NordVPN vs ExpressVPN – Page 2

NordVPN vs ProtonVPN In recent years, online security concerns have increased exponentially. Even if you are not a cybersecurity enthusiast, developments have made it such that accessing the internet unprotected is a risky affair. Cybercriminals have become a thorn in most people's sides. For this reason, the use of VPNs to protect oneself from online security threats has become a necessity. So this is where NordVPN and ProtonVPN come in handy. NordVPN is a better VPN service provider than ProtonVPN. It outperforms and outclasses ProtonVPN in terms of the features and capabilities it offers. NordVPN has advanced security protocols, is affordable, and has great privacy policies to ensure the safety of users’ data. In this article, we’re going to put these two VPNs to the test. We will put them in a head to head comparison, analyzing their features and capabilities, and in the end, come up with the overall winner. So stick around and read on to find out which is the better VPN provider for all your online needs. NordVPN Even if you are new to the cybersecurity world, chances are that you’ve come across NordVPN at some point in time. It’s probably one of the best VPNs in the world and is widely known and trusted. Since its creation in 2012, it has been providing internet users all around the world with the best online security solutions. It combines affordability, credibility, and effectiveness to bring out the range of features it has to offer. It has built quite a reputation for itself in the VPN industry. It stands out from all other VPNs because it has credibility that has never been tainted. It also has some of the best features that a VPN user could ever hope for. It gives users an awesome experience and is virtually accessible from anywhere on earth. NordVPN boasts of a highly encrypted network with security protocols fit tom rival those of the military. These security protocols are impenetrable and uncrackable, even by top-tier hackers. This ensures that all data is safe and secure. It also has a strict zero-logs policy. This means that NordVPN doesn’t track, store, collect, or share users’ data. This policy has been proven to be true. This is one of the things that makes NordVPN stick out from the crowd. Furthermore, it’s located in Panama which doesn’t have logging laws. It isn’t therefore legally required to keep logs. This ensures privacy and anonymity. So with NordVPN, your security and privacy are always assured. Some of the Pros and Cons of NordVPN include: Pros of NordVPN It has excellent and stable speeds for all manner of online activities.It has a no-logs policy and is located in Panama.It has some of the strongest security protocols to ensure users’ data is safe.It has one of the largest server coverage in the world- Over 5500 servers in over 60 countries.It has amazing customer support through live chat, text, emails, etc.It's good for a wide range of online activities e.g. streaming, torrenting, browsing, etc. Cons of NordVPN It’s a little pricey.Some servers don’t have stable speeds.Some servers don’t support torrenting. ProtonVPN ProtonVPN is one of those few VPNs out there that can be trusted to provide the best online solutions. It was founded in 2017 and is located in Switzerland which is a great region in terms of jurisdiction. ProtonVPN has some of the best encryption protocols in the industry. It is therefore a good fit for people who are seeking foolproof security standards when online. It also claims to have a no-logs policy. This means that it doesn’t track, store, or collect users’ data. So ProtonVPN is a good choice for privacy. ProtonVPN has good speeds that can support some online services. It also has a good server count considering it’s a relatively new company. It combines affordability with a whole range of features that give an overall great user experience. So ProtonVPN is also a good VPN service, though not as good as NordVPN. Pros of ProtonVPN It has a free subscription.It’s affordable.It has excellent security features. It has good privacy policies. Cons of NordVPN Few servers and locationsNo public third party audits to verify their no-logs policy.Customer support is wanting. 1. Security When it comes to most online activities, one of the most important factors that are usually considered is security. With so many cyber threats nowadays, some form of protection is essential to keep one's data safe and secure. This is where VPNs come in handy. VPNs work by encrypting all our online traffic and passing it through an encrypted tunnel that cannot be penetrated by any online threats. This creates a secure network that is uncrackable even by the best of hackers. The best VPN should have strong encryption protocols and other additional security features to ensure that users’ data is always secure from online threats like hackers. The security of users’ information should be the foremost concern for the VPN provider you choose. This is because having a VPN that doesn’t have a secure network defeats the purpose of having a VPN in the first place. Both NordVPN and ProtonVPN are top-of-the-line VPNs when it comes to security features. They have some of the best protocols to ensure the information of their users is always secure. Both VPN services have military-grade encryption protocols that are uncrackable. They utilize an OpenVPN protocol paired with the IKEv2 protocol for encryption. Both of them also have a Killswitch feature, DNS, and IP leak protection. These layers of security ensure no one can gain access to the VPN systems. The difference between these two VPNs is that NordVPN has extra layers of security. These provide even more layers of security. NordVPN has a WireGuard protocol, DoubleVPN, CyberSec, Onion over VPN, and Obfuscated servers. ProtonVPN doesn’t have these additional protocols. So in terms of security, NordVPN is one of the most secure services you could ever hope for. So NordVPN is the clear winner in this category. Security protocolNordVPNProtonVPNOpenVPNYesYesIKEv2YesYesKillswitchYesYesDNS/IP leak protectionYesYesWireGuardYesNoDoubleVPNYesNoCyberSecYesNoOnion over VPNYesNoObfuscated serversYesNo 2. Privacy and Logging For most people, online privacy and anonymity have become an inexcusable concern. With so many online threats lurking on the internet, it's quite understandable why so many people care for their privacy. We all know that if you use the internet while unprotected you expose yourself to privacy breaches by third parties like government agencies and hackers. All this has necessitated the use of VPNs. VPNs play a huge role in ensuring all your online traffic cannot be accessed by these entities. So a VPN is essential if you are to maintain a degree of online privacy. A company's logging policies determine whether it tracks, monitors collects, stores, and shares users' data. So a VPN's logging policies are directly linked to the privacy of users. Another thing that is associated with privacy is the jurisdiction under which the VPN falls. This is because the law in some jurisdictions enquires VPNs to log user data while in some jurisdictions these laws are non-existent. Ideally, the best VPN choice should be one that has a proven zero-logging policy and also has a suitable jurisdiction. So between NordVPN and ProtonVPN, which is better in regards to this? NordVPN has a proven no-logs policy. It is often audited by 3rd party auditing firms such as PriceWaterCoopers. These auditing companies observe operations, access databases and servers, and interview employees. After doing this, NordVPN has been verified to be compliant with its zero-logs policy. This makes it a good choice for security. NordVPN is located in Panama. This country is outside the jurisdiction of the EU and the 5, 9, or 14 Alliances. Panama has no logging laws. NordVPN is therefore not legally required to keep logs. It, therefore, doesn't keep user data. In terms of privacy, ProtonVPN too is great. Its no logs policy isn’t proven, but it still has substantial credibility in the VPN world. In terms of jurisdiction, it’s located in Switzerland which is also a suitable jurisdiction with zero logging laws. In this case, we'll give the win to NordVPN because it has a no-logs policy that has been proven. NordVPNProtonVPNProven no-logs policyYesNoJurisdictionPanamaSwitzerland 3. Prices In terms of price, both of these VPNs are reasonably priced for the range of features they offer. In this instance, however, ProtonVPN takes the lead. It has some of the best prices in the business making it quite affordable. NordVPN offers a 1-month, 6-month, and 2-year plan. Its long-term plans are far cheaper than the short-term. ProtonVPN, on the other hand, has a free trial, 6-month, and 1-year plan. Both VPNs have a 30-day money-back policy in case a customer doesn't like the service. As you can see from the prices below, ProtonVPN is the clear winner in this instance. NordVPNProtonVPNFree trialNoYes1-month$11.95/month-6-month$9$81-year-$6.992-year$3.71-Money back guarantee30 days30 days 4. Servers When choosing a VPN, this is one of the most essential parameters to look at. The number of servers that a VPN has and their distribution around the world plays an important role in the performance of a VPN. VPNs that have a lot of servers spread out all over the world are less likely to have server crowding which is quite common. Crowded VPN servers usually give slow and unstable feeds which no one wants. An ideal VPN will therefore have uncrowded servers. A well-distributed server network all around the world is also important. This is because it gives users all around the world to choose a suitable server for their location. This enables users to effectively spoof their location and obtain fast speeds. Both NordVPN and ProtonVPN have good server coverage. But there's a clear and undisputed winner in this category. NordVPN has one of the largest server networks with over 5500 servers in over 60 countries. This gives NordVPN some of the best performance ratings. ProtonVPN on the other hand has over 500 servers in over 40 countries. When you compare this number with NordVPN, you can see just how much ProtonVPN falls behind. So in this case, NordVPN wins hands down! NordVPNProtonVPNNumber of servers5500+60+Locations500+40+ 5. Speeds It's only natural to say that speed is one of the most important considerations for most internet users. Everyone prefers to have fast and stable speeds from any corner of the earth and at any time of the day. However, this is not always the case. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) throttle the speeds of their subscribers. This creates a situation in which speeds are quite slow and unstable. This renders most online activities impossible. This is where VPNs are useful. They route all online traffic through secure tunnels that are impenetrable, making it impossible for ISPs to throttle speeds. So it follows that with a good VPN service, no matter where you are in the world, you will always have fast and stable speeds. Server coverage affects speeds due to crowding. So a VPN with reliable speeds is usually one with a lot of servers. With this in mind, you can already guess who the winner is. Both NordVPN and ProtonVPN have favorable speeds. But NordVPN pulls quite ahead and is regarded as having some of the fastest speeds out there. To determine which one was faster, we conducted speed tests. The first was the base speed test which was around 145Mbps. Next, we connected to a VPN server in Germany. We recorded speeds of 138Mbps. A ProtonVPN server in the same location recorded speeds of 75Mbps. We then connected to a NordVPN server in the UK. The speed was around 132Mbps. A ProtonVPN server in the same location recorded speeds of 63Mbps. We connected to servers in the US. NordVPN recorded speeds of 139Mbps. Proton VPN recorded speeds of 82Mbps. So as you can see from the above speed tests, NordVPN is our clear winner. This can be attributed to a larger server network. It can also be attributed to the fact that NordVPN uses a WireGuard protocol. This protocol provides security and also the fastest speeds possible. Another reason is that unlike ProtonVPN, NordVPN servers were rarely crowded. So NordVPN wins this round. LocationNordVPNProtonVPNGermany138Mbps75MpsUK132Mps63MpsUS139Mbps82Mbps 6. Streaming Streaming has grown to become a popular pastime for most internet users today. This has opened a door for cybercriminals to attack people while there enjoying their favorite show. Using a streaming service without protection of some form is quite dangerous. It can lead to security breaches and leaking of private information that may be used by third parties to harm users. Streaming services have also made it impossible to access their content. They usually geo-restrict certain streaming content to certain geographical locations. This has made it harder for people to access their favorite shows whenever they're abroad. So for these reasons, VPNs are important for all streaming purposes. VPNs encrypt online traffic when streaming and create a secure network thereby allowing people to stream seamlessly and securely. VPNs also help users of streaming services to gain access to geo-restricted content. They mask users' IP addresses and spoof their real location. This makes it seem as if they are in a different location. This makes it possible to access libraries of geo-restricted streaming services. A good VPN for streaming should always have fast and stable speeds that prevent buffering. It should also have a great ability to unblock geo-restrictions. Both NordVPN and ProtonVPN are good for streaming but once again there’s an undisputed champ. We tested the two VPNs unlocking capabilities and came up with the following: · NordVPN could unblock Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Showtime, and more. · ProtonVPN unblocked Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime. As you can see, NordVPN unblocked more streaming services. It also has better speeds than ProtonVPN. So NordVPN is the winner in this category. Streaming serviceNordVPNProtonVPNNetflixYesYesAmazon PrimeYesYesHuluYesYesHBOYesYesDisney+YesNoShowtimeYesNo 7. Torrenting For most people, torrenting and file sharing over the internet has made things so much easier. Torrenting has become more and more popular as lots of people embrace it. But there are weaknesses associated with torrenting services. They show one’s data and IP address and this information can be used by hackers. So using VPNs when torrenting is a no-brainer these days. One of the things that affect torrenting is speeds. A good VPN will have fast and stable speeds that support the sharing and downloading of huge files. NordVPN has dedicated P2P servers designed for torrenting. They have excellent speeds. ProtonVPN on the other hand uses its normal servers which can be slow for torrenting. So NordVPN is the winner in this category. NordVPNProtonVPNDedicated P2P serversYesNo All in all, NordVPN is a better VPN than ProtonVPN. It outmatches and outperforms the features of ProtonVPN making it the best choice.