ExpressVPN vs NordVPN vs SurfsharkVPN vs PureVPN

Which VPN should you choose? These are all popular and famous VPN providers, proud of their zero logging policies, good speeds, and the ability to unblock Netflix and other streaming services. So, what are the differences that you should take into consideration when you purchase a VPN subscription? And which is the best VPN for you? NordVPN is registered in Panama, SurfsharkVPN and ExpressVPN in British Virgin Islands, while PureVPN is Hong Kong based. But, who cares? Which is the best for you?

There are many VPN comparison articles online, but not many of them will compare ExpressVPN, NordVPN, SurfsharkVPN, and PureVPN in the same article. But, here I am about to give you the information you have been looking for, making the decision easier for you to make. Would you like to know which is the fastest VPN? Or which is the best for watching Netflix online? Or are you more interested in getting awesome speeds when downloading and uploading content with Torrent programs? Maybe you just want to be hidden and unblock social media sites? Or are you in China and want to visit websites on the other side of the great firewall of China? Or would you just like to have a VPN subscription that will keep you safe online, while paying as little as possible? Keep on reading!

Which is the best VPN?

If you want the cheapest VPN, choose SurfsharkVPN (or PureVPN)

I will start with what I believe might be the most important to most people, that is, the price. If you want to pay as little as possible for as much as possible, or simply to surf encrypted, then SurfsharkVPN is the cheapest option. This VPN provider is the newest on the market of the four we compare in this article as it was registered in 2018. They have been running with a two-year plan costing less than 50 USD, making it the cheapest option of the four compared in this article.

But, you should also consider PureVPN. This VPN provider has great prices as well, and they very often come with special discounts and packages, some in which you can get a five year subscription for less than 100 USD and so on. But, in general, SurfsharkVPN is the cheapest of the four VPN services.


If you only want to buy a subscription for one month, PureVPN is currently the cheapest option of the four. NordVPN comes second, while SurfsharkVPN ends up third and ExpressVPN has the most expensive prices. For a long term subscription, ExpressVPN once again has the most expensive subscription prices. You can see the complete price comparison below.

The cheapest VPN
If you want to buy a subscription to the cheapest of the four VPN services, go for SurfsharkVPN

Surfshark VPNwith 30-day money back guarantee

Click the button above to visit their website.

NordVPNExpressVPNPureVPNSurfsharkVPN
1-month$10,64$12,95$6,49$11,95
6-months$59,95$49,98
12-months$74,65$99,95$71,88
24-months$74,55$47,76
The prices may change, but at the time of writing, these are the actual prices of the four VPN providers

If you want blazing speeds, choose ExpressVPN

I am doing speed tests all throughout the year in which I compare different VPN providers. I connect to servers nearby, far away, and in big countries such as the United States, the UK, and other places. Since I am testing all four VPN services at the same time, I get a good feeling and I am able to compare their speeds and results.

Based on many of my recent speed tests, I would say that ExpressVPN is the fastest of the four VPN services. They have the highest averages speeds in my tests, closely followed by NordVPN. SurfsharkVPN is getting better and better, but they are still a bit behind both NordVPN and ExpressVPN. PureVPN is everything between top-notch and slow, depending on which server you connect to. As a result, you will have no trouble finding a fast PureVPN server, but you might find a slow one before you find the fast one.

The fastest VPN
If you want to buy a subscription to the fastest of the four VPN services, go for ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN49% discount - 3 free months

Click the button above to visit their website.

Do you want to watch Netflix? Choose SurfsharkVPN

All the mentioned VPN providers work very well with Netflix, but there are some differences still. All of them work with American Netflix, and all work with Canadian Netflix and Dutch Netflix. But, with SurfsharkVPN you can get access to Netflix content in more than 10 other countries. ExpressVPN support 8 countries in total, so does PureVPN, while NordVPN supports Netflix content in 5 countries.

In other words, they are all better than most other VPNs on the market, but there is a quite big difference between the four providers. Considering the fact that SurfsharkVPN currently gives you access to Netflix content in somewhere between 13-15 countries make this the best of the four VPNs if you want to stream Netflix content in other countries.

Do not forget that since May 2020, Netflix has changed their rules. You can now connect with any VPN and watch Netflix, but if you use a VPN “blocked” by Netflix, you will only see the original content available (and not the actual register of TV shows and movies available in that given country). This is why it is important to use a VPN that gives actual access to the content in the country you are looking for.

It is also important to know that many ExpressVPN and PureVPN servers are blocked by Netflix, which will let you see the Netflix original content only (if you connect to one of those). In other words, you need to manually discover which VPN servers will actually unblock Netflix. SurfsharkVPN and NordVPN use a SmartDNS inside their VPN, meaning that you will automatically use an IP that works with Netflix. As a result, you will much easier be able to stream the actual Netflix content you are looking for without connect to all sorts of servers when you use NordVPN and SurfsharkVPN.

The best VPN for Netflix
Do you want the VPN that gives you access to Netflix in most countries? Use SurfsharkVPN.

Surfshark VPNwith 30-day money back guarantee

Click the button above to visit their website.

Do you want to get access to IP addresses in as many countries as possible? Choose PureVPN!

Are you a person who wants to have a VPN subscription to a VPN that will give you access to IP addresses in as many countries as possible? Are you interesting in accessing and using VPN servers in not so “typical” countries like Sudan, Palestine, Syria, and others? PureVPN is by far the biggest VPN among the four with servers in more than 100 different countries. Coming up behind them you will find ExpressVPN with servers in 95 countries.

NordVPN and SurfsharkVPN are “small” compared to PureVPN and ExpressVPN as they have servers in approximately 60 countries (only). But, to be honest, most people don’t need servers in more than hundred countries, as they will only connect to 4-5 different servers, depending on their purpose. However, those in need of IP addresses in more seldom countries, PureVPN is the provider that is most likely to offer you what you are looking for.

The “biggest” VPN provider
Do you want the VPN that gives you access to IP addresses in more than 100 countries? Go for PureVPN!

PureVPNwith 31-day full refund

Click the button above to visit their website.

Which VPN has the best VPN applications? Choose for yourself!

All VPN services on the market comes with VPN applications for Windows, Macintosh, iOS, and for Android devices. But, all the four VPN services at action in this article also has applications for Linux, Fire TV, Android TV’s, and even more operating systems. In other words, they are ideal for those who want to install and run the VPN on all sorts of devices.

I have tested them all and to be honest, they are all extremely easy to use. I would say that the cleanest application belongs to SurfsharkVPN (closely followed by ExpressVPN), while the NordVPN application and the PureVPN applications are a bit slower. NordVPN has a big map in the main window of their application, something I don’t really see the use of. But, if you like to see a map and choose your VPN location based on that, it isn’t bad at all.

The PureVPN application comes with more options and connection settings. In other words, you can choose streaming and select which TV network or streaming service you are interested in. This will automatically connect you to a VPN server that works with the mentioned streaming service. That is quite useful, because with the other providers, you might have to try several servers before you find the actual server that works with the service you are interested in.

PureVPN vs ExpressVPN vs NordVPN vs SurfsharkVPN

The best VPN for China – Maybe NordVPN or SurfsharkVPN

Are you looking for a VPN that you can use while in China? Do not forget to purchase your VPN subscription before you arrive, because once you are there, it is way harder to actually visit the websites of the popular VPN providers. Do you know why? Just like many other social media websites, they are blocked by the Great Firewall of China. As a result, you will not be able to visit the websites of ExpressVPN, PureVPN, SurfsharkVPN, and NordVPN.

But, are you worried about the consequences of using a VPN in China? Due to recent communication I have had with VPN providers, they have not ever heard of incidents in which Chinese people (or foreigners) have been punished for using a VPN in China. As a result, you will not be punished for doing so. The second thing that might sound even better is the fact that VPN services such as NordVPN and SurfsharkVPN uses something called obfuscating. Do you know what it is? It makes VPN traffic look like normal traffic, but without the ISPs and the government being able to see what you are doing or stopping it. As a result, they will not even know that you are actually using a VPN. Doesn’t that sound nice?

The best VPNs for China
Which VPN will help you visit social media sites and write and blog without worrying while in China? Go for NordVPN or SurfsharkVPN.

Surfshark VPNwith 30-day money back guarantee
Click the button above to visit the SurfsharkVPN website.

NordVPN75% discount - 30-day full refund
Click the button above to visit the NordVPN website.

The best VPN for P2P (Torrenting)

Would you like to distribute and download files using the Peer-to-peer technology (often referred to as P2P)? All the four VPN services at hand will help you download and upload and work with P2P services, sites, and applications. But, not all servers work, meaning that they normally have servers dedicated to this purpose. If speed is of the essence (something it normally is), then you might want to skip PureVPN, but besides that, you can freely go for any of the other three VPNs for this purpose.

If you want to protect yourself even more, then you have double connections available with both SurfsharkVPN and NordVPN, something that will connect you to one VPN server, and then to another, making it even harder to trace anything back to you. In certain countries, you are punished for using Torrent services. As a result, you might get a check in the post that you need to pay if you download a movie or other illegal content using P2P services. Using a VPN service is a much cheaper solution in such cases.

If I had to choose one VPN for P2P, then it would be either NordVPN or SurfsharkVPN.

The best VPN services for Torrenting (P2P)
Want to download a lot and upload files and maybe even earn BTT tokens using uTorrent? Which VPN to choose? Go for NordVPN or SurfsharkVPN!

Surfshark VPNwith 30-day money back guarantee
Click the button above to visit the SurfsharkVPN website.

NordVPN75% discount - 30-day full refund
Click the button above to visit the NordVPN website.

ExpressVPN, NordVPN, SurfsharkVPN, or PureVPN – Which to choose?

I have written about many different aspects of the three VPN services in this article. Which will you choose? I think you should decide based on what your goal is with the VPN. If you want streaming, choose the one that is best for streaming. If you want speeds and P2P, choose the best options for that. Would you rather connect to servers and get an IP address in smaller countries, follow my suggestions based on that. Would you just like protection and several bonus features, go for the cheapest option. No matter what, all four providers has solid money-back guarantees, meaning that you will be protected no matter which one you choose.

There are no solution that comes with it all. Even though you pay more for ExpressVPN, it will not turn into the best VPN for Netflix (no matter what).


I have now shared my intel and insight on the topic. Which VPN will you choose? What made you decide the way you did? Are you satisfied with the VPN you are using? I would love to hear your thoughts and your comments!

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