Ivacy VPN Review – Is it Safe & Good VPN?

What Is a VPN?

When you point your browser at a website, it sends a request to the server that hosts the website and returns with the content you want. It’s a bit different when you use a VPN. When a VPN is active, it creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a server controlled by the VPN provider. From there, your request exits onto the worldwide internet as normal, returning via the VPN server and through the encrypted tunnel.

 

Ivacy VPN

Ivacy VPN is a good service, but not so well known. They’re still kicking in 2021, but are there any reasons to believe it will finally earn the spotlight this year? Well, it just might if it tackles a few of its biggest drawbacks.

In my Ivacy VPN review, I’ll check how it fares in a number of categories that are important to users. These include security, privacy, performance, price, compatibility, and customer support. Read on to find out if this service is worth your hard-earned money or if you should invest it elsewhere.

 

 

Pricing and Features

An account with Ivacy VPN costs $8.95 per month, making it one of the most affordable VPNs I’ve yet reviewed. The average cost of a month-to-month VPN service is currently at around $10.50, well above what Ivacy charges. Ivacy is still pricier than Private Internet Access, however, as that Editors’ Choice-winning service runs a mere $6.95 per month.

As with other VPN services, if you select a longer-term subscription, the cost per month is significantly reduced. A one-year plan with Ivacy costs $36.00, and a two-year plan costs $48.00. As with most VPN services, Ivacy does not require you to purchase more expensive plans to get access to everything the company has to offer. ProtonVPN is a noteable exception to this trend, offering a low-cost Basic plan with just a few servers, and a more expensive Plus plan that adds more servers and features.

Some VPN services offer even longer subscription periods. KeepSolid VPN Unlimited, for example, lives up to its name with an effectively life-long plan. It also offers billing periods as short as one week, which is great for travelers who want a VPN only for a vacation or business trip. At PCMag, however, we recommend using a VPN as often as possible.

If cost is a major hurdle, fear not. There are many excellent free VPNs on the market. Our Editors’ Choice winner, TunnelBear, offers a free version with a limited amount of data available. ProtonVPN, on the other hand, limits the number of simultaneous devices and available servers to its free customers. Ivacy does not, however, offer a free version.

 

 

Ivacy VPN Pros & Cons

Pros

1. Works with US Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer
2. Good logging policy
3. Unbeatable price on long-term plans
4. Good speeds on local VPN connections

Cons

1. Far too secretive about its ownership structure
2. Deceptive business practices
3. No VPN kill switch or split tunneling for MacOS and iOS
4. Big drop in speeds on international connections

 

Is Ivacy VPN good and safe for Netflix & Torrenting?

 

Ivacy is a good VPN choice for streamers, successfully unblocking most major streaming services.

Ivacy regularly worked with US Netflix and BBC iPlayer in our testing, which is particularly impressive given iPlayer’s infamous difficulty.

Both Netflix and BBC iPlayer can be accessed through Ivacy’s dedicated streaming servers. These servers are clearly labeled and easily discoverable, which remedies a frustration we have with some other VPN providers.

Ivacy’s mediocre speed performance means you may have buffering issues if you’re connecting from further afield, though.

We also wish Ivacy was able to unblock Disney+, which proved inaccessible in our testing.

If streaming is your main concern, check our recommendations for the best VPNs for streaming. These VPNs combine consistent unblocking of all the major streaming services with the fastest VPN speeds.

Ivacy is a perfectly suitable VPN for torrenting, it allows P2P connection on all of their 800+ servers. However, just like with streaming, speed can be an issue. I was able to download at 4.5–5 MB/s (36–40 Mbps) with a baseline connection of 300 Mbps. Therefore, if your internet is slower, expect even worse speeds.

One thing is clear, though – torrenting with Ivacy VPN is safe. Thanks to military-grade encryption and a strict no-logs policy, there is no way that your P2P activities can be related to your account. Additionally, the Secure Download feature automatically checks the files for malware, providing extra protection.

Ivacy VPN doesn’t offer a free SOCKS5 proxy, but you can use split tunneling on Windows and Android. It’s not necessarily the most convenient, but it does the job.

 

 

Is Ivacy VPN any good and worth getting?

Ivacy VPN is good, but not amazing. It uses military-grade encryption, has a couple of useful features, collects no logs, and its speeds are above average if you’re lucky. On the other hand, it lacks WireGuard, and there’s no kill switch for Apple devices.

And when it comes to streaming, you would expect more than just Netflix US from a service with dedicated servers. Even though other content platforms are available, watching in HD can be tricky due to the same performance issues – or at least that’s been my experience.

Sometimes while writing this review, it seemed to me that Ivacy VPN stopped improving things a couple of years ago. Let’s hope this changes in the near future.