A big win for IPVanish is its fun, configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for beginners who are interested in learning what a VPN does under the hood. In terms of user experience, our only complaint is that IPVanish’s desktop clients have been known to get stuck in a loading loop. This occurs in both the Windows and Mac version of the app, and IPVanish’s site advises a reinstall. Otherwise, this has become one of our favorite user experiences with a VPN client.

IPVanish’s multiplatform flexibility and 40,000-plus IP addresses are also ideal for people focused on finding a Netflix-friendly VPN. It’s compatible with iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Linux, routers, Amazon Fire devices, and any Android-based media device.

Compared to VPN speed-leaders like ExpressVPN, it’s tempting to paint IPVanish’s speeds as sluggish. In our speed tests, ExpressVPN reduced our speeds by less than 2% compared to IPVanish, which reduced our speeds by about 65%. But IPVanish regularly gives high-profile players such as NordVPN a run for its money in the thrice-daily tests conducted by ProPrivacy. And IPVanish is reaching those speeds with just 1,300 servers in 60 locations, compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000-plus server fleet in 160 locations.

While I appreciate that IPVanish comes with a standard kill switch feature, I always retain some caution when a VPN is headquartered in the US, and reserve our higher recommendations for those outside of international intelligence-sharing rings such as Five Eyes. I’m also not as confident in IPVanish’s leak security as I am with other VPNs, after reviewers at CNET’s sister publication ZDNet detected a partial DNS leak during testing. I’m also still hoping to see an independent third-party audit of its operations.

At $3.99 per month and $48 for a year, IPVanish is obviously trying to move you towards its yearly program. ExpressVPN can’t beat that price. It also recently changed its policy to offer a full 30-day money back guarantee. That said, the company gets kudos for its recent increase from five to 10 simultaneous connections.

IPVanish review: This speedy VPN has a great user interface.