We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN on the market, so while HideMyAss performs better than most in this regard, it can’t compare to ExpressVPN’s speed. Because both provide good speeds, both VPNs are great for streaming and large downloads.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Download speed reduction | 18% (UK) | 35% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 20% (FRA) | 36% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 24ms | 320.13ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 11ms | 23ms |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
HideMyAss is in the top tier when it comes to servers, offering 900 locations spread throughout 190 different countries. ExpressVPN has about half of the countries that HideMyAss has, and about a 1/4th of the total server locations. While it falls short of HideMyAss, ExpressVPN still has an adequate amount of servers and locations — it’s just that HideMyAss excels in this aspect.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 148 | 280 |
| Server Countries | 94 | 190 |
| IP Addresses | 1500 | 3479 |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow
ExpressVPN and HideMyAss are both excellent when it comes to customer support. Both of these VPNS offer a live chat, email ticketing, large knowledge bases on their website, and plenty of tutorials and community support as well. If you have a problem when using either of these, it’ll be resolved quickly.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 3 | 0.1 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
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