Quick speeds and a low studying curve

ExpressVPN is sweet at its job. It is simple to be skeptical of any service with a knack for self-promotion, however do not let ExpressVPN’s hype distract you from the truth that it retains its front-page promise of “simply working.”

Outdoors of stable safety, the 2 greatest issues ExpressVPN presents are quick speeds and a easy interface. Our exams confirmed solely a 7% common drop in obtain pace and a 2% lack of add pace, worldwide. And whereas the dearth of additional options might frustrate skilled customers, it makes for a real set-and-forget VPN on any platform.

This is not to say ExpressVPN is with out flaws — it is almost bereft of customization choices and it is notably dearer than its competitors — nevertheless it beats most VPNs in a head-to-head matchup.

For this assessment, we adopted our rigorous 10-step VPN testing course of, exploring ExpressVPN’s safety, privateness, pace, interfaces and extra. Whether or not you learn straight via or skip to the sections which might be most essential for you, you must come away with all the data you want to determine whether or not to subscribe.

Editor’s notice (7/25/25): We’re within the strategy of revamping our VPN protection to supply extra in-depth, actionable data and shopping for guides. Our suggestions, and all the information on this web page, are topic to alter because the replace continues. Try our revamped ProtonVPN review and NordVPN review to see the brand new path, or be taught extra about how we test VPNs.

Desk of contents

Findings at a look

Putting in, configuring and utilizing ExpressVPN

This part focuses on the way it feels to make use of ExpressVPN on every of the key platforms the place it is accessible. Step one for any setup course of is to make an account on expressvpn.com and purchase a subscription.

Home windows

As soon as subscribed, obtain the Home windows VPN from both expressvpn.com or the Microsoft Retailer, then open the .exe file. Click on “Sure” to let it make modifications, look forward to the set up, then let your pc reboot. Together with the reboot, the entire course of takes 5-10 minutes, most of it idle. To complete, you may want your activation code, which you’ll find by going to expressvpn.com and clicking “Setup” within the top-right nook.

Excessive simplicity is the watchword for all ExpressVPN’s designs. The Home windows shopper’s launch panel consists of three buttons and fewer than ten phrases. You may change your location or let the app choose a location for you — the “Sensible Location” is the server with one of the best mixture of being close by and unburdened.

The whole lot else is crammed into the hamburger menu on the high left. Right here, in seven tabs, you may discover the Community Lock kill swap, the 4 kinds of content material blockers, the break up tunneling menu and the choice to alter your VPN protocol. You can too add shortcuts to varied web sites, helpful in the event you commonly use your VPN for a similar on-line locations.

To sum up, there’s virtually nothing right here to get in the way in which: no delays, no snags, no nested menus to get misplaced in. It might be the world’s most ignorable VPN shopper. That is not a foul factor in any respect.

Mac

ExpressVPN’s app for macOS is sort of similar in design to its Home windows app. The method for downloading and setting it up is sort of the identical too. As on Home windows, it may be downloaded from the App Retailer or sideloaded instantly from the expressvpn.com obtain heart. Just a few options are lacking and a pair others have been added. Break up tunneling is gone (except you are still on a macOS decrease than 11), and you will not see the Lightway Turbo setting.

Mac customers do achieve entry to the IKEv2 protocol, together with the choice to show off automated IPv6 blocking — Home windows customers have to go away it blocked always. Nearly each web site continues to be accessible through IPv4, nevertheless it’s helpful in the event you do must entry a particular IPv6 handle whereas the VPN is lively.

Android

Android customers can obtain ExpressVPN via the Google Play Retailer. Open the app, sign up and also you’re able to go. The Android app has a really good dark-colored design, solely barely marred by an pointless data field about how lengthy you’ve got used the VPN this week.

There’s a big button for connecting. Clicking on the server title takes you to a listing of areas. On this listing, you’ll be able to both search or scroll and might select particular person areas inside a rustic that has a couple of. We linked to as many far-flung server areas as we might, however not a single one took longer than just a few seconds.

The choices menu is organized sensibly, with no choice positioned greater than two clicks deep. You will notice a few choices right here that are not accessible on desktop, one of the best of which is the power to routinely connect with your last-used ExpressVPN server each time your cellphone connects to a non-trusted wifi community.

There are additionally just a few basic safety instruments: an IP handle checker, DNS and WebRTC leak testers and a password generator. These are additionally accessible on the web site, however right here, they’re constructed into the app. Aside from the latter, we might suggest utilizing third-party testing instruments as a substitute — even a VPN with integrity has an incentive to make its personal app appear like it is working.

iPhone and iPad

You may solely set up ExpressVPN’s iOS app via the app retailer. Throughout setup, it’s possible you’ll must enter your password to permit your cellphone to make use of VPN configurations. In any other case, there are not any main variations from the Android course of.

The interface shouldn’t be fairly as pleasing because the dark-mode Android app, nevertheless it makes up for that by reducing out a number of the muddle. The tabs and options are comparable, although break up tunneling and shortcuts are absent. Additionally, each cellular apps make buyer help much more accessible than their desktop counterparts — plus, cellular is the one option to ship electronic mail help tickets.

Browser extension

ExpressVPN additionally consists of browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. These allow you to join, disconnect and alter server areas with out leaving your browser window. It is good, however not important except you have got a really particular net browser circulation you want.

ExpressVPN pace take a look at: Very quick averages

Connecting to a VPN virtually at all times decreases your pace, however one of the best VPNs mitigate the drop as a lot as attainable. We used Ookla’s pace testing app to see how a lot of your web pace ExpressVPN preserves. For this take a look at, we emphasised the areas ExpressVPN makes use of for many of its digital servers, together with the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany and Singapore.

Some phrases earlier than we begin:

• Latency, measured in milliseconds (ms), is the time it takes one knowledge packet to journey between your system and an online server via the VPN. Latency will increase with distance. It is most essential for real-time duties like video chatting and on-line gaming.

• Obtain pace, measured in megabits per second (Mbps), is the quantity of knowledge that may obtain onto your system at one time — reminiscent of when loading an online web page or streaming a video.

• Add pace, additionally measured in Mbps, is the quantity of knowledge your system can ship to the net without delay. It is most essential for torrenting, because the quantity of knowledge you’ll be able to seed determines how briskly you’ll be able to obtain in trade.

The desk beneath reveals our outcomes. We carried out this on Home windows, utilizing the automated protocol setting with the Lightway Turbo characteristic lively — a latest ExpressVPN addition that retains pace extra constant by processing connections in parallel.

These are extraordinarily good outcomes. ExpressVPN is a winner on each obtain and add pace. Regardless of the place we went on this planet, we by no means misplaced greater than about 7% of our obtain speeds, and add misplaced an astoundingly low common of two%. This means that ExpressVPN deftly distributes its consumer load between servers to remove bottlenecks.

The latency numbers look worse, however the rise within the desk is much less sharp than we projected. Ping size relies upon way more on distance than obtain pace does, so we count on it to shoot up on servers greater than 1,000 miles from our location. Holding the common beneath 300 ms, as ExpressVPN does right here, is a powerful displaying.

ExpressVPN safety take a look at: Checking for leaks

A VPN’s core mission is to cover your IP handle and make you untraceable on-line. Our activity on this part is to determine if ExpressVPN can perform this mission each time you join. Whereas we will not be 100% sure, the exams we’ll run via beneath have led us to imagine that ExpressVPN is presently leak-proof.

Obtainable VPN protocols

A VPN protocol is sort of a frequent language {that a} VPN server can use to mediate between your gadgets and the net servers you go to. If a VPN makes use of outdated or insecure protocols, or depends on distinctive protocols with no seen specs or supply code, that is a foul signal.

ExpressVPN provides you a choice of three protocols: IKEv2, OpenVPN and Lightway. The primary two are stable decisions that help the most recent encryption algorithms. OpenVPN has been totally open-source for years and is the only option if privateness is your aim. Whereas IKEv2 began life as a closed undertaking by Microsoft and Cisco, ExpressVPN makes use of an open-source reverse-engineering, which is each higher for privateness and fairly quick.

Lightway is the odd one out, a protocol you may solely discover on ExpressVPN, although its source code is available on Github. It is much like WireGuard, in that each attain for sooner speeds and decrease processing calls for by retaining their codebases slim. Nonetheless, Lightway was lately rewritten in Rust to higher defend the keys saved in its reminiscence.

Finally, you’ll be able to’t go incorrect with any of ExpressVPN’s protocol choices. 99% of the time, your most suitable option might be to set the controls to Automated and let the VPN determine which runs greatest.

Testing for leaks

ExpressVPN is likely one of the greatest providers, nevertheless it’s not leak-proof (as you’ll be able to learn within the Background Verify beneath). Fortunately, checking for DNS leaks is a straightforward matter of checking your IP handle earlier than and after connecting to a VPN server. If the brand new handle matches the VPN server, you are good; if not, your VPN is leaking.

First, we checked the Home windows app with break up tunneling lively to make sure the flaw actually had been patched. We examined a number of servers and did not discover any leaks, which suggests the patch labored, although leaks had been uncommon even earlier than ExpressVPN fastened the vulnerability.

The truth is, we did not discover any leaks on any ExpressVPN server we examined on any platform. Although questions stay about iOS, as you may see later on this part, that is an issue on Apple’s finish that even one of the best VPNs can do little or no about for now.

The most typical reason behind VPN leaks is the usage of public DNS servers to attach customers to web sites, which might mistakenly ship looking exercise outdoors the VPN’s encrypted tunnel. ExpressVPN avoids the dangers of the general public system by putting in its personal DNS resolvers on each server. That is the important thing issue behind its clear invoice of well being in our leak testing.

Two different frequent flaws can result in VPN leaks: WebRTC visitors and IPv6. The previous is a communication protocol utilized in stay streaming and the latter is a brand new IP normal designed to increase area availability. Each are good, however presently optionally available, so ExpressVPN routinely blocks each to make sure there is not any alternative for leaks to come up.

One notice about VPN safety on iOS: it is a known and continuing problem that iOS VPNs don’t stop many on-line apps from speaking with Apple instantly, outdoors the VPN tunnel. This dangers leaking delicate knowledge, even with Lockdown Mode lively in iOS 16. A blog post by Proton VPN shares a workaround: connect with a VPN server, then flip Airplane Mode on and off once more to finish all connections that had been lively earlier than you linked to the VPN.

Testing encryption

We completed up our battery of safety exams by trying out ExpressVPN’s encryption instantly. Utilizing WireShark, a free packet sniffer, we inspected what it appears to be like like when ExpressVPN transmits knowledge from one in every of its servers to the web. The screenshot beneath reveals a knowledge stream encrypted with Lightway UDP.

That lack of any identifiable data, and even readable data, means encryption is working as supposed. We repeated the take a look at a number of instances, at all times getting the identical end result. This left us happy that ExpressVPN’s core options are working as supposed.

How a lot does ExpressVPN value?

ExpressVPN subscriptions value $12.95 per thirty days. Lengthy-term subscriptions can convey the month-to-month value down, however the nice offers they provide are likely to solely final for the primary billing interval.

A 12-month subscription prices $99.95 and consists of three months totally free along with your first cost, costing a complete of $6.67 per thirty days. The bonus disappears for all subsequent years, elevating the month-to-month value to $8.33. You can too join 28 months at a value of $139.72, however that is additionally once-only — ExpressVPN can solely be renewed on the $99.95 per yr stage.

There are two methods to check ExpressVPN totally free earlier than making a monetary dedication. Customers on iOS and Android can obtain the ExpressVPN app with out getting into any cost particulars and use it free for seven days. On any platform, there is a 30-day money-back assure, which ExpressVPN has traditionally honored with no questions requested. You’ll have to pay earlier than you need to use it, although.

In our opinion, ExpressVPN’s service is stable sufficient that it is price paying additional. Maybe not this a lot additional, however that is dependent upon what you get out of it. We suggest utilizing the 30-day refund interval and seeing how properly ExpressVPN works for you. If it is a VPN you’ll be able to get pleasure from utilizing, that runs quick and unblocks the whole lot you want, that is price a server’s weight in gold.

ExpressVPN aspect apps and bundles

ExpressVPN consists of some particular options that work principally or wholly separate from its VPN apps. A few of these come free with a subscription, whereas others add an additional value.

Each subscription consists of the ExpressVPN keys password supervisor. That is accessible underneath its personal tab on the Android and iOS apps. On desktop, you may must obtain a separate extension out of your browser’s retailer, then sign up utilizing your account activation code. It is accessible on all Chromium browsers, however not Firefox.

Beginning in 2025, new subscribers get an eSIM plan via holiday.com, a separate service linked to ExpressVPN. The baseline 1GB vacation eSIM plans final for five days and might apply to nations, areas, or the whole world (although it is not clear whether or not the package deal deal applies to the regional and world plans). Longer-term plans embrace bigger eSIM plans.

You may add a devoted IP handle to your ExpressVPN subscription for an additional cost per month. A devoted IP allows you to use the identical IP handle each time you connect with ExpressVPN. You may add the handle to whitelists on restricted networks, and also you’re assured to by no means be blocked due to another person’s dangerous exercise on a shared IP.

In contrast to a lot of its rivals, ExpressVPN does not presently supply antivirus or on-line storage providers, however there’s a complete bundle of ID safety instruments known as Id Defender. We have not reviewed any of those merchandise intimately, however this is a listing for reference:

• ID Alerts will inform you if any of your delicate data is leaked or misused on-line. It is free with all plans, however you may must enter your private data in your ExpressVPN account web page or a cellular app.

• ID Theft Insurance coverage grants as much as $1 million in identification theft reimbursement and comes free with new ExpressVPN one-year or two-year subscriptions. It is not but accessible to those that subscribed earlier than it launched in October 2024.

• Information Elimination scans on your data in knowledge brokerages and routinely requests that or not it’s deleted. It is also free with one-year and two-year plans.

• Credit score Scanner is just accessible for United States customers. It screens your exercise on the three credit score bureaus so you’ll be able to shortly spot any suspicious transactions.

The Id Defender options are presently solely accessible to new ExpressVPN prospects within the US.

Shut-reading ExpressVPN’s privateness coverage

Though we fear that the consolidation of VPN manufacturers underneath the umbrella of Kape Applied sciences (ExpressVPN’s dad or mum firm) will make the trade much less aggressive, we do not imagine it is influencing ExpressVPN to reap the benefits of its customers’ privateness. To verify, and get a full sense of what kind of privateness ExpressVPN guarantees its customers, we got down to learn ExpressVPN’s privateness coverage intimately. It is lengthy, however fortunately geared toward informal customers as a substitute of legal professionals. You can see it for yourself here.

Within the introduction, ExpressVPN states that it doesn’t maintain both exercise logs (reminiscent of a consumer’s looking historical past whereas linked to the VPN) or connection logs (such because the period of a consumer’s session and their IP handle, which can be utilized to extrapolate looking exercise). It then specifies the seven kinds of knowledge it is legally allowed to gather:

• Information used to join an account, reminiscent of names, emails and cost strategies.

• VPN utilization knowledge which is aggregated and cannot be traced to any particular person.

• Credentials saved within the ExpressVPN Keys password supervisor.

• Diagnostic knowledge reminiscent of crash experiences, that are solely shared upon consumer request.

• IP addresses licensed for MediaStreamer, which is just for streaming gadgets that do not in any other case help VPN apps.

• Advertising and marketing knowledge collected instantly from the app — a “restricted quantity” that is saved nameless.

• Information voluntarily submitted for identification theft safety apps.

Of these seven exceptions, the one ones that rely as pink flags are account knowledge and advertising and marketing knowledge. Each classes are extremely private and could possibly be damaging if mishandled. Luckily, complying with subpoenas shouldn’t be one of many allowed makes use of listed for both knowledge class, nor does the coverage let ExpressVPN promote the information to different personal events.

The one actually annoying factor right here is that in the event you ask ExpressVPN to delete your private knowledge, you will not have the ability to use your account from then on. You are not even eligible for a refund on this case, except you are inside 30 days of your preliminary subscription.

As for advertising and marketing knowledge, ExpressVPN collects system fingerprints and placement knowledge whenever you join an account on its web site. The privateness coverage additionally claims that is anonymized, as its “techniques are engineered to decouple such knowledge from personally identifiable data.” Audits corroborate this, as we’ll see within the subsequent part. So, whereas it might be higher if ExpressVPN did not accumulate any private knowledge in any respect, its practices do not seem to pose a threat to something you do whereas utilizing the VPN — simply the ExpressVPN web site.

Privateness audits

VPN suppliers typically get third-party accounting companies to audit their privateness insurance policies. The concept is {that a} well-known agency will not mortgage its status to lie on behalf of a VPN, so their outcomes may be trusted.

For the final a number of years, ExpressVPN has had KPMG look over its privateness coverage and related infrastructure (see “TrustedServer” beneath). KPMG’s most up-to-date report, accomplished in December 2023 and launched in Might 2024, discovered that ExpressVPN had sufficient inside controls in place that customers might belief its privateness coverage.

The report is freely available to read. This can be a superb signal, although we’re searching for a extra up-to-date audit quickly.

TrustedServer

“TrustedServer” is a advertising and marketing time period ExpressVPN makes use of for its RAM-only server infrastructure. RAM-only servers don’t have any arduous drives for long-term storage and return to a normal disk picture with each reboot. This makes it theoretically unimaginable to retailer consumer exercise logs on them, even when ExpressVPN needed to do this.

The KPMG audit, linked above, experiences that TrustedServer works as marketed. Between its many clear privateness audits and the Turkish server incident in 2017, we’re ready to say ExpressVPN is a non-public VPN, regardless of its aggravating exception for advertising and marketing.

Can ExpressVPN change your digital location?

Subsequent, we examined whether or not ExpressVPN can really persuade web sites that you simply’re someplace aside from your actual location. Our safety exams have already confirmed it will possibly conceal your IP handle, nevertheless it takes greater than leak-proofing to idiot streaming websites as of late — Netflix and the others have gotten superb at combing via metadata to smell out proxy customers.

The method for testing this can be a lot like how we dealt with the DNS leak exams: attempt a number of completely different servers and see if we get caught. We checked 5 pattern areas outdoors the U.S. to see if we a) obtained into Netflix and b) noticed completely different titles within the library. The outcomes are beneath.

In fifteen exams, ExpressVPN slipped up solely as soon as. Docklands, the UK server it selected because the quickest, wasn’t capable of entry Netflix. We switched to a server labeled merely “London” and unblocked it with out concern.

All the opposite areas obtained us entry to an alternate Netflix library on the primary attempt. We even checked whether or not the India server, which is bodily positioned within the UK, confirmed us completely different movies than the UK servers. It did, which makes us much more assured that ExpressVPN’s digital areas are hermetic.

Investigating ExpressVPN’s server community

ExpressVPN customers can connect with a complete of 164 server areas in 105 nations and territories. These areas are fairly properly distributed throughout the globe, however as with all VPNs, there is a bias towards the northern hemisphere. There are 24 areas within the U.S. alone and an additional 66 in Europe.

That is not to say customers within the International South get nothing. ExpressVPN has IP addresses from 9 nations in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) and 6 in Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and South Africa). The community even consists of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, spectacular since central Asia would be the area most frequently shafted by VPNs.

Nonetheless, many of those servers have digital areas completely different from their actual ones. For these of you selecting a server primarily based on efficiency as a substitute of a specific IP handle, ExpressVPN’s web site has a useful listing of which servers are digital. The dangerous information is that it is a large chunk of the listing. A complete of 63 ExpressVPN areas are digital, or 38% of its complete community.

To scale back the sting, ExpressVPN takes care to find digital servers as near their actual areas as attainable. Its digital areas in Indonesia and India are bodily primarily based in Singapore. This is not at all times sensible, resulting in some awkwardness like working a Ghana IP handle out of Germany. However it helps ExpressVPN carry out higher within the southern hemisphere.

In comparison with direct rivals like NordVPN and Surfshark, ExpressVPN does not have many particular options. It is aimed squarely on the informal market and can in all probability disappoint energy customers. Having mentioned that, what they do embrace works properly. On this part, we’ll run via ExpressVPN’s 4 substantial options outdoors its VPN servers themselves.

Community Lock kill swap

“Community Lock” is the title ExpressVPN provides to its kill swap (although it is known as “Community Safety” on cellular). A VPN kill swap is a security characteristic that retains you from broadcasting outdoors the VPN tunnel. If it ever detects that you simply aren’t linked to a reliable ExpressVPN server, it cuts off your web entry. You will not have the ability to get again on-line till you both reconnect to the VPN or disable Community Lock.

That is essential for everybody, not simply customers who want to cover delicate visitors. The lately found TunnelVision bug theoretically permits hackers to arrange faux public wi-fi networks via which they redirect you to equally faux VPN servers, which then harvest your private data. It is unlikely, however not unimaginable, and a kill swap is one of the best ways to stop it — the swap at all times triggers except you are linked to an actual server within the VPN’s community.

Like most of ExpressVPN’s options, all you are able to do with Community Lock is flip it on and off. You can too toggle whether or not you may nonetheless have the ability to entry native gadgets whereas the kill swap is obstructing your web — that is allowed by default.

Risk supervisor, advert blocker and parental controls

ExpressVPN teams three instruments underneath the heading of “superior safety” — Risk Supervisor, an advert blocker and parental controls. Risk Supervisor consists of two checkboxes: one which blocks your browser from speaking with exercise monitoring software program and one which blocks a listing of internet sites recognized for use for malware.

You may’t customise the lists, so that you’re restricted to what ExpressVPN considers worthy of blocking. They share their sources on the web site. Whereas the lists are in depth and open-source, they depend on after-the-fact reporting and might’t detect and block unknown threats like a correct antivirus.

The adblock and parental management choices work the identical means: verify a field to dam the whole lot on the listing, uncheck it to permit the whole lot via. In exams, the advert blocker was almost 100% efficient in opposition to banner advertisements, however failed to dam any video advertisements on YouTube or Netflix.

The parental management choice blocks a listing of porn websites. It is a straightforward choice for involved mother and father, however solely works whereas ExpressVPN is linked. As such, it is meant for use at the side of device-level parental controls that stop the kid from turning off or uninstalling the VPN shopper.

Break up tunneling

Typically, you may discover it useful to have your system getting on-line via two completely different IP addresses without delay — one on your residence providers and one for a location you are attempting to spoof. That is the place break up tunneling is useful: it runs some apps via the VPN whereas leaving others unprotected. This may additionally enhance your speeds, because the VPN must encrypt much less in whole.

ExpressVPN consists of break up tunneling on Home windows, Android and Mac (although solely on variations 10 and beneath). You may solely break up by app, not by web site, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly helpful. For instance, you’ll be able to have BitTorrent dealing with a heavy obtain within the background whilst you use your browser for innocuous actions that do not want defending.

ExpressVPN Aircove router

By now, it ought to be clear that we discover ExpressVPN to be a extremely dependable however typically unexceptional VPN service. Nonetheless, there’s one space during which it is a clear trade chief: VPN routers. ExpressVPN Aircove is, to our information, the one router with a built-in business VPN that comes with its personal dashboard interface.

Normally, putting in a VPN in your router requires tinkering with the router management panel, which turns off all however probably the most skilled customers — to not point out making it a large ache to modify to a brand new server location. Aircove’s dashboard, against this, might be immediately acquainted to anybody who already is aware of how one can use an ExpressVPN shopper. It even permits completely different gadgets in your house to hook up with completely different areas via the router VPN.

Aircove’s largest downside is its value. Presently retailing at $189 (not together with an ExpressVPN subscription), it is round 3 times dearer than an aftermarket router fitted with free VPN firmware. A few of you would possibly nonetheless discover the comfort well worth the one-time cost.

ExpressVPN buyer help choices

ExpressVPN’s written assist pages are a number of the greatest available on the market. Its stay chat is extra of a blended bag, and sophisticated questions might trigger delays. Nonetheless, it’s not less than staffed with human brokers who intention to answer precisely, fairly than resolve your ticket as shortly as attainable.

We approached ExpressVPN’s help options with a easy query: “If I requested that ExpressVPN delete all my private knowledge, would I have the ability to get a refund for my unused subscription time?” (Bear in mind from the Privateness Coverage part that submitting a full deletion request additionally cancels your ExpressVPN account.)

Our first cease was expressvpn.com/help, the written help heart and FAQ web page. It is divided into setup guides, troubleshooting, account administration and knowledge on every of ExpressVPN’s merchandise. The setup guides are wonderful, together with screenshots and clearly written steps; every one features a video information for individuals who be taught higher that means.

Troubleshooting is simply pretty much as good — no movies, however the identical requirements of readability and usefulness prevail. The part begins with basic issues, then delves into particular points you would possibly face on every working system. Every article clearly derives from an actual buyer want.

The stay help expertise

To get solutions on our refund query, we visited the account administration FAQs. This part acknowledged that the refund coverage solely applies inside 30 days of buy. Fairly clear-cut, however we nonetheless needed a solution on our particular case, so we contacted stay chat by clicking the button on the bottom-right of each FAQ web page.

Reside chat begins with an AI assistant, which isn’t too arduous to get previous — simply ask it a query it will possibly’t reply, then click on “Switch to an Agent.” We obtained on-line with (what claimed to be) a human in lower than a minute. Answering the query took longer and concerned an uncomfortable 10-minute silence, however we did get a transparent verdict from an actual particular person: refunds are inside 30 days solely, it doesn’t matter what.

If the stay chat agent cannot reply your query, you may be redirected to open an electronic mail help ticket. Annoyingly, there is not any option to go on to electronic mail help via the web site or desktop apps, although cellular customers have the choice to skip instantly there.

ExpressVPN background verify: From founding to Kape Applied sciences

ExpressVPN launched in 2009, which makes it one of many oldest client VPNs in continuous operation. In additional than 15 years of operation, it is by no means been caught violating its personal privateness coverage, although its report is not freed from extra minor blemishes.

Headquarters within the British Virgin Islands

Founders Dan Pomerantz and Peter Burchhardt registered the corporate within the British Virgin Islands from the begin to reap the benefits of that territory’s favorable authorized setting for on-line privateness. The BVIs don’t have any regulation requiring companies to retain knowledge on their customers, and the method for extraditing knowledge is famously troublesome, requiring a direct order from the best courtroom.

In 2021, the BVI implemented the Data Protection Act (DPA) [PDF link], which prevents firms primarily based within the territory from accessing knowledge on their customers anyplace on this planet. It is an incredible privateness regulation in idea, modeled on best-in-class laws within the EU. Nonetheless, we could not discover any proof that its supervising authority — the Workplace of the Info Commissioner — has a frontrunner or employees.

In different phrases, whereas ExpressVPN shouldn’t be legally required to log any knowledge on its customers, there’s technically no person stopping them from doing so. Whether or not you belief the jurisdiction is dependent upon whether or not you belief the corporate itself. Let’s have a look at what the opposite proof says.

Safety and privateness incidents

Two important incidents stand out from ExpressVPN’s 16-year historical past. In 2017, when Andrei Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, was shot to death at an art show. Turkish police suspected somebody had used ExpressVPN to mask their identity whereas they deleted data from social media accounts belonging to the alleged murderer. To analyze, they confiscated an ExpressVPN server to comb for proof. They didn’t find anything.

A police seizure is the absolute best take a look at of a VPN’s strategy to privateness. The supplier cannot put together beforehand, faux something, or collude with investigators. The Turkey incident continues to be probably the greatest causes to suggest ExpressVPN, although eight years is a very long time for coverage to alter.

The second incident started in March 2024, when a researcher at CNET knowledgeable ExpressVPN that its model 12 for Home windows occasionally leaked DNS requests when users enabled the split tunneling feature. Whereas these customers remained linked to an ExpressVPN server, their looking exercise was typically going on to their ISP, unmasked.

The bug solely impacted just a few customers, and to their credit score, ExpressVPN sprang into motion as quickly as they discovered about it. The group had it patched by April, as confirmed by the researcher who initially found the vulnerability. However whereas their fast and efficient response deserves reward, it is nonetheless a mark in opposition to them {that a} journalist seen the bug earlier than they did.

Kape Applied sciences possession and administration questions

In 2021, an Israeli-owned, UK-based agency known as Kape Applied sciences purchased a controlling interest in ExpressVPN. Along with ExpressVPN, privately held Kape owns CyberGhost, Non-public Web Entry, and Zenmate (earlier than it merged into CyberGhost). As shown on its website, it additionally owns Webselenese, writer of VPN assessment web sites WizCase and vpnMentor, which poses an obvious battle of curiosity.

When reached for remark, a consultant for ExpressVPN mentioned that “ExpressVPN doesn’t instantly interact with, nor search to affect, the content material on any Webselenese website,” and pointed us to disclosure statements on the web sites in query — here’s one example. Even so, it is a good reminder to not take VPN critiques at face worth with out realizing who’s behind them (Engadget is owned by Yahoo, which doesn’t personal any VPNs).

Diving deeper into the background of Kape’s possession will lead you to proprietor Teddy Sagi. Return far sufficient, and you will see he did prison time in Israel and was mentioned in the Pandora Papers, amongst different issues. Extra lately, headlines in regards to the billionaire have targeted extra his companies within the online gambling and fintech arenas, in addition to his real estate ventures. An ExpressVPN consultant instructed us that “Kape’s manufacturers proceed to function independently,” and our investigation bore that out — we could not discover any proof that Kape or Sagi have instantly tried to affect ExpressVPN’s software program or every day operations.

Nearer to the fast day-to-day operations of ExpressVPN was the corporate’s employment of Daniel Gericke as CTO from 2019 via 2023. Throughout that point, the US Justice Division introduced it had fined Gericke and two others for his or her earlier employment on a surveillance operation known as Mission Raven, which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used to spy by itself residents.

The revelation prompted a public response from ExpressVPN defending its decision to hire Gericke, arguing that “[t]he greatest goalkeepers are those skilled by one of the best strikers.” ExpressVPN’s consultant confirmed that the corporate nonetheless stands by that linked assertion.

Gericke parted methods with ExpressVPN in October 2023, per his LinkedIn profile. Whereas we do not know what we do not know, we will say that ExpressVPN has not notably modified its public-facing safety and privateness insurance policies through the time it has been linked to Kape, Sagi, or Gericke.

Ultimately, how a lot ExpressVPN’s historical past issues to you is a private selection. In case you object to any present or previous actions by Kape Applied sciences or Teddy Sagi, there are different premium VPN choices you would possibly desire. In case you want extra data to make up your thoughts, we suggest studying via CNET’s 2022 deep dive on ExpressVPN’s corporate history.

Remaining verdict

ExpressVPN is the VPN we most frequently suggest to novices. It takes zero coaching to make use of, and persistently will get previous filters on streaming websites. It additionally runs within the background with just about no affect. If something is well worth the excessive value of admission, it is the wonderful speeds distributed evenly throughout the worldwide server community.

Nonetheless, for sure particular circumstances, ExpressVPN might not be the only option. There isn’t any option to arrange your personal server areas, like NordVPN presents, and no double VPN connections, like you’ll be able to construct for your self on Surfshark. Its company background is extra suspect than the entities backing Proton VPN, and in contrast to Mullvad, ExpressVPN does not work in China — it is so well-known that the federal government targets its servers particularly.

We propose going with ExpressVPN for basic on-line privateness, for spoofing areas in your house nation whereas touring, or in the event you commonly must unblock websites in different nations. That encompasses 19 of each 20 customers, which is okay by us, as ExpressVPN is a superb service. It is simply extra of a dependable previous screwdriver than a multi-tool.