RealityVPN vs the big VPNs
An honest comparison with NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark. Including where they win.
They have thousands of servers and massive marketing budgets. We have 13 servers and no dark patterns. Here's how we actually stack up.
TL;DR
Choose a big VPN if you need:
- Servers in 100+ countries
- Router-level VPN or smart TV support
- A household name your IT department recognizes
- Advanced features (multi-hop, dedicated IP, Tor over VPN)
Choose RealityVPN if you want:
- A simple VPN that doesn't upsell you a security suite
- Transparent pricing that stays the same at renewal
- A Chrome extension you can install in 10 seconds
- To cancel in 2 clicks without talking to anyone
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | NordVPN | ExpressVPN | Surfshark | RealityVPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | Intro price, then 2-3x at renewal. Class action lawsuits filed in CO, IL, NY, CA, and NC.³ | Premium pricing. Renewal rate higher than signup rate. | Low intro price. Renewal jumps significantly. | Same price at renewal. No surprises. |
| Cancellation | Multi-step process through chatbot before reaching live agent. | Support chat required. Multi-step process. | Self-service option available. Includes retention prompts. | 2 clicks in account settings. Done. |
| Product scope | VPN + password manager + cloud storage + threat protection. 4 tiers. | VPN + password manager + ad blocker. Owned by Kape Technologies. | VPN + antivirus + search engine + alert system. 3 tiers. | Just a VPN. One tier. Everything included. |
| Simplicity | Desktop app with dozens of features and settings. | Polished but heavy app. Extension requires the desktop app. | Clean UI but growing feature bloat with each update. | Standalone Chrome extension. One button: connect. |
| Server count | 7,000+ servers in 118+ countries. | 3,000+ servers in 105 countries. | 4,500+ servers in 100 countries. | 13 servers in 11 countries. |
| Platform support | All platforms including routers and smart TVs. | All platforms including routers and smart TVs. | All platforms including routers and smart TVs. | iOS app + Chrome extension. Android and Windows coming soon. |
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM (NordLynx / WireGuard). | AES-256-GCM (Lightway / OpenVPN). | AES-256-GCM (WireGuard / OpenVPN). | AES-256-GCM (IKEv2/IPSec). |
| No-logs policy | Audited. Shares founders and parent company (Tesonet) with Oxylabs, a web data intelligence company.² | Audited. Owned by Kape Technologies (formerly Crossrider, whose platform was linked to adware distribution).¹ | Audited. Merged with Nord Security in 2022. | No-logs policy. Independent, no parent company. |
| Server speed | Fast. Shared with millions of users. | Fast. Shared with millions of users. | Fast. Shared with millions of users. | Uncrowded. Small user base = consistent speeds. |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days. Multi-step refund process. | 30 days. Straightforward process. | 30 days. Must go through support chat. | 30 days. Email or account settings. No maze. |
| Transparency reports | Publishes monthly transparency reports. | Publishes semi-annual transparency reports. | Publishes transparency reports. Has a warrant canary page. | Warrant canary. Independent, no corporate parent. |
| Auto-renewal | Renews up to 14 days before expiry at higher price. | Auto-renews at higher rate. | Auto-renews at higher rate. Can cancel in account settings. | Same price. Cancel anytime in 2 clicks. |
1 Crossrider (renamed Kape Technologies in 2018) operated a cross-browser extension development platform. The platform was used by third-party developers for ad injection and adware distribution. Crossrider shut down the platform in 2016. Sources: Malwarebytes; Google/UC Berkeley ad injection study (2015); CyberInsider.
2 NordVPN's parent company Nord Security was co-founded by Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, who also co-founded Tesonet. Tesonet is the parent company of Oxylabs, a web data intelligence platform. Sources: Tesonet Wikipedia page; Crunchbase; PCWorld.
3 Multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against NordVPN S.A. and affiliates regarding auto-renewal pricing practices. Cases filed in: U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Nov 2024), Southern District of New York (Mar 2025), Northern District of Illinois (Jun 2025), Northern District of California, and Western District of North Carolina. Sources: ClassAction.org; TopClassActions.com.
What you actually pay.
Big VPNs advertise low intro prices, but the renewal price is what you'll pay for years. Here's the real cost — VPN-only tier, annual plan.
NordVPN Basic
~2.5x price increase. 4 tiers — VPN-only is the cheapest. Password manager, cloud storage, threat protection cost extra.
ExpressVPN Basic
~2x price increase. 3 tiers — password manager, identity monitoring, and dedicated IP require a higher plan.
Surfshark Starter
~4x price increase. 2-year plans cannot be renewed at the 2-year rate — you switch to annual billing.
RealityVPN
Same price forever. One tier. All features included. No upsells, no bundles, no surprise at renewal.
Prices as of March 2026. Competitor intro prices shown are for the cheapest VPN-only tier on an annual plan. Renewal prices are based on publicly listed annual renewal rates. Check each provider's website for current rates.
Industry practices worth knowing about.
The major VPN providers have adopted billing practices that are now facing legal scrutiny. A few things to be aware of:
- NordVPN faces class action lawsuits (CO, IL, NY) over auto-renewal charges at significantly higher rates, with subscriptions renewing up to 14 days before they expire
- ExpressVPN is owned by Kape Technologies, previously known as Crossrider — a company that distributed adware browser extensions before rebranding in 2018
- NordVPN and Surfshark merged under Nord Security in 2022. Nord Security shares founders and early investors with Oxylabs, a web scraping company
These are large, well-funded companies with solid encryption and huge server networks. They're not bad products. But we think the way a company treats its customers matters as much as the technology it ships.
Our approach: The price you sign up at is the price you renew at. Cancel in 2 clicks. 30-day money-back guarantee means 30 days from when you paid. No parent company, no data scraping side businesses.
Try a VPN that respects you.
30-day money-back guarantee. Cancel in 2 clicks. Same price at renewal.