We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
Editor's Note: We value our relationship with our readers, and we strive to earn your trust through transparency and integrity. We are in the same ownership group as some of the industry-leading products reviewed on this site: ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Private Internet Access, and Intego. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.
"We ran several side-by-side tests between Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN and each time ExpressVPN came out on top. There are many things that we like about PIA, but ExpressVPN was able to match them all and then some.
We noticed the biggest difference when it came to speed, no matter what servers we connected with, Express was consistently faster than PIA. "
Although PIA offers unlimited bandwidth and has a lot of servers, the server locations aren’t so spread out, and users occasionally experience lags in speed. ExpressVPN, on the other hand, consistently provides really fast connections and the kind of internet speeds you want for bufferless streaming and downloading torrents.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Download speed reduction | 11% (UK) | 35% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 16% (FRA) | 39% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 24ms | 35ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 11ms | 10ms |
| Unblock successful for |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
With over 35,000 servers, PIA actually has way more servers than ExpressVPN, but with 90 country options, its selection is more limited. ExpressVPN has 3,300+ servers (still not a small number), located in 105 countries.
| VPN vendor |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 3,300 | 35000 |
| Server Countries | 105 | 90 |
| IP Addresses | 1,500+ | 3,236+ |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
ExpressVPN has a much stronger customer support network than PIA. In addition to a multitude of tutorials and setup guides, ExpressVPN has email and social media support, and a 24/7 live chat. PIA also has tutorials, guides, and live chat — but the live chat often takes around 10 minutes to connect.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 0.3 | 24 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
With its intuitive, user friendly interface and lightning fast speeds, ExpressVPN offers a service that’s hard to beat. They go above and beyond the usual security features by using double VPN (meaning your internet traffic goes through two servers instead of one) and by controlling all their own servers, with no third parties involved.
Plus, ExpressVPN takes your privacy really seriously. It’s based outside the 14-Eye network, and doesn’t keep any logs on user activity.
PIA is really easy to install and use, has apps for all major operating systems, and provides tight security. Where it comes up a little short is when it comes to customer service, and providing access to geo-restricted content.
Additionally, those whose main concern is privacy won’t like the fact that its based in the US, which doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to internet privacy.
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