NordVPN vs ExpressVPN – Which Should You Choose?
Express VPN and Nord VPN are two of the most popular VPN services in Canada and around the world. They’ve dominated the VPN market for several years now, and many people will pick one VPN service and assume it’s just as good as any other. But, of course, the process of choosing a VPN is not something that should be done carelessly. After all, your VPN will affect your browsing experience and internet speed every time you go online, and you will be entrusting some personal information to the service you choose. So, which should you choose, ExpressVPN or NordVPN? We provide a detailed review of ExpressVPN vs NordVPN Canada to help you make an informed decision.
Nord VPN vs Express VPN Canada Overview
Both ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer a very high quality of service that most users are satisfied with. This is evidenced by their high rankings on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Both services enjoy a 4.7 rating on the App Store. When it comes to the Google Play Store, NordVPN has a 4.5 rating and over 600 thousand reviews, while ExpressVPN is rated at 4.3 based on roughly 280 thousand reviews. As for Best VPN Canada, after careful consideration, we’ve decided to give ExpressVPN an editorial rating of 97.8%, while NordVPN is rated at 98.6% by our experts.
NordVPN was founded in 2012, and the company is based in Panama, while ExpressVPN has been around since 2009, and the service is based in the British Virgin Islands. Neither of these countries is part of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or Fourteen Eyes intelligence sharing alliances, which means that VPN companies based there are not required to comply with surveillance laws. (The British Virgin Islands are formally an overseas territory of the UK, but they do not participate in any intelligence-treaties.)
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| BVC rating | 98.6 | 97.8 |
| App Store rating |
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| Registered in | Panama | British Virgin Islands |
| Founded | 2012 | 2009 |
| Official website | https://www.nordvpn.com/ | https://www.expressvpn.com/ |
Now, let’s compare the technical details of these two VPN services. As of 2022, NordVPN has over 5,400 servers in 60 countries, while ExpressVPN has over 3,000 servers in 94 countries. Nord VPN users can use one account on up to 6 devices, while Express VPN allows one account to be used on up to 5 devices. Both services can be used on devices running Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS operating systems.
Additionally, users of both VPNs can also take advantage of specialized browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. However, neither NordVPN nor ExpressVPN offers extensions for Opera. Finally, you can also use both VPNs on Android TV, Apple TV, and router devices.
The two service providers also go to great lengths to keep their users’ data safe by utilizing a wide variety of encryption methods and protocols. Both companies utilize OpenVPN, KEv2/IPSec, and L2TP/IPSec. In addition to these three protocols, ExpressVPN uses StealthVPN, while NordVPN uses SmartPlay, SmartDNS, and SSTP. Both companies have a no-logs policy, and both offer excellent customer service through e-mail, Live Chat, and FAQ pages.
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| Servers | 5400+ | 3000+ |
| Countries | 60 | 94 |
| Parallel devices | 6 | 5 |
| Available on |
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| Log policy | No Logs | No Logs |
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| Connect now | Connect now |
ExpressVPN vs NordVPN Security and Features
Express VPN and Nord VPN each have a great track record when it comes to user privacy and features that the companies offer to their customers. More specifically, both services provide automatic ad blocking and automatic kill switches, offer double VPN and VPN split tunneling, have obfuscated servers, and have P2P capabilities. Both VPNs are available in China, which is a huge advantage for people who live there or frequently travel to that country. Both services enable port forwarding via routers.
The main distinction between the two is that NordVPN also offers dedicated IPs and has a unique Onion Over VPN (Tor) feature, which eliminates the need for users to utilize the Tor browser and adds an additional layer of safety.
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| Ad blocker | ||
| Automatic kill switch | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Double VPN | ||
| Obfuscated servers | ||
| Onion over VPN (Tor) | ||
| P2P | ||
| VPN split tunneling | ||
| Work in China | ||
| Port forwarding | ||
| Try it out now | Try it out now |
ExpressVPN vs NordVPN Price
ExpressVPN offers only one plan with different service periods, while NordVPN has three plans: Standard, Plus, and Complete. The Standard plan comes with the VPN service itself, malware protection, and a tracker and ad blocker. The Plus plan offers those same features as well as a cross-platform password manager and a data breach scanner. Finally, the Complete plan has the same features as the Plus plan, but its users also get 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage.
In the table below, we compare the pricing on NordVPN’s Standard plan with the cost of ExpressVPN’s services. As expected, purchasing a plan with a longer service period from either one of the providers allows you to save a significant amount of money.
Specifically, ExpressVPN offers 1-month plans at $12.95. However, if you purchase a 6-month plan, you will get the same service for $9.99 per month, and this price will be further reduced to $8.32 per month if you purchase a 1-year plan.
1-month plans from NordVPN are priced at $11.99 for the Standard plan, $12.69 for the Plus plan, and $13.99 for the Complete plan. If you’re ready to sign up for a 1-year plan, you will pay $4.99 per month for the Standard plan, $5.69 per month for the Plus plan, and $6.99 per month for the Complete plan. 2-year plans from NordVPN offer the best value, with prices set at $3.29 per month for the Standard plan, $3.99 per month for the Plus plan, and $5.29 per month for the Complete plan.
Both companies offer a 30-day refund period, so you can get your money back if you don’t like the service.
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| 1-month Plan |
$11.99/mo
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$12.95/mo
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| 6-month Plan |
n/a
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$9.99/mo
$59.95 billed one time only
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| 1-year Plan |
$4.99/mo
$59.88 for the first year
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35% off
$8.32/mo
$99.95 billed one time only
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| 2-year Plan |
60% off
$3.29/mo
$78.96 for the first 2 years
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n/a
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| Payment methods |
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| Refund policy | 30 Days | 30 Days |
| Claim your discount | Claim your discount |
Bottom Line
As you can see from this comparison, both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are excellent options for people who are looking for a fast and reliable VPN service. The two companies offer lots of useful features and have an excellent track record when it comes to user data privacy and security. No matter which option you choose, we’re certain that you won’t be disappointed in your selection.
That being said, if we had to pick one over the other based on all the information provided above, we would give preference to NordVPN over ExpressVPN since it has a wider selection of plans, uses a larger number of servers than ExpressVPN, and offers a few more encryption protocols. If you’re looking to research some more VPN service providers in Canada, check out our VPN reviews of other companies.