NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN – Read This Before You Choose [2022]

Choosing between two of the biggest names in providing VPN services, NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN, can be quite a dilemma. In this head-to-head comparison, I’ll help you decide the best one for you.

Virtual private networks or VPNs give us privacy and security when browsing the web. As someone who values privacy and security personally, I prepared this guide so that by the end of the article, you’ll be able to choose the one that suits your needs.

It’s essential to know all the necessary information before you make a decision. That’s why I’ll share the important features, pros and cons, pricing, and more of NordVPN and ExpressVPN with you.

Let’s not waste any more time and get right to it.

1. NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN At A Glance

As two of the household names in VPN services, let’s look at this NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN comparison to see how they fare against each other at a quick glance.

4.9	4.7
Best Overall. Complete list of features with an affordable pricing plan as compared to near competitors. Starts at $11.95/month.	Best for speed. Fast connectivity while ensuring security and privacy in internet surfing. Starts at $12.95/month.
Try NordVPN	Try ExpressVPN

2. Who Is NordVPN Best For?

NordVPN is perfect for those looking for a fast and affordable VPN service that provides advanced security and privacy features for worry-free access to the internet. Journalists, political activists, content creators, businesses, and people who value internet privacy, anonymity, and security deeply will find that NordVPN meets their needs and expectations.

Based in Panama, NordVPN is under a safe jurisdiction with no mandatory data retention laws, enabling them to uphold its zero-logs policy. NordVPN’s servers are in over 59 countries, and NordVPN’s location is also outside the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes surveillance alliance, which is of significant importance for those who value privacy.

3. Who Is ExpressVPN Best For?

ExpressVPN is suitable for those who want a premium VPN service provider that promises incredible speeds and excellent security and privacy features for worry-free internet access. Like NordVPN, individuals, students, families, businesses, digital nomads, and people who take internet privacy, security, and anonymity seriously will find ExpressVPN to suit their needs.

Located in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN is also in a place with no mandatory data retention laws, allowing it to uphold its zero-logs policy. ExpressVPN also has servers in more than 90 countries.

Like NordVPN, ExpressVPN is also outside the jurisdiction of the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes surveillance alliance, which is of extreme importance for private people.

4. A Close Look At The Features Of NordVPN and ExpressVPN

Let’s take a look at the features of NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN. Which of these features makes each of them stand out?

Features
No-Logs Policy
Split Tunneling
Kill Switch
IP Address Masking
Strong Encryption
Dedicated IP
Multihop/Double VPN
Tracking & Malware Protection
Simultaneous Connections
Works In China
Get Started	Try NordVPN	Try ExpressVPN

NordVPN comes on top when it comes to features as it provides users with more advanced features that other VPN service providers do not have. NordVPN’s Double VPN and CyberSec are winning features for users who value privacy and security with extreme importance.

Burkhard Berger

5. Key Features Of NordVPN

Let’s take a look at NordVPN’s features that provide excellent protection and security over the web.

#1 NordVPN’s No-Logs Policy

NordVPN values your privacy to the highest. NordVPN’s number one policy is that they don’t track, collect, or share any of your private data. 

Without a VPN, your online traffic passes through your internet service provider, and they can see everything you do online. But with NordVPN, your ISP cannot track your behavior and what you do on the internet anymore.

NordVPN promises you a zero-logs VPN service. NordVPN does not collect nor store connection time stamps, session information, traffic data, bandwidth usage, IP addresses, or other data.

One of the four biggest auditing firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, approved NordVPN’s no-logging claims and concluded that NordVPN’s policy description is fair and accurate.

Being based in Panama, a place not under the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes have no jurisdiction over, NordVPN is under no legal obligation to collect your data even if someone asks for it.

#2 Split Tunneling with NordVPN

NordVPN comes with VPN split-tunneling to protect your data without losing access to your local networks and services. With NordVPN’s split tunneling, you have the freedom to choose what to leave out of the secure encrypted tunnel and what can access the internet directly.

NordVPN offers three types of split tunneling app exclusion, inverse split, and specifying URLs.

App exclusion is available in NordVPN’s Android and Windows app. With this, you choose specific apps to exclude from the tunnel.

The inverse split is available on the NordVPN Windows app. The inverse split tunneling lets you encrypt traffic from selected programs.

NordVPN offers to specify URLs tunneling via browser-based VPN extensions that let you select which URLs need VPN protection.

#3 NordVPN Kill Switch

NordVPN provides you with a VPN Kill Switch that monitors your connection to the VPN server continuously. When your VPN connection accidentally drops, the Kill Switch will block your device or the apps you specified from accessing the web. 

NordVPN’s Kill Switch is your last line of defense that secures your data from accidental exposure.

NordVPN offers you two versions of the Kill Switch feature system-wide and app-level.

NordVPN integrates the system-wide kill switch in the NordVPN apps for Linux, iOS, and macOS that prompts a system-wide network lock when your VPN connection drops. NordVPN app on Android 7.0 or later has a built-in kill switch in the device’s setting, and in the Windows app, you can choose between system-wide and app-level.

The app-level kill switch is available in NordVPN apps for Windows and macOS and lets you specify which applications to block when your connection to a NordVPN server drops.

The kill switch works by continuously observing your connection to a NordVPN server and looking for changes in the status or IP address. It then instantly detects if your connection drops.

Once it detects a connection drop, the kill switch will block your device or the selected apps from accessing the internet if you enabled the internet or the app kill switch. Once NordVPN re-establishes a connection to a tunnel, the Kill switch restores your internet connection.

#4 NordVPN CyberSec

One feature that NordVPN has that other VPN services rarely provide is its tracking and malware protection feature with CyberSec. With CyberSec, NordVPN takes your security and privacy to the next level.

Like some antivirus software such as Bitdefender and Kaspersky, NordVPN Cybersec keeps you safe from online threats by blocking websites known for hosting malware or phishing scam. CyberSec has an adblocker feature that blocks annoying and intrusive ads, speeding up your browsing experience.

When using CyberSec, you get three main benefits blocking dangerous websites, avoiding botnet control, and skipping intrusive ads.

CyberSec’s main task is to protect you from cyber threats such as phishing scams. CyberSec compares the address of the website you’re going to visit against an extensive database of blacklisted sites and blocks access if you try to enter a site that’s a hit.

Aside from phishing scams, with CyberSec, your device will be safe from participating in DDOS attacks. CyberSec detects and cuts any communication between your device and the command and control server of the botnet.

Lastly, when you have CyberSec, it hides all unwanted pop-up ads, autoplay video ads, and other annoying and intrusive advertising material when you enter a website. Blocking these ads will improve the load speed of the site and save your mobile data.

#5 NordVPN’s Double VPN

NordVPN comes with a Double VPN, which encrypts your internet twice to protect you from online tracking and cyber threats.

Double VPN is NordVPN’s advanced VPN security feature that routes your internet traffic through two VPN servers, encrypting your data twice. With this, your online activity hides behind two servers instead of one, known as VPN server chaining.

With Double VPN, NordVPN protects all your data with an extra layer of encryption, making it twice as hard for malicious entities to decipher. Your connections are also a mix of UDP and TCP protocols to increase the security level of your online activities.

Double VPN provides you with IP protection since the first VPN server changes your actual IP address and the second VPN server has no information about you. Also, Double VPN guarantees you complete privacy that not even your ISP can see your final destination on the web; all they know is that you are using a VPN service.

6. Key Features Of ExpressVPN

Here are ExpressVPN’s features dedicated to giving you the best security and protection as you surf through the web.

#1 ExpressVPN’s No-Logs Policy

ExpressVPN’s core mission is to give customers a way to use the internet privately and securely with a VPN’s help. ExpressVPN dedicates itself to guaranteeing your privacy and being transparent about the information they do and do not collect.

ExpressVPN designed its apps and VPN servers to eliminate sensitive information. ExpressVPN promises that it does not and will never log your IP addresses, browsing history, traffic destination or metadata, and DNS queries.

The minimal information that ExpressVPN collects, such as apps and app versions successfully activated, dates when connected to the VPN service, chosen VPN server location, and total amount of data transferred per day does not let ExpressVPN or anyone match an individual to a specific network activity or behavior.

ExpressVPN collects information for troubleshooting technical issues related to ExpressVPN apps, providing technical support to customers, and enabling ExpressVPN engineers to identify and fix network issues.

When choosing a VPN service, make sure to know and understand their privacy policy so you know whether they keep any information that other parties can use to identify you.

Burkhard Berger

#2 ExpressVPN Split Tunneling

ExpressVPN split tunneling has some of your devices and apps access the internet directly while routing the others through an encrypted VPN tunnel. With this, you can specify the traffic you want to protect and still have access to local network devices.

Usually, without split tunneling, you may experience that you can’t access foreign and local internet services at the same time, you can’t access LAN devices when you’re using VPN, and your VPN uses up your bandwidth in transmitting data. 

But with split-tunneling, you can access foreign internet services while using local internet services, download safely without throttling your other web activity and access your local network devices while still being connected to the VPN.

ExpressVPN offers split tunneling and inverse split tunneling. Split tunneling protects all connected devices and apps except those you specifically excluded, while inverse split tunneling protects only specific devices or applications and everything else flows outside your VPN.

#3 ExpressVPN Network Lock

ExpressVPN offers you a kill switch in the form of a Network Lock. Network Lock blocks all internet traffic when your VPN connection drops.

ExpressVPN’s kill switch works by immediately stopping traffic from entering or leaving your device once ExpressVPN detects an interruption on your VPN connection. Stopping all online activity keeps your personal information secure and prevents exposure to your ISP and third parties.

#4 Strong Encryption with ExpressVPN

One of ExpressVPN’s powerful features, aside from hiding your IP address and mixing your traffic, is its strong encryption of your traffic. 

ExpressVPN’s encryption of your traffic between secure VPN servers and your computer allows your ISP or any third parties cannot read your traffic. The encryption is AES with 256-bit keys, known as AES-256.

The U.S. government, banks, and security experts worldwide use the AES-256 encryption to protect classified information. 

A brute-force attack on the AES-256 is impossible in our lifetime with our current technology. With this, you can be sure that ExpressVPN uses the best encryption to protect your data.

#5 IP Address Masking by ExpressVPN

When connecting to the internet via a VPN, your VPN creates a tunnel between your device and the internet. Your VPN masks your IP address with its IP address in this tunneling process.

Your IP address holds a lot of information about you. By not hiding your IP address, you may be revealing more details about your location, identity, and activity, letting other parties have the power to control your online experience.

With ExpressVPN, you mask your IP address, thereby protecting your location, identity, and online activity from anyone.

By hiding your IP address, you are hiding your location since IP addresses have close ties to your physical location. 

Besides hiding your location, hiding your IP address also protects your identity since each device on the internet has a unique public IP address. The IP address is a key to identifying that device and can trace back to a person.

Hiding your IP address will also give you the freedom to have control over your internet experience. You can use your ExpressVPN to defeat censorship and have access to the internet without barriers.

7. NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN – Pros And Cons

All VPN service providers have their pros and cons. Let’s take at the pros and cons of NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN.

Here are NordVPN’s pros and cons to help you decide if this is what you’re looking for.

NordVPN:

Pros	Cons
Lots of servers in many countries	Some servers are not ideal for torrenting
Accepts cryptocurrency payments	No free trial, just a 30-day money-back guarantee
Packed with lots of security features
Has multihop, tor, and split-tunneling connections
Fast and stable connection speed
Zero-log policy and No DNS leaks
Outside of Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes countries

Take a closer look at ExpressVPN’s pros and cons and figure out if it meets your needs.

ExpressVPN:

Pros	Cons
Numerous servers in 94 countries	A bit pricey
No-logs policy	No free trial, just a 30-day money-back guarantee
DNS leaks protection
Strong Encryption
Works well in China
Outside of Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes countries

8. Where Do I Get The Most For My Money?

Now, between NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN, which one gives you the most bang for your buck? Which of these two VPN service providers is worth the investment?

I’ll be showing you NordVPN and ExpressVPN’s pricing plans.

NordVPN Pricing Plan

All NordVPN plans include all NordVPN apps and features* for all devices. No need for a separate subscription for your mobile devices.

All NordVPN subscription plans give you access to over 5,500 servers worldwide, a guaranteed no-logs policy, lets you connect six devices simultaneously. 

The plans are as follows:

• 2-year plan (Exclusive Deal: $3.71/month, $89.00 for the first two years; Regular: $286.80 for two years) 
• 1-year plan ($4.92/month, $59.00 for the first year; Regular: $143.40)
• 1-month plan ($11.95/month)

* The dedicated IP server is not included in the NordVPN subscription plans. It requires an active subscription and can be added on top of your active subscription for $70.

NordVPN plans also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

ExpressVPN Pricing Plan

All ExpressVPN plans include all ExpressVPN apps, 24/7 customer support, and high-speed unlimited bandwidth.

All ExpressVPN subscription gives you access to 24/7 customer support by live chat, ultra-fast servers in 94 countries, apps for all your desktop and mobile devices, excellent security and strong encryption, and guaranteed no activity logs and no connection logs. 

The plans are as follows:

• 12 months (Discounted: $8.32/month, $99.85 billed every 12 months; Regular: $12.95/month, $155.40 billed every 12 months)
• Six months ($9.99/month, $59.95 billed every six months)
• One month ($12.95/month)

ExpressVPN covers all plans with a no-hassle 100% money-back guarantee for your first 30 days of service.

9. Conclusion – Which Is Better: NordVPN Or ExpressVPN?

As the end draws near, it’s time to decide which is the better VPN service provider between NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN.

The fight between NordVPN and ExpressVPN was a close one, but NordVPN emerged as the winner with its affordable pricing plans that come with excellent and advanced security and protection features. NordVPN offers more features at cheaper costs than ExpressVPN currently has. 

ExpressVPN is still one of the best VPN service providers out there. ExpressVPN is still a great choice if cost is not an issue, and its security and protection features are almost toe-to-toe with what NordVPN has to offer.

10. NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN – FAQ

Here, I will answer four of the most frequently asked questions about NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN.

Is ExpressVPN better than NordVPN?

NordVPN wins over ExpressVPN when it comes to price and features, but ExpressVPN is still a great choice because its security and protection features are almost at par with what NordVPN has to offer.

Can ExpressVPN be traced?

No. ExpressVPN has a no-logs policy, meaning they never log user data in any way, and since there is no logged user data, no one can trace it.

Is NordVPN still safe?

NordVPN is a reliable and trustworthy option that provides excellent and advanced security and protection features. Also, since it is in Panama, NordVPN is outside of any surveillance jurisdictions.

Is NordVPN owned by China?

No, Tefincom & Co. owns NordVPN and is a Panama-based company.