One might imagine that a relatively newcomer in the VPN service market may not have much to offer but for the most part Romanian-based VPN.ac proves that assumption wrong. With ISO27001 and ISO9001 security certifications to boot, VPN.ac has certainly set itself apart from the competition by showing they have expertise in delicate areas of the VPN ecosystem. Unlike Express VPN, VPN.ac accepts a variety of payment methods including Bitcoin. Both VPNs boast of a serious commitment to anonymity with ExpressVPN having a reputation for being one of the most trusted VPN providers and VPN.ac providing military grade encryption of up to AES 256-bit encryption. ExpressVPN, however, steals the show with its SmartDNS, which allows users to unblock Netflix across all platforms. With an OpenVPN program, Express proves especially helpful for residents of China.
Features
10.0
Pricing
9.2
Ease of Use
10.0
Reliability & Support
10.0
Features
8.0
Pricing
7.1
Ease of Use
8.4
Reliability & Support
8.4
Rating
Features
10.0
8.0
0.0
Pricing
9.2
7.1
0.0
Ease of Use
10.0
8.4
0.0
Reliability & Support
10.0
8.4
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Elly Hancock
Cybersecurity Researcher
9.8
Is ExpressVPN really the fastest out there? Is it worth the price, even with its latest discount? I ran every test possible to find out.
Whether you want to stream Netflix, download torrents, play video games, or stay anonymous and secure online, I’ve got the important info you need. Spoiler: ExpressVPN can do all of these, and its latest version is a serious contender for the VPN crown. Bu...
Solid 11 out of 10What’s well for what I’m using it for. Expressvpn is the only VPN that is able to do that consistently without any issues. Great job to the developers at Expressvpn. I think the only small thing that I would change is the configuration, besides all that great service.
Latest negative user review
Michael
2.0
Express VPN is TERRIBLE!After reading all of the rave reviews, I signed up for ExpressVPN. Express VPN constantly causes me to lose my internet connection on my Dell XPS Laptop, Windows 10 especially when booting the computer or waking the computer. I then have to disconnect Express via the task manager and reconnect to internet. It sometimes kills my connection in the middle of tasks. There is no telephone support. Email to support went unanswered. After troubleshooting with Chat and sending my log files which are fine, Chat Support simply said that this was a problem their engineers are aware of. Whaaaaat? So when, if ever, will there be a fix?? Worthless service, Terrible support! Deserves zero stars.
Romanian based in Bucharest, VPN.ac is a relatively new kid on the block as a VPN service provider since it was founded in 2012. Its credentials are boosted though as it has been in the information security industry for over 15 years. Can it stand up to a premium VPN like NordVPN that's four years its senior? Not yet, the fledgling service doesn't have the ability to unblock Netflix and it's missing...
Excellent service, highly recommendedI signed up for VPN.ac back in 2016 and I have been pretty happy with them. They are very security conscious, customer service is great, and they have continued to renew my service at the promo I signed up with so many years ago which is like an $18 annual savings.
Their VPN client software is pretty good and I like that they have iOS and Linux support and they even make a client for Fire TV that works perfectly on my Shield. The desktop kill switch removes the gateway so there’s zero chance of anything leaking through which gives me peace of mind when I’m torrenting and the dedicated servers for torrenting are still plenty fast. I have a gigabit connection and I regularly see 200-300Mbps downloads on my phone and my desktop can spike to 450-500 at times.
I had my first ever server issue last night where my connection dropped out and the server wouldn’t reconnect. I switched to another server and haven’t had a problem since. Considering how frequently Comcast has service outages, it’s impressive that I haven’t had reliability issues with this VPN service at all. I leave it connected 24/7 on my Shield for streaming purposes since the app has the option to pick which apps go over the VPN which lets me send Kodi over the VPN and still have access to Netflix and everything else directly.
The Wireguard servers are a welcome addition. I emailed them about adding Wireguard support a few years back and they were concerned about the inability to integrate their own security features but they have a Wireguard beta now on a number of their servers and it just requires making a key on their website.
I test for DNS leaks occasionally and have yet to have a leak there either.
They are a small provider but that works in favor of those of us who use them. I have thought of trying other providers after seeing people post faster speed tests and also so I can get port forwarding as an option (they told me they don’t do this because it weakens anonymity and introduces more security risk to their servers) so I can use SoulSeek and other direct connect services but even if I pick up service on an as-needed basis for certain activities, I’ll continue to keep VPN.ac as my primary. It just works very well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Latest negative user review
Sam
2.0
Trash VPNShowing bandwidth in use 2-3% for node I choose, but sites loading ~5 min. I use it almost every year and this happens all the time. Spend your money on something different which actually works, don't waste your time with this vpn.
Is ExpressVPN really the fastest out there? Is it worth the price, even with its latest discount? I ran every test possible to find out.
Whether you want to stream Netflix, download torrents, play video games, or stay anonymous and secure online, I’ve got the important info you need. Spoiler: ExpressVPN can do all of these, and its latest version is a serious contender for the VPN crown. Bu...
Romanian based in Bucharest, VPN.ac is a relatively new kid on the block as a VPN service provider since it was founded in 2012. Its credentials are boosted though as it has been in the information security industry for over 15 years. Can it stand up to a premium VPN like NordVPN that's four years its senior? Not yet, the fledgling service doesn't have the ability to unblock Netflix and it's missing...
Solid 11 out of 10What’s well for what I’m using it for. Expressvpn is the only VPN that is able to do that consistently without any issues. Great job to the developers at Expressvpn. I think the only small thing that I would change is the configuration, besides all that great service.
Rob
10.0
Excellent service, highly recommendedI signed up for VPN.ac back in 2016 and I have been pretty happy with them. They are very security conscious, customer service is great, and they have continued to renew my service at the promo I signed up with so many years ago which is like an $18 annual savings.
Their VPN client software is pretty good and I like that they have iOS and Linux support and they even make a client for Fire TV that works perfectly on my Shield. The desktop kill switch removes the gateway so there’s zero chance of anything leaking through which gives me peace of mind when I’m torrenting and the dedicated servers for torrenting are still plenty fast. I have a gigabit connection and I regularly see 200-300Mbps downloads on my phone and my desktop can spike to 450-500 at times.
I had my first ever server issue last night where my connection dropped out and the server wouldn’t reconnect. I switched to another server and haven’t had a problem since. Considering how frequently Comcast has service outages, it’s impressive that I haven’t had reliability issues with this VPN service at all. I leave it connected 24/7 on my Shield for streaming purposes since the app has the option to pick which apps go over the VPN which lets me send Kodi over the VPN and still have access to Netflix and everything else directly.
The Wireguard servers are a welcome addition. I emailed them about adding Wireguard support a few years back and they were concerned about the inability to integrate their own security features but they have a Wireguard beta now on a number of their servers and it just requires making a key on their website.
I test for DNS leaks occasionally and have yet to have a leak there either.
They are a small provider but that works in favor of those of us who use them. I have thought of trying other providers after seeing people post faster speed tests and also so I can get port forwarding as an option (they told me they don’t do this because it weakens anonymity and introduces more security risk to their servers) so I can use SoulSeek and other direct connect services but even if I pick up service on an as-needed basis for certain activities, I’ll continue to keep VPN.ac as my primary. It just works very well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Latest negative user review
Michael
2.0
Express VPN is TERRIBLE!After reading all of the rave reviews, I signed up for ExpressVPN. Express VPN constantly causes me to lose my internet connection on my Dell XPS Laptop, Windows 10 especially when booting the computer or waking the computer. I then have to disconnect Express via the task manager and reconnect to internet. It sometimes kills my connection in the middle of tasks. There is no telephone support. Email to support went unanswered. After troubleshooting with Chat and sending my log files which are fine, Chat Support simply said that this was a problem their engineers are aware of. Whaaaaat? So when, if ever, will there be a fix?? Worthless service, Terrible support! Deserves zero stars.
Sam
2.0
Trash VPNShowing bandwidth in use 2-3% for node I choose, but sites loading ~5 min. I use it almost every year and this happens all the time. Spend your money on something different which actually works, don't waste your time with this vpn.
Compared to VPN.ac, ExpressVPN is an overall better choice as it doesn’t keep logs, it works with Netflix US, and it offers faster speeds for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. On the other hand, VPN.ac offers slightly cheaper prices and 6 simultaneous connections, while ExpressVPN offers only 5. Despite this, ExpressVPN offers a great selection of coupons and deals to ensure the ultimate user experience.
Compared to VPN.ac, ExpressVPN is an overall better choice as it doesn’t keep logs, it works with Netflix US, and it offers faster speeds for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. On the other hand, VPN.ac offers slightly cheaper prices and 6 simultaneous connections, while ExpressVPN offers only 5. Despite this, ExpressVPN offers a great selection of coupons and deals to ensure the ultimate user experience.
Although both VPNs provide software clients for Windows, ExpressVPN outshines VPN.ac with a sleeker Windows app that’s more feature-rich, engaging, and user-friendly.
Although both VPNs provide software clients for Windows, ExpressVPN outshines VPN.ac with a sleeker Windows app that’s more feature-rich, engaging, and user-friendly.
ExpressVPN offers a simple and fast app for Android, but Android users might appreciate VPN.ac’s Android app, as it provides more options - such as filtering which apps you want to tunnel through the VPN connection.
ExpressVPN offers a simple and fast app for Android, but Android users might appreciate VPN.ac’s Android app, as it provides more options - such as filtering which apps you want to tunnel through the VPN connection.
ExpressVPN once again excels with its polished, swift and easy-to-use app for Mac. Unlike the Mac client offered by VPN.ac, you can easily switch between servers with ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN once again excels with its polished, swift and easy-to-use app for Mac. Unlike the Mac client offered by VPN.ac, you can easily switch between servers with ExpressVPN.
Similar to their Android app, VPN.ac offers a slick client for iOS devices with special server modes for China and a news section. Both VPNs' iOS apps are easy to navigate and run smoothly in the background.
Similar to their Android app, VPN.ac offers a slick client for iOS devices with special server modes for China and a news section. Both VPNs' iOS apps are easy to navigate and run smoothly in the background.
ExpressVPN boasts a giant server network with 80+ ultra-fast servers in the US alone, whereas VPN.ac has 20+ servers in the US. In addition, you can use ExpressVPN to seamlessly unblock US restricted content and services such as Netflix US, Hulu, HBO, and many more.
ExpressVPN boasts a giant server network with 80+ ultra-fast servers in the US alone, whereas VPN.ac has 20+ servers in the US. In addition, you can use ExpressVPN to seamlessly unblock US restricted content and services such as Netflix US, Hulu, HBO, and many more.
While ExpressVPN is slightly more costly than VPN.ac, the benefits for Express customers are worth the extra coin. While VPN.ac keeps logs that it claims are automatically deleted after a day, ExpressVPN has a strict no logging policy so users can be absolutely sure of their privacy and anonymity. Both VPN providers work across many of the popular native apps including Windows, Android and iOS. Nonetheless, additional benefits, such as rapid connectivity speed, unlimited bandwidth and unlimited servers across a healthy number of countries make ExpressVPN a clear winner.
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