IVPN
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 15 VPN services by recommenders
People recommend it for its transparency, open-source clients and values closely aligned with Mullvad's, and it has worked behind China's firewall.
People recommend it for its transparency, open-source clients and values closely aligned with Mullvad's, and it has worked behind China's firewall.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Trusted and well-regarded in privacy community
“Mullvad, IVPN and Proton VPN are all trusted so choosing depends on your priorities”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Donation Controversy” “to a place of high-trust, ideally a trustworthy VPN like Mullvad, IVPN, or Proton.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Mullvad exit IPs are surprisingly identifying” “I would never trust anything other than Mullvad/IVPN/ProtonVPN”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “8M users' AI conversations sold for profit by "privacy" extensions” - Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “The Tor Project is switching to Rust”
- Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Mullvad to China: Block This. We Dare You”
- Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2026)”
Values closely aligned with Mullvad
“Since those conversations I've always thought that IVPN is closest aligned with Mullvad's values.”
Comment from 29 Jun 2026 in “Mullvad founder gave millions to extremist far right party” “IVPN is very similar kind of focus and branding”
Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “A statement on the Tor Project's relationship with Mullvad” “IVPN is the most similar to Mullvad”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?” Transparent company and open clients
“IVPN bought me with very deep transparency into company and WRT support, on top of Linux and Android.”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits” “Clients are all open source, really configurable”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: Mullvad Alternatives?” Used to get past censorship
“Use a VPN, perhaps Mullvad or IVPN to appear to sites as if you are from a freer country (or state)”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Countries are competing to see which can carry out mass surveillance the best” “all worked when I was in China behind GFW”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “VPN location claims don't match real traffic exits”
Other VPN services people recommend
The four most recommended other VPN services, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mullvad VPN | 255 | 146 | 64% | 12 | 4.5 yrs4 owners | — |
| Proton VPN | 63 | 35 | 64% | 13 | 3 yrs4 owners | — |
| iCloud Private Relay | 26 | 20 | 57% | 11 | — | — |
| Cloudflare WARP | 18 | 10 | 64% | 7 | — | — |
| IVPNThis page | 14 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
17 of the 20 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“IVPN is the most similar to Mullvad”
“IVPN is very similar kind of focus and branding”
“there are plenty of small company alternatives, like IVPN”
“that's why I switched to iVPN after my subscription ended”
“a privacy-focused B2C VPN, running since 2010, independently audited every year”
“Mullvad, IVPN and Proton VPN are all trusted so choosing depends on your priorities”
“well-regarded in the privacy community”
“Clients are all open source, really configurable”
“Since those conversations I've always thought that IVPN is closest aligned with Mullvad's values.”
“Use a VPN, perhaps Mullvad or IVPN to appear to sites as if you are from a freer country (or state)”
“IVPN and Proton have proven they are trustworthy as well.”
“to a place of high-trust, ideally a trustworthy VPN like Mullvad, IVPN, or Proton.”
“I would never trust anything other than Mullvad/IVPN/ProtonVPN”
“IVPN bought me with very deep transparency into company and WRT support, on top of Linux and Android.”
“all worked when I was in China behind GFW”
“Windscribe and iVPN up there with Mullvad in TFA.”
“You're better off using a reputable VPN like mullvad or ivpn.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.