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ExpressVPN vs. PIA (Private Internet Access)

Last Updated: January 24, 2020

Muhammad Hamza Shahid

Read this comprehensive VPN comparison of ExpressVPN vs PIA to find out which service is better at catering to user needs in 2020!

Since a lot prospects look at VPN services from an untrained eye, subscribing to one that suits their needs and requirements tends to be a difficult task.

If you are facing the same confusion with ExpressVPN vs. PIA, you are at the right place. Check out this detailed comparison analysis to determine the better choice.

Pricing and Discounts

Upon comparing the two service, it becomes clear that ExpressVPN is a slightly more expensive service. It offers three tiers in subscriptions: monthly, six months, and yearly.

The monthly plan starts at a high $12.95. However, if you opt a lengthy subscription, you can gain better value while paying less.

For instance, the six-months plan will cost you $9.99/mo. (billed as $59.95 every 6-months), and the yearly $8.32/mo. (billed as $99.95 every 12-months).

PIA, on the other hand, tends to be way more inexpensive. The provider also offers three tiers in subscriptions: monthly, 6-months, and yearly.

Their monthly starts at $10.95, which is $2 cheaper than ExpressVPN. The 6-month plan costs $5.99/mo, billed as $35.95, meaning it is $24 cheaper.

For the yearly plan, PIA gives a massive 67% discount, as compared to ExpressVPN’s 35%. This means, you pay $3.33/mo., totaling to $39.95 for 24-months.

As far as money backs are concerned, ExpressVPN offers a 30-days refund guarantee, whereas PIA only provides a 7-day refund. However, it is justified, considering their low pricing.

Get This Best Deal for ExpressVPN: 35% Off on a 1-Year Plan

Get This Best Deal for PIA: 67% Off on a 1-Year Plan

Features

Both ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access (PIA) offer great apps compatibility. You have native clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and even Fire TVs.

You even have browser extensions available for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. ExpressVPN gains an upperhand over PIA though, due to their router support for Apple TVs.

The BVI-based provider is the only one in the marketplace that offers a native app for DD-WRT and Tomato routers, along with pre-configured routers at reasonable prices.

Split Tunneling is available with the desktop apps for ExpressVPN, but none of PIA’s apps. This is quite alarming, considering the feature is crucial for torrenters and streamers.

However, PIA makes up for this by offering more in the way of simultaneous connections. Where you have only 3 simultaneous connections with ExpressVPN, PIA offers 10 multi-logins.

Unblocking Capabilities

China

Chinese residents and expats are always in search for “working” VPN services that can bypass the many technologies employed by the “Great Firewall” in China.

Luckily for ExpressVPN users, the provider does offer a dedicated Chinese page. This allows residents in the country to download their apps and subscribe to a suitable plan.

PIA, on the other hand, offers no such incentives to Chinese users. They do not have a Chinese mirror website, making it impossible for people to use their service.

Setup and Interface

As far as mobile apps are concerned, ExpressVPN maintains the same design and consistency in overall UI, which does not get disturbed even when using on a larger screen.

On the other hand, PIA’s applications still require some work in the overall UI and appearance. Their desktop versions sit in the task-bar, which is accessible by right-clicking the icon.

While this is a nice design, it also brings about with it some hassle. The app basically hides itself the second you hit the minimize button. As such, you constantly have to reopen the app.

This can be quite tiring and frustrating, especially if you are trying to follow a setup or configuration guide, since following a huge list of steps can be a difficult task.

It’s mobile apps are nicely designed though and tend to be clutter-free. All options are listed neatly and connecting takes barely a few seconds, which is quite remarkable.

Servers and Performance

Both ExpressVPN and PIA use an assortment of physical and virtual locations for their network infrastructure, as to meet the demands of users in different countries.

There is not much difference in the server count. Where ExpressVPN offers 3,000+ servers, PIA adds 300 more to the list, giving it an edge over the BVI-based provider.

However, what ExpressVPN lacks in numbers, it makes up for it by covering more countries. Meanwhile, PIA only offers servers in 30 countries, which is quite less.

Speed

These servers were based in USA, UK, France, Australia and Canada. In bare speed tests, PIA clocked in with a speed loss of around 25% while ExpressVPN was slightly better at 9% on average.

Security

ExpressVPN offers support for three protocols: PPTP, L2TP, and OpenVPN. Meanwhile, PIA adds more the list by supporting IKEv2 and IPSec protocols too.

The BVI-based provider uses the OpenVPN as the default protocol across all devices. It uses AES-256-CBC ciphers with HMAC SHA-256 data authentication on the data channel.

For the control channel, it uses AES-256-GCM ciphers with RSA-384 handshake and HMAC SHA-256 data authentication.

On the other hand, PIA uses the AES-256-bit ciphers with SHA256 for data authentication and RSA-4096 for handshake on the data channel.

For the control channel, PIA uses the same ciphers and hash authentication, with the inclusion of SHA384 for authentication. Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFE) is available via ECDHE+ECDSA.

However, ExpressVPN is the more secure option, as they utilize cipher block chaining and their TrustedServer Infrastructure shifts all its hard drives onto a RAM model, deleting all logs instantaneously.

Privacy

One look at the table above and it becomes clear which provider is more secure. ExpressVPN has its headquarters in British Virgin Islands, while PIA is located in United States.

Since the BVI is an autonomous nation with its own set of laws, it is free from the invasive tactics adopted by the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances, like mass surveillance and data retention.

The same cannot be said about United States, which is a founding member of the Five Eyes. As such, even if a provider boasts a no logs policy, trusting them is a difficult task.

As far as anonymous payment methods are concerned, ExpressVPN only supports Bitcoin and Mint. PIA, on the other hand, offers the ability to sign up via 32 cryptocurrencies.

Configuration

For configurations, both ExpressVPN and PIA utilize a shared network infrastructure. As a result, they can be considered equal in this aspect.

The lack of dedicated IPs is still quite alarming, considering that many VPN-users do have needs that require them to access local networks, while outside their home.

Customer Service

Both PIA and ExpressVPN offer support via live chat, email, and a ticket system. Testing the live chat services revealed that responses were quite fast.

Email/ticket support did take some time with PIA (averaging at 45 minutes per reply), whereas ExpressVPN cut it shorter (averaging at 33 minutes).

We conducted these tests by sending each VPN three questions via email. Among them, two were general queries and two were a little more technical. See the statistics below:

ExpressVPN

PIA

The Winner: ExpressVPN

While both of the VPNs reviewed deliver amazing performance, security, privacy, and features, ExpressVPN definitely tends to be the better option.

It offers a larger network of servers, successfully unblocks Netflix, works in China, and even offers a router app that works on DD-WRT and Tomato routers.