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VPNs can be the Swiss Army Knife of the internet — helping keep your browsing activity safe, protect from the prying eyes of hackers, and access a wealth of programmes while on holiday.
If you're looking to invest in a VPN for yourself, it’s important to factor in its core privacy features, speed, value for money, and more.
For instance, ExpressVPN is a premium VPN service that’s perfect for those who value speed and privacy while browsing the internet.
On the other hand, CyberGhost is a blazing-fast VPN service that offers similar services for a value price. But which one is the best VPN, and which has the best VPN deals?
GBN Tech has put together a detailed rundown of what both VPN services offer.
Protect your online activity with ExpressVPN
Protect your personal information and encrypt everything you do online for just £1.99 with the latest ExpressVPN deal. That equates to under 7p per day, trouncing NordVPN, its biggest competitor
ExpressVPN adds military-grade encryption across up to 10x devices, including iPhone, Android, Linux, Windows, Mac, Fire TV, and dozens more, to secure your internet traffic from prying eyes, advertisers, and governments. You'll benefit from an extra 4 months free with a two-year plan
Protect your online activity with CyberGhost
CyberGhost has cut its monthly subscription by 84%. If you sign up for a 24-month plan, you'll be gifted with 4 months of access to the award-winning VPN service for free. CyberGhost has one of the longest money-back guarantee periods, with a generous 45 days to decide whether you want to stick with your new VPN subscription
Speed and performance
Speed can be an important factor when you’re streaming a show or movie or using a lot of bandwidth while playing video games.
ExpressVPN is one of the more, if not the most, reliable VPNs when it comes to speed. The credit lies in the service's proprietary Lightway protocol, which is highly optimised for speed and stability, ensuring minimal speed loss and reliable connections even when connecting to servers from far away. This makes it an excellent choice for 4K streaming, gaming, and large downloads where consistency is key.
CyberGhost has also shown impressive maximum speeds, even surpassing ExpressVPN in some recent tests using its WireGuard protocol. Its specialised servers for gaming and streaming are optimised for performance in those specific tasks, offering a great experience for budget-conscious users.
For users who need a reliable, consistent, and low-latency performance, ExpressVPN edges above its rival. However, CyberGhost offers exceptional speeds on its optimised servers and is a strong contender, especially given its lower price point.
VPNs can be a massively helpful thing to reduce ads and trackers – but you must choose a premium VPN that does so | SORA | GB NEWS Price
Price is where both VPN providers differ and might be the thing that makes you choose one over the other.
ExpressVPN offers its Basic plan for £1.99 a month (£55.78) over a period of two years, while CyberGhost’s cheapest two-year plan is £1.78 a month (£49.92).
However, one area where CyberGhost suffers is its flexibility in what it offers. It only offers three plans: the one we mentioned, a six-month plan at £6.19 a month (£37.14) and a one-month rolling plan for £10.89 a month.
Compared to ExpressVPN, it offers multiple tiers of plans, including Basic, Advanced and Pro for two-year, one-year and one-month rolling plans.
And for those who prefer a rolling monthly plan, ExpressVPN is the cheaper option at £9.99 a month, so you don’t need to worry about paying a large upfront amount.
If you don’t mind paying a higher upfront cost, CyberGhost’s two-year plan is a better value.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) like ExpressVPN use encryption to stop third parties, cybercrooks, advertisers, and broadband suppliers from keeping tabs on your activity online | KAPE TECHNOLOGIES Privacy
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost are world-leading when it comes to privacy.
ExpressVPN offers superior peace of mind due to its extensive portfolio of more than independent audits. It has a strict no-logs policy with RAM-based servers and is based in the British Virgin Islands – outside of the 14 Eyes Alliance.
CyberGhost also matches ExpressVPN in most core privacy features like AES-256 encryption, a reliable kill switch, and RAM-only servers, and provides a large volume of servers to reduce overcrowding.
The only place it can't compete is the lack of independent audits, with only two audits compared to ExpressVPN. CyberGhost has completed two independent privacy audits by Deloitte, one of the Big Four auditing firms. The first audit was conducted in 2022, confirming that its no-logs policy was legitimate and that no data could be linked to individual users.
In 2024, CyberGhost VPN underwent a second audit, once again verifying that it doesn’t store any identifying logs. These repeat audits highlight its strong commitment to privacy and transparency.
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ExpressVPN vs Cyberghost: Final verdict
If you’re seeking value and don’t need a VPN for many devices but still need a strong, privacy-minded VPN server, CyberGhost VPN might be your best bet.
However, if you really value privacy, want the best speed and performance on the market with easy and flexible pricing plans, ExpressVPN is an ideal choice.
ExpressVPN even includes a quibble-free 30-day guarantee on all of its subscriptions if you’re not happy.
With 24/7 customer support, you'll be able to talk to someone from any time zone to get a full refund if you're unhappy with the experience on your devices. Yes, ExpressVPN is that confident.
It also works with several devices, such as Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is software that protects and anonymises everything you do online. | UNSPLASH What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is software that protects and anonymises everything you do online.
VPNs can conceal your online activities by routing traffic through an encrypted tunnel that connects to secure servers worldwide. The most reliable VPNs employ the same encryption standard as governments in the United Kingdom and the United States, ensuring that even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can't keep tabs on the websites you visit, the duration of your sessions on each site, or your current location.
This protection extends to advertisers, trackers, and hackers, preventing them from monitoring your online behaviour. Furthermore, personal information entered into online forms and sensitive data transmitted to and from your device will be safeguarded from hackers using strong encryption provided by a VPN.