IPVanish vs NordVPN (2026): Which Is Better?
IPVanish is the cheaper one and it is not cheap enough. $2.19 against $3.39 on the two-year plan is $1.20 a month, and for that $1.20 NordVPN gives you 712 Mbps against 505, 14 streaming services against 8, RAM-only servers against conventional ones, Panama jurisdiction against the US, and a 2024 Deloitte audit against IPVanish's 2022 one. IPVanish's genuine advantage is unlimited simultaneous connections where NordVPN allows ten — a real point if you are covering a large household or a lot of hardware. Outside that case this is a 9.7 against a 7.6, and the saving does not cover the distance.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securityNordVPNIPVanish 8.0 · NordVPN 9.6
- SpeedNordVPNIPVanish 8.2 · NordVPN 9.8
- StreamingNordVPNIPVanish 7.0 · NordVPN 9.8
- Apps & easeNordVPNIPVanish 7.4 · NordVPN 9.5
- ValueNordVPNIPVanish 7.5 · NordVPN 9.4
Sub-scores from this month's tests; weights are privacy & security 30%, speed 25%, streaming 15%, apps & ease 15%, value 15%. Methodology
Choose IPVanish if…
- Unlimited simultaneous devices, where NordVPN stops at ten
- $2.19/mo on the 2-year plan, $1.20 less than NordVPN
- You are covering a lot of hardware and the per-device maths is what decides it
Choose NordVPN if…
- 712 Mbps against 505, and 4 ms of added latency against 13
- 14 of 14 streaming services against 8 — the gap is not marginal
- RAM-only servers, Panama jurisdiction and a 2024 audit against a 2022 one
IPVanish vs NordVPN: the numbers
 IPVanish |  NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 7.6 | 9.7 |
| Rank · badge | #10 · Unlimited devices | #1 · Top rated overall |
| 2-year price / mo | $2.19 | $3.39 |
| 1-year price / mo | $3.33 | $4.99 |
| Monthly price | $12.99 | $12.99 |
| Renewal | renews at a much higher rate | renews at the 1-year rate |
| Money-back | 30 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | Unlimited | 10 |
| Avg download speed | 505 Mbps | 712 Mbps |
| Jurisdiction | United States | Panama |
| Owner | Ziff Davis | Nord Security |
| No-logs audit | Leviathan Security no-logs audit, 2022 | Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 |
| Servers | 2,400+ in 55 countries | 7,400+ in 118 countries |
| Protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, IPSec | NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, NordWhisper |
| Torrenting | P2P allowed on all servers | P2P allowed on dedicated P2P servers |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, phone, email, help centre | 24/7 live chat, email, help centre |
| Visit IPVanish | Visit NordVPN |
What each one actually costs
The advertised rate covers the first term only. These are the totals once the renewal is counted.
| IPVanish | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan priced | 24-month plan | 24-month plan |
| Intro rate / mo | $2.19 | $3.39 |
| Then renews at / mo | $5.33 (+143%) | $4.99 (+47%) |
| First term, up front | $52.56 | $81.36 |
| Total over 3 years | $116.50 | $141.24 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $3.24 | $3.92 |
| Money-back | 30 days — refunded in 7 days | 30 days — we got ours in 4 days |
| Check IPVanish price | Check NordVPN price |
IPVanish is cheaper both ways — lower to start and $24.74 less across three years once the renewals are counted. Same arithmetic as our price calculator: the first term at the advertised rate, every month after it at the rate the provider publishes for renewals.
Speed by region
Download on a 940 Mbps line, 3 runs per server, median reported. Highlighted cell = fastest.
| IPVanish | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| US East | 590 Mbps | 771 Mbps |
| UK | 520 Mbps | 742 Mbps |
| Singapore | 420 Mbps | 668 Mbps |
| Australia | 440 Mbps | 667 Mbps |
| Added latency | +13 ms | +4 ms |
Streaming, service by service
| IPVanish | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 8 of 14 | 14 of 14 |
| Netflix US | ||
| Netflix UK | ||
| Netflix JP | ||
| Netflix CA | ||
| Netflix AU | ||
| Prime Video | ||
| Disney+ | ||
| Hulu | ||
| Max | ||
| Paramount+ | ||
| Peacock | ||
| BBC iPlayer | ||
| ITVX | ||
| DAZN |
Security features
| IPVanish | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Kill switch | ||
| Split tunnelling | ||
| Obfuscation / stealth | ||
| Port forwarding | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Ad & tracker blocking | ||
| Multi-hop (double VPN) | ||
| RAM-only servers | ||
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, routers | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions, routers |
Has the no-logs promise ever been tested?
Every VPN on this page says it keeps no logs. The claim only means something once someone has demanded the data — a police raid, a court order, a subpoena. Here is what happened to each of these two when that came up, and what it means if it never has.
- IPVanishFailed
2016 request from DHS. The claim did not hold: data existed that should not have. IPVanish has changed its setup since, but this is the reason it sits where it does on privacy.
Audit: Leviathan Security no-logs audit, 2022 · United States
- NordVPNNever tested
No police raid, court order or subpoena against NordVPN has been made public. That is not a mark against it — most providers have never been asked — but it does mean the policy has never had to hold up under pressure.
Audit: Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 · Panama
What each one is our top pick for
One of these scores higher overall, which does not make it the right buy for every job. These are the use cases where each one comes first on its own list.
- IPVanishNo category
IPVanish is not our top pick in any of our use-case lists. It can still be the right buy on price or on one feature — the rest of this page is where that case gets made.
- NordVPN16 categories
Questions
Is IPVanish as good as NordVPN?
No, and the gap is wide: 7.6 against 9.7. NordVPN is faster by 207 Mbps, unblocks 14 streaming services to IPVanish's 8, runs RAM-only servers, sits in Panama rather than the US and was audited more recently. IPVanish is a competent VPN; it is not in the same bracket.
Is IPVanish worth it for unlimited devices?
That is the one honest case for it, and it is real — unlimited connections against NordVPN's ten. But Surfshark also allows unlimited devices, costs the same $2.19 and scores 9.4, so unlimited-device buyers usually have a better option than either. Check Surfshark before deciding this pair on device count.
Why does IPVanish rank last?
US jurisdiction, servers that are not RAM-only, an audit from 2022 rather than the last twelve months, and a 2016 incident in which it provided logs to the Department of Homeland Security despite a no-logs claim. The audited present is clean and the current owner is different, but the record is part of the picture and it is why it sits tenth.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the tests before any commercial consideration. Disclosure