IPVanish vs NordVPN (2026): Which Is Better?
IPVanish is cheaper — $2.49 against $3.49 on the long plan — and NordVPN scores far higher on our rubric, 8.7 against 5.5. The gap is mostly privacy: IPVanish handed data to the DHS in 2016 despite a no-logs claim, its most recent audit is from 2022, and its servers are disk-based rather than RAM-only. NordVPN has never faced that kind of request, has been audited more recently (Deloitte, 2024), and runs RAM-only servers throughout. IPVanish's genuine advantage is unlimited devices where NordVPN caps at ten — real if you're covering a large household. Outside that case, the dollar you save doesn't cover the distance.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securityNordVPNIPVanish 3.5 · NordVPN 9.5
- SpeedTieIPVanish 0.0 · NordVPN 0.0
- StreamingTieIPVanish 0.0 · NordVPN 0.0
- Apps & easeNordVPNIPVanish 7.0 · NordVPN 9.4
- ValueIPVanishIPVanish 8.1 · NordVPN 6.5
Sub-scores are provisional for IPVanish and NordVPN — published audits, jurisdiction and public record rather than our own measurement; see the review; 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
- $2.49/mo on the long plan, a dollar less than NordVPN
- You're covering a lot of hardware and the per-device maths is what decides it
Choose NordVPN if…
- No documented incident — IPVanish handed data to the DHS in 2016 despite a no-logs claim
- RAM-only servers and a more recent audit (2024 against 2022)
- Panama jurisdiction rather than the US
IPVanish vs NordVPN: the numbers
 IPVanish |  NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 5.5provisional — not tested by us | 8.7provisional — not tested by us |
| Rank · badge | Not ranked · Native Fire TV app | Not ranked · Widest server network |
| 2-year price / mo | $2.49 | $3.49 |
| 1-year price / mo | $3.33 | $5.49 |
| Monthly price | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Renewal | Billed $59.76 for the first 2 years, then renews yearly at $99.99 | Billed $94.23 for the first 27 months, then renews at $139.08 a year |
| Money-back | 30 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | Unlimited | 10 |
| Avg download speed | Not tested by us | Not tested by us |
| 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 | $2.49 | $3.49 |
| Then renews at / mo | $8.33 (+235%) | $11.59 (+232%) |
| First term, up front | $59.76 | $83.76 |
| Total over 3 years | $159.72 | $222.84 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $4.44 | $6.19 |
| Money-back | 30 days — 30 days, published — we have not claimed one yet | 30 days — 30 days, published — we have not claimed one yet |
| Check IPVanish price | Check NordVPN price |
IPVanish is cheaper both ways — lower to start and $63.12 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
Neither VPN has been speed-tested by us yet, so there is nothing to chart here.
IPVanish and NordVPN have not been through our speed rig yet, so there is no region-by-region chart for this pair. Speed figures other people have published are on the IPVanish and NordVPN review, attributed to whoever measured them.
Streaming, service by service
| IPVanish | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) |
| Netflix US | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix UK | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix JP | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix CA | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix AU | n/r | n/r |
| Prime Video | n/r | n/r |
| Disney+ | n/r | n/r |
| Hulu | n/r | n/r |
| Max | n/r | n/r |
| Paramount+ | n/r | n/r |
| Peacock | n/r | n/r |
| BBC iPlayer | n/r | n/r |
| ITVX | n/r | n/r |
| DAZN | n/r | n/r |
| n/r — no published result found | n/r — no published result found |
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?
Not on our published score — 5.5 against 8.7 — and the gap is mostly a documented incident: IPVanish handed user data to the DHS in 2016 despite a no-logs claim, its servers aren't RAM-only, and its audit is from 2022. NordVPN has never faced that kind of request and was audited more recently.
Is IPVanish worth it for unlimited devices?
That's the one honest case for it, and it's real — unlimited connections against NordVPN's ten. Surfshark also allows unlimited devices at a similar price and scores 8.8, so check that before deciding this pair on device count alone.
Why does IPVanish rank low?
US jurisdiction, disk-based servers, an audit from 2022 rather than the last two years, and a 2016 incident in which it provided user data to the Department of Homeland Security despite a no-logs claim. The current owner is different and the recent record is clean, but the incident is part of the picture and it's why the score is low.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the scoring rubric before any commercial consideration. Disclosure