IPVanish vs NordVPN

Since security crises have grown, the use of VPNs has also increased. The entire VPN market has become saturated and flooded with thousands of VPN service providers. Not all, but only a few of them are reliable.

How a VPN is reliable based on its characteristics, such as logging policy, speed, security and privacy, but most are paid. Only the paid VPN takes responsibility to provide you with the best services and keep your security a high priority.

After years of research, we have enlisted some of the best VPN services you can use without any fear of a leak. Not only this, you can stream whatsoever you want and can unblock as many sites as you wish with all our recommended VPNs.

However, this article is about the comparison of two of our highly suggested VPNs – IPVanish and NordVPN. Both have engraved their names as some of the best VPNs. Both have top-notch security and anonymity. Also, have unbeatable speed—only slight difference we noticed, which we will discuss below.

A Brief Overview

NordVPN

Founded in 2012, NordVPN is headquartered in Panama. It ranks 2nd in the Best VPNs position. It gains popularity on nonstop security features without compromising a chunk of speed. It is an excellent choice for anyone looking for high-quality security at the most economical price.

Plus, Nord's customer enjoys a zero-logging policy owing to its location in Panama. It is user-friendly and has professional customer support. We also compared Nord with ExpressVPN. You can read the comparison of VPN Titan.

IPVanish VPN

Founded in 2012, IPVanish is based in Florida. It is also enlisted in one of our top 10 VPNs recommended for security, privacy, steaming and many more services. Despite its location in a surveilled country, IPVanish does not compromise on retaining the privacy and security of its customers.

The VPN is performing well on all sides and is highly recommended for those who are considerate about prices with security and anonymity. We have also compared IPVanish with Private Internet Access. You can read a comparison here.

Similarities between IPVanish and NordVPN

Encryption

Encryption is a standard taken by every VPN to protect the overall tunneling process. Every VPN makes a secure tunnel where the data is marked and encrypted. For this, VPN needs military grad or industry-level encryption.

NordVPN has AES 256 bit encryption. It defends your device every second from cyber attacks and keeps you hidden from surveillance. It also has SHA256 hash authentication and a 4096-bit key exchange for forwarding secrecy.

In comparison, IPVanish also has nearly similar encryption. Both VPNs have zero tolerance for security breaches. They are leaving no space for anyone to sneak into your activities.

No logging Policy

For any VPN, its zero-logging policy is quite essential. NordVPN is located in Panama. A country does not impose any law of data retention laws on its citizens or organizations because these countries are not a part of any surveillance agencies that collect and share data.

Enjoying the privileges of its location, NordVPN has a zero log policy. The service provider company of NordVPN has pledged not to track a single piece of information of Nord users. Even they have a crypto option for billing through which you can subscribe to the VPN anonymously.

The same is the case with IPVanish, where the difference occurs in its location. IPVanish is located in Florida. The USA is a member of 5 EYE and 9 EYE surveillance agencies, which impose on organizations to collect and share data with the government.

Despite such restrictions, IPVanish has a strict no-log policy. As per the website:

“We do not monitor, record or store logs for any single customer's VPN activity. We have a zero log policy. Our users' privacy is our main concern.”

Plus, both IPVanish and NordVPN issue Warrant Canary. This statement is issued by an organization that declares that it has not received any government or intelligence agencies' request to share its customers' data.

Company Jurisdiction

Both VPNs have 256-bit encryption to hide your data and have a zero log policy. However, a company with a VPN headquarters in a country free from data retention laws is preferred the most.

Thankfully, NordVPN is located in Panama; a country that does not keep any data of its citizens, nor it force organizations located under its auspices to share or retain data.

However, IPVanish is based in the USA- a country that is a part of surveillance alliances and does share and collect the data and information of its citizens and organization.

However, it is also worthy of mentioning here, despite being located in a massive surveilled county, IPVanish is retaining its staunch no-log policy.

Streaming

Virtual Private Networks are widely used for streaming services. The question is, why do you need a VPN for streaming sites? The answer is simple. Many countries blocked their specific yet famous channels for people of another region to retain the relevance of their content. Not all but many of such geo-restricted channels are pretty famous, and everyone wants to watch their content.

However, VPN hides our IP address with a VPN-generated IP. For instance, if you want to watch episodes of HBO Max outside the US, you can connect to a US server and get US IP to unblock HBO max by living in any other country.

Both NordVPN and IPVanish can help you unblock as many geo-restricted sites as possible. You can unblock Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime, ABC Go, Cartoon Network, Vevo, VOOT, Telemundo, PBS, BBC iPlayer, Discovery, and many other channels. Check how to unblock channels through VPNs.

Both VPNs have server locations in North American, South American, Australia, Asian and African countries, which means you can get access to the channels nearly all over the world.

Protocol

Protocols are pretty essential for any VPN. Free VPN service providers usually do not offer many protocols – Nord and IPVanish do.

Nord uses OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec, the best for security and encryption. OpenVPN has 048-bit SSL enciphering designed for Windows, iOS and Android operating systems. It also uses PPTP to add a further level of security and speed. Also, Nord uses NordLynx-WireGuard supported protocol for the best speed.

IPVanish, on the other side, has all the same chunks as NordVPN. IPVanish uses OPENVPN IPSEC for security and speed. It also has WireGuard, which has added to its wide list of protocols for giving the best services to the users of IPVanish.

Leak Protection

No matter how hard you try to hide your IP address, an ISP can request your DNS. Similarly, IP addresses and WebRTC can also be leaked. Even if you try to hide your IP address, you can't. All free VPNs usually do not have built-in leak protection. Even some paid VPNs cannot protect against IP and DNS leaks.

However, all our recommended VPNs are specifically designed to protect against leaks, so do the Nord and IPVanish VPNs. Both are safe from all sorts of leaks becasue their tunneling process is so robust that nothing can go out from it.

IPVanish has moved a step higher, and you can personally activate leak protection against DNS and IPV6 leaks. Nord protects you automatically.

Torrenting

We are all in a digital world. Gone was the time when you shared files on paper. Now the world is moving paperless, so do the files. You can transfer large files containing even confidential data with your peers with one click.

Not only this, downloading movies and videos is also a common practice, but many countries have blocked torrenting. In such this, many security issues came to exist. Do not worry; both Nord and IPVanish are here to protect you.

Even if you are torrenting from a country where bit torrent or Utorrent is blocked, you can unblock them and access them from wherever you want.

VPN will keep you anonymous and protect p2p file sharing with military-grade encryption. So whether Nord or IPVanish, you can use both without any security considerations.

Although both VPN service providers have extraordinary security and speed for torrenting, Nord moves a step further. It has dedicated p2p servers, which give you the best performance while torrenting.

Gaming

Games are now not for kids only. The world has changed now. Every person belongs to any age is playing games. Similarly, many countries have blocked games. VPNs do not only unblock games but also unblock many skins, dresses, etc.

With Nord and IPVanish, you can unblock any game well without any problem. Whether called duty, Free Fire or PUBG, everything works well with our VPNs without lagging or ping issues.

Device Compatibility

All our recommended VPNs are compatible with many devices. Be it any operating system or any device; they have dedicated applications.

Nord and IPVanish work on iOS, Linux, Chromebook, Andoird, Amazon Fire Stick, BBC player, Windows, etc. Both are compatible with smartphones, smart TVs, desktop computers and tablets.

However, IPVanish has fewer protocols on Android, not you get some additional options such as blocking the local area network. On iOS and Windows, you can switch between servers. You can enable keyboard shortcuts with IPVanish and separate Diagnostic tabs too.

Nord, on the contrary, has options for all operating systems. Plus, it has two apps for macOS. Nord has a Linux application with .deb and .rpm packages; however, it doesnt have a geographical interface.

You can also set both VPNs manually for routers. IPVanish also has been set up for Linux operating systems.

Obfuscated servers

Both NordVPN and IPVanish offer obfuscated servers. Obfuscated servers use to remove every single trace of VPN from your network. Both Nord and IPVanish use obfuscated servers, so you can use these VPNs in countries where operating a VPN is entirely illegal.

Nord uses obfuscated servers with the same name; however, at IPVanish's site, they use the word scramble. Do not get confused with a new name. Scamble performs the same function as obfuscated servers.

Onion Over VPN

Onion routing uses for anonymous browsing. You can access dark webs through onion browsing. However, most of the time, onion browsing is not secured. To resolve this, Nord provides Onion over VPN, through which it ensures the onion routing. IPVanish is also suitable for TOR browsing.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling is a feature helping VPN users add specific apps and sites on which only they want to run a VPN. Many websites do not need VPN to run over, so VPNs give the option of split tunneling. Both IPVanish and NordVPN offer a feature of split tunneling.

Kill Switch

Kill switch automatically activities if your device's connection drops with the VPN server. Whenever the device and a VPN connection are lost, leaks are higher. For this, both Nord and IPVanish have to kill switches that deactivate your connection with the internet if the connection with VPN is lost.

Customer Support

The best feature you get in any reliable VPN is their customer support. First of all, you find both VPN's websites flooded with articles, video tutorials, set up guides and FAQ sections.

Also, both VPNs have a dedicated team of professionals and experts ready to support you anytime, 24/7, whenever you want. You can troubleshoot your specific problems like billings, subscriptions, any feature activation or inquiries, etc. IPVanish has phone support as well. You can get customer support through live chat, email or phone.

Differences between IPVanish and NordVPN

Servers

For every reliable VPN, a vast server network is quite essential. This is becasue servers at multiple locations provide unblocking capabilities, better speed and the best privacy.

IPVanish has 11900 servers in 75 plus countries. It even has servers in locations like Peru and Nigeria, where the least servers exist.

On the other hand, Nord has 5484 servers in 60 countries worldwide. Both VPNs have a wide server coverage and offer servers in many countries.

Special Servers

Both Nord and IPVanish contain special servers. Nord has double VPN servers, obfuscated servers, Onion over VPN servers and P2P optimized servers. IPVanish servers, on the other side, offer obfuscation and onion over VPN only.

Double VPN Servers

Some reliable servers like Nord and Surfshark offer you a double VPN service. This means your data passes twice from two different servers. Also, you can connect to servers in multiple countries at a time, like server 1 in USA and server 2 in Canada. Also, the encryption is doubled. However, IPVanish doesn't have such options.

Server Security

Now, let's check the security of the servers. Nord is taking the lead. All of its servers are based on RAM. Unlike traditional servers, Nord uses RAM becasue it losses data at every power loss.

IPVanish, on the other side, uses traditional servers means it works on hard drives. Hard drives store data until it is written over or removed manually. So, if we speak of server security, Nord is taking the lead on IPVanish.

Speed

For every VPN user, speed is the most prominent option. The tunneling process takes time, eventually causing decreases in the speed. However, a reliable VPN uses protocols to retain speed.

Both IPVanish and Nord use the WireGuard protocol for better speed. However, Nord is a bit faster than IPVanish. Nord has an average speed of 365 Mbps compared to 62.15 of IPVanish.

However, both VPNs have similar as they bypass ISP throttling caps by hiding your IP address, helping you get unlimited bandwidth. Both offer reliable connections with fast speed. You can run speed tests for both VPNs.

Audit of logging policy

IPVanish and Nord claim to have a zero log policy; Nord is a step ahead. Its approach is confirmed and audited by a third-party auditing firm- PWC. The firm has confirmed all its servers are privacy-friendly, and the company is keeping zero logs against customers' data.

IPVanish, on the other hand, does have a zero-logging policy but is unaudited. So, you will feel much safer with NordVPN than IPVanish.

Device Connections

Every good VPN service provider offers multiple device connections to protect not one but many devices. Nord offers 6 simultaneous connections on different devices in one subscription. IPVanish is a step ahead. It provides unlimited connections to be connected at one time.

Adblocker

Adblocker is a feature helping to block all sorts of ads, malware and trackers. NordVPN has a built-in ad blocker known as CyberSec. It improves speed and secures from all spam sites, which eat your bandwidth.

Dedicated IP Address

Dedicated IP addresses are only reserved for one person. These save a VPN user from crowding of servers and blacklisting of websites. NordVPN offers dedicated IP addresses. You can get Nord's dedicated IP for $79 per year.

Pricing of IPVanish and NordVPN

Pricing Plans

We have compared Nord and IPVanish feature-wise; now, let's compare their pricing packages.

The 2-year plan of NordVPN is offered at $3.29 per month, at which you can save up to 65 percent. Its yearly package is $4.99 per month, with a saving of 58 percent. On the contrary, IPVanish's yearly plan costs you up to $3.99 per month with savings of 65 percent.

Similarly, the quarterly plan of IPVanish is $5 per month with a 54 percent saving. Both VPNs offer monthly packages. The monthly package of Nord costs you up to $11.99, and the monthly package of IPVanish costs you up to $10.99.

Money-Back Guarantee

Both VPN services have a money-back guarantee. This guarantee gives a little relief to a user if, in case they don't like services, they may ask for their return at a specified time.

Both IPVanish and NordVPN have a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, IPVanish 30 day risk-free refund offer is only activated for the Yearly package. Nord, on the contrary, offers a refund policy on all its plans.

Payment Methods

IPVanish has various payment methods. It has debit and credit card options with PayPal too. Nord, on the other side, does not accept payments through PayPal. Instead, it has debit and credit card options. Plus, you can also pay through cryptocurrencies.

Quick Review of Nord and IPVanish

Features	NordVPN	IPVanish
User Rating	4.9	4.8
Total Servers	5480	11900
Total countries	60	75
Headquarter	Panama	USA
Number of Devices	6	Unlimited
Encryption	Excellent	Excellent
Logging Policy	Excellent	Excellent
Unblocking Sites	Excellent	Excellent
Torrenting	Excellent	Excellent
Leak Protection	Excellent	Excellent
Split Tunneling	Yes	Yes
Kill Switch	Yes	Yes
Obfuscation	Yes	Yes
Dedicated IP	Yes	No
36 month Plan	$3.29	–
12 months Plan	$4.99	$3.99
6 months Plan		$5.32
Monthly Plan	$11.99	$10.99
Money-back guarantee	30 days	30 days
	Get It Now	Get It Now

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Final Thought

We review Nord and IPVanish VPN providers. We compared Nord and IPVanish on privacy, unblocking capabilities, security, speed and many more services. We have bifurcated their services into similarities and differences.

Both VPNs are the best for ultimate security and can save you from DDoS attacks, torrenting, streaming. Both mask your IP address and protect you from cyber breaches and ISP or third-party surveillance agencies snooping.

Both VPNs are different from each other in their specific features. For instance, Nord offers dedicated IP, but IPVanish doesn't.

Overall, IPVanish and NordVPN are two of our best VPN choices. Both are excellent in all services. This is the reason we cannot claim any VPN winner or loser. In our eyes, both are a winner and serve their customers best.