ExpressVPN review | Macworld

In our time appraising VPNs this year, we’ve found that ExpressVPN is also held up in the community. As one of the biggest names in the game, alongside NordVPN, we were always going to review it, but could it really be that much more impressive than so many of its rivals to earn such a glowing reputation?

As it happens, the answer is yes. While ExpressVPN isn’t without its quirks, as so many VPNs are, it’s remarkably easy to use, stripped bare of additional features on the Mac to be boiled down into the simplest way to connect to servers in over a hundred countries.

To roll it back, though, why would you want a Virtual Private Network? Reasons to use a VPN are threefold at the basest level. For one, you can circumnavigate geoblocking, letting you watch whatever’s on Netflix in the UK while you remain comfy on your sofa in California, for example.

It’s also a great way to protect your data while browsing the web from a network that’s public or unfamiliar. Heading to the coffee shop? A VPN can encrypt your connection to minimize the risk of prying eyes.

Finally, even when you’re browsing at home, they can minimize the chances of your internet provider or just about anyone else seeing what you’re doing. What I love about ExpressVPN is you can do just about all of this with two or three clicks at most.

It even does well to mitigate some of the speed lost from pinging your data off to distant lands, dropping less than 13% of download speed in our testing. Combine that with a relatively decent price for a one-year membership and you’ve got an ideal first stop for VPN newcomers.

ExpressVPN features in our round-up of the Best VPNs for Mac. It’s also included in our Best VPN for iPhone and Best VPNs for iPad articles.

Features & Apps

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As you’d expect from a household name, ExpressVPN has native apps on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, Android, Windows, and just about anything else.

If you’ve got a smart device, there’s a good chance ExpressVPN can run on it, and that’s handled through an account-specific Activation Code that’s easy to set up. You can use it on eight devices at once, which is a step up from the five that it used to offer – although disappointingly you won’t be able to get unlimited devices like something like Surfshark.

It’s worth noting that, outside of encrypting your connection to minimize the presence of “bad actors”, there’s no Malware protection on offer here, although you can install a password manager called ExpressVPN Keys. Both ExpressVPN and its password manager have browser plugin support, too, so you can use either from within your browser of choice.

Outside of that, though, ExpressVPN is refreshingly simple. There are no subscription tiers, no convoluted add-ons, and you can open the app or use the menu bar item on a Mac to get browsing safely and securely in seconds.

With that said, if you do want that sort of safety net for malware, something like NordVPN might be worth a look instead. Or take a look at our round-up of the Best Antivirus for Mac.

Opening up ExpressVPN is much faster than some competitors we’ve tested, with a slick animation when you hit the “on” button to connect to your chosen server.

It’ll add a series of shortcuts to apps and sites you use often, too, letting you quickly hop to them when you’re connected, and there are Advanced Protection features, too – more on those in a moment.

I’ve also had great experiences with the 24-hour live chat. Within minutes I can be connected to a real human (no chatbots, hooray!) and able to discuss any issues.

Performance

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To set expectations – NordVPN remains faster than ExpressVPN. Its loss of around 12% of download speed is pretty hard to beat, but 13% on ExpressVPN’s part is still better than many. VPNs will always experience some speed loss simply because you are routing your traffic to a server in another country.

ExpressVPN offers no fewer than six different choices for protocol (including the automatic option). Lightway, the company’s own option, is rapid. That’s going to net you the best speeds, but for compatibility, you can switch to another version of Lightway or OpenVPN – although we lost 24% of speed using the latter.

It’s worth noting that Advanced Protection features will disable OpenVPN and IKEv2. The tradeoff is that these features can block trackers, malicious sites, ads, and adult sites. That’s great for families using Express for all of their browsing activity, adding additional peace of mind.

In my testing, I’ve not found much that Lightway couldn’t handle, too, so it may end up being much simpler to just leave the automatic setting on.

You can also run speedtests within the app on multiple server locations to get an idea of what to expect when connecting, and that’s handy for countries with multiple server locations.

Privacy & Security

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Circumnavigating geoblocks is great and all, but it means little if your VPN doesn’t offer some degree of privacy.

The company is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, meaning it’s free from the majority of intelligence-sharing agencies’ jurisdiction, while it also operates a no-log policy. It doesn’t have anything like the PureVPN “always-on” audit process, but it undergoes regular audits each year.

There’s a sizeable section of the ExpressVPN site with a focus on security, transparency, audits, and more, too, called the Trust Centre. The company also operates a “bug bounty” program to reward anyone capable of finding vulnerabilities in its apps, servers, website or anything else.

It’s worth noting, however, that using something like the IP address checker or DNS leak test within the app takes you to a separate webpage, which is a shame – but maybe that’s the price you pay for a faster native macOS experience.

Pricing and plans

ExpressVPN’s pricing is a little of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s more expensive than many of its contemporaries and doesn’t allow access from unlimited devices as some do.

On the other hand, you get a solid, speedy connection with minimal fuss and optional extras, and you don’t have to tie-in for a two-year deal to get the best value. That latter point is important because VPN legislation can change regularly depending on which way the wind is blowing, although at least you tend to get prices locked in for the duration of your plan.

Still, the 12-month option here is likely to suffice for many, although it’ll cost more than comparable alternatives.

Verdict

ExpressVPN is an easy-to-use, fast VPN service with plenty of protection from prying eyes and dodgy coffee shop Wi-Fi, as well as near-limitless potential for enjoying streaming services in any of its server locations across 105 countries.

Even with the fairly steep pricing, it’s very easy to recommend for its no-nonsense approach to a VPN.