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Government · head to head

Bonfire vs IVPN

Bonfire logo

Bonfire

Government

Public sector sourcing and bid evaluation software with scored, auditable award decisions

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
I

IVPN

Cybersecurity

Privacy-focused VPN with anonymous account numbers instead of email signup

From
$6/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bonfire it is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.; IVPN has no free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors with limited free plans.
  • They diverge on capability: Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, IVPN covers Anonymous account numbers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bonfire and IVPN actually diverge.

Attributes where Bonfire and IVPN differ
AttributeBonfireIVPN
Starting priceOn request$6/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWebwindows, mac, linux, ios, android
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bonfire

  • Solicitation posting
  • Sealed submission intake
  • Scored evaluation workspace
  • Audit trail
  • Supplier portal
  • Requirement matrices

Only in IVPN

  • Anonymous account numbers
  • Multi-hop connections
  • Independent audits
  • WireGuard and OpenVPN support
  • AntiTracker

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bonfire

  • An agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation recordnot IVPN
  • A procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and emailnot IVPN
  • A university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement systemnot IVPN
  • An agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing listnot IVPN

IVPN

  • Signing up for a VPN without providing an email addressnot Bonfire
  • Verifying a VPN's no-logs claims via independent auditsnot Bonfire
  • Layering multi-hop routing for higher-anonymity browsingnot Bonfire
  • Blocking trackers and ads via built-in AntiTrackernot Bonfire

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bonfire

  • It is a sourcing and evaluation tool rather than full procure to pay, so requisitions, purchase orders and invoicing stay in the finance system and the join between them is the agency's problem.
  • Since the acquisition path from GTY to GI Partners to Euna Solutions, Bonfire sits in a portfolio alongside products it once competed with, which narrows a shortlist that appears independent.
  • Suppliers must register on the portal to bid, and small local vendors reliably complain about the extra account, which can reduce responses on low value solicitations.
  • Pricing is quoted rather than published and scales with solicitation volume, so an agency with a few very large procurements pays a model designed around throughput.
  • Contract management after award is thin compared with dedicated contract lifecycle products, so agencies often buy a second system for the obligations the award created.

IVPN

  • Has no free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors with limited free plans.
  • Standard plan's two-connection limit is lower than many rivals offering five or more devices.
  • Smaller server network than large mainstream VPN providers, which can limit streaming unblocking.
  • Pricing is higher than budget VPN competitors for comparable simultaneous-connection counts.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bonfire

On request
  • Bonfire$undefined/year
    • Quoted by agency size and annual solicitation volume
    • Supplier side registration is free, which is how the vendor network grows
    • Implementation and training quoted separately from subscription

IVPN

$6/month
  • Standard$6/month
    • 2 simultaneous connections
    • $60/year billed annually
    • WireGuard and OpenVPN support
  • Pro$10/month
    • 7 simultaneous connections
    • Multi-hop connections
    • $100/year billed annually

Which should you pick?

Choose Bonfire if

  • You need solicitation posting.
  • You also want sealed submission intake.
Bonfire review

Choose IVPN if

  • You need anonymous account numbers.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want multi-hop connections.
IVPN review

Questions people ask

Is Bonfire or IVPN better?
Neither clearly leads. Bonfire starts at On request and IVPN at $6/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bonfire or IVPN?
Bonfire starts at On request and IVPN at $6/month.
Does Bonfire or IVPN run on more platforms?
Bonfire runs on Web. IVPN runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
What is Bonfire best used for?
Bonfire is most often used for an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record, a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email, a university or health system applying public procurement rules without a public procurement system, an agency wanting suppliers to self register and receive addenda automatically rather than by mailing list. Of those, an agency that has lost or nearly lost a bid protest and needs a defensible evaluation record and a procurement team running scoring committees currently held together by spreadsheets and email are not what IVPN is typically brought in for.
What can Bonfire do that IVPN cannot?
Bonfire covers Solicitation posting, Sealed submission intake, Scored evaluation workspace, Audit trail. IVPN covers Anonymous account numbers, Multi-hop connections, Independent audits, WireGuard and OpenVPN support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bonfire: Who owns Bonfire?

Euna Solutions. Bonfire was acquired by GTY Technology in 2019, GTY was taken private by GI Partners in 2022, and the portfolio was rebranded Euna Solutions in 2023.

Bonfire: Is it full procure to pay?

No. It covers sourcing and evaluation through award. Purchase orders and invoicing remain in the finance system.

Bonfire: What is the real value?

A defensible, time stamped evaluation record when an award is protested, which is the expensive failure mode in public procurement.

Bonfire: Can we see what other agencies pay?

Yes. These contracts are public records. Read several comparable awards before negotiating.

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