IPVanish vs. ExpressVPN

IPVanish and ExpressVPN are two of our favorite VPNs. With so many features and details to keep track of, we wanted to match these two crowd pleasers up to really see which is superior. We’ll start off looking at the two companies from a bird’s eye view, and then get down and dirty in the details. Here we go!

IPVanish vs. ExpressVPN: Similarities and Differences

IPVanish and ExpressVPN are two top VPNs, so they have a lot of similar features. We’ll get more in-depth later on in this article, but here’s a quick, high-level overview of the main features and how each service performed. For more in-the-weeds information, you can also check out our full IPVanish Review and our ExpressVPN review.

Similarities

First, we’ll go through the commonalities of these two high-performing VPNs.

Kill switch

This is a pretty common feature for VPNs, but we were glad to know that both companies checked the box. A kill switch is like a fail-safe: if our VPN cut out for a moment, the kill switch would shut down all of our current activity. This is great because if we were browsing or downloading without a VPN connected, our activity would have been exposed.

Split tunneling

Both VPNs allowed us to do split tunneling. That means that we can use both a private server as well as a public Wi-Fi network, like the one at our favorite coffee shop, at the exact same time.

Torrenting

Both VPNs allow torrenting through uTorrent, so we were able to upload, download, and share files with our co-workers directly without getting blocked or slowed down.

IP Addresses

IPVanish and ExpressVPN both make use of dynamic IP addresses. That means that our IP address shuffled each time we logged on to use the VPNs. This made it even harder for us to be tracked by government entities who might have wanted to know what we were up to.

Encryption

Both services use 256-bit AES encryption,2 the highest standard on the market today.

Leak Tests

Both VPNs passed our DNS leak test and WebRTC test. These tests let us know that our IP addresses and web browsing activity were never exposed when the VPNs were connected.

Differences

Both VPNs cover our reasons for why we’d get a VPN in the first place, which is, to browse the Internet safely and privately. However, we know that you need to make a choice, so we’ll go through what really sets these two options apart.

Netflix

If you love to binge (we sure do), this is important. ExpressVPN works with Netflix and other streaming services while we couldn’t watch our favorite Netflix specials while using IPVanish. However, we will say that we streamed on Crunchyroll, ESPN Plus and HBO while using IPVanish, so we weren’t entirely out of luck on a rainy day.

Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes Membership

Where a VPN company is headquartered might not seem like a big deal, but trust us, it matters a lot. This is mainly because where a company is based dictates whether or not it’s part of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, which are surveillance alliances. If a company participates in such a jurisdiction, it means that they could be forced to surrender our data to the government, which we are definitely not okay with. While ExpressVPN is headquartered in the Virgin Islands, outside of these alliances, IPVanish is based in the United States, meaning that they do fall under such jurisdiction. That’s a huge deal to us because it could mean they could be forced, legally, to give our data to the feds, so the privacy-minded should definitely choose ExpressVPN over IPVanish.

Speed

Using a VPN can sometimes significantly reduce our system’s speed. While VPNs have a lot of great benefits, we want to make sure that upload and download speed aren’t suffering too much. We put ExpressVPN and IPVanish through speed tests on our different devices to make sure they wouldn’t slow us down.

When using ExpressVPN on our Mac, we experienced significantly slower downloads, while the VPN didn’t have such a severe impact on speed when we tested on our Windows device. On the other hand, IPVanish was faster for downloads on our Mac. For our other speed tests, the two VPNs performed comparably, so overall we’d recommend ExpressVPN to Windows-users and IPVanish to Mac-users.

Number of servers

IPVanish has more than 1,500 servers in over 75 locations. On the other hand, ExpressVPN boasts 2,000 servers in 148 countries, giving it the edge when it comes to scaling. The closer we are to a server, the faster our Internet connection will be. Additionally, if a VPN has servers in multiple locations that we can connect to, we can experience the Internet as if we were physically in that location, giving us access to a different browsing experience entirely, as we can access other country’s servers and do things like watch Netflix Canada while in NYC.

Customer service

Both companies offer 24/7 customer support live chats, email support systems, and a compilation of users’ past questions that we could search that came in handy when finding out about IP addresses. However, IPVanish wins this round, as they offer a phone line. While it might be a bit old school, it’s a real differentiator for a VPN company and lets us know that they’re willing to go the extra mile for us if we ever need to speak to a human directly.

Logging policies

Going through privacy policies is no fun, so we summarized what we found below.

Both VPNs logged a fair amount of data, with a couple of slight differences. IPVanish collected more information on how we navigated their site, but this is mostly used to inform their customer experience. In contrast, ExpressVPN logged information about what server we used in what country and our Internet Service Provider. The rest of the logged data was pretty par for the course, and didn’t raise any alarms for us. That said, less is always more when it comes to keeping our data on record, so IPVanish wins this round.

Number of devices

While we only needed to get one subscription to a VPN, we could connect several of our devices at one time. We’re constantly switching from our phones to our tablets to our laptops, so we wanted to make sure that our VPN wouldn’t get overloaded. IPVanish allowed us to connect six of our devices simultaneously, while ExpressVPN capped us at five.

Cost

IPVanish edged out ExpressVPN when it came to price. IPVanish’s monthly rate was $10, while ExpressVPN’s monthly rate costs about 30 percent more at $12.95. Both companies will cut users a deal for signing onto a longer contract, and we were glad to see that we got some bang for our buck by signing on for a year, although ExpressVPN is more expensive in any case.

Which Is Better, IPVanish or ExpressVPN?

Both VPNs are solid options, so we had to go deep into the details to split them apart. Ultimately, choosing a VPN depends on what matters most to you, and what your particular motivations are for signing up for a VPN in the first place. That being said, while these VPNs are pretty neck and neck, ExpressVPN slightly edges out IPVanish. ExpressVPN’s Panama headquarters was a major perk, since we didn’t have to worry about our data making its way to the government. Combined with an expansive global network and our ability to stream our favorites on Netflix, it was hard for us to turn down. That being said, IPVanish has its perks as well like cost, the ability to connect more devices and grade A customer service.

If neither VPN sounds like it suits your need, feel free to check out some of our other VPN pages, like our CyberGhost review, NordVPN review and our rundown of the best VPNs.