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Ariel Hochstadt
Ex-Google, International tech speaker
Surfshark is a new VPN with a lot of potential, but is that enough to beat IPVanish, one of the services rated highest by our readers? When it comes to servers, IPVanish has the better numbers: 1,100+ in over 60 countries, compared to 500+ in 50 countries for Surfshark. Both VPNs offer excellent speeds for downloading or streaming in HD. Thanks to its No Borders mode, Surfshark also performs well in China. You can access US Netflix with either VPN, though it’s worth noting that not all IPVanish servers in the United States will bypass the blocks. You can always get up-to-date information on server performance or any other issue you’re interested in by chatting live with IPVanish support agents. Surfshark also provides 24/7 live chat, however, and in our experience we got help much faster with Surfshark. Moving on to privacy, IPVanish is based in the United States, which means it may be forced to provide whatever user data it has to authorities during an investigation. We know of at least one incident in 2016 in which IPVanish did supply investigators with user information. Surfshark doesn’t need to worry about any of that, as it’s based in the British Virgin Islands, far away from Five-Eyes jurisdiction. Overall, both VPNs have their strengths. Scroll down to find out how Surfshark and IPVanish perform in our category tests.
Features
9.4
Pricing
9.2
Ease of Use
9.4
Reliability & Support
9.4
Features
9.4
Pricing
9.4
Ease of Use
10.0
Reliability & Support
9.6
Rating
Features
9.4
9.4
0.0
Pricing
9.2
9.4
0.0
Ease of Use
9.4
10.0
0.0
Reliability & Support
9.4
9.6
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Kate Veale
Cybersecurity Researcher
9.0
IPVanish offers high-speed connections and an impressive list of advanced security features at a budget-friendly price.
For this review, we put IPVanish through its paces. We thoroughly tested its speed, performance, ease of use, and ability to access popular streaming services like Netflix. The short answer? Yes, IPVanish is able to unblock Netflix. It can also unblock popular services like V...
Very, very satisfiedI am into my third year of using IPVanish. I am extremely happy with the speed, reliability, features and reliability. The fact that I have used it for this long without trying the competition speaks volumes. I am never going to try anything else because I am completely happy with what I have. Why risk it?
Latest negative user review
AM
2.0
Unreliable Product, Poor Customer Service, and Unethical Business PracticesCustomer service, and unethical business practices. There were IP leaks through their VPN connection from my Mac PC. The issue persists after their troubleshooting and resulted in repeated exposure of my personal and financial information. I’m a few months into my 2nd annual subscription. Despite the technical issues with their product and my investment in their troubleshooting process, they have repeatedly refused to refund the remainder of my annual subscription. I’m escalating to the BBB. ExpressVPN provides a much reliable product and engages in ethical business practices. BEWARE.
With VPNs, you tend to get what you pay for. So when I saw Surfshark’s super low prices (you can get it for just $2.49/month), I was a bit skeptical about its rave reviews.
To find out if it actually lives up to these claims, I tested every single aspect of Surfshark, including speeds, security features, unblocking abilities, network reliability, and device compatibility. I also took a cl...
Easy to use - worksCustomer support is really friendly and helpful when dealing across devices and seems to be very knowledgeable.
Highly recommend this VPN I've had for several months now.
I am not a tech bod but it has done everything I need it to do.
What else can I say?
Latest negative user review
Bubba
2.0
There might be a serious problem with the APPI have been using surfshark for over 6 months. I just discovered when the App has an update available and you do not update within hours, it will update itself and leave you unprotected. After it auto-updates it does not remember your username or password and leaves your computer unprotected. After I logged in I also found the kill switch off. Do not use this VPN unattended as when an update is available you will wake up to an unprotected computer! This is a serious flaw in the program.
IPVanish offers high-speed connections and an impressive list of advanced security features at a budget-friendly price.
For this review, we put IPVanish through its paces. We thoroughly tested its speed, performance, ease of use, and ability to access popular streaming services like Netflix. The short answer? Yes, IPVanish is able to unblock Netflix. It can also unblock popular services like V...
With VPNs, you tend to get what you pay for. So when I saw Surfshark’s super low prices (you can get it for just $2.49/month), I was a bit skeptical about its rave reviews.
To find out if it actually lives up to these claims, I tested every single aspect of Surfshark, including speeds, security features, unblocking abilities, network reliability, and device compatibility. I also took a cl...
Very, very satisfiedI am into my third year of using IPVanish. I am extremely happy with the speed, reliability, features and reliability. The fact that I have used it for this long without trying the competition speaks volumes. I am never going to try anything else because I am completely happy with what I have. Why risk it?
Debra Fear
10.0
Easy to use - worksCustomer support is really friendly and helpful when dealing across devices and seems to be very knowledgeable.
Highly recommend this VPN I've had for several months now.
I am not a tech bod but it has done everything I need it to do.
What else can I say?
Latest negative user review
AM
2.0
Unreliable Product, Poor Customer Service, and Unethical Business PracticesCustomer service, and unethical business practices. There were IP leaks through their VPN connection from my Mac PC. The issue persists after their troubleshooting and resulted in repeated exposure of my personal and financial information. I’m a few months into my 2nd annual subscription. Despite the technical issues with their product and my investment in their troubleshooting process, they have repeatedly refused to refund the remainder of my annual subscription. I’m escalating to the BBB. ExpressVPN provides a much reliable product and engages in ethical business practices. BEWARE.
Bubba
2.0
There might be a serious problem with the APPI have been using surfshark for over 6 months. I just discovered when the App has an update available and you do not update within hours, it will update itself and leave you unprotected. After it auto-updates it does not remember your username or password and leaves your computer unprotected. After I logged in I also found the kill switch off. Do not use this VPN unattended as when an update is available you will wake up to an unprotected computer! This is a serious flaw in the program.
Surfshark is a flexible and dependable VPN with a tight no-logs policy and simple, intuitive clients. While it doesn’t have the bigger server list, the network is more than sufficient to deliver great speeds and secure access to your favorite content online. IPVanish is also impressive for streaming, with a very attractive interface that's easy to use and lets you see how the VPN works. IPVanish also has a far larger global server array.
Surfshark is a flexible and dependable VPN with a tight no-logs policy and simple, intuitive clients. While it doesn’t have the bigger server list, the network is more than sufficient to deliver great speeds and secure access to your favorite content online. IPVanish is also impressive for streaming, with a very attractive interface that's easy to use and lets you see how the VPN works. IPVanish also has a far larger global server array.
While both VPNs allow P2P activities on their servers, IPVanish has its headquarters in the US and follows a Digital Millennium Copyright Act compliance policy. As a result of that policy, some of our readers have reported that their torrenting activity on IPVanish has been detected. Surfshark directs all P2P activity to its Netherlands servers, but it might be the safer choice for torrent fans, especially if you’ll be downloading from the US.
While both VPNs allow P2P activities on their servers, IPVanish has its headquarters in the US and follows a Digital Millennium Copyright Act compliance policy. As a result of that policy, some of our readers have reported that their torrenting activity on IPVanish has been detected. Surfshark directs all P2P activity to its Netherlands servers, but it might be the safer choice for torrent fans, especially if you’ll be downloading from the US.
Surfshark is impressive on Windows, owing to a clean client that’s easy to use, even for beginners. You’ll find plenty of features, including quick connect, anti-malware, split tunneling, and leak protection. IPVanish has a stylish Windows client of its own, however, with automatic IP cycling and a lot of visual appeal. Both VPNs include OpenVPN as the default protocol.
Surfshark is impressive on Windows, owing to a clean client that’s easy to use, even for beginners. You’ll find plenty of features, including quick connect, anti-malware, split tunneling, and leak protection. IPVanish has a stylish Windows client of its own, however, with automatic IP cycling and a lot of visual appeal. Both VPNs include OpenVPN as the default protocol.
You’ll find several rare and useful extras in Surfshark’s Android app. The WhiteLister feature allows you to customize your VPN traffic with precision, and private DNS settings boost security. IPVanish competes with an Android app that gives you obfuscation and IP cycling, two very useful features for bypassing geoblocks and censorship walls.
You’ll find several rare and useful extras in Surfshark’s Android app. The WhiteLister feature allows you to customize your VPN traffic with precision, and private DNS settings boost security. IPVanish competes with an Android app that gives you obfuscation and IP cycling, two very useful features for bypassing geoblocks and censorship walls.
IPVanish provides excellent security on Mac. The client includes auto-reconnect and a kill switch, while supporting a variety of protocols, including OpenVPN and L2TP. Surfshark is just as good when it comes to speed, but the default (and only) protocol in the MacOS app is IKEv2. If you want Surfshark with OpenVPN on your Mac, you’ll need a manual setup.
IPVanish provides excellent security on Mac. The client includes auto-reconnect and a kill switch, while supporting a variety of protocols, including OpenVPN and L2TP. Surfshark is just as good when it comes to speed, but the default (and only) protocol in the MacOS app is IKEv2. If you want Surfshark with OpenVPN on your Mac, you’ll need a manual setup.
Both VPNs offer stable iOS apps with brilliant interfaces that run the IKEv2 protocol. Normally, IPVanish would have an obvious advantage here, thanks to its impressive 10 simultaneous connections allowed. However, Surfshark manages to beat that number by allowing you to use an unlimited number of devices at the same time.
Both VPNs offer stable iOS apps with brilliant interfaces that run the IKEv2 protocol. Normally, IPVanish would have an obvious advantage here, thanks to its impressive 10 simultaneous connections allowed. However, Surfshark manages to beat that number by allowing you to use an unlimited number of devices at the same time.
IPVanish has 500+ servers in the United States alone – almost as many as you’ll find in Surfshark’s entire network. While both VPNs work with popular American websites like US Netflix and Hulu, IPVanish gives you more options for region-exclusive sports streams and other US-only events. For private browsing within the USA, however, Surfshark is the better pick because it’s based outside of the country and operates under a legitimate zero-logs policy.
IPVanish has 500+ servers in the United States alone – almost as many as you’ll find in Surfshark’s entire network. While both VPNs work with popular American websites like US Netflix and Hulu, IPVanish gives you more options for region-exclusive sports streams and other US-only events. For private browsing within the USA, however, Surfshark is the better pick because it’s based outside of the country and operates under a legitimate zero-logs policy.
Top-tier VPN services have many different aspects to evaluate. Surfshark showed its high quality in all of our tests, and proved itself as a premium provider capable of outcompeting IPVanish in several categories. Still, IPVanish isn’t just another forgettable VPN service. It brings a lot of value to Mac users especially, and may even work better for streaming some geo-restricted content thanks to a more far-reaching server array. Overall, Surfshark is truly exceptional for a new service, able to provide security, privacy, and speed across all platforms, while offering some of the best subscription deals around. If you’re willing to pay extra for more servers, IPVanish might be what you’re looking for. In most situations, however, you’ll find that Surfshark is the better pick for your money.
Interestingly, if you compare Surfshark with NordLocker, which is our top ranked vpn, you'll see that Surfshark can learn a lot from NordLocker. Compare Surfshark with NordLocker
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