ExpressVPN Review: Is It The Best VPN?

Last updated on September 23rd, 2021

We’ve tried a couple of VPNs recently – and with the recent concern about network security and Internet privacy, a lot of users are starting to look for good VPN service providers.

While looking for the best VPNs available, you must have heard about ExpressVPN. A lot of journalists and bloggers recommend using their services.

So, we thought to give it a try…

Is it really one of the best VPNs out there? Or Is it just a marketing gimmick?

So, in this article, we will give you an idea of how good/bad it is to decide whether you should get a subscription for yourself or not.

Security Check – ExpressVPN

ip leak test

We are well-aware that the speed and ping generally gets affected when we connect to a VPN. So, our primary concern should be about the security and privacy instead.

To know if the VPN is secure enough, we will have to check if it masks the IP address properly. In addition, if there’s a DNS leak, we shall run a test on it too.

Fret not, if you are not aware of what I’m talking about, let me brief you:

IP Address protection:

When you connect to a VPN, it should hide your original IP address (IPv4 and IPv6). The VPN should utilize a different IP to protect your original IP details and the location associated with it. We have a few online tools to test this.

In case you don’t know what an IP is – the Wikipedia page on IP Address will help.

DNS Leak:

Just like a telephone directory, the DNS server contains a log of your browsing activities. If you are using one of the best DNS servers available – you may not need to worry about it.

But, if you haven’t configured a DNS server manually, you are using the default ISP’s DNS server – which is totally bad. So, while connecting through ExpressVPN, its own DNS server is being utilized and we have to check whether it exposes any of our information or not. And, there’s a tool to check this as well.

Now, we shall check if ExpressVPN is secure enough…

You May Also Like – How to protect your Digital Privacy in India?

IP Address Leak Test

ip address leak test

For the IP address leak, I utilized IPleak.net – an online tool to check the details of your IP address when connected to website/torrent.

As you can see in the image above, my original IP address remains hidden along with the location.

So, yes, that’s a good thing.

You can also check your IP address using ExpressVPN’s IP Address checker tool. To avoid being biased, we tested it through a 3rd party tool – so that it would be fair.

DNS Leak Test

The same tool that we used above also gives us the details about the DNS address leak – and that checks out well too. Here’s the screenshot for that:

DNS leak test

Torrent Address Detection

torrent address detection

You must be downloading stuff using Torrent sites online. Here, we aren’t talking about illegal downloads – but only the files that you have permission to download/re-distribute.

In either case, you will have to be sure whether the VPN works well to hide your IP address when you click on a magnet link.

So, we tested that as well and got a green flag!

Speed Test

Speed is yet another important factor when considering the VPN of your choice.

However, do note, that while using a VPN, the server location you choose will affect the speed and ping that you will get.

Also, keep in mind that you will always have a negative impact on your speed (even if it’s by a tiny fraction) – no matter which VPN you use.

So, here, we shall take a look at how fast ExpressVPN performs and maintains our original network speed.

Note: For the test, we utilized Speedtest.net.

With VPN connected (nearest server location)

speedtest

The server location utilized above is “India – Chennai” as automatically selected by the smart location feature in ExpressVPN, which connects you to the fastest server available for your location.

You can also check out the above Speedtest webpage to verify our result.

Without VPN:

speedtest

Of course, without the VPN, the Speedtest result will differ. However, we don’t see a significant difference.

So, that’s something good about it.

Cross-platform Availability

expressvpn

ExpressVPN is available for almost every platform. However, do note, that you will be able to utilize 3 simultaneous connections only – even if you log in to multiple devices.

Features

The key features of ExpressVPN would be VPN split tunneling, zero-knowledge DNS, and anonymous browsing.

In addition to these, secure encryption, availability of more sever locations, and zero activity logs are some of the basic features.

You can check out their official webpage for the complete list of features.

Customer Care Support

A lot of people really ignore the fact that a good customer support can have a major impact on the service offered. That holds true for VPN services as well.

I’ve been using ExpressVPN for more than a week. I tried it on my Linux system, iOS device, and on a Windows-powered system as well.

Although I did have issues on Linux (while using the ExpressVPN app) – but the customer support executives were able to quickly offer multiple potential solutions to resolve the problem. In case you were wondering, you can start a live chat session on their official website.

The response time was pretty quick and the suggested solutions did resolve my issue as well.

So, if you face a technical issue, help is just a click away. I’ve tried it and I was very much satisfied with it.

Pricing Plans

expressvpn

Yes, it is not the cheapest VPN out there. But, the pricing seems pretty reasonable considering the quality of service it offers.

In addition, you get a 30-day money back guarantee. So, you can just initiate a refund if you don’t like their service, as simple as that!

And, if you want an ExpressVPN subscription without spending a penny, check back for the ExpressVPN giveaway contest (it’s live) coming right up in the next few days on our blog exclusively for our readers!

Wrapping Up

Is ExpressVPN the best VPN we’ve ever used? Yes, and no.

For you, that would depend on your preference (budget, server locations available, features offered, and so on.)

But, if you want to decide whether to choose ExpressVPN as your preferred VPN service provider, I would definitely recommend it.

Which VPN are you using? Will ExpressVPN be your choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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