NordVPN vs ExpressVPN (2026): price, privacy, protocols, which to pick

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN is close, and the honest answer depends on what you weigh. NordVPN has the deeper record of independent no-logs checks and is usually a little cheaper per month on its long plan, while ExpressVPN has a real-world server seizure that found nothing, its own audited protocol, and a cheaper renewal on its basic tier.

Both are large, mainstream, paid-only services with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and both have something in their history worth knowing before you hand them your traffic. This comparison sets the facts side by side, from the providers’ own pages and the auditors’ and journalists’ reports, all checked on November 12, 2026. We haven’t run speed tests and don’t publish speed scores; where speed comes up, we say what affects it. For each provider’s full profile, see our NordVPN review and ExpressVPN review.

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN at a glance

Prices as listed on Nov 12, 2026 on ExpressVPN’s order page²; NordVPN’s site blocks automated checks, so its prices are as reported by Gizmodo on October 21, 2026¹. Promotions and renewals change often.

Which is cheaper, NordVPN or ExpressVPN?

On the cheapest tiers, ExpressVPN Basic was slightly cheaper up front ($83.72 for 28 months against NordVPN Basic’s reported $94.23 for 27) and renews for less ($99.95 a year against a reported $139.08). Month to month, both cost $14.99.

Two cautions. First, the headline per-month figure only applies if you pay for the whole term up front; both bill the full amount on day one. Second, ExpressVPN’s order page appears to test different prices on different visitors: on two loads the same day its Advanced and Pro 2-year prices differed ($4.49 vs $4.19 a month for Advanced), and the page’s own data labels the Basic 2-year price as an A/B test. You may see something else.

Higher tiers add other products. ExpressVPN’s Advanced and Pro add more devices, and Pro includes a dedicated IP. NordVPN’s Complete and Prime tiers bundle Nord Security’s other apps; reported 2-year prices are $4.49 and $7.49 a month. If you only want the VPN, the Basic tier of either is enough. For the whole market, see the cheapest VPNs compared.

Which has the better no-logs record?

NordVPN has more independent no-logs checks; ExpressVPN has the more dramatic real-world test. Neither has ever been shown to have handed over user activity logs.

NordVPN. It has commissioned six no-logs assurance engagements. The first two, in 2018 and 2020, were by PwC, per Wikipedia’s summary⁷; the last four by Deloitte. The fifth gave Deloitte access from November 18 to December 20, 2024 and covered standard, Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated and P2P servers, according to Nord Security⁸. The sixth ran over a month at the end of 2025 under the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standard and was published in February 2026, as TechRadar reported⁹, which also notes a separate Cure53 security audit of NordVPN’s systems in 2025 that found no critical flaws.

ExpressVPN. KPMG examined its TrustedServer system and privacy-policy claims as of February 28, 2025 under ISAE (UK) 3000 and gave reasonable assurance, published in June 2025¹⁰. It is a “Type 1” engagement: it checks how controls were designed at one moment, not how they ran over months. The stronger evidence is from 2017, when Turkish authorities seized an ExpressVPN server while investigating the assassination of Russia’s ambassador. ExpressVPN said it keeps no connection or activity logs and the inspection turned up nothing useful, as TorrentFreak reported¹². ExpressVPN counts its audits across products; by June 2026 it was at 27 independent audits¹¹.

Has NordVPN or ExpressVPN been hacked?

NordVPN had one server breached in 2018 and didn’t disclose it until October 2019. We found no comparable breach of ExpressVPN’s servers; its controversy is about people and ownership.

In March 2018 an attacker got into a single NordVPN server at a data center in Finland through an insecure remote-management system the data-center provider had left, and an expired internal private key leaked. NordVPN said the server held no user activity logs. It became public when NordVPN confirmed it¹³ in October 2019, about a year and a half later. More recently, in October 2026, Nord Security patched a Windows app flaw that let a local, low-privileged attacker stop unprotected Windows services, per TechRadar¹⁴; version 8.12.0.0 and later are fixed.

ExpressVPN’s issue is different. In 2021 Daniel Gericke, then its chief technology officer, entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department over hacking work he had done for the United Arab Emirates before joining. ExpressVPN kept him in the role, as Euronews and Reuters reported¹⁵. Whether that matters to you is a judgment call; it didn’t involve ExpressVPN’s customers.

Who owns NordVPN and ExpressVPN?

NordVPN belongs to Nord Security, which since 2022 also owns Surfshark. ExpressVPN belongs to Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost and Private Internet Access. Between them, two groups own five of the ten VPNs we compare.

NordVPN says it is based in Panama and operates under Panamanian law, with its parent Nord Security headquartered in the Netherlands, per its help center³. In 2022 Nord Security and Surfshark joined forces⁴ under one holding company and said both would keep operating autonomously.

ExpressVPN runs under British Virgin Islands law, and its privacy policy⁵ (updated October 2, 2026) names Kape Technologies PLC as the ultimate holding company. Kape, called Crossrider until 2018, bought ExpressVPN in 2021 for about $936 million, as The Register reported⁶. Some people avoid Kape brands because of Crossrider’s past in browser-extension software; others judge each brand on its own audits. If you want to spread your trust across unrelated companies, it’s worth knowing who owns what before you buy two “different” VPNs.

NordLynx vs Lightway: which protocol is better?

Both are modern and fast by design. NordLynx is WireGuard with a privacy layer; Lightway is ExpressVPN’s own protocol, open source and independently audited. ExpressVPN is the only big provider here without WireGuard.

NordVPN explains on its NordLynx page¹⁶ that plain WireGuard needs servers to keep a static table linking users to internal IP addresses, so it built a “double NAT system” that gives every user on a server the same local address and assigns per-session addresses only while a session is active. Its protocol help page¹⁷ also lists OpenVPN over UDP or TCP and NordWhisper for networks that block VPNs.

ExpressVPN offers Lightway on every app and router, plus OpenVPN and IKEv2 in some automatic setups, and says plainly¹⁸ it doesn’t support WireGuard. Lightway is built on the wolfSSL library and was rewritten in Rust; Praetorian and Cure53 audited the new code in late 2024 and found nothing critical, per ExpressVPN’s February 2025 post¹⁹. If you specifically want WireGuard (for example to configure a router or a third-party client), NordVPN is the one that offers it, in NordLynx form. Our protocol guide explains the differences.

Is NordVPN faster than ExpressVPN?

We haven’t tested it, and you should be wary of anyone who gives a single answer. Speed depends mostly on the distance to the server, how busy it is, your own connection and device, and the protocol.

What we can say is that both default to lightweight modern protocols (NordLynx and Lightway) rather than the older, slower OpenVPN, so either should be quick enough for streaming and video calls on a decent connection. The practical test is your own: both have a 30-day refund window, so try the servers you’ll actually use during it.

Which is better for streaming and torrenting?

Neither is a clear winner on what we can verify. Both advertise streaming support, but providers’ “works with” claims change often, and using a VPN to reach another country’s catalog usually breaks the streaming service’s terms.

For torrenting, port forwarding is the feature that matters, and neither does it simply: NordVPN offers it only with its paid Dedicated Server add-on (help article²⁰), and ExpressVPN only in its router app, where forwarded ports sit outside the VPN tunnel (support page²¹). If that matters to you, look at PIA or Proton VPN, and read the best VPNs for torrenting and for streaming. A VPN doesn’t make copyright infringement legal; nothing here is legal advice.

Devices, features and free options

NordVPN allows up to 10 devices at once on its plans, per its help center²². ExpressVPN’s order page² lists 10 on Basic, 12 on Advanced and 14 on Pro, with a dedicated IP included in Pro. ExpressVPN’s features page²³ says its servers run entirely in RAM (what it calls TrustedServer) and lists a kill switch and split tunneling.

Neither has a free plan. NordVPN offers a 7-day trial in 15 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, but only on 1- and 2-year plans of its top tiers, per its trial help page²⁴. ExpressVPN’s team launched a separate free, ad-supported app, EventVPN, on the Apple App Store in 2025, as Tom’s Guide reported²⁶. Both refund within 30 days: NordVPN on the first purchase of a new subscription, not renewals, with App Store and Amazon purchases refunded by those stores (terms²⁵); ExpressVPN for first-time users who ask support.

NordVPN or ExpressVPN: which should you pick?

Pick NordVPN if the depth of independent no-logs checks matters most to you, you want WireGuard (as NordLynx), or you’ll use its obfuscation on networks that block VPNs. Accept that its renewal price is higher and that a 2018 breach took about 18 months to come out.

Pick ExpressVPN if you want the cheaper renewal on the basic tier, more devices on the higher tiers, its own audited protocol on routers and every app, or you find a seized server that yielded nothing more convincing than an audit. Accept Kape’s ownership and the Gericke case.

If neither fits, Proton VPN vs NordVPN and ExpressVPN vs Surfshark cover the closest alternatives, and the comparison table lists all ten providers side by side.

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