Score Breakdown
Pros
- Cutting-edge privacy and security
- Excellent for streaming
- Easy to use across platforms
- Strong commitment to transparency
- Privacy-friendly jurisdiction (British Virgin Islands)
Cons
- Exceedingly expensive
- No way to opt-out of potentially unneeded extra features
- Only eight simultaneous connections
Two things immediately come to mind when I think of ExpressVPN. First, ExpressVPN is a juggernaut and an industry standard-bearer, especially in privacy and transparency. Second, ExpressVPN is extremely expensive for a VPN provider. For a long time, these two points coasted parallel to each other: ExpressVPN was always the ‘pricey VPN,’ but it was worth it because the service was just that good. Now, while ExpressVPN has made some big strides in key areas, the price has climbed even higher without adding proportionate value, and those parallel lines have begun heading in opposite directions.
I ran ExpressVPN through a rigorous battery of tests over the course of several weeks in January 2025, and retested its speed performance in March. In addition to testing ExpressVPN’s apps across a variety of devices and operating systems, I closely examined the company’s privacy policies, corporate structure, third-party audits and security innovations. I also ran over 300 individual speed tests, checked for leaks, evaluated its streaming capabilities across various platforms and streaming services and assessed its overall value. Throughout the process, I maintained close communication with the ExpressVPN team via email as well as video conference.
I found that while ExpressVPN is strong and continues to get stronger through cutting-edge innovations, the introduction of a major price hike to support non-VPN features has made the service a much less attractive option for the casual, budget-minded VPN user (check out our list of the best cheap VPNs if that's more your speed).
Even so, ExpressVPN remains one of the best possible VPNs you can buy, especially if you’re someone who has critical privacy needs or is looking for solid protection against future threats from quantum computers. Here’s everything you need to know about ExpressVPN and whether it’s the right choice for you.
Speed: Enhancements to Lightway and OpenVPN on Windows translate to massive improvement in speed performance
- 18% speed loss in 2025 tests
- Number of servers: 3,000-plus
- Number of server locations: 105 countries
At the time of this review’s initial publication in January, ExpressVPN’s speed performance had been steadily regressing over the past few years. Years ago, ExpressVPN was the undisputed speed leader in our testing, but began a nosedive that threatened to take it out of the fastest VPN conversation altogether. In the initial round of speed tests I conducted for this review in January, 2025, I measured an average speed loss of 35% across the platforms, protocols and server locations I tested. This was after I measured an 18% speed loss in 2023 and a 25% speed loss in 2024.
Losing 35% of your base internet speeds while connected to a VPN may not be a huge deal if you already have a fast internet connection, but if your connection is slow, then dropping more than one third of your speeds can have a noticeable impact, especially for activities like streaming. A 35% speed loss is much higher than what I’d expect in 2025 from one of the best VPNs on the planet, considering NordVPN’s incredible 3% speed loss, Proton VPN’s 16% loss and Surfshark’s 21% loss.
However, ExpressVPN made some significant improvements since January to address its recent speed woes. A pair of inventive solutions on the Windows side helped transform ExpressVPN’s overall speed loss from 35% to a much more respectable 18% -- the third fastest results in our 2025 testing.
In March 2025, ExpressVPN introduced Lightway Turbo, which now runs your Lightway connection through multiple tunnels simultaneously instead of running it through single tunnel. This helps boost speeds considerably because it allows for more data to be sent at once. ExpressVPN also concurrently rolled out Data Channel Offload for OpenVPN on Windows, which helps improve speeds by handling data packets more efficiently. In my Windows speed tests, speed loss through Lightway went from 40% in January 2025 to 17% in March 2025 and was slashed from 64% to 18% through OpenVPN over the same time period. ExpressVPN says that Lightway Turbo will be coming to MacOS and other platforms in the near future.
On Mac, things were more of a mixed bag. While speeds on MacOS were blazing fast through Lightway (cutting my speeds by only 8%), I was somewhat disappointed by the 29% speed loss I calculated through OpenVPN on my Mac. It’s not a surprise that OpenVPN speeds were slower than Lightway, but I still lost more speed through OpenVPN than I would have expected. Unfortunately ExpressVPN’s DCO solution on OpenVPN is not compatible with non-Windows devices, so hopefully engineers will work on giving OpenVPN speeds a similar boost on MacOS.
Either way, ExpressVPN’s overall speed turnaround from January to March was impressive, and indicative of the company’s commitment to continuous improvement.
ExpressVPN’s speed performance was generally stable across most locations and protocols. I ran speed tests from my location in Ohio on a fiber connection that gets me about 370 Mbps. Speeds to relatively closer VPN server locations like New York and the UK generally yielded the fastest results, pushing 350 to 360 Mbps on MacOS through Lightway. Speeds to Germany and France were also quite fast at around 340 Mbps. It was on servers halfway across the globe in Australia and Singapore that speeds started to drop off slightly, usually hitting around 260 to 300 Mbps.
And while I did notice a fair amount of instability in my January speed tests when connecting through OpenVPN on Windows to Australia and Singapore (where speeds fluctuated from around 70 Mbps to around 120 Mbps), Lightway Turbo and DCO on OpenVPN seemed to have ironed that out, because speeds remained remarkably consistent on Windows in my latest tests. That’s saying a lot because many VPNs often struggle to maintain consistent speed performance from one speed test to another.
Key takeaway: The implementations of Lightway Turbo and DCO on OpenVPN have totally redeemed ExpressVPN’s previously shaky speed performance. ExpressVPN was the third-fastest VPN we tested in 2025.
Cost: This expensive VPN just got even more expensive
- $13 per month, $100 for the first 15 months (then $117 per year) or $140 for the first 28 months (then $150 per year)
- 7-day free trial plus a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Payment options: Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin
- Apps available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iOS, FireTV, Android TV, Apple TV, routers
- Works with: Netflix, Disney Plus, Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus and others
ExpressVPN has historically been one of the most expensive VPNs on the market. Even so, I’ve maintained through the years that ExpressVPN’s premium pricing was worth it because of how solid the service is from virtually every angle. Today, I’d argue that the service itself is even stronger than it was a year ago… but also that ExpressVPN may no longer be worth it for a large segment of VPN users.
Toward the end of 2024, ExpressVPN introduced a few new features -- then hiked its already steep prices. The problem? It didn’t add much real value in the process.
Not too long ago, ExpressVPN cost $13 per month, $60 every six months or $100 per year. Though on the expensive side for VPN plans, I appreciated the simple pricing structure. ExpressVPN has since axed the six-month plan and added a two-year option in addition to the existing monthly and yearly plans. The monthly plan remains $13, but the pricing of the yearly and two-year plans has gotten unnecessarily complicated. The yearly plan costs $100 total for the first 15 months, but then jumps to $117 per year. The two-year plan costs $140 total for the first 28 months, but renews annually at $150 per year.
By comparison, you can get one year of Surfshark’s base VPN plan for $48 for the first year and $79 per year afterwards. If you want something even cheaper than that without sacrificing on quality, you can get PIA for $40 for the first year (then $50 annually thereafter) or $80 every three years. Both Surfshark and PIA are excellent budget-friendly VPNs.
The price hike coincided with ExpressVPN’s launch of Identity Defender, a suite of identity protection features that includes data removal, ID alerts, ID theft insurance and a credit scanner. The difference in pricing between ExpressVPN’s yearly and two-year plans is based on what Identity Defender offers in each plan. The yearly plan includes ID theft insurance and the two-year plan includes ID theft insurance along with the data removal feature, while the monthly plan doesn't offer either.
However, the CNET Money team’s full deep-dive Identity Defender review characterizes the suite as a middle-of-the-road solution that’s lacking compared to the leaders in the space. It notes that the features are a bonus if you’re already subscribed to the VPN service.
Sure, the features can be helpful to certain users, but not everyone will want or even need the ID protection tools provided by ExpressVPN. For one, ExpressVPN offers access to free monthly credit reports -- but anyone can already get them for free every week from each of the three national credit reporting agencies. Your bank likely offers free access to your credit score anyway, too. And while identity theft insurance is great if your identity gets stolen, there are free resources available online that can also help.
Some users might like having a basic set of identity protection features available from ExpressVPN, but it’s tough to rationalize having to pay that much for features you may not want or need when all you’re looking for is a VPN. Yes, I appreciate that the VPN market has been shifting toward all-in-one bundled privacy/security solutions, but most VPNs that play in that space (like NordVPN, Surfshark and Proton) have tiered subscription models that offer users more of a choice when it comes to what features and services they want with their VPN. Some users may just want a solid VPN product they can use to stream Netflix and boost their privacy online without a need for all the extras. ExpressVPN currently doesn’t offer attractively priced options for that segment of users like its competitors do.
That said, ExpressVPN representatives tell me that the company is currently working on rolling out a new tiered pricing structure -- which will hopefully include more options for more users. That's good news, because as it stands, forcing folks to pay for features they might not want or need is a good way to steer them toward other, more affordable services.
ExpressVPN’s core VPN offering is top-notch
Otherwise, ExpressVPN hits all the right notes when it comes to delivering a top-of-the-line VPN service. Its apps are slick and easy to use across a wide variety of platforms, its privacy and security is among the best in the business and you can’t get much better than ExpressVPN for streaming. It’s already a top-notch VPN provider, and its core VPN offering only continues to get better.
So if you’re not turned off by the high price, I recommend ExpressVPN for basically any online activity.
Signing up is a breeze, and you can pay for a subscription via a variety of payment methods including credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Bitcoin. I like that ExpressVPN started offering a seven-day free trial right on its payment page. It’s a move I wish more VPN providers would make because you can only access a free trial with most VPNs by signing up via Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store -- which is sort of a workaround or little known “hack” that most VPNs don’t openly advertise. By putting its seven-day free trial out in the open for anyone to access regardless of what route they take to sign up, ExpressVPN sets itself apart from the pack.
With ExpressVPN, you’ll get apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux (GUI), Chromebook, Android, iOS, FireTV, Android TV and Apple TV. A router app is also available as well as detailed tutorials on how to set up ExpressVPN on a variety of routers. Additionally, you can purchase ExpressVPN’s own Aircove or Aircove Go routers for $165 or $145, respectively, with the VPN already built in. Although ExpressVPN only allows for eight simultaneous connections (some VPNs offer up to 10 or even unlimited), going with a router setup can give you whole-network protection while only accounting for a single connection.
Although ExpressVPN’s apps are minimalist in design compared to others from PIA and Surfshark, you’ll get all you need in a package that’s simple to navigate. The Network Lock kill switch is easy to enable and works flawlessly and you can easily access options to change protocols or enable ExpressVPN’s suite of Advanced Protection features that allow you to block ads, trackers, malicious sites and adult sites. The Windows and Android apps include a split-tunneling feature that worked well during my testing. ExpressVPN’s Keys password manager is also available on the Android and iOS apps, along with a browser extension for use on your desktop or laptop.
ExpressVPN is solid for streaming and for travelers
ExpressVPN remains one of the best VPNs for streaming thanks to how effortlessly it cuts through regional restrictions and allows users to access virtually any streaming content from anywhere in the world.
During my testing, I was able to stream content from multiple locations across various streaming services including Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Apple TV Plus and Hulu. My experience was remarkably smooth regardless of whether I was streaming content on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Fire TV Stick or Apple TV.
ExpressVPN is also a solid VPN for travel because it has a large network of servers spread across 105 countries, which helps ensure stable connections wherever you may be in the world. And as an added benefit for travelers, each ExpressVPN subscription plan includes the opportunity to try its new eSIM service holiday.com for free. With the monthly plan, you get 1GB eSIM data, while the yearly plan comes with 3GB and the two-year with 5GB. It’s a great way to get instant access to an international data plan without the hassle of getting it set up through a local mobile carrier at your destination.
Key takeaway: While everything is getting more expensive these days, ExpressVPN risks pricing out a core segment of its user base with the massive price hike to cover features not everyone will want or need. Ultimately, it’s your money, though. If having all of these features in one place makes sense for you and you’re fine with paying for them, then you’re getting one of the very best VPN services on the planet -- and one that is constantly improving and innovating.
Privacy and security: Constantly evolving to exceed current and future privacy needs
- Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
- Encryption: AES 256-bit, ChaCha 20
- Diskless TrustedServer technology
- No leaks detected
- Protocols available: Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2
- Post-quantum protections
- Regularly audited
While it’s an excellent all-around VPN service, privacy and security is where ExpressVPN really shines. All VPNs communicate in one way or another how user privacy is their top priority, but few actually demonstrate that commitment as evidently and consistently as ExpressVPN.
Perhaps what I admire most about ExpressVPN is that it refuses to rest on its laurels. Instead, the ExpressVPN team is always seeking new ways to enhance user privacy -- not just for today, but for the future. As a forward-thinking provider, it stays on the cutting edge, setting the standard for what a VPN should do to protect its users.
In October 2023, ExpressVPN became one of the first VPN providers to offer post-quantum protections. Since then, ExpressVPN has doubled- and tripled-down on its commitment to providing protection against future privacy risks from quantum computers by continuing to roll out stronger post quantum encryption standards. Most other VPNs are still playing catch-up -- if they’ve even entered the space at all.
Early this year, ExpressVPN took a significant step in beefing up its security standards by integrating ML-KEM -- the latest NIST standard for post-quantum encryption -- into the Lightway protocol. And by taking a hybrid approach and pairing the latest in post-quantum protections with today’s leading encryption, ExpressVPN can help ensure user privacy is protected to the highest of standards today and well into the future. ExpressVPN’s post-quantum protection is integrated into Lightway across all platforms, so all you need to do to reap its benefits is download the latest version of the app and connect to the VPN using the Lightway protocol.
In addition to being the industry leader in post-quantum protections, ExpressVPN is one of the standard-bearers for how a VPN should approach transparency. The VPN industry is based on trust. When you use a VPN, you’re essentially swapping out your ISP for your VPN as the entity that can have eyes on your internet activity. Therefore, you need to put a ton of trust in your VPN that it won’t log and share your data like your ISP does (many VPNs, unfortunately, do not uphold that standard). From my experience with ExpressVPN over the years, it’s one of the VPNs I trust the most. This is because the company goes well above and beyond to build that trust and communicate transparently about the steps it takes to protect users.
ExpressVPN has an extensive Trust Center that offers a wealth of information detailing everything it takes to uphold its commitment to security and user privacy. One of the most impressive components of ExpressVPN’s Trust Center is the section that links to the VPN’s long list of independent audits. While most other VPNs that commission third-party audits have maybe a handful under their belt, ExpressVPN has undergone 22 independent audits -- far outpacing the competition.
At CNET, we typically like to see VPN providers commission an audit at least once a year. ExpressVPN undergoes multiple audits every year, and the team told me that they’ve already queued up several audits for 2025. While independent audits aren’t infallible and can only confirm the VPN’s status during the audit process itself, they serve as a critical trust signal that can help bolster a VPN’s claim that it’s doing what it says it does.
ExpressVPN promises not to keep any logs of your online activity while using its service.
“We do not collect logs of your online activity while you are connected to our Services, including no logging of browsing history, traffic destination, data content, or DNS queries,” states ExpressVPN’s privacy policy. “We also never store connection logs, meaning no logs of your IP address, your outgoing VPN IP address, connection timestamp, or session duration.”
This promise has been scrutinized by independent auditing firms over the years and will likely face continued review in the future. A VPN’s no-logs claims are also impossible to verify with 100% certainty, but audits (and legal cases) can help bolster the veracity of those claims.
A VPN that doesn’t log user activity has no useful data to hand over to authorities, even if served with a warrant or subpoena. I appreciate that ExpressVPN has started publishing a bi-annual transparency report included in its Trust Center detailing the number of legal requests it receives every six months. Out of the hundreds of thousands of requests for user data received over the past six months, ExpressVPN reports that none of the requests resulted in the disclosure of user-related data.
It’s no accident that ExpressVPN has established itself in the British Virgin Islands, a privacy friendly jurisdiction that sits outside of the 14-Eyes alliance and doesn’t impose data retention laws. I appreciate the clarity with which ExpressVPN’s privacy policy articulates how user data is managed under its BVI jurisdiction: “Your Personal Data is controlled by and stored under ExpressVPN, and not by its ultimate holding company, Kape Technologies PLC (UK) or other related entities. Express Technologies Ltd. operates under BVI jurisdiction, in accordance with BVI laws... Consequently, any demand via legal means for Personal Data (or other types of data) is subject to BVI jurisdiction and laws. We fight vigorously to defend our rights (and those of our users) if an attempt is made to bypass the privacy protections provided for by the BVI. A parent, subsidiary, or related entity cannot be compelled to, nor would it voluntarily, provide Personal Data stored by Express Technologies Ltd.”
Along with its no-logs policy, one of ExpressVPN’s core privacy protections is rooted in its TrustedServer technology, which builds upon the basics of a diskless server infrastructure. With RAM-only diskless servers, there is theoretically nowhere for data to reside like it does on a traditional hard disk. And whenever a server is shut down or rebooted, all data is completely wiped. TrustedServer takes this a step further and reinstalls the entire software stack with each server reboot, which ensures consistency and helps mitigate risks associated with misconfiguration. (Though if ExpressVPN doesn’t log its users’ online activity, there shouldn’t be any useful data on the servers anyway.) Still, ensuring its servers run on volatile memory is about as foolproof as you can get.
ExpressVPN’s privacy features worked well during my tests. The kill switch did what the kill switch is supposed to do, and I detected no leaks of any sort on any of ExpressVPN’s apps. Last year, I detected DNS leaks while connected to ExpressVPN’s Windows client with its split-tunneling feature enabled. However, I’m happy to have encountered no such leaks since ExpressVPN engineers took quick and decisive action to fix the issue after I reported it. The rapid resolution and the thorough, transparent nature with which ExpressVPN handled the issue last year is a testament to how committed the team is to protecting users.
A couple of other recent enhancements I like include the ShuffleIP feature and the cipher selection feature. ShuffleIP works constantly in the background and automatically, switching your IP address randomly every few minutes without disconnecting you from the VPN. This helps boost your privacy by making it even more difficult for others to track you online. Surfshark also includes a similar feature, but you need to enable it separately with Surfshark rather than having it on by default and automatically working in the background with ExpressVPN. The cipher selection feature allows Android and iOS users to switch the cipher between ChaCha 20 or AES 256-GCM when using Lightway. This is great for power users who want more granular control over their connection or users who might be experiencing performance issues on older devices and could benefit from switching the cipher.
Key takeaway: ExpressVPN has consistently demonstrated that it’s one of the best in the business when it comes to privacy and security. All VPNs claim that user privacy is their top priority, but ExpressVPN is one of the few that actually backs it up with concrete actions. ExpressVPN is a trustworthy VPN service that I can confidently recommend for folks with critical privacy needs.
ExpressVPN continues to raise the bar
Yeah, it’s expensive and the pricing structure is somewhat bizarre. But ExpressVPN remains one of the best VPNs in the world because it excels at virtually everything that a VPN service should be doing. And the service only keeps getting better. ExpressVPN is constantly innovating and setting the standard for how VPNs can protect user privacy. I’m impressed by ExpressVPN’s commitment to transparency as much as I am by its forward-thinking approach to privacy.
ExpressVPN's standing as one of the best VPNs for streaming has only gotten stronger with its massive upgrade in speed performance. I'm hopeful that the company's forthcoming re-tooled pricing structure represents a similar upgrade and better aligns with the needs of the average user who’s just looking for something that can hide their activity from their ISP and unblock streaming content. The current pricing structure seems to neglect that segment and as a result, casual VPN users may be more inclined to opt for a more budget-friendly service like Surfshark or Proton VPN.
But if you’re okay with paying a premium for an excellent all-around VPN service that you can trust to protect you in privacy-critical situations and you see yourself benefitting from all of the extra ID protection features, then ExpressVPN is a solid choice.
