Surfshark vs. IPVanish Compared in 2026

Is IPVanish better than Surfshark, or is it the other way around? This Surfshark vs. IPVanish comparison holds the answers. Both VPNs are popular names in the cybersecurity world. Rocking thousands of servers and impenetrable security, they’re a typical choice for sensible users.

Add to that affordable prices, strong privacy, apps for all devices, and streaming prowess: that’s a recipe for success! However, after testing IPVanish vs. Surfshark in 2026, we discovered some major differences. After extensive assessment, we must say we prefer Surfshark overall.

But, as expected, IPVanish threw a few punches and gave Surfshark a run for its money on a few occasions. Despite our clear-cut winner, we invite you to read the entire comparison. Our best may not be your best, so stick around and learn more about which VPN is right for you, IPVanish or Surfshark.

Surfshark vs. IPVanish: A Quick Comparison

	Surfshark 🏆	IPVanish
Our Current Ranking 📋	#5	#8
Prices 🤑	Starts at $1.99 monthly	Starts at $2.19 monthly
Money-Back Guarantee 🪙	30 days for all plans	30 days for 1-year and 2-year plans
Free Version/Free Trial 🆓	No/7 days	No
Logging/Jurisdiction 🕵️	No logging/Netherlands	No logging/USA
Protocols 🌐	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Servers 🏠	3,200+ in 100 countries	2,400+ in 70+ countries
Specialty Servers ✅	Multi Hop, Dedicated, and Static IP	Double Hop
Ad Blocking 🔺	Yes	Yes
RAM-Only Servers 🛡️	Yes	Yes
Working With Netflix 📺	Yes (25+ catalogs)	Yes (15+ catalogs)
P2P Allowance ↔️	Yes	Yes
Concurrent Connections 📟	Unlimited	Unlimited

Applications & Ease of Use

As always, we’ll begin with their apps and ease of use, where both VPNs excel.

Compatibility

Surfshark and IPVanish work on a plethora of devices and systems, making them some of the most versatile VPNs around. For instance, they offer native VPN clients for Smart TVs and devices like Apple TV and Fire TV Stick. Simultaneously, they cover all desktop and mobile systems.

However, during our IPVanish vs. Surfshark test, we also uncovered their profound router support. This means both VPNs can be paired with gaming consoles and other non-VPN-friendly devices. Best of all, both providers support unlimited simultaneous connections in all plans.

Compare IPVanish to many of its alternatives and you’ll see that almost none offer this feature.

User Interface

Speaking of IPVanish, let’s look at its desktop app:

It isn’t the most stylish, but the scientific ‘vibe’ never ceases to amaze us. You have various statistics on the left, while the right side is occupied by a world map. All settings are on the left-hand vertical bar, and connections are established with a mouse click. Splendid.

IPVanish’s mobile apps look virtually the same, but with a few updates to make them more ‘techy’. They’re sleek, responsive, and bug-free, making them a joy to use.

Here’s how Surfshark looks; we’ll admit it’s a better-looking VPN.

Surfshark’s desktop apps display the server list immediately, allowing you to connect in a few seconds. Extra features and Settings are on the left side, while the right side of the window displays your connection statistics. Like IPVanish, Surfshark uses the same design language on mobile devices.

However, as it’s a small-screen app, it’s a tad less complex but surprisingly equipped with the same features, which isn’t usually the case with other VPNs. In most cases, VPNs skimp on their mobile apps and exclude things like a kill switch, virus protection, ad-blocker, etc.

IPVanish vs. Surfshark Price Comparison

The moment you’ve all been waiting for is here: our price comparison.

Surfshark and IPVanish are famous for their inexpensive prices. The title of the priciest VPN belongs to Astrill VPN, which we recently reviewed. Luckily, you’ll spend very little in both cases.

IPVanish Pricing Plans

If you look at IPVanish, the cheapest biennial plan is Essential. It costs a meager $2.19 per month or just about $53 for 24 months.

The beefier Advanced plan is $3.29 monthly at the time of writing, and it includes extras like a secure browser, cloud backups, and phone support. IPVanish offers annual variants at $3.33 and $4.49 monthly, respectively, and monthly plans at $12.99 and $14.99; they’re not discounted.

IPVanish is generally affordable and offers a handy 30-day money-back guarantee for all long-term plans. However, its monthly plans aren’t subject to the same refund policy. In fact, they’re non-refundable, and IPVanish doesn’t offer a VPN free trial. Sounds a bit odd, right?

If you wish to test IPVanish risk-free, you have to splurge on biennial or annual plans. We suggest the Essential annual plan, as it’s about $40 for the first year, and if you don’t like it, you can promptly get a refund.

Surfshark Pricing Plans

Surfshark also offers biennial, annual, and monthly plans, but all have three tiers.

So, you’re looking at nine plans, with the Starter plan being the least expensive, at $1.99 monthly. The Surfshark One deal is the best-value one, at $2.49 monthly, and finally, the Surfshark One+ plan is $3.99 monthly for 27 months (three free months are included).

Surfshark is shockingly affordable even when paid annually. Again, you get three free months, and plans cost $3.19, $3.39, and $6.09, respectively. However, its monthly plans are extremely expensive, and the Starter plan begins at a whopping $15.45, considerably outpricing NordVPN and ExpressVPN.

Unlike IPVanish, Surfshark’s 30-day money-back guarantee applies to all plans. Additionally, it has a 7-day free trial on iOS and Android devices, which allows you to test the VPN without investing immediately. If you’re interested, here is our guide on trying Surfshark for free.

Features Analysis

The previous section mentioned Surfshark’s superiority regarding features for the price. We haven’t exactly clarified that so far in this IPVanish vs. Surfshark test. So, let’s do this by comparing their features and divulging our experience with them.

Shared Features

The definition of a VPN is that it encrypts your traffic and makes you anonymous online.

It’s understandable that VPNs work similarly, and by extension, offer similar features. Surfshark and IPVanish share quite a bit, such as:

• Automatic kill switch
• Split tunneling
• Multi Hop (Double Hop)
• WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols
• IPv6 and DNS leak protection
• Ad and tracker blocking (Threat Protection)
• Private browsing

The list of similarities is quite lengthy – are these VPNs identical? Far from it.

While the basics work the same, we spotted a few differences. We also noticed that Surfshark has a few additional functionalities that we haven’t found in IPVanish. However, IPVanish also has a few unique quirks not found in Surfshark. We explained their differences in the next sub-section.

Differences in Security Features

Okay, so here we are.

Threat Protection Features

Threat protection refers to protection from:

• Ads
• Viruses
• Malware
• Trackers
• Malicious sites

IPVanish’s built-in threat protection is effective against ads, trackers, and malicious sites. Having tested it, we can confirm it works well and rarely lets online nasties through its thick protection net. However, Surfshark is a bit superior regarding overall online threat protection.

For example, the CleanWeb ad blocker is highly effective against ads and pop-ups. Meanwhile, it offers a separate antivirus that works on all devices and systems (including iOS and Android!) and offers advanced features like scheduled and real-time scans and file/folder exclusions.

In our Surfshark review, we mentioned that it’s the best antivirus we’ve seen in a VPN. Plus, we compared it to other ‘dedicated’ virus protection software from Norton, Avira, and Kaspersky, and it fared surprisingly well. Oh, we also haven’t mentioned its web protection, which we extensively use on our laptops.

Unique Surfshark Features

While we’re at it, let’s mention a few others from Surfshark:

• IP Rotator. This feature rotates your IP periodically, preserving the chosen VPN location and keeping the connection active during IP changes. A periodical IP swap enhances anonymity and prevents third-party tracking.
• NoBorders Mode. Obfuscation built for overcoming censorship.
• Alert. A dark web monitoring function with email alerts of potential data breaches.
• Search. Surfshark’s version of incognito browsing with no tracking and browsing history.
• Alternative ID. One of Surfshark’s best features that assigns you a fake identity with an email, name, birth date, and other essential information.
• Incogni (optional). ID theft protection through data removal from company databases and search sites.

Surfshark is well-versed in online security and privacy, making it tough to beat even by pricier rivals. Can IPVanish come close?

Unique IPVanish Features

Not exactly, although the VPN offers a handful of excellent features we enjoyed while testing IPVanish.

• SOCKS5 proxy. We used it for downloading torrents at fast speeds, while keeping our IP address hidden from snoopers.
• Cloud backups. This isn’t a VPN-related feature, but its usefulness can’t be overstated. IPVanish 1 TB of backup storage paired with superb data protection to keep your files intact.
• File syncing and sharing. The best cloud storage options offer syncing and sharing, and IPVanish’s solution is no different. In our tests, we found both to be functional and easy to use.
• Phone support. This is among the rare VPNs with full-on phone support in the Advanced plan. While Surfshark is limited to 24/7 support, IPVanish lets you fix problems vocally, which makes things quicker and more efficient.

Do IPVanish and Surfshark Store Logs?

No, they don’t, and you don’t have to dig deep to confirm this.

IPVanish’s logging scandal from 2016 is long forgotten, and judging by its reputation, it looks like people have forgotten about it. Since then, IPVanish not only changed its owner but also received a few more audits from third-party security firms, reassuring us of its best intentions.

Surfshark has no logging scandals. Similarly to IPVanish, it received multiple security audits on its privacy policy and applications. That said, neither of them will store sensitive user data, such as:

• IP addresses
• DNS requests
• Geolocation
• Connection metadata
• Visited websites
• Download history, etc.

We examined both privacy policies, and they were clean as whistles. Both providers also rely on RAM servers. RAM is a volatile memory type that cleans after each restart. This means the providers can restart the server and wipe all information, even though nothing in particular is stored.

Speaking of stored data, both are what we call minimalists.

They store only operational data, such as your email address and payment information for subscription renewal purposes. All stored data is anonymized and deleted after short notice, as neither IPVanish nor Surfshark earns money from selling user data. They earn strictly from subscriptions.

Which VPN Is Faster: IPVanish or Surfshark?

Time for another battle, and this time, we have speed tests.

Before we spill our beans, let’s define our typical VPN speed test practices:

• Both VPNs are tested for three days in a row, typically on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, when most people are home and online.
• Both VPNs are tested three times a day (morning, midday, and afternoon).
• We used three server locations: the UK, the USA, and Japan (our location at the time of testing was Eastern Europe).
• Our testing setup is a Windows 11 desktop computer with 50/10 Mbps download/upload speeds. All tests are performed through Speedtest’s desktop app.

Now that we clarified that, we need to point out that we used WireGuard in both VPNs. As you know, WireGuard is more reliable than OpenVPN and is nearly always the better choice. Your results with OpenVPN may be different from ours. With that out of the way, here are the results.

	IPVanish	Surfshark
Download Speed Retention	72%	67%
Upload Speed Retention	90%	76%

Speed was never Surfshark’s forte, and it clearly shows. IPVanish, while far from the speediest provider, managed to outclass Surfshark with higher download and upload speed retention percentages. To provide more context, here are the best results from each VPN location:

	UK (Download/Upload)	US (Download/Upload)	Japan (Download/Upload)
IPVanish	39.42/9.84 Mbps	38.89/8.25 Mbps	28.01/6.12 Mbps
Surfshark	40.99/8.33 Mbps	35.74/9.53 Mbps	27.85/4.82 Mbps

Streaming & Torrenting Comparison

You didn’t think we’d forget streaming and torrenting, did you? Come on. Don’t be silly.

Streaming Tests

We know how popular these activities are. Everyone wants to know how our Surfshark vs. IPVanish Netflix test went, and here are the results: Surfshark defeated IPVanish!

This provider easily unblocks 25+ libraries, and when paired with its browser extension with location spoofing, there are virtually no obstacles. Every streaming platform we threw at it was defeated in seconds, and Surfshark, for the hundredth time so far, demonstrated why it’s the best VPN for Netflix and streaming in general.

We won’t lie: IPVanish fared well. Past issues with unblocking major Netflix catalogs are now gone, but some persisted, as IPVanish won’t work with less popular libraries. The good news is that it now works phenomenally with BBC iPlayer, and other major streaming services are accessible.

However, IPVanish can falter occasionally, and fail to unblock a few TV channels and primarily US-based streaming services (ESPN+, for example). Overall, it’s just a tad less impressive than Surfshark for streaming.

Torrenting Tests

This was virtually a tie.

Surfshark and IPVanish offer entire P2P-friendly server fleets, so each server works. IPVanish offers SOCKS5 that provides a layer of security and speed. Surfshark lacks the feature, but performs equally well when downloading torrents. We tested nearby servers for this case.

Using European servers was a breeze and we noticed zero speed reduction.

Given their robust security and privacy features, anonymous torrenting was inevitable. We tested their torrenting prowess on multiple devices; on a Mac and an Android phone. We weren’t surprised to witness jaw-dropping performance no matter the torrent file size.

Server Locations: Surfshark vs. IPVanish

Surfshark and IPVanish differ greatly in this aspect, but it’s not all about numbers. Since we mentioned them, now would be an appropriate moment to gauge the size of their server fleets.

• Surfshark has just over 3,200 servers in 100 countries.
• IPVanish has over 2,400 servers in 70+ countries.

Surfshark is larger, plus, it offers better variety thanks to dedicated and static IP addresses.

Like any other VPN, Surfshark leverages virtual and physical servers. The advantage is that it offers IP addresses from censored countries where VPNs can’t place their servers because of governments’ ludicrous requests for user data. IPVanish doesn’t use virtual servers.

All servers are physically located in the stated countries, which explains why IPVanish doesn’t offer Indian servers, for example. This highly censored country started a war against VPNs, explaining why most VPNs for India (with Indian IPs) offer virtual servers that simulate this country’s IP address.

As mentioned, IPVanish’s server fleet is also RAM-based, but not entirely. Some servers, in fact, the majority, are still based on traditional hard disks. Meanwhile, most of Surfshark’s servers are hosted on RAM.

Bypassing Censorship: Which VPN Does It Better?

When reviewing IPVanish and Surfshark, we discovered that both VPNs offered some sort of obfuscation. Surfshark uses NoBorders, which scrambles your VPN traffic and makes it look like a regular one. Similarly, you can enable obfuscation in IPVanish and get stellar results.

Both achieved fantastic results when tested in multiple censored countries. These are popular VPNs in the UAE, but people in Qatar, Turkey, and Iran can also enjoy them. However, Chinese censorship is rarely a surmountable obstacle, and nearly all VPNs suffer with it.

Our acquaintances managed to make Surfshark work on a few occasions, albeit with regular speed drops and instabilities. Surfshark performed better back in the day, but Chinese authorities improved their Great Firewall, rendering very few VPNs effective against it.

Sadly, IPVanish is a poor choice and its obfuscation couldn’t overcome the Great Firewall, despite our frequent protocol switching. Astrill VPN is a solid option in China, but only if you really need a VPN, because it costs multiple times more than IPVanish and Surfshark.

Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Final Recommendations

We can’t say Surfshark has beaten IPVanish to a pulp. IPVanish was notably faster and held its own in two more rounds: pricing and privacy. However, our experience has shown that Surfshark is objectively a better VPN for the price, offering some of the best features you can currently find.

We compared Surfshark to NordVPN, one of the most impressive VPNs, and it held up nicely.

Surfshark’s ideal blend of affordability and sheer power is hard to beat, except for NordVPN and ExpressVPN. While its slower speeds aren’t ideal, other features and capabilities, especially virus protection and Multi Hop, make Surfshark a versatile VPN worth experiencing.

Does this mean you shouldn’t consider IPVanish? No. It’s a capable VPN that ultimately does nothing wrong. However, at the price between $2 and $4 monthly, you’ll find many superior picks, and Surfshark is one of them. Go ahead and test it risk-free using the button below.

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