Express VPN vs IPVanish VPN

The internet has become a very integral part of our everyday life. Some of us even depend on the internet for our livelihood. But what most people don't realize is whenever we use the internet, we put our privacy and security at risk. If you want a truly secured internet experience, then you need to properly protect your connection.  

The best way to do that is by using VPN services. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) would create a secured tunnel within your usual internet connection that would not only protect you from hackers or any third party who wants to sniff around but it would also mask your real location. 

But as more people started to use a VPN, the more company appears each year to offers their VPN services. If you're a newcomer in this field, choosing the right VPN amongst the crowd of others could be difficult.  

Two of the best VPN that has been sitting at the top five from various online publication is ExpressVPN and IPVanish. In this article, we will see the comparison between the two of them to help determine which one is the best for you in the head to head battle between ExpressVPN vs. IPVanish.

ExpressVPN International Ltd is a VPN company that was founded in 2009 on the British Virgin Island. With more than a decade under its belt, ExpressVPN has become one of the leading names in the VPN industry. If you look around the internet for "Top 10" best VPN, you'll surely find ExpressVPN within the top three. 

IPVanish was founded in 2012 and has been changing ownership several times since then. Now, they work under J2 Global as one of the VPN services under their NetProtect business.  

Just like ExpressVPN, IPVanish is also well-praised by the users and critics alike and has earned a regular spot on multiple "best VPNs lists" from various publications.  

• Security and protection. Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish uses 256-bit AES encryption, that often uses by the military, as their main encryption method. They also implement robust DNS leak protection combine with a kill switch protocol for added security. They also have a strict zero-logs policy to further add protection to their customers.  
   
  That being said, ExpressVPN is a company from British Virgin Island which is famous for its strong personal data protection law. IPVanish, on the other hand, is based in the USA which is infamous for its lack of private data protection.  
   
  In terms of what the company does to secured and protect its customer, both companies do a fairly good job at it. But being a company based on British Virgin Island gave ExpressVPN an edge in this category.  

• Accessibility. Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish are available on the most popular platforms, such as Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and even routers. Both of them also have a modern and straightforward design for their VPN clients and apps that makes it very easy for users to navigate all of its capabilities.  
   
  One thing that put IPVanish in front of ExpressVPN is the number of devices that could simultaneously connect through their VPN network. ExpressVPN offers five simultaneous devices connection which is pretty much the industry standard and quite frankly more than enough. 
   
  IPVanish used to offer ten devices that could connect simultaneously with a single account. But in 2020, they revise that already generous numbers to unlimited thus making IPVanish the clear winner in this category. 

• Speed. When you use a VPN, your base speed will inevitably become slower. That is the trade-off that you have to pay for the added security of a VPN. That's why when choosing a VPN service, one of the key things that you have to look for is your overall decrease in speed when you connect to their network. 
   
  IPVanish has more than 1500 servers in 75+ locations around the world. All of those servers give you a relatively stable and somewhat decent speed. ExpressVPN boasts 3000+ servers in 160 locations across 94 countries.    
   
  With such a large and diverse fleet of servers, ExpressVPN becomes one of the fastest VPN services in the industry Although both VPN companies offer unlimited bandwidth with all of their plans, ExpressVPN is the winner when it comes to speed.  

• Price. ExpressVPN and IPVanish offer three kinds of pricing plans but the best plan by far for both of them is their annual plan because you'll often found generous discounts on this plan.  
   
  At this time, IPVanish offers $3.25 per month for its yearly plan while ExpressVPN offers $6.67 per month with three months free for the same plan. Although ExpressVPN offers a very generous three months free, IPVanish is the more affordable options between the two. 
• Track records. Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish has had instances when they were contacted by government officials to find information about certain customers. In 2016, IPVanish handed over the personal information of one of their customers that were suspected of sharing child pornography to the US Department of Homeland Security.  
   
  While in 2017, ExpressVPN was asked by the Turkish Government to give the personal information of a man who they suspect to be connected to the assassination of the Russian ambassador. Turkish investigators left empty-handed because there are no logs of personal data ever existed within the ExpressVPN system because they have a strict zero-logs policy. 
   
  So, two relatively similar cases but with two distinct respond from both companies. While it is unfortunate that a customer uses their services for nefarious purposes, as cybersecurity companies there should be no such thing as compromises when it comes to the privacy of the customers.  
   
  ExpressVPN is the one with a better track record in that regard.  

ExpressVPN and IPVanish have a lot of great things going for them both in terms of the core capabilities and other features and benefits. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of them. 

There are a couple of categories where one is better than the other such as accessibility and price for IPVanish and Privacy and speed for ExpressVPN. That being said, the final category is what eventually makes me decide to choose ExpressVPN over IPVanish.  

Although IPVanish has said that they have a stronger no-logs policy now, I can't help but choosing ExpressVPN that has a clean track record all along.