Are you looking for an unbiased IPVanish vs Surfshark comparison?
While IPVanish is a quite an old vpn company, Surfshark is a new player in the vpn industry but is quickly getting popular.
What does Surfshark provide that IPVanish does not?
In this IPVanish vs Surfshark comparison we are going to compare these two vpns to see which one is a better vpn overall.
We’ll compare IPVanish with Surfshark along the lines of their connection speeds, streaming capabilities as well as torrenting support.
I hope that by the end of this Surfshark vs IPVanish comparison you’ll be able to choose between either IPVanish or Surfshark.
So let’s get started.
Here is a quick summary.
IPVanish | Surfshark | |
Website | ipvanish.com | surfshark.com |
Servers | 1,400 | 1,040 |
Jurisdiction | United States | BVI |
Streaming | Netflix US, Hulu, Amazon | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer |
Speed | 4.2/5 | 4.7/5 |
Torrenting | P2P servers | P2P servers |
Kill Switch | YES | YES |
Works in China? | NO | YES |
Devices | 10 | Unlimited |
Pricing | $ 6.49/month | $ 1.99/month |
About
IPVanish is a VPN service provider based in the United States that enables you to access the internet securely as well as access geo-restricted content on platforms like Netflix.
Here is a detailed IPVanish review.
Surfshark, on the other hand, is based in the British Virgin Islands and enables you to access the internet privately and anonymously, including in internet restricted countries like China.
Check out my detailed Surfshark review.
Server Collection
Which vpn has more servers between IPVanish and Surfshark?
The more servers a vpn has the better the loads will be spread over different servers.
Generally, vpns servers should be able to perform better when there is less load on them.

More servers also mean more options when choosing a server to connect to in your vpn applications.
Surfshark on the other hand also has a similar collection of 1,040 servers that are based in 61 different countries.

It is therefore clear that IPVanish has a larger collection of servers and covers a larger geographical region than Surfshark.
If you are looking for a vpn that covers a larger geographical region then I recommend IPVanish.
Streaming
How does IPVanish vs Surfshark streaming compare?
Because streaming is very popular activity among vpn users online, most vpns will try to be able to unblock at least the popular platforms like Netflix.
How many streaming platforms will you be able to access with these vpns?

IPVanish is able to stream Netflix if you connect to their servers that are based in the United States.
However, when I tried to access Netflix using servers located in other countries like Canada and the UK I experienced proxy server errors.
I was also blocked when I tried to access Hulu, Amazon Prime and iPlayer.
Surfshark, on the flip side, is able to unblock Netflix libraries in countries like the US, UK, Brazil, Japan and Germany.

If you want to stream tv shows destined for these regions, all you need to do is connect to a server based in these countries.
In addition to Netflix, you’ll also be able to stream content on other platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.
It is therefore clear that Surfshark is able to unblock more streaming platforms than IPVanish.
If you are looking for a vpn that is great for streaming, I recommend Surfshark.
Speed
A great vpn should be able to maintain connection speeds that are as close as possible to your original connection speeds.
The faster your connection speeds are, the better the user experience.
How does IPVanish vs Surfshark speeds compare?

In order to test the connection speeds of these vpns, I connected to three servers based in the United States, UK and Hong Kong.
I then used speedtest.net to measure that before and after ping, download and upload speeds.
IPVanish had speeds that were 84% on average of my original download speeds.

Surfshark, on the flip side, was able to deliver connection speeds that were an average of 94% of my original download speeds before connecting to their servers.
From this speed test, it is clear that Surfshark is able to deliver faster connection speeds than IPVanish.
If you are looking for a vpn for excellent speeds then I recommend Surfshark.
Torrenting
As a rule of thumb, always stay safe by only download torrent files after connecting to a proxy or vpn server.
Law enforcement is dealing a heavy hand on copyright infringement offenders.
You don’t want to be caught downloading copyrighted material from any of the popular torrenting sites.
A vpn ensures that your real IP address is not revealed so that your torrenting cannot be traced back to you.
How does IPVanish vs Surfshark torrenting support compare?

IPVanish support P2P file sharing on certain special P2P servers.
If you want to download torrent files while using IPVanish, you first need to connect to their dedicated torrenting servers.
In order to locate these P2P servers, click on the torrenting tab in the app menu to get a list of servers to connect to.
Surfshark, on the flip side, support P2P file sharing on all their servers.

So you don’t need to connect to any special P2P servers because all Surfshark servers are P2P optimized.
Just start your torrenting on the same server that you use for streaming.
If you are looking for a vpn that is great for torrenting then I recommend Surfshark because all of their servers are P2P optimized and you’ll also get better download speeds with Surfshark servers than with IPVanish.
Also since Surfshark does not collect logs of your IP address, Surfshark offers you completely private and anonymous torrenting.
Privacy Policy
In order to be invisible to your ISP, you need to use a vpn.
But this also means that all your traffic is now visible to the vpn servers.
In order to stay anonymous therefore, you need to ensure that your vpn service does not keep logs of any data that can be used to identify you.
There also should never be any logs on the server that can be used to trace back certain activities to your account.
How does IPVanish vs Surfshark privacy policies compare?
IPVanish is based in the US which is a location that is not great for privacy.

Nevertheless, IPVanish tries to deliver a completely private and anonymous internet access as they state in their privacy policy that they don’t log your data.
However, just saying you don’t log data is not good enough in 2021.
IPVanish should be more transparent about their privacy policy and state what data exactly they don’t keep and what they keep.
Surfshark, on the flip side, is located in the British Virgin Islands which is a privacy friendly location for a vpn.
In addition to that, Surfshark also states clearly in their privacy policy that they don’t keep logs of your IP address, connection timestamps or bandwidth usage.

So there are clearly no logs on their servers that could be used to identify you or trace back certain activities on their servers to you.
Now this is what I mean by a transparent privacy policy.
If you are looking that does not keep any personal identifiable logs about you then I recommend Surfshark instead of IPVanish.
Encryption and Data Protection
A vpn delivers you secure internet access by encrypting your data using encryption technologies that are impossible to crack.
It ensures that even if your data packets were hijacked using packet sniffers like Wireshark, the malicious hacker will not be able to decrypt and see the actual data.
What encryption technologies does IPVanish and Surfshark use?

IPVanish and Surfshark both use AES 256-bit encryption to encrypt your personal information.
This 256-bit encryption is tamper proof and impossible to decrypt.
In addition to this encryption, vpns also employ the use of secure vpn connection protocols to ensure that all data is secure when being transmitted.

Surfshark, on the other hand, only supports OpenVPN, IKEv2 and Shadowsocks.
Overall, both IPVanish and Surfshark use technologies guarantee the security of your data.
If you are looking for a vpn that provides secure internet access then either IPVanish or Surfshark is a great option.
Ad Blocker
Will you be able to block ads using either IPVanish or Surfshark?
While most browsers also give you the ability to disable ads in their settings, I find the ad blockers that vpn companies provide to be very effective.
These ad blockers are able to not only disable ads on most websites, but also block adware that is used to track you.
Have you wondered how a particular ad keeps following you and harassing your around the internet in every website that you visit… ?
Thank the tracking cooking cookies and scripts that these adware use.
How does Surfshark vs IPVanish ad blockers compare?
IPVanish even though an expensive vpn does not support vpn ad blockers.
There apps are also not able to protect your from malware that is present on most known malware infected websites.
Surfshark, on the flip side, has a security feature called CleanWeb.

CleanWeb enables you to block ads from displaying on most websites that you visit.
Once turned on, it will also block ad tracking and enable you to have an ad free browsing experience.
In addition to ad blocking, CleanWeb with also protect your devices from being infected anytime you visit a known malware infected website.
If you are looking for a vpn that has an ad and malware blocker then I recommend Surfshark.
Dedicated IPs
Accessing the internet using an IP address that is shared by thousands of others ensures that you stay anonymous online.
This is true because it makes it harder to tie you to certain activities on a particular server.
It is exactly this that happens every time you connect to the internet using a vpn.
You are assigned a shared IP that is different every time you connect to a different server or a server in a different locations.
Certain applications are very sensitive to changes in IP address and may block you if your try to login remotely using an IP address that they do not recognize.
A dedicated or static IP address ensures that you always connect to the internet using the same IP.
So how does IPVanish vs Surfshark dedicated IPs compare?
IPVanish, unfortunately, does not support any kind of dedicated or static IPs.

So your IP will always change every time you connect to the internet through their servers and you’ll have to fill captchas to prove you are not a robot if you land on an IP address that has been abused by others before.
Surfshark, luckily, supports static IP address.
These static IPs enable you to always access the internet using the same IP address as long as you connect to these servers.
In order to access static IP address, click on static IPs in the server list in the apps.
If you are looking for a vpn that will provide you with a static IP address then I recommend Surfshark.
Kill Switch
For you to always stay secure and anonymous online, all your internet access should be through your vpn tunnel.
So you should seal off any instances that can lead to your real IP being exposed… even if it’s for just a few seconds.

Most vpn users get caught during these few seconds that you let your guard down.
Your IP could be exposed when your internet connection drops or even when you are switching servers.
A kill switch ensures that internet access it cut off for your whole device in case your vpn app disconnect from the servers.
This ensure that other applications do not continue to access the internet which may lead to your real IP being exposed and being used to identify you if you were downloading certain torrent files.

IPVanish and Surfshark both have a powerful kill switch inbuilt into their apps that ensure that all your internet traffic is encrypted and channelled through your vpn.
In case the vpn app disconnects from the server for whatever reason, the kill switch disables further internet access until the vpn reconnects.
If you are looking for a vpn with an amazing kill switch then I recommend either IPVanish or Surfshark.
Split Tunnelling
A split tunnel servers for occasions when you need to exempt certain applications from your vpn.
These could be applications that could have their speeds slowed down by your vpn connection.
So you should be able to whitelist these apps and have their traffic routed through your ISP as usual using a split tunnel.
IPVanish does not have a split tunnel feature in any of their applications.
Surfshark, on the flip side, has a vpn split tunnelling feature called an whitelister.

It enables you to specify certain applications that will not have their traffic encrypted and passed through your vpn.
Remember that applications in your split tunnel are not protected by your vpn.
So traffic on these app is transparent to your ISP.
Works in China?
You should know that not all vpns with work in China.
China burns the midnight oil ensuring that they detect and block your vpn traffic using their firewall.
It only takes a few vpns that are able to bypass this firewall to be able to access internet while in China.
How does IPVanish and Surfshark compare in terms of their abilities to bypass the great firewall of China?
IPVanish is not able to bypass China’s firewall and so will not work in China at the time of writing this Surfshark vs IPVanish comparison.
Surfshark, on the flip side, will be able to work flawlessly in China.
Using Surfshark you’ll be able to access both censored and uncensored websites while in China without being caught.

However, in order to be able to access internet in China using Surfshark, you need to first activate the Camouflage Mode.
In this mode, your vpn traffic is obfuscated to an extent that the deep packet inspection technology of China’s firewall cannot detect it as vpn traffic.
If you are looking for a vpn that works in China then I recommend Surfshark.
Pricing
Are you wondering what is costs to use either IPVanish or Surshark?
Let’s now compare Surfshark vs IPVanish pricing plans in order to establish the cheaper vpn between the two.

Most vpns will offer you great discounts on their long terms plans in order to entice your to subscribe to their longer plans.
IPVanish as a 1 year plan that costs $ 6.49/month while Surfshark has a 2 year plan that costs $ 1.99/month.

It is evident that Surfshark is not only the cheaper vpn between the two, but it also offers a longer subscription than IPVanish.
If you are looking for a great vpn that is dirty cheap then I recommend Surfshark.
Payment Options
Which payment methods does Surfshark and IPVanish support?
Let’s finish this IPVanish vs Surfshark review by looking that various payment methods that these vpns supports.

It is better if a vpn supports anonymous payment methods because they don’t require a billing address.
So payment methods like cryptocurrencies allow you to give as little information about you as possible.
While IPVanish only supports payments via credit cards and PayPal, Surfshark supports PayPal, credit cards and Bitcoins.

Since Surfshark supports Bitcoins, you can sign up using a disposable email address and pay with some Bitcoins and nobody will get to know who you are.
If you are looking for a vpn with cryptocurrency payments then I recommend Surfshark.
In Conclusion
I hope this IPVanish vs Surfshark comparison in 2021 has opened your eyes to the strengths and weaknesses of these two vpns.
Are you now ready to make a choice between IPVanish and Surfshark?
If you are looking for a dirty cheap vpn with excellent streaming capabilities, very fast speeds, works in China and supports Bitcoin payments then I recommend Surfshark.
However, if you are willing to pay a lot more for a vpn that covers a larger geographical region, works with Netflix US and supports torrenting on some of its servers then I recommend IPVanish.
Have you used either IPVanish or Surfshark before?
Please share your experience in the comments below.