Snapshot
ibVPN is one of the most customisable VPNs on offer with a choice of four different subscription options depending on user requirement. It’s great for unblocking geo-restricted content such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer and also permits P2P torrenting on some of its plans. It’s zero logs, highly secure and a great option for most readers if speed isn’t your number one deciding factor.
Compatible with
Rating
Our score:
4.6
★★★★★ 4.6/5
Pricing
Price from:
$3.08
per month
Pros
- Customisable subscription plans to suit specific user requirements
- Kill switch, DNS leak protection, 256-bit AES encryption
- Wide choice of VPN protocols
- Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer and all other popular streaming sites
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) torrenting permitted on some plans
Cons
- Server speeds much slower than many of the top alternatives
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) torrenting not permitted on the standard plan
Introduction
ibVPN are a well-established provider offering a wide range of features to suit all users. You’d imagine with invisible browsing in their name, privacy to be the core of their business, and we’re glad to report that’s very much correct with their strong zero logs policy and a very advanced and customisable security setup to keep users safe online.
Whilst ibVPN isn’t the fast of the premium providers we’ve test, with a generous list of servers located in 55+ countries found in the ‘most-wanted locations around the globe’, most users won’t have any difficulty finding one that will suit their needs.
Their service successfully unblocks geo-restricted content such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other popular streaming, and they have their ‘Torrent VPN’ or ‘Ultimate VPN’ plans for those users looking to protect their identity whilst P2P file sharing.
With a great suite of applications that will suit both beginners and advanced users, 24/7 customer support via live chat and a 15-day money back guarantee, ibVPN may well be your complete VPN solution.
Pricing
ibVPN is very reasonably priced given its quality and the number of features on offer. When looking to purchase, users are presented with a choice of plans that include their Standard VPN, Ultimate VPN, and Torrent VPN plans. They also separately offer a product called IBDNS/Smart DNS which is not an actual VPN in itself, but ideal for simply unblocking geo-restricted websites and streaming. For the minimal extra cost, we would recommend in taking the Ultimate VPN package as this is a combination of all the above and offers total protection without limits.
You can choose to commit to monthly (1, 6 or 12) plans, with the 12-month plan offering the best value (currently 56% off when purchased through our site). You try before you buy with a free 24-hour trial on offer, and all plans come with a full 15-day money back guarantee.
For payment, ibVPN currently accepts a wide range of options including most major debit and credit cards (including American Express), as well as PayPal. They also accept UnionPay, Paymentwall and Perfect Money as well as a range of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple and more.
Standard plan
$
3
08
per month -
Billed $36.95 if paid yearly
Visit website
15-day money back guarantee
Torrent plan
$
3
08
per month -
Billed $36.95 if paid yearly
Visit website
15-day money back guarantee
Ultimate plan
$
4
83
per month -
Billed $58.06 if paid yearly
Visit website
15-day money back guarantee
BEST PLAN
Features
ibVPN scores pretty highly when it comes to its features with its Ultimate Plan offering a total VPN solution which more than meets the needs of the vast majority of our readers. Their other plans are still pretty good, but should you choose to go for their Standard Plan for instance, you’d not be able to torrent with your subscription which is a little disappointing.
With 200+ servers in 57 countries, users have more than a sufficient choice for local and distant connections, and all servers are coloured with either a green, orange or red indication with a percentage score letting you know which are least/most congested which we feel is a nice addition.
On opening the app, users are presented with a standard ‘quick connect’ button which offers that total no frills VPN experience. Handy if you’re just after everyday protection with no particular task in mind. Another helpful addition is the inclusion of servers optimised for everyday activities such as streaming or torrenting, clearly highlighted among their list of general servers.
A zero log logs VPN provider, your IP address is securely protected by military grade encryption with a whole host of advanced features contributing to your online anonymity. Included in this is the must have VPN kill switch, Shadowsocks VPN, WebRTC Leak, SmartDNS and DNS leak protection. Users can also select their favourite VPN protocol (we recommend OpenVPN), as well as choose servers optimised for DoubleVPN, TORoverVPN and P2P traffic.
Platforms and devices
ibVPN allows you to simultaneously protect 5 devices with one Ultimate VPN account, which is ideal for those who want to protect all their smart devices as well as their family’s too! Their Standard and Torrent plans only allow 1 connection per subscription, which we feel is pretty tight…!
Their user-friendly apps can be installed on macOS, Windows and Linux operating systems as well as iOS and Android mobile devices, and they also have specific browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox keeping you safe from third party tracking as well as WebRTC leaks.
It’s also easy enough to configure your home and protect your entire wi-fi network if you own either a DD-WRT or Sabai router.
Streaming
ibVPN is a good choice for streaming with its dedicated servers and its ability to unblock popular services including US Netflix, BBC iPlayer and a further 300+ channels! We were able to consistently unblock pretty much all services during our testing which is a real plus.
Their SmartDNS service is superb for accessing geo-restricted content, but it’s worth remembering that this won’t give you any encryption or privacy protection and is merely to spoof your location. You can have this separately without a VPN which will significantly improve speeds and performance, thus reducing buffering and lag issues. SmartDNS does come bundled in their Ultimate VPN package which is a real plus again for this great package.
We are pleased to see that ibVPN have recently added PROXY and SmartDNS to their Android applications which is great addition allowing users choose to maintain the usual high-end encryption from their VPN or opt for no encryption but benefit from much higher speeds (PROXY). The newly added SmartDNS feature majorly enhances the user streaming experience by enabling access to geo-restricted content from around the world. Again, with no encryption, this function will enable HD streaming at ‘turbo speeds’.
Torrenting
NordVPN is great choice for users who want protection from a VPN whilst torrenting and is superb for both speed and privacy. NordVPN unblocks all restricted torrenting websites, prevents your ISP from tracking your activity via encryption, and stops them from ‘bandwidth throttling’ (drastically reducing or cutting your internet speed) limiting your ability to successfully P2P transfer. Stay safe online and remember, you should always use a secure VPN when torrenting!
Speed
ibVPN probably sits in the mid to low range in terms of speed but is more than capable of putting up with the high demands of streaming HD content or downloading large files (maybe just slower than the other top performers we’ve tested!). It’s ideal for everyday browsing too so depending on your needs, it’s unlikely to slow you down. Their low latency will make it a great choice for both gamers and torrentors.
During testing from our offices in London, we achieved local download speeds of around 51Mbps and similarly acceptable performances over on European servers. Connecting further afield to the USA, we averaged around 38Mbps.
Finally we tried some more distant connections to the likes of Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore but it’s fair to say some of their top rivals are much stronger here. Performance dropped considerably with most under 10Mbps… so if you’re looking at connecting to destinations in far reach locations… ibVPN maybe isn’t the right choice for you.
Security
ibVPN ticks many of our boxes in the security department, and with their military grade unbreakable AES-256 encryption, your true IP address is kept invisible at all times. They also have one of the best choices of VPN protocols we have seen and unlike most, they are available across all platforms. These include our preferred OpenVPN, IKEv2, and IPSec. They also include the must have VPN kill switch as well as full DNS and IPv6 leak protection thanks to their own DNS servers.
Advanced features include servers optimised for Tor over VPN plus Double VPN should you require the additional reassurance of having your encryption run through two VPNs. You can also use SoftEther VPN, Shadowsocks VPN and Stealth VPN which disguise the fact you’re even using a VPN. These features are ideal for locations with high government censorship and areas where using a VPN may not be legal!
Applications
The ibVPN applications are well designed and pretty straight-forward to use. Being slightly critical, they are perhaps not quite as pretty as many of their rivals, but we can’t go too harshly on them with regards to this. Security and features we’d argue are more important and there’s no point in having style over substance when privacy is concerned!
What we do really like is how you can play around with a whole host of settings inside the apps, or simply stick to the defaults if you’re a beginner or not as confident at using a VPN. There’s also a nice big quick connect button if you’re after a complete no-frills experience.
The server lists are easy to navigate and the visual of how congested each server is in real time is a nice tick in the box. It’s also very easy to find servers for specific needs, such as torrenting, streaming, double VPN or Tor over VPN.
Customer service
ibVPN offer multiple ways users can get in touch, from creating a support ticket, to email, to live chat. They appear to want to do their best when it comes to looking after their users.
We thoroughly tested their live chat support with a number of queries, and their agents were quick to respond, knowledgeable and always tried their best to help solve our problem or provide the best answer they could give.
They have a great video library explaining things like how to use the VPN on different platforms as well as utilising certain features. This is particularly useful as there is quite a lot of complexity and jargon with VPNs… especially this one as it has so many features!
There is also a dedicated page for each feature with in-depth explanations as to what they are and what benefits they may bring.
Log policy
ibVPN is a 100% no logs VPN and their policy is clear and transparent… “ibVPN does not collect or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network service. We cannot relate any specific activity with any specific user. If any legal notices are forwarded to our legal department, we will comply with that notice. However, we cannot be compelled to hand over information which we do not have.” With this being said, we are totally confident and reassured by ibVPN and are happy to recommend them to our readers as a zero logs VPN provider.
Jurisdiction
ibVPN operates out of the privacy friendly Romania, Europe, with all applications, operations and technical support performed from their offices located in Transylvania. With them not being subject to any intrusive data retention or privacy laws, they are perfectly situated and well hidden!
The verdict
We think it’s fair to say that most users will lean towards their ultimate package which offers up to 5 simultaneous connections as well as successfully unblocking geo-restricted content, bypassing government censorship as well as permitting P2P file sharing.
It’s total protection offering some of the best security measures you can find with no real features missing from users potential requests. However… it’s slightly let down by its relatively average to low speeds coupled with higher than many of its competitors pricing – this is partly down to not offering long term deals like many of its rivals, bringing the average price over the term down.
Their cheaper offerings such as their Standard / Torrent or Smart plans are definitely worth considering, but you’re limited to only 1 device and all come with their own pros and cons regarding features.
It is a 100% zero logs VPN with a suite of well-designed applications to suit both beginners and advanced users and Melvyn and the team at comparemyvpn.com have no hesitation in recommending their service to our users (but can’t see many not opting to pay the extra few $$$ for the ultimate package!).