I’ve been testing VPNs for a while now and I’ve been using them for even longer—longer than I care to admit here. That entire time I’ve held true to one VPN and one VPN only as my main daily driver, ExpressVPN.
I swore up and down and across the board that it was the very best VPN. No matter how many new services came out or novel features were released by competitors, I never swayed. But it’s finally time, no matter how much it pains me to admit, NordVPN is now the best VPN.
It wasn’t just one single thing that changed my mind, but a gradual build-up of useful features, better deals, and a consistent edge on speeds. Reluctantly, I’ve made the switch to NordVPN and I think you should, too.
NordVPN has more servers
NordVPN has a huge server network including locations all across the U.S.
Jared Newman / Foundry
Up until recently I never found that ExpressVPN was lacking in servers. I was usually able to find them in whichever country I wanted to and even in particular cities. That is until I was doing testing for an article where I sought out servers in specific cities or regions of the U.S. and ExpressVPN just didn’t have the coverage I needed.
However, when I booted up NordVPN, I easily found multitudes of servers in practically every region of the country. Everywhere from McAllen, TX, to Charlotte, NC, had available servers—not just the big cities.
Neither service discloses exactly how many servers it has, but according to the latest publicly available data, it isn’t even close. ExpressVPN currently offers around 3,000 active servers in 105 countries while NordVPN offers over 7,000 in 118 countries.
It might not seem like you need to connect to VPN servers in specific parts of a country, but it can actually make a big difference. Connecting to a server in closer physical proximity to your real location can translate to better speeds. Also, as I recently found out, being strategic about the servers you connect to can help save big on hotels and other online shopping. Besides, more is just better.
ExpressVPN isn’t as fully featured
NordVPN is so stacked with features that ExpressVPN simply can’t match it.
Sam Singleton
When I switched to NordVPN I was instantly impressed with the vast array of cool and interesting features on hand. There are options for obfuscated servers, P2P-optimized servers, and multi-hop connections. Users can also take advantage of the Meshnet feature to securely and easily connect devices directly in order to share files, play LAN games, or collaborate through work projects. These are all features I wasn’t getting with ExpressVPN.
Sure, ExpressVPN has made a big push in the last year to develop and offer additional security features to users, but it still can’t match NordVPN at the moment. Even with the addition of its Password Manager and Identity Defender add-ons, all of which Nord was already offering by the way, ExpressVPN still feels modest in comparison.
I will say that I still like ExpressVPN’s interface better, as it’s straightforward and dead-simple to use—NordVPN’s interface isn’t bad, but it can feel a bit cluttered. Alas, the interface wasn’t enough for me to stay. All of the useful and interesting features integrated into NordVPN were a big part of my switch. Now that I’m used to the versatility of Nord, I’m loath to give it up.
NordLynx narrowly outshines Lightway
NordVPN offers NordLynx which is a retooled version of the industry standard WireGuard protocol.
Sam Singleton
While the two most common VPN protocols, WireGuard and OpenVPN, are utilized by most VPN services, Nord and ExpressVPN decided to create their own. NordVPN built NordLynx and ExpressVPN built Lightway, both releasing at around the same time in 2020.
Both are based, directly or indirectly, on the original WireGuard protocol and they share much more in common than not, but there are some noticeable differences. The first is speed. NordLynx has shown to have consistently faster average connection speeds than Lightway in my testing. Over the years I’ve done thousands of speed tests with both of these protocols and NordLynx almost always comes out on top.
Secondly, NordLynx has been open-source since launch while Lightway was developed and tested in private, only recently being released as open-source. This may not mean too much, but transparency from the outset is to be commended, if nothing else.
Look, I trust ExpressVPN. I wouldn’t have been using it for as many years as I was if I didn’t. That being the case, WireGuard is the industry standard for a reason and NordLynx is just WireGuard by a different name. It‘s what most other VPNs choose to use, and besides, if Lightway was so good, you’d likely see more VPN services clamoring to use it or create their own version of it.
I trust WireGuard and therefore I trust NordLynx to be my protocol of choice.
NordVPN’s speeds can’t be beat
As I mentioned above, NordVPN consistently performs at faster connection speeds than ExpressVPN. This includes wins in both download and upload average speeds. In fact, NordVPN has been the fastest VPN for three years running at this point and doesn’t show any signs of relinquishing that title.
This shouldn’t be seen as too much of a slight on ExpressVPN though as it’s actually a close second. But it’s precisely these kinds of minor differences that led me to finally make the switch.
The real-world differences might be small here, but working from home means I do a lot of file transfers and online meetings, so the extra speed matters. For what it’s worth though, ExpressVPN just released its Lightway Turbo update so this all may change in the future—such is the fickle nature of VPN connection speeds.
Further reading: How to test your VPN speed
The deals are better with Nord
VPNs, while not the most expensive services, still aren’t exactly cheap. Thankfully, there are great VPN deals to be had throughout the year, and if you time it correctly you can score a long-term subscription for pennies on the dollar.
Both ExpressVPN and NordVPN are some of the most expensive VPN services on the market, so finding deals on either can feel like hitting major pay dirt.
That being said, NordVPN generally offers more frequent discounts throughout the year and these deals usually offer bigger savings than ExpressVPN’s deals.
For example, while NordVPN and ExpressVPN charge roughly similar prices for their regular 2-year plans, during Black Friday last year their respective deals told a different story. NordVPN was offering its 2-year plan for 74 percent off while ExpressVPN offered just a 61 percent discount.
Taking advantage of great deals is one of the easiest ways to save yourself money with common online services. Personally, I always look for VPN deals whenever my subscription plan is about to run out. Then I use that savings to pay for my favorite streaming service—it’s one of the reasons I started using a VPN in the first place all those years ago.
Finally, switching to NordVPN was just another no-brainer way for me to save even more money in the long-run.
