PrivateVPN is a small Swedish service with a short feature list and a price that undercuts almost everything. ExpressVPN is a large operation with an audit trail, a proprietary protocol, and a network 15 times the size. The dollar difference between them is a dollar a month. ExpressVPN wins this 7 to 1.
It takes apps, features, privacy, speed, streaming and torrenting, server coverage, and bypassing censorship. PrivateVPN holds the price, and it holds it convincingly at $2.00 monthly with port forwarding. Each verdict explains itself, so you can stop reading once one of them decides it for you.
PrivateVPN vs ExpressVPN: All You Need To Know
| 🏆 ExpressVPN | PrivateVPN | |
| Our Current Ranking 📋 | #3 | Unranked |
| Prices 🤑 | Starts at $2.99/mo | Starts at $2.00/mo |
| Money-Back Guarantee 🪙 | 30 days on every plan | 30 days on every plan |
| Free Version/Free Trial 🆓 | No/7 days on iOS and Android | No/No |
| Logging/Jurisdiction 🕵️ | No activity or connection logs/British Virgin Islands | No activity or connection logs/Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| Independent Audits 📝 | KPMG, PwC, Cure53, plus a court test | None |
| Protocols 🌐 | Lightway, WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, PPTP, L2TP |
| Post-Quantum Encryption 🧬 | Yes | No |
| Servers 🏠 | 113 countries, 214 locations | 200+ in 63 countries |
| Specialty Servers ✅ | Dedicated IP in 29 locations | Dedicated IP |
| Ad Blocking ⛔ | Yes, Advanced Protection with parental controls | No |
| RAM-Only Servers 🛡️ | Yes | No |
| Working With Netflix 📺 | Yes, 15+ catalogs | Yes, 5 to 7 catalogs |
| P2P Allowance ↔️ | Yes, on all servers | Yes, on all servers |
| Concurrent Connections 📟 | 10, rising to 14 on higher tiers | 10 |
Apps and Compatibility
Platform coverage is close. If you want a VPN across multiple devices, both providers install on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and routers. ExpressVPN is one of our preferred picks for the Fire TV Stick, and PrivateVPN supports it natively alongside an Android TV client. Device counts are identical at 10 simultaneous connections, and ExpressVPN’s Advanced and Express Pro tiers push that to 12 and 14.
PrivateVPN’s old two-device advantage has disappeared. ExpressVPN’s client is a connect button, a location list, and a settings tab. Nothing is buried. The mobile apps use the same layout, so moving between a laptop and a phone doesn’t mean learning a second interface. On the Linux side, Proton VPN remains the friendlier option for anyone who prefers not to work from a terminal.
PrivateVPN’s app is functional and rarely stumbles. Connections are established in a few seconds every time, and the wider desktop window gives the server list more breathing space. It also keeps one design language on every platform. The finish is a step behind, and the settings labels assume you know what they mean.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Matched on devices and near-matched on platforms, so the software quality decides it. PrivateVPN works. ExpressVPN explains itself.
PrivateVPN is Cheaper Than ExpressVPN
PrivateVPN asks for the longer commitment and charges less for it. The 36-month plan comes to $2.00 monthly, billed $72 up front for the first three years. That doesn’t make it the cheapest option we’ve priced. Surfshark and Private Internet Access both come in under it on shorter terms, as our PIA and Surfshark head-to-head shows. PrivateVPN backs the plan with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
| 3-Year Price | 2-Year Price | Monthly Price | Renewal Price | |
| PrivateVPN | $72 | N/A | $9.90 | $72/year |
| ExpressVPN | N/A | $83.72 (28 months) | $14.99 | $99.95/year |
It offers no free trial, so paying first is the only way in. ExpressVPN splits into three tiers across two lengths. The two-year term includes 4 bonus months, so you pay for 28. Basic comes to $2.99/mo with an 80% discount, billed at $83.72. Advanced is $4.49/mo, and Express Pro is $7.49/mo. Annual plans add 3 bonus months for a 15-month term at $4.99, $5.99, and $8.99.
Renewals are $99.95, $119.95, and $199.95/year, and every plan has a 30-day guarantee. Mobile users also get a 3-day trial on iOS and Android.
Winner: PrivateVPN ✅
Ninety-nine cents a month separates them at signup, and $36 a year separates the three-year outlay. ExpressVPN’s renewal is where the distance really opens.
ExpressVPN is More Secure Than PrivateVPN
What Both Providers Include
The shared list is short:
- Strong encryption. ExpressVPN uses 256-bit AES. PrivateVPN offers a choice of AES-128-GCM and AES-256-GCM, and the practical difference is nil.
- An automatic kill switch, plus IP and DNS leak protection
- Private DNS, so the VPN resolves your queries instead of a third party
- OpenVPN and WireGuard support on both sides
Split tunneling appears on ExpressVPN and stays missing from PrivateVPN in 2026, which is odd for a paid service at this point.
What Sets Them Apart
PrivateVPN’s additions are Stealth VPN for obfuscation, Application Guard (a kill switch that applies to selected apps only), and port forwarding. Two of its listed protocols, PPTP and L2TP, are decades old and shouldn’t be used. Their presence pads the count without adding security.
ExpressVPN brings Lightway, an in-house protocol built on wolfSSL that beat WireGuard in our protocol testing, and post-quantum encryption that protects captured traffic from later decryption. Advanced Protection blocks ads, trackers, malicious domains, and adult content at the DNS layer across every device on the account. A password manager and RAM-only servers round it out.
Obfuscation works differently too. Stealth VPN has to be switched on. ExpressVPN applies its version to every connection automatically.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Ad blocking, split tunneling, post-quantum encryption, and a faster protocol against port forwarding and two protocols nobody should enable.
Privacy Comparison: Why ExpressVPN Wins This
Neither provider records what you do online, and both policies enumerate the exclusions properly. Here’s what they say:
What Each Policy Rules Out
PrivateVPN’s list is unusually complete for a small operation. It stores no browsing history, traffic destination, connection timestamps, DNS queries, or IP addresses (neither the one assigned nor the one you connect from), no data content, and no bandwidth figures. Two details deserve attention.
Its payment partners process your name, zip code, credit card details, and the IP you paid from, and PrivateVPN states it can pull that data when handling refunds or compiling sales figures. The company also keeps personal data for up to two years after your last contact with support.
ExpressVPN rules out the same categories in the same detail, splitting them into activity logs and connection logs, so it’s all clean.
Jurisdiction and Audits
PrivateVPN Global AB answers to Sweden, a member of the 14 Eyes arrangement, and it has never commissioned an independent audit. Its published privacy policy was last updated in October 2023. ExpressVPN operates from the British Virgin Islands, which imposes no retention duty.
It has been examined by KPMG, PwC, and Cure53 across its policy, its apps, and Lightway. Turkish investigators seized one of its servers and recovered nothing, as our standalone ExpressVPN assessment covers in full.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Two comparable promises, one of them verified by outside firms and tested in a courtroom. A policy nobody has checked since 2023 asks for more trust than it earns.
ExpressVPN is Faster Than PrivateVPN: Speed Tests
We tested from Serbia on a 50/10 Mbps connection, 3 times a day across 3 consecutive days, on UK, US, and Japanese servers. Both providers ran their fastest available protocol, Lightway for ExpressVPN and WireGuard for PrivateVPN, on a Windows 11 PC with current network adapter drivers.
- DL Speed Without VPN: 52.56 Mbps
- UL Speed Without VPN: 10.04 Mbps
- Ping: 10 ms
- Testing Location: Serbia
Averaged retention rates:
| ExpressVPN | PrivateVPN | |
| Download Speed Retention | 76% | 56% |
| Upload Speed Retention | 91% | 88% |
The per-location figures show where the download difference came from:
| UK (DL/UL Speed) | US (DL/UL Speed) | Japan (DL/UL Speed) | |
| ExpressVPN | 46.25/9.53 Mbps | 42.04/9.34 Mbps | 32.06/8.65 Mbps |
| PrivateVPN | 43.62/9.03 Mbps | 33.11/8.84 Mbps | 10.51/8.62 Mbps |
Uploads finished within 1 Mbps of each other at all three locations. Downloads didn’t. ExpressVPN pulled 6% more to London, 27% more to the US, and 205% more to Tokyo, where PrivateVPN collapsed to 10.51 Mbps. European servers are where PrivateVPN stays competitive.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Close in London, comfortable in the US, and three times faster to Japan. PrivateVPN’s small fleet shows itself the moment you leave the continent.
Streaming and Torrenting Comparison
Streaming: ExpressVPN
PrivateVPN has improved. Netflix US, Canada, the UK, and Japan opened during testing, and Netflix Australia took a few attempts before it worked. It also handles UK channels from abroad, so ITV and BBC iPlayer are within reach. Harder platforms often need a message to support, which runs 24/7 and answers quickly.
ExpressVPN opened 15+ Netflix catalogs plus Max, Disney+, Hulu, and Prime Video without a second attempt. Its browser extension spoofs location separately from the tunnel, which defeats the mismatch checks that catch smaller providers.
MediaStreamer, ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS, covers devices that can’t take a VPN app. It’s US-only and weaker than the tunnel, though.
Torrenting: A Draw
Some VPNs limit P2P to a handful of servers. Avira Phantom VPN works that way. Neither of these two does, and both VPNs accept torrent traffic everywhere.
ExpressVPN includes no SOCKS5 proxy and no port forwarding. PrivateVPN offers port forwarding, which should improve download speeds and did nothing measurable in our tests. We used European servers for both, where each provider hit its best transfer rates very comfortably.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Torrenting is a draw on nearby servers. Streaming decides the section on catalog count and on how often PrivateVPN needs a support ticket to get through.
Server Locations: PrivateVPN vs ExpressVPN
The size difference is the largest of any section here:
- ExpressVPN: 113 countries across 214 locations
- PrivateVPN: 200+ servers in 63 countries
Fewer servers means more people per server, which is the mechanism behind PrivateVPN’s Tokyo result. ExpressVPN expanded its network in July 2026 and mixes physical and virtual servers to reach countries where hosting hardware isn’t practical. PrivateVPN’s distribution is sensible. Most of its capacity is in the USA, with reasonable coverage in Europe and Asia.
Its 10 Gbps hardware in Japan makes it a credible option for a Japanese IP address, even though our throughput there was poor. Hardware separates them. ExpressVPN runs a RAM-only fleet with 10 Gbps ports, so nothing is written to disk. PrivateVPN uses hard drives. It also sells dedicated IPs, as does ExpressVPN, which offers them in 29 locations from $2.49/mo.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Fifty more countries, RAM-only hardware, and enough capacity that peak hours don’t register. PrivateVPN’s network is adequate for its price and no more.
Do They Work in China?
Both providers advertise as usable in China, and both need help to get there. China blocks their websites, so downloading either client after arrival is difficult. Install before you travel. Our testers found ExpressVPN workable on OpenVPN TCP, with Lightway proving unstable behind the firewall. TCP costs speed, so browsing and streaming feel heavier than they do anywhere else.
PrivateVPN performed worse. Stealth VPN helps; connection failures were frequent, and successful sessions were slower than ExpressVPN’s. Basic browsing and low-resolution video are the ceiling. Everywhere else, both work. We checked them in the UAE, Qatar, and Turkey with no trouble, and ExpressVPN held its fastest protocol instead of falling back to OpenVPN.
Winner: ExpressVPN ✅
Neither belongs on a China shortlist. ExpressVPN at least reconnects, and it keeps Lightway running in every other censored country we tried.
ExpressVPN vs PrivateVPN: Final Thoughts
PrivateVPN earns its price. Ninety-nine cents a month below ExpressVPN, a properly detailed no-logs policy, port forwarding, apps on every platform that matters, and support that answers fast. For anyone whose VPN use starts and ends with a European server, it does the job. ExpressVPN took seven of eight sections.
It kept 76% of our download speed against 56%, opened 15+ Netflix catalogs, covers 50 more countries on RAM-only hardware, includes ad blocking and split tunneling, and has been audited by KPMG, PwC, and Cure53. PrivateVPN has never been audited, and its published policy hasn’t been updated since 2023.
The extra dollar buys verification and long-distance performance. Both offer 30 days to change your mind, so the test costs nothing but time.
PrivateVPN vs ExpressVPN: FAQ
🛡️ Are ExpressVPN and PrivateVPN safe?
Yes. Both encrypt traffic with AES and passed IP and DNS leak checks in testing without exposing a single request. The difference is verification: ExpressVPN's claims have been examined by outside auditors, while PrivateVPN's rest on the company's own word.
🆚 Is PrivateVPN better than ExpressVPN?
No. ExpressVPN is the stronger service on speed, streaming access, server coverage, and independent verification. PrivateVPN's case rests on cost and on European use specifically, where the two finish close enough that the cheaper subscription makes sense.
🔒 Do ExpressVPN and PrivateVPN accept crypto payments?
Yes. Both take cryptocurrency alongside credit cards, PayPal, and a range of digital wallets, and refunds are honored on crypto orders during the 30-day window. Paying in crypto also keeps a name and billing address off the account record.
🎮 Can either VPN handle online gaming?
Yes, with a distinction. ExpressVPN's lower latency suits fast-paced titles where a few milliseconds decide an exchange. PrivateVPN is better matched to turn-based and slower games, particularly on servers outside Europe. A separate shortlist of gaming VPNs covers providers built specifically for low ping.
🔰 Why does PrivateVPN still list PPTP and L2TP?
Legacy device support. Older routers and set-top boxes accept nothing newer, so a handful of providers keep both available. PPTP's encryption was broken years ago, and L2TP has known weaknesses, which is why WireGuard should be the default choice on any modern device.
🎯 Does the price difference hold at renewal?
It widens. ExpressVPN renews at $99.95 a year on Basic once the introductory term expires, and higher tiers cost more. A 5-year comparison runs on the renewal rates. Budget providers tend to hold their pricing steadier.