you be able to stream these tv shows in their original 4K qualities?
In order to be able to stream video content in 4K qualities using a vpn, that vpn should be able to deliver very fast download speeds.
In my opinion if a vpn delivers more than 80% of my original connection speeds then I consider that a fast vpn.
I tested the connection speeds of both IPVanish and HMA by connecting to three of their servers based in the US, UK and Hong Kong.
I then used speedtest.net to test for their upload and download speeds as well as the ping before and after connecting to these servers.
IPVanish performed great in my speeds tests as I was able to maintain an average of 84% of my original download speeds.
HMA, however, did not perform as great.
It had an average download speed of 78% of my initial download speeds before connecting to any of their servers.
It is therefore clearly that IPVanish offers much better connection speeds than HMA.
In fact, since HMA delivered less than 80% of my original speeds, I consider it an average vpn when it comes to connection speeds.
If you are looking for a fast speed vpn then I recommend IPVanish.
Torrenting
How does IPVanish vs HMA compare in terms of their torrenting support?
In order to avoid a lawsuit, always ensure that you never download any torrent file without first hiding your real IP through a vpn or proxy server.
If you hide your real IP address, it won’t be possible for the government to traced back certain torrenting activities back to you and sue you.
But before choosing a vpn for torrenting, do you due diligence to ensure that the vpns keeps a little logs of you as possible.
IPVanish and Hidemyass, luckily, support P2P file sharing on their servers.
While both vpns will allow you to download torrent files, torrenting in not allowed on all their servers so you need to first connect to their torrenting optimized servers.
These servers are labelled and are easily accessible by clicking on the torrenting tab in the app menu.
You’ll then get a list of P2P optimized servers that you can then connect.
However, as we’ll discover below, not all these vpns offer you anonymous torrenting because HMA collection for identifying information about you.
If you are looking for a vpn that is great for torrenting then I recommend IPVanish.
I recommend IPVanish first because they will deliver better downloads speeds as well as anonymous torrenting.
Privacy Policy
Which vpn between Hidemyass and IPVanish offers you true privacy online?
In order to provide true privacy a vpn should collect as little personal identifying information about you as possible.
It should make it literally impossible to trace certain activities on their servers back to you.
Is this the case with either IPVanish or HMA?
Let’s find out.
We’ll compare HMA vs IPVanish privacy policies first in terms of their physical locations then in terms of their no logs statements.
IPVanish, to begin with, is based in the United States which has laws that obligate vpn companies to comply if the government asks for user logs through a court order.
In addition to that, this country also forms part of the 14 eyes countries surveillance alliance that spy on their citizens and share their private information.
So the US is very far from a privacy friendly place to base a vpn company.
Nonetheless, IPVanish tries to hold dear their intent to make you anonymous online by stating ni their privacy policy that they do no log your data.
However, this is very vague as data could mean anything to anyone these days.
IPVanish should spell clearly what kind of data they keep and what they don’t and stop keeping us guessing when they log my real IP address.
Hidemyass, on the other hand, is headquartered in UK.
Again a very bad place to base a vpn company because, just like the US, the UK is part of the 14 eyes surveillance alliance that surveille the citizens 24/7 and share this information amongst each other.
As if that is not enough, HMA collect a lot of logs about me that I would like.
HMA logs your subnet mask, i.e. your IP without the last 3 digits, your connection timestamp, the vpn server you connect to and the total amount of data that your transmit… akka bandwidth usage.
Even though they deny it, in the right hands I believe this data can easily be used to tie you to certain activities on their servers.
Clearly, HMA does not take your privacy and anonymity online seriously at all.
While IPVanish hides behind a vague “we do not log data” states that they collect the very information that we don’t want them to have.
If you are looking for a vpn that is serious about your privacy and anonymity online then I don’t recommend either IPVanish or HMA.
Their privacy policies are a joke.
Why don’t you check out either NordVPN or CyberGhost?
Encryption and Data Protection
In order to ensure that your personal information is safe online, both IPVanish and HMA should use the most secure encryption technologies.
With the right encryption, your data is secure even if a hacker hijacks your data packets.
They won’t be able to see the actually information as the data will unreadable and impossible to decrypt.
IPVanish and HMA, both use an NSA recommended AES 256-bit encryption technology to encrypt your data.
It is an encryption that is impossible to crack and is also used by to government agencies like the FBI to encrypt sensitive data.
In addition to encryption algorithms, vpns also use connection protocols that ensure that you data is securely transported across the internet until it reaches its destination.
IPVanish enables you to choose from protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP, SSTP and PPTP protocols.
HMA also gives you connection protocol options that include OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP vpn connection protocols.
Even though PPTP is insecure and should not be used, there are instances when you’ll need it if you want to bypass the great firewall of China.
Overall, though, both IPVanish and Hidemyass provide you very secure internet access using these technologies.
If you are looking for a vpn that guarantees the security of your information online then I recommend either HMA or IPVanish.
Ad Blocker
Will you be able to block ads while using either IPVanish or HMA?
Most websites are very aggressive with their advertising these days, partly because internet users have become ad blind.
Heck, they’d tracking with pixels and both you with the same boring ad on every website that you visit.
It is time you should be able to block tracking online and disable these ads completely.
This is where you’ll need ad blockers that vpns provide because they are more capable of blocking these adware than your default browser settings.
So how does HMA vs IPVanish compare in terms of their ad blocking capabilities?
Contrary to what you’d expect, neither IPVanish nor HMA support ad blocking in any of their apps.
They also lack a malware blocker that can protect your devices from being infected anytime you visit a malware infected website.
It is quite disappointing because none of these vpns really fit the category of cheap.
If you charge more for a vpn then you should be able to at least provide all the basic needed features in your apps.
If you are looking for a vpn that supports ad and malware blocking then I don’t recommend either IPVanish or HMA.
You should check out Private Internet Access.
Dedicated IPs
Some applications are security sensitive and will block you if you try to login remotely using a strange IP address.
A good example of this would be your work network.
You first need to whitelist your IP on the network before you can use it for remote access.
Because shared vpn servers always change their IPs, you’ll need a dedicated IP that will enable you to always connect to the internet using the same IP address.
It is this address that you whitelist for example if you want to use it to remotely access your home security camera feed.
Again, neither IPVanish nor HMA support dedicates IPs.
If you have a network or service that you need to have secure remote access to using either IPVanish or HMA vpns then you are out of luck.
You won’t get a dedicated IP even if you were willing to pay for it.
If you are looking for a vpn that supports a dedicated IP then I don’t recommend either IPVanish or HMA… you should check out CyberGhost.
Remember, though, that since a dedicated IP is tied to your account, it is very easy to trace back certain activities to you.
So don’t use a dedicated IP for prohibited activities like downloading torrent files.
Kill Switch
If you are an online privacy and anonymity champion then you should ensure that at all times your are secure by a vpn.
Even a few seconds that could expose your IP should not be allowed.
It is because it is during these few seconds that your are vulnerable that your IP is revealed and you get into trouble… which beats the whole point of using a vpn.
If that’s you then you need an automatic internet kill switch.
A kill switch ensures that internet access for your entire devices is cut off any time your vpn app disconnects from the servers.
This could happen when you are switching servers or when your internet connection drops.
So how does HMA vs IPVanish compare in terms of their kill switch features?
IPVanish and Hidemyass, luckily, both have inbuilt automatic internet kill switches that come with their desktop and mobile apps.
Once turned on, these kill switches will ensure that all your internet traffic is encrypted and channelled through your vpn tunnel.
Anytime you are disconnected from the server, the kill switch will not let any application in your devices access the internet until the vpn reconnects.
This ensures that your real IP is never ever exposed.
If you are looking for a vpn kill switch then either IPVanish or HMA is a great option.
Split Tunnelling
What if you don’t want your traffic channelled through your vpn tunnel for certain applications?
It could be that you want to maximize on your internet connection speeds when running certain apps and so you don’t want them slowed down by the speed drops caused by a vpn connection.
It is at this time that you need a split tunnel.
A split tunnel enables you to whitelist certain applications and exempt them from the vpn.
These applications will have their traffic routed through your ISP as usual and not through your vpn servers.
IPVanish does not have an inbuilt vpn split tunnel at the time of writing this IPVanish vs HMA comparison in 2021.
HMA, on the flip side, has a split tunnel that will enable you to split your applications and exempt them from your vpn.
While this ensures that they used your usual IP and enjoy full speeds, you should know that traffic on these whitelisted applications is not encrypted by the vpn is is transparent to your ISP.
It could be your application that runs your backups that you want to split tunnels for.
If you are looking for a vpn that supports split tunneling then I recommend HMA.
Works in China?
Will you be able to use either HMA or IPVanish in China?
China amazes us when it comes to the ability of their firewall to detect and block any vpn traffic that tries to pass through it.
They do this because they want all internet access to be transparent to the government so that they can not only what you are access but also decide what you should and should not access.
It is for this reason that websites like Facebook.com has been successfully blocked in China for years.
In order for a vpn to work in China, it needs to be able to make its traffic look like normal https traffic and bypass the deep packet inspection technology of the firewall without being detected.
IPVanish not able to make their vpn traffic look normal in the eyes of China’s great firewall.
So IPVanish is completely blocked and will not work in China.
Hidemyass, on the other side, is able to bypass China’s firewall and access censored content in China.
If you are looking for the best vpns for China then I recommend HMA.
Pricing
Let’s now compare the different pricing options as we near the end of this IPVanish vs HMA comparison in 2021.
A good vpn should be able to offer you great discounts as well as longer subscription plans to save you the hassle of having to renew plans yearly.
IPVanish longest subscription plan is their 1 year plan that costs $ 6.49/month while HMA has a 3 year plan that costs $ 3.49/month.
HMA is a much cheaper vpn compared to IPVanish.
In addition to that HMA offers you longer subscription plans that save you the hassle of having to find a disposable email and sign up for an account every year.
If you are looking for a vpn that will save a lot of buck in the long term then I recommend Hidemyass.
Payment Options
Let’s finish this Hidemyass vs IPVanish comparison by looking at their payment options.
The more anonymous payments options a vpn provides the easier it is to stay anonymous on their servers.
This is the case because anonymous payments like Bitcoin do not require a billing address.
So you can give as little information about you as possible by signing up with a disposable email address and then paying with Bitcoin.
IPVanish and HMA, both support support payments through PayPal and all the major credit cards.
However, neither IPVanish nor HMA support cryptocurrency payments like Bitcoin.
So you won’t be able to stay anonymous when signing up because both of these vpns only support payment methods that can be used to identify you.
If you are looking for a vpn that accepts Bitcoin then I don’t recommend either IPVanish or HMA.
Why don’t you check out Surfshark?
In Conclusion
I hope this IPVanish vs HMA comparison has helped you learn about the pros and cons of Hidemyass and IPVanish.
Are you now ready to make a choice between IPVanish and Hidemyass?
If you are looking for a cheap vpn that has the largest geographical coverage, has acceptable streaming support and works in China then I recommend HMA.
However, if you are willing to pay more for a vpn with excellent connection speeds, allows torrenting and supports more connected devices then I recommend IPVanish.
Have you used either IPVanish or HMA before?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
