NordVPN vs IPVanish: Speed Tests
SUMMARY:
NordVPN and IPVanish are both very fast VPNs, but NordVPN is faster on both local and international connections. We measured average download speeds of 98Mbps when testing NordVPN on a local connection, while IPVanish measured download speeds of 84Mbps.
Winner: NordVPN
We regularly test the speeds of both NordVPN and IPVanish on local and international connections.
We use each VPN’s default tunneling protocol and measure how they affect our internet speeds when connected to multiple different server locations.
We measure:
- Local upload & download speeds
- International upload & download speeds
- Ping (Latency)
- Time to connect
Here’s a quick summary of how NordVPN and IPVanish compare when it comes to speed and reliability:
NordVPN | IPVanish | |
---|---|---|
Speed & Reliability Rating | 9.5 | 9.1 |
Local Download Speed | 98Mbps | 84Mbps |
UK-US Download Speed | 79Mbps | 53Mbps |
Local Upload Speed | 95Mbps | 90Mbps |
Ping | 8ms | 7ms |
Time to Connect | 2.2 seconds | 13.2 seconds |
Fastest VPN Protocol | WireGuard (NordLynx) | WireGuard |
NordVPN is fastest on local connections
Both NordVPN and IPVanish are consistently fast when connecting to nearby servers, but NordVPN is faster overall.
In our testing, NordVPN’s download speeds have been approximately 14% faster than IPVanish on a same-city connection.
When we connected from the UK to servers in Germany, both VPNs performed well. NordVPN recorded a download speed loss of 12%, whereas IPVanish recorded a download speed loss of 19%.
IPVanish has historically had faster upload speeds than NordVPN, but in recent months they have been much less reliable. Both VPNs reduced our upload speeds by less than 14%.
NordVPN is also faster on long-distance connections
Long distance connections are where NordVPN really starts to pull ahead of IPVanish.
When connecting from London to Australia, IPVanish’s speeds slow 24Mbps in our test. In comparison, NordVPN is impressively fast, slowing our connection by just 40%.
You can compare our full long distance download speed test results below:
Server Location | NordVPN | IPVanish | % Speed Loss |
---|---|---|---|
US | 79Mbps | 53Mbps | 33% |
Germany | 88Mbps | 76Mbps | 14% |
Singapore | 67Mbps | 25Mbps | 63% |
Australia | 59Mbps | 24Mbps | 59% |
IPVanish has lower ping for smoother gaming
In our latency tests, we found NordVPN added 8ms of ping, whereas IPVanish added 7ms. Although the difference is minimal, this means IPVanish will give you a slightly smoother connection for online gaming.
We tested NordVPN and IPVanish from our 100Mbps test connection while playing popular online games including CS:GO, Fortnite and Minecraft. Neither VPN was blocked and in both cases we didn’t notice any additional lag while playing.
There’s not much between them: we find both NordVPN and IPVanish work well for gaming, but these results suggest you may get a slightly smoother connection from IPVanish.

Both NordVPN and IPVanish ran smoothly while playing CS:GO and Fortnite.