NordVPN vs ExpressVPN: Which is the Best VPN for Australians?
If you are looking for a VPN service to protect your privacy and security online, you may be wondering which one is the best for Australians. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are two of the most popular VPN services on the market, and they both offer a number of features that can be beneficial for Australian users.
NordVPN
NordVPN is a popular VPN service that offers a wide range of features, including strong security, fast speeds, and a large network of servers. NordVPN has over 5,500 servers in 60 countries, including Australia. This means that you can connect to a server in Australia and access geo-restricted content from other countries. NordVPN also offers a number of security features, including 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is another popular VPN service that offers a number of features that are beneficial for Australian users. ExpressVPN has over 3,000 servers in 94 countries, including Australia. This means that you can connect to a server in Australia and access geo-restricted content from other countries. ExpressVPN also offers a number of security features, including 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection.
Comparison
So, which VPN service is the best for Australians? It really depends on your individual needs and preferences. If you are looking for a VPN service with a large network of servers and strong security features, then NordVPN is a good option. If you are looking for a VPN service with a fast connection speed and a user-friendly interface, then ExpressVPN is a good option.
Ultimately, the best way to decide which VPN service is right for you is to try both of them out for free with their 30-day money-back guarantee. Please note that some conditions apply.
Here is a more detailed comparison of NordVPN and ExpressVPN:
Feature
NordVPN
ExpressVPN
Price
Starts at $11.95/month
Starts at $12.95/month
Number of servers
5,500+
3,000+
Number of server locations
60+ countries
94 countries
P2P support
Yes
Yes
Speed
Fast
Fast
Security
Strong
Strong
Privacy
Excellent
Excellent
Logging policy
No logs
No logs
Customer support
24/7 live chat and email support
24/7 live chat and email support
Refund policy
30-day money-back guarantee
30-day money-back guarantee
Conclusion
Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are excellent VPN services. They offer strong security, privacy, and speed. The main difference between the two services is the number of server locations. NordVPN has more server locations, while ExpressVPN has more server countries. This means that NordVPN may be a better choice for users who want to access geo-restricted content, while ExpressVPN may be a better choice for users who want to connect to servers in specific countries.
Ultimately, the best VPN service for you will depend on your individual needs and preferences. If you are unsure which service to choose, I recommend trying both NordVPN and ExpressVPN for free with their 30-day money-back guarantee.
A good Wi-Fi router provides excellent connectivity features and reliable internet capabilities over a range of devices, according to your preference. But, what is even better is a combination of a router and Virtual Private Networks. VPN services offer top-notch browsing security, and some industry-leading brands like Nord VPN and Express VPN serve millions of customers all over Australia and the world. VPN routers are routers that are compatible with VPN protocols. Additionally, you can install different VPN software onto them.
If you are a browsing enthusiast, you probably use a VPN on your computer or your browser. The advantage with a VPN router is that it provides VPN features to all devices that connect to its network. A VPN router facilitates seamless browsing while ensuring a virtual lockdown to your home network; thus, preventing spyware, hackers, and third party services from collecting your browsing data and your personal information.
VPN routers provide a robust, consistent, and more secure browsing experience compared to ordinary WI-FI routers. There are numerous VPN routers available in Australia. Unfortunately, some of them do not perform according to expectations. The best VPN routers cater to their primary purpose of ultimate security. Consequently, they provide various other usability features that will eliminate any hurdles in your browsing experience. Some top-rated WI-FI routers that you can consider are;
1.) Sabai Technology VPN Routers: VPN routers from Sabai technology are designed with a user-friendly interface and all the features that you need in a VPN. They base their operating system on Tomato firmware, and their OS offers a range of features with regular updates. One development that you will enjoy with the Sabai OS is its gateway feature. This feature allows you to selectively route all the devices that connect to your WI-FI network. This means that you can determine whether to route the computer in your office room via VPN and route other connections like your children’s Ipads without encryption.
Sabai VPN routers feature a kill switch. A kill switch is a VPN feature that blocks all devices connected to a particular VPN connection in case there are issues with the VPN server or gateway. This feature prevents any IP leakages to ensure that you are always safe from external monitoring. Sabai also features a VPN accelerator that uses a mini PC connected to your router to facilitate encryption. The accelerator ensures that you browse at top speed despite the encryption and decryption modules. Sabai routers are easy to configure, they regularly update their security software, and their customer care support is reliable. You can contact them if you have any questions or issues.
2.) Flash VPN Routers – Flash routers is an American-based company that deals in a unique niche by selling pre-flashed routers with tomato and DD-WRT firmware. They work closely with some of the best VPN services, which means that regardless of the VPN service you choose, they will serve you efficiently. Flash routers also work with leading router manufacturers who have developed more than 15 different types of routers. Some models that you can find are Asus, Netgear, and Linksys, and they allow a variety, from low-end products like Linksys WRT1200, and robust models like ASUS RT-AC5300. Since Flash routers are pre-flashed, it voids the manufacturer’s warranty, but the company replaces this with their warranty. They also provide the Flash router VPN app for free, which is a plus. They have world-class customer care support staff who you can contact in case of any issues.
3.) Asus VPN Routers. Asus VPN routers come in a wide range from basic models to more sophisticated, high-end, and expensive models. The latest models from Asus can handle P encryption effectively. Recently, Asus released Asus RT-AC86U, which can operate at speeds above 150Mbps using open VPN. Setting up your VPN on Asus routers is a simple process, and they work with reliable VPN services in Australia like Surf-shark, Cyber Ghost, Nord VPN, and Express VPN. You can read our Nord VPN review, and Express VPN review for information about additional features that these services offer with Asus and other types of routers.
What you should consider when going for the best VPN router
When going for a router that will cater to your needs, first, you should consider its ease of use and how simple it is to install a particular VPN service onto it. Installing a VPN service to some routers is significantly complicated, and this might frustrate you if you do not have professional assistance. Secondly, take note of your router’s bandwidth. By channeling your internet connection through a single VPN output, you will be limiting your internet speed. Thus you should pay close attention to internet speed tests. Apart from the estimations on our VPN reviews, you can personally test VPN speed around your area because the rate may differ according to geographical locations.
Lately, several VPN service providers have started offering routers that are pre-configured with their VPN client services. Nord VPN is one such provider; you can read a review of Nord VPN for information on its features. The advantage with these types of routers is that you get a client-ready set up that is ready to work straight from the box. Nevertheless, you might have to obtain the package at a higher price, and they lack flexibility since you will be forced to depend on one service provider for all your VPN services.
Conclusion
VPN routers offer a one-time solution by connecting a VPN service to every device that you connect to the network. This includes devices that are not compatible with VPN, like game consoles and smart TVs. The type of VPN router that you choose to work with will significantly depend on your purpose for purchasing it, and the coverage that you need from it. For in-depth information about the best VPN services that you can use with your VPN router, feel free to go through our Express VPN review, and our Nord VPN review, and you might find a preferable choice.
Connecting to an Indian VPN is not usually something that we get a lot of requests for….usually that is. Over the last few days, many of our readers have asked for the best VPN with reliable servers in India. Digging a bit deeper it seems like these readers are trying to get Youtube Premium at a massive discount.
The normal subscription cost in Australia for Youtube Premium is A$14.99/month for a single account or $22.99/month on a family plan (up to 6 users). This is where this Indian Youtube Premium hack comes in. Youtube India’s premium plan is only INR ₹129/Month (~A$2.81/month) for a single plan or INR ₹189/Month (~A$4.12/month) for a family plan.
That is a huge saving and even greater when you consider the cost over a year.
Youtube Australia
Youtube India*
Savings
Single Plan
$179.88
$33.72
$146.16 (saving of 81%)
Family Plan
$275.88
$49.44
$226.44 (saving of 82%)
Savings in subscribing to a Youtube Premium plan in Australia vs Subscribing to a Youtube premium plan in India *Exchange rate as of 3rd April 2020
The hard part: finding a reliable Indian VPN server
I’ll be honest, the first step in getting this discount is connecting to an Indian VPN server and this was a lot harden than I expected. Here at VPN Authority we do a range of speed tests, day in and day out. However, we rarely do any speed tests on Indian servers. We don’t actually get too many people wanting to connect to Indian servers and therein lies the problem. Quite likely due to the lack of demand, even the big name VPN’s seem to have limited capacity in India.
On selecting “India” in the NordVPN desktop app you are presented with 2 options for regions: Chennai (India) or Mumbai (India).
NordVPN desktop app with India selected
I first selected Mumbai as the region and proceeded to connect to a server named India #46, with the VPN connected I proceeded to https://www.youtube.com/paid_memberships . The connection was extremely slow but did eventually load up Youtube, however there was 1 major issue. Youtube had me down as being in AE – Dubai.
Top left of Youtube with the “AE” besides the logo.
I tried this again with a few other servers in Mumbai with the same result and very low speeds. I decided to switch regions to “Chennai” and this is where I finally had some success. With a faster connection and the magic “IN” next to the logo I was ready to sign up.
After this initial hiccup the rest of the process was very smooth. As a previous Youtube Premium member the details of my past subscription showed up along with the INR price to renew.
WARNING: You may be breaching Google’s Terms of Service by signing up via this method. This is purely a guide in respect of finding reliable Indian VPN servers and we do not condone the use for circumventing Youtube local pricing.
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) have become the go-to solution for bypassing geographic or content restrictions. They are also used for maintaining privacy and encrypting data transferred over the internet. This privacy and security is especially important when connecting to public WiFi networks to prevent third-parties from potentially hacking your computer.
VPNs function by
transmitting your data to private servers spread out across the globe and then
connecting you to your destination. This masks your IP address so you cannot be
detected since you’re functioning through an intermediary.
A lot of people
seem to believe that VPNs are extremely expensive. However, that is not true.
In addition to some very reasonable VPN services, you also have access to a
number of free VPNs in Australia.
In this article,
we’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks of using free VPNs and the best free
VPNs to be used in Australia.
Overview of Free VPNs in Australia
FreeVPNs come in
many forms. Some VPNs are free in their entirety. And some free VPNs are only
free provisionally. For instance, some VPNs might be free when used for a
single device or for a limited time period. Some VPNs are completely free, but
they lack certain features available in paid VPNs. The following are some of
the main advantages and disadvantages of free VPNs.
Advantages
They’re free!
They require minimal setup. You can
simply launch and use them, no purchases, no provision of information.
Disadvantages
Lack Security: VPNs are meant to protect your
privacy and prevent hackers from getting you. However, a number of free VPNs
can put you at greater risk of being hacked. This is because free VPNs rely
extensively on pop-up advertisements for their revenue. And many of these ads
carry malware that can infect your device. If you’re not VERY careful while
selecting a free VPN, your device can be hacked.
Invasion of Privacy: VPNs are meant to keep your
activities anonymous. Paid VPN services often maintain a strict No Logging
policy and can be held accountable. However, there’s no accountability with
free VPNs. They have to make their money somehow. So they embed the VPN with
third-party trackers that collect your information and sell it off to bidders.
Inability to Bypass Geographic
Restrictions: Most
free VPNs are fairly basic. They don’t have the tools to successfully change
your IP address and are unable to unblock Netflix or other similar services.
Slow Speed: Using free VPNs can drastically
slow down your internet connection. Even paid VPNs slow down your speed, but
only negligibly. But with free VPNs, you might as well be using a dial-up
connection.
Advertisements: Free VPNs bombard you with so many
ads on every screen that you will inadvertently end up clicking on several of
them. Not only is this annoying, but many of them — as already mentioned —
carry malicious malware.
Lack of Crucial Features: Paid VPNs come with several
crucial features to protect your privacy and anonymity. One such feature is
Kill Switch. If you’re accessing a site that your government doesn’t permit,
this feature can be extremely useful. If your VPN connection is lost for some
reason, this feature can immediately shut down all your pages, protecting your
privacy. However, with free VPNs, you don’t get access to this feature. As
such, if the VPN should suddenly shut down, your activity — at that moment —
will become completely visible.
Sale of Bandwidth: Various free VPNs drain their free
users’ bandwidth and they divert it to their paying customers.
All of the aforementioned drawbacks render free VPNs to be quite harmful if you’re not careful. As such, if you need to use VPNs on an extremely infrequent basis, you can use them. However, if you use VPNs with any degree of frequency, you should get a paid VPN service, especially since there are a lot of cheap options out there. Most VPN providers also offer a money back guarantee.
NordVPN has a 30 day money back guarantee. Get up to 75% off with this offer.
Top 3 Free VPNs in Australia
Now that you’ve
been warned about the drawbacks of free VPNs, the following are the 3 best free
VPNs in Australia. We’ve vetted them to make sure that they don’t carry malware
or other malicious intent.
Update: As checked on 17 July 2019, Hotspot Shield has made it a little bit trickier to use the free version. Read our guide below to use Hotspot Shied for free.
Hotspot Shield is one of the most popular free VPNs with servers in Australia. They are a legit VPN service with a paid version, but the free version also grants users limited access.
The free version of this VPN can grant users up to 500MBs per day. That’s not enough for streaming, but it’s enough for casual browsing or bypassing specific site restrictions. In addition to space limitation, the free version can only be used on one device. Another limitation, which was the most troublesome in our testing was that you can only connect to their US server meaning relatively low speeds. In our speed testing carried out on a connection in Perth we saw a 40% decrease in speed when connecting to the US based Hotspot Shield Server.
Despite the limitations, it is still highly recommended because they have great data encryption and are fast. As such, they don’t compromise security, even in the free version.
On computers you will see the below screen presented with different plans which gives the impression that there is no free plan. The trick is to click the little left arrow button in the top left corner (highlighted below)
Click on the small left arrow on the top left corner to be taken to the connection screen.
2. TunnelBear
Update: As checked on 17 July 2019, TunnelBear is now only giving 500mb free data per month. This is almost not worth it so we recommend you sign up with HotSpot shield instead who are providing 500mb per day. Of course you can use them in combination.
TunnelBear is an extremely basic free VPN with no additional feature besides simply hiding your IP.
They have been
bought by McAfee so you know they can be trusted. They currently have around
1,000 servers spread out across 20 server locations, including Australia.
Furthermore, they take privacy and security very seriously. As such, they don’t
even collect first names when signing up.
The free version of this VPN limits you to 500MBs per day,per month and that’s the only drawback here, other than the limited suite of features. If you choose to upgrade to a paid plan, you can get it for as little as $4.99 a month.
3. Hide.me
Hide.me is a
Malaysia-based VPN service available in over 50 geographic locations, including
Australia. They have a monthly limit of only 2GB, which is hardly enough to
stream a single movie on Netflix. The connection speed isn’t great either.
However, they have zero ads, they follow a strict no logging policy, and they
offer full customer support even to free users.
So now you know all about the best free VPNs on the market. As already mentioned, you should be extremely cautious while using free VPNs. The ones we’ve mentioned are generally considered to be safe, but there are a lot of malicious free VPNs out there as well.
Other Paid Options
Currently, our top-rated VPN provider is NordVPN who provide top-notch security at an excellent price. Through this link, you will receive up to 75% off the plan cost.
