The fastest VPN on Earth," reads the headline plastered onto
ExpressVPN's homepage. That's a big claim for any VPN to make, but
ExpressVPN backs up its claim with a no quibbles 30-day money-back guarantee in a space where seven days is the standard and is one of the few VPNs that works with Netflix and all other streaming services we have tested to date.
Launched in 2009, ExpressVPN has grown to one of the most popular premium VPN services in the world. Can it put its money where its mouth is?
Update: ExpressVPN recently changed their policy on simultaneous devices to allow any three devices instead of just one of each type. You can now have three laptops connected at the same time instead of just a phone, laptop, and router, for example. In light of this and the addition of a network lock since this review was originally written, we have elected to bump ExpressVPN's rating from 8/10 (4 stars) to a 9/10 (4.5 stars).
Features and pricing
ExpressVPN
is not for users on a budget. The basic monthly price is $12.95 per
month, while a yearly subscription cuts it down to $8.32 per month. That
puts ExpressVPN firmly in the upper price bracket. ExpressVPN accepts
payment via credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, and several third-party
payment gateways.
By default, ExpressVPN will automatically choose the most favorable protocol on your behalf. Usually this is OpenVPN over UDP. Users may also manually choose to connect with OpenVPN over TDP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP. You can learn about each of these protocols using our cheat sheet, but OpenVPN is generally regarded as the best option.
To make ExpressVPN as accessible and unintimidating as possible for novice users, it has cut out a few tweaks and features available on some more configurable rivals. Encryption levels are non-negotiable, for example; you can't speed up the connection by sacrificing security.
The latest update to the ExpressVPN app added a "network lock" feature that halts all internet traffic when the connection to the VPN drops. This prevents DNS leaks and effectively functions as a kill switch. Additionally, ExpressVPN forces all DNS requests over the IPv4 protocol instead of the less secure IPv6.
The ExpressVPN app includes a built-in speed tester tool to check which servers offer the fastest download times. The tool gives latency and download speeds for every server location on ExpressVPN's network. This sounds great in theory, but it can take several minutes to finish, and the results could change from one hour to the next.
Split tunneling was recently added to the Mac version, which allows you to pick and choose which apps and services get tunneled through the VPN tunnel and which are sent over the default ISP network.
Setup and interface
This
is where ExpressVPN shines the brightest. After signup, the user can
download and install the VPN client. Upon first running it, you'll be
prompted to input an activation code, which differs for each device. A
link to a web page containing this code is included in the confirmation
email, so be sure to save it. While it's a bit tedious to input the
activation code for each device separately, it means you'll never--or,
at least, rarely--need to waste time logging in. As soon as you start
the app, it's ready to go. During the install process, the user can
choose whether to share anonymous connection data to help improve
speeds.
The app is probably the most intuitive and simply-designed VPN software we've ever used. Just select a server, star it if you want to quick access to it later, and hit Connect. A few basic settings can be tweaked in the options menu, such as which protocol you prefer to use, but all that can be ignored if you don't need it. The straightforward plug-and-play interface makes ExpressVPN a great choice for novice users or for people who need something their kids or elderly family members can use.
If you prefer not to leave the ExpressVPN GUI open, it will run quietly in the system tray. You can quickly connect to your favorite servers, disconnect, and access the options from there as well.
The mobile apps require the same activation process and are equally simple. ExpressVPN clearly put a lot of thought into designing idiot-proof apps.
One downside comes into play when you want to use a fourth device. I have two PCs, a tablet, and a smartphone, for instance. If I leave ExpressVPN connected on three devices, then I can't connect on a fourth. Instead of simply booting one computer off the network, I must manually disconnect it. This means if I leave ExpressVPN connected on an office computer and forget that it's on, I won't be able to connect three devices at home. We would like to see a mechanism in which the old connection is booted off to make room for the new one.
Aside from the desktop and mobile apps, ExpressVPN also makes firmware that can be used by certain popular models of wifi routers. You can either buy a router pre-configured with ExpressVPN, or install the router app for free if your existing router is compatible. With the VPN set up on a router, all the devices connected to your home wifi will have their internet traffic routed through a VPN. The router only counts as one device, so an unlimited number of devices can use the VPN on a normal subscription, bandwidth pending.
If you want to flash ExpressVPN's firmware onto your router, double check that it is compatible first. Otherwise, you could brick your wifi router so that it's unusable.
In 2017, ExpressVPN added a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox to its repertoire. After adding the plug-in to your browser, you'll be able to control the VPN connection and location from a simplified version of the native app. Note that you still need to have the native app for either MacOS or Windows installed for it to work. This is not a standalone extension like the HTTPS proxy extensions offered by some other VPN providers. Sorry, Chromebook users. Instead, the extensions are simply another way to control the native app.
We only test VPNs with Netflix US, but ExpressVPN purports to also work with Netflix Canada and Netflix UK.
The same goes for Hulu and BBC iPlayer. You'll need to ask customer support, but ExpressVPN almost always has a server that can bypass the firewalls.
Launched in 2009, ExpressVPN has grown to one of the most popular premium VPN services in the world. Can it put its money where its mouth is?
Update: ExpressVPN recently changed their policy on simultaneous devices to allow any three devices instead of just one of each type. You can now have three laptops connected at the same time instead of just a phone, laptop, and router, for example. In light of this and the addition of a network lock since this review was originally written, we have elected to bump ExpressVPN's rating from 8/10 (4 stars) to a 9/10 (4.5 stars).
Features and pricing
ExpressVPN
is not for users on a budget. The basic monthly price is $12.95 per
month, while a yearly subscription cuts it down to $8.32 per month. That
puts ExpressVPN firmly in the upper price bracket. ExpressVPN accepts
payment via credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, and several third-party
payment gateways.By default, ExpressVPN will automatically choose the most favorable protocol on your behalf. Usually this is OpenVPN over UDP. Users may also manually choose to connect with OpenVPN over TDP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP. You can learn about each of these protocols using our cheat sheet, but OpenVPN is generally regarded as the best option.
To make ExpressVPN as accessible and unintimidating as possible for novice users, it has cut out a few tweaks and features available on some more configurable rivals. Encryption levels are non-negotiable, for example; you can't speed up the connection by sacrificing security.
The latest update to the ExpressVPN app added a "network lock" feature that halts all internet traffic when the connection to the VPN drops. This prevents DNS leaks and effectively functions as a kill switch. Additionally, ExpressVPN forces all DNS requests over the IPv4 protocol instead of the less secure IPv6.
The ExpressVPN app includes a built-in speed tester tool to check which servers offer the fastest download times. The tool gives latency and download speeds for every server location on ExpressVPN's network. This sounds great in theory, but it can take several minutes to finish, and the results could change from one hour to the next.
Split tunneling was recently added to the Mac version, which allows you to pick and choose which apps and services get tunneled through the VPN tunnel and which are sent over the default ISP network.
Setup and interface
This
is where ExpressVPN shines the brightest. After signup, the user can
download and install the VPN client. Upon first running it, you'll be
prompted to input an activation code, which differs for each device. A
link to a web page containing this code is included in the confirmation
email, so be sure to save it. While it's a bit tedious to input the
activation code for each device separately, it means you'll never--or,
at least, rarely--need to waste time logging in. As soon as you start
the app, it's ready to go. During the install process, the user can
choose whether to share anonymous connection data to help improve
speeds.The app is probably the most intuitive and simply-designed VPN software we've ever used. Just select a server, star it if you want to quick access to it later, and hit Connect. A few basic settings can be tweaked in the options menu, such as which protocol you prefer to use, but all that can be ignored if you don't need it. The straightforward plug-and-play interface makes ExpressVPN a great choice for novice users or for people who need something their kids or elderly family members can use.
If you prefer not to leave the ExpressVPN GUI open, it will run quietly in the system tray. You can quickly connect to your favorite servers, disconnect, and access the options from there as well.
The mobile apps require the same activation process and are equally simple. ExpressVPN clearly put a lot of thought into designing idiot-proof apps.
One downside comes into play when you want to use a fourth device. I have two PCs, a tablet, and a smartphone, for instance. If I leave ExpressVPN connected on three devices, then I can't connect on a fourth. Instead of simply booting one computer off the network, I must manually disconnect it. This means if I leave ExpressVPN connected on an office computer and forget that it's on, I won't be able to connect three devices at home. We would like to see a mechanism in which the old connection is booted off to make room for the new one.
Aside from the desktop and mobile apps, ExpressVPN also makes firmware that can be used by certain popular models of wifi routers. You can either buy a router pre-configured with ExpressVPN, or install the router app for free if your existing router is compatible. With the VPN set up on a router, all the devices connected to your home wifi will have their internet traffic routed through a VPN. The router only counts as one device, so an unlimited number of devices can use the VPN on a normal subscription, bandwidth pending.
If you want to flash ExpressVPN's firmware onto your router, double check that it is compatible first. Otherwise, you could brick your wifi router so that it's unusable.
In 2017, ExpressVPN added a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox to its repertoire. After adding the plug-in to your browser, you'll be able to control the VPN connection and location from a simplified version of the native app. Note that you still need to have the native app for either MacOS or Windows installed for it to work. This is not a standalone extension like the HTTPS proxy extensions offered by some other VPN providers. Sorry, Chromebook users. Instead, the extensions are simply another way to control the native app.
Does ExpressVPN work with Netflix?
Yes, but only on certain servers. If Netflix shows a proxy error when connected to ExpressVPN, contact the live chat support and ask which servers can currently access Netflix. We do not want to disclose which servers we used during testing so as not to draw undue attention to them but we can say ExpressVPN has been working consistently during out testing.We only test VPNs with Netflix US, but ExpressVPN purports to also work with Netflix Canada and Netflix UK.
The same goes for Hulu and BBC iPlayer. You'll need to ask customer support, but ExpressVPN almost always has a server that can bypass the firewalls.
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