ExpressVPN Review: Expert Analysis In 2024

We conducted a review of ExpressVPN in 2023 to evaluate the relative cost and benefits of the service. ExpressVPN’s specialty comes in how it is by and far the most comprehensive VPN offering on the market. It’s not necessarily the fastest VPN, but its speeds are still respectable and its consistency is unparalleled.

When it comes to streaming, you’ll find that it simply works no matter what site you try to access. Even things like torrenting work flawlessly, which you just don’t get with a lot of ExpressVPN’s competitors.

ExpressVPN Review: Quick Expert Summary

This comprehensiveness continues when looking at ExpressVPN’s slew of features, covering a variety of needs. Even in regards to security features, ExpressVPN stands out, with tons of simple tools and power options for every kind of user.

• Lightway Protocol – Lightway is ExpressVPN’s custom protocol.
• Split Tunneling – Split tunnelling lets you reroute your traffic accordingly.
• Threat Manager – Screens files for threats to avoid malware, potential leaks and viruses.
• Smart Locations – Suggest servers based on your recent location.
• RAM-Only Servers – Don’t store any of your information anywhere.

ExpressVPN practically covers all its bases, not something you can say about most other VPN providers on the market. Perhaps the only sore spot is its pricing, which is higher than the average, though the simplicity and effectiveness are worth the price. It rounds everything off with best-in-class customer support, making for a VPN that’s easy to recommend to others.

ExpressVPN also works in China, Cuba and the Middle East.

ExpressVPN Key Data

Speed	9/10
Average Speed*	475 Mbps
Video Streaming Support	4K UHD
Streaming	10/10
Netflix	Yes
Other Streaming Services	Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO, Hulu
Security	10/10
Encryption Type	256-bit AES w/ Perfect Forward Secrecy
Kill Switch	Yes
Log Policy	No identifying logs
Protocols	Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Value for Money	7/10
Lowest Monthly Cost	$6.67
Money Back Guarantee	30 days
Website	https://www.expressvpn.com

ExpressVPN Full Review

Based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN has been in service since 2009. Over time, the company and service have grown into one of the biggest VPN providers in the world. With so many years of experience under their belt, it’s understandable that they’ve become such a trusted option. They’ve had plenty of time to mature their service and improve it beyond many of their competitors.

With so many servers covering a plethora of different locations, ExpressVPN provides its users with consistently high connection speeds. This benefits users worldwide, as anyone anywhere can subscribe to ExpressVPN and enjoy the same high speeds as users anywhere else. Their reliability and commitment to internet privacy led to their enormous user base.

ExpressVPN Quick Specification Rundown

Server Count	3000+ Ram-only Servers
Server Countries	94 Countries
Base Location	British Virgin Islands
Max Device Count	5 Devices
Supported Protocols	Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Key Features	Lightway Protocol, RAM-only Servers, Threat Manager, Split Tunneling, Extensive Customer Support
Customer Support Options	Support Website, 24/7 Live Chat Support, Email Support
Supported Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Routers

ExpressVPN Features

Basic features make up the core of ExpressVPN’s excellent track record with its customers. High-end encryption keeps your searches and internet traffic safe. A secure DNS means your ISP also can’t monitor your internet traffic. You also get a kill switch in case your VPN connection drops suddenly. These core features make up a large part of ExpressVPN’s appeal.

• Lightway Protocol – Lightway is ExpressVPN’s custom protocol, a departure from the typical WireGuard route. ExpressVPN boasts superior security and privacy, while still managing to maintain fairly consistent and impressive performance.

• Split Tunneling – With split tunnelling, you can reroute your traffic to either your normal IP address or through your VPN. It’s useful for using wireless peripherals, like printers.

• Threat Manager – Whenever a possible threat pops up, ExpressVPN lists it down in its threat manager, allowing you to micromanage what to do with these sorts of issues. It gives the user the power to make the final decision, while still keeping them safe.

• Smart Locations – Using your most recent location, ExpressVPN will intelligently suggest a server to you to ensure the fastest and most consistent connection.

• RAM-Only TrustedServers – ExpressVPN’s RAM-only servers don’t store any of your information, adding extra security and peace of mind for users.

• Network Lock Kill Switch – Like the best VPNs, ExpressVPN offers a network lock kill switch which completely blocks all online traffic if your VPN connection goes down. It helps ensure that your data remains safe under any circumstances.

It’s important to note that ExpressVPN does not support WireGuard, a free and open-source VPN protocol. The reasons ExpressVPN provides centre around how they feel WireGuard doesn’t live up to their standards, not befitting a VPN network as extensive as theirs. As an alternative, the VPN provider developed the Lightway protocol, built from scratch to meet their users’ performance, security, and privacy expectations.

Privacy & Security Review

Another big part of ExpressVPN’s appeal is its focus on privacy, a big draw of VPNs in general. Where ExpressVPN stands out from the pack, however, is its commitment to providing the best. With 256-AES encryption, a 4096-bit RSA certificate, and uncrackable encryption methods, things are already off to a great start. Add to that a vast selection of protocols, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Many of you will also be happy to hear that ExpressVPN has support for split tunnelling. Split tunnelling allows you to reroute specific traffic through your VPN, which is useful for using wireless peripherals safely.  Meanwhile, all your other applications go through the regular traffic route. Split tunnelling is incredibly useful, though it’s not all too common on other VPN services so we’re happy to have it here.

Their public transparency towards their users regarding their security practices is also significant in this regard. A big move towards gaining users’ trust is how ExpressVPN audit their servers. It’s proof that they do not log any of their users’ sensitive information, allowing users to check themselves. ExpressVPN thus easily lives up to the promises in its privacy policy.

ExpressVPN stands above most of its competition regarding privacy and security. Once again, you’ll see many industry-standard security features, covering the gamut of what you could want from a VPN.

Speed & Performance

On paper, ExpressVPN sits squarely in the upper echelons of VPN speeds, despite not having access to WireGuard. Thankfully, the Lightway protocol achieves rates of up to 560Mbps, with OpenVPN only being slightly slower at 355Mbps. This places ExpressVPN ahead of some players in the VPN space, though it’s still not a market leader in this regard.

ExpressVPN Protocol Speed Comparison

ExpressVPN Protocol	Peak Speed
Lightway	560Mbps
OpenVPN	355Mbps

In practice, what makes ExpressVPN impressive is how it always stays at stable top speeds. This is where the 3000 servers come in handy, allowing users anywhere to maintain a solid connection no matter where they are. ExpressVPN does a phenomenal job keeping things running smoothly for streaming high-definition content. There are also no transfer data caps, so throttling is a non-issue.

Thanks to the consistently excellent performance, ExpressVPN should be able to smoothly access any site you could need. Overall, ExpressVPN is incredibly well-rounded in terms of performance, standing out from the pack with features and proprietary extras that propel it higher than many of its competitors.

ExpressVPN Servers & IP Addresses

One of the most significant selling points of ExpressVPN is that it has 3,000 servers in 94 countries. All of these servers are RAM-only, which means they can’t store any of your data, fitting the VPN’s guarantee of internet security. On top of that, with a no-logging policy that the company has stuck to ever since its inception, ExpressVPN promises your absolute internet privacy at all times.

Streaming Support

ExpressVPN isn’t shy, boasting about their excellent streaming support on their website, and we have to agree with them here. There’s support for practically every single streaming site here, meaning you’ll never run into compatibility issues. On top of that, the VPN’s consistently high speeds mean you can avoid buffering issues, even when streaming at higher resolutions.

Torrenting Support

One of ExpressVPN’s features that doesn’t get shown off much is its excellent P2P sharing performance. Many optimizations have been made to the service to enhance the VPN’s P2P experience, and that’s something that you’ll find not many other VPN providers celebrate. Torrenting files is a breeze thanks to this, with it being relatively fuss-free next to competitor offerings.

Gaming Support

With a great line-up of security features and reliable performance, ExpressVPN prides itself on its gaming performance. It keeps you safe from DDoS attacks, covers various devices from your smartphones to your consoles, and bypasses throttling. You can also change regions seamlessly, being able to play with anyone from around the world effortlessly. Leak protection also helps, keep your gaming sessions more secure.

Bypassing Censorship

As with any VPN, ExpressVPN does a phenomenal job of bypassing censorship. Be it local censorship or international-level censorship, ExpressVPN gets right through it with its options. Split tunnelling works well here, allowing you to route only specific traffic through your VPN. Masking your IP also unblocks websites effortlessly, and the nature of ExpressVPN means all your data is encrypted with no activity logs being kept.

Does ExpressVPN Keep Logs?

When it comes to ExpressVPN, the company clearly states that:

“We do not collect logs of your activity, including no logging of browsing history, traffic destination, data content, or DNS queries. We also never store connection logs, meaning no logs of your IP address, your outgoing VPN IP address, connection timestamp, or session duration.”

The great thing about ExpressVPN is that its systems and servers have been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) which is known for its auditing service. The company has audited ExpressVPN and after extensively checking the backend and reviewing the code, they have declared that ExpressVPN is compliant with its privacy policy. You can check the complete report.

Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps

Installation is easy and painless regardless of how tech-savvy you are. The ExpressVPN website automatically detects the version your device needs, and from there, it’s simply a matter of clicking on a file and installing ExpressVPN. Over on mobile, things are even simpler as all you need to do is download ExpressVPN from your app store. From there, you set up a username and password as you would with any VPN and then use it as usual.

On PC, ExpressVPN’s user interface is straightforward to navigate, allowing just about anyone to use it efficiently in no time. The main dashboard of ExpressVPN allows you to see all the devices on the VPN network. Sitting at the top are the VPN’s server location options, and a big connect and disconnect button. Locations are sorted by continent, with smart locations given based on your recent locations.

Regardless of what device you’re using the VPN, the general design and interface are kept relatively similar. This means that familiarizing yourself with the ExpressVPN interface on one platform allows you to use it on any platform. Overall, using ExpressVPN is a joy because of how simple and intuitive it is.

Does ExpressVPN Have A Free Trial?

A free Trial is a great option to try a VPN Service and see if it fits your need. ExpressVPN offers a free 7-day trial on its smartphone apps so if you want to use ExpressVPN, you can try it for free on Android or IOS App.

They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of its plans which you can claim within 30 days of buying the plan.

ExpressVPN Plans & Pricing

ExpressVPN comes in three different pricing plans: a 1-month plan, a 6-month place, and a 12-month plan. Generally, the prices are slightly higher compared to many other VPN providers. However, the trade-off is that ExpressVPN offers much better stability and doesn’t use predatory pricing tactics by increasing subscription costs months into a plan.

Package Type	Monthly	6-month Plan	1-year Plan
ExpressVPN	$12.95/month	$59.99/ 6-months ($9.99/month)	$99.95/ 1 year ($8.32/month)

When it comes to payment options, ExpressVPN offers various options to pay for your subscriptions. It includes PayPal, Credit Cards, Sofort, Giro Pay, and even Bitcoin.

Customer Support

VPN providers need to excel at customer support, so we’re glad to see ExpressVPN take extra care with this. First, there is a comprehensive, essentially exhaustive list of articles and guides curated by ExpressVPN. Every guide is concise and straight to the point, not wasting your time with unnecessary details but with enough information to keep you on the right path. Pair that with the accompanying FAQs, and you’ll find it easy to troubleshoot most issues yourself.

But, if you’re not particularly tech-savvy and would prefer real people to help walk you through issues, ExpressVPN customer support still has you covered. Their 24/7 live support chat is excellent, as you’re always talking to another person instead of a bot. The experts behind the live chat are also knowledgeable about their service and capable of efficiently guiding you through any issues.

Many other customers, including us, can attest to ExpressVPN’s fantastic support system. It’s as close as any digital service gets to offering flawless customer service, and we’re happy with how they run things. Suppose you’re new to VPNs or are generally not too good at troubleshooting problems. In that case, we highly recommend going with ExpressVPN for this specific reason.

Is ExpressVPN Good in 2024?

If it isn’t immediately apparent, we feel ExpressVPN is one of the best offerings currently available in the VPN market. With stellar performance, incredibly simple installation, excellent platform support, fantastic stability, and the best customer service among VPN providers, there’s nothing to complain about here. While the speeds aren’t the highest, it’s still quite fast, and most importantly, it’s consistent.

If you’re a newcomer, the numerous guides and practically perfect customer service are a godsend in case you encounter any issues. For more tech-savvy users, having multiple power options enhances the experience, and the fantastic stability and speed benefit everyone. We can’t recommend it enough, especially if you’re looking for no compromises.

The only downside of ExpressVPN is the price of its basic plan but the company offers decent prices when you switch to long-term plans.