IPVanish vs. Surfshark

For over a decade, IPVanish has been considered a premium VPN on the market.

Sure, it might have been acquired by a company or two and suffered from a controversy surrounding its no-logging policy and cooperation with Homeland Security. But it has since regained trust with its customers.1

Despite its legacy, how does it compare with newcomers like Surfshark? Does it have access to as many servers, and are its protocols just as secure? More importantly, can we still watch another country’s Netflix catalog?

In our testing, we found that Surfshark outperformed IPVanish in a number of categories. Here’s what you need to know.

Head-to-Head

About IPVanish

You might think IPVanish’s headquarters in the U.S. offers some homegrown advantages, but it actually raises some privacy issues. America is part of the Five Eyes Alliance, along with Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

This means IPVanish could be forced to hand over user information to the Government, which they have done in the past. However, the company is now obliging with its no-log policy, which was confirmed in an audit by Leviathan Security Group in 2022.2

>> Learn More: IPVanish Review

About Surfshark

As for Surfshark, its headquarters are located in the Netherlands. The country is a part of the 14 Eyes Alliance, an extension of the Five Eyes Alliance that includes more countries.

Surfshark also has a no-log policy, but its privacy policy explains that it captures user IDs and IP addresses while connected to the VPN. However, it also states it deletes this information within 15 minutes of disconnection. The practice was confirmed in an audit by Cure53 in 2021.3

>> Check Out: Surfshark VPN Review

Subscription Costs

If you only need a VPN, IPVanish is the cheaper option. But, if you’re planning to get antivirus and malware protection, credit card alerts, or personal data security reports, Surfshark can save you some money with the Surfshark One and Surfshark One+ bundles.

IPVanish

When you purchase a subscription with IPVanish, you’re only paying for a VPN. It’s important to note that the prices above are only for the first period. At renewal, they increase to $89.99 for the Yearly plan and $179.99 for the 2 Year plan. You also only get the 30-day money-back guarantee with your first term of the Yearly or 2 Year plan if you change your mind. The monthly plan does not come with a money-back guarantee.

You can purchase your subscription using PayPal, most major credit cards, and Google Pay.

Surfshark

The Starter tier provides a VPN and other tools to protect your identity. However, it’s the Surfshark One and Surfshark One+ plans that offer greater value for money. You gain access to several other high-quality security tools to keep you safe, including antivirus protection.

More payment options are also available, including Sofot, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrency. You also have a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.

Verdict on Plans and Pricing: While Surfshark is more expensive, it does offer better value. If you only need a VPN, IPVanish can provide this for a reasonable price. But we recommend calculating the total cost of all your digital security subscriptions and comparing them to the cost of Surfshark. You might be surprised how much you’ll save.

>> Check Out: Surfshark Antivirus Review & Pricing in 2024

Comparing Vital Features

Before we get into the side-by-side results of our tests, we like to compare the stats and features of each VPN. This means looking at the number of servers each VPN has and how many locations for those servers. The more servers and locations, the better. From there, we look at three critical VPN features; a kill switch, split tunneling, and the option for a dedicated IP address.

Here’s a comparison between IPVanish and Surfshark’s vital features:

Verdict on Features: Surfshark easily wins this category. It provides access to more servers in more countries. IPVanish has plenty of servers in the U.S., but it doesn’t help us when we’re in Brooklyn and want to watch something on streaming services in the U.K.

The absence of a dedicated IP address is also a negative. While most other VPNs, including Surfshark, charge extra for this feature, it’s beneficial if you need to access highly sensitive or regulated information.

Our Speed Test Results

The most important VPN feature for us is the connection speed. We don’t want to sacrifice slow downloads for security. Fortunately, we don’t have to with Surfshark. But IPVanish struggled to get close to our baseline, which was:

• Download: 98.92 Mbps
• Upload: 17.98 Mbps
• Ping: 9 ms

IPVanish Speed Test

We tested speeds on a MacBook Pro at our Brooklyn offices. When we need a break, we log on to a U.K. server and check out shows unavailable on U.S. streaming services. But before we logged into Netflix, we ran a speed test and got these results:

• Download: 67.00 Mbps
• Upload: 13.30 Mbps
• Ping: 162 ms

The download speeds dropped significantly, which was noticeable when we started watching one of our favorite episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Nightman Cometh.” There was some buffering, and in some scenes, it got pixelated to the point where Charlie’s face was blurred like a criminal on the news.

Surfshark Speed Test

When we switched to Surfshark, we instantly noticed a difference in speed when navigating websites. We once again chose a U.K. server and ran the test. The results were:

• Download: 99.63 Mbps
• Upload: 9.27 Mbps
• Ping: 168 ms

There was barely a difference in the download speed, which made us double-check we were still connected to the VPN. The same Always Sunny episode was in full HD, and there was no buffering—just plenty of laughs.

Verdict on Speed: Surfshark easily won this category with its download speeds. The ping wasn’t great on either which could be an issue for gamers. But there are plenty of servers within the U.S. that provide better alternatives.

Our Leak Test Results

While we were happy with the speed test results, we wanted to ensure our private information wasn’t leaking while connected to the VPNs. We ran a test on DoILeak to confirm our identity was protected.

Verdict on Privacy: IPVanish passed all tests, while Surfshark detected our original DNS server. We ran a second test for each VPN on dnsleaktest.com, with both passing and no issues returned. However, we’re giving IPVanish the win in this category as it cleared every test thrown at it.

Enjoying Entertainment From Around the World

As we mentioned earlier, we love checking out streaming services from other countries when we have some downtime. IPVanish and Surfshark let us watch multiple shows across several platforms. Here’s a quick overview of what is accessible.

Streaming Movies and TV Shows

IPVanish and Surfshark let us access most streaming services in the U.K., Australia, and Japan. But IPVanish struggled with Prime Video. It recognized the VPN for Australia and Japan but not for the U.K.

Performance-wise, Surfshark worked better. The faster speeds meant we could enjoy movies like “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” on ITV in all its glory. IPVanish had some buffering issues, particularly with films on Netflix and Disney+. That’s why we left it off our list of the best VPNs for streaming.

Downloading Torrents

Both VPNs not only let you download torrents, but they also have servers optimized for the activity. All IPVanish servers support P2P file sharing, meaning they can download large files faster thanks to the connection between the device and the server.

Surfshark also has dedicated P2P servers. You can choose to connect to one, or it will automatically switch to it when you’re downloading a large file.

>> Read More: How to Use a VPN for Torrenting

Gaming Online

You’ll need to set up IPVanish or Surfshark on your router if you want to use it for gaming. It can be beneficial, particularly if you’re a multiplayer gamer. You can choose servers with low latencies, which will save you money replacing controllers you broke because you swore you shot first.

We were pleased with our results when playing “Halo Infinite” on an Xbox Series X. The servers we chose were in New York and had lower pings than our usual connection. With both VPNs, the gameplay was smooth, and we never once felt like we were being cheated on the battlefield. Maybe that’s because we won all our team matches.

Verdict on Streaming, Gaming, and Torrenting: We recommend Surfshark for all your entertainment needs. The connection speed means you’ll have no issues watching movies and TV shows, downloading torrents, or gaming online. IPVanish also had some problems with a couple of streaming services, making Surfshark more reliable. However, it performed well when downloading torrents and gaming online.

What Devices Can You Protect?

You could set up IPVanish or Surfshark on your router to protect everything connected to the Wi-Fi, but maybe you only want to access overseas servers on specific devices. In that case, you’ll want to download their apps. Here’s what is available.

Verdict on Compatible Devices: IPVanish has dedicated apps for all your hardware but only some browsers. However, this doesn’t matter as much if you use the Windows or macOS app. Surfshark caters to customers who only want to hide their browser activity with Chrome, Firefox, and Edge extensions.

How Do Customers Feel About IPVanish and Surfshark?

Thousands of people have shared their experiences with IPVanish and Surfshark. On Apple’s App Store, IPVanish has over 98,000 reviews and a score of 4.5 out of 5. Surfshark has 63,000 reviews and a rating of 4.8 out of 5.

On Google Play, IPVanish has 56,000 reviews and a score of 4.3 out of 5. As for Surfshark, it’s passed 100,000 reviews and has a rating of 4.5 out of 5. But this is what the internet has to say about them.

IPVanish

To find the most honest opinions about IPVanish, we went to Reddit. Here are some of the positive views customers shared:

• “Used it on Apple TV. Speeds were great.”
• “They have a lot of servers in different countries. It doesn’t slow down my computer and connects quickly. They have a kill switch that works well.”
• “IPVanish’s customer support team has always been super helpful whenever I’ve had any questions or concerns. Their chat and email support are super quick and helpful.”

But there were also some negative experiences posted:

• “It’s pretty slow and has some issues.”
• “Every time I connect my IPVanish service, I can’t connect to none [sic] of my URL websites on my computer.”
• “IPVanish is disconnecting without alerting users while using a FireStick.”

Surfshark

Reddit also has plenty of opinions about Surfshark. These are some of the positive comments customers left:

• “The connection speeds are consistently good, which is great for streaming and browsing without any annoying lag.”
• “What stands out for me is its user-friendly interface, making it super easy to navigate even for someone who’s not too tech-savvy.”
• “I was using Surfshark for over a year and had no problems. I was able to stream on sites that are blocked in my country.”

But not everyone loved using the apps.

• “There are lots of Captchas no matter the server location.”
• “The killswitch on mobile wasn’t the most reliable. If the connection dropped, it allowed a connection still but from my real IP.”
• “The Windows app downloads the entire anti-virus even if you didn’t subscribe to it.”

Verdict on Customer Reviews: Surfshark has more positive reviews than negative ones, even on Reddit. The ratings are also higher on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Comparing Customer Support

If you’re having problems with IPVanish or Surfshark, you should first go to their support centers. Both websites feature FAQs, setup guides, troubleshooting articles, and more to help you resolve issues.

They also have 24/7 chat support. If your issue isn’t urgent, you can email them instead. We tested the live chat with IPVanish and Surfshark and got our questions answered in a timely fashion.

Verdict on Support Options: We’re calling it a draw. Both websites had everything we needed to resolve issues if they arose. The live chat replies were also fast and responsive.

Verdict: IPVanish or Surfshark?

Surfshark has many advantages over IPVanish. In our testing, we had faster connections, no interruptions while watching content on overseas streaming catalogs, and could download torrents quickly.

But, there were some security concerns with the leak tests, which were resolved after further investigations.

While IPVanish does have some strengths, you’ll not only get more value for your money with a Surfshark subscription but also a faster, more reliable VPN that’s available on more devices.