ExpressVPN – A Review of an Excellent VPN Service

ExpressVPN

★★★★★

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ExpressVPN has long been the clear market leader in VPN services. Four years ago, we referred to it as the “Ferrari of VPN services” in our review. Quality apps, excellent security and great speeds still place the service at the top, but other companies aren’t sleeping. NordVPN, Surfshark VPN and ProtonVPN have already caught up in several areas. Despite this, ExpressVPN maintains a leading position in the market.

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ExpressVPN

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WHAT WE LIKED

• Secure and user-friendly applications
• Strong encryption and security features
• Protocol-free VPN in a secure jurisdiction
• Large and secure server network
• Works well with Netflix and other streaming services
• Browser extensions
• Quality mobile apps
• Dedicated application for routers
• Good customer support
• Lightway open-source protocol that is very fast
• Subjected to a number of external audits

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

• Higher price than competitors
• Fewer additional features than competitors

ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The BVI is an independent self-governing entity with strict laws to protect the privacy of individuals and companies operating there.

Unlike the UK, the BVI does not have any mandatory data retention laws or extensive surveillance programmes affecting VPN services operating under UK jurisdiction.

The British Virgin Islands, unlike the countries in the Five Eyes alliance, is known for its strong privacy protections and secrecy of sensitive data.

ExpressVPN is an authenticated VPN service with no data logging. It has undergone multiple independent external audits as well as real-world testing, as we’ll outline below. If you’re looking for a VPN service that keeps absolutely no logs of its users, ExpressVPN is a great choice.

ExpressVPN is also one of the VPN services that has been independently audited. To verify and prove its claims of no data logging, ExpressVPN was audited by the prestigious auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2019. The audit verified the TrustedServer feature (which we’ll talk more about below), the no-logging policy, and compliance with all privacy policies.

In addition, in April 2022, ExpressVPN announced that its Windows apps had been audited by F-Secure. The audit used penetration testing methods to try to identify any security issues with the Windows client. The results were favourable and the auditors were unable to find any major safety issues.

In the second half of 2022, the company decided to subject its products to further audits:

• Company Cure53 reviewed macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps
• Company F-Secure has re-examined the latest Windows application
• Companies KPMG and Cure53 conducted independent audits of all systems and underlying server technologies

All of the above audits have confirmed that the applications are error-free, and the company does not collect or store any data (activity logs, connection logs, other sensitive information) that could compromise the privacy or security of its users.

In December 2017, reports emerged that authorities in Turkey had seized ExpressVPN’s server in an attempt to obtain customer data. Before the server was seized, Turkish authorities tried to force ExpressVPN to provide logs from the server in question. ExpressVPN has informed officials that this is a non-logging VPN, which is not covered by Turkish law, and they have no data to provide. The Turkish government then confiscated the server, but came up empty-handed when searching for any user data. The reason was simple – there were no protocols.

Why is this important? The relevant outcome is that the authorities have not been able to obtain any customer data – either through requests or by seizing the server itself. No logs were available. This case from Turkey and the audit confirm that the service is serious about protecting its customers.

ExpressVPN also offers a Bug Bounty program. If anyone finds any security weaknesses in the apps, they will be rewarded.

ExpressVPN has been on the market since 2009, so it’s no surprise that their server network is one of the best on the market. It currently has more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries around the world.

In addition, the service is gradually migrating to its own dedicated servers with 10 Gbps bandwidth, which operate in RAM mode only (without the use of hard disks). This function is referred to by the service as TrustedServer.

The service also uses virtual servers. Not all servers are actually located in the countries listed next to them. Currently, there are 48 countries. ExpressVPN explains it as follows:

However, we appreciate that ExpressVPN is transparent in this regard and lists exactly which countries use the virtual servers (and in which country these servers are actually located).

In our speed tests, ExpressVPN scored excellent results. We tested the service on a Windows system with the Lightway protocol set up. All tests were performed on a dedicated 500 Mbps network located in Hungary at different time intervals.

All connections have been very stable with no extreme fluctuations or disturbing dropouts. The actual connection speed to the servers was extremely fast and we were usually connected to the servers within 1-3 seconds. This, of course, makes it much easier to switch between servers in different countries.

Nearest / recommended server (Slovakia)

• Lowest measured speed: 119,94 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 423,76 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 397,22 Mbps
• Average PING: 31,67 ms

England, London

• Lowest measured speed: 188,06 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 377,26 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 355,34 Mbps
• Average PING: 40,56 ms

USA, New York

• Lowest measured speed: 111,06 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 206,98 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 199,80 Mbps
• Average PING: 116 ms

Australia, Melbourne

• Lowest measured speed: 59,09 Mbps
• Highest measured speed: 90,85 Mbps
• Average measured speed: 88,96 Mbps
• Average PING: 256,91 ms

Based on our tests and everything we analyzed for this ExpressVPN review, this service has its security standards set very high.

The ExpressVPN cipher, key, and authentication depend on the VPN protocol you’ve selected in the VPN app.

With OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, ExpressVPN uses AES-256 encryption with RSA-4096 key and SHA-512 HMAC authentication. The Lightway protocol uses AES-256-GCM and ChaCha20/Poly1305 encryption along with D/TLS 1.2 for server authentication.

The AES-256 and ChaCha20 ciphers offer a very high level of encryption and are currently considered unbreakable. They also provide excellent performance, especially the Lightway protocol (see test results above). In addition, ExpressVPN supports Perfect Forward Secrecy through Diffie-Hellman key exchange.

ExpressVPN gives you the option to choose which VPN protocols you want to use directly in your apps. Below you can see the available VPN protocols in the Windows client.

If Automatic is enabled, ExpressVPN will select the best VPN protocol based on your network settings. In our tests, the Lightway protocol was clearly the fastest, which we’ll talk more about now.

After more than a year of development, ExpressVPN has officially launched the Lightway VPN protocol. Lightway is available on all major operating systems – Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and iOS, as well as some routers. So what does Lightway offer?

• Faster speeds than OpenVPN
• Updated encryption standards
• Fast connection (1-3 seconds)
• Seamless transition when disconnected or when changing networks
  

In many ways, Lightway is similar to the WireGuard protocol. It’s smaller, leaner, faster and safer, while solving a number of load problems as was the case with older protocols such as OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2.

Additionally, in August 2021, ExpressVPN announced that Lightway has officially passed a third-party audit and is available as open source. This means that the code is available to anyone, which further helps with trust and authentication. The Lightway protocol audit was conducted by Cure53, a well-respected cybersecurity firm that has audited other VPNs. It concluded its findings by stating:

You will also find the following functions available in the apps:

• Kill Switch: This feature is offered by a service called Network Lock and blocks all internet traffic if the VPN connection is interrupted.
• Split VPN tunnel: Users can choose which apps will connect to the internet through the VPN tunnel and which will bypass it.

During our tests, the applications worked without any problems, and we did not notice any data leaks or error messages during our tests.

ExpressVPN offers support for all devices available on the market, including its own router app. Supported systems include:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Linux
• Browser add-ons (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) – only protect data transfers directly through browsers, not on the whole device
• Smart TVs and game consoles – MediaStreamer technology that does not encrypt data
• routers

The apps have a clean and minimalist design and are easy to use. Tap the three lines in the top left corner of the app to open a new window with additional features and settings. Below is a sample application for the Windows operating system.

ExpressVPN’s apps have always had an intuitive design and simple layout. VPN apps occasionally struggle with bugs or clunky design, but there’s nothing to criticise with ExpressVPN.

We also have to appreciate the great mobile apps and quality extensions for all known internet browsers.

If you need a good VPN service that works with Netflix and other streaming services, then ExpressVPN is a great choice. It’s one of the few VPN services that continues to work well with Netflix, providing 24/7 access.

For this ExpressVPN review, we tested US Netflix with a server in Washington DC. Everything worked perfectly.

If you encounter a proxy server error while connecting to the server, just contact chat support and you will immediately know which servers to use.

ExpressVPN unblocks a number of Netflix areas around the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US.

In addition to Netflix, ExpressVPN also works well with Disney Plus and Amazon Prime. And if you need a VPN for Hulu, the service works for that streaming platform, too.

In the past, ExpressVPN has had problems unblocking BBC iPlayer, but we can now say that we were able to connect to this British platform via a server in Manchester.

Finally, ExpressVPN is also one of the few VPN services that has a dedicated app for the Amazon Fire Stick, which you can find in the Amazon App Store.

Considering the measured speeds, we didn’t have a problem with torrenting either. The file downloads worked great and the service didn’t limit us in any way.

In the apps, we can find the Kill Switch feature and also the split VPN tunnel feature.

The Multi-hop feature for connecting through multiple VPN servers is missing. There is also no ad-blocking feature on Windows systems.

The feature called Threat Manager can be found at least in the apps for iOS, Mac and Linux operating systems.

The Threat Manager feature works similarly to other DNS filtering solutions, blocking access to certain servers known to contain tracking programs or malicious code.

A huge plus of ExpressVPN is its own dedicated application for selected routers.

The ExpressVPN for routers app protects all devices on your network that connect to the internet through your router. Just log in to your Wi-Fi network as usual.

In addition, use through the router counts as one connection, regardless of how many devices connect to the Internet through the router.

In addition, in September 2022, the company launched a novelty – its own Aircove router with ExpressVPN service pre-installed. Its price was €200 at the beginning of 2023.

The Aircove is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and provides up to 1,200 Mbps of fast and stable Wi-Fi connectivity. Even with VPN service turned on, you can stream in 4K on multiple screens.

While support for larger VPN services can sometimes fluctuate, ExpressVPN’s live chat support continues to maintain a high standard.

We have tested the support repeatedly and in all our interactions we have found the customer support department to be prompt, knowledgeable and courteous.

Access to support is available 24 hours a day, even for non-logged-in users. The icon to enter the live chat can be found directly on the service’s website in the bottom right corner. Each time we tried, we got in touch with a company representative in less than a minute (no long waits).

Live chat support is definitely a plus if you need help setting up VPN service on your devices or have specific questions that aren’t answered on the website.

You can also send your questions by email.

In addition, the site contains a huge library of tutorials for all available systems. Of course, there is also an FAQ section.

If you’re only shopping for services with the lowest price in mind, then ExpressVPN is not for you. However, if you are looking for a proven, stable and reputable product that has been on the market for several years and still maintains a high standard, then this service should not miss your radar. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back refund policy from the time you purchase the service.

Payment is possible by credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrencies and other payments available in selected countries (GiroPay, UnionPay, Sofort, etc.).

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