Simon Migliano is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times and more.
ExpressVPN and PIA are both excellent VPN services with fast speeds, strong encryption, and P2P support. However, ExpressVPN is the better VPN overall. It is faster, easier to use, more reliable for streaming, and uses its own proprietary Lightway protocol. Although PIA excels at torrenting and is cheaper at just $2.03 per month, its relatively complex interface is unsuitable for some users.
ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access (PIA) are two of the best VPNs available. We wanted to find out if there’s a significant difference between the two VPNs despite being owned by the same company: Kape Technologies Ltd.
In this guide, we compare how ExpressVPN and PIA performed in ten key testing categories, based on our detailed VPN testing process.
Our tests found that both VPNs consistently score highly on our tests for speed, security, and privacy, but there is only one winner overall. So which one is worth subscribing to in 2024?
ExpressVPN vs. PIA: Key Data Compared
Use the table below to compare ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access based on their most important attributes:
Attribute
ExpressVPN
PIA
Overall Rating
9.6
9.3
Ranking
#1
#3
Top Download Speed
97Mbps
95Mbps
Streaming Services
Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO, DAZN, Disney+
Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Prime Video, HBO, Disney+
In the rest of this article, we will provide an in-depth comparison of ExpressVPN and PIA in the following 10 testing categories. Use the table below to jump to a particular area or find out which VPN is the winner in each testing category:
As you can see from the table above, ExpressVPN outperformed PIA in four important VPN testing categories including security, streaming, customer support, and ease of use.
Private Internet Access only beats ExpressVPN in terms of logging policy, pricing, and torrenting.
Alternatively, use the chart below to visually compare ExpressVPN and PIA’s performance ratings.
Points closer to the edge indicate better VPN performance in that category.
Keep reading to see these test results in more detail.
Which VPN Is Right For You?
ExpressVPN is the overall winner in this comparison with PIA. Not only is it more secure, it’s easier to use and better for unblocking streaming services on more devices. If you’re looking for a good all-round VPN, ExpressVPN is the better choice.
However, just because ExpressVPN won in the majority of testing categories, it’s not necessarily the right VPN for everyone.
Private Internet Access is still one of the best VPN services we’ve tested. It’s more affordable than ExpressVPN, and its ratings didn’t drop below 8 out of 10 in a single testing category. In fact, PIA is still an excellent choice for bypassing censorship, securing your connection on public WiFi, or unblocking US Netflix.
If you’re interested in comparing more VPN services side-by-side, take a look at our VPN comparison tool.
Why Trust Us?
We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our advice is based on our own testing results and is unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.
Both VPNs Have Similar Speed Performance
Winner: Tie
Both PIA and ExpressVPN deliver excellent speeds that are fast enough for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. ExpressVPN is slightly faster on local connections and PIA is marginally quicker when connecting to far-away servers, but this will be unnoticeable in regular use.
We found out which VPN is faster by testing their speeds when connected to a nearby VPN server. The table below compares the average download speed, upload speed, and ping times of PIA and ExpressVPN in these local speed tests:
Speed Test
ExpressVPN
PIA
Download Speed (Mbps)
97Mbps
95Mbps
Upload Speed (Mbps)
91Mbps
92Mbps
Latency/Ping (ms)
8ms
6ms
ExpressVPN and PIA’s speed test results on a local (US-to-US) connection.
As you can see from these results, both ExpressVPN and PIA perform well on connections to nearby servers. However, ExpressVPN is marginally faster, with a speed reduction of just 3%, compared to 5% with ExpressVPN.
Overall, ExpressVPN and PIA are two of the overall fastest VPNs we’ve tested. On both local and international connections, both VPN services deliver low latency and speeds fast enough for HD streaming, quick torrenting, and lag-free online gaming.
ExpressVPN Logs Anonymous Data, PIA Logs No Data at All
Winner: PIA
Both ExpressVPN and PIA have a proven track record for privacy, exemplified by independent audits and real-world tests. Neither VPN logs activity data, but ExpressVPN does store some anonymous connection logs where PIA does not. Despite PIA’s US jurisdiction, this means PIA performs slightly better when it comes to privacy.
The table below compares ExpressVPN and PIA’s logging policies and their jurisdictions:
Privacy Criteria
ExpressVPN
PIA
Anonymous Connection Data
Yes
No
Activity Logs
No
No
Jurisdiction
British Virgin Islands (BVI)
United States (US)
Externally Audited
Yes
Yes
ExpressVPN and PIA’s logging policies and jurisdictions compared.
Both ExpressVPN and PIA have excellent privacy policies. They do not collect any personally identifiable user data, and customers do not even need to provide personal information during the payment process.
ExpressVPN does collect some anonymous connection logs, including the date you connect to the service, your choice of server location, and the total amount of data transferred each day. The company does not log your identity or activity, a fact which has been verified by independent audit.
An excerpt from ExpressVPN’s logging policy.
The connection data recorded cannot be used to identify you, but it is still not quite the same as having a zero-logs policy. By contrast, PIA does not log any information whatsoever.
PIA’s Privacy Policy confirms it doesn’t collect your browsing history, IP address, or connection timestamps.
Both ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access have had their privacy claims tested by real-world events.
ExpressVPN had a server seized in 2017, and PIA was subpoenaed for data in 2016. In both cases, neither VPN service had any information to hand over, and no user data was discovered.
PIA’s Jurisdiction Is Less Private than ExpressVPN’s
ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which means international authorities have very limited legal power to force the company to hand over user data (if it stored any).
By contrast, PIA is based in the United States, which is one of the least privacy-friendly VPN jurisdictions in the world. US authorities can legally force companies to surrender personally-identifiable user data. Fortunately, PIA does not collect any user data in the first place.
After multiple real-world verifications, it’s clear that you can trust both PIA and ExpressVPN when it comes to privacy and logging practices, regardless of their jurisdiction.
Both VPN Services Are Owned by Kape Technologies Ltd.
Kape Technologies Ltd. acquired PIA in 2019, and ExpressVPN in late 2021. The tech company also runs popular VPN service CyberGhost.
Kape, previously known as Crossrider, garnered some controversy in the past due to abuse of its browser extension platform under previous management.
However, Kape rectified such oversights in 2014. PIA and ExpressVPN operate independently, with the same privacy protections as they did prior to their acquisition.
ExpressVPN Is a More Reliable VPN for Streaming
Winner: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is better than PIA for unblocking international streaming libraries. It unblocks geo-restricted video on more servers and with a higher success rate. Unlike PIA, it also works with Disney+ and DAZN. Plus, it has a functional Smart DNS tool.
The comparison table below shows how well PIA and ExpressVPN performed in our streaming tests:
Streaming Test
ExpressVPN
PIA
US Netflix
Yes
Yes
No. of Netflix Libraries
18
6
BBC iPlayer
Unreliable
Yes
Amazon Prime Video
Yes
Yes
HBO Max
Yes
Yes
Hulu
Yes
Yes
Disney+
Yes
No
Smart DNS
Yes
Unreliable
ExpressVPN and PIA’s access to streaming services.
Compared to most VPN services, PIA is a good VPN for streaming. It unblocks 6 Netflix regions including the US, and it’s also capable of streaming BBC iPlayer, Prime Video and Hulu.
PIA is good, but ExpressVPN is better. ExpressVPN bypasses geo-blocks in 18 Netflix regions more reliably, and it consistently unblocks BBC iPlayer, Disney+, HBO, Hulu, DAZN, and Amazon Prime Video on almost every server.
In the video below, you can see ExpressVPN streaming US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu in real-time:
ExpressVPN works to unblock region-restricted content on the vast majority of streaming services.
Private Internet Access does work with US Netflix, and the VPN app includes a label for servers that are optimized for streaming. Still, it’s just not very reliable. We had to cycle through several servers before finding one that works.
In our most recent tests, ExpressVPN worked to stream the US Netflix library on every single US server except for one. If ExpressVPN isn’t working with Netflix, their customer service is very helpful in suggesting alternatives, too.
Unlike ExpressVPN, PIA’s Smart DNS tool doesn’t work either, which means you won’t be able to use it for streaming on Smart TVs and games consoles.
Overall ExpressVPN works with more Netflix regions, it’s faster internationally, and it’s a more reliable VPN for streaming US Netflix specifically. It might be more expensive than PIA, but you get a lot more for your money.
Both VPNs Offer Excellent Encryption & Security Features
Winner: ExpressVPN
PIA and ExpressVPN offer the strongest encryption and security features available, with granular options to choose the settings that work for you. However, ExpressVPN pulls ahead of PIA due to its exclusive Lightway protocol.
The table below compares ExpressVPN and PIA’s encryption strength, VPN protocols, and security features side-by-side:
Comparing ExpressVPN and PIA’s security offering side-by-side.
When it comes to encryption, both ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access are equal in almost every regard. If you’re just looking to stay safe on public WiFi, both options will suit you well.
Both VPNs offer a remarkable level of control over the way your data is encrypted. They use AES-256-CBC encryption, with an additional option for AES-256-GCM on PIA. This is combined with Perfect Forward Secrecy, a 4096-bit RSA key, and SHA-512 HMAC authentication, which verifies your connection to the server and prevents interference with the data being transmitted.
In short, PIA and ExpressVPN offer the strongest encryption available, with granular options to choose the settings that work for you. NordVPN is the only VPN more secure than ExpressVPN, due to its comprehensive cybersecurity suite.
The most secure settings aren’t selected by default in PIA, though, so we recommend changing them to OpenVPN UDP, AES-256-GCM, and RSA-2048 in the encryption settings menu.
The PIA encryption settings menu.
PIA Supports WireGuard but ExpressVPN Offers Exclusive Access to Lightway
It’s a close call when it comes to VPN tunneling protocols, too. Both VPNs let you manually choose between OpenVPN, IKE2, and L2TP/IPsec protocols, with the option to pick between UDP and TCP connections.
PIA supports WireGuard, a secure and lightweight protocol that has grown in popularity in recent years. ExpressVPN is missing WireGuard functionality, but it makes up for it with its own open-source protocol called Lightway.
Lightway is exclusive to ExpressVPN. It uses AES or ChaCha20 encryption and performs extremely well in our speed and security tests. With Lightway, you’ll consume less bandwidth and battery power than other VPN protocols due to its small codebase.
You can access the Lightway protocol in ExpressVPN’s ‘Protocol’ preferences menu.
PIA’s protocol selection doesn’t fall far behind, but support for Lightway pushes ExpressVPN slightly ahead when it comes to connection protocols.
Kill Switch & Leak Testing
We ran the mobile and desktop versions of both VPNs through IP, DNS, and WebRTC leak tests and found that our identity and location were consistently protected.
Private DNS servers and leak protection are built into both VPN services by default, but you’ll have to enable DNS leak protection manually in PIA’s Windows application, which is an unnecessary shortcoming.
Both services also include an essential VPN kill switch, which automatically disconnects you from the internet if the VPN connection drops, preventing your public IP address from being exposed.
ExpressVPN vs PIA: Additional Security Features Compared
For the vast majority of VPN users, additional features are not particularly useful. The most important thing about a VPN’s security is its encryption and protocol strength, which both ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access do very well.
If you’re an advanced VPN user looking for extra features to play with, you’ll find more options with PIA. However, they’re not always effective. ExpressVPN may have fewer additional tools, but those it has are very reliable.
Here’s a table comparing the additional features provided by ExpressVPN and PIA:
Additional Security Feature
ExpressVPN
PIA
Ad Blocker
Yes
Yes
Dedicated IP Addresses
No
Yes
Multi-Hop
No
Yes
Malware & Tracking Blocker
Yes
Yes
Private Browser
No
Yes
Shadowsocks & SOCKS5 Proxy
No
Yes
PIA offers more additional features than ExpressVPN, but they’re not always effective.
VPN split tunneling is a useful feature that both services offer on Windows, macOS, and Android. This lets you select the websites, apps, and services you want to route through the VPN’s encrypted tunnel, as well as the ones you’d like to exclude.
Where ExpressVPN’s apps focus on simplicity, PIA’s focus on configurability. In addition to the encryption settings, you’ll find various menus for setting up a dedicated IP address, configuring multi-hop connections, enabling port forwarding, and automating your VPN connection.
PIA’s additional features are exhaustive, but might be overwhelming for casual users.
These options are nice to have, especially given PIA’s cheap subscription prices. However, it’s fairly unlikely that most casual VPN users will need this much control over their network. If you’re just looking to establish a private and secure VPN connection in a particular location, it’s much easier to use ExpressVPN.
Both VPN services also include an ad and tracker blocker, but PIA’s blocked 20% more ads than ExpressVPN’s in our tests. Called PIA MACE, it can be found in the ‘Privacy’ section of the app’s settings.
We found it to be the best VPN ad blocker of any VPN, beating popular alternatives like NordVPN’s Threat Protection.
PIA Offers Port Forwarding & Faster P2P Speeds
Winner: PIA
PIA and ExpressVPN are equally safe to use for anonymous P2P file-sharing. Both VPN services support unrestricted torrenting traffic with popular clients including qBittorrent and uTorrent. Overall, PIA’s faster average bitrate and P2P-specific features make it narrowly better for torrenting.
Both ExpressVPN and PIA support unrestricted P2P activity across their entire server network. You can torrent from any server without any bandwidth limits or location restrictions.
We tested both VPN services with popular torrenting clients including qBitTorrent, uTorrent, and Deluge. We were able to successfully torrent files on every server we tested, and we didn’t record any IP or DNS leaks using either VPN.
Combined with AES-256 encryption, effective kill switch features, and safe privacy policies, this makes ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access equally safe for anonymous P2P file-sharing.
Using ExpressVPN with the qBittorrent torrent client.
If you’re looking to protect your torrenting traffic, you’ll be safe with either VPN. However, they do offer different features for P2P.
For example, if you’re on a network with a strict NAT type, PIA’s port forwarding feature lets you redirect incoming connections to ports 443, 80, 110, 53, 8080, and 9201. You can use this to bypass your NAT firewall, increasing the number of torrenting peers you can communicate with and improving your P2P upload speeds.
ExpressVPN doesn’t support port forwarding, which makes Private Internet Access the superior choice for seeding torrents.
PIA also offers native support for a SOCKS5 proxy, as well as Shadowsocks. This gives you more options for rerouting your torrenting traffic, but it will not make it more secure.
Our P2P speed tests also found that ExpressVPN is slower than PIA VPN. We measured an average download bitrate of 9.6MiB/s when torrenting with PIA VPN, which is marginally faster than the 9.4MiB/s we measured while torrenting with ExpressVPN.
Private Internet Access Is Cheaper than ExpressVPN
Winner: PIA
Private Internet Access is significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN. A PIA subscription can cost as little as $2.03 per month if you sign up for 39 months, while ExpressVPN’s cheapest price is $6.67 per month on a 15-month subscription.
The table below compares ExpressVPN and PIA based on their pricing options:
Pricing Option
ExpressVPN
PIA
One Month Price
$12.95
$11.95
Cheapest Monthly Price
$6.67 (15 months)
$2.03 (39 months)
Free Trial
7 Days (Mobile Only)
7 Days (Mobile Only)
Money-Back Guarentee
30 Days
30 Days
Comparing Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN based on their subscription prices.
PIA’s cheapest monthly price is $2.03, compared to ExpressVPN’s cheapest price of $6.67. PIA is therefore significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN, but you’ll have to sign up for 39 months.
ExpressVPN’s best offer may be more expensive, but it only requires a 15 month commitment.
If you’re not ready to sign up for a long-term subscription, there’s less of a price difference between the two services. In fact, PIA’s monthly subscription cost is just $1.00 cheaper than ExpressVPN, at $11.95 per month.
Both Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN offer a 30 day money-back guarantee, which effectively allows you to trial each VPN for free for a month. There are no genuine free trials on desktop, but both services offer a seven-day free trial on mobile devices.
Overall, PIA is the clear winner when it comes to pricing in absolute terms. If you’re willing to commit to a long-term subscription, it’s actually one of the cheapest VPNs available.
In comparison, ExpressVPN is more expensive than most VPN services. However, it’s cheapest subscription plan still represents great value given the quality of its service.
PIA Has a Larger Server Network but ExpressVPN Offers More Server Locations
Winner: Tie
Both VPN services have impressive server networks, but PIA has the largest total server count of any top VPN service. PIA’s network consists of 18,651 servers compared to ExpressVPN’s 3,000, but ExpressVPN gives you access to 15 more countries.
The table below compares the size and range of ExpressVPN and PIA’s server networks:
Server Feature
ExpressVPN
Private Internet Access
Total Server Count
3,000
18,651
No. of Countries
106
91
City-Level Servers
160
100
PIA has a huge number of individual servers, but ExpressVPN offers servers in more countries.
PIA has the largest server network of any top VPN service. Its 18,651 servers span 91 countries, including city-level locations in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. ExpressVPN has a smaller network of just 3,000 servers, but it has servers in 15 more countries and 60 more cities.
The benefit of PIA’s huge server network is that it minimizes server load, which can improve performance and increase the chances you’ll connect to a reliable server that’s close to your physical location.
However, ExpressVPN offers more countries to connect to, and a wider-selection of city-level servers.
Compared side-by-side, ExpressVPN’s server menu is simpler than PIA’s, but it displays less information.
City-level servers allow you to be more specific in your choice of nearby server, which helps you reach the absolute best speeds possible.
If you’re primarily concerned with streaming, the number of countries on offer is equally as important as the total number of servers in the network, too.
PIA and ExpressVPN both offer an impressively large server network with dozens of server locations and city-level options. You’re unlikely to have trouble finding a nearby server with either service.
ExpressVPN and PIA Work in China Most of the Time
Winner: Tie
SUMMARY: Thanks to their obfuscation technology, ExpressVPN and PIA both work in China more than 64% of the time.
Both ExpressVPN and PIA include obfuscation technology, which camouflages VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic to successfully beat censorship. In our latest tests, both VPN services successfully bypassed geo-blocks in countries like China, Turkey, and Russia.
Bypassing China’s Great Firewall is the ultimate test when it comes to a VPN’s anti-censorship abilities. Here, PIA outperforms ExpressVPN slightly. In the past 12 months of testing, PIA was able to unblock websites in China 32% of the time, while ExpressVPN worked 64% of the time.
The vast majority of VPN services simply do not work in China, so it’s to their credit that both VPNs consistently bypass restrictions in the country.
We were able to access blocked websites using PIA VPN.
ExpressVPN’s obfuscation activates by default when you switch the tunneling protocol setting to Automatic. In comparison, PIA uses Shadowsocks, a third-party proxy developed specifically for use in China.
Combined with a good choice of anti-censorship servers, this gives PIA users a greater degree of granular control over how their traffic is obfuscated. These are fine margins though; both VPNs are a safe choice for use in censorious countries like Russia, Turkey, and the UAE.
ExpressVPN’s Applications Are Much Easier to Use
Winner: ExpressVPN
Both VPNs have easy-to-use apps for all major platforms and devices. However, ExpressVPN’s apps are much simpler and more intuitive to use across all major devices and operating systems. While both VPNs offer router support, ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS works where PIA’s does not.
The table below shows how ExpressVPN and PIA are compatible with almost every major platform and device:
Compatibility Feature
ExpressVPN
PIA
Simultaneous Connections
8
unlimited
Desktop Apps
Windows, macOS, Linux
Windows, macOS, Linux
Mobile Apps
Android, iOS
Android, iOS
Browser Extensions
Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Chrome, Firefox
Additional Devices
Android TV, Fire TV
Android TV, Fire TV
Router Support
Yes
Yes
ExpressVPN and PIA’s device compatibility compared.
Once again, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access are mostly equal when it comes to device compatibility. Both services have apps for all major operating systems, and they each have router support, too.
Novice users can set up both VPNs in a few minutes and benefit from a simple “one-click connect” design that will automatically choose a recommended server based on your location.
Here’s a video of us connecting to both ExpressVPN and PIA side-by-side:
Both ExpressVPN and PIA include a simple “one-click connect” feature.
PIA offers unlimited simultaneous connections on one subscription, while ExpressVPN only offers 8. Despite these limitations, we found ExpressVPN’s apps considerably easier to use.
In fact, ExpressVPN is so easy to use that it’s hard to find a single flaw. Its applications are simple to set up, intuitive to navigate, and well-designed. In our tests, it took less than five minutes to subscribe, install, and start using the VPN apps on almost every operating system.
ExpressVPNs apps are almost identical across devices. In contrast, there are a few notable differences between each PIA app, and its settings menus are complicated to navigate at first.
This may bode well for advanced users looking for lots of intricate settings, but it’s slightly overwhelming for the average user.
Compared to ExpressVPN, PIA Isn’t Always Easy to Use
Our testing surfaced a few small usability issues with PIA. For example, its Windows app runs in the system tray by default, which pins the client to the bottom of your device’s screen. The option to detach it is buried in the app’s settings, which isn’t necessarily obvious.
Similarly, PIA’s Mac app runs in the menu bar by default. This means you can’t place the app in your dock or launch it from Spotlight, and any keyboard shortcuts you may have set up won’t work.
We also found PIA’s macOS application was fairly slow to load and operate. The app took around three seconds to load in our tests, which does add up with regular usage.
ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS Works Well, but PIA’s Doesn’t Work at All
PIA’s broken Smart DNS feature forces you to install the VPN on your router if you want to use it on your PlayStation, Xbox, or Smart TV. This will protect all of your devices at once, but it’s much more complicated than using an effective Smart DNS tool like ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer.
Updating our IP address with ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer.
Not only does ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS work, its router app is also one of the best we’ve tested. You can assign each of your devices to a specific group and then easily connect these groups to different server locations.
In combination with its MediaStreamer service, this makes ExpressVPN much easier to use on games consoles, smart TVs, and streaming devices that don’t support native VPN apps.
ExpressVPN Offers Excellent 24/7 Live Chat, PIA’s Is Much Improved
Winner: ExpressVPN
Both ExpressVPN and PIA excel at customer support. Subscribers to both services get access to 24/7 live chat, an extensive online knowledgebase, and email support for complicated queries. However, PIA has only just reached this level, while ExpressVPN’s support has consistently excelled in all our years of testing.
Use the table below to compare Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN based on their customer support offering:
Support Criteria
ExpressVPN
PIA
Live Chat
24/7
24/7
Email Support
Yes
Yes
Online Knowledgebase
Yes
Yes
Setup Guides
Yes
Yes
ExpressVPN and PIA’s customer support options.
Put simply, ExpressVPN’s customer support is exemplary, and has been for a long time. Every paying subscriber gets access to 24/7 live chat, email support, and a huge online knowledgebase of informational guides and setup tutorials.
Its customer support team is available 24/7.
Private Internet Access fell short in this respect for a long time, but recent improvements mean it also offers 24/7 live chat even from within the app itself. In our tests, all of PIA’s support agents were able to answer our questions quickly and politely.
ExpressVPN and PIA are now close to neck-and-neck in terms of customer service, but ExpressVPN claims victory because its 24/7 live chat has never failed to be fast, well-informed, and friendly in all our years of testing.
ExpressVPN vs PIA: Which VPN Is Right for You?
Based on our test results, ExpressVPN is better than PIA, but not by a long way. Both VPNs will safely hide your IP address and encrypt your data, and they both consistently rank amongst the best VPNs we’ve tested.
ExpressVPN is more expensive, but it still represents great value thanks to its easy international streaming, and seamless security. PIA has an excellent no-logs policy and lots of extra features, but it simply did not measure up to ExpressVPN in our usability testing.