ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN Key Data

ExpressVPN Works with All Streaming Platforms

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for bypassing geo-blocks on streaming websites. Using it, we could access US Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV, and BBC iPlayer from anywhere. It’s also one of the only VPNs with Smart DNS functionality, meaning you can use it on every digital media player.

Here’s a list of popular streaming platforms that ExpressVPN currently unblocks:

We found that ExpressVPN’s default US server doesn’t stream Netflix. Instead, you’ll have to manually connect to the New Jersey – 1 server location.

We have tested the situation of Netflix in various regions, and unfortunately, there are some countries where it is not supported!

ExpressVPN has five servers in the UK, and testing shows that they all successfully unlock BBC iPlayer.

Doesn’t Store Any User Data

ExpressVPN is a trustworthy VPN service with a strong track record of protecting its users’ privacy. ExpressVPN doesn’t store any personally-identifiable data, like your IP address or DNS queries. It’s also based in the British Virgin Islands, which has no data retention laws.

Here’s a table summarizing the information that ExpressVPN logs:

ExpressVPN collects less data than the vast majority of VPNs. It also offers an anonymous payment method when signing up, and its diskless server network means the service can’t log any activity data.

However, ExpressVPN does collect some anonymous connection logs, such as the date of your last connection and your bandwidth usage. This data is only used for diagnostic purposes and to improve the service.

Importantly, a third party can’t use this information to identify you from your web activity. Real-world tests, like server raids and third-party audits, have confirmed this fact several times.

Although ExpressVPN has proven itself, we’d still much prefer if the VPN adopted a true no-logs privacy policy instead, like Private Internet Access and PrivateVPN.

You can see how ExpressVPN’s logging policy compares to other leading VPN services in the table below:

Based in a Privacy-Friendly Jurisdiction

ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), an excellent jurisdiction choice for a VPN service. The BVI doesn’t have any mandatory data retention laws, making it easier for ExpressVPN to maintain the assurances made in its logging policy.

The BVI is not part of any data-sharing alliance like the Five Eyes, meaning other governments and agencies cannot force ExpressVPN to hand over any user information.

ExpressVPN Is Owned by Kape Technologies

In 2021, ExpressVPN was purchased by Kape Technologies. This acquisition was criticized as Kape previously created a software development kit (SDK) used by ad injectors and malware distributors.

Despite the controversy, we found that Kape Technologies wasn’t involved with the ad and malware distribution. Those were created by third parties using Kape’s platform.

This development platform was shut down in 2016, long before it acquired ExpressVPN. In fact, ExpressVPN’s logging and privacy practices have only improved since the acquisition. Kape also now owns two other popular VPN services: CyberGhost and Private Internet Access.

Security & Technical Features

ExpressVPN is an extremely safe VPN service, passing all of our security tests. But there’s still room for improvement. For example, ExpressVPN uses its proprietary Lightway protocol rather than WireGuard, and its macOS app leaked our IP address when changing to a different server.

In the tables below, you can see which encryption ciphers, connection protocols, and additional security features ExpressVPN uses:

ExpressVPN Uses a Proprietary VPN Protocol

ExpressVPN uses a different VPN tunneling protocol than other VPN services. We’d prefer if the VPN used more established technologies, as these have been tested for longer and by more people.

ExpressVPN’s default protocol is Lightway, which was developed by ExpressVPN and is exclusive to it. Thankfully, Lightway encrypts traffic using the AES-256 cipher, a very secure encryption method you can trust to conceal your most sensitive data.

Lightway is open-source, meaning anyone can inspect its code base. Although this is an excellent way to build trust in a proprietary tunneling protocol, it’s still not as trustworthy as a widely-used open-source protocol like WireGuard.

Lightway has performed well in our security tests, but we’d like to see ExpressVPN at least add WireGuard as an option.

Like most other VPN services, ExpressVPN uses Perfect Forward Secrecy, a 4096-bit RSA key, and SHA-512 HMAC authentication. Put simply, this conceals your web activity and ensures an attacker can’t alter your internet data in real time.

Kill Switch Stops IP Address Leaks

All of ExpressVPN’s apps include its ‘Network Lock’ kill switch. We rarely see kill switches available on every platform, especially Fire TV and iOS, so we’re pleased ExpressVPN has maintained functionality across all devices.

To verify ExpressVPN’s kill switch works as expected, we tested it using our in-house kill switch testing tool. This checks for IP address leaks after an unexpected connection drop.

Confirm after testing, ExpressVPN’s kill switch successfully prevented our true IP address from leaking outside of the VPN tunnel.

We did discover that ExpressVPN’s macOS app leaks IP addresses when changing to a different server location. The app shows you a warning message before you do this, but it’s disappointing that ExpressVPN has not fixed this vulnerability altogether.

IPv6, DNS & WebRTC Leak Tests

We ran ExpressVPN through our IP, DNS, and WebRTC leak tests. The VPN passed all tests, meaning we recorded no network traffic leaks and all our personal information was hidden.

ExpressVPN also uses first-party DNS servers. In other words, ExpressVPN handles and encrypts your DNS requests, not your ISP. Very few VPN services have these servers.

For added security, we’d like to see ExpressVPN support IPv6 addresses in the future. Currently, ExpressVPN simply blocks your true IPv6 address and doesn’t replace it with one from the VPN server. This risks leaking your IPv6 address if the blocking functionality fails.

Browser Extensions Securely Encrypt Traffic

Many other VPN browser extensions we’ve tested are basic web proxies that don’t encrypt network traffic.

ExpressVPN’s apps and browser extensions successfully encrypted all our traffic, including internet activity outside of the web browser. We checked for this using Wireshark, a tool that allows you to analyze individual packets.

We found that the VPN successfully concealed the websites we visited, and obfuscated data on insecure HTTP websites.

Diskless Servers Prevent Logging

Unlike most other VPNs that store server information on hard drives, ExpressVPN’s servers are diskless. Named TrustServer, this feature prevents the VPN from logging any of your usage data and it makes it impossible for a hacker to extract data from the server.

ExpressVPN is one of the only VPN services to have had its diskless server network audited by a third party. Cure53, the auditor, confirmed that all of ExpressVPN’s servers are diskless and that “No IP addresses or PII [personally identifiable information] can be written to physical disk”.

All of its servers are owned and operated by ExpressVPN, too, meaning they aren’t rented from a third party. We prefer this as it minimizes the possibility of a server being interfered with by a hacker or other bad actors.

Threat Manager Is an Adequate Ad & Tracker Blocker

After testing ExpressVPN’s ad and tracker blocker, I found that its blocking rate is about 60%, while Private Internet Access can reach about 80%.

How Much Does ExpressVPN Cost?

ExpressVPN costs $6.67 per month, which is twice as much as its main competitors. That said, it still provides good value, given the quality of the product. The VPN is free for seven days when signing up on mobile and all plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can pay anonymously using Bitcoin, too.

These prices are all above average for a VPN service and more expensive than competitors. However, ExpressVPN’s prices remain the same, even after the initial subscription period, while many other VPNs significantly increase their prices afterward.

For instance, Surfshark, a top cheap VPN, is initially 70% cheaper than ExpressVPN. But after 12 months, its price doubles, making it only 40% cheaper. ExpressVPN’s superior performance makes it worth the additional cost if you can afford it.

ExpressVPN Free Trial

There’s not a 100% free version, but you can still use ExpressVPN for free for a limited time by taking advantage of its seven-day free trial or 30-day money-back guarantee.

The free trial is only available if you sign up on an Android or iOS device. However, once you’ve signed up, you can log in to the ExpressVPN app on any device using your new account details.

All subscriptions also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means you can try the VPN before you buy a long-term subscription.

In our tests, we contacted customer support within 30 days of signing up and got our money back within five days.

An Exceptional Choice for Torrenting

In our tests, ExpressVPN downloaded P2P files a lot faster than most of the competition. All 3,000 of ExpressVPN’s servers allow torrenting activity, and its kill switch and private logging policy will prevent your ISP from seeing your P2P activity. The only downside is the lack of port forwarding, but ExpressVPN is fast enough without it.

Here’s a quick summary of showing how ExpressVPN performed in our torrenting tests:

With its strong AES-256 encryption and private logging policy, ExpressVPN is one of the safest VPNs for torrenting. Unlike some other VPN services, there’s no record of ExpressVPN ever forwarding DMCA requests to users.

We tested ExpressVPN with torrent clients like qBittorrent, uTorrent, and Deluge. In every instance, the VPN concealed our IP address and all other personal information. All of our activity was masked from our ISP and other third parties.

Fast P2P File Transfers, but No Port Forwarding

We also measured ExpressVPN’s torrenting speeds when running it through our in-house P2P speed test process.

Even though it doesn’t support port forwarding, we found that ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs for torrenting. ExpressVPN’s average speed was 9.4MiB/s, meaning we could download any sized torrent file almost as quickly as without a VPN.

Here’s how quickly we could download a 20GB torrent file with ExpressVPN compared to other top VPNs:

It’s not the very fastest P2P VPN we’ve tested, but ExpressVPN’s impact on torrent download times is almost unnoticeable.

Which Countries Does ExpressVPN Have Servers In?

ExpressVPN has servers in 106 different countries, which is the second-highest number of all 61 VPNs we tested. Using it, you can get an IP address from almost every location in the world. However, ExpressVPN’s city-specific server options are more limited when compared to certain competitors.

With ExpressVPN, you can connect to servers in these regions:

As you can see, ExpressVPN has servers in many locations. In each continent, the VPN allows you to get an IP address from many more countries than other top VPNs, including 15 more than PIA VPN.

Currently it has no servers in UAE, Russia, China.

Customer Support

ExpressVPN has best-in-class customer support options. It includes a 24/7 live chat support service, helpful email support, and an extensive range of detailed guides and tutorials. However, its live chat team is relatively slow to respond and requires your email address.

Among all customer support options, I dislike chatbots the most. Most of the time, they can’t solve my problems, and I can’t find a way to reach a human representative. I really like “24/7 Live Chat Support” because I can quickly describe my issues and share screenshots. It helps resolve problems very fast.