ExpressVPN vs Avast SecureLine VPN 2024

Doris Muthuri

Former Senior Writer

ExpressVPN and Avast SecureLine VPN are both popular names in the cybersecurity industry. The former is one of the most renowned VPN services in the market, and the latter is a product of Avast, a prominent developer of internet security applications. But how do these two services compare?

I thoroughly tested each VPN's features, including speed, security, and customer support. I also reviewed their subscription plans for hidden costs and examined their privacy policies and data-handling history. I found that ExpressVPN, despite its higher price, provides far better value. Avast’s VPN is less expensive, but I found it lacking in features and reliability — plus, I discovered a huge data breach involving its other products.

Overall, my top recommendation is ExpressVPN. It offers a better all-around service, though it is a bit more expensive. With ExpressVPN, you get all the features needed for browsing, streaming, gaming, and more without compromising your data. Plus, it is backed by a trustworthy 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test it without risking your money.

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Short on Time? Here Are My Key Findings

Streaming — ExpressVPN Works With More Platforms

ExpressVPN can securely access more streaming platforms from anywhere in good quality. All its 3,000 servers are optimized for streaming and offer smooth connections for watching without slowdowns. Avast SecureLine VPN struggled to work with some of the popular streaming platforms, even on the streaming-optimized servers.

The table below shows how well each VPN works with popular streaming platforms:

My colleague in the US tested ExpressVPN with Disney+ and enjoyed Hailey’s On It in HD and without buffering. It also worked with Hulu, Max, and other popular US streaming platforms. Plus, our UK team confirmed that it worked with BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Sky Sports, and more, and my friend in Ireland had no buffering or lag when watching RTÉ.

Videos loaded quickly and played back without any buffering

On the other hand, Avast SecureLine worked with some streaming services but not others. My US colleague reported that it didn’t work with Hulu and Disney+. However, it did work with Prime Video, and my UK colleague was able to watch Legally Blonde in uninterrupted HD.

It was semi-reliable with streaming services from other regions

Winner

ExpressVPN works with more platforms and provides a smooth experience, so it wins this category.

Server Network — ExpressVPN’s Server Coverage Is Far Superior

ExpressVPN has a much more extensive network than Avast SecureLine VPN, with servers in many more countries. It covers 105 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with 3,000 total servers worldwide.

In comparison, Avast SecureLine VPN has only 700 servers in 34 countries, mostly in Europe and North America. It has a limited presence in South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, but this isn’t its core focus. Plus, with significantly fewer servers than ExpressVPN, server congestion is far more likely with Avast’s VPN.

Avast SecureLine VPN has servers optimized for streaming and torrenting, but these didn't give me a better experience than their regular servers. In fact, my speeds were slower when downloading with the UK server optimized for torrenting than with the regular UK server during my tests from Nairobi.

All ExpressVPN servers are optimized for all activities, and I had a fantastic experience with them compared to Avast SecureLine's servers. I appreciated that I didn’t have to hop servers when I switched from streaming to torrenting to regular browsing.

Winner

ExpressVPN wins with a larger network of fast servers in more countries.

Speed — ExpressVPN Wins With Consistently Fast Speeds on All Servers

ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested. Our UK-based tester started with speeds of 238.33 Mbps and ran speed tests while connected with the fastest protocol for each service. For ExpressVPN, this was Lightway, its exclusive, speed-focused protocol. For Avast SecureLine, it was WireGuard, the industry standard for fast connections.

We found that ExpressVPN was consistently faster than Avast on almost all servers. Speeds dropped by only 2% on nearby UK servers and 8% on long-distance connections to the US.

Our tester noticed minimal speed loss from their base connection

Avast SecureLine VPN was much slower on nearby servers. When my colleague connected to their local servers in the UK, their speeds dropped by a whopping 39%. The speed dropped even more significantly with distance — connecting to a US server resulted in a 37% drop, and servers in South Africa dropped their speeds by 63%.

Our tester noticed significant speed loss from their base connection

Here’s an overview of our speed test results:

Winner

ExpressVPN is faster, especially on servers close by. Plus, many servers mean that you are more likely to find an unclouded server for faster speeds.

Gaming — Both VPNs Are Good For Gaming On Nearby Servers

Both VPNs gave us low ping rates, which is great for smooth gameplay. Ping measures how long it takes for the network to respond to your inputs. For quick game responses, you need a ping below 100 ms. As with our speed section, our UK speed tester collected the below data, starting with a baseline ping of 28 ms.

With ExpressVPN, I could play Roblox on most servers without much lag. Servers close to my location in Nairobi gave me the best speeds. Games loaded quickly, and I didn’t have any issues chatting to my friends or playing on fast-paced servers.

I had the same great experience when I played on European servers

I generally had the same great experience with Avast SecureLine VPN. Even though it had a higher ping because my closest server (South Africa) was further away than ExpressVPN’s Kenya server, I could still play lag-free.

As with most VPNs, gaming was nearly impossible on long-distance servers. When I connected to the US, I struggled to connect to custom Roblox servers with both VPNs. So, I recommend connecting to a server as close to you as possible for gaming with a VPN.

Winner - draw

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Both services provide smooth gaming on nearby servers but have higher latency on distant ones.

Torrenting — ExpressVPN Offers Faster Downloads and More Privacy Features

ExpressVPN supports torrenting on all its servers, so you can easily find a fast nearby server and enjoy downloading without delays. While you can technically use any of Avast SecureLine’s servers for torrenting too, these are extremely slow. You’re better off using one of its 8 torrenting-optimized servers.

I tested both VPNs by connecting to their servers closest to my location in Nairobi. ExpressVPN let me a 700 MB copyright-free file in under 9 minutes — 5 minutes faster than Avast SecureLine VPN.

ExpressVPN is also the most secure for torrenting. It offers many advanced security features to ensure maximum protection on P2P networks. While Avast SecureLine has solid encryption and a kill switch, it lacks some other basic privacy protection, such as private DNS servers.

Both VPNs offer port forwarding, a handy feature that helps improve torrenting speeds. Avast SecureLine’s port forwarding feature is called Mimic.

Winner

ExpressVPN allows torrenting on nearly all its servers.

Security — ExpressVPN Provides Robust Security on (Almost) All Devices

ExpressVPN offers far more advanced security features, including private DNS servers and a built-in ad and malware blocker. It also uses RAM-based servers that erase your personal data when rebooted, while Avast SecureLine VPN uses traditional hard disks that keep your data. Avast doesn’t have similar features.

On the other hand, Avast SecureLine VPN only provides the bare minimum. Sure, you get the basic military-grade encryption and leak protection, but it doesn’t offer any of the advanced security features that ExpressVPN offers. It doesn’t even protect you from DNS leaks, and is clear on its website that these can still occur when you’re connected to the app.

Both VPNs have a kill switch to help prevent data leaks, but you have to activate this in Avast SecureLine VPN’s settings. It’s pre-configured with ExpressVPN, so it works automatically.

You can easily toggle it on and off

Both VPNs offer proprietary protocols, but ExpressVPN’s Lightway was designed for faster speeds without compromising on security. In comparison, Avast’s proprietary Mimic protocol is simply designed to be used on networks that block OpenVPN.

The Automatic option lets the app pick the best protocol based on your network

Winner

ExpressVPN offers far more advanced security features, while Avast SecureLine VPN seems to offer the bare minimum.

Privacy — ExpressVPN Doesn’t Store or Sell Your Data (Unlike Avast)

ExpressVPN's no-logs policy has undergone independent audits by several third parties, such as Cure53, KPMG, and PwC, with the most recent audit conducted in 2024. This means their claims of not collecting or storing your sensitive data are valid and verifiable.

The policy states that it collects anonymized data, such as your bandwidth usage, crash reports, and VPN connection diagnostics. This data is not personally identifiable and cannot be traced back to you.

It only stores the information necessary to offer you a satisfactory experience

Avast SecureLine VPN claims to have a strict no-log policy, but it hasn’t undergone any third-party checks. It also collects more data than necessary, including timestamps, your IP address, and bandwidth use. Plus, this data is stored for 2 years.

Avast, the parent company of Avast SecureLine VPN, has experienced several security breaches in the past. In 2014, a breach exposed over 425,000 Avast antivirus user accounts. Another breach occurred in 2019, which was linked to a compromised VPN account.

In 2024, Avast was fined $16.5 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for selling users' browsing data collected through its antivirus software and browser extensions. FTC claims that this data was sold to over 100 third parties without adequate consumer consent or notice from 2014 to January 2020.

This is very concerning, especially if you’re concerned about your data privacy.

Winner

ExpressVPN's no-logs policy is confirmed by multiple independent audits. Avast SecureLine VPN collects more of your data, and its parent company has a controversial history.

Works in China — ExpressVPN is Your Best Option for China

Neither ExpressVPN nor Avast SecureLine VPN guarantees to work in China. However, ExpressVPN is generally more reliable there. It uses automatic obfuscation to help circumvent China's restrictive networks. It also offers mirror sites for downloading in China, where the Great Firewall otherwise blocks its website.

When I asked customer support about it, the agent told me that they could not guarantee that their Avast SecureLine VPN would work in China.

ExpressVPN also has servers in Macau and Hong Kong, which gives you a Chinese IP address. Avast SecureLine does not provide any Chinese IP addresses. Note that neither VPN has servers in mainland China.

Because of this, I can’t recommend Avast SecureLine VPN for use in other restrictive countries, like Saudi Arabia. ExpressVPN is likely to be more reliable.

Winner

ExpressVPN’s obfuscation technology makes it more reliable in China.

Installation & Ease of Use — ExpressVPN Supports More Devices

Both VPNs are pretty easy to set up and use, but ExpressVPN has cleaner and more intuitive apps. It took me less than 3 minutes to set it up and connect to a server in Kenya. I also like the Smart Location option that automatically connects you to the fastest server available.

Besides Smart Location, ExpressVPN also shows Recent and Recommended locations

Both VPNs support popular devices like Windows, macOS, and iOS, but ExpressVPN is compatible with more devices, including Linux and routers. For devices that aren’t VPN-compatible, ExpressVPN offers a Smart DNS service (MediaStreamer) — the only downside is it doesn’t encrypt your connection in the same way as a full VPN app.

However, it offers its own routers (Aircove and Aircove Go), both of which come pre-installed with the VPN, so they’re ready to protect all of your devices straight out of the box.

Avast SecureLine doesn’t support routers at all. I was really disappointed by this; it felt like a major oversight, particularly coming from a well-known cybersecurity company.

What Avast’s VPN does offer is a user-friendly design for easy server connections. It has tabs for different continents and specialized servers. For instance, if you’re in Africa, simply click “Africa,” and you will see all the servers near your location.

It also shows you the number of server locations for each country

While researching, I came across a ton of fake Avast download sites that were impersonating the company’s products to carry out malicious activities. To avoid falling victim, ensure that you download any antivirus products directly from their official websites.

Winner

ExpressVPN stands out with its dedicated router app, which simplifies network security for beginners. Plus, it offers VPN routers that are pre-configured to secure your data straight out of the box.

Reliability & Support — ExpressVPN Has Excellent 24/7 Chat Support

Both VPNs offer chat support customer support, but ExpressVPN stands out with its highly responsive 24/7 live chat. I always received quick answers to all my questions.

Avast SecureLine customer support takes a while to find and is only available to paying customers. I found it really frustrating that I couldn’t ask support any questions because I was using the free trial. ExpressVPN’s live chat is easy to find and is open to everyone.

Winner

ExpressVPN stands out with its highly responsive 24/7 live chat support that’s easy to find and really friendly.

Tips on Choosing Between ExpressVPN vs Avast SecureLine VPN

ExpressVPN and Avast SecureLine have many differences and unique features, making it hard to choose between them. Here are the criteria I used to pick the overall winner:

• Smooth streaming. My global team and I tested both VPNs with popular platforms to see if they work reliably and provide a smooth streaming experience.
• Fast speeds. No matter what you want to use the VPN for, its speeds must be fast enough to avoid lagging and interruptions. I tested both VPNs and picked the one with excellent speeds to stream, browse, or torrent smoothly.
• Extensive server networks. I checked each VPN’s server network because the more servers they have, the better chances you have of connecting to a fast, local server. Plus, a large number of servers means you can avoid slowdowns caused by overcrowding.
• Robust security features. I checked that each VPN has basic security features, like military-grade encryption, a kill switch function, and IP/DNS leak protection. If security is your top priority, you should look for a VPN with added extras, like obfuscation, RAM-based servers, and so on.
• Respectable privacy practices. I reviewed each VPN’s privacy policies to confirm they adhere to a strict no-logs policy, which (ideally) has been verified by an independent audit. Additionally, it's preferable for the VPN to be based in a country not part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance.
• Easy to use. I made sure the VPN offers an easy-to-use app for all the major platforms and devices, especially the platform you plan to use the VPN most frequently on.
• Trustworthy money-back guarantee. Most reputable VPNs let you try their services for a certain amount of time and get a full refund if you don’t find them suitable. This is very useful, as it means you can try the VPN without any financial risk.

ExpressVPN vs Avast SecureLine VPN — Reddit Opinions

Opinions on Reddit about ExpressVPN and Avast SecureLine VPN differ, with ExpressVPN generally viewed more favorably. Users praise ExpressVPN for its reliability, fast speeds, and strong streaming performance, making it a recommended choice for overall use. Redditors complain that Avast doesn’t work well for torrenting and streaming.