In my tests, ExpressVPN outperformed CyberGhost in most categories. It consistently delivered exceptional speeds and reliable connections, making it ideal for streaming your favorite shows or engaging in lag-free gaming sessions. You can even try ExpressVPN risk-free. All its plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you decide it’s not for you, you can get a full refund. When I tried it, I got my money back 3 days after canceling my subscription through live chat. Try ExpressVPN risk-free
No Time? Here’s a 1-Minute Summary
Try ExpressVPN risk-free
1. Speed — ExpressVPN Is the Fastest VPN With Minimal Speed Drops
I tested the speeds of ExpressVPN and CyberGhost on both nearby and distant servers. ExpressVPN consistently provided faster and more stable connections, even on distant servers. CyberGhost delivered great speeds on nearby connections but I experienced significant speed drops when connected to servers far from my actual location. I conducted all the speed tests for this comparison on a 100 Mbps baseline speed. Also, I used the fastest protocol available for each, which is:
Lightway for ExpressVPN WireGuard for CyberGhost
ExpressVPN Speed Test Results
I tested 10+ ExpressVPN servers in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, and more. The speed averaged around 94 Mbps on nearby servers. My speed never dropped below 85 Mbps, even when connected to servers 15,000 km away. This means you can stream, torrent, and game online without lag or buffering. When I used ExpressVPN for secure online browsing, banking, and shopping, my connection was so smooth it was like I wasn’t using a VPN at all. I even watched some UHD videos on YouTube and had zero buffering.
CyberGhost Speed Test Results
I tested CyberGhost’s server speeds in the same locations as ExpressVPN to get a fair comparison. My local connections in the UK and Europe were good, and even the US provided speeds of over 75 Mbps. However, I had a steep drop when connecting to Australia — an almost 37% drop from my base speed. In comparison, ExpressVPN only fell by 13% from my baseline speed. Also, CyberGhost’s distant connections took quite a while to establish — 40+ seconds in some cases. Here are the results of some other speed tests I conducted on ExpressVPN and CyberGhost: Get ExpressVPN risk-free
2. Streaming — Both Work With Netflix, but ExpressVPN Unblocks More Streaming Sites Than CyberGhost
ExpressVPN beats CyberGhost in streaming as it not only delivers better speeds but also accesses more streaming sites. With an extensive server network, ExpressVPN ensures reliable access to global streaming services, including: I found it very easy to stream from different platforms with ExpressVPN — I didn’t have to spend time switching between servers to find one that worked. My streams were smooth and steady, with zero buffering no matter which server I connected to. I could stream in UHD with all connections (where available). CyberGhost has streaming-optimized servers that are tested regularly to ensure they reliably connect to your chosen service. These servers offer 1-click access to 35+ popular streaming services, including:
I did occasionally have trouble accessing ITVX and All4, even with CyberGhost’s optimized servers. Also, CyberGhost’s optimized servers were often congested, resulting in failure to connect or slower speeds. Try ExpressVPN for streaming
3. Servers — CyberGhost Has More Servers, but ExpressVPN Has More Locations
CyberGhost has one of the largest networks with 9.500+ servers in over 110 locations in 91 countries. You can see how many servers there are in every location. More servers mean less crowded connections, which leads to faster speeds and reduced congestion even at peak hours. ExpressVPN has fewer total servers, but a broader global reach with servers in 150+ locations in 94 countries. But, I’m a bit disappointed that it doesn’t list how many servers are available in each country. I still found ExpressVPN to be a better choice for activities like streaming, gaming, and torrenting as it provides speedier and quicker connections compared to CyberGhost no matter where you’re located. Try ExpressVPN’s fast servers
4. Security — Both VPNs Offer Impressive Protection
ExpressVPN and CyberGhost are optimized for the best possible security. ExpressVPN offers more protocols, allowing you to customize your encryption level and speed. CyberGhost provides basic malware and ad-blocking features, along with dedicated IP addresses for convenient account authentication from any location.
Encryption Standard
Both VPNs provide the highest level of encryption — AES-256-bit — used by banks and the US military to protect sensitive information. This encryption makes it virtually impossible for anyone (including ISPs, hackers, government agencies, and other third parties) to see what you’re doing online. Also, both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost use 4096-bit RSA keys to help keep your traffic private, with ExpressVPN going one step further by using cipher block chaining. This technology obscures your VPN connection, making it even harder for cybercriminals and other snooping eyes to track your activity.
Encryption Protocol
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost offer OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols. OpenVPN is the industry standard for security and speed, while IKEv2 is excellent for mobile devices — it reconnects quickly when changing networks, such as going from home WiFi to 4G. ExpressVPN’s Lightway protocol provides a lightweight solution with high security and lightning-fast speeds. In comparison, CyberGhost has WireGuard, which is also a lightweight protocol with just 4,000 lines of code (compared to OpenVPN’s 70,000 lines), ensuring easy debugging if any issues arise. Lightway, WireGuard, and OpenVPN are all excellent options — each one is highly secure with the same level of encryption. But when it comes to speeds, Lightway is a lot better than WireGuard and OpenVPN. In addition, ExpressVPN also has L2TP/IPSec, a lower-security protocol that still makes your connection anonymous and provides a speed boost. This is a good choice if you’re experiencing slow speeds and aren’t sending or receiving any sensitive data.
RAM-Only Servers
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost use RAM-based servers for maximum data security. This kind of server doesn’t write data to a disk; instead, data is only held temporarily until the server is rebooted on a regular schedule. Once the server is switched off, all data is wiped. This guarantees your data is never logged or stored. While ExpressVPN rents its servers from trusted third parties, CyberGhost has a small selection of NoSpy servers owned and operated by the company in Romania. These servers have a higher level of security as they’re not at risk of third-party interference. However, I experienced a significant slowdown when connected (almost 60%), so there’s a compromise when using the NoSpy servers.
Leak Protection
Even with the best encryption, there’s still the potential for data to leak which could lead to your activity being seen by prying eyes, including hackers, web trackers, and other malicious parties. Fortunately, both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost protect against the most common leaks — IP, DNS, WebRTC, and IPV6.
I ran multiple leak tests for both VPN services and found that my data was secure at all times.
For extra peace of mind, I didn’t have to activate leak protection when I used either VPN as it was already switched on, so I was protected immediately.
Malware/Ad Blocker
Only CyberGhost comes with a built-in ad blocker to prevent intrusive ads and potentially harmful malware from disrupting your browsing experience. However, upon testing CyberGhost’s ad blocker, I found it to be less effective than some other premium ad blockers. It did not efficiently block all ads, and some managed to slip through. In my tests, the malware and tracking blocker worked well, but I wasn’t as happy with the ad blocker. CyberGhost’s ad blocker only removes ads if they have malware, so I still saw ads when watching YouTube videos and visiting sites like the Daily Mail. It also failed to block banner and video ads on Buzzfeed.
Dedicated IP
Only CyberGhost offers a dedicated IP address for an additional fee. These are static IP addresses assigned only to you. If you’ve purchased one, it will remain the same every time you connect, which makes it useful for bypassing authorization (like 2-factor authentication) or CAPTCHAs for accounts you regularly use. In addition, having a dedicated IP reduces the ability of a streaming service or other platforms to figure out that you’re using a VPN. This means there’s less chance of getting locked out of your local streaming accounts when you’re traveling abroad.
Split Tunneling
Both CyberGhost and ExpressVPN offer split tunneling, which means you get to choose which apps or websites use the VPN connection. This is useful if you require encryption for one site or service but want to use your local connection for something else at the same time. For example, you can use split-tunneling to stream Netflix while using an encrypted connection to safely bank online at the same time.
NAT Firewall
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost include a NAT firewall. Although your router already has this type of firewall equipped, its utility is somewhat limited since it can’t differentiate between device-specific packets. ExpressVPN and CyberGhost’s firewalls can decrypt these packets and send them to the relevant device while discarding any suspicious ones. While you’ll still want an OS-level or antivirus-provided firewall to achieve top-level security, the additional protection provided by a VPN is still essential. Get ExpressVPN for online security
5. Pricing — CyberGhost’s Long-Term Plans Offer Better Value
CyberGhost’s 2-year + 3 months plan is the cheapest option starting at $2.11/month. It’s less than half the monthly cost of ExpressVPN’s lowest-priced plan, which is priced at $6.67/month. Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost have similarly-priced 1-month plans, which can work out quite expensive. However, CyberGhost’s 2-year + 3 months plan costs just $2.11/month with an incredible 84% discount. ExpressVPN’s best plan starts at $6.67/month. CyberGhost has a longer money-back guarantee period with its long-term plan — 45 days compared to ExpressVPN’s 30 days.
6. Torrenting — ExpressVPN Supports Torrenting on All Its Servers
Despite CyberGhost’s optimized servers, ExpressVPN is the best choice for frequent torrenting because of its fast speeds. Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost work with a variety of clients, including BitTorrent, uTorrent, qBittorrent, and Vuze. They keep your torrenting activity safe and anonymous with military-grade encryption and leak protection. Plus, both VPNs have a kill switch to prevent any data leaks if the server connection is interrupted.
Every ExpressVPN Server Supports Fast Torrenting
ExpressVPN supports P2P file transfer on all its servers. I recommend connecting to your nearby server to get the best possible speeds for torrenting. I connected using its “Smart Location” feature and it took me 5 minutes to download a 5 GB file via uTorrent, with a speed of almost 94 Mbps.
CyberGhost Has Special P2P Servers for Torrenting
CyberGhost is also excellent for torrenting with optimized P2P servers, but these can be slow due to heavy user traffic at peak times. I connected to CyberGhost’s torrenting-optimized server closest to my location and it took almost 11 minutes to download the same 5 GB torrent at the speed of 81 Mbps. Another downside is that CyberGhost’s torrenting servers aren’t available on its mobile apps. However, you can use CyberGhost’s regular servers to torrent on your smartphone. Get ExpressVPN for torrenting
7. China — ExpressVPN Reliably Bypasses China’s Great Firewall
China imposes various restrictions on VPN usage. Luckily, ExpressVPN uses an obfuscation technique that makes VPN traffic appear as regular traffic, which helps it get through China’s Great Firewall. My research team in China tried to access sites like Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook. ExpressVPN had no issues accessing sites blocked by the Chinese government. Not every server worked, but my team had success with ExpressVPN servers in Japan and the US. On the other hand, CyberGhost couldn’t even launch in China. I confirmed with customer service that CyberGhost isn’t guaranteed to work in countries with restrictive internet.
You must download ExpressVPN before you arrive in China as the website and app stores are blocked inside the country. You can also download Tor and use ExpressVPN’s .onion site (http://expressobutiolem.onion) to access the service. If you’re already in China, ExpressVPN has a mirror site (upghsbc.com/sign-in) that will connect you to the website. Get ExpressVPN for Chine
8. Gaming — ExpressVPN’s Fast Speeds and Low Latency Provide Smooth Online Gameplay
I’d pick ExpressVPN over CyberGhost for gaming because it consistently outperformed CyberGhost’s gaming servers in terms of speeds. I was impressed that I could play online using ExpressVPN servers over 15,000 km away without any interruption. This means you won’t face any lag while playing high-intensity games like Call of Duty, Valorant, and more.
CyberGhost Has Gaming-Optimized Servers
CyberGhost gaming servers are optimized to reduce latency and provide a stable and smooth connection for gaming. When I tested a local gaming server, it improved my speeds, so playing online was more responsive than when I wasn’t using a VPN at all. I liked that I could choose an optimized server based on distance and ping. However, when I chose servers in the US and Japan my ping was well above 100 ms. This made my gameplay laggy and slow, meaning I couldn’t play effectively. This is worth considering if you’re traveling abroad and want to connect to your home server to play online.
ExpressVPN Allows Port Forwarding for Speedy Connections & Hosting Games Online
Port forwarding enables a direct connection between your device and the gaming server, resulting in reduced latency and improved gameplay performance. It is particularly beneficial for hosting games online. When you enable port forwarding, ExpressVPN opens a specific port on your router, allowing for fast and direct data transfer between your device and other players joining your game. Also, all players on the network are protected by the VPN’s encryption and security measures. Try ExpressVPN for gaming
9. Device Compatibility — CyberGhost Supports 7 Simultaneous Connections
ExpressVPN and CyberGhost both offer dedicated apps for all major devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and more. Plus, each can be configured on your router, so you can use either VPN with any Wi-Fi-enabled device. One major difference is CyberGhost allows up to 7 simultaneous device connections, while ExpressVPN only supports 5. That said, you can simply set up either of them on your router and use it on as many devices as you want since the router is considered just 1 device. Try CyberGhost risk-free
10. Company Jurisdiction — Both VPNs Are Headquartered in Privacy-Focused Countries
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost are based in countries outside of intelligence-sharing alliances and with strong data privacy laws. This means they’re not legally obliged to log, store, or share any user data. Even if requests are made by government bodies, there is no collected data to hand over to the authorities.
ExpressVPN — Based in The British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN operates from The British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction renowned for its stringent privacy laws. This location allows ExpressVPN to act independently from major surveillance alliances, providing a higher level of privacy and data protection.
CyberGhost — Based in Romania
CyberGhost is headquartered in Romania, a country with a strong reputation for privacy protection and data security. Being based in Romania, CyberGhost can offer users the assurance of operating within a jurisdiction that prioritizes user privacy. Try ExpressVPN for online safety
11. No-Logs Policy — Both ExpressVPN & CyberGhost Have an Independently Audited Policy
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost have strict “no-logs” policies, which means they don’t keep any records of your online activities. These policies have been independently audited to ensure their effectiveness.
ExpressVPN: KMPG and Cure53 recently verified ExpressVPN’s no-logs policy by an independent audit, confirming it keeps no user information or browsing history records. CyberGhost: Deloitte Romania audited CyberGhost’s no-logs policy and its implementation and validated that it doesn’t keep identifiable logs of its users’ data.
Logging Policies
Both VPNs claim to never log any identifying information that could be linked back to you, such as IP addresses and websites you visit while connected. However, both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost keep some non-identifying logs. For example, both VPNs keep your login data (namely, your email address) so that you can access your account. ExpressVPN records the server you connect to, the date you connect, and the amount of data transferred. It doesn’t log any of your activity or your IP address — in fact, it’s possible to use ExpressVPN entirely anonymously, thanks to its Bitcoin and Mint payment methods. CyberGhost checks your account once a day to see if you’ve logged in, purely for statistical purposes — these logs are deleted at the end of the month. It doesn’t log any of your activity while you’re connected to the server, and if you sign up with Bitcoin you can use CyberGhost completely anonymously.
User Data Storage
Since both VPNs use RAM-only servers, your data or online activity will never be stored. As the servers are regularly rebooted on a schedule, all data is wiped as soon as the servers are switched off. There is no way for any information to be permanently stored on the servers, securing your data privacy completely. Outside of its independent audit, ExpressVPN showed it can’t and won’t store user data when one of its servers was forcibly seized by the Turkish government in 2017. On investigation, the Turkish authorities were unable to obtain any data from the server as there were no logs available. CyberGhost also proved itself when a Typeform data leak occurred in 2019. While 120 email addresses and 14 usernames were leaked, no passwords or other identifying private data was found since CyberGhost doesn’t store this information. Try ExpressVPN risk-free
12. Payments and Refunds — ExpressVPN Has More Payment Options (Including Anonymous Methods)
ExpressVPN offers more payment options, but CyberGhost offers a longer money-back guarantee.
ExpressVPN
Payment Methods
ExpressVPN offers 20+ payment options, such as credit card, PayPal, debit card, and online transfer. It includes anonymous methods like Bitcoin, Mint, and other cryptocurrencies. This makes it easy to sign up for ExpressVPN without linking the service to your identity.
Money-back Guarantee & Refunds
ExpressVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee. To test this guarantee, I contacted ExpressVPN’s live chat and asked to cancel my account. The agent quickly processed my request without asking any questions. I didn’t need to give a reason and it only took 3 minutes. I received a refund in 3 business days.
CyberGhost
Payment Methods
CyberGhost offers cryptocurrency for anonymous sign-up but primarily accepts PayPal and credit cards.
Money-back Guarantee & Refunds
CyberGhost has 2 options — for 1-month subscriptions, you have 14 days to apply for a refund. For longer subscriptions, CyberGhost offers an impressive 45-day money-back guarantee, which is one of the longest refund periods I’ve seen.
Try ExpressVPN with zero risk
13. Customer Support — ExpressVPN’s Response is Faster for Live Chat and Email
I was impressed by both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost’s customer support — ExpressVPN narrowly beats CyberGhost with slightly faster response times. Also, I was satisfied with the detailed, personalized, and clear responses from both VPNs’ support teams.
Live Chat
Both VPNs have friendly, helpful 24/7 live chat with short wait times. I never had to wait more than 2 minutes to connect to an agent with CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN was even faster at less than a minute.
Email Support
ExpressVPN’s email response time was impressive, typically less than 30 minutes, whether I used an existing account email or posed as a potential customer. CyberGhost also had a reasonable response time for emails from existing accounts (around 3 hours), but took longer (approximately 6 hours) to reply to emails from non-customer addresses.
Supported Languages
CyberGhost offers email support in English, French, German, and Romanian. ExpressVPN primarily uses English, but it employs an auto-translate feature to offer support in users’ native languages.
Help Guides
Both VPNs have extensive help guides on their respective websites. ExpressVPN has multiple video guides which are useful for step-by-step instructions. CyberGhost’s guides have screenshots with relevant annotations, making them easy to follow. Try ExpressVPN risk-free
14. Set Up — Both VPNs Are Easy to Install & Set Up
ExpressVPN and CyberGhost can both be equally easy or tricky to install and set up depending on which method you choose.
App Installation
This is the simplest way to set up both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost on your mobile, PC, some smart TVs, and more. Just visit their respective websites, download the app compatible with your device or operating system, and follow the on-screen instructions to install the app.
Smart DNS (MediaStreamer in the case of ExpressVPN)
Smart DNS allows you to configure your device’s DNS settings to use the VPN’s servers. It’s especially useful for gaming or streaming devices that lack native VPN support. ExpressVPN and CyberGhost provide clear instructions on their websites to guide you through the process of setting up Smart DNS.
Virtual Router
This is a great option to use the VPN on devices that don’t support VPNs natively. You can set up the VPN on your PC and configure it as a virtual router. This allows you to connect your devices to it directly.
Physical Router
If you want to secure your entire network, you can set up the VPN directly on your physical router. This ensures that all devices connected to the router are automatically protected. The setup process can be tricky and may vary depending on the router model you have, but both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost provide comprehensive guides and support to assist you in configuring your router with the VPN. Try ExpressVPN risk-free
15. App Interface — ExpressVPN’s Apps Are Easier to Use & Navigate Than CyberGhost’s
Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost have a user-friendly design, but I found ExpressVPN’s settings easier to customize than CyberGhost’s. You don’t really need to customize your connection before using either — both have great default settings. I feel that ExpressVPN’s interface strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and functionality, catering to both novice and advanced users. On the other hand, CyberGhost is more about visuals. A downside to CyberGhost’s VPN app is that it advertises its other products/features like Privacy Guard, Antivirus, and more, which can be overwhelming for new users. ExpressVPN has a “Smart Location” feature that automatically connects you to the best server based on your current location. Similarly, CyberGhost has a “Best Server Location” feature, which helps you find the most suitable server based on factors like speed and distance. Also, CyberGhost has organized its servers based on specific purposes, such as streaming, gaming, torrenting, and other specific activities. It was really easy to find these servers on its apps. However, after installation, I connected to a reliable ExpressVPN server with one 1-click in seconds, so it just beat CyberGhost in this category. Get ExpressVPN app Try ExpressVPN for gaming On nearby connections, ExpressVPN recorded an average speed of 94 Mbps, which is only a 6% drop from my baseline speed. In comparison, CyberGhost achieved an average speed of 78 Mbps on nearby servers, which was a 22% drop from my baseline speeds. CyberGhost’s speeds dropped significantly on distant connections. Where ExpressVPN maintained an average speed of 88 Mbps on faraway servers, CyberGhost’s average was 63 Mbps. That’s a massive 37% drop compared to ExpressVPN’s 12%.
Speed: If you want flawless streams and lag-free gaming, ExpressVPN is the best choice. ExpressVPN gave me higher speeds on both nearby and distant servers compared to CyberGhost. Server locations: Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost offer a large number of servers worldwide, but make sure they have servers in the specific locations you require. Features and security: Both ExpressVPN and CyberGhost provide robust security and encryption, but you will find differences in terms of additional features. User experience: A simple and intuitive interface can enhance your overall VPN experience. Both VPNs provide a well-organized layout for effortless navigation, making it easy to connect to servers, switch locations, and customize settings.
In addition, ExpressVPN’s larger P2P network allows you to connect to torrent-friendly servers in your preferred locations. This enables you to access a wider range of torrents and improves your chances of finding peers to download from. Low ping is essential for online gaming, as it directly affects the responsiveness of your actions in multiplayer games. ExpressVPN has faster speeds and lower ping compared to CyberGhost, resulting in a more seamless gaming experience. Also, ExpressVPN has servers in many locations around the world, allowing you to choose the nearest one for gaming. This proximity helps minimize the distance your gaming data needs to travel, further reducing latency and improving overall performance. ExpressVPN is an ideal choice for games like PUBG, COD, Fortnite, and more.
And the Winner Is… ExpressVPN
CyberGhost is an excellent VPN service and the results of each category were very close — but ExpressVPN comes out on top with wins in 8 out of 15 categories. CyberGhost took the lead in 2 categories, with the remaining 6 ending in a tie.
Streaming: ExpressVPN Servers: Tie Speed: ExpressVPN Security: Tie Torrenting: ExpressVPN Pricing: CyberGhost China: ExpressVPN Gaming: ExpressVPN Device Compatibility: CyberGhost Company Jurisdiction: Tie No-logs policy: Tie Payment and refunds: ExpressVPN Customer Support: ExpressVPN Installation & set up: ExpressVPN Ease-of-use: ExpressVPN
CyberGhost is one of the best value VPNs available, with top-tier security and excellent device compatibility, offering up to 7 simultaneous connections. Still, it couldn’t beat ExpressVPN in major categories, including speeds, streaming, torrenting, gaming, and more. You can buy ExpressVPN with confidence. All of its plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not totally satisfied, you have 30 days to request a refund. The process is simple — it took less than 3 minutes to approve my refund request and I had my money back in 5 days!
