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HideMyAss-vs-IPVanish-in-New Zealand

Winner: IPVanish

HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand? Which VPN service is a better option for Privacy and Streaming?

HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand: Head to Head

IPVanish is the winner!

In our comparison of HideMyAss vs IPVAnish  in New Zealand, IPVanish turned out to be better than HideMyAss on the basis of the following factors:

  • Pricing: NZ$6.64/month
  • Speed: 24.63 Mbps on 30 Mbps connection (only 5.37 Mbps drop)
  • Larger Servers’ Network: 1,300+ servers
  • P2P support on the whole network

In this comparison of HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand, the two providers will go head-to-head through a series of 13 rounds to examine their respective strengths and weaknesses.

A Quick Comparison of HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand

Factors HideMyAss IPVanish
Jurisdiction UK US
Logging Policy Retains some logs Vague policy
Pricing NZ$6.92/mo NZ$6.05/mo
Speed 18.9 Mbps 24.63 Mbps
Server Network 1000+ servers
190+ countries
1,300+ servers
75 locations
Customer Support Live Chat Live Chat
Torrenting Supported Supported
Netflix Unblocking Inconsistent Inconsistent
Security Strong Strong
Website hidemyass.com ipvanish.com

1. Jurisdiction

Result: Both providers are located in Five Eyes jurisdiction and are thus equally unsafe.

HideMyAss IPVanish
UK
(Five Eyes – Unsafe)
US
(Five Eyes – Unsafe)

Jurisdiction is always one of the key considerations on which the privacy level of a VPN depends. A VPN could have all the security features to give you the peace of mind you expect on the web, but if it is located in a jurisdiction with invasive surveillance, your privacy is at risk.

Five out more about 5/9/14 Eyes  jurisdictions in New Zealand and why they should be avoided.

HMA: UK

HMA is headquartered in the UK. The UK is a one of the core members of the Five Eyes alliance, which basically means that you can’t rely on your data being safe in the servers of HMA owing to the influence of surveillance agencies in the country.

IPVanish: US

IPVanish, not faring any better than HMA, is located in the US, another core member of the 5 Eyes. From the privacy standpoint, US isn’t the ideal location for a VPN provider to be based in because agencies in the country have dangerous powers to eavesdrop on your data if they so desire.

As far as jurisdiction is concerned, both IPVanish and HideMyAss are equally bad.

2. Logging Policy

Result: Although both providers have shady histories in terms of logging, HMA has a clearer stance on logging policy than IPVanish.

HideMyAss IPVanish
Keeps some logs Unclear stance on logging

In this round, we’re going to compare HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand logging polices to see if these providers really care about maintain anonymity and privacy of users.

HMA: Retains some logs

HMA-logging-policy-in-New Zealand

Here’s what the logging policy page of HMA states:

HMA keeps logs of timestamps, bandwidth, and IP address of the VPN servers you are using. However, it doesn’t maintain traffic logs or originating IP addresses, which are the two types of logs you definitely don’t want anyone to keep.

Overall, HMA can improve its logging policy further to earn more trust of the users, but the existing policy isn’t half bad either, considering the fact that many providers keep all sorts of logs capable of destroying your privacy.

You can explore our article on VPN logging policies in New Zealand to learn about providers you can trust your privacy to.

IPVanish: Vague Policy

IPVanish doesn’t specify the types of logs it keeps. Rather, the policy page of the provider makes blanket statements that only mention that the provider keeps no traffic logs.

IPVanish-logging-policy-in-New Zealand

IPVanish needs to improve its logging policy to be more transparent.

You can further analyze this VPN comparison chart in New Zealand for having detailed insights on certain VPNs and their logging policies.

3. Pricing Plans

Result: HMA is 53.93% cheaper than IPVanish.

Pricing and packages are one of the first things that any potential VPN user takes into account. Let’s see how the pricing and packages that IPVanish and HideMyAss have to offer.

HideMyAss IPVanish
1-month plan: NZ$19.34/mo 1-month plan: NZ$17.72/mo
 3-month plan: None 3-month plan: None
1-year plan: NZ$11.27/mo 1-year plan: NZ$4.44/mo
2-years plan: NZ$9.66/mo
36-month plan: NZ$6.92/mo 36-month plan: None
Get HideMyAss Get IPVanish

HMA

HMA provides 4 different packages including a 1-month, 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month plan with the cheapest offer being the latter plan available for NZ$6.92/month.

HideMyAss-Price-Cart-in-New Zealand

All packages have a 30-day money-back guarantee and you can purchase these plans via Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, AMEX, and UnionPay. Unfortunately, HMA doesn’t accept bitcoin payments.

IPVanish

IPVanish offers 1-month and 1-year subscription packages. The year-long package can be availed for NZ$6.05/month.

 

ipvanish-price-cart-in-New Zealand

The pricing is slightly cheaper than HMA, but these packages only have a 7-day money-back guarantee. IPVanish accepts more types of payments including PayPal, credit cards, bitcoin, and a number of other options.

4. Speed Results:HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand

Result: IPVanish is faster 30.32% faster than HMA.

Speed is a critical factor that every user of VPN wants to attain to the maximum degree. However, there is a relatively small number of providers with the infrastructure to deliver fast speeds.

IPVanish and HMA are both quite capable VPNs on this front as evidenced below. The speed tests were performed on a base Internet connection speed of 30 Mbps.

HideMyAss IPVanish
18.9 Mbps 24.63 Mbps

HMA: Decent speeds

HMA normally drops down your speed level by more than 30%, making it a VPN with average speeds. Nonetheless, it is still faster than many other providers and reasonably consistent.

HMA-Speed-test-in-New Zealand

IPVanish: Excellent Speeds

IPVanish is quite rightly hailed as one of the fastest VPNs in the market. Performing the speed test on a US, Boston server, the provider clocked in at 24.63 Mbps which is extremely impressive.

IPVanish-speed-test-in-New Zealand

5. Servers in Countries

Result: IPVanish has 39.78% more servers than HMA.

HideMyAss IPVanish
1,000+ servers
190+ countries
1300+ servers
75+ locations

IPVanish has a decent server network consisting of 1,300+ servers in 75+ locations. Using IPVanish’s network, you can gain access to geo-restricted websites, content, and social media from anywhere in the world with outstanding ease.

IPVanish-server-in-New Zealand

HideMyAss also has a comparable server size having 1,000+ VPN servers but covering a much wider geographical area (190+ countries).

As such, both providers have good coverage and a reasonably sized VPN server network.

6. Performance and Reliability

Result: Both providers offer well-functioning apps.

HideMyAss IPVanish
Good UI design Appealing UI design
Good connectivity Good connectivity

IPVanish and HMA both offer well-designed and simple VPN apps. Anyone with half a brain cell can easily use it.

You can easily navigate your way around the app, change preferences, and connect to VPN servers in a matter of a few seconds.

I have encountered no bugs in the VPN apps of IPVanish and HMA, which show that these are properly QA’d apps, developed by expert software developer teams.

7. Torrenting: HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand

Result: None of these providers are recommended for torrenting. So, this round is a tie.

HideMyAss IPVanish
Located in unsafe jurisdiction for torrenting Located in unsafe jurisdiction for torrenting

Many VPN providers are unable to support torrenting on their servers, fearing DMCA notices. HMA supports torrenting but only on a few servers including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, New York, London, and Prague.

However, the fact that HMA is based in the UK is discouraging because the country has strict laws against digital copyright infringement through torrenting. Find out more in our best VPN for torrenting guide in New Zealand.

IPVanish doesn’t discourage torrenting. In fact, the provider advertises its capability to offer security to users looking for a safe way to unblock torrent sites.

Overall, both of these VPN providers support torrenting. HideMyAss restricts torrenting to few servers, whereas IPVanish supports torrenting on its entire network.

Still, be careful downloading torrents via IPVanish because the company is under the jurisdiction of the US and the country doesn’t take kindly to users caught infringing copyrights.

8. Netflix Streaming

Result: Both providers are quite inconsistent when it comes to unblocking Netflix.

HideMyAss IPVanish
Inconsistent with Netflix Inconsistent with Netflix

A good number of people seek VPN services solely as a tool for unblocking Netflix regions containing their favourite titles.

Looking for VPNs with special powers to unblock Netflix? Check out our article on best VPN for Netflix in New Zealand for details.

HMA

HideMyAss has a Netflix optimized server in Liberty Island, USA that works perfectly well for accessing US content library of Netflix. However, you might experience problems if you try to access Netflix from other servers.

IPVanish

IPVanish can unblock US Netflix streaming, but inconsistently. Users have complained about IPVanish recently experiencing trouble accessing Netflix. So, it might not always work for you.

9. Compatibility

Result: IPVanish supports a wider range of devices than HideMyAss

HideMyAss features a nicely designed app for all major platforms and operating systems including Windows PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, Android, & Linux.

HMA-Compatibility-in-New Zealand

IPVanish has support for a wider range of devices and platforms including Windows (PC/Phone), Mac OS, iOS, Android, FireStick, Linux, and even Chromebooks and some routers.

IPVanish-Devices-in-New Zealand

10. Customer Support

Result: Both providers offer highly quality of customer support.

HideMyAss IPVanish
Live chat Live chat
FAQs/Knowledge base/Tutorials FAQs/Knowledge base/Tutorials
No phone call support Phone call support

HMA provides live chat support which is quite easy to reach and get a useful answer to your queries from. The provider also offers FAQs and knowledgebase consisting of answers to commonly asked questions as well as setup guides for your assistance.

IPVanish offers customer support via live chat, emails, and even telephone for US customers during business hours (9-5) on weekdays. In addition, the official website contains detailed guides, FAQs, and knowledgebase to answer your queries.

11. Security Features: HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand

Result: IPVanish wins this round because it offers a wider range of VPN protocols.

In terms of security, HMA and IPVanish offer the same level of VPN protocol and encryption technology.

HMA: Decent Security

Hide My Ass offers the commonly used VPN protocols of OpenVPN (UDP/TCP), PPTP, and L2TP. For encryption, HMA uses AES-256, which is the standard level of encryption in use by most top-rated VPN providers.

HMA also protects users from DNS and IP leaks, so you can surf the web without constantly worrying about getting exposed.

HMA doesn’t offer a wide array of extra features for security. In fact, the app kill switch is the only true extra features that comes packed with this VPN.

IPVanish: Good Security

IPVanish applies AES-256 encryption which is combined with VPN protocols of OpenVPN, IKEv2, SSTP, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP.

IPVanish is also equipped with IP leaks and DNS protection to fully secure activities and identity while you are using the VPN.

IPVanish-Leak-Test-in-New Zealand

Consult our VPN leak test in New Zealand guide to find out more about which VPN services leak IPs and which don’t.In contrast to HideMyAss, IPVanish provides a number of extra features other than the kill switch which works for macOS in New Zealand and Windows in New Zealand.

IPVanish is also one of the few providers to offer split-tunneling in New Zealand, but this feature only works for the Android version of the app.

You can also take advantage of VPN obfuscation in New Zealand (which is branded by IPVanish as “Scramble” for macOS, Android, and Firestick devices) to stay under cover for websites that filter VPN traffic, preventing your access.

Final Verdict: HideMyAss vs IPVanish in New Zealand

IPVanish is the winner in the comparison of HideMyAss vs IPVansih in New Zealand since it offers better servers, download speeds, and overall security features.

It bears mention, however, that both providers are poorly positioned courtesy of their jurisdiction within Five Eyes nations and the logging policies aren’t exactly ideal either.

The major strength of IPVanish stems from its strong security features such as obfuscation, split-tunneling, and kill switch, as well as its support for streaming services, which gives it a definite edge over HideMyAss.

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