ExpressVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) provider based in the British Virgin Islands. It has been in operation since 2009 and is widely regarded as one of the best VPN services available. Customers find it useful for a variety of reasons. Its privacy-protecting and anonymizing capabilities are commendable, but the speed claim is the first thing that everyone notices when they visit ExpressVPN’s website. The phrase “the fastest VPN on Earth” is prominently displayed and underlined. Despite the fact that many VPNs make similar claims, we looked into it. whether ExpressVPN is truly the fastest VPN available in our ExpressVPN review.
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ExpressVPN Review
ExpressVPN Servers
ExpressVPN has over 3000 servers spread across 94 countries and 160+ locations. While only a few VPNs provide this many servers, it’s a pretty exclusive club. These servers provide shared static IP addresses and are located in all of the world’s major cities. This improves the already fast connection speeds and ensures that the servers are never overloaded, resulting in fewer connection drops. It also offers Stealth servers for countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates, which employ techniques such as deep packet inspection to identify and block VPN users. Because VPN use is now prohibited in the UAE, having a VPN that hides the fact that you’re using one is essential.
With ExpressVPN, there were no DNS, IPv4, or WebRTC leaks. It keeps you safe at all times, and the DNS, IPv4, and WebRTC results provided insight into how well the VPN protects your privacy and identity.
ExpressVPN for Netflix
Netflix is cracking down on VPN users in an effort to keep its service geo-restricted and prevent foreigners from accessing Netflix USA. It’s understandable that you’d want to unblock Netflix USA because it has the best content. However, ExpressVPN succeeds where most VPNs fail. Through a few servers, it can assist you in unblocking Netflix USA. These servers are all clearly in the United States, but there’s no indication of which one can assist you. This is a smart move because if the information is made public, Netflix will block those servers. Simply ask ExpressVPN’s customer support which servers can help you access Netflix in the United States. For this, you can also use their SmartDNS service (more on this later). Check out ExpressVPN’s Netflix page as well.
ExpressVPN for Kodi
You can watch your favorite movies and TV shows for free using Kodi. Although it is an excellent media player, it cannot guarantee the quality of some of the free streaming links it provides. There’s no way of knowing who’s operating those links, and the operator could be spying on you. As a result, ExpressVPN is also recommended for Kodi. ExpressVPN is easy to set up on Kodi, and you can find instructions on their website.
ExpressVPN for Torrents
These days, torrent websites are an integral part of everyone’s internet experience. They offer a wide range of files and data, including movies, TV shows, games, software, music, and more. It is simple to download torrents using a client, but when you do so without a VPN, your torrent activity is visible to anyone. You can be watched by any malicious user in the pool, and anyone connected to the same public network can see what you’re doing. Furthermore, ISPs can and frequently do throttle the amount of bandwidth available to you when downloading torrents.
Use ExpressVPN to keep yourself hidden from prying eyes and unrestricted torrent downloads. It will keep your torrent activity hidden from the public eye, and its high-speed servers will ensure that your download speed is unaffected. Although not all ExpressVPN servers support P2P, you can always contact customer support for assistance.
ExpressVPN Pricing
If you’re looking for a cheap VPN service, ExpressVPN isn’t for you. With its $12.95 per month package, it’s just not for those on a tight budget. Due to the longer subscription, the annual package offers a significant discount ($6.67/month), and there are occasional discounts, but it remains one of the most expensive VPN services.
However, you can take advantage of their no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee. If ExpressVPN does not meet your expectations and the service falls short in some areas, you can request a full refund within a month. While most VPNs provide a seven-day money-back guarantee, ExpressVPN provides a 30-day guarantee. How’s that for self-assurance?
A free trial is not available to desktop users. For iOS and Android users, a 7-day free trial and a one-day free trial are available, respectively. Although one day is insufficient to test the service, it complies with Google Play guidelines, so there isn’t much that can be done. Credit cards, Bitcoin, Paypal and a variety of 3rd-party merchants are all accepted as payment methods.
Speed of ExpressVPN
Because of the encryption overhead that VPNs add to your connection, they tend to slow down your browsing speed a little. What distinguishes the best from the rest, however, is the degree to which the speed is reduced. The best VPNs ensure that the speed loss is minimal, and the best VPNs ensure that the loss is unnoticeable. Because ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs, it’s no surprise that there’s no noticeable slowdown in connection speed. The speed of a VPN can be estimated by testing it on different servers at different times, and ExpressVPN delivered promising results.
Among all VPNs, it has one of the fastest download speeds. When you use ExpressVPN, you can stream videos in 1080p resolution and play online multiplayer games without any issues. When downloading torrents or regular files, you’ll notice that connection speeds are comparable to what you’d get if you weren’t using a VPN. In some cases, depending on the server you choose, you may even find that the speeds are better. The only issue you may encounter is a connection drop every few days or so.
Encryption and Protocols
Although there are many reasons to use a VPN service, privacy and encryption should be at the top of everyone’s list. From within the client, ExpressVPN gives you as many options as you want. PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, and SSTP are all options. The encryption is AES 256-bit, and the authentication is SHA-512, which is quite impressive. Both of these services provide a service that keeps all intruders out and ensures that your online activity is solely yours. It also allows you to send sensitive data over the internet without fear of it being intercepted by a man-in-the-middle attack.
Compatibility and clients
ExpressVPN has apps for Android, iOS, and Amazon Fire TV Stick, as well as dedicated clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux. ExpressVPN can also be set up on your Smart TV, Roku, gaming console, Chromebook, and routers using the website’s setup guides. You can also purchase a pre-configured router to protect your entire home network with ExpressVPN.
The best part is that your router will only be counted as one device, and you will be able to extend that protection to as many devices as you want to connect to that router. Before you set up ExpressVPN on your router, make sure they’re compatible. If this isn’t the case, but you still want a VPN on your router, go with their pre-configured routers.
The VPN clients are the most user-friendly and feature-rich you’ll come across. For security reasons, you cannot change the encryption type from within the VPN, but you can freely change VPN protocols and servers. By default, it is set to OpenVPN over UDP, which is a good choice. The client will select the best server for you based on your location and usage, but you can override this and make your own selection. You must enter an activation code for any device you choose to connect when setting up for the first time. This allows you to connect to the VPN as soon as the client is launched.
The user interface is appealing, and you can use all of the features, such as ‘Network Lock,’ which functions similarly to an auto-kill switch. Network lock guards against DNS and IP leaks, as well as keeping you safe in the event of a connection drop. This is especially useful when using a VPN to download anything, especially torrent files.
Downloading torrents without a VPN is not recommended because your torrent activity can be seen by anyone in the pool, resulting in legal action and bandwidth throttling from your ISP. Because ExpressVPN supports P2P, you can use ExpressVPN to download torrents and be confident that your system is secure thanks to Network Lock.
The Mac client is unique in that it also includes the Split Tunneling feature, which allows you to choose which apps’ traffic is routed through the VPN servers. Always double-check that you understand what you’re doing before proceeding. You’ll end up putting a hole in your own defense if you don’t. ExpressVPN can be used on up to five devices at the same time. Previously, each device could only be used once. However, ExpressVPN has changed this feature and now allows you to select the devices that best suit your needs.
It can be used on two laptops and one phone, or any other combination. The only issue you may encounter is that you must manually disconnect one of the five devices connected to the connection before connecting the sixth. Simply turning off the device isn’t going to help you. It’s a minor annoyance, but ExpressVPN should be able to handle it.
Logging Policy for ExpressVPN
A VPN that shields you from prying eyes but keeps track of everything you do is riskier and more damaging than surfing the web without one. This is why it’s critical to use a VPN with a no-logs policy. This is where ExpressVPN comes in. Furthermore, because it is based in the British Virgin Islands, it is not subject to legal pressure from the NSA, GCHQ, or other government agencies to reveal user logs. Any VPN you use should have a no-logs policy and no data retention laws to worry about.
ExpressVPN keeps only track of connection timestamps, the server you are connected to, and the bandwidth that was used during the connection. Your IP address is not saved, and it is never shared with anyone. There is a workaround for this, despite the fact that some people find it inconvenient. If you pay with Bitcoin and subscribe to ExpressVPN using their newly established.onion extension, a Tor proxy, or someone else’s system, ExpressVPN will have no way of knowing who you are.
Customer support
ExpressVPN provides live chat, email, and a ticket system for customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All three systems work flawlessly. You won’t have to wait more than a minute to hear from a customer service representative via live chat, and the responses are not only courteous but also informative and helpful. Their email and ticketing systems are likely to be the same. The knowledge base is sufficient to answer the majority of common questions. ExpressVPN’s customer service is, without a doubt, the best we’ve seen so far.
ExpressVPN has a lot of extra features.
Stealth Servers
To assist people in China, ExpressVPN has dedicated stealth servers. The country has strict censorship laws in place, and while people have been using VPNs for years to gain some online freedom, the government is making things more difficult. They are now pursuing VPN users and enforcing harsh legal penalties against them. To identify VPN traffic and locate VPN users, the Chinese government employs techniques such as deep packet inspection. You do, however, have a way out with ExpressVPN. To get around the Chinese government’s internet censorship, it has dedicated servers in Hong Kong. There isn’t a lot of information about how these servers work and how they help you stay hidden, but the only thing that matters is that they do help you avoid government censorship if you live in or travel to the Chinese mainland.
Smart DNS
While VPNs can help you access geo-restricted content, there is another option, particularly for streaming services. Geo-restricted streaming services can be unblocked using SmartDNS services. While they function similarly to VPNs, there are a few distinctions. SmartDNS, for starters, modifies your DNS settings and ensures that DNS requests for geo-restricted services are routed through their dedicated servers. This allows you to bypass geo-restrictions. Because there is no encryption involved, you get much faster speeds than you would with a VPN, though you should be aware that this comes at the cost of not having the security that VPNs provide.
ExpressVPN has a simple SmartDNS service that can help you unblock popular streaming services like Netflix USA and BBC iPlayer. It’s fairly simple to set it up, and you can do so by visiting the website.
Browser extensions
Users of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox can use ExpressVPN’s browser extensions. It differs from other VPN browser extensions in that it is useless without the VPN client installed on the computer. The browser extension gives you more control over the VPN client on your system.
Final thoughts On ExpressVPN Review
There is no better VPN service than ExpressVPN if you want to get everything you want out of your VPN. It has over 3000 servers spread out across 160 cities in 94 countries. These servers offer some of the fastest connection speeds available. Although we aren’t sure if it is the fastest VPN on the planet as the website claims, it isn’t far off the mark. When it comes to privacy and security, ExpressVPN has you covered because it uses OpenVPN over UDP by default in its clients and employs strong encryption and authentication algorithms. ExpressVPN is one of the best-rated VPNs, with 5 simultaneous connections, a great Smart DNS service to unblock geo-restricted content, P2P support, features like Network Lock and Stealth Servers, and arguably the best customer support service in the industry. The only drawback is that it is somewhat costly. However, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 7-day free trial for iOS users, you’ll have plenty of time to give the service a thorough test drive.
