A VPN that wants to be a security suite
IPVanish used to be a straightforward VPN. The current homepage makes it clear it now wants to be your whole security toolkit: VPN, antivirus, a disposable browser and cloud storage, all under one account. For someone who mostly wants private browsing, that raises a fair question. Do you need all that, or just the VPN part? Good news: the cheapest plan still covers the essentials.
The plans, in plain numbers
This is where IPVanish deserves credit, because the prices are right there on the homepage. On the 2-year term I saw:
- Essential: $2.19/mo, which is $52.56 for the first two years. VPN, threat protection, 24/7 chat, unlimited devices and a 3GB eSIM data bonus.
- Complete: $2.79/mo ($66.96 for two years). Adds next-gen antivirus and phone support.
- Advanced: $3.29/mo ($78.96 for two years). Adds 1TB of cloud storage, the Secure Browser and extra eSIM data.
Yearly and monthly options exist too. Note the wording: those totals are for the first two years, so check what the plan renews at. Every tier gets a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The VPN itself
All plans include unmetered device connections, no data caps, servers in 150 regions, shared IP addresses and a verified no-logs policy. Feature-wise you get Double Hop (routing through two servers), a kill switch, split tunneling, threat protection that blocks ads and trackers, WireGuard and OpenVPN, and DNS leak protection. A rotating announcement says new RAM-only servers have gone live in Boston, Bucharest, Madrid and Warsaw. Apps cover Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, Fire TV and Chromecast. Unlimited devices is the standout for households with lots of gadgets. Phones, laptops, a smart TV and a games console can all stay connected at once without you juggling logins or hitting a cap.
The website experience
Visually it’s a white site with a black top bar, an orange Get Started button and, right now, a giant BLACK FRIDAY hero with a countdown timer ticking down from 24 hours. It’s pushy. The page is also very heavy: it pulled in nearly twenty outside services, including Trustpilot widgets, cookie consent, analytics and testing tools, and it was slow to load on my visit. No third-party ads though, just a lot of marketing machinery. There are some handy free tools under Resources, like a Dark Web Scanner, QR Code Checker, Link Checker and IP Checker.
My take
IPVanish is a solid pick if you want to cover every device in the house without counting, and the Essential plan is cheap for what it includes. The antivirus and cloud bundles are optional extras, not must-haves. Skip the countdown pressure, compare the renewal price, and use the refund window to test it properly.
