VPN Services Comparison – VPN vs. VPN Sep 2023

So here’s something I bet you don’t know. How many VPN providers are there in the world? Take a wild guess… Well, to be honest, I don’t know the answer to that either. That’s because there are hundreds upon hundreds of VPNs in the industry. Some are phenomenal to use, while others are just trash.

I mean, there’s even a VPN provider by the name of PizzaVPN. I’m not kidding, you can Google it yourself.

I guess what I’m trying to say, it’s not easy to just pick one VPN when there are hundreds of options. So what option do you have? You can either experiment with different VPNs and waste your money or you can check out my unbiased and in-depth VPN comparisons.

But why should you check out my VPN comparison? Well because I compare VPN services on several factors to help you pick the right VPN. And in this guide, I will tell you all about those factors and how I use them to finalize my VPN ratings.

VPN vs. VPN – Comparison of 10 Different VPN Services

So now that you know all factors I use to compare different VPN services, let’s check out ten (10) of the most popular VPN services compared a bit later on:

1. Surfshark
2. ExpressVPN
3. NordVPN
4. CyberGhost
5. StrongVPN
6. PrivateVPN
7. IPVanish
8. PureVPN
9. Private Internet Access
10. VyprVPN

Surfshark vs. Other VPNs

What most VPN providers haven’t still really figured out is the balance between price and features. Except for Surfshark. This VPN starts from just $2.30/mo (Save 82% and get 2 extra months FREE with 24-month plan). However, it still comes packed with premium features. It also has a spotless 4.3/5 star rating on Trustpilot.

It has 66% excellent and only 7 bad reviews. If we talk about features, Surfshark, despite being so affordable, still gives you access to 3,200+ servers in 65 countries. These servers are proven to work in even the most harshly censored countries like Iran, Saudi Arabian, and even most parts of China.

These servers are fast too and can help you stream Netflix with virtually zero lag. As for features, Surfshark offers CleanWeb. This feature can help you browse the web without worrying about Surf in ads, trackers and malware. In addition, Surfshark offers unlimited multi-logins, leak protection, Kill Switch, Multi-hop, 256-bit encryption and a whole lot more.

Still not convinced? 

Check out our detailed review of Surfshark if you want to know more about this affordable VPN.

ExpressVPN vs. Other VPNs

ExpressVPN is one of the top-rated VPNs in the industry. Aside from the features it offers, it is one of the fastest VPNs you can get. There’s no competition. It even has a remarkable 4.7/5 Trustpilot rating. As of today, it has 87% excellent reviews. That’s far better than most other VPNs in the industry.

One thing you’re absolutely going to love about ExpressVPN is the features. First of all, ExpressVPN offers you a massive 3,000+ server network in 94 countries. These servers support obfuscation can help you access restricted content in some of the most heavily geo-restricted countries in the world. This is something you’re not going to find in most other VPNs.

As for security features, ExpressVPN comes standard with AES-256 bit encryption, Network lock Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, Zero-Knowledge DNS, and compatibility for iOS, Windows, macOS, Android and much more. As for pricing, ExpressVPN is a bit expensive. Its cheapest plan starts from $6.67/mo (Save 49% and get 3 extra months FREE with 12-month plan). This easily makes it one of the most expensive VPNs you can get. To make up for it though, it does offer 5 multi-logins.

To know more you can also check out the detailed ExpressVPN review.

NordVPN vs. Other VPNs

NordVPN is arguably one of the most popular VPNs out there right now. You can find a ton of websites online recommending it and there’s a good reason for it. You see, unlike other VPNs that would offer you somewhere around 1000+ servers, NordVPN in comparison offers 5,200+ servers in 59+ countries.

As for Trustpilot rating, NordVPN has a 4.5/5 star rating and 71% overall excellent reviews. Aside from ratings and servers, NordVPN is also a powerhouse when it comes to features. Other than offering essential features like Military-grade encryption, Kill Switch, NordVPN also offers unique features like Onion Over VPN, CyberSec, and much more.

Similar to other VPNs we’ve talked about so far, NordVPN also supports a ton of operating systems and devices. Best of all, it’s not going to burn a hole in your pocket. Even with so many features, NordVPN only costs $5.29/mo (Save 68% and get 3 extra months FREE with 24-month plan). And it’s also worth noting that you can secure up to 6 devices with a single NordVPN account.

Read our complete review of NordVPN if you are thinking to get this VPN.

CyberGhost vs. Other VPNs

If you thought that NordVPN was the king of servers, wait till I tell you about CyberGhost. Currently, CyberGhost offers 7,700+ servers in 90+ countries. That’s seriously impressive. Aside from the massive server network, CyberGhost has 15 years of industry experience so you know its legit.

As for Trustpilot review, CyberGhost has a 4.8/5 star rating and 84% excellent reviews. Although CyberGhost doesn’t advertise a ton of features on its websites, it still offers 256-bit military-grade encryption, automatic kill switch, a strict no-logs policy, Adblocker, Malware Blocker and tons more.

In terms of compatibility, it’s hard to not find a device that doesn’t work with CyberGhost. You can use it on your desktop, laptop, smartphone or you can even set it up on your router. But despite all that Cybeghost has to offer, it is not all that expensive. It starts from just $2.29/mo and lets you use it on 7 devices at the same time.

To know more you can also check out the detailed Cyberghost review.

StrongVPN vs. Other VPNs

Moving forward, let’s talk about StrongVPN. Although you might not have heard about this VPN before, but it is a great service to use. It has a solid 4.7/5 star rating on Trustpilot and 85% of users have given it an excellent rating. As for its servers, StrongVPN offers 950+ servers in 30+ countries. That’s not a lot, however, it is still more than some other VPNs out there.

StrongVPN also offers a lot of competitive features. For starters, they offer some 59,500 VPN IPs for you to use. In addition, StrongVPN offers Zero logging, 24/7 customer support, No speed limits and much more. If we talk about compatibility, StrongVPN works with iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and more. Price-wise StrongVPN is a bit pricy starting from $3.66/mo. However, it lets you use one account on 12 devices simultaneously.

To know more you can also check out the detailed StrongVPN review.

PrivateVPN vs. Other VPNs

Compared to other VPNs, PrivateVPN doesn’t offer a lot of servers. In fact, it only offers some 200 servers in 60+ countries. However, it certainly makes for it with its apps and features. But first, let’s talk about its Trustpilot rating. Currently, PrivateVPN has a solid 4.7/5 star rating and 89% excellent reviews. Now, about those features that I was talking about.

All PrivateVPN subscription plans come with IPv6 Leak Protection, 2048-bit Encryption, Killswitch, Port Forwarding, and a lot more features than can help you stream and even download torrents. As for compatibility, PrivateVPN offers optimized apps and setups to help you use it on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, and even on routers. Pricing wise PrivateVPN is quite affordable. Its cheapest plan starts from $2.00/mo and can be used on 6 devices simultaneously. 

IPVanish vs. Other VPNs

IPVanish is another highly recommend VPN service. It also has a spotless 4.7/5 Trustpilot rating. What’s impressive is the fact that 83% of users have rated IPVanish as excellent. As for features, IPVanish doesn’t offer a lot of features. However, you still get access to 2,000+ servers in 75+ locations. In addition, IPVanish offers 256-Bit AES Encryption, No Logs, SOCKS5 Web Proxy, and a bunch of other features.

One thing you’ll really like about IPVanish is its SugarSync feature. This feature is included with all IPVanish subscription plans and allows you to create encrypted data backups. IPVanish is also cross-platform compatible meaning you can use it with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, routers and on a few other devices. If we talk about pricing, IPVanish starts from $3.99/mo and can be used on 10 devices at the same time. 

To know more you can also check out the detailed IPVanish VPN review.

PureVPN vs. Other VPNs

PureVPN is kind of the underdog in the world of VPNs. Although PureVPN has somewhat of a bad rep, but if you get a chance to use it yourself, you’ll be actually surprised by how good it is. I mean, just look its Trustpilot rating. PureVPN has a 4.8/5 star rating and 85% excellent reviews.

As for the features, PureVPN literally gives you everything you could ever want from a VPN service. This can’t be said for most other VPNs.You get 256-bit encryption as standard and other features like Port Forwarding, Kill Switch, DDoS protection, DNS leak protection, 10Gbit connection speed, and the list just goes on and on.

Oh! and did I tell you about their relatively large server park. At the moment, they offer around 6500+ servers in 78+ countries worldwide. Although it has gotten a bit pricier recently starting from $1.99/mo, however, PureVPN lets you use one subscription plan on 10 devices simultaneously.

PIA vs. Other VPNs

As the name suggests, Private Internet Access is truly private. Starting with Trustpilot, PIA has a 4.1/5 star rating and 65% excellent reviews. PIA also offers quite a massive server network. Currently, it has thousands of servers in 70+ countries. With so many servers, you should have no issue unblocking any geo-blocked content in the world. As for features, you can’t really go wrong with Private Internet Access.

For starters, PIA offers ad and malware blocker, SOCKS5 Proxy, Multiple VPN Gateways, and tons of other amazing features. Compatibility wise, PIA is great. It is compatible with Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and 34 other platforms. As for pricing, Private Internet Access is not all that expensive. In fact, it starts from just $2.19/mo which is not bad at all. All of its subscription plans are covered by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee and can be used on 10 devices simultaneously.

VyprVPN vs. Other VPNs

Last but not least, let’s check out VyprVPN. Unlike other VPNs, VyprVPN likes to do things a bit differently. First, let’s check out its Trustpilot rating and then we’ll move over to its features. Unlike all the other VPNs we’ve covered so far, VyprVPN has a slightly low rating. It only has a 2.9/5 star rating and 40% excellent reviews. But other than the Trustpilot rating, VyprVPN offers some pretty cool features.

Just to name a few, VyprVPN offers an Audited No Logs policy, High-End Encryption/ NAT Firewall, Kill Switch and extra value-added features like VyprVPN Cloud. If we talk about its server network, VyprVPN offers around 700+ servers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Price-wise VyprVPN is quite affordable if we compare VPNs. Its best plan starts from $8.33/mo and can be used on 5 devices simultaneously.

Our VPN Comparison Criteria

Comparing VPNs can be a tedious task. We say this because not all VPNs are designed the same. When it comes to comparing VPNs, we have to get down to the nitty-gritty and compare features like privacy policy, encryption, security features, apps and so much more.

Following are the key factors that we consider when comparing VPN providers.

VPN Cost/Price Comparison

One of the major features to look for when comparing VPNs is price and does it justify the quality of the service offered. Therefore, we review the pricing plans of each VPN to make sure we are getting the best value for our money.

When it comes to VPN pricing comparison, low prices do not generally mean greater value. A VPN might offer affordable plans, but the quality of its service might not be acceptable.

We prefer VPNs that offer flexible subscription plans, and various VPN deals to choose from. We also compare the refund policy offered by VPN providers, and the total price you need to pay upfront.

VPN Speed Test Comparison

Speed is essential when it comes to VPN comparison. Even though a VPN generally slows down your speed a little bit, we prefer VPNs that do not negatively affect your speeds by more than 20-30%.

For our VPN comparison, we test speeds on Windows, macOS, and smartphones (iPhone, Android). To determine the speed, we use the speed test tool from Ookla to check download, and upload speed with pings.

First, we test your internet speed without the VPN. Then connect it and see how much better or worse things get.
The less time it takes for you to download a movie or song online with the VPN connected the better.

Ease of Use: Apps and Setup

Good VPNs offer native apps for various devices and platforms. In our comparisons, we take a close look at each device for which the provider offers an app, as well as those supported by installing a VPN onto your router.

Not all devices offer native apps for VPNs, therefore, it is a plus point if the provider offers a Smart DNS feature. With Smart DNS, you can stream geo-restricted content on any device you have without any issues.

Features Comparison

When it comes to comparing VPNs, here are the essential features to look out for along with bonus features:

Kill Switch

It is essential that the VPN offers a kill switch feature that shuts down your activity in case the VPN connection fails. We prefer VPNs that offer kill switches on all apps/ devices, versus VPNs that only offer kill switches on a few devices only.

Encryption

For us, it is essential that the VPN offers AES 256-bit encryption and nothing less. It is the industry standard right now, as it can withstand even brute force attacks. VPNs that encrypt traffic using a 128-bit cipher are a big NO.

Split Tunneling

Another important feature that VPNs must have is split tunneling. We prefer VPNs with this feature as it allows users to route some of the traffic over a VPN and some over the normal connection, as it lowers the bandwidth usage, offering faster speeds.

Multi-Hop

You must have heard the saying, two heads are better than one? Well, the same is true in the case of VPNs. Some VPNs offer a feature called Multi-Hop, or Double VPN that reroutes and encrypts your data through two different servers, offering advanced anonymity.

Torrenting

Many VPN services allow P2P traffic on their servers, but not all. Some VPNs offer dedicated P2P servers only, while some like ExpressVPN allow P2P on all servers. We prefer VPNs with more P2P server locations so you can get faster download speeds.

IP Addresses

We prefer VPNs that offer rotating IP addresses, so every time you connect to a VPN server, you are assigned a new IP address. Moreover, static and dedicated IP addresses are also a bonus feature. Most VPNs like NordVPN offer dedicated IP addresses in some countries for an extra fee ($70/year).

Unblocking Capability

More than 50% of the users opt for a VPN for streaming geo-restricted content. Therefore, we compare VPNs on their unblocking ability and see which services they can help users access.

Streaming services like Netflix use IP detecting mechanisms to block VPN traffic, therefore, not all VPNs are ideal for streaming.

Moreover, the best VPNs should work with streaming services, and unblock geo-restricted games, and social media apps.

Servers

As a rule of thumb, the more servers, the better. We prefer VPNs that offer the most servers covering a wide range of locations.

VPNs like ExpressVPN offer over 3000+ servers in 160 locations, making it easy for you to get any local IP address you want to unblock content abroad.

Moreover, a large server network means you can easily connect to a location near you to make sure you get fast connection speeds.

Privacy

VPNs are mostly used as a tool to acquire online privacy and anonymity. When it comes to privacy, VPN jurisdiction is very important. We prefer companies that are not based in Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes countries.

We thoroughly read the privacy policies of each VPN to find out what kind of data they store. We prefer companies that only keep necessary information to uphold accounts and no more.

Customer Service and Support

No matter how tech-savvy you are, it is normal to run into problems while using a VPN. Hence, it is important that the VPN offers good customer support. We prefer providers that offer 24/7 live chat support for quick assistance in case you need to troubleshoot.

We also look at the knowledge base offered, with setup guides, and other forms of support systems.

Best VPN Comparisons

• Surfshark vs ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost
• NordVPN vs CyberGhost vs PureVPN
• Surfshark vs NordVPN vs PureVPN
• PureVPN vs ExpressVPN vs Surfshark
• NordVPN vs ExpressVPN vs PureVPN
• Avast SecureLine vs ExpressVPN vs NordVPN

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I compare VPNs?

When it comes to comparing VPNs, there are a lot of features that need to be taken into account. For example, you need to look at the jurisdiction of the VPN, privacy policy, servers, unblocking abilities, speed, encryption, and much more.

How can I compare VPN features?

You can check our detailed VPN comparison to compare the VPN features that you are looking for. You can compare prices, speed, streaming services unblocked, and more.