ExpressVPN and IPVanish are two of the most premium VPNs you can find. People rely on these VPNs for their security needs as well as reliable services. But which VPN is right for you?
It’s not an easy question to answer, IPVanish VPN vs. ExpressVPN, especially since these two services each have some amazing offerings. We’ve distilled the best of both in this simple comparison of IPVanish VPN vs. ExpressVPN.
Pricing
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish is priced at $10.00 a month with a $77.79 yearly subscription ($6.49 / month) and a $26.99 ($8.99 a month) three-month subscription. IPVanish VPN has a decent pricing model that feels very standard. IPVanish does support Bitcoin and most traditional payment methods with a reliable 7-day refund policy.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is one of the more expensive VPN offerings priced at $12.95 for a month subscription, 99.95 for a year subscription (8.32 per month), and $59.95 every six months ($9.99 a month). ExpressVPN also offers similar payment methods like Bitcoin and cards, with a 30-day refund policy.
Winner: IPVanish VPN
ExpressVPN wins with a 30-day refund policy, but IPVanish easily takes the trophy here for more affordable pricing in each segment of commitment. IPVanish is half as expensive in the 6-month commitment model and around twenty dollars cheaper for a year as well as 2.95 less for a month.
Software
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish has a really robust application for Windows. It’s a full application package with plenty of settings to configure within a bold and significant interface that is easy to understand. It’s nice IPVanish lets you change your account password and that it allows you to change your VPN active protocol and startup options. However, some essential features like a kill switch, Web RTC protection, and DNS leak protection are missing.
IPVanish has a lot of information presented about their live servers, and for those interested in picking specific connection types, there are buttons available to customize your experience.
IPVanish is involved while remaining simple. It’s detailed enough for power users, but also laid out so everyone can understand settings within the application.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a beautifully designed application with a simpleness that makes it not only easy to use, but easy to understand as well. Little touches like a green loading connection bar and an intuitive set-up process that works through a copy-pasted link are very exciting. The settings within the app take a more traditional Windows-like approach, but important things like switching protocols and a form of DNS leak prevention are here as well as a kill switch.
Winner: ExpressVPN
IPVanish VPN’s application feels more feature rich with multiple tabs, but ExpressVPN’s recent updates have given it the edge in application performance. Unlike IPVanish VPN, ExpressVPN now has a network kill switch.
Mobile Software
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish’s mobile VPN software is one of our favorites since it has so many settings to tinker with. In the application, you can configure the protocol, see your billing info, and even change if your VPN is always on. You can also change which network SSIDs it should connect to automatically, or the connection settings for custom domains are available as well. Also, the application has the same reliability, speeds, and usability that its PC counterpart does.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN’s mobile application is extremely simple, but like it’s PC application, it’s also a great looker. The application has an interactive map interface–which while not particularly useful, makes the experience easier to understand and visualize for newcomers. I love ExpressVPN’s careful attention to design and interface, but the performance of the application is equally as impressive.
Winner: Tie
Both mobile applications are excellent. IPVanish just has a bit more settings to configure and customize the experience, but ExpressVPN’s recent updates provide for a wonderful first time user experience with a tutorial, great design, and the ability to switch protocols.
Extra Services
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish has a good amount of simultaneous connections (5) but the VPN provider lacks extra features and services outside of its stellar applications. It’s Windows application (Mac client has a kill switch for some reason) is also missing some security features like a kill-switch, Web RTC, and DNS leak protection. Overall, while IPVanish VPN is a good VPN provider, they don’t push to extend their offerings outside of their application suite.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is built around a good solid core set of applications that are remarkably easy to use and set up. The performance of their applications is also quite good, but Express VPN provider doesn’t provide a one-stop shop solution for VPN-related needs. They limit VPN connections to one simultaneous connection which is quite bad considering that their service is more expensive than most other VPNs out there. ExpressVPN does claim that it provides stealth solutions, but as noted in our review, it’s not expressively stated or
They limit VPN connections to one simultaneous connection which is quite bad considering that their service is more expensive than most other VPNs out there. ExpressVPN does claim that it provides stealth solutions, but as noted in our review–it’s not expressively stated or marketed heavily, which suggests it’s not a core feature set that the provider constantly updates or seeks to improve towards a target audience in China or in other censored countries.
Winner: ExpressVPN
Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish VPN focus on offering a good core VPN experience with secure applications that work well. Both VPN providers only offer two simultaneous connections, but ExpressVPN offers some stealth servers and externally sold VPN routers.
If you’re looking for the king of extra services, check out TorGuard VPN.
Website
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish takes the traditional approach a provider website with lots of images, and plenty of text explaining to you how you can benefit from a VPN. This is super useful if you are new to VPNs, but the site can be less useful if you are trying to find out how to do something other than a manual set up. IPVanish VPN often feels too “salesy” but it does have a forum (very useful) which is more unique than it should be among VPN providers.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has an excellent website for many reasons. One main difference that the website has is that the features of the VPN are stated very clearly on the front page in an easy-to-understand chart format. The website also has great navigation through it’s pages and its tutorial section is very well set up with plenty of images and excellent organizational flow.
Winner: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has one of the best websites out of any VPN provider since it’s so user-friendly, extremely transparent, and helpful for all sorts of users. It’s easy to find helpful support articles within their section and understand its features.
Servers
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish VPN advertises that they have 350+ servers in over 60 different countries. IPVanish VPN seems to have an advantage over other VPNs in that they have a background in running content delivery servers–like for Steam. In our review, all of the servers we tested worked well.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has over 100+ VPN locations in 78 countries. We experienced fast connection times and no issues with servers in our review testing.
Winner: Tie
While every VPN provider seeks to differentiate themselves through servers, our top VPNs are all very similar in server performance and reliability. IPVanish VPN and ExpressVPN both have excellent servers to choose from in a variety of locations. ExpressVPN might have a slight edge for users in Hong Kong but in areas of China with heavy censorship–the service might not prove as reliable.
Privacy
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish VPN doesn’t collect logs, and it offers OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP protocols with supported 256-bit AES encryption.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is similar with the same supported protocols (OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP protocols) and it also supports 256-bit AES encryption.
Winner: Tie
Both VPNs have great no logging policies, and both VPNs have solid encryption strength with good RSA keys.
Speeds
IPVanish VPN
We tested IPVanish VPN in our review and received incredible speeds through a speed test and great speeds through a download (around 20Mbps). IPVanish VPN can give you some of the highest rates out of any VPN.
ExpressVPN
While ExpressVPN tested a bit lower in the speed test department, we also got a good standard download rate through their connection at 20 Mbps.
Winner: Tie
Both VPNs can give you very reliable speeds. Some VPNs test better through speed tests, which could be for various reasons (data compression) but in actual tests, both VPNs perform very similarly. You can’t go wrong with either VPN here, if speed is your concern.
Support
IPVanish VPN
IPVanish VPN is one of the few VPN providers that doesn’t provide live chat. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to have live customer representatives, or for some reason, they don’t feel it’s necessary.
Whatever the case, live chat can be a great help as well as remote control to help with VPN technical issues. This is why it’s unfortunate to see that IPVanish doesn’t support it.
However, while IPVanish VPN lacks live chat, it has some of the best support we’ve encountered from a ticket system with fast replies, and quick no hassle refunds. The site features plenty of support guides, but guides and articles could be organized better for users.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN can have some really solid live chat on their site. However, while their support claimed their live chat was 24 hours around the clock, I found times where it was inactive and only the standard ticket support system in place. But ExpressVPN does have a superb no hassle refund policy and great support articles that are easy to navigate through and use.
Winner: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN and IPVanish VPN both offer excellent support. ExpressVPN takes a slight lead with more live chat options and better support navigation.
Verdict: ExpressVPN
IPVanish VPN and Express VPN are some of the best VPNs we’ve reviewed. In many categories, these VPNs match up evenly, but from a combined total, ExpressVPN takes the lead with a better-designed website, more live chat options, stronger software, and a bit more support for censored countries.
Thanks for reading our IPVanish VPN vs ExpressVPN comparison. Check out the forums to participate in our active community, or visit these VPN providers yourself to check out their offerings.
Visit ExpressVPN Visit IPvanish
