The number of servers and locations a VPN has can make a big difference to your experience using it – and in recent years it has become a bit of an arms race between the best VPNs. On December 4, 2024, IPVanish pulled out the big guns, and announced a huge upgrade to its arsenal.
Its now has servers in 108 countries worldwide, which puts it among the best-equipped providers. In comparison, NordVPN has servers in 111 countries, Proton VPN in 112, ExpressVPN in 105, and Surfshark in 100.
The Ziff Davis-owned VPN made this a double-barrelled announcement, by launching its Double Hop feature the same day. This allows you to route through two servers in series, encrypting your traffic twice and providing even better protection.
Does server count matter?
Having an adequate server network is essential for delivering good speeds to everyone using the VPN, no matter where they are in the world, or what server they're connecting to. However, the massive numbers boasted by some providers are more one-upmanship for bragging rights, rather than essential improvements.
Currently, IPVanish has around 2,400 servers worldwide in 108 countries. This is plenty – although some, like NordVPN, have thousands more individual servers, plus a few extra locations. This smaller network hasn't affected IPVanish in testing for our IPVanish review, with the provider delivering good speeds overall.
The number of locations is more important than the number of servers, as this has a tangible effect on the user experience. In this update, IPVanish has focused on South America, and now has a presence in more South American countries (11) than NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark (10), and Proton VPN (7).
Overall, this is a measurable improvement to IPVanish's service as a whole, and supports VPN access for many more people around the world.
What is Double-Hop VPN?
IPVanish's other announcement, Double Hop, is a little more niche, and won't be a feature that everyone uses. In short, it provides more protection by sending your data through two servers rather than one, thus encrypting it twice.
Some, but not all, other VPNs support Double Hop, including NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN – the latter of which branding it "Secure Core." However, IPVanish's version offers more flexibility, giving you the option of routing through any two servers – most other VPNs only offer set pairs.
Despite the fact that relatively few people will use Double Hop, it's encouraging to see IPVanish investing in its products to deliver more privacy-focused features. This is on the back of the launch of its secure browser and link checker, which are other innovations that show its commitment to helping its users.
