Which vpn should you choose between NordVPN and IPVanish?
NordVPN and IPVanish are some of the most popular vpn providers today and if you are looking for a vpn that provides true privacy, you might have come across any of these three vpns.
in this article today we are going to look at the similarities and differences between these two vpns;
i hoopoe that by the end of this NordVPN vs IPVanish you shall have been able to decide which one between these vpns is the best for you.
We will compare NordVPN in terms of speed, streaming, torrenting and privacy.
Let’s get started.
Here is a quick summary.
NordVPN | IPVanish | |
Website | nordvpn.com | ipvanish.com |
Servers | 5,800 | 1,400 |
Jurisdiction | Panama | United States |
Streaming | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer | Netflix US, Hulu, Amazon |
Speed | 4.1/5 | 4.2/5 |
Torrenting | P2P servers | P2P servers |
Kill Switch | YES | YES |
Works in China? | YES | NO |
Devices | 6 | 10 |
Pricing | $ 3.49/month | $ 6.49/month |
About
NordVPN is a VPN company based in Panama that enables you to browse the internet anonymously and stream geo-restricted entertainment content from sites like Netflix.
Here is a detailed NordVPN review.
IPVanish on the other hand is VPN service provider based in the United States that provides internet anonymity services.
Through IPVanish you’ll be able to connect restrictions and download torrents anonymously online without revealing your identity.
Here is a detailed IPVanish review.
Server collection
how many vpn servers does NordVPN has compared to IPVanish?
usually the more servers a vpn service provider has the better the services they are able to offer.

This is based on the fact that when there are more servers to connect to there will be less load on each server as the users will be distributed across servers.
NordVPN has a total of 5,200 servers that are based in 59 different countries. the servers and fairly distributed across the different continents.

IPVanish has a total of 1,300 servers that are located in 75 different countries across the globe.
while IPVanish has their servers more evenly distributed than NordVPN, NordVPN has more servers in general.
Streaming
most people purchase vpn servers in order to be able to stream geo restricted entertainment content from sites like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer etc

Will any of these vpns enable you to stream content on netflix in different countries?
NordVPN is able to unblock netflix in different countries like the US,, UK. Brazil, Germany among others,

with NordVPN you’ll also be able to stream content from Hulu, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime video.
What about IPVanish?
At the time i tested IPVanish i was only able to stream Netflix from the US;
so if you are looking for a vpn that will enable you stream content from most of the popular streaming sites online then i recommend NordVPN.
Speed
Which one is faster between NordVPN and IPVanish?
Most vpns claim to be able to provide the fastest vpn connection speeds on their websites… but is this really true?
In order to test the connection speeds for bpth NordVPN and IPVanish, I used speedtest.net and connected to their servers based in three different locations.

NordVPN experienced an average drop in connections speeds to 83% of the original connection speeds which gives it a rating of 4.1/5.0 stars.
IPVanish on the other hand experienced a drop in speeds to 84% of the original connection speeds which gives it a rating of 4.2/5.0 stars.

I consider a vpn that is able to keep at least 80% of my original connection speeds to be a fast vpn.
So if you are looking for a vpn that will deliver fast connection speeds then both NordVPN and IPVanish would do.
Torrenting
P2P file sharing, also known as torrenting, is another very popular activity online.
But because of tough copyright infringement laws, it is very important that you stay anonymous while downloading any torrent file online because you torrenting history can easily be used against you by the authorities.

So let’s compare IPVanish vs NordVPN in terms of their torrenting capabilities.
NordVPN has specialized servers for torrenting.
When you are ready to start downloading a torrent file, head over to the torrenting tab on the menu bar and select your favorite torrenting location that you’d like to torrent from.
IPVanish also has specialized servers for downloading torrent files while maintaining safety and anonymity online.

In order to connect to specialized torrenting servers you need to select it from the menu before you can connect.
While other vpns allow you to download torrent files from any of their servers, NordVPN and IPVanish only let you torrent from certain P2P servers.
In terms of support for torrenting, though, both NordVPN and IPVanish support torrenting.
Privacy Policy
Which one of these vpns will be able to provide you real anonymity online?
Some vpn companies claim to keep no logs of your internet usage but if you read in between the lines of their privacy policies and terms of service, you realize they collect a lot more information that could easily be used to identify you.
In the recent past a vpn company like IPVanish has provided user logs for a customer to the authorities.
NordVPN does not keep logs about you usage of their vpn as they have explained in their privacy policy.

In order to enforce 6 connected devices, they will log your connection timestamp for the last active connections and these logs are deleted 15 minutes after you disconnect from the vpn server.
This means there are no logs on their vpn servers that can be used to identify you.
IPVanish used to keep logs about your internet usage before even though they claimed not to do so through their privacy policy document.
However, after being acquired, they have since committed themselves to being a complete no logs vpn service and updated their privacy policy to reflect this.

So now they don’t keep usage logs that could be used to identify you.
If you are looking for a vpn that will provide you privacy and complete anonymity online then both NordVPN and IPVanish are great vpns.
But based on the fact that they have handed over user logs in the past, I’d rather trust NordVPN and not IPVanish.
Encryption and data protection
Using tough encryption algorithms will ensure that you personal information is safely transmitted over the internet.
With proper encryption even if a hacker hijacked your internet traffic they will not be able to decrypt and see what the real information is.
Both NordVPN and IPVanish use AES 256-bit encryption technology in order to encrypt and protect your data.

This one of the best encryption technologies used by government agencies to encrypt sensitive classified information and is impossible to crack.
Protocols
Which vpn connection protocols will you be able to use when connected to either NordVPN or IPVanish?
NordVPN currently only supports two of the most common connection protocols available today… OpenVPN and IKEv2.
While both of these protocols are available for the desktop app versions, OpenVPN is the default in Android while IKEv2 is the default protocol in iOS.
IPVanish on the other hand provides more vpn connection protocols for you to choose from… these include OpenVPN, L2TP, SSTP and PPTP.

Protocols like PPTP are rather dated and insecure and should not be used… unless you know what you are doing.
OpenVPN is the most secure protocol to use in almost all instances.
If you are looking for a vpn that provides safe and secure connection protocols, then both NordVPN and IPVanish are great vpns.
Ad Blockers
Ad blocking capability is a feature that is very common among most modern vpn apps today.
It enables you to block ads that autoplay in the background from displaying.

While some websites make money primarily by running these ads, some sites employ very aggressive advertisement that can be very intrusive and annoying.
NordVPN has a feature called CyberSec that enables you to disable ads from running on most websites.
It also protects your devices from being infected by malware whenever you land on websites that are known to contain malware.
IPVanish on the other hand does not have an adware or malware blockers.
So you won’t be able to block intrusive ads from displaying on your device, neither will you be able to protect your sites from known phishing websites.
If you are looking for a vpn that has an inbuilt ad blocker then I recommend NordVPN.
Dedicated IPs
Any time you connect to a vpn server, you will be assigned a new IP address.
While this is great for your privacy and anonymity online because you’ll be sharing an IP address with thousands of other people, you won’t be able to access certain websites or services that are sensitive to changes in IP address.

This could be, for example, your internet banking services that might require you to provide additional identity proof if you try to login from a previously unknown location.
So you need an IP address that you can whitelist in your app in order to be able to access these services.

NordVPN has a dedicated IP feature that comes will all NordVPN plans.
It enables you to choose to connect to the internet using an IP address that is unique to you and is not shared by anyone.
IPVanish on the other hand does not have this dedicated IP functionality so you wont be able to choose a unique IP for connecting to the internet.
If you are looking for a vpn that provides a dedicated IP address then I recommend NordVPN.
Kill Switch
A kill switch helps you ensure that all internet access for you device is only done through an encrypted vpn tunnel.

So anytime you disconnect from the vpn for any reason, the internet kill switch blocks internet access for your entire device until you reconnect to the vpn server again.
NordVPN has an internet kill switch that when turned on will ensure that if your internet connection drop and your vpn disconnects from the server, your internet access is blocked until your vpn reconnects.

IPVanish also has an internet kill switch that will ensure that internet access for your device is only possible when you are connected to the vpn servers.
In both cases, though, the kill switch is OFF by default so you’ll have to turn it ON.
Split Tunneling
Having a kill switch is great for ensure your internet access is secure all the time but there are times that you need to be able to access the internet without a vpn for certain apps.
For example, you may want your backup app to access the internet without connecting to the vpn.
This is because vpn connections cause a drop in connection speeds that might slow down your app.
A split tunnel enables you to specify certain applications to be able to access the internet without having their traffic routed through the vpn.
NordVPN has a split tunnel that enables you to specify which apps are exempted from the vpn connection.
So these apps will continue to have internet access even when the connection drops and other apps are blocked from accessing the internet.
IPVanish, unfortunately, does not have a split tunneling feature… so you won’t be able to exempt certain apps from the kill switch.
Work in China?
In countries like China internet access is heavily controlled and the use of vpns to access censored websites is also prohibited.
So in order for a vpn to be able to bypass China’s firewall and access censored content in China it needs to have very strong server obfuscation technology in order to be able to bypass the deep packet inspection technology of the great firewall of China.

NordVPN has a powerful server obfuscation technology that enables you to bypass the internet restrictions and access blocked websites like Google when in China.
If you want to use your vpn in China you’ll first need to change your NordVPN mode by clicking on the obfuscated servers options in the settings.
You’ll then have a list of server with obfuscation technology that you can connect to.
NordVPN works in China.
IPVanish on the other hand does not have this server obfuscation technology that can enable you access censored content.
Since all its traffic is completely visible to China’s DPI technology as vpn traffic, IPVanish is blocked in China.
IPVanish does not work in China.
If you are looking for a vpn that will work in China then I recommend NordVPN.
Pricing
Let’s finish this NordVPN vs IPVanish comparison by looking at the pricing plans for each of these vpns.
Which one is cheaper between IPVanish and NordVPN?

NordVPN has various pricing plans but their cheapest plan is the 3 year plan that goes for $ 3.49/month.
IPVanish also has various pricing plans but their cheapest plan is the 1 year plan that goes for $ 6. 49/month.

So as you can see, IPVanish is a much more expensive vpn service that NordVPN.
If you are looking for a vpn service that is budget friendly while also offering you a ton of features then I recommend NordVPN.
Payment Options
Lastly, when look at what payment options are available for IPVanish vs NordVPN.
A vpn that is big on privacy and anonymity online will provide payment options that ensure you give out as little information about you as possible.
This means availing payment options like Bitcoin, among others.

NordVPN supports all the major credit cards and payment methods except PayPal.
In addition to that NordVPN also supports crypto payments through cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
IPVanish on the other hand also support all the major credit cards and payment platforms… including PayPal.
Unfortunately, IPVanish does not support payment through cryptocurrencies.

No Bitcoins.
If you are looking for a vpn that will enable you pay for your subscription through Bitcoins in order to remain anonymous, then I recommend NordVPN.
In Conclusion
As you can see, NordVPN offers you for privacy and options when it comes to streaming platforms access.
Nord also has a strict no logs policy and has never handed over user logs to the authorities.
Add this to the fact that it is based in Panama which is far from the 14 eyes countries, it is definitely a privacy haven and a great place to base a vpn company.
Overall, I recommend NordVPN over IPVanish in every aspect.
Have you used IPVanish or NordVPN before?
Please share your experience in the comments below.