ibVPN Review 2020

Last updated: January 19, 2023
William Sams
William Sams
ibVPN is a reasonably-priced VPN that does not store any logs, is safe from any sort of leakages, and most importantly works seamlessly for downloading torrents and unblocking Netflix US. Sadly, it offers no incentives for China. Is it worth the money?
Jurisdiction Romania
Price $4.83/mo. (On a 1-Year Plan)
Servers 180+ in 57 Countries
Logs Does Not Store Logs
Encryption AES-256-Bit
Unblocks Netflix Yes
Torrenting Yes
Works in China No
Recommended  Yes
Website https://www.ibvpn.com/
Compatibility Windows, Android, Apple, Desktop, Chrome, Firefox

Created by a company called “Amplusnet SRL” and based in Romania, ibVPN  is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, which made its way into the marketplace back in 2010. Overall, the VPN offers quite an amazing product.

The VPN is safe from any sort of leakages, does not store logging information, and the pricing is quite reasonable. Most importantly, it works perfectly for unblocking platforms like Netflix or downloading torrents, minus any legal hassles.

The only problem with ibVPN is that it does not offer support for bypass the “Great Firewall” in China and neither does it provide any incentives for Chinese expats, so they may face trouble in unblocking local content.

Although I do recommend the VPN to newbies, I would advise going for a better alternative that does all and supports a huge list of platforms/devices, the infamous PureVPN, which starts at a minimal $1.48 on a 5-year plan.

Rating Criteria

  1. Jurisdiction: Where is ibVPN from?
  2. Security: Can ibVPN Keep Me Safe Online?
  3. Leaks: Does ibVPN Leak Your IP, DNS & WebRTC?
  4. Servers: How Many Servers Does ibVPN Have?
  5. Streaming: Can I Unblock Netflix US and Other VoDs?
  6. Speed: How Fast are ibVPN Servers?
  7. Compatibility: Can I Use ibVPN on All My Devices?
  8. Pricing: How Much Does ibVPN Cost Exactly?
  9. Trustworthiness: Trustpilot Ratings, Reddit & Customer Support

Jurisdiction: Where is ibVPN from?

ibVPN has its headquarters in Romania, which is a relatively safe jurisdiction as of now. The country does not impose mandatory data retention or mass surveillance laws, which works in favor for the service.

Since it is not part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances, you can feel assured that Romania is safe from any intelligence sharing, which is resulted in their laws that support an individuals’ right to privacy and freedom of speech!

Undoubtedly, ibVPN gains much from the leniency in internet laws, giving its customers peace of mind for using a VPN service that does not have adhere to any logging practices lawfully (unlike US and UK).

Security: Can ibVPN Keep Me Safe Online?

For the most part, yes ibVPN will keep you safe. It is based in a safe jurisdiction, does not store any logs, has no leak-related issues, and its apps are clear from all viruses/malware. I will be providing more information below:

Does ibVPN Store Logging Information?

Customers of ibVPN can feel assured to trust the VPN service for their no logs claims. Their Privacy Policy page explicitly states that the service does not record any connection/traffic related data on their VPN, SmartDNS, and proxy services.

ibVPN only stores your name and email address for the purpose of identifying user accounts. As far as payment details are concerned, most transactions are processed by third-party authorized entities like PaymentWall, PayPal, and others that are secure.

It is also a relief to know that ibVPN complies with all EU GDPR regulations, which means it further takes user privacy seriously and makes sure their VPN follows all essential protocols and technologies related to it.

ibVPN Privacy Policy

ibVPN Protocols and Encryption Information

ibVPN supports a total of seven protocols to help users customize their VPN clients as much as possible: IKEv2, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, Softether, and even StealthVPN for maximum anonymity online.

In terms of encryption, it supports the industry-standard, military-grade, AES-256 ciphers with HMAC SHA384 for hash authentication and RSA-2048 for handshake authentication. Perfect forward secrecy is provided via the Diffie-Hellman Exchange (DHE) keys!

ibVPN VirusTotal Test

To ensure that all ibVPN apps are safe and secure to download, I conducted a test on VirusTotal. Users will be pleased to hear that ibVPN cleared all tests on their apps and is free from any viruses/malware:

ibVPN Virus Total Test

Leaks: Does ibVPN Leak Your IP, DNS & WebRTC?

To give users complete assurity that ibVPN is a safe choice, I performed a WebRTC/DNS/IP Address leak test using six different tools. ibVPN managed to clear all tests smoothly and perfectly, ensuring your identity remains private at all times.

WebRTC and HTTP Request Leaks:

DNS Leaks:

IPv4/IPv6 and Torrent IP Leaks:

ibVPN Leak Test

Servers: How Many Servers Does ibVPN Have?

ibVPN has seen a remarkable improvement by growing from just over 100 servers two years ago to a whopping 180+ servers in 57 countries, as of today, with plans to expand the network infrastructure further.

For now, their locations spread is quite good and covers covering much of the Continental US, Europe, Austral-Asian regions, Far East Asia and surprisingly the Middle East, where most VPNs do not even offer a single server.

Is ibVPN Good for Torrenting?

Indeed, ibVPN is a great choice for torrenting. Although it does not have offer any p2p-specific features, their servers work good for unblocking torrenting websites and downloading torrents, minus any hassles or legal disturbances.

In fact, they have an assortment of p2p/file sharing servers you can utilize at any time for torrenting. Add this to the fact that they support DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC protection, and you can feel assured the VPN is a safe choice for torrenting.

Does ibVPN Work in China?

The only area that ibVPN fails miserably in all our tests is their inability to offer any incentives to Chinese to Chinese expats and residents. They do not have a Chinese mirror website, which makes accessing their service in the country close to impossible.

At the same time, ibVPN does not come equipped with any Chinese servers, unlike PureVPN and Ivacy. As a result, expats who may want to unblock local Chinese content receive no support from the provider at all, so it may not be the best choice for bypassing the GFW!

Streaming: Can I Unblock Netflix US and Other VoDs?

Yes, you can unblock Netflix US using ibVPN and the VPN also works for unblocking other VoDs like BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Hotstar, Prime Video, and Disney+, thanks to its strong security/privacy that offers protection against Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and other VPN blocking algorithms.

ibVPN unblocks Netflix

Speed: How Fast are ibVPN Servers?

ibVPN has a limited 180+ servers in 50+ countries, so mediocre speeds are to be expected, due to the server load. To get a clear picture, I conducted a speed test on a 100 Mbps connection and analyze the variations that occur in its speed across different servers.

Server Download Upload Ping
US 78.95Mbps 77.36Mbps 111ms
Brazil 72.88Mbps 62.47Mbps 170ms
Australia 69.81Mbps 73.28Mbps 183ms
Germany 81.03Mbps 73.79Mbps 99ms
India 78.50Mbps 61.31Mbps 102ms
Average 75.23Mbps 69.64Mbps 120ms

Compatibility: Can I Use ibVPN on All My Devices?

For the most part, you can use ibVPN on a good number of devices. They have applications for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and even browser extensions for Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera.

As a result, you can feel assured to receive VPN security and privacy on any device. On a single subscription, you can enjoy VPN access to around 5 devices simultaneously, which is quite reasonable to say the least.

ibVPN Compatibility

Pricing: How Much Does ibVPN Cost Exactly?

ibVPN has two main offerings for their VPN product: standard and ultimate. If you opt for the former, you will have to only pay $4.95 monthly, $19.95 on a 6-month plan, and $36.95 on a 1-year plan.

ibVPN Pricing 1

However, if you opt for the latter that hosts more features and capabilities, you will have to pay $10.95 monthly, $42.95 on a 6-months plan, and $58.06 on a 1-year plan.

ibVPN Pricing 2

ibVPN Free Trial and Payment Options

ibVPN offers a 24-hour free trial, which is one of the highlights of our review, as it was incredibly helpful from a user standpoint in making the decision to go forth and buying the subscription to the service or not.

Apart from this, if you still have any troubles with the service, there is always a 15-day money-back guarantee that can reassure you that your money will remain secure with this credible provider.

As far as the payment options are concerned, ibVPN offers an incredible 50+ payment options, which include Debit/Credit Card, Ali Pay, Yandex, Bank wire transfer among others.

However, the presence of bitcoin as a payment option is what we appreciate the most because it allows the user to experience great autonomy over keeping its privacy protected and anonymous, even while making a payment for subscribing to a service.

Trustworthiness: Trustpilot Ratings, Reddit & Customer Support

To give you better idea about ibVPN, I decided to assess the provider from the perspective of “users” on Trustpilot and Reddit. Here is what customers of the product have to say about it!

ibVPN Trustpilot Review

ibVPN enjoys a 4.7 star rating out 5.0 on Trustpilot from a total of 51 reviews. Upon analyzing these reviews, it becomes clear that most users have had a positive experience with the provider.

You can see many people praising the quick customer support, diversity of the service, and its design and interface on different platforms/devices. All in all, the VPN is considered to be a great product!

ibVPN Trustpilot Rating

ibVPN Reddit Review

Reddit users also mostly had a positive experience with ibVPN and that is quite rare to say the least. Similar to above, many Redditors praised the responsive and proactive customer support of the VPN.

The few complaints some Redditors like the ones below had were poor speeds (reflected in our performance tests), but apart from that everything else worked stable and fairly well, so it is a yes from Reddit too!

ibVPN Reddit Review

ibVPN Customer Support

ibVPN does an amazing job when it comes to Customer Support. It is the apple of our eye when it comes to marking a VPN service. ibVPN provides information, educates the users, and helps them with technical issues in their VPN Clients.

You can contact ibVPN through Support Tickets, Email, Live Chat, Remote Assistance, and get some quick tips and learn a thing or two by simply reading the FAQs, Knowledge Base and discussions on Forums. Such an excellent customer support is very rare and a joy to use!

I even recorded the response times after sending the VPN four questions via email with intervals. Among them, two were general queries and two were a little more technical. See the statistics below:

Question Initial Response Time Number of Emails Question Answered
Is ibVPN safe and secure? 20 Minutes 1 Yes
What Security Features Do You Offer? 15 Minutes 1 Yes
Can I Unblock Netflix with ibVPN? 25 Minutes 1 Yes
Why is my ibVPN app not connecting? 22 Minutes 1 Yes

Do I Recommend ibVPN?

Truth be told, ibVPN is a great service for all your VPN related needs, be it streaming, torrenting, unblocking, or gaming. The only area it fails at is bypassing the “Great Firewall” in China.

As such, if you want a VPN for anything besides gaining access to China, ibVPN is definitely recommended. However, if you need something that does all and provides incentives for China too, then try PureVPN!

Compatible with device: Windows, Android, Apple, Desktop, Chrome, Firefox

One Response to ibVPN Review 2020

  1. Elias says:

    I am not a seasoned VPN user but overall I found the service quite useful as the pricing plans are affordable and I was able to access my favorite streaming sites from my workplace hassle-free. Besides, it is easy to use and also provides a decent service network.

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