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The reviews published on GuideHaven are written by community reviewers that examine the products according to our strict reviewing standards. Such standards ensure that each review prioritizes the independent, professional, and honest examination of the reviewer, and takes into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings we publish may also take into consideration the affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website.

ExpressVPN vs Unlocator VPN 2023

We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!

Unlocator is sort of a unique service. The company actually started as a DNS service, but since some ISPs will block you for using one, they’ve made a simple VPN service as backup. As a result, there are some major limitations that prevent it from coming anywhere close to the level of product ExpressVPN is. More Info

How do these VPNs Compare?

Speed

ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN you can use in terms of upload and download speeds, but Unlocator actually holds its own here as well. In some cases, it can come close to equaling ExpressVPN’s streaming speeds.

VPN vendor ExpressVPN Unlocator VPN
Download speed reduction 11% (UK) 55% (UK)
Upload speed reduction 16% (FRA) 31% (FRA)
Ping time to google.com 24ms 77ms
Average time to connect (sec.) 11ms 8ms
Unblock successful for Netflix-logo Hulu-logo Kodi-logo Espn-logo Youtube-logo Bbc-logo Youtube-logo Hulu-logo Kodi-logo
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Why Most Speed Tests are Pointless & How We Correctly Test VPN Speeds

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.

Servers

With ExpressVPN, you get 148 server locations in 94 total countries around the world — pretty good, but not great. However, since Unlocator is as basic as it gets, you get one server where they are based out of: Denmark.

VPN vendor ExpressVPN Unlocator VPN
Server Locations 148 43
Server Countries 94 39
IP Addresses 1,500+ 1
Dynamic Server Switching
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The Big Mistake When Comparing Number of Servers and What to Really Look For

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

Support

The level of customer support provided by ExpressVPN is very good. You get a 24/7 live chat on their site, along with plenty of user guides and video tutorials. If you have any trouble, you can submit an email and get a response fairly quickly. Unlocator has a good email response time, and lots of helpful information and guides on their site, but no live chat.

VPN vendor ExpressVPN Unlocator VPN
Email Response Time 0.3 18
24/7 Support
Live Chat
Knowledge Base
Video Tutorials
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How We Test Customer Support and Why Should You Care

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.

Ease of Use

ExpressVPN homepage screenshot

ExpressVPN is incredibly easy to download, set up, and use on multiple devices. Once opened, the app will offer to connect you to a recommended server based on your location, but you can just as easily choose to connect to the location of your choice. To switch from the automatic security protocol, just click on the settings button, and you’ll find a complete list of protocols to select from. You’ll also find other features readily accessible and easy to comprehend.

ExpressVPN can unblock content on most any streaming platform — another reason why it’s so popular.

Unlocator VPN

One of the first things that’s easily observed when using Unlocator is that it has no dedicated client/app for any platform. As a result, you should be prepared to manually configure this VPN on your device. Using the guides on the Unlocator website can be pretty helpful here.

Once you’ve successfully (and manually) integrated the VPN into your device, using it is pretty straightforward. Unlocator flawlessly bypasses more than 200 TV content providers including Hulu, HBO and BBC iPlayer. It’s also worth noting that Unlocator has a Netflix unblocking service which is currently in beta phase.

Pricing

THE WINNER IS

Visit ExpressVPN Website!

Which VPN Will You Choose?

Unlocator is okay for only having one server and no app whatsoever, but it’s futile to even compare it to ExpressVPN, one of the most dominant and well-regarded VPNs in the world. Unless you have some special circumstance, ExpressVPN should be your easy choice. More Info
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