Show Author >

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN Review

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN

NordVPN is a Panama-based and registered VPN service provider. In its attempt to become a privacy suit provider, the company serves more than 12 million customers across various products. 

NordVPN has over 5,000+ servers in 59 countries compatible with macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Android T.V. For NAS devices, wireless routers, and other platforms, NordVPN can be manually configured. 

There are no mandatory data retention laws in Panama, where NordVPN is based. The Five Eyes and Fourteen Eyes alliances do not include NordVPN. An independent audit conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers confirmed the company's claim of not logging users' data.

NordVPN softwareVisit NordVPN >
Save 70% for a Limited Time

NordVPN consists of all the technical features you'd expect from a VPN provider, such as OpenVPN support for high performance and strong encryption, DNS leak protection, and a kill switch to protect your identity. 

It also includes unique features like Onion support and double data encryption for added security and malware, ad, and phishing protection through NordVPN's CyberSec technology. 

Its P2P support is a major plus, and its clear no-logging policy and Panama registration provide above-average assurance that others will not see your online activities. See the full NordVPN review for more information.

NordVPN logo in white color
Overall Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Visit NordVPN

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a virtual private network service run by Express VPN International Ltd., a company based in the British Virgin Islands. ExpressVPN operates in a competitive market with a lot of competition, but it knows exactly how to stand out. 

Express VPN has a large network of over 3,000 servers spread across 160 cities in 94 different countries. While the United States and Europe have the best coverage, ExpressVPN also has many locations in Asia and several countries rarely found in VPN service areas.

ExpressVPN offers apps for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and other platforms, custom firmware for various routers, and detailed manual setup guides for Apple T.V., PlayStation, FireTV, Chromebook, Kindle Fire, and other devices. 

ExpressVPN has several useful technical features, including the ability to protect your internet traffic by using its DNS servers. In addition, thanks to their advanced encryption technologies, even the most sophisticated attackers will be unable to snoop on your online activities. 

It has a clever split-tunneling system that allows you to choose which applications use the VPN and are routed through your regular internet connection. 

It is a handy feature for finding apps that don't work with your VPN or determining whether your VPN is slowing things down noticeably. In addition, ExpressVPN has a clear and simple privacy policy that states it will not log any sensitive data.

ExpressVPN softwareVisit ExpressVPN >
Get 3 Months FREE

While this is a standard marketing promise made by some VPN providers, ExpressVPN goes into great detail about what data it collects and what it does not. In addition, ExpressVPN's servers were recently audited to ensure that it adhered to its privacy policy. Check out the ExpressVPN.

Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Visit ExpressVPN

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN - The Ultimate Comparison

In this highly competitive market, NordVPN and ExpressVPN appear to be two of the best VPN service providers competing for attention. When comparing and ranking different VPN service providers, you must consider many factors and features. We'll compare NordVPN and ExpressVPN, two of the most popular VPN service providers on the market today.

Speed Test

Users are mainly concerned about their internet speed being slowed down when choosing a VPN service provider. In most cases, using a VPN has little effect on internet speed. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are two of the fastest VPN services available. 

The number of servers a VPN provider has and the number of countries in which those VPN servers are located significantly impact VPN speed. NordVPN has nearly 5,000+ servers in over 60 countries, whereas ExpressVPN has over 3,000 VPN servers in 94 countries. 

But, in addition to the number of servers, it's also essential to check out each provider's full list of servers and countries because some VPN protocols are available in one country but not in another, which should factor into your decision when picking a VPN provider based on speed. 

NordVPN had an excellent connection performance in its local U.S. connection, with an average download speed of 27.58 Mbps, while ExpressVPN was slightly slower at 21.10 Mbps. 

Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN showed high-speed connections when routed through U.K. servers for international connection speeds – from the United States to the United Kingdom. NordVPN had a download speed of 25.6 Mbps, while ExpressVPN had a download speed of 11.65 Mbps.

NordVPN is the clear winner in this category.

Features

VPN users always check for the features offered by a VPN provider, comparing the same with what other providers offer before deciding on which service to sign up with.

    NordVPN features:
  • Military-grade encryption
  • Double VPN
  • CyberSec
  • No logs policy
  • Hide IP address
  • Bitcoin payments
  • DNS protection
  • Automatic kill switch
  • Content access
  • Onion over VPN
  • SmartPlay
  • Streaming
  • High-speed VPN
  • P2P sharing
    ExpressVPN features:
  • Support for all major platforms
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited server switches
  • 99.99% uptime
  • Best-in-class encryption
  • OpenVPN, L2TP-IPsec, SSTP, PPTP
  • No activity logs
  • 3 simultaneous connections
  • 145 + servers, 94 countries
  • Kill switch
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Split tunneling
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Zero-knowledge DNS

It's important to remember that there's no one-size-fits-all solution that can meet all of the needs of different types of businesses of various sizes in various industries. 

One VPN provider may specialize in a small number of applications or be tailored to a specific industry, but nothing in the level of excellence applies to everyone or everything.

NordVPN and ExpressVPN are both winners here.

NordVPN and ExpressVPN are both winners here.

Reliability

Several errors and connection problems occurred while testing NordVPN, though the problem did not occur regularly. Some servers and regions were affected by the issue. 

Even if the problem is rare, receiving an error message asking you to try again is inconvenient. In terms of dependability, ExpressVPN outperforms NordVPN. 

There are no bugs, connection errors, or failures in the server networks. Everything appears to work with ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN is the clear winner in terms of reliability.

Security

When it comes to choosing a VPN provider, security is crucial. People use virtual private networks (VPNs) to protect their online privacy, but not all VPNs are safe to use. Some may even jeopardize your security by invading your online privacy rather than protecting it. 

NordVPN has made a significant investment in security, employing industry-standard encryption algorithms to ensure their users' safety while browsing.

 The following are some of NordVPN's security features:

  • Kill switch – NordVPN automatically kills connection when your connectivity drops, terminating programs or blocking your device from accessing the Internet.
  • DNS leak protection – NordVPN protects you against leaks and negates such leaks.
  • Onion over VPN – It is an extra layer of protection, wherein NordVPN gives you the ability to route your traffic through their VPN and send it later to the Onion Router.
  • SmartPlay – This ensures that you can access more than 400 geo-restricted streaming services.
  • Double data protection – Your connection is chained through two VPNs, which means your data is encrypted twice to the DoubleVPN feature.
  • OpenVPN – OpenVPN comes with 256-AES-CBC with a 2048bit Diffie-Hellman key.

ExpressVPN has many features that work towards maintaining its users' security. The following are some of the features that work towards securing internet connection:

  • Split tunneling – This feature gives users more control over re-routed data. Users can select the traffic they want to re-rout, giving them a level of security without compromising their local network access or internet speeds.
  • Encryptions – Express VPN uses AES-256 encryptions, the same as the encryption adopted by the U.S. government.
  • I.P. masking – ExpressVPN hides your I.P. address and provides you with a shared I.P. based on the server you connect to.
  • Zero-knowledge DNS – ExpressVPN users are safe from censorship, DNS filtering, phishing, and other manipulations.
NordVPN is the clear winner in this category.

Logging Policies

NordVPN is a no-logs provider, having undergone a full audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which confirmed its policy. Therefore, I.P. addresses, traffic logs, connection logs, and other information about a user's internet activity are not stored by NordVPN. 

Users are limited to six connections per subscription with NordVPN, and there is no way to verify a user's account or ensure that the device connection limit is not exceeded. 

NordVPN is not required to collect users' data and information because it is outside U.S. and E.U. jurisdictions. This simply means that nothing is monitored, recorded, logged, stored, or passed to third parties. There are no activity logs or connections from ExpressVPN's users. 

The websites you visit are not seen or recorded by ExpressVPN. It doesn't keep track of the contents or destination of user traffic. For added privacy and anonymity, it uses private, zero-knowledge DNS on each of its many VPN servers. 

ExpressVPN does not keep track of your computer's I.P. address sources, connection timestamps, session duration, or the ExpressVPN address it uses to connect to the VPN.

There is no clear-cut winner here as both NordVPN and ExpressVPN have no-logs policy.

Jurisdiction

Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are based in secure jurisdictions that protect user data. NordVPN's headquarters are in Panama, which is not a member of the 5/9/14 Eyes surveillance groups, according to the company. 

Panama is generally regarded as a good offshore jurisdiction that is free of interference from the United States and Europe. ExpressVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) based in the British Virgin Islands. 

A second reason that the British Virgin Islands is considered a proper jurisdiction is that it is not a member of the 5/09/2014 eyes surveillance groups. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is an independent country with its own legal and judicial systems. 

Both jurisdictions – Panama and the British Virgin Islands – have strong privacy protections in place, making them attractive locations for banking and other businesses that require confidentiality.

NordVPN and ExpressVPN are both winners here.

Streaming Capabilities (Netflix, Hulu, etc.)

Because of the Netflix VPN ban, not all VPNs are guaranteed to work with Netflix. NordVPN and ExpressVPN, on the other hand, have no issues accessing Netflix. With 24/7 access and fast streaming speeds, ExpressVPN is an excellent choice for Netflix. 

The majority of ExpressVPN users have no trouble streaming Netflix. When your Netflix server is blocked, all you have to do is connect to a different server in the United States, and you'll be fine. You can also inquire about which server to use with customer service. 

NordVPN works well with Netflix, though not quite as well as ExpressVPN. Netflix blocks NordVPN more frequently than ExpressVPN, but there are always other servers available to get around it, just as there are with ExpressVPN. 

ExpressVPN is difficult to beat when streaming Netflix and other services like Amazon Prime, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. Even when other VPNs are blocked, ExpressVPN works with these streaming services.

NordVPN and ExpressVPN are both winners here.

Torrenting & File Sharing

In terms of privacy, unblocking, and P2P torrenting, NordVPN and ExpressVPN are nearly identical. Both VPN services provide the same privacy features. 

Despite having over 5000+ servers in over 59 countries, NordVPN torrenting only has P2P-friendly servers in 28 of them. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, has servers in 36 countries around the world. Because of the following, ExpressVPN is the best VPN for torrenting:

  • ExpressVPN offers excellent speeds throughout the server network, working best for large torrent files.
  • The secure apps of ExpressVPN have advanced leak protection – Network Lock – which is crucial for media companies that actively monitor torrent swarms.

NordVPN, on the other hand, has the kill switch that is helpful with security when downloading via torrents.

The competition is close with NordVPN slightly better than ExpressVPN, making it the winner in this category.

Pricing & Plans

Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. When you sign up for a one-year subscription, ExpressVPN will give you three months free. NordVPN is better than ExpressVPN if you plan to sign up for a long period because you can save up to 75% when you sign up for a three-year plan.

NordVPN pricing:

  • Monthly plan – $11.95 per month
  • 1-Year plan – $6.99 per month
  • 2-Year plan – $4.99 per month
  • 3-Year plan – $3.49 per month
NordVPN pricing plan

ExpressVPN pricing:

  • Monthly plan – $12.95 per month
  • 6-Month plan – $9.99 per month
  • 15-Month plan – $6.67 per month
  • 3-Year plan – No such offer
ExpressVPN pricing
NordVPN is the winner in the price category.

Refunds Policy

Unlike PayPal, NordVPN accepts various payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Alipay, cryptocurrencies, etc. 

Unfortunately, NordVPN stopped supporting PayPal in January 2019, which is a major flaw because many users prefer it, especially when there is a dispute over a transaction. 

ExpressVPN accepts various payment methods, including major credit cards, Bitcoin, PayPal, and other third-party payment processors. 

Because of its popularity among users, the PayPal option is a huge plus. In addition, NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, but ExpressVPN offers a no-questions-asked refund. NordVPN, on the other hand, will make every effort to resolve the problem before agreeing to a refund.

ExpressVPN is the winner here because of its slight edge over NordVPN in terms of PayPal support.

Value for Money

When choosing a virtual private network (VPN), it is critical to consider the value that you will receive for your investment. In addition to price, which is an essential factor to consider, there are other considerations to consider. 

No matter how inexpensive, any service will be inconvenient if it does not function properly or is delivered within a reasonable time frame. 

Though it is less expensive than Express VPN, Nord VPN does not provide a comparable value or service quality. Therefore, even though ExpressVPN outperforms NordVPN in terms of performance and features, it is a more cost-effective option than NordVPN in terms of overall value.

Winner in this category is the ExpressVPN.

Work From Home Essential: NordVPN or ExpressVPN?

work from home vpn

Depending on how you approach it, remote work can be simple or complicated. Whatever option you choose, remote work entails specific risks that you should be aware of. The majority of these dangers revolve around online privacy and security. You can easily avoid some risks with a VPN by encrypting all traffic to and from your device. 

Even when using public Wi-Fi, you are safe. In addition, the VPN will route your traffic through an intermediary server, giving the impression that you are connected to a different server. You can then access geo-blocked or censored content you require for your job. 

Now that you know you need a VPN, how do you choose one? If you're deciding between NordVPN and ExpressVPN for your remote work, consider what's most important to you. If price is the most critical factor in your decision, NordVPN is the way to go. 

You can get NordVPN for as little as $3.49 per month. Furthermore, you can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. However, if functionality is essential to you, ExpressVPN may be the way to go. When compared to NordVPN, it is slightly more secure.

For example, while ExpressVPN has virtual servers in 94 different locations, NordVPN only has virtual servers in 56 different locations. 

In comparison to NordVPN, ExpressVPN is slightly more usable. However, because you'll be using it at home, you might want to go with something with good functionality and is simple to operate.

Compare NordVPN and ExpressVPN in Terms of Service

When it comes to service, there isn't much of a difference between ExpressVPN and NordVPN. This is because they are both leaders in the VPN industry in this area. In addition, both companies have a live chat feature on their websites that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Intelligent and friendly staff members handled the live chat systems in both cases. If you have any technical difficulties, you can rest assured that someone will be waiting on the other end of the line to assist you without referring you to someone else. 

We noticed that both service providers respond to emails quickly, which is commendable. If you prefer, you can send them an email with your queries and questions, and they will respond as soon as possible. When responding to emails, they both use a ticketing system. 

Your responses are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. So while ExpressVPN responds to emails in about an hour, NordVPN could take three hours. Keep in mind that these figures are subject to change based on various factors. 

Finally, as industry leaders, both providers have their own landing pages. There, you will find all of the information you require. In addition, this page can assist you in troubleshooting any issues you may have. 

The guides are simple to follow and cover step-by-step procedures for most issues. There's also a section dedicated to frequently asked questions and solutions to significant problems. This section is designed for those who prefer to do things independently rather than rely on others for assistance.

Which Is Better NordVPN or ExpressVPN

nord vs express

NordVPN outperforms ExpressVPN in our review, making it the clear winner as the best VPN provider to use. However, the best VPN service to use is still determined by your requirements. As previously stated, no VPN service can provide you with everything you require. 

NordVPN and ExpressVPN, in particular, offer excellent VPN services and are frequently regarded as the best on the market. However, it is impossible to deny that one can excel in one area while falling short in another. 

Without a doubt, ExpressVPN is a powerful VPN service that outperforms many of its competitors. The VPN service provides fast speeds and access to any Netflix library. It also provides good privacy and is suitable for those willing to spend more money every month. 

NordVPN, on the other hand, is a better option because it is much more affordable. It's very functional, just like ExpressVPN, and has all the features you'll need. In addition, it has special security features that enable you to connect to obfuscated servers. 

It's also a good choice for streaming because of its dedicated I.P. address and unblocking ability. If you're still undecided between NordVPN and ExpressVPN, you can try them both out. 

The good news is that both of them offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to cancel at any time if you are unhappy with the service. So after a few weeks of testing both services, you should be able to make an informed decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ExpressVPN better than NordVPN?

Remember that no VPN provider can provide you with everything you desire. You'll only be able to find a provider who can meet most of your requirements at best. 

As a result, ExpressVPN is better than NordVPN is highly personal with no definitive answer. However, if the price is the most critical factor in choosing a VPN provider, NordVPN is better than ExpressVPN. 

It provides cheaper VPN services across six devices, whereas ExpressVPN is more expensive and only allows for five simultaneous connections.

Is NordVPN the best?

NordVPN is all about providing a reliable VPN service at a low cost. Therefore, it is one of the best options available, especially if you need affordable and dependable. 

Furthermore, NordVPN allows you to connect up to 6 devices simultaneously. Therefore, you are free to use the VPN on as many devices as you want. 

Some services, however, are not available in all areas. Other services provide more virtual servers, faster VPN connection speeds, and unlimited concurrent connections.

Is ExpressVPN illegal?

ExpressVPN is a software program that you can install on your computer or mobile device. The legality or illegality of any tool is determined by its use and the laws of your country. Having a gun, for example, is not a crime in the United States as long as the firearm is registered. 

However, whether your weapon is registered or not, killing someone with it can land you in serious trouble. 

In the same way, owning an Express VPN is legal in the United States as long as you don't use it for illegal purposes. For example, it becomes a crime when you use a VPN to access illegal sites and conduct illegal activities on the Internet.

Conclusion (Overall Winner)

In more categories, NordVPN outperforms ExpressVPN, making it the clear winner as the best VPN provider to use. However, the user's requirements will determine the best VPN provider. 

Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN provide excellent VPN service and are widely regarded as the best on the market. However, it is impossible to deny that one may be superior in one area while falling short in another. 

If you're having trouble deciding between the two, keep in mind that both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

If you are not satisfied with the service after 30 days, you can cancel your subscription. This ExpressVPN vs. NordVPN head-to-head comparison is based on our own personal experiences. Your results may vary.

The Future of Online Security
With 68% Off
server icon
30-day money-back guarantee
By: Michael Miller
Michael is the CEO of VPN Online, one of the fastest-growing media companies in the cyber-security space. VPN Online was started in 2019 after Michael consulted with many Fortune 500 companies and saw the lack of understanding about cybersecurity many of their employees had.