Summary Review

 

In this review, we will consider ExpressVPN service, understand its features, functionality, what distinguishes it from similar services and what its unique advantages are.

One of the best, if not the best in terms of speed for streaming, of course, is ExpressVPN and in the case of regional blocking problems, offers a stable solution at once.

The company is registered in the British Virgin Islands, which are famous for their complete sovereignty over their data processing rules and they do not have to answer to foreign countries.

We'll look at a robust privacy policy, which is the most important aspect of evaluating a VPN service, also their reliability will pay attention to the features you need, such as compatibility with all your devices, no bandwidth limitations and server locations.

 

Cheapest price	Logging policy	Torrenting policy	Servers count	Customer support	Money back guarantee	Local speed (Avg.)
8.32$	Anonymous connection logs	Unlimited	160	Email and Live chat	30 day	89 Mbps

Privacy & Security

 

ExpressVPN is completely transparent in their policies and they do not track your data or any information on your digital activities on their servers and here is an example that this is true right away. The incident is related to the murder of the Russian ambassador and the Turkish authorities seized the server, arguing that the criminal used the VPN to delete important information for the investigation, Turkey found no traces, no logs that could help and this is a serious factual proof of the reliability of ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN uses 256-bit AES encryption combined with 4096-bit RSA key and SHA-512 HMAC authentication - this means the highest standard of encryption, which is the strongest protection of user traffic to date

Governments can not install any backdoors on ExpressVPN servers to expose privacy and the service claims that this will not happen in the future

Service uses its own DNS servers with zero disclosure, so all your data is securely encrypted.

ExpressVPN uses the Lightway protocol (which is the WireGuard protocol in fact) that will speed up your VPN connection and make it secure and stable, it is ideal for mobile devices. The Lightway library is planned to be open-source soon, which makes it slower to consume battery power.

You will have different protocol options depending on the tasks and devices you use, the available protocols are Lightway, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and L2TP / IPsec.

 

 

Logging policy & Jurisdiction

 

ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, known for its independence over data processing rules, also does not apply copyright law, even if they have to assist in an investigation with other governments to find discreditable information on a criminal, ExpressVPN can't help anything since it does not keep logs of user activity.

ExpressVPN is audited annually by independent companies such as PWC and Cure 53, and each time the service passes without a problem, which inspires confidence in terms of reliability, security, and credibility.

ExpressVPN does not record the duration of the session, your IP address, as well as the server address and the start time of the connection.

This policy in turn is proven by practice. Recall the previous example when the Turkish government could not get information from the hacked servers, which confirms their statement in the policy of almost zero log storage.

 

Performance (speed & reliability)

 

Lightning speed without loss of performance says ExpressVPN, whether this is true, we can find out only by testing the service in person, to test the speed we will use Speedtest, first we will evaluate the speed without VPN, the recommended server and located away from us, for example to view Netflix, testing will be conducted on three criteria: ping - the time required to transmit data, download - affect the performance of your computer when loading, ie how quickly you can receive information and the actual download speed - for example, to view the Netflix.

The Lightway UDP, TCP protocol which was used for the connection was very impressive in terms of speed and smoothness.

You can use the fastest, but not the most reliable and does not work in all networks protocol IKEv2, a good balance between the reliability of protection of your traffic and speed is probably the protocol Lightway TCP, UDP. The speeds are very impressive. Plus ExpressVPN states that Lightway is still in preview mode, this suggests that it will be even better in the future.

 

Features & Usability

 

ExpressVPN offers us many features that make the service unique and different from others.

Trusted Server - this technology ensures that your personal information will never be written to physical hard drives and also deletes all your data upon reboot and this feature certainly sets it apart from others

ExpressVPN also supports Tog via VPN. Unlike many VPNs, the service has its onion site on the Tor network

Split tunneling allows you to remove some of the traffic from the VPN tunnel. You'll need this if you need a local connection to print, but you'll also need a VPN for other network activities, using this feature, allows you to use all services simultaneously and bypass restrictions while keeping your privacy safe.

Emergency VPN connection termination (Killswitch). ExpressVPN offers an emergency kill switch feature for those who value their security. Kill switch is an activatable security feature that disconnects your device from the Internet connection if for any reason the VPN connection is interrupted or lost. ExpressVPN calls this feature, essential to every VPN service, Network Lock

The service is quite easy to use and very attractive, there is an abundance of information on the site, which is available in the Blog section, also news reports, etc. The application is one of the easiest to use, there is a section where you can go to the speed test parameters, offers a variety of protocols and recommendations to connect the server depending on your geographic location.

 

 

Server Location

 

ExpressVPN provides 160 VPN locations in 94 countries. All ExpressVPN servers support P2P traffic.

ExpressVPN also uses virtual servers, but most servers are physical.

ExpressVPN also supports servers in some countries with repressive Internet policies, including Turkey, Vietnam, China, UAE. ExpressVPN servers use shared IP addresses - this implies that users have a similar IP address to yours, that is, your traffic is mixed with a lot of other users' data, thus increasing your privacy.

List of countries:

Kenya, Algeria, Bolivia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Guatemala, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, North Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Estonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Isle of Man, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Norway, Luxemburg, Pakistan, Panama, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, New Zealand, Singapore, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, South Africa, Andorra, South Korea, Argentina, Armenia, Philippines, Poland, Great Britain, Spain, Romania, Bahamas, Taiwan, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Iceland, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Portugal, Croatia, Denmark, Ukraine, UAE, USA, Vietnam, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Monaco, Jersey, Turkey, Bhutan, State of Brunei Darussalam, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka.

 

Streaming &Torrenting

 

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming. Torrenting or P2P is an important part of evaluating a VPN service, and I am happy to report that ExpressVPN, unlike some services, does not limit P2P actions to certain servers. If like many of us, you regularly watch TV shows and movies, you will love this feature. Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, BBC iPlayer introduce new regional filters and stricter geographical restrictions, ExpressVPN offers instant solutions and opens access to these popular streaming platforms

No matter where you are, you can watch your favorite shows and use torrent networks without restrictions.

If you're looking for a way around the Great Wall of China, ExpressVPN is one of the few that still works in China. The Chinese firewall won't be able to detect that you're using a VPN, thanks to obfuscation, which works by default. ExpressVPN provides security against data leaks through IPv6, WebRTC, and DNS

 

Platforms & Devices

 

ExpressVPN supports a large number of devices such as Windows Android iOS macOS Chrome Firefox Router Console Apple TV PlayStation Xbox Amazon Fire TV Roku Kindle. Browser extensions for Vivaldi, Brave, Edge, and of course Chrome and Firefox. Android and iOS apps, but the downside of the iOS app is that important features like Kill Switch and Split Tunneling are missing. App for macOS - the app is easy to use and intuitive, nice warm-colored interface, as soon as you turn on the app, there is an auto-connect button, also in other sections you will find a list of apps and sites, as well as a list of servers.  App for routers is a great app for routers, the program is very well optimized, ExpressVPN has one of the best Android apps today, the app is intuitive, very easy to use, makes connecting to servers fast and pretty easy, gives good security features and very fast connection speeds. you can use 5 devices in one account so you can connect up to 5 different devices. If you encounter configuration problems on your devices, you'll find a guide on the support page on how to configure smart DNS, for example for gaming consoles.

 

 

Pricing

 

Let's take a look at the tariff plans offered by ExpressVPN, it should be admitted that they are not cheap:

1 month - $12.95 per month

12 months - $8.32 per month

6 months - $9.99 per month

You also have a 30-day Money-back guarantee, so if you decide ExpressVPN doesn't meet your needs, within 30 days you can cancel your subscription, then process your request and get your money back. There is also a 7-day free trial for Android and iOS.

ExpressVPN accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Delta, Diners Club International, OneCard and Hipercard, PayPal, Maestro, Mint, FanaPay, Teencash, Boleto, Sepa Direct Debit, PostePay, Dankort, Elo, Carte Bleue, Mercado Pago, Culture Voucher and Book Voucher, online transfers sent via Giropay, iDEAL, Interac and Klarna (or SOFORT) can also be paid safely and anonymously using Bitcoin.

ExpressVPN is more expensive than other top VPNs, but it provides excellent features and you decide for yourself whether you need the entire arsenal of features offered by the service.

Support

 

Support is an important criterion for evaluating the service, here ExpressVPN paid special attention, you can contact the support center, if you do it via email, waiting time will take about 30 minutes, also on the site, we can find video instructions to solve the problem, which also distinguishes it from others. Support gives their attention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can be contacted via email and live online chat, where you are answered almost immediately. Based on many user reviews, it can be highlighted that ExpressVPN does not ask the reason for cancellation of subscription and without unnecessary questions refund your money on a 30-day refund guarantee, at first it was so when I wanted to cancel my subscription, but because I did not answer the consultant for a long time, the connection was broken and another employee has already asked the reason for canceling the subscription and without unnecessary questions refund your money on a 30-day refund guarantee, at first it was so, when I wanted to cancel my subscription, but because I did not answer the consultant for a long time, The connection was interrupted and another employee has already asked the reason for canceling the subscription, but it was polite of him, without intrusiveness and work returns, which I liked, I just clarified the mail from the account and immediately formed a request, rather operative.

 

    

Pros & Cons

 

ExpressVPN is superior to most VPN services, but in some aspects, it will not be the ideal choice for everyone.

 

Pros

✓ Massive server network
✓ High-speed connection
✓ P2P and BitTorrent are available without registration
✓ One of the best apps for android
✓ Strict logging policy
✓ TrustedServer technology
✓ Best for streaming

Cons

✘ No built-in firewall
✘ Much more expensive than other VPN services
✘ No IP binding
✘ No port forwarding
✘ No ad blocker or malware

 

Last edited on Aug 10, 2022