We’ve conducted an ExpressVPN review to see if it is as good as people say it is. No matter if you want to watch geo-restricted content or break the internet blockade and help bring down a dictator in a censorship-ruled country, VPNs are the ultimate tool. There are plenty of options on the market, and ExpressVPN is one of the most discussed.
Like any VPN, it allows you to conceal your identity online, break some internet blockades and improve your online safety. Let’s find out what makes it a best-seller.
What Is ExpressVPN?
Founded in 2009 in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN is now one of the most trusted names in the industry. It invests heavily in internet safety, and besides using already proven security protocols, it’s also developing its very own Lightway protocol. ExpressVPN has some of the best server coverage, boasting over 3,000 servers in 160 locations, over 94 countries.
What Makes ExpressVPN Stand Out?
The ExpressVPN company location is in the British Virgin Islands, away from the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance’s prying eyes. It has a no-log policy and gets audited by highly regarded cybersecurity companies like Cure3 and PwC. It also uses RAM instead of hard drives, which means all the data on previous sessions gets deleted on reboot.
Pros
- Excellent live chat support
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- TrustedServer Technology
- ExpressVPN smart location helps you find the best server
- Supports all Operating Systems
- Unblocks Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and other streaming services that block other VPNs.
- Split tunneling
- Kill switch feature
- Zero-knowledge policy and external security audits
- With an ExpressVPN router app, users can connect an unlimited number of devices
Cons
- Free trial is only for iOS and Android
- No ad blocker
- The monthly subscription is expensive
How Much Does ExpressVPN Cost?
The company offers three subscription plans, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. There is a free trial option, but it’s only available for iOS and Android. The plans are as follows:
- Monthly plan – $12.95 per month
- 6-month plan – $59.95 billed every six months, making it $9.99 per month
- 12-month plan – $99.95 annually, amounting to $8.32 per month. ExpressVPN usually has a promotion with this plan of an extra three months free, making the monthly cost just $6.67 for the first 15 months.
Comparing ExpressVPN prices to the competition, we can see that the monthly cost is above the average of around $10.21. When compared to other high-end VPNs, however, it’s relatively priced. For instance, CyberGhost and NordVPN charge $12.99 and $11.95 per month, respectively.
The only drawback concerning price is that ExpressVPN doesn’t offer longer, three-year plans like its competitors do. Long subscriptions allow for much lower prices, but the commitment is a drawback unless you’re set on using a specific VPN service for years on end.
ExpressVPN Features
While conducting the ExpressVPN review, we got acquainted with its features and found a decent list of stuff we liked. Keep on reading to find out more.
Split Tunneling
Split tunneling allows you to choose the websites you want to access, circumventing the VPN. It’s handy when you want to surf locally and visit foreign websites at the same time.
TrustedServer Technology
ExpressVPN uses TrustedServer technology, and all ExpressVPN servers are only functioning on RAM. Still, is ExpressVPN safe? Well, it’s enough to know that the information gets completely deleted with each reboot. RAM can’t store any data, unlike hard drive servers which are used by the majority of VPN services, keeping your browsing history completely private.
Kill Switch
Kill Switch instantly cuts off all internet traffic if your connection to the VPN server gets shaky or terminated. Getting disconnected from the VPN can leave your IP address exposed and leave you vulnerable. The Kill Switch feature prevents any accidental exposures from occurring, and during our ExpressVPN review, it worked perfectly.
Torrenting
When it comes to torrenting, the people from ExpressVPN did their best to make users happy. P2P sharing is frowned upon by governments and companies worldwide because it helps in sharing copyrighted material. As a result, VPN companies tend to be shy about their P2P sharing abilities. ExpressVPN openly supports torrenting, however. It provides a complete set of instructions on how to connect and start downloading.
Multiple Devices
ExpressVPN allows you to connect up to five different devices, but there is an option to get even more. You can connect an unlimited number of devices to this VPN by installing its Router App, which grants protection to anything connected to the router.
Streaming
Most of the ExpressVPN reviews you can find online will commend that ExpressVPN can unblock most popular streaming services, and we agree. While testing, we’ve confirmed that ExpressVPN can stream Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Go, and many more, all in Full HD.
You can also use it for unblocking YouTube, Google, Facebook, and other popular websites that sometimes get blocked in workplaces or certain heavily censored countries.
Security Protocols
The Lightway protocol has been eagerly awaited by many VPN reviews we found during our research. Besides the standard OpenVPN and IKEv2, ExpressVPN also uses its own security protocol. After two years of development, it was released in 2020. The main benefit is that it increases download and upload speeds and is easy to audit. The protocol is available on Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, and routers, and the iOS version is coming soon.
ExpressVPN Speed Test
The speed test we conducted showed a 15% decline in speed in the US. A similar result was recorded in the UK, with only a 12.64% speed decrease after we chose a local server. When we opted for an Australian server, the speed reduction was 64%, and when we wanted to use a UK server from the US, we experienced a 49% drop in speed.
Our ExpressVPN review associates in Australia experienced no significant drop in speed. Connected to an LA server, they had 83.40 Mbps download and 17.74Mbps upload speed, while the ping was at 190ms. Like with most other VPNs, the closer the server to your location, the faster the connection.
ExpressVPN vs. the Competition
There’s a lot of VPN services out there, and choosing the right one can mean the difference between complete privacy or having your data leaked. We chose to compare ExpressVPN to NordVPN due to the similarities in cost and service provision.
ExpressVPN vs. NordVPN
When speaking about the competition, the first name that comes to mind is NordVPN. As fierce rivals, both companies offer many features, including split tunneling, a kill switch, access streaming services, and high speeds. Both companies use RAM servers and have external security audits. So, how can you decide which is the right one?
The most considerable difference we saw during our ExpressVPN against NordVPN review is that ExpressVPN has more locations, which might mean higher speeds. The speed of a VPN depends on the proximity of the servers, and a VPN provider with a more widespread server network will be able to provide more options for connectivity. NordVPN has 5,517 servers in 59 countries, while ExpressVPN has 3,000 servers in 94 countries.
The companies provide almost identical pricing plans, so really, which one to pick might just be a matter of preference.
How Does ExpressVPN Work?
ExpressVPN is a virtual private network (VPN). It conceals your IP address and increases your safety while online. The way it works is that instead of connecting to a specific website directly, you will first be connected to a remote server and from there to the website. The website you are using will see a server IP address and not your own. During the whole process, the data will flow through an encrypted tunnel so that no one can track your online activity.
When we say concealed, the first thing that comes to our minds is something dishonest. So, is ExpressVPN legal since it can hide identity? As long as you are using it for legal activity, using a VPN is legal in most countries. Some countries have banned VPN use, however, so be sure not to use it when traveling to China, Russia, Belarus, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, and Venezuela, or you might end up paying a decent fine.
ExpressVPN Support
You can get help through the following channels with ExpressVPN:
- Support page. You can find many articles, instruction manuals, FAQs, and even instruction videos that should cover most of the problems you may encounter.
- Live Chat. ExpressVPN has friendly, 24/7 live chat support. We have contacted the support seven times in total from different locations, with questions ranging from ExpressVPN pricing plans and availability across many countries to technical problems. Each time, the support staff was responsive, helpful, and solved our various issues in a timely manner.
- Email. If you run into some problem you or the live chat can’t solve, you can contact ExpressVPN via email. The usual response time is 24 hours, but people rarely wait that long.
Summary of Our ExpressVPN Reviews
ExpressVPN is one of the most trusted VPNs worldwide, and there are plenty of reasons why. It can unblock almost any streaming service, has a no-log policy, external audits, RAM servers, AES 256-bit encryption, and several encryption protocols.
You could always go with a free VPN service, but if you’re into more serious internetting, ExpressVPN is a safe and private way to torrent, stream, and whatever else it is you don’t want anyone to know about.
People Also Ask
Yes, ExpressVPN is the real deal. With high safety standards, confirmed by several external safety audits performed by reputable companies, it is a legitimate solution for people who want to browse the Internet anonymously or access content available only in certain regions. It has a no-log policy and RAM servers, so it doesn’t keep track of what users are doing online, and that’s a confirmed fact.
ExpressVPN has three plans: A monthly plan for $12.95, a six-month plan for $59.95, and a 12-month plan for $99.95. If you decide on buying a six-month subscription, it reduces the monthly cost to $9.99, while the 12-month subscription reduces the price to $8.82 per month. The company pretty often has a deal for the 12-month subscription offering three extra months for free, which reduces the plan to $6.67 for the first 15 months.
ExpressVPN hides your IP address, and there is no law against that. It’s perfectly legal, as long as you are using it for legal activities. If you choose to use it for illegal purposes, you will be prosecuted if discovered. Some countries, though, restrict VPN use, such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Iraq, to name a few. Those countries restrict or monitor Internet use itself, so it’s not just about having a VPN.
ExpressVPN is very effective in concealing your IP address and protecting you from different online attacks. It sends data through an encrypted tunnel and makes it impossible for anyone to read it. If the connection breaks at any time, the kill switch feature cuts off any internet traffic immediately, protecting your identity. The company is externally audited by reputable cybersecurity companies, and they’ve confirmed that ExpressVPN maintains high safety standards.
No, China does not own ExpressVPN. It’s registered in the British Virgin Islands and owned and operated by Express VPN International Limited, a privately held company. The company’s only revenue source is from consumer subscriptions and does not receive funding from any government.
According to the latest data, there are 193 countries recognized by the UN, plus two observer states. Out of that number, VPN is banned or partially banned in 10 countries, and they are China, Russia, Belarus, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, and Venezuela. In most of these countries, VPN users pay a fine, but prison time is threatened for others.
Yes. You can watch Netflix with ExpressVPN. The company’s servers enable you to have fast, no-hiccups access to Netflix. To find the best VPN server location for Netflix streaming, all you have to do is run a speed test and choose the server location with the highest speed. Our ExpressVPN review showed that streaming Netflix works great on computers, phones, tablets, and streaming media consoles.
