ExpressVPN Vs. Private Internet Access (PIA) – Forbes Advisor INDIA

In a virtual private network (VPN) market flooded with options, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access (PIA) have distinguished themselves as top competition—garnering mass popularity and praise. So much so, in fact, that they made it onto our best VPNs. Below, we break down how the two VPNs compare to help you decide which is right for you.

ExpressVPN vs. Private Internet Access (PIA): At a Glance

ExpressVPN and PIA are both full-featured VPNs providing internet protocol (IP) spoofing to hide your identity and military-grade encryption to protect your data, but they have their differences.

PIA makes a stand against the competition with affordable price points as low as INR 167.90 ($2.03) a month while offering premium add-ons, such as dedicated IP and antivirus software. ExpressVPN uses a proprietary VPN protocol and server technology to make streaming content and bypassing censorship easy and reliably fast.

FEATURED PARTNER OFFER

ExpressVPN

Monthly subscription cost

INR 1,071.10 ($12.95) per month

Maximum number of connections

Buy Now

On ExpressVPN’s secure website

Monthly subscription cost

INR 1,071.10 ($12.95) per month

Maximum number of connections

Why We Picked It

ExpressVPN is intuitive and easy to use, and it provides uncompromising security and speed with its proprietary Lightway protocol. While it lacks some features geared towards businesses, it’s a great choice for personal use with excellent streaming, unblocking capabilities and a wide selection of obfuscated servers across the globe. It is also headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, so it has no obligation to share user data with governments.

Pros & Cons

• Lightway protocol produces fast and reliable speeds
• Included router app can help in installation process
• Headquartered in a privacy-friendly country
• Obfuscated servers hide VPN activity

• On the pricier side
• No business features
• Only eight simultaneous connections

FEATURED PARTNER OFFER

Private Internet Access

Monthly subscription cost

INR 988.39 ($11.95) per month

Maximum number of connections

Buy Now

On Private Internet Access’s Website

Monthly subscription cost

INR 988.39 ($11.95) per month

Maximum number of connections

Why We Picked It

PIA hosts a staggering 50,000-plus servers across the globe, and its extended subscription plans deliver some of the best value on the VPN market today. Users can find the greatest value in the three-year subscription, which costs as little as INR 163.77 ($1.98) per month. Despite its bargain prices, PIA still delivers top-notch security, and it even provides business-grade features such as a dedicated IP add-on and a corporate VPN package that bundles accounts and sells them at discounted rates.

Pros & Cons

• Over 50,000 servers
• Unlimited connections
• Dedicated IP and antivirus add-ons
• Corporate VPN feature
• Email breach scanner included
• Best savings locked behind long subscription plans
• Not headquartered in privacy-friendly country

• Can only stream on certain servers

How ExpressVPN and PIA Stack Up

A VPN has two primary jobs: spoofing your IP address and encrypting your traffic to increase privacy and security. While both ExpressVPN and PIA perform these tasks successfully, they do so using different technology while also offering a host of features to set themselves apart from each other.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of important features offered by the two VPN providers to highlight their similarities and differences.

Servers

There are two important considerations in regard to VPN servers: server count and server spread. As far as server count goes, PIA has a significant advantage over ExpressVPN because it has over 50,000 servers compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000-plus. High server count is important, as it increases the likelihood of connecting to a server that isn’t overcrowded—increasing performance.

However, server spread is important for offering a more diverse number of IP addresses across the globe to choose from. This aspect can be vital for users who are looking to stream content from specific regions or to bypass government VPN-blocking and content censoring. ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries whereas PIA has servers in 91, so users will have slightly more flexibility when choosing server locations to connect with when using ExpressVPN.

Server Obfuscation

Server obfuscation technology hides the fact that you are using a VPN. While both ExpressVPN and PIA provide obfuscation, they do so differently.

PIA obfuscates your VPN activity through a proxy server Multi-Hop feature which routes your traffic through PIA’s Shadowsocks server—where it is obfuscated—before it travels to the VPN server. You will have to set up the Multi-Hop feature, and PIA notes on its support page that Shadowsocks isn’t available in all PIA locations. Also, since another layer of encryption is added to your traffic, using Shadowsocks can result in slower connection speeds.

ExpressVPN will obfuscate your traffic by using what they call stealth servers. Unlike PIA, this feature doesn’t require any action from the user’s end and is available on all of ExpressVPN’s servers—allowing users to choose servers closer to their real location in order to increase connection speeds.

RAM-Only Servers

ExpressVPN and PIA employ the use of diskless, RAM-only servers. This technology adds a degree of ensured privacy from both providers because RAM-only servers wipe all data every time the servers are rebooted.

Privacy

Most users shopping for a VPN are doing so with privacy in mind, so it’s always important to review company privacy protocols as well as auditing history and jurisdictions.

Both VPNs have no-logs policies—meaning they never collect or store any user data—which they can both back up through successful independent audits. PIA passed an audit in 2022 performed by Deloitte, and ExpressVPN passed an audit in 2022 performed by KPMG.

PIA is headquartered in the U.S., a country that is a member of the Five Eyes alliance. This status means that PIA is obligated to disclose information about users to the government if called upon to do so. However, the fact that PIA was able to prove the validity of its no-logs policy by passing the 2022 Deloitte audit means that—even if called upon—PIA wouldn’t have much, if any, user information to pass on to the government.

ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands—known to be a privacy- and security-friendly location because of its lack of data-retention laws. ExpressVPN has no incentive or obligation to share user data if called upon by any intelligence alliance or government.

Security

VPN Protocols

The performance and security of a VPN can largely be determined by the VPN protocols it employs. ExpressVPN and PIA use IKEv2 and OpenVPN, which are both regarded as the best options on the market for privacy and security. IKEv2 is mostly used for mobile devices or when regularly switching between networks, while OpenVPN acts as the baseline protocol for users looking for maximum security.

While OpenVPN and IKEv2 are solid options security-wise, they aren’t going to be the fastest, which is why both VPN providers offer protocols specifically built with speed in mind. PIA users have WireGuard as an option, which does a good job at increasing speeds while still providing strong security.

ExpressVPN developed its own protocol called Lightway. Generally speaking, proprietary protocols such as Lightway have an advantage over nonproprietary ones because they are designed from the ground up to work optimally with the VPN provider’s system. They usually deliver faster speeds and impeccable security—both of which apply to the Lightway protocol.

Encryption

Both ExpressVPN and PIA use the gold standard for encryption today, AES-256, which has never been cracked. ExpressVPN also provides users with ChaCha20—a simpler encryption algorithm that provides higher speeds than AES-256.

PIA provides more customization in the encryption category than ExpressVPN, where users are able to choose among five encryption options: no encryption (with IP spoofing still enabled), two types of AES-128 and two types of AES-256. The default encryption for PIA is set to AES-128, which has proven to use fewer system resources than AES-256.

Both AES-128 and AES-256 are undecipherable, so advanced PIA users can benefit from tweaking these settings to optimize their system performance while not taking any significant hit to security.

Antivirus

PIA offers premium antivirus software that can be added on separately from the VPN subscription. The antivirus protects from malware, ads and trackers and receives regular web shield and virus definition updates. The best savings for the software is found in the longest subscription, which breaks down to INR 82.71 ($1) per month for a three-year subscription. Other subscription options include INR 165.42 ($2) per month for a one-year subscription or INR 372.20  ($4.50) per month for a monthly subscription.

While antivirus may not be front-of-mind for some, users looking to invest in a complete security package can find significant value when adding the antivirus package onto their PIA subscription.

Malware and Ad Blocking

ExpressVPN and PIA both provide their own forms of malware and ad blocking. ExpressVPN uses Threat Manager, and PIA uses MACE—both of which are effective tools for combating ads, tracking and malware.

Email Breach Scanner

PIA comes with a free tool, the Email Breach Scanner, which can be used to check if your email address has come under attack from any security breaches.

DNS Leak Protection

When you’re using a VPN, ideally your traffic and DNS requests are routed through a secure, encrypted tunnel to the VPN servers. However, there are some scenarios where your DNS requests might end up going to the wrong place—namely third-party DNS servers that could expose your browsing history and even IP address. This problem might occur because of misconfigured networks, security vulnerabilities, software flaws or when moving between networks.

Both VPN providers offer a form of DNS leak protection as well as kill switches, which will cut your internet traffic entirely whenever your connection to the VPN servers is broken. They will only reconnect when the VPN servers are available again.

Speed and Performance

PIA and ExpressVPN run state-of-the-art 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) servers—currently the fastest on the market—but there are a lot of factors that can affect speed, such as which VPN protocols are being used, distance from servers, server population, encryption strength and more.

In our own testing using Ookla’s free speed test while connected to the nearest possible VPN servers, PIA produced average download speeds of 129.55 megabits per second (Mbps) and average upload speeds of 35.24 Mbps. Compared to ExpressVPN’s average download speeds of 91.34 Mbps and average upload speeds of 34.48 Mbps, it seems PIA has a slight speed advantage over ExpressVPN.

Take these numbers with a grain of salt because you can easily conduct other legitimate speed tests comparing the two VPNs where ExpressVPN beats PIA. In fact, ExpressVPN has built a reputation not only around its speed but also the consistency with which it delivers that speed—most likely thanks to its Lightway protocol.

While PIA beat ExpressVPN in our testing, the numbers were not far off enough to say one is going to be faster than the other in every scenario. Therefore, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend one over the other based on speed alone.

Streaming

While ExpressVPN and PIA are both good VPNs for streaming because of their reliable speeds and ability to unblock content, ExpressVPN has become the go-to VPN, specifically for streaming, for good reason.

All of ExpressVPN’s servers can be used as streaming servers. Furthermore, ExpressVPN’s servers can be obfuscated, so the moment you encounter any blocking or restrictions, the obfuscation technology will kick in—masking the fact that you are using a VPN. Since all of ExpressVPN’s servers have this obfuscation capability, users can choose servers in unblocked regions that are closer to their physical location, which can increase streaming speeds.

PIA provides its users with a specific pool of streaming servers. While these servers ultimately serve their function in unblocking content, users do not have the same freedom as they do with ExpressVPN to choose any server that is closest to them. For some, this may be a non-issue, although if you happen to be a good distance from necessary streaming servers, you may experience slower speeds.

Both VPNs also provide access to a smart DNS tool that enables users to access streaming services on devices that don’t natively support VPN apps, such as smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Additional Features

Corporate VPN

PIA offers a corporate VPN feature that bundles the dedicated IP service and antivirus with multiple VPN account subscriptions sold in bulk at a discount price.

Split Tunneling

Both VPN providers offer a split tunneling feature that allows users to choose which traffic is routed through the VPN and which traffic uses the regular internet. PIA supports app- and IP-based split tunneling, whereas ExpressVPN supports device- and app-based split tunneling.

Dedicated IP

For an additional charge, PIA offers a dedicated IP address feature that gives users sole access to a static IP address. Dedicated IPs alleviate problems that can arise from crowded servers, such as poor performance or blocklisting.

Router Compatibility

Both ExpressVPN and PIA are capable of being installed on routers, although with ExpressVPN the task is made much easier through a router app. Users can also opt to buy routers with the VPNs already installed. ExpressVPN developed its own Aircove router while PIA users can choose from a variety of FlashRouters with PIA preinstalled.

Cost of ExpressVPN vs. PIA

ExpressVPN charges INR 1,071.10 ($12.95) for monthly access, INR 826.28 ($9.99) per month for a six-month subscription and also offers a special entry price of INR 688.15 ($8.32) per month for a one-year subscription (plus three free months).

PIA charges INR 988.39 ($11.95) for monthly access, INR 275.43 ($3.33) per month for a yearly subscription and offers a special INR 163.77 ($1.98) per month for a three-year subscription (plus three months free). PIA users also have the option of adding premium antivirus software and/or a dedicated IP to their subscription. Antivirus can cost as low as INR 82.71 ($1) per month for the three-year subscription, and a dedicated IP costs as low as INR 206.78 ($2.50) per month for a three-year subscription.

Businesses and offices can benefit from PIA’s corporate VPN package, which sells multiple accounts at a bulk discount. The minimum bundle of three accounts can cost as low as INR 275.43 ($3.33) per month, per account for a yearly subscription and also includes the antivirus and dedicated IP features.

PIA clearly offers more savings than ExpressVPN for individuals and businesses. However, users will need to commit to longer subscriptions to save the most. Regardless, it’s hard to argue against paying INR 163.77 ($1.98) a month for three-year access (plus three months) for a premium VPN, dedicated IP and antivirus software.

Customer Reviews and Reputation

PIA customers enjoy the competitive pricing of the VPN, especially in regard to the dedicated IP and antivirus add-ons. Many users also echo positive sentiments toward PIA’s customer service department—describing agents as patient and knowledgeable. While many negative reviews mention slower connection speeds, they reiterate that the price more than makes up for this shortcoming.

ExpressVPN’s positive reviews focus on its variety of features, speed and reliability for accessing blocked streaming content. Customers also appreciate the router app that makes installing the VPN to a router much easier. The biggest complaint customers have with ExpressVPN is its cost, which some say is too high for a VPN that only provides eight simultaneous connections.

Top ExpressVPN and PIA Alternatives

While ExpressVPN and PIA both made our top VPNs list, we know it can be overwhelming to choose which one is right for you. Here are some worthy alternatives you should consider:

Bottom Line

While we think ExpressVPN and PIA are both excellent options, they have different use cases that make either a better choice depending on how you use your VPN.

If gaming, streaming content or bypassing censorship are priorities for you—and you don’t mind paying a little more—we recommend ExpressVPN. If you are an individual or business on a budget and are looking for unlimited connections and a complete security package—including antivirus and a dedicated IP—we recommend PIA.

ExpressVPN is best for:

• Users living in internet-restrictive territories
• Avid streamers and gamers

PIA is best for:

• Individuals looking for an affordable, full-featured VPN that offers unlimited connections
• Businesses (small and large) that can make use of PIA’s corporate VPN package

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)