We measured both on the same connection, in the same sessions, across three continents. They lost exactly the same amount of speed: 7.8% each, an average of 175.57 Mbps from a 190.36 Mbps connection. Not close. Identical. So the decision falls to everything else.
NordVPN offers more: 152 countries compared to 113, a second encrypted hop, and an ad blocker that stops 76% of tracker domains to ExpressVPN’s 71%. ExpressVPN costs less: $2.99 a month compared to $3.49, and $99.95 a year at renewal compared to $139.08. That is $39 every year you stay.
ExpressVPN vs NordVPN: The Short Answer
- Pick NordVPN for feature depth: Double VPN at a 2.9% speed cost, Meshnet, 152 countries, and the stronger ad blocker.
- Pick ExpressVPN for cost and simplicity: $39 a year cheaper at renewal, connections in 1 to 2 seconds, and up to 14 devices.
- Speed is a dead heat. Both averaged 175.57 Mbps across the UK, US, and Japan.
ExpressVPN vs NordVPN: Quick Comparison
| ExpressVPN | NordVPN | |
| Starting price | $2.99 a month | $3.49 a month |
| Renewal | $99.95 a year | $139.08 a year |
| Download speed loss | 7.8% | 7.8% |
| Upload speed loss | 8.9% | 5.5% |
| Countries | 113 | 152 |
| Ad blocking on d3ward | 71% | 76% |
| Multi-hop | No | Double VPN |
| Port forwarding | No | No |
| Streaming services opened | 14 of 14 | 14 of 14 |
| Simultaneous devices | 10 to 14 | 10 |
| Connection time | 1 to 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| No-log audits | KPMG, most recently February 2025 | Six since 2018, most recently December 2025 |
| Jurisdiction | British Virgin Islands | Panama |
| Refund speed in our test | 15 minutes | 10 minutes |
How We Tested
We tested both on the same Windows 11 machine over Ethernet, on a 190.36 Mbps connection from Europe, with an unprotected baseline of 19.37 Mbps upload and 10 ms ping. Speed was measured on servers in the UK, the US, and Japan. Three sessions a day, across three days, on each VPN’s default protocol. Ad blocking used d3ward’s 135-domain test with every category enabled.
Leak tests used ipleak.net and browserleaks.com, with the browser cache deleted between sessions. Streaming covered 14 services. Refunds were requested through live chat on secondary accounts paid by PayPal.
Speed: A Dead Heat
| Server | ExpressVPN | NordVPN | No VPN |
| UK | 185.74 Mbps | 184.73 Mbps | 190.36 Mbps |
| US | 177.03 Mbps | 181.50 Mbps | 190.36 Mbps |
| Japan | 163.94 Mbps | 160.47 Mbps | 190.36 Mbps |
| Average | 175.57 Mbps | 175.57 Mbps | 190.36 Mbps |
ExpressVPN took the UK by 1.01 Mbps and Japan by 3.47 Mbps. NordVPN took the US by 4.47 Mbps. The averages match to two decimal places. Upload is where they separate. NordVPN lost 5.5% across the three servers against ExpressVPN’s 8.9%. That shows up in video calls, cloud backups, and seeding. Latency tells the same story. On the same session, ExpressVPN returned 42 ms to the UK, 129 ms to the US, and 223 ms to Japan.
NordVPN returned 41 ms, 134 ms, and 215 ms. Under load on the British server, ExpressVPN recorded 69 ms down and 75 ms up, and NordVPN 72 ms and 78 ms. With no VPN, the same test returned 30 and 45. Our fastest VPN ranking has the wider field if you’re interested.
Winner: Tie
Identical averages, a 3.4-point upload advantage to NordVPN, and no difference either would notice in use.
Security Features: NordVPN Goes Deeper
Both passed the same baseline: AES-256 with post-quantum protection, private DNS resolvers, RAM-only servers, and app-level split tunneling. Both kill switches passed a pulled Ethernet cable and a killed process. The blockers are where measurement separates them.
| Feature | ExpressVPN Advanced Protection | NordVPN Threat Protection Pro |
| Domains blocked on d3ward | 71% | 76% |
| Scans downloaded files | No | Yes |
| Checks apps for vulnerabilities | No | Yes |
| Adult site blocking | Yes | Yes, on mobile |
| Works with the tunnel off | No | Yes |
| Included on the entry plan | Lite version only | No, Complete tier upward |
| Restricts protocol choice | Yes, Automatic or Lightway only | No |
That last row is a genuine ExpressVPN limitation. Switching Advanced Protection on greys out WireGuard and OpenVPN, so the ad blocker and the protocol menu are mutually exclusive.
Beyond the blockers, NordVPN has categories ExpressVPN doesn’t offer. Double VPN chains two servers for two encryption layers and stronger security and costs 2.9% of download speed, connecting in 3 seconds. That makes it usable daily instead of only when it matters.
Onion Over VPN adds a Tor hop. Obfuscated servers and the NordWhisper protocol cover filtered networks. Meshnet links up to 60 of your own devices over encrypted tunnels. NordVPN’s kill switch also works at the app level, closing named applications instead of the whole connection.
Our kill switch guide explains the difference. ExpressVPN’s answer is narrower and partly newer. Obfuscation applies to every Lightway connection automatically. An MCP server arrived in 2026. It lets an AI client change server or protocol through ordinary instructions. ExpressVPN was the first VPN to offer one.
Lightway Turbo is the disappointment. It gained 0.45 Mbps over plain Lightway and disabled split tunneling while active.
Winner: NordVPN
A better blocker, a second encrypted hop at almost no cost, Meshnet, and a kill switch with more control.
Privacy: Different Kinds of Proof
Both operate from countries with no data retention law and no membership of the Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes arrangements. Neither logs IP addresses, DNS queries, browsing history, or traffic content, and leak tests were clean for both across three servers, including IPv6 and WebRTC.
What each keeps beyond that differs, and both state it openly. ExpressVPN records daily bandwidth totals, the dates of connection, and which server location you chose. NordVPN records none of those, and keeps a last-session timestamp for about 15 minutes to enforce the device limit.
Neither set identifies what a subscriber did online.
| ExpressVPN | NordVPN | |
| Jurisdiction | British Virgin Islands | Panama |
| No-log audits | KPMG, as of 28 February 2025 | Six since 2018, latest December 2025 |
| Audit standard | ISAE 3000 Type I | ISAE 3000 (Revised) |
| Specialty servers audited | Not stated | Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated |
| Tested by seizure | Turkey, 2017: no logs found | No |
| Documented failure | DNS leak, 2022 to 2024 | Finland server breach, 2018 |
What the Record Shows
Three points sit behind that table.
- The audit standard counts, not only the number. A Type I engagement tests how controls are designed on a given date, not whether they worked over a period. NordVPN’s six engagements span eight years, and the most recent inspected the specialty servers alongside the standard ones.
- A seizure proves more than an audit. Turkish investigators took an ExpressVPN server in 2017 and found no logs and no connection records. No commissioned examination replicates that, because the auditor is invited and the police aren’t. NordVPN’s transparency report records a Panamanian warrant it did comply with, handing over payment-related data and confirming an email address, which covers account information and not activity.
- Each has a failure on record. ExpressVPN’s Windows app leaked DNS requests between May 2022 and February 2024 in one split tunneling mode, found by a reviewer before the company saw it, then fixed in version 12.73.0 and verified afterwards by Nettitude. A NordVPN server in Finland was breached in 2018 through a data center’s own remote management tool, exposing no user data, and the rebuild that followed is part of why its audit record reads as it does.
ExpressVPN belongs to Kape Technologies, which also owns Private Internet Access and CyberGhost, and each brand commissions its own independent audits.
Winner: Tie
Six audits, including the specialty servers against a seized server that proved the claim in the field. Both stand up.
Streaming and Torrenting
Both opened all 14 streaming services we tested, which only two VPNs managed.
| Service | ExpressVPN | NordVPN |
| Netflix US, Canada, Japan | Opened | Opened |
| BBC iPlayer | Opened | Opened |
| ITVX | Switch servers | Opened |
| Prime Video | Switch servers | Switch servers |
| Disney+ | Browser extension only | Browser extension only |
| JioHotstar | Opened | Opened |
Disney+ is the shared limitation. It blocked both desktop apps, as it blocks desktop VPN apps generally. Each opened only with location spoofing in the browser extension. Changing your Netflix region worked on the first attempt for both.
NordVPN’s SmartPlay works automatically on any device with its app installed, including Android TV and Fire TV. For Samsung and LG TVs, which don’t support VPN apps, NordVPN offers a separate Smart DNS service.
ExpressVPN’s equivalent is MediaStreamer, a DNS service that requires registering your home IP address first. ExpressVPN states that MediaStreamer can’t change your location. For torrenting, every server on both networks accepts P2P and downloads move at the speed the tunnel allows. Neither offers port forwarding.
Winner: NordVPN, Narrowly
Equal on the platforms themselves, with ITVX opening directly on NordVPN.
Censored Countries: Two Approaches
Neither has been tested on the ground in China for this comparison. The mechanism and its cost are comparable, so that is what follows. ExpressVPN applies obfuscation to every Lightway connection automatically. There is no separate server list, no setting to find, and its speed figures further up already include it, since obfuscation was active throughout our testing.
NordVPN treats it as a choice. Obfuscated servers use OpenVPN TCP disguised as ordinary HTTPS, and the newer NordWhisper protocol does the same job through a web tunnel. Both require switching away from the default. NordWhisper also has a measurable cost: on the same British server it returned 161.13 Mbps against NordLynx’s 184.73, a 12.8% drop, and its ping climbed from 42 ms at idle to 180 ms down and 808 ms up under load.
So ExpressVPN’s obfuscation is free and always on, while NordVPN’s offers more methods and costs both speed and a trip into settings. Our VPN for China page tracks what keeps working on the ground, and the UAE guide covers the Gulf states.
Winner: ExpressVPN
Obfuscation on every connection at no speed cost, against a setting change and a 12.8% drop.
Servers and Coverage
| ExpressVPN | NordVPN | |
| Countries in the app | 113 | 152 |
| Servers | 3,000, last published figure | Over 9,500 |
| Specialty servers | Dedicated IP | Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated, dedicated IP |
| Virtual locations | Yes, labeled in the app | Yes, labeled in the app |
| Router | Aircove, its own router | Manual setup and Smart DNS |
NordVPN’s app lists 39 more countries, and ExpressVPN stopped publishing a server count at 3,000. ExpressVPN’s answer is city-level depth in the markets it serves, with more than 20 American cities, and Aircove, its own Wi-Fi router with the VPN inside the firmware.
Winner: NordVPN
NordVPN covers 39 more countries and operates more than three times the servers, on the last figure ExpressVPN published.
Apps, Devices and Support
ExpressVPN’s apps are the simplest in the category: one connection button, recent locations underneath, the full list a click away, and the same layout on every platform. The 2026 redesign removed the Settings menu.
The protocol picker, kill switch, and split tunneling now appear under Profile, which takes a week to learn. NordVPN’s app includes more and shows it. The side panel shows specialty servers and features that several plans don’t include. The default map view also looks better than it works, since typing a country name beats scrolling a globe.
Connection times favor ExpressVPN slightly: 1 to 2 seconds compared to two seconds on NordLynx, 3 on OpenVPN and 4 on NordWhisper. Both cover Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, routers and browsers. Devices are ExpressVPN’s clearest advantage: 10 on Basic, 12 on Advanced, 14 on Pro, compared to 10 on every NordVPN plan.
Both extensions were tested in Chrome. ExpressVPN blocked 87% of tracker domains against NordVPN’s 52%. NordVPN’s works standalone, while ExpressVPN’s requires Proxy Mode without the desktop app. Support produced a human in under 20 seconds on both, and I’m confident that their support teams are among the best I’ve interacted with in 2026.
Winner: ExpressVPN
Simpler apps, quicker connections, four more device slots, and a much stronger browser extension.
Price: ExpressVPN Costs Less, Twice Over
| Plan | ExpressVPN | NordVPN | Difference |
| Entry tier, long-term | $2.99 a month | $3.49 a month | 50 cents |
| Paid up front | $83.72 for 28 months | $94.23 for 27 months | $10.51 |
| Renewal | $99.95 a year | $139.08 a year | $39.13 |
| Middle tier | $4.49 a month | $4.49 a month | None |
| Top tier | $7.49 a month | $7.49 a month | None |
| Monthly | $14.99 | $14.99 | None |
The middle and top tiers cost the same, and they buy different things. NordVPN’s Complete adds Threat Protection Pro, NordPass, and 1 TB of NordLocker storage, and Prime adds Coveron identity protection. ExpressVPN’s Advanced adds tracker blocking, ExpressKeys, and ExpressMailGuard, and Pro adds a dedicated IP address and 14 devices. The renewal is where the money is.
Both entry plans cost about the same in the first term, and the difference opens to $39.13 every year after that. Our low-cost ranking covers the cheaper end of the market. Both include a 30-day money-back guarantee, and both refunded a PayPal purchase quickly: 10 minutes for NordVPN, 15 for ExpressVPN. Mobile trials last 3 days. ExpressVPN covers Android and iOS, NordVPN Android only, and each requires a card.
Winner: ExpressVPN
Fifty cents cheaper to start and $39 cheaper every year after that.
ExpressVPN vs NordVPN: The Scorecard
| Round | Winner |
| Speed | Tie |
| Security features | NordVPN |
| Privacy | Tie |
| Streaming and torrenting | NordVPN |
| Censored countries | ExpressVPN |
| Servers and coverage | NordVPN |
| Apps, devices and support | ExpressVPN |
| Price | ExpressVPN |
Which One Should You Buy?
The rounds split evenly, three each with two ties, so the decision turns on which three matter to you. For most people, that is NordVPN. The deciding features are Double VPN at 2.9%, the stronger blocker with file scanning behind it, 39 more countries, and Meshnet. Any one of those justifies the extra $39 a year. Our NordVPN review covers it in full.
ExpressVPN is the better buy for the simplest apps in the category, more than ten devices, a browser extension that blocks properly, or the lowest long-term cost. Nothing in our testing shows a speed penalty for choosing it. The ExpressVPN review has the details. Both appear in our best VPN ranking, and both refund within 30 days, so the decision is reversible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NordVPN faster than ExpressVPN?
No. Both averaged 175.57 Mbps from the same 190.36 Mbps connection across three continents. NordVPN has a small advantage in upload speed.
Which is cheaper, ExpressVPN or NordVPN?
ExpressVPN. Its entry plan costs 50 cents less each month and $39 less each year at renewal, while the middle and top tiers cost the same.
Does ExpressVPN have multi-hop?
No. ExpressVPN argues that its RAM-only TrustedServer network and ShuffleIP make a second server unnecessary. NordVPN's Double VPN chains two countries.
Which has more servers?
NordVPN. Its app lists 152 countries against 113, and it operates over 9,500 servers. ExpressVPN's last published figure was 3,000.
Which is better for streaming?
Both opened every service tested. NordVPN opened ITVX without a server switch, and its SmartPlay works on every server without a separate setup.
Do ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer port forwarding?
Neither. Seeding on private trackers requires an open port, so the user who wants it should look at a VPN that supports it.