ExpressVPN Review： the Most Complete and Extensive test for the NO.1 VPN in the world
Table of Contents
ExpressVPN is currently the most popular and best VPN service. The website also claims to be “the #1 and trusted VPN leader”. Many people will think, is this really the case? ? Is it really that useful? Here comes the most comprehensive ExpressVPN review.
Advantages of ExpressVPN
- The most secure no-logging policy with no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks
- PC, Mac, iOS, and Android apps are very easy to use
- Get 49% off the fastest VPN on the market with our coupon.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
In order to provide the most complete and extensive test, we start by listing a few frequently asked questions:
- Is ExpressVPN really that fast?
- Is it legal and safe?
- Does it work on Netflix and torrents?
- How much does ExpressVPN cost? Is it worth buying?
- Is there a free trial version?
Now, you can find the answer below:
Introduction to ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN was established in 2009, the company name is Express VPN International Ltd., located in the British Virgin Islands, which means that it is not in the 14 Eyes alliance with tort laws.
For VPN services, the British Virgin Islands is a huge geographical location, because it has complete dominance and sovereignty over its own data regulations.
Foreign governments can of course request information, but ExpressVPN makes it clear that it will never share data with any party, and most importantly, it does not log any personally identifiable information in the first place.
logging policy
ExpressVPN does not collect any personally identifiable activity logs, here is all the information it says it will collect:
- Date of connection to VPN service
- Selected VPN server location
- The total amount of data transferred per day
Just the above three. ExpressVPN says they collect this information only to maintain server performance.
None of this information identifies the user, or anything you do online, so there’s nothing to worry about.
So it can be said that ExpressVPN’s logging is close to zero.
The CDT’s 2018 report, which also reviewed ExpressVPN’s servers, concluded that “their servers are extremely difficult to leak, and when they do occur, the amount of data disclosed is limited”.
Speed Test – One of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested
ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPN services we’ve tested, blazingly fast and responsive.
And whether you connect to a local, nearby, or international server, the speed performance is very good. In our tests, the same country server (local) only lost about 2% of the download speed, a very impressive number, and the upload was even faster.
Local server speed test
My current location is Japan, this time I haven’t used the speed before VPN, download 87.30Mbps, upload 8.55Mbps, PING is 17ms:
After using Smart Location to connect to the Japanese server, the download is 85.90Mbps, the upload is 9.03Mbps, and the PING is 15ms:
International server
For the international part, I tried Taiwan, which is relatively close, and the download speed loss is also very small, only 26%.
The Taiwan server measured it as 67.37Mbps for download, 5.65Mbps for upload, and 290ms for PING:
Then there is the United States, which is far away. I didn’t expect the speed to be faster than in Taiwan. The representative said that even if your actual location is some distance away from the server you want to connect to, you can get a very good speed.
The US server is measured as, download: 70.08Mbps, upload 4.33Mbps, PING is 121ms:
Even using ExpressVPN in a highly censored country like China, the speeds are impressive, faster and more stable than most VPN services, and connecting is easy.
We also tested the following countries:
- South Korea: Download 35.80Mbps, Upload 0.98Mbps, PING 47ms
- Singapore: Download 87.28Mbps, Upload 8.70Mbps, PING 105ms
- Australia: Download 79.94Mbps, Upload 6.55Mbps, PING 153ms
- UK: 73.27Mbps download, 6.08Mbps upload, 262ms PING
- Germany: Download 68.40Mbps, Upload 8.09Mbps, PING 261ms
Server Locations – 160 locations, 3,000+ servers available
- 94 countries
- 160 cities
- 3,000+ IP addresses
ExpressVPN offers up to 3,000+ VPN servers spread evenly across all continents (excluding Antarctica).
Simply put, no matter where you are in the world, you can easily find a nearby VPN server.
This number of more than 3,000 servers is also the largest and best coverage of any VPN service we have tested. The official ExpressVPN website even lists each location (country or city), along with the VPN security protocols available.
Many countries also offer city-level servers, such as the following:
- U.S.
- U.K.
- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- India
- Singapore
- Netherlands
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Spain
ExpressVPN has 20 different cities to choose from in the US, and 4 in Australia, the most we’ve seen.
Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer geo-blocking, for torrenting
ExpressVPN almost all US VPN servers can unblock US Netflix content (currently we test not New York).
Although this one does not provide a dedicated server for streaming media like Ivacy, this is not a big problem, because the vast majority of ExpressVPN servers can be used to watch foreign streaming video content.
This The Office (U.S) is only available on Netflix in the United States and Canada, Japan is not visible, but connecting to the US server can easily lift the restrictions:
And it’s not just in the US, but Netflix in other countries, like the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, and Germany.
In addition, most UK servers can also unblock BBC iPlayer’s geographic content restrictions, even if you are in the UK (although it is officially stated that you must be outside).
Other streaming services are also supported, such as the following list:
- Disney+
- Hulu
- HBO
- Amazon Prime Video
- Sling TV
- Sky
- Now TV
- PlayStation Vue
Torrent
Since we measured the network speed so fast, it is not surprising that ExpressVPN also has a very good performance in uploading and downloading files shared by torrent torrents.
All servers allow any type of P2P activities, and therefore, users with such needs will not be crowded into certain servers, which is of great help to improve the download and upload speed, and this is true in actual use.
Also, from a privacy and security standpoint, ExpressVPN has a virtually no-logging policy, also offers a VPN Kill Switch feature (this one is called Network Lock), and passes the IP or DNS leak test with no leaks at all, which reps say, ExpressVPN is great for torrenting.
Can bypass restrictions in highly censored countries such as China, UAE
ExpressVPN has a presence in China and invests a lot of resources to make it impossible for the Chinese government to censor their VPN service traffic and thus easily bypass China’s firewall, which is why it is our most recommended VPN service in China.
If you switch the encryption protocol to “Auto”, ExpressVPN’s obfuscation security technology will be activated, which ensures that the censors cannot identify that you are using VPN traffic, which is very effective.
Since China can, then other countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are of course no problem.
ExpressVPN also recommends specific servers for Chinese users, you can save this page or contact customer support (24/7) before use to get the latest information.
Supports almost all major platforms and devices
- Windows
- Mac
- iOS
- android
- Linux
- router
It’s nice that ExpressVPN supports almost any operating system or device, and the website also provides setup instructions for each platform, as well as a workaround if it doesn’t work.
For uncommon devices, you may not be able to find a dedicated VPN app, but the ExpressVPN website also has a solution, you can check it out.
Also keep in mind that ExpressVPN supports up to 5 devices at the same time, if you want more, you can do it by setting up the VPN on your router, because that way they only count one device.
This means that no matter how many devices are connected to the router’s wireless network, only one is counted.
ExpressVPN is compatible with the following routers:
- ASUS RT-AC68U
- ASUS RT-AC87U
- ASUS RT-AC56 (U/R/S)
- Linksys EA6200
- Linksys WRT1200AC
- Linksys WRT1900AC (S or V2)
- Linksys WRT3200ACM
- Netgear R6300v2
- Nighthawk R7000
However, the following router manufacturers can also set up VPN manually:
- Other Asus models
- D-Link
- DD-WRT
- Netduma
- Sabai
- Tomato
- TP-Link
- Millet
Game consoles and streaming devices
- Apple TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chromecast
- Nintendo
- PlayStation
- Roku
- Xbox
ExpressVPN’s Amazon Fire Stick app works great, and game consoles and other streaming devices can also set up VPNs through the MediaStreamer feature, but we recommend installing it on a router.
Browser extension
ExpressVPN offers a full VPN browser extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, which is very different from other VPN services.
The browser extensions of the vast majority of VPN services are just proxies, not full VPNs, ExpressVPN is a full VPN. However, when using the extension, the desktop application also needs to be running at the same time.
Encryption and Security – Provides multiple security features
- Protocols: IKEv2 / IPSec, L2TP / IPSec, OpenVPN (TCP / UDP), PPTP
- Encryption: AES-256
- Security: Block DNS Leaks, 1st Party DNS, Block IPv6 Leaks, VPN Kill Switch, Block WebRTC Leaks
- Advanced Features: Split Tunneling
ExpressVPN is a legal and extremely secure VPN service that provides several security standards and VPN protocols to protect the privacy and security of your browsing data.
By default, the VPN protocol is set to “Auto”, and we recommend leaving it unchanged, as this allows the ExpressVPN app to choose the best and most secure protocol for the situation, a powerful feature that few VPNs offer.
ExpressVPN also uses AES-256 encryption, a technology considered unbreakable. Paired with 4096-bit RSA keys and SHA-512 HMAC authentication, it provides you with the highest level of online protection.
Not surprisingly, ExpressVPN uses OpenVPN as its primary VPN protocol. OpenVPN is considered the best VPN security protocol out there, and while the app offers other options, we recommend this one.
Additionally, ExpressVPN uses Perfect Forward Secrecy by default, which ensures that even if someone intercepts your VPN connection, they still cannot decrypt any traffic.
If you are interested in learning more about ExpressVPN’s advanced encryption, please click here to check it out.
ExpressVPN’s VPN Kill Switch is called “Network Lock”, and when your VPN connection drops, this feature immediately disables your internet connection to avoid leaking your real IP.
We also tested for IP and DNS leaks, and the good news is that this one didn’t happen at all, so you can use ExpressVPN with confidence that it successfully hides your real IP address.
All showing the US, without revealing any information about my Japanese presence:
Split tunneling is also available, and you can choose which applications are connected through the VPN and which are not:
So it is clear that ExpressVPN is the leader among VPN services in both the security and privacy sectors.
In particular, it successfully passed several security audits in 2018 and 2019, further proving its security.
Easy to set up, easy to get started
ExpressVPN’s apps are very easy to use, both desktop and mobile. The home screen will display a large on/off button, as well as a list of VPN servers, which can be found in the top left menu if you want to customize some settings.
Desktop screen:
Mobile screen:
Advanced Options is also explained in detail, so that you can fully understand:
Price – a little pricey but well worth it
ExpressVPN offers full functionality with every subscription plan, meaning you only have to decide how much you need to pay.
The longer the subscription, the cheaper the monthly fee, which is $12.95 a month, a 49% reduction for 15 months (original 12 months + 3 months for readers) to $6.67 a month.
Of course, there is also a 30-day money-back guarantee, which we also tested, and if you’re really not satisfied, just give customer support a simple explanation and they’ll refund you right away.
ExpressVPN doesn’t have a free trial, but you can use the 30-day money-back guarantee as an alternative trial period (which is quite a long time).
In addition, the app also provides a “referral” feature, as long as you successfully refer a friend, you can get a 30-day free usage period, and there is no limit to the number of referrals.
Finally, do we recommend ExpressVPN?
Without a doubt, we 100% recommend the ExpressVPN service.
It passed all of our tests and proved to be one of the fastest and most secure VPNs out there, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a VPN service that performs this well in every way.
How to get an ExpressVPN discount and a free trial?
- ExpressVPN Coupon Code: 30-day money-back guarantee, get a risk-free VPN trial
- ExpressVPN Coupon Code: Best VPN for streaming Sports, Get 3 extra months of free
- ExpressVPN Coupon Code: 【Exclusive offer】 Save 49% & try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free
- ExpressVPN Promotion List
ExpressVPN Pros
- The most secure no-logging policy with no IP, DNS, or WebRTC leaks
- Very fast, reliable speeds
- Available for Netflix, BBC iPlayer streaming video
- Safe, fast, and unrestricted torrent / P2P activity
- PC, Mac, iOS, and Android apps are very easy to use
- Huge server network in 94 countries
ExpressVPN Cons
- More expensive than some VPN services
