IPVanish Review 2024 — Is It Good for Torrenting & Is It Secure? (October 2024)

IPVanish Review — Quick Summary Quick Summary

IPVanish is great for torrenting and people who own tons of devices. I’ve used it on and off over the past 5+ years and have always had a good experience with this provider. In addition to my past experience with it, I also decided to run additional tests for this review — I tested its streaming support, torrenting support, security features, customer support, and more. 

All in all, I can safely say that IPVanish has great P2P support and is good for large families. The provider allows P2P traffic on all of its servers (2,400+ servers in 50+ countries), provides good security for torrenting, and also has SOCKS5 proxy support. Also, it allows unlimited simultaneous connections, meaning you can use it on as many devices as you want. 

Other than that, IPVanish also provides other perks — it’s good for gaming, it has strong security and privacy features, it provides fast speeds on almost all servers, it’s really easy to use, and it has good customer support. 

Really, there are only a few drawbacks I have to mention. First, the provider is not that great for streaming, as it can’t access many popular streaming services. What’s more, it also doesn’t work in restrictive countries.

But other than that, IPVanish is a solid choice for many people. It also has affordable prices, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee — though the refund only applies to long-term plans.  It's a pretty solid choice, but if you're looking for more, check out my best VPNs list.

IPVanish Security Features Security Features

IPVanish has the following industry-standard security feature: 

• 256-bit AES encryption — Makes your entire internet traffic completely unreadable, so that nobody can spy on it. This is the same level of encryption that the military uses.
• No-logs policy — The provider doesn’t log your IP address, so it doesn’t know what your location is. What’s more, it also doesn’t collect your browsing traffic (which sites you browse, for example). 
• Kill switch — This security feature disables all internet access if the VPN connection drops. This way, it protects you from accidental traffic leaks. In IPVanish’s case, the kill switch is more “aggressive,” as it shuts down web access if you’re not connected to the VPN. This is useful if you want to be 100% sure you never accidentally go online without first securing your data with the VPN. IPVanish has a kill switch on its Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps.
• DNS leak protection — IPVanish uses its own encrypted DNS servers to protect you from DNS leaks. This way, there’s no risk that your DNS requests will leak outside of the VPN tunnel. If that were to happen, your internet service provider (ISP) would be able to see your browsing.

The VPN provider also uses secure VPN protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2/IPSec. All of these protocols provide strong security and are also fast — though, WireGuard is definitely the fastest one. Also, here’s a table showcasing which apps have which protocols:

And on top of DNS leak protection, the VPN also has IPv6 leak protection. I’m happy to see that, though I think it’s a shame there’s no WebRTC leak protection — most top competitors (like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, for example) provide full leak protection. 

Also, the VPN uses perfect forward secrecy (PFS), which is an advanced security feature that changes the encryption key for each VPN session — this way, hackers can’t try to compromise past or future encryption keys to spy on your traffic. Still, I think it’s a missed opportunity that the provider doesn’t use RAM-only servers, which wipe all data on each reset. Top competitors like Surfshark and CyberGhost VPN use these types of servers.

IPVanish Privacy Features Privacy Features

IPVanish has a straightforward no-logs policy — it doesn’t collect user IP addresses, nor does it log user traffic (what sites you browse or what files you download). In addition, it also doesn’t log connection timestamps. The VPN service only collects your email address, which it needs to set up your account and communicate with you, and financial information to process payments.

Plus, the provider’s no-logs policy has been independently audited by Leviathan Security Group,  a well-known security auditing firm. I’m happy to see this, as it makes it easy to trust the VPN with my privacy. 

However, IPVanish is headquartered in the US, which is part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of countries that share surveillance data with each other). That said, I’m not too worried since the VPN service had its no-logs policy audited — so even if US authorities ask IPVanish for user data, it doesn’t have anything to hand over. 

IPVanish Additional Features Additional Features

IPVanish provides access to the following extra features:

• Split-tunneling. 
• Threat Protection
• Obfuscation. 
• Tor Support. 

Split-Tunneling

IPVanish has split-tunneling, which lets you pick which apps and sites use the VPN and which ones don’t. This is a really useful feature — for example, you could use it to only send traffic from a streaming app through the VPN to boost your streaming speeds. 

The provider’s split-tunneling is available on pretty much all of its apps, including Windows, macOS, Android, and even iOS (not many VPNs have split-tunneling on iOS). Depending on which platform you use, you can either split-tunnel app traffic or website traffic. 

Threat Protection

Threat Protection is IPVanish’s ad blocker, which gets rid of ads, stops ad trackers from spying on your online preferences, and blocks connections to malicious websites. This feature is available on the provider’s Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps. 

I tested IPVanish’s ad blocker, and it’s pretty good. I used it on search engines and ad-heavy media outlets, and it was able to block most ads — but it wasn’t able to get rid of all sidebar ads on some web pages. On the plus side, it always prevented me from connecting to unsafe HTTP websites.

This tool is really similar to NordVPN’s own Threat Protection feature. That said, I think NordVPN’s tool is better since it also protects against malware and alerts you about potential app vulnerabilities. In addition, NordVPN’s ad blocker works even when you’re not connected to the VPN, which is really convenient.

Obfuscation

IPVanish has a setting that obfuscates your VPN traffic, which means it hides the fact that you’re using a VPN — that’s because obfuscation makes your VPN traffic look like regular internet data. Obfuscation is only available via the OpenVPN protocol. 

Keep in mind that obfuscated connections are slower than regular VPN connections — that’s due to the extra layer of obfuscation encryption (the one that hides the VPN encryption). In my tests, I generally had 20% slower speeds with obfuscation than without it. 

Obfuscation is usually useful in restrictive countries, but not in this case. That’s because IPVanish doesn’t work in restrictive regions like China and Egypt. If that’s the main reason you wanted to use a VPN, I recommend getting ExpressVPN instead since its obfuscation works in all restrictive countries — plus, it’s also available via all protocols, and it’s also very fast too. 

That said, you can still use IPVanish’s obfuscation for added privacy. Basically, you can prevent your ISP, government, network admins, or anyone else from seeing that you’re using a VPN connection. 

Tor Support

IPVanish supports Tor traffic across all of its servers, which is really good. This way, you can first secure your data with the VPN before accessing the Tor network — if a leak were to occur or you were to use a Tor server that’s operated by malicious actors, your real IP address would still be safe (only the VPN’s IP address would be exposed). 

Just keep in mind that Tor over VPN connections are pretty slow — especially since the Tor network is already rather slow on its end, as it encrypts your data multiple times. When I surfed dark web sites with IPVanish, it usually took around 9–11 seconds for .onion links to fully load. 

Still, if you’re mostly interested in Tor over VPN, I’d go with NordVPN instead. It too allows Tor traffic on all servers, but it also has Onion Over VPN servers that automatically send your data through the Tor network — this allows you to access .onion links in regular browsers like Chrome and Firefox, which is more convenient than having to use the Tor browser. 

IPVanish Streaming Support Streaming Support 

IPVanish has decent streaming support, though it doesn’t mention how many streaming platforms it can access. It’s compatible with some top streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, and Disney+ — but it sadly doesn’t work with other platforms, such as Hulu, YouTube TV, and Max. To be honest, if you’re mainly interested in streaming, you’d be better off with ExpressVPN, as it works with 100+ streaming platforms (including the ones IPVanish can’t access).

Also, it’s a shame the VPN is missing a smart DNS service, which would allow you to access streaming services on devices that don’t work with VPN apps — like certain smart TV models and gaming consoles. Most top competitors (like ExpressVPN and NordVPN) come with a smart DNS.

And IPVanish works with Netflix, but it’s only decent for it. It’s great that it’s compatible with Netflix US and Netflix UK, but it unfortunately can’t access other top libraries, such as Netflix Canada, Netflix Japan, and Netflix Germany. If your main focus is Netflix, there are better options out there — like CyberGhost VPN, which works with 15+ Netflix libraries.

IPVanish Torrenting Support Torrenting Support

IPVanish is great for torrenting since it allows P2P downloads on all of its servers, which are located in 50+ countries. This makes it rather simple to torrent on a nearby server to get the fastest speeds. Plus, the provider has 2,400+ servers, so you’re unlikely to use an overcrowded server (which would cause slowdowns). 

The VPN also provides very good download speeds — when I downloaded a 13 GB file while connected to IPVanish, it took about 20 minutes for it to finish downloading. Plus, if you download torrents on the provider’s Android app, you can use its split-tunneling tool to increase your P2P speeds. 

Plus, IPVanish also provides access to SOCKS5 proxies, which are great for boosting your P2P speeds. These proxies hide your IP address to provide privacy, but they don’t encrypt your traffic — this means you don’t get any security, but it also means your speeds will be significantly faster than with a VPN connection. 

Other than that, the provider also has strong security and privacy for downloading torrents. The VPN has a strict no-logs policy that has also been audited, provides access to a kill switch, and has good leak protection (it never leaked my data in my tests).

IPVanish Gaming Support Gaming Support

IPVanish is pretty good for gaming, as it provides smooth, stable connections. I used it to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for 1 hour, and I generally maintained average ping (136–140 ms) while connected to distant servers. Plus, I really like that my connections to the gaming servers never dropped. 

Plus, since IPVanish hides your IP address, it protects you from DDoS attacks — that’s when a cybercriminal uses your IP address to target your network with cyber attacks that force it offline. In addition, the provider’s reps told me that all IPVanish servers come with anti-DDoS protection on them. This means that nobody can DDoS your connection to the VPN server to disconnect you from it. 

Also, IPVanish supports manual setups on several router models and firmwares. This is good because it allows you to game with the VPN on devices that don’t support VPN apps — like Xbox and PlayStation consoles. You also get access to helpful tutorials that make the setup process pretty straightforward. 

The only thing that’s missing is cloud gaming support, as IPVanish doesn’t guarantee it will work with such platforms. In my tests, it worked with services like GeForce Now, but I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same results. If cloud gaming is your main focus, consider getting ExpressVPN instead, as it guarantees support for cloud gaming platforms. 

IPVanish Server Network Server Network

IPVanish has a large server network, consisting of 2,400+  servers in 50+ countries. I’d say most VPN users will be able to connect to a nearby server to get fast speeds. Though, if the number of server locations is too small for you, other top competitors have servers in more countries — for example, ExpressVPN has servers in 100+ countries and Surfshark has servers in 95+ countries. 

I also like how the VPN supports torrenting on all of its servers — this is good to see, as some top VPNs limit torrenting to specific servers.  I usually find that inconvenient, as it makes it pretty difficult to torrent on nearby server locations to get fast speeds. 

I also like how the VPN service displays the server ping and the server load — the ping represents how fast your device communicates with the VPN, and the load shows how many people are actively using a VPN server at the moment. Both metrics help you find servers that provide fast speeds. 

IPVanish Speed Tests Speed Tests

Since I travel a lot, I can’t provide consistent VPN speed tests for all reviews. That’s because my original speeds change very often, and this impacts my VPN connection speeds a lot. 

That’s why I asked my friend from Romania to run the speed tests for me — he doesn’t travel like I do, so his original speeds remain consistent. For these tests, he told me he used the provider’s WireGuard protocol. 

My friend started with a test of his original internet speeds, without being connected to the VPN. These were his results: 

After that, he tested the speeds on a nearby server in Bulgaria — overall, he had a pretty good experience. He experienced some slowdowns, but they were very minor. All the sites he connected to loaded instantly, and HD videos loaded instantly as well. He also watched a few 4K videos, and reported that they only took 2 seconds to load. 

Next, he ran speed tests on a distant server in the US — all the sites he accessed loaded instantly, and so did HD videos. 4K videos still loaded in 2 seconds, but there was no buffering at the start or while skipping through them. What’s more, my friend never experienced lag while playing online games. 

For his final speed test, he connected to a distant Taiwanese server. He reported more noticeable slowdowns on this server, but they weren’t very bad — most websites took around 2 seconds to load, HD videos loaded in around 3 seconds (but they didn’t buffer), and 4K videos loaded in 5 seconds and there was some buffering at the start. 

I also generally had a similar experience to my friend when using IPVanish while traveling. I usually maintained really good speeds on all servers, and only experienced some slowdown while streaming, torrenting, browsing, and gaming on very remote servers. 

IPVanish Censorship Bypassing Censorship Bypassing

I unfortunately can’t recommend using IPVanish in restrictive countries — I talked with 5+ live chat reps about this, and they all confirmed the VPN doesn’t work in places like China, Egypt, and the UAE. What’s more, I can also confirm on my end that I was never able to access the free web in China with this provider. 

Instead, you’re better off using a top competitor like ExpressVPN — this provider is the best VPN for China since it 100% works in this region without any issues. Plus, it also offers high-end security and privacy features, and super fast speeds.

IPVanish Apps and Ease of Use Apps and Ease of Use

IPVanish has apps for most major platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, and Fire TV. It also supports manual router setups. However, it lacks a Linux app and browser extensions — if that’s a deal-breaker, consider trying ExpressVPN instead, as it has an excellent Linux app and very good extensions. 

I like how simple it is to install IPVanish on all devices. The setup process is very straightforward, and it honestly doesn’t take more than 2 minutes to complete it. 

Plus, I’m happy that IPVanish allows unlimited simultaneous connections. Most top VPN services limit you to 5–10 devices, so it’s really great to see a provider that allows you to use its VPN service on as many devices as you want.

Android & iOS 

Both of the VPN’s mobile apps are user-friendly — the interface is very simple to navigate with your finger, there’s a quick-connect tool that automatically connects you to the fastest server for your location, and there’s also a search field so that you can instantly find your desired server. 

I also think both apps are secure and feature-rich. Both of them come with a kill switch, and they also have split-tunneling and Threat Protection. Really, the only difference (which I think is pretty minor) is that only the Android app provides obfuscation.

Windows & macOS

I think both the Windows app and macOS app are intuitive — I especially like that there’s a digital map that you can quickly use to find and connect to the provider’s servers. In addition, there are short, helpful explanations for all settings and features, so you never feel lost while using the provider’s apps. 

Both the Windows app and macOS app are secure, as they come with a kill switch and provide access to all of the protocols IPVanish offers. In addition, you also get access to the obfuscation, split-tunneling, and Threat Protection on both desktop apps.

Router Support

IPVanish allows manual setups on several router models and firmwares, including DD-WRT, Tomato, AsusWRT, and ASUSWRT-Merlin. 

I think it’s great that the VPN has step-by-step guides that make the setup process more straightforward. The content is well-formatted, and there are also screenshots, which are very helpful. On average, it really shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes to configure the VPN on your router. 

That said, if your main goal is to use a VPN on your router, I’d go with ExpressVPN instead. It’s one of the only providers on the market that has a dedicated router app, which you can quickly install on your router — this is much more convenient than performing a manual setup. What’s more, the router app is also pretty easy to use, as it’s similar in design to the VPN’s mobile and desktop apps. 

IPVanish Pricing and Refund Policy Pricing and Refund Policy

IPVanish is pretty affordable, as its pricing starts as low as $2.19/month. It comes with a paid 1-month, 1-year, and 2-year plan — I’d personally recommend getting the longest plan since it provides the best savings. That said, there are cheaper VPN services out there that provide better value, like CyberGhost VPN for instance.

The provider accepts several payment methods, including credit/debit cards, PayPal, and Google Pay. I do think it’s a shame it doesn’t accept cryptocurrency payments, as they provide much better privacy than standard payment methods. Most top competitors (like ExpressVPN and NordVPN) accept cryptocurrency payments.

Finally, each IPVanish subscription is backed with a 30-day money-back guarantee — however, the refund policy only covers the provider’s long-term plans. 

IPVanish Customer Support Customer Support

IPVanish provides access to tons of customer support channels, including 24/7 live chat, email support, a great support library, and even phone support (very few VPNs provide phone support). 

Whenever I tested the provider’s live chat support, I had a pretty good time. It usually took less than 10 seconds to be connected to a support rep, and most of them were able to provide me with accurate answers. I came across just 2 reps that weren’t very knowledgeable, but that wasn’t such a huge issue. 

I also sent IPVanish several emails over the course of 2 weeks. The IPVanish support team got back to me in less than 24 hours, which is really good. Plus, the reps I talked with were really friendly and knowledgeable. 

In addition, I tested the provider’s phone support, and it was pretty good. Someone answered my call in less than 30 seconds, and the rep was able to answer all of my questions. IPVanish provides phone support for the US, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Australia, and Brazil — also, its phone support is available Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM CT (UTC -6). 

I’m also really happy with the IPVanish support library, as it’s pretty in-depth. It’s neatly organized, and it provides access to tons of FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and setup tutorials. I also like how most support articles come with screenshots, which are very helpful. 

IPVanish Review 2024 — Final Words Final Words

IPVanish is great for torrenting and large families. All of its servers allow P2P traffic, and it also comes with SOCKS5 proxy servers. In addition, it allows unlimited simultaneous connections (most VPNs allow 5–10 connections). Plus, it’s great for gaming, it has fast speeds across most servers, it provides strong security and privacy, and it has intuitive apps. 

I just noticed a few drawbacks — it doesn’t work with some top streaming sites (such as Max and Hulu), and it can’t access the web in restrictive countries like China and Russia.