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So you're wanting to pick the best VPN for your needs.
You've seen the ads everywhere for NordVPN and ExpressVPN
and you're wondering which one is right for you.
Before shelling out for a one to two year commitment
as a standard in the VPN industry,
it's important to know the strengths and weaknesses
of each option.
That's why today I'm comparing NordVPN and ExpressVPN
to help you pick the right one.
Starting off with NordVPN.
You can get a two year subscription for $89,
a one-year subscription for $59
or a one month subscription for 11.95.
All plans offer a 30 day money back guarantee,
so you can confidently purchase the two year subscription
for savings and get a refund
if you aren't happy with the performance.
NordVPN has had its fair share
of privacy scandals over the years.
In October of 2019, NordVPN confirmed it was hacked
with a breach that could allow hackers
to imitate NordVPN servers and potentially view user data.
NordVPN passed off the blame to their data center
saying there was an insecure system left in place
that allowed this.
For a privacy and security company,
I would say NordVPN is solely responsible
for this security hole,
but they tried to pass off the blame to a third party.
NordVPN covers the basics of privacy standards
with a strict no-logs policy
and they're under Panama jurisdiction
where data collection laws are not a concern.
If privacy is your number one priority,
it's hard to trust NordVPN after the security compromise.
However, if you just need a VPN for streaming,
NordVPN could be a good choice.
We'll get into the performance in a bit,
but first let's take a look at the app UI.
NordVPN has a simple but robust UI
that allows you to pick servers optimized for downloads,
speed browsing and peer to peer
based on presets you define.
You can pick a country and within each country
you can pick an exact server.
In select countries like the US you can also pick your city
to get the VPN server closest to you.
NordVPN offers additional features
like a kill switch and CyberSec.
I like CyberSec because it lets you block ads
on an iOS device with ease.
But CyberSec is useful on all devices
as it also blocks access to malicious websites.
When it comes to performance,
NordVPN has the best speeds I've ever experienced
in the VPN industry.
Their in-house NordLynx protocol is lightning fast.
On my one gigabit internet connection,
I average download speeds of 691 megabits per second
with NordLynx.
For reference, my control test
When I disconnected from NordVPN
averaged around 864 megabits per second down.
In other words, it seems like the ceiling for NordVPN
speeds are around 700 megabits per second down.
So I would expect if your internet is any slower than that,
you can expect nearly full speed internet
with no noticeable slowdowns.
Streaming was an interesting case
with both NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
Will pass tests have generally been decent with both VPNs.
Each VPN did particularly poorly this time around.
I tested Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and Prime Video with NordVPN
and each streaming service blocked me
for using a VPN except Netflix.
So I think a VPN for streaming, keep this in mind.
I do wanna give a big disclaimer and say that,
I never use a VPN for streaming,
I don't watch region locked shows
and I typically stream from my TV
which I don't have connected to my VPN.
So these fabricated tests don't show the whole story
of real-world streaming use.
I honestly would take the streaming results
with a grain of salt and try either of these VPNs
if they stand out,
and request a refund within 30 days,
if it's not working for your setup.
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and now let's take a look at ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN is significantly more than costly than NordVPN.
A one-year subscription is 99.95,
a six month subscription is 59.95
and a one month subscription is 12.95.
Just like NordVPN,
all plans come with the 30 day money back guarantee.
But unlike NordVPN,
ExpressVPN does not charge sales tax in the US
at the time of filming this video.
NordVPN does charge US sales tax.
So that's something to keep in mind.
ExpressVPN generally has
a cleaner reputation than NordVPN.
I'm not saying ExpressVPN is perfect.
I think every large commercial VPN provider
has its quirks or points of concern
in one area at one another.
But ExpressVPN hasn't had any major hacks
and you can see their commitment to privacy
on their website.
ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands,
another location known for its lack of data collection laws.
Add to that restrict no-logs policy
and ExpressVPN has following
the industry standard methods
to keep your browsing data private.
I especially like the trust page
you'll find in the footer of their website.
It outlines key strategies
and security systems they utilize in great detail.
It's a new level of transparency
you don't normally see from popular VPNs.
The ExpressVPN app is much more scaled down than NordVPN.
You have a power button to quickly connect and disconnect,
and you can click the location to open a new window
to select your country or city.
You can't select specific servers like with NordVPN
and there's not different servers for different purposes.
It's really simple.
Just connect to your desired location and move on with life.
ExpressVPN does have a kill switch,
but there's no ad blocker or malicious site filter
like CyberSec in NordVPN.
Performance is respectable, but not as fast as NordVPN.
The new lightweight protocol average
is 458 megabits per second down
on my one gigabit internet connection.
So, well not as fast as NordVPN
691 megabit per second average,
ExpressVPN is still fast enough
for most people to not notice any slowdowns
on their connection.
As mentioned earlier, both VPNs had struggles
with streaming services.
ExpressVPN generally fared worse than NordVPN
Failing about half the time to stream Netflix,
but both VPNs did extremely poorly in this area.
I don't ever stream on VPNs anyway.
So take these results with a grain of salt.
ExpressVPN can have up to five devices connected at once,
where NordVPN can have up to six devices connected at once.
At the end of the day,
I think NordVPN offers superior performance
and a better experience hanks to a few more options,
blazing fast speeds and the CyberSec feature.
With that being said,
I would be weary about using NordVPN
if privacy is truly important to you.
If all you want to do is stream region log shows
and have some general protection on public wifi,
NordVPN will do the trick.
But if you're getting a VPN to keep spying eyes away,
this is where ExpressVPN wins.
For my use case, I use a VPN for privacy and security.
And since that's my main priority,
I choose to use ExpressVPN.
If you wanna see how other VPNs
like Surfshark and IPVanish compare,
check out my ultimate VPN comparison linked below.
Regardless of which option you pick,
be sure to use the links below
for exclusive offers on both VPNs.
Also be sure to take advantage of the exclusive Bookmark
promo code at the link in the description below.
With that said, I'll catch you guys next time.