IPVanish Just Got Faster – and Cheaper!
One of the most important considerations when you're choosing a VPN is speed. Any VPN you install will cut your speeds somewhat. What you need to be looking at is by how much.
IPVanish has announced a network upgrade that addresses this problem. New infrastructure assures users that they will enjoy speeds 2.5 times faster than before starting 2021. This upgrade makes it one of the fastest VPNs in the world.
The company has installed software in its major data centers across the world. According to an announcement released in mid-January 2021, “Throughout 2020, we updated our major data centers including those in Amsterdam, Ashburn, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, New York, Paris, San Jose, Seattle, Seoul, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and Warsaw.”
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What is the New Hardware?
For each of these servers, the company has installed AMD Epyc CPUs with Intel XXV710 network cards. This moved server speed from 10Gbps to 25Gbps. Users who rely on these servers should enjoy faster and more stable connections.
What Can Users Really Expect?
It may all sound rather complicated, but all it means is that your VPN connection should now be 2.5 times faster if you connect through any of the upgraded servers.
However, it's important to note that this doesn't necessarily mean that your speeds will be exactly 2.5 times faster. Installing AMD Epyc CPUs with Intel XXV710 network cards is the equivalent of making a road wider.
If speeds were slow due to congestion, this kind of upgrade makes things much better. However, if speeds were slow due to other reasons the upgrade might mean faster speeds but not by that much.
Users are guaranteed that any time they connect through IPVanish servers they can enjoy more stable (and moderately faster) speeds as overloading is significantly reduced with the new hardware.
What Were Speeds Like Before?
IPVanish enjoys a good reputation among VPN users. Before the recent improvements, it had decent speeds. Tests showed that the New York server averaged download speeds of around 35 Mbps and uploads of about 25 Mbps.
Amsterdam was about double that for both uploads and downloads. The Hong Kong server was rather slow, with around 8 Mbps for downloads and 6 Mbps for uploads.
In all other respects IPVanish continues to be among the best VPNs in the market:
- It has a user-friendly interface and is easy to install.
- It uses secure encryption protocols and has a zero-logs policy.
- Cord-cutters can rely on IPVanish to get them steady streaming connections for Netflix and several other streaming channels. It also works well with Kodi.
- It's an excellent VPN for torrenting.
- It is compatible with TOR.
Can We Expect More in the Coming Year?
Indeed we can. According to the news announcement, the company is rolling out WireGuard protocol in the coming year, enhancing performance even more. WireGuard is a lighter VPN encryption protocol that offers faster speeds and lower ping times.
IPVanish New Pricing
With the improved server infrastructure, the company has also announced a change in pricing that makes it one of the market's cheapest VPNs.
The monthly subscription now costs just $4.99/month which is cheaper than heavyweights like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
If you're willing to commit to IPVanish for a year, the price comes down to just $3.33/month. This is an excellent deal considering the security this VPN offers coupled with the increased speed and stability.
The company used to offer SugarSync cloud storage for free, but this has changed. They now charge a little less than a dollar a month, which is still a great deal for storage that usually costs around $10/month.
Are Other VPNs Upgrading?
The VPN landscape is highly competitive; when one company does a major upgrade that affects speed and stability, others try to keep up.
There are two major VPNs that have announced similar upgrades. Both NordVPN and Private Internet Access have upgraded their servers from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps. Both of these are still slower than IPVanish's 25 Gbps. However, NordVPN remains one of the best and fastest VPN service providers in the market.
Should You Choose IPVanish?
If you're using a different VPN you may be wondering whether it's worthwhile to try IPVanish now that it's faster.
When it comes to choosing a VPN you have to balance your needs. If speed is of primary concern to you, it may be worth a shot, or you may want to try NordVPN, ExpressVPN or another of our top VPNs.
IPVanish is relatively secure, although we are yet to see how the WireGuard upgrade affects security. It uses military-grade encryption protocols and has a zero-logs policy.
As for price, you won't get better than IPVanish right now. You're getting a premium VPN with excellent features for the lowest cost.