ExpressVPN Review

A VPN kill switch watches your connection to the VPN server to see if it’s ever interrupted. If the VPN connection drops unexpectedly (and you didn’t disconnect it on purpose), the kill switch instantly cuts off your internet connection. This is helpful if you’re doing something that you don’t want your ISP to catch wind of, like torrenting.

ExpressVPN calls its kill switch Network Lock. It’s not especially customizable, but you can exclude local devices from a network shutdown, so your printer and Bluetooth will still work. It’s hard to test a kill switch since we can’t schedule problems on the server end, but we can note that Network Lock has never given us a false positive.

Split tunneling lets you route some apps through the VPN while others go directly to the internet — usually ones that require better speeds. ExpressVPN’s split tunneling has both a blocklist and an allowlist, so it’s nice and flexible. Unfortunately, it appears only on Windows and on macOS versions 10 and below.

The ExpressVPN app groups three features under the “advanced protection” tab: Threat Manager, an ad blocker and parental controls. Threat Manager blocks trackers and prevents you from entering sites known to harbor malware. The ad blocker stops banner and video ads, while the parental controls block adult content.

All these features work very well — in particular, it’s rare to see a built-in VPN ad blocker that can stop ads on YouTube videos. The one annoyance is that you can’t build your own parental control blocklist; any judgments regarding what counts as “adult content” happen on ExpressVPN’s side.

One of ExpressVPN’s top features is ExpressVPN Aircove, which is almost certainly the best VPN router. Nearly every other VPN router requires a tedious manual setup, but Aircove has its own app that’s just as user-friendly as ExpressVPN’s other features. It even lets you set different server locations for various devices connected through the router.

ExpressVPN Aircove

ExpressVPN Aircove

ExpressVPN Aircove saves you the hassle of finding a compatible VPN router and setting up the firmware yourself.

$ 189.90

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ExpressVPN Keys is a password manager you can download for free with an ExpressVPN subscription. Like any password manager, Keys can generate strong passwords and recall them on command. However, similar to the VPN service, it’s a bit short on advanced features. 

We’ve got a full ExpressVPN Keys review with more details. You can also read our best password managers guide for alternatives.

Here’s how to download ExpressVPN on any device.

1. Create an Account

   Go to expressvpn.com and click “get ExpressVPN.” Choose a pricing plan, add a payment method, enter an email address and check out. Copy the activation code you receive.

   

2. Download a VPN App

   If you’re on Windows, macOS or Linux, download the VPN app from ExpressVPN’s website. For mobile users, go through your respective app store. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

   

3. Enter Your Activation Code

   After installing and opening the app, enter the activation code you received in step one. This will give you access to the VPN. Once inside, create a new password.

   

1. Activate the Kill Switch

   Click the three lines at the top-left corner and open the “preferences” menu. On the “general” tab, decide whether you want to activate the Network Lock kill switch. Here, you can also choose whether ExpressVPN will automatically boot and connect when your computer starts.

   

2. Toggle the Advanced Protection Features

   Choose whether you want to block malware sites, trackers, ads or adult content. We recommend keeping at least the Threat Manager features switched on at all times.

   

3. Choose a VPN Protocol

   Go to the “protocol” tab and choose how you want ExpressVPN to get online. You can pick between Lightway (TCP or UDP), OpenVPN (TCP or UDP) and IKEv2. You can also let ExpressVPN choose a protocol automatically. Note that if you’re using any “advanced protection” features, you’ll have to use the Lightway protocol.

   

4. Find the Right Server

   Finally, check the server menu to determine what locations you’ll want to use regularly. You can find the server menu by clicking the three dots beside the server location name on the main UI. Click the star next to a location on the menu to save it as a favorite, and click the location itself to connect to a VPN server there.

   

You’ll operate the ExpressVPN Windows and macOS apps mainly by using the one-click buttons and checkboxes. Everything is easy to find, and each setting comes with quick explanations. The server menu stands out as it has a “quick search” bar and intuitive favoriting. In addition, connections complete very quickly with minimal wait times.

Due to ExpressVPN’s simple overall design, very little gets lost when transitioning from desktop to mobile. In the iOS and Android apps, everything is organized in the same way, and tapping will allow for smooth interactions. The server list is easy to scroll through, and you’re never more than two clicks away from taking action.

You can use a single ExpressVPN subscription on eight devices simultaneously. While you can install it on unlimited devices, only eight can be connected at once. Just download the app on a new device, paste in your universal activation code, and you’re good to go.

ExpressVPN is compatible with almost anything that can get online, and you can still protect any unsupported platforms through a router. It works with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chromebook, Amazon Fire Tablet, Apple TV, Android TV and Samsung TV. The service also has browser extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

There’s only one type of ExpressVPN subscription; the main difference between the three options available is their length. Longer plans grant a steeper monthly discount. ExpressVPN costs $12.95 for one month, $9.99 per month for six months ($59.94 total) and $6.66 per month for 15 months ($99.95 total).

ExpressVPN doesn’t have a free plan. What it does have is a 30-day money-back guarantee on all subscriptions that asks no questions — you can use ExpressVPN every day for 30 days and then get a refund by messaging customer support. It’s a free trial in all but name.

If you want an actual free trial, you can get seven days on either iOS or Android without entering a payment method. You just have to download ExpressVPN from the device’s app store and start using it without creating an account. When you first open the app, you’ll see instructions for claiming your free trial. 

A VPN server tends to slow down the farther it is from your device, and ExpressVPN is no different. Its worst download speeds came from Australia, South Africa and Singapore, all of which are very far from our testing location in the United States. However, it performed significantly better on nearby servers, delivering average or faster latencies worldwide.

Lightway is the only protocol available on all devices. iOS users don’t get OpenVPN, while IKEv2 is offered solely on iOS and macOS. This may be a little annoying, but Lightway is open-source and has passed two audits. All of ExpressVPN’s available protocols are secure. The TCP options are more stable, while UDP is often faster.

WireShark is a software that shows what data your computer is sending to the internet. We use it to test whether a VPN’s encryption is working. While we were connected to an ExpressVPN server, our data resembled what is displayed in the window above. This is the result of plaintext being successfully and consistently converted into unreadable ciphertext.

We also used IPLeak.net to test for DNS leaks and WebRTC leaks, a bug that sometimes exposes information through real-time communication methods. After checking several servers, we found them all to be completely airtight.

No, at least according to its no-logs policy. It stores neither activity logs — specific records of what you do online while connected — nor connection logs, which are data that can be pieced together to uncover a record of your activity.

Because ExpressVPN uses RAM-only servers, known as its “TrustedServer technology,” all saved activity is wiped out during each server’s hourly reboots. This provides the basis for ExpressVPN’s claim that it can’t share what it doesn’t have, as stated in its privacy policy.

Further evidence comes from the fact that ExpressVPN may be one of the most audited VPNs — it commissions several voluntary investigations per year on various aspects of its service. Most recently, it passed a KPMG audit in May 2024; you can download the report here.

Yes, ExpressVPN can unblock Netflix. In the unlikely event that you do get the proxy error, just disconnect and reconnect to the server, and you’ll be enjoying foreign content in no time. If the video is too slow, try MediaStreamer, which changes your IP address without encrypting your traffic.

We didn’t test every streaming platform — there are a lot of them these days — but the chart above shows how ExpressVPN did on the six illustrative services we tried. It’s also got servers in 105 countries, so you can use it to explore up to 105 different libraries on each site.

ExpressVPN allows the use of torrenting clients on every server. There are no servers specifically optimized for P2P file sharing, but it works well on all of them. That convenience makes ExpressVPN one of the best VPNs for torrenting. Its upload speeds are also reliably fast, so you shouldn’t have any trouble seeding.

ExpressVPN sometimes works in China, but there’s a specific reason we don’t recommend taking it there. As one of the best-known VPNs, ExpressVPN is a popular tool for evading Chinese censorship, which means the Chinese government often targets it directly.

As hard as ExpressVPN tries to stay ahead of the Great Firewall, we can’t guarantee it will safely get you online in China. Read our ExpressVPN in China guide for more information, or go straight to our best VPN for China guide to get alternative recommendations.

ExpressVPN scores top marks for customer support by having no chatbots whatsoever. It’s refreshing to not have to wade through an automated menu to chat with a real person. It also doesn’t tangibly increase wait times, so you can get a simple answer in minutes or less. For thornier problems, it’s never taken us more than a day to get an email reply.