Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Differences, pros and cons in 2024
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 4:36 p.m. UTC April 10, 2024
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Pros
- Unlimited simultaneous connections.
- Dedicated VPN for Chrome operating systems.
- Live chat available 24/7.
Cons
- No multi-factor authentication.
- Can’t use IPVanish in all countries.
- Lacks browser extensions.
Pros
- Automatically detects restrictive regions.
- Servers in over 100 countries.
- Unlimited simultaneous connections.
Cons
- No split tunneling feature on iOS.
- Does not have business or team plans.
- Server speed varies greatly among locations.
Surfshark and IPVanish rank among the top VPN providers on our best VPNs list. Both providers are on the expensive side. However, annual billing makes them more affordable. We break down what each price will get you, including features, VPN speeds and customer support, so you know which is right for you.
Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Cost
| LOWEST MONTHLY PLAN PRICE (PER MONTH) | HIGHEST MONTHLY PLAN PRICE (PER MONTH) | FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE | MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 IPVanish | $12.99 | Single-tier pricing | 7 days with yearly subscription (iOS and Android) | 30-day money-back guarantee | ||||||
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 Surfshark | $15.45 | Single-tier pricing | 7 days (Android, iOS and macOS) | 30-day money-back guarantee | ||||||
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Surfshark and IPVanish are among the most expensive VPNs on our list of the best VPNs. If you choose a monthly subscription, both providers cost more than half of the virtual private networks we reviewed. However, longer billing terms bring the prices down substantially.
Overall, IPVanish offers a better deal both for its month-to-month and annual plans. You can save $1 on its monthly plan and $0.50 per month if you pay annually for IPVanish’s plans compared to Surfshark’s. However, if you opt for the two-year plan, you can save $1 per month with Surfshark ($1.99) rather than IPVanish ($2.99).
IPVanish and Surfshark offer single-tier pricing. This means that with either IPVanish or Surfshark, you’ll get full access to all of the providers’ features when you subscribe. Neither company provides bulk user discounts for businesses.
Both services have a 30-day money-back guarantee for purchases through their websites. IPVanish, however, only offers this guarantee with annual or two-year plans. Alternatively, you can purchase the VPN apps through the Google or Apple stores for a seven-day free trial on certain devices. With IPVanish, that trial is only available for yearly or two-year plans.
Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Features
| ANONYMOUS BROWSING | DEDICATED IP | KILL SWITCH | SPLIT TUNNELING | MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPVanish | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||||||
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| Surfshark | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
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IPVanish and Surfshark provide unlimited simultaneous connections with a subscription to their VPN services, meaning you can connect as many user devices as needed to their VPNs. Similarly, Surfshark allows you to share your subscription. IPVanish prohibits sharing the VPN subscription among users.
Both providers offer common VPN features, such as kill switches and split tunneling. However, functionality varies by device. IPVanish lacks a kill switch for iPhones. For split tunneling, IPVanish works on its FireOS and Android apps, whereas Surfshark supports Windows and Android devices. In addition, Surfshark’s split tunneling feature, Bypasser, works on routers.
Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Servers
| NUMBER OF CONTINENTS WITH SERVERS | TOTAL NUMBER OF SERVERS | NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WITH SERVERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPVanish | $6.00 | Over 2,200 | 75 | |||||
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| Surfshark | $6.00 | Over 3,200 | 100 | |||||
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Surfshark covers more than 100 countries with servers in 18 states. IPVanish only covers 17 states. Therefore, Surfshark provides the best coverage for most businesses.
However, there’s more to VPN servers than just sheer coverage. Speed is an important factor. Surfshark has updated servers in 38 countries, including 18 U.S. cities. But, IPVanish stands out as the only VPN provider upgrading major data centers to 25 Gbps.
Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Speed
| DOWNLOAD SPEED (AVERAGE) | UPLOAD SPEED (AVERAGE) | DOWNLOAD SPEED (MIN TO MAX) | UPLOAD SPEED (MIN TO MX) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPVanish | 238 Mbps | 32 Mbps | 149 to 166 Mbps | 212 to 315 Mbps | ||||||
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| Surfshark | 263 Mbps | 170 Mbps | 1 to 10 Gbps | 51 to 67 Mbps | ||||||
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You’ll have fast download speeds with Surfshark and IPVanish. Surfshark ranks the highest and only falls behind TunnelBear, our top-rated VPN provider on our best VPNs list.
Surfshark offers respectable upload speeds, but IPVanish falls far behind with one of the lowest average upload speeds we reviewed. This means that Surfshark may perform better when live streaming or file sharing.
Surfshark vs. IPVanish: Customer support
| 24/7 CUSTOMER SUPPORT | PHONE SUPPORT | LIVE CHAT | KNOWLEDGE BASE/HELP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPVanish | Yes | Yes | Yes: Bot | Yes | ||||||
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| Surfshark | Yes | No | Yes: Human | Yes | ||||||
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Most VPN users rate Surfshark and IPVanish highly across customer review sites. You can submit a support ticket through email to IPVanish and SurfShark. In our testing, Surfshark was responsive during live chat interactions and could easily walk us through basic installation.
However, IPVanish is the winner when it comes to customer support. IPVanish is the only VPN provider on our list to provide phone support. Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. central time. This makes the VPN provider the most friendly option for non-tech-savvy customers, who can benefit from having someone walk them through the problem in real time over the phone.
Featured VPN service offers
NordVPN
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$12.99
Download speed (average)
235 Mbps
Surfshark
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$15.45
Download speed (average)
263 Mbps
Private Internet Access (PIA)
Free plan
No
Cheapest monthly plan
$11.95
Download speed (average)
124 Mbps
Which VPN is right for your business?
Most small businesses will find IPVanish or Surfshark up to par for basic office tasks. Surfshark provides the best long-term value, as its two-year plan is incredibly affordable and it allows unlimited connections and account sharing. Surfshark’s coverage extends to more countries and covers more U.S. states.
IPVanish is based out of California, under the five eyes jurisdiction, and Surfshark is based in the Netherlands, which is part of the 14 eyes. Both the five and 14 eyes are intelligence-sharing alliances that could require VPN companies based within them to share any data logs upon the request of government officials.
However, only the most privacy-focused customers will be worried about jurisdiction issues because all three companies have strict no-log data policies.
While IPVanish doesn’t provide the fastest VPN speeds or the greatest cost savings, it beats out all VPN providers on our list when it comes to customer support. If your small business doesn’t have an IT team, IPVanish should make your shortlist. Its phone support makes it easy to resolve tech issues that you would otherwise be stuck with diagnosing and resolving on your own using online how-to guides.
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