Are you looking for a vpn that will guarantee your security online?
ExpressVPN and CyberGhost are some of the best vpns for secure internet browsing in 2021.
But how do they compare against each other?
In this ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost comparison we are going to look at the pros and cons of these two popular vpns.
Check out my detailed review of ExpressVPN.
I hope that by the end of this vpn comparison you’ll be able to decide which is the best vpn for you between the two.
Here is a complete CyberGhost review.
Let’s get started.
Here is a quick summary.
| ExpressVPN | CyberGhost | |
| Website | expressvpn.com | cyberghostvpn.com |
| Servers | 3,000 | 6,400 |
| Jurisdiction | BVI | BVI |
| Streaming | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iPlayer |
| Speed | 4.4/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Torrenting | All servers | P2P servers |
| Kill Switch | YES | YES |
| Works in China? | YES | NO |
| Devices | 5 | 7 |
| Pricing | $ 8.32/month | $ 2.75/month |
Server Collection
ExpressVPN has a collection of 3,000 vpn servers that are located in 94 different countries whereas CyberGhost has a total of 8,000 servers that are located in 89 different countries.
Usually the more servers servers a vpn has the better the connection speeds you should expect to get as there will be less load on each server.
It means you’ll also get more options when selecting a server to connect to.
Even though ExpressVPN has servers in a few more countries that CyberGhost, CyberGhost has a lot more servers in total.
If you are looking for a vpn with a huge collection of servers then I recommend CyberGhost vpn.
Streaming
Are you looking for a vpn that is great for streaming video content on platforms like Netflix and Hulu?
Since streaming is the favorite activity of most vpn users online, most vpns try to be able to at least unblock Netflix for most of the popular regions like the USA.
So will you be able to watch your favorite tv shows on Netflix using either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost?
ExpressVPN is able to unblock Netflix in various countries like the US, UK & Brazil.
In addition to Netflix, you’ll also be able to stream content on other platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.
CyberGhost on the other hand is also able to unblock content on Netflix with its servers based in countries like the US, UK and Japan.
Apart from Netflix, CyberGhost also enables you to stream content on other platforms like Hulu and BBC iPlayer.
As you can see both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost have great streaming capabilities.
If you are looking for a vpn that is great for streaming then either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost is a great option.
Speed
It is acceptable that whenever you connect to a vpn you should experience some speed drops compared to your original speeds.
However, your speeds should not drop to an extent that your normal browsing speeds are affected.
In order to ensure you maintain speeds that are close to your original speeds, you should use a vpn that has proven to deliver great connection speeds.
I tested the connection speeds of both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost using speedtest.net by Ookla.
Before connecting to three different servers based in the US, UK and Hong Kong, I first tested my connection speeds before connecting to any vpn.
ExpressVPN gave me average connection speed of 87% of my original connection speeds from the three servers that I connected to.
CyberGhost, on the other hand, delivered an average of 83% of my original download speeds.
It is therefore clear that ExpressVPN is a faster vpn that CyberGhost even though both delivered excellent connection speeds.
If you are looking for a vpn that will deliver better speeds then ExpressVPN is slightly faster than CyberGhost.
Torrenting
In order to be able to safely download torrent files from the internet, you need to either connect to an anonymous vpn or proxy server.
This ensures that your real IP address is not revealed.
You need to hide your real IP address because it could easily be used to identify you and your torrenting history used against you in a court of law.
How do ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost torrenting capabilities compare?
ExpressVPN supports torrenting on all its servers…
So you’ll be able to start downloading torrent files on any of these servers without needing to switch servers.
CyberGhost, on the other hand, only supports torrenting on certain specialized P2P servers.
So you first need to click on the torrenting table to get a list of all the P2P enabled servers and choose the one to connect to before you start torrenting.
Torrenting on a non P2P server will lead to your torrent traffic being either blocked or throttled.
However, once you are connected to the right server, torrenting on either ExpressVPN and CyberGhost is completely safe and anonymous because neither of these vpns keep logs that could be used to identify you.
If you are looking for a vpn that is great for torrenting then ExpressVPN seems to be more optimized as all their servers are P2P enabled.
Privacy Policy
Are you really able to browse the internet privately when using either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost vpns?
In order to deliver complete privacy, a vpn should collect as little information about you as possible.
So let’s compare ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost vpn privacy policies to see which really is honest about their no logs policy.
ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands which is a privacy friendly country because it does not have any mandatory data retention laws.
In addition to that, ExpressVPN does not collect your IP address or DNS queries whenever you are connected to their vpn servers.
However, ExpressVPN keeps logs of your server location, bandwidth usage and Internet Service Provider.
It seems to me that ExpressVPN is more log happy compared to other vpns.
CyberGhost vpn is based in Romania which does not form part of the 14 eyes countries.
Since Romania does not have any mandatory data retention laws that obligate vpn companies to keep logs, it is a privacy friendly location to base a vpn company.
In addition to being located in a privacy haven, CyberGhost also states clearly in their privacy policy that they do not keep logs of your IP address, connection timestamps or session duration.
It therefore means that there are no logs on CyberGhost servers that can tie you to certain activities on the server.
Clearly, CyberGhost vpn generally keeps less logs about your activity compared to ExpressVPN.
If you are looking for a vpn that keeps less logs about your internet activity then I recommend CyberGhost.
Encryption and Data Protection
In order for your data to be safely transmitted over the internet, you need to use a very strong encryption technology.
A strong encryption ensures that even if your data lands in the wrong hands, they cannot decrypt it and see the actual information.
Luckily, most vpns employ the use of the best encryption technologies to ensure that security of your data.
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost vpns use AES 256-bit encryption technology which is an encryption that is impossible to crack.
It is the kind of encryption that is used by governments and militaries to encrypt sensitive information.
In addition to this encryption technology, vpns also use certain protocols in order to be able to communicate between the servers and the vpn apps.
Again, both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost use OpenVPN and IKEv2 which are the most secure protocols in use today.
If you want a vpn that will guarantee the security of your information online, then either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost will get the job done.
Ad Blocker
Are you looking for a vpn that will enable you disable ads on the websites that you visit?
Most websites these days are very aggressive with their advertising.
These often leads to a bad user experience because you have to speed a lot of your time scrolling through ads instead of reading content on these websites.
In some instances, these ads might even be very intrusive and annoying.
Luckily, most premium vpns these days come with inbuilt ad blocking features that enable you to turn off these ads.
So how does CyberGhost vs ExpressVPN ad blocking capabilities compare?
ExpressVPN, even though a very premium vpn, does not have an ad blocker in any of its applications.
It is also lacking in any ability to protect you from malware and phishing websites.
CyberGhost, on the other hand, has an inbuilt ad blocker in its apps that enables you to block ads and have an ad free browsing experience.
In addition to this ad blocking capability, it also has a malware blocker that will protect your device from being infected whenever you visit phishing websites.
If you are looking for a vpn with great ad blocking and malware blocking features then I recommend CyberGhost.
Dedicated IPs
In almost all the cases, a vpn will assigned you a random IP address whenever you connect their servers.
This is particularly great for your privacy as it will make it harder to tie you to certain activities at any particular time on the server.
However, some applications are security sensitive and will not allow you to remotely access them using an unknown IP.
You’ll need an IP address that you can whitelist in these apps before you can gain remote access.
An example could be when you are try to access your work network remotely.
Dedicated IPs serve the purpose of enabling to always connect to the internet using the same IP address.
You can then take this IP and whitelist in any application that requires it.
ExpressVPN, unfortunately, does not support dedicated IPs… even if you wanted to pay for it.
So you won’t be able to get an IP that you can use for example to access your home security camera feed.
CyberGhost, on the other hand, provides you with a dedicated IP feature.
Even though you have to pay for it separately, $ 5/month, it provides you with an IP that you can whitelist in your applications in order to be able to access them remotely.
Remember that your anonymity online reduces a great deal when certain IP address can be tied back to you.
So these IP should not be used for torrenting or any other activities that you don’t want traced back to you.
In that case use a normal shared IP address.
If you are looking for a vpn that provides a dedicated IP address then I strongly recommend CyberGhost vpn.
Kill Switch
Even though a vpn will make your connection to the internet secure and invisible to your ISP, this is only the case as long as you remain connected to the vpn servers.
Anytime you disconnect, for example when switching servers or your internet connection drops, your real IP is exposed and your ISP can then see what you are doing online and keep a log of the same.
It is especially something to worry about if you were in the processing of downloading a torrent file.
In order to always stay safe, you need a kill switch.
A kill switch will ensure that every time your vpn app disconnects from the server, internet access is cut off for your entire device.
This was your apps, like your torrent client, have to wait until your vpn reconnects before your downloads continue.
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost vpns have inbuilt kill switch capabilities that will enable you implement this.
Once activated, all your traffic will have to be encrypted and routed through your vpn tunnel.
If you are looking for a vpn that has an inbuilt automatic internet kill switch then either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost is a great option.
Split Tunnelling
Even though a kill switch is great, some applications will need to have their traffic excluded from the kill switch.
For example, let’s say you run a backup application and you don’t want to have it slowed down by speed drops caused by a vpn connection.
You need a way to exclude it from having its traffic routed through your vpn tunnel.
That’s where a split tunnel comes in.
A split tunnel enables you to whitelist certain applications and have their traffic channelled, as usual, through your ISP.
It is important to note that applications mentioned in the split will not benefit from the additional security and anonymity that a vpn provides.
ExpressVPN has a split tunnelling feature in its apps that enable you exempt certain applications from the vpn.
CyberGhost also has a split tunnel but it functions quite differently from the split tunnel in the ExpressVPN applications.
The split tunnel in CyberGhost only lets you specify certain websites or domain names to be exempted from having their traffic channelled through a vpn.
Even though this might be great for example when you need to access your internet banking website, you can’t do this whitelisting at the application level.
So you won’t be able to manually whitelist on an application by application basis.
I think CyberGhost still has a long way to go in terms of building a fully functional split tunnel in its apps.
If you are looking for a vpn that lets you split tunnels at the application level then I recommend ExpressVPN.
Works in China?
In order to work in China, a vpn needs to be able to make its traffic look like normal https traffic.
This way it can bypass the deep packet inspection technology of the great firewall of China and not be detected.
If you can use a vpn without being detected in China, you’ll be able to access certain censored websites like YouTube and Facebook without a problem.
ExpressVPN has a great technology that enables it to work in China without being detected.
CyberGhost, on the other hand, is completely blocked in China and will not work.
So if you are looking for a vpn that works flawlessly in China, then I strongly recommend ExpressVPN instead of CyberGhost vpn.
Pricing
As we near the end of this ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost vpn comparison, let’s compare their pricing plans to see which one is cheaper in the long run.
If you want to get the best price for a vpn, consider subscribing for a longer plan.
The longer the plan, the greater the discount you get.
ExpressVPN has its longest plan being their one year plan that costs $ 8.32/month while CyberGhost has a 3 year plan that goes for $ 2.75/month.
Clearly, ExpressVPN is a more expensive vpn compared to CyberGhost.
It is also annoying that they don’t have a plan longer than 1 year which forces you to keep renewing accounts every year that come.
If you are looking for a cheap vpn that also lets you purchase a long term plan, then I recommend CyberGhost.
Payment Options
Let’s finish this CyberGhost vs ExpressVPN comparison in 2021 by looking at the payment options.
What payment options does CyberGhost and ExpressVPN provide?
The purpose of buying a vpn should to be able to stay anonymous online…
And this starts from the time you subscribe for your vpn plan… you should focus on giving as little information about you as possible.
It is for this reason that I like anonymous payment options like gift cards and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
ExpressVPN offers different payment options like credit cards, PayPal and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
CyberGhost also supports PayPal, Bitcoin and all major credit cards.
Since both vpns support crypto payments, you can ensure you give as little information about you by signing up with a disposable email address and pay with some Bitcoins
If you are looking for a vpn that supports crypto payments then either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost is a great option.
In Conclusion
I hope this ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost comparison has helped you learn some of the key differences and similarities between ExpressVPN and CyberGhost vpn.
Are you now ready to make a choice between either CyberGhost or ExpressVPN?
If you are looking for a cheap vpn with great streaming support, has a ad blocker and provides you with a dedicated IP then I recommend CyberGhost.
However, if you are willing to pay little more for a very fast vpn that works in China, has great split tunnelling and supports torrenting on all its servers then I recommend ExpressVPN.
Have you used either ExpressVPN or CyberGhost vpn before?
Please share your experience in the comments below.
