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ExpressVPN and NordVPN are industry leaders with vast server networks, fast speeds, and verified privacy policies. Both price their services a cut above the competition, and each has solid justifications for that premium. Both are Editors' Choice winners and place highly on our list of the best VPNs. So, which one is right for you? We've thoroughly tested both services and are here to walk you through their most important features to help you decide.
Full Specs
| ExpressVPN | NordVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks Ads | ||
| Blocks Ads | ||
| Simultaneous VPN Connections | ||
| Simultaneous VPN Connections | 8 | 6 |
| 500+ Servers | ||
| 500+ Servers | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Server Locations | 105 Countries | 118 countries |
| Geographically Diverse Servers | ||
| Geographically Diverse Servers | ||
| Free Version | ||
| Free Version | ||
| Free Version Data Limit | ||
| Free Version Data Limit | No Free Version | No Free Version |
Price
You can get a monthly subscription to ExpressVPN for $12.95. That price gets you the VPN, an ad/tracker blocker, password manager, ID theft alerts, and a 1GB eSIM. While ExpressVPN doesn’t have varying plan profiles, you do get some bonuses if you pay for the service's two-year subscription plan up front. Those benefits include ID theft insurance, a credit scanner, and a data removal tool.
Nord has four different price tiers: Basic, Plus, Complete, and Prime. The Basic plan gets you just the VPN for $12.99 a month, while the other plans tack on a bunch of extras. The Plus plan is $13.99 and gives you malware protection, ad and tracker blockers, and a password manager. The Complete plan at $14.99 has all of the same features as well as 1TB of encrypted cloud storage. Last, the Prime plan comes in at $17.99 and adds on dark web monitoring, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and cyber extortion insurance.
It's worth mentioning that NordVPN is facing a class-action lawsuit in California and North Carolina for allegedly engaging in deceitful “automatic renewal” practices. While we won’t factor these claims into our coverage of Nord until the suit settles, we are keeping our eyes on the proceedings.
You can’t try either VPN without paying, as neither offers a free plan or trial. Both services offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can give each one a whirl to see if it's right for you. If not, you can get a full refund within that 30-day return window.
Ultimately, ExpressVPN wins due to its simple price structure and more generous feature set. Nord's pricing tiers are convoluted and make it difficult to be fully aware of what you’re getting. ExpressVPN’s monthly plan also gives an equivalent feature set to Nord's Plus plan for about a dollar less per month.
Winner: ExpressVPN
Privacy
You need a VPN that you can trust with your data. Otherwise, the company could profit from your personal information in the same way that your ISP can. We evaluate each service's privacy policy, consult with the company to verify its claims, and look at real-world events to see if those policies have been put to the test.
NordVPN has an accessible privacy policy that outlines exactly what data the company keeps and why. It’s not much. Nord keeps your email and payment details, which is normal for a service with online payments. Additionally, it retains your username and the time of your last session, and that data is deleted 15 minutes after you have disconnected from the VPN. We consulted with a representative from Nord and were able to confirm that the company does not engage in the aggregation or selling of user data. The service has also gone through a handful of third-party audits by Cure53 and Deloitte that verified the company’s compliance with its own privacy policies. Lastly, Nord is incorporated in Panama, whose government does not require that companies retain any user data.
ExpressVPN’s privacy policy is equally transparent. However, ExpressVPN retains some anonymized data. It keeps track of how much data is transferred by each user, which location you have connected to, and the date you last connected to each location. ExpressVPN claims this data is completely anonymized and can’t be tied back to you. Real-world events have backed this claim up. Turkish officials attempted to seize data from ExpressVPN servers in 2019 and came away empty-handed. ExpressVPN is also headquartered in a country with no data retention laws, the British Virgin Islands.
While we would trust both VPNs with our data, NordVPN wins this round since it doesn’t keep any significant information on users, while ExpressVPN does keep data, albeit anonymized.
Winner: NordVPN
Interface and Usability
Some elements of design are subjective. What we find sleek and streamlined may seem garish to you. That said, we do try to focus on the objective elements in this section.
ExpressVPN has an off-white and red design with big, simple buttons. Its aesthetic is light and airy without being too bright. You can also switch it over to dark mode if you’d rather the more traditional black with colored accents look that you’ll see from competitors. This design focus is standardized across Android, Windows, iPhone, macOS, and linux (if you choose to use the GUI). You’re not too likely to get lost. The interface is friendly to beginners with a power button in the center of the application. Pressing it will turn the interface green and tell you the server you are connected to. It defaults to the Smart location, which is often the nearest server to you.
The more advanced features and server menus are tucked away behind hamburger buttons that expand to show you further options separated by useful icons. Each feature is labeled and clearly explained within the app. Many competing apps will simply label features with no explanation, so ExpressVPN does well here by explaining what each feature does in the menus.
However, ExpressVPN interfaces all feel like mobile apps. The desktop and mobile interfaces are quite similar, which is great for consistency. Although it feels like there’s wasted potential with the desktop interface for more information, like a server map or more details on your server of choice.
NordVPN also takes a light approach to the app’s default appearance with a bright white backdrop accented by blues. That can also be toggled to a dark mode if you prefer. Just like ExpressVPN, Nord keeps things consistent across all supported platforms. The main difference is that Nord gives you a map when you first login, which makes it easier to see exactly where you are connecting to. It’s not as simple as a single-button interface, but we think the extra information offers more clarity.
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What sets NordVPN’s ease of use apart is its onboarding wizard. Once you boot the app up, you’re walked through how to connect to a server, prompted to install any add-ons that you purchased, and it’ll even help you set up a browser extension. The app will also automatically connect and retrieve your prior settings when you boot it up the next time. Additional features and settings are a bit more accessible with Nord. Instead of tucking away icons under menus, those icons are all visible from the home screen. You can click through a range of advanced settings that are as well-explained as ExpressVPN.
Winner: NordVPN
Server Network
Take these numbers with a grain of salt. Server networks are dynamic and change frequently. The numbers provided will be best used as a baseline for what you can expect from the VPN.
NordVPN has over 7,000 servers spread across 118 countries. All of these servers support NordLynx, IKEv2/IPSec, and OpenVPN UDP/TCP. Nord's server list is pretty handy and lets you know which city the server is based in, what sort of additional features it supports, and whether the server is a physical one or a virtual one.
ExpressVPN clocks in at roughly 3,000 servers in 105 countries. Each one supports Lightway UDP/TCP, OpenVPN UDP/TCP, and IKEv2. You don’t get as many details from ExpressVPN’s server list. Only countries with multiple servers tell you which city the server is based in, nor do you get details on whether the server is physical or virtual.
While both networks are impressive, NordVPN takes a clear lead with a detailed server list and more comprehensive global coverage.
Winner: NordVPN
Speed and Performance
We catalog and maintain up-to-date results for download speeds, upload speeds, and latency scores for all VPNs we test:
ExpressVPN’s upload speed reduction of just 7.50% far exceeds the median reduction of 34.41%. Its download speed reduction was minimal as well, at just 0.91%. Latency was right on par, with a 26.82% increase. All in all, these are excellent results that put ExpressVPN as one of the industry leaders when it comes to speed.
NordVPN actually improved our download speeds by 3.8%. Now, keep in mind that this may not be true for you based on your location, base internet speeds, and server choice. We go over exactly how this increase happened in our article on the fastest VPNs. Still, Nord has consistently delivered above-average speeds. Upload speeds were a bit worse than ExpressVPN, at an increase of 38.37% and a latency bump to 29.26%.
Choosing a winner between the two isn’t fair since all of these speeds fall within a few percentage points, which is within a reasonable margin of error. You can’t go wrong with either service if your main concern is server performance and speed.
Winner: Tie
Streaming Netflix
As part of our VPN testing procedures, we check to see if the service can access Netflix in Australia, Canada, Japan, the US, and the UK. We qualify our results by how much of the Netflix catalog the service can access in each region. The categories are Open, Blocked, and Limited. The chart below gives more insight into what each classification means:
NordVPN and ExpressVPN both excel in accessing Netflix with completely Open catalogs across the board.
Winner: Tie
And The Winner Is...
NordVPN
As evidenced by their Editors' Choice designations, you can’t go wrong with either of these VPNs. That said, NordVPN ekes out a win with a slightly better user experience, a larger server network, and better data practices. ExpressVPN is still a compelling alternative with a lower entry price and better cost-to-feature ratio compared with Nord's basic plan. Both services offer reliable connections, industry-leading speeds, unparalleled streaming access, and respectable server networks.
