I swore ExpressVPN was the best. Then I switched to NordVPN

I’ve been testing VPNs for some time now and I’ve been utilizing them for even longer—longer than I care to confess right here. That total time I’ve held true to 1 VPN and one VPN solely as my principal each day driver, ExpressVPN. 

I swore up and down and throughout the board that it was the easiest VPN. No matter what number of new providers got here out or novel options have been launched by rivals, I by no means swayed. But it’s lastly time, regardless of how a lot it pains me to confess, NordVPN is now the best VPN.

It wasn’t only one single factor that modified my thoughts, however a gradual build-up of helpful options, higher offers, and a constant edge on speeds. Reluctantly, I’ve made the swap to NordVPN and I believe you must, too.

NordVPN has extra servers

Up till not too long ago I by no means discovered that ExpressVPN was missing in servers. I used to be normally capable of finding them in whichever nation I wished to and even particularly cities. That is till I used to be doing testing for an article the place I sought out servers in particular cities or areas of the U.S. and ExpressVPN simply didn’t have the protection I wanted.

However, after I booted up NordVPN, I simply discovered multitudes of servers in virtually each area of the nation. Everywhere from McAllen, TX, to Charlotte, NC, had obtainable servers—not simply the massive cities.

Neither service discloses precisely what number of servers it has, however based on the newest publicly obtainable knowledge, it isn’t even shut. ExpressVPN at the moment affords round 3,000 energetic servers in 105 nations whereas NordVPN affords over 7,000 in 118 nations. 

It won’t look like you want to connect with VPN servers in particular components of a rustic, however it may truly make a giant distinction. Connecting to a server in nearer bodily proximity to your actual location can translate to raised speeds. Also, as I not too long ago discovered, being strategic concerning the servers you connect with will help save big on hotels and other online shopping. Besides, extra is simply higher.

ExpressVPN isn’t as totally featured

Sam Singleton

When I switched to NordVPN I used to be immediately impressed with the huge array of cool and fascinating options available. There are choices for obfuscated servers, P2P-optimized servers, and multi-hop connections. Users can even benefit from the Meshnet characteristic to securely and simply join units instantly with the intention to share recordsdata, play LAN video games, or collaborate via work tasks. These are all options I wasn’t getting with ExpressVPN.

Sure, ExpressVPN has made a giant push within the final yr to develop and provide further safety features to customers, nevertheless it nonetheless can’t match NordVPN in the meanwhile. Even with the addition of its Password Manager and Identity Defender add-ons, all of which Nord was already providing by the way in which, ExpressVPN nonetheless feels modest compared.

I’ll say that I nonetheless like ExpressVPN’s interface higher, because it’s easy and dead-simple to make use of—NordVPN’s interface isn’t dangerous, however it may really feel a bit cluttered. Alas, the interface wasn’t sufficient for me to remain. All of the helpful and fascinating options built-in into NordVPN have been a giant a part of my swap. Now that I’m used to the flexibility of Nord, I’m loath to provide it up.

NordLynx narrowly outshines Lightway

Sam Singleton

While the 2 most typical VPN protocols, WireGuard and OpenVPN, are utilized by most VPN providers, Nord and ExpressVPN determined to create their very own. NordVPN constructed NordLynx and ExpressVPN constructed Lightway, each releasing at across the identical time in 2020. 

Both are primarily based, instantly or not directly, on the unique WireGuard protocol and so they share way more in frequent than not, however there are some noticeable variations. The first is pace. NordLynx has proven to have persistently sooner common connection speeds than Lightway in my testing. Over the years I’ve achieved 1000’s of pace exams with each of those protocols and NordLynx virtually at all times comes out on prime.

Secondly, NordLynx has been open-source since launch whereas Lightway was developed and examined in non-public, solely not too long ago being launched as open-source. This could not imply an excessive amount of, however transparency from the outset is to be recommended, if nothing else.

Look, I belief ExpressVPN. I wouldn’t have been utilizing it for as a few years as I used to be if I didn’t. That being the case, WireGuard is the trade normal for a motive and NordLynx is simply WireGuard by a distinct title. It‘s what most other VPNs choose to use, and besides, if Lightway was so good, you’d seemingly see extra VPN providers clamoring to make use of it or create their very own model of it.

I belief WireGuard and due to this fact I belief NordLynx to be my protocol of selection.

NordVPN’s speeds can’t be beat

As I discussed above, NordVPN persistently performs at sooner connection speeds than ExpressVPN. This contains wins in each obtain and add common speeds. In reality, NordVPN has been the fastest VPN for 3 years working at this level and doesn’t present any indicators of relinquishing that title.  

This shouldn’t be seen as an excessive amount of of a slight on ExpressVPN although because it’s truly a detailed second. But it’s exactly these sorts of minor variations that led me to lastly make the swap.

The real-world variations is perhaps small right here, however working from house means I do quite a lot of file transfers and on-line conferences, so the additional pace issues. For what it’s price although, ExpressVPN simply launched its Lightway Turbo replace so this all could change sooner or later—such is the fickle nature of VPN connection speeds.

Further studying: How to test your VPN speed

The offers are higher with Nord

VPNs, whereas not the costliest providers, nonetheless aren’t precisely low-cost. Thankfully, there are great VPN deals to be had all year long, and should you time it accurately you’ll be able to rating a long-term subscription for pennies on the greenback. 

Both ExpressVPN and NordVPN are a number of the costliest VPN providers available on the market, so discovering offers on both can really feel like hitting main pay filth.

That being stated, NordVPN typically affords extra frequent reductions all year long and these offers normally provide larger financial savings than ExpressVPN’s offers. 

For instance, whereas NordVPN and ExpressVPN cost roughly related costs for his or her common 2-year plans, throughout Black Friday final yr their respective offers informed a distinct story. NordVPN was providing its 2-year plan for 74 % off whereas ExpressVPN supplied only a 61 % low cost. 

Taking benefit of nice offers is among the best methods to avoid wasting your self cash with frequent on-line providers. Personally, I at all times search for VPN offers each time my subscription plan is about to expire. Then I exploit that financial savings to pay for my favourite streaming service—it’s one of many causes I began utilizing a VPN within the first place all these years in the past.

Finally, switching to NordVPN was simply one other no-brainer approach for me to avoid wasting much more cash within the long-run.