It’s hard to compare protocols because available protocols depend on the used device/system and the location.Įncryption is what makes your data useless if it falls into the hands of other parties.īoth companies offer the high-standard encryption AES-256, used by banks and governments. VPN safety is linked to how much security is implemented in order to keep my data safe.Īstrill offers 4 protocols (OpenWeb, StealthVPN, Wireguard, and OpenVPN).ĮxpressVPN offers 6 protocols (Lightway, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, IPsec, IKEv2, and PPTP).īoth companies have developed their own protocol to bypass countries’ censorship.Īstrill has StealthVPN and ExpressVPN has Lightway.
Unfortunately, ExpressVPN doesn’t offer the ability to get a Chinese IP address from outside China.ĮxpressVPN is the winner because it offers more server locations. The majority of ExpressVPN’s servers are concentric in: This is very useful if you are Chinese abroad and you want to watch local services like TV., CNTV.cn, V.,, V.qq.com,, ,, etc.ĮxpressVPN offers 3000+ servers in 160 cities across 60 countries.
The majority of Astrill’s servers are concentric in:Īnother plus is that Astrill offers sometimes the ability to get a Chinese IP address from outside China. Even if it’s not the exact number, I feel that it’s closer to the truth, because if Astill has a bigger servers number it would be promoting it. Internet users shared on the internet that they have 365 servers. And that is due to TrustedServer technology used, which allows servers to run on RAM and not on SSDs for example.ĮxpressVPN is the winner, because he stayed fast also when connected to the farthest server.Īstrill offers a non-disclosed servers number in 109 cities across 60 countries. More than that, the history is also reassuring us about ExpressVPN, because when the Turkish authorities tried to find user information on one of ExpressVPN’s servers in 2017, they were unable because simply there is no stored information. When he asked Astrill support, they replied at him saying that a device fingerprint was formed and stored for situations like this.ĮxpressVPN’s privacy policy is also straightforward about what they collect and what they do not.Ĭomparing the two privacy policies, I clearly see that the ExpressVPN collect less information about me.
The third thing that concern me and they didn’t discuss in their privacy policy page is that they create a device fingerprint.ĭevice fingerprint is the information like the OS version, monitor resolution, hardware, browser version, language ….Ī user on the internet shared that when he tried to get the free trial using a phone number and an email address that he never used before, he was asked to upgrade his account because he already benefited from the free trial. Yes, they remove it once disconnected, but why you get it in the first place. Second, during your active session, they collect your real IP address. But it remains a British overseas territory, one of the 5-Eyes countries.Įven though Astrill tries to be straightforward in her privacy policy about what information they log and what they do with it, I don’t feel safe about my privacy with them.įirst of all, they may ask you about your phone number and address (depending on your payment method). This company is registered in Seychelles, an east-Africa privacy-friendly country outside the 5, 9, or 15 Eyes alliances.ĮxpressVPN is also founded in 2009, by Express VPN International Ltd, a company that is registered in the British Virgin Islands, which is also a privacy-friendly country outside the 5, 9, or 14 Eyes alliances.
Privacy: ExpressVPNproved to not share users’ information.Speed: Both fast with closest servers, ExpressVPN stays fast with farthest servers.Netflix: ExpressVPN unblocked it on the first try, Astrill VPN on the second try.