ExpressVPN Review 2021

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A VPN (aka virtual private network) is a great tool to have in your privacy toolkit. VPNs are services that encrypt your data and hide your IP address, routing your activity to a server that is in another location. This helps protect your identity, protect your location, and gives you access to content that might be restricted in your geographic area. ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs on the market for overall performance. It has been celebrated for security and reliability and is easy to use, making it a great choice for first time VPN users and privacy experts alike.

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ExpressVPN review logo

ExpressVPN

4.75/5

  • Company is based in a privacy-friendly location
  • 3000+ servers around the world
  • Lightway protocol offers excellent speeds

What is ExpressVPN?

ExpressVPN is one of the most reputable VPN services on the market. They have a great reputation and are one of the most recognizable VPN brands globally. The company is celebrated for their dedication to privacy.  Notably, they are based in the British Virgin Islands, a geographic area with strong privacy laws and no data retention requirements.  This means that the company is not required by law to store your data. They don’t collect logs of activity, browsing history, traffic destination, data content or DNS queries, so when you use this VPN, you can rest assured that you are maintaining your privacy online. Legally speaking, they are only bound to respond to subpoenas from the British Virgin Islands government, or requests that are made in conjunction with the British Virgin Islands authorities.

ExpressVPN offers an all-around product that meets most needs, whether you’re new to VPNs or have been using them for a while. Along with regularly outperforming their competitors, their product is easy to run on any device and has access to servers in more than 90 countries. The user experience is seamless, and with just the click of a button, you can connect to one of ExpressVPN’s 3000 servers worldwide.

Why Should I Use ExpressVPN?

Privacy and security are ExpressVPN’s bread and butter. When compared to some of their competitors, the level of security that is offered can’t be beat. Along with the privacy features listed above, ExpressVPN’s encryption is standard AES-256, and supports Perfect Forward Secrecy. What does this mean, you ask? It means that encryption keys are changed often to avoid security breaches.

VPN connections fails from time-to-time, and to give you extra reassurance, ExpressVPN has a kill switch feature which stops network data from leaking outside of the secure VPN tunnel in the event of a connection failure.

It is important to note that while the company does not collect and store activity logs, browsing history or traffic destinations, they do collect server location choices, amount of data transferred, connection times and app versions installed. This data is collected for maintenance purposes.

If you’re not using VPNs for their security features, you’re probably using them for streaming and torrenting. ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs on the market for these features. The service works extremely well at unblocking Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Go and Netflix with no buffering or lag, and allows access to social platforms in areas where they are blocked.

When it comes to torrenting, all ExpressVPN’s servers will allow you to optimize for P2P sharing, meaning that any server you choose should be suitable.

ExpressVPN Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Strong security and privacy practices
  • Excellent speeds
  • Great for streaming and torrents
  • Includes kill switch

Cons

  • More expensive than competitors
  • Only 5 simultaneous connections
  • No customer support over the phone

How Do I Use Express VPN?

To use ExpressVPN, you’ll first need to choose your plan and sign up for it. All plans have a 30-day money back guarantee. Once you’ve signed up for your plan, download the ExpressVPN app from the app store on your computer or mobile device.

After you have a plan and an app, set up your account by following the prompts. Once you’re logged into the app, choose the location that you’d like to connect to a server in and start browsing the internet!

Our Rating Process

We assessed ExpressVPN based on user experience, features, price and security, and scored them each out of 5 points to help you in your decision process. Once you’ve gone through our research, do some of your own by trying out the product! The 30-day money-back guarantee makes it easy to assess the VPN for yourself.

User Experience – 5/5

You don’t have to be tech-savvy to use ExpressVPN, it’s easy to install and use, and it can be turned on in just one click. With 3000 servers in 160 locations, the company ensures fast connection speeds and limits overcrowding. It has also rolled out the Lightway protocol, which is a less clunky protocol that further improves speeds. If you’re still having trouble with an aspect of this VPN, the company offers 24/7 live chat support. While there is no phone support, chat support, email, and knowledgebase should help you resolve any issues that might arise.

Features – 5/5

Along with its robust privacy features already outlined above, ExpressVPN offers split tunneling, which lets you route some of your traffic through the VPN, while other apps use the internet directly. This gives you more control over how you use your VPN.

Its zero-knowledge DNS works to protect your data by keeping no log of your data traffic or personal information. By now, it should be clear that this VPN is one of the most secure out there, making it one of the most desirable. But its speeds, ability to provide access to streaming services in restricted areas, and torrenting capabilities gave this product a perfect score when it came to features.

Price – 4/5

Price is the only category where this VPN landed a less than perfect score. ExpressVPN’s price is higher than average when compared to its competitors, and it will only let you run 5 connections at one time. The average price for a VPN is around $9.95 per month, making ExpressVPN’s $12.95/month expensive in comparison. But if you commit to six months or 15 months at a time, the price comes down drastically, making it a great choice, especially when speed, features, and privacy are considered.

Security – 5/5

When it comes to security, this VPN takes the cake. Their British Virgin Islands location, zero-knowledge DNS, and privacy policy which sees them commit to only storing information vital to running their business, help any privacy buff remain as anonymous as possible online.

Package Comparison

Product Details

One Month Package

Six Month Package

Fifteen Month Package

Price per month

$12.95

$9.99 (Billed at $59.95, every 6 months)

$6.67 (Billed at $99.95 for first 15 months)

24/7 customer support

Yes

Yes

Yes

Servers in 94 countries

Yes

Yes

Yes

Applications for all operating systems

Yes

Yes

Yes

30-day money-back guarnatee

Yes

Yes

Yes

No activity or connections logs

Yes

Yes

Yes

Technical / Product Details

Product Details

Specs

Supported Languages

English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Danish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Japanese, Korean

Compatibility

Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, BlackBerry, Kindle Fire, Nook, routers, consoles (MediaStreamer), Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Boxee, Chromebook, Windows Phone

Restricted countries

none

Customer support

24/7 chat support, email

Number of servers

3000

Number of devices per subscription

5

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is ExpressVPN?

ExpressVPN has three subscription options. If you’d like to be billed each month, the service is $12.95/month. If you opt for being billed every six months, the service is $59.95, billed bi-annually; and if you commit to a year at a time, the price comes down to $99.95/ year. The company accepts credit cards, PayPal and bitcoin.

Is ExprssVPN Safe?

ExpressVPN’s brand is built on trust, safety, and privacy. The software is safe to use, and the 24/7 live chat support should be able to help you troubleshoot any issues that may come up. The company’s commitment to protecting your identity and data make them one of the safest if privacy is a concern for you. It’s even safe for torrenting, as P2P connections are allowed on all of their servers.

Is ExpressVPN better than IPVanish?

When compared to IPVanish, ExpressVPN can hold its own. In a side-by-side test, ExpressVPN provided faster speeds for streaming content; provided a higher level of security because the company is based outside of the US, whereas IPVanish is based in the US, making them fall under the US’ data retention laws; and offered more robust features than IPVanish. While IPVanish has a cheaper price point, and allows simultaneous connections to more devices than ExpressVPN, ExpressVPN still comes out on top for overall experience.

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