ExpressVPN review 2026: pricing tiers, Lightway protocol, TrustedServer tech, audited no-logs policy, 214 server locations, and how it compares to NordVPN and…
ExpressVPN is a virtual private network service, founded in 2009 by Peter Burchhardt and Dan Pomerantz, that encrypts a device's internet traffic and routes it through a remote server to hide the user's real IP address and location. The company is incorporated in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction without mandatory data-retention requirements, which underpins its no-logs privacy claims.
Since September 2021, ExpressVPN has operated as a subsidiary of Kape Technologies plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed digital security company that acquired it for approximately 936 million dollars, at the time the largest deal in VPN industry history. ExpressVPN continues to run as an independently branded product alongside sister Kape brands CyberGhost, ZenMate, and Private Internet Access.
The service is built around two proprietary technologies: Lightway, an open-source VPN protocol written primarily in Rust and independently audited by Cure53 and Praetorian, and TrustedServer, a RAM-only diskless server architecture that wipes all data on every reboot and has been audited by PwC and KPMG. As of mid-2026, ExpressVPN operates 214 app-selectable server locations across 113 countries.
Beyond the core VPN tunnel, the apps include a kill switch called Network Lock, split tunneling, broad platform coverage across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, support for popular consumer routers, and a dedicated hardware router called Aircove. Higher-tier plans add a password manager (Keys), ad and tracker blocking, identity monitoring, and a dedicated IP address.
ExpressVPN sells three tiered subscription plans: Basic, Advanced, and Pro, each available on monthly, annual, or two-year billing cycles, with the lowest effective price on the two-year Basic plan at 3.49 dollars per month. Advanced adds a password manager, more aggressive tracking protection, and identity monitoring, while Pro adds a dedicated IP address, identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and a data removal service, alongside higher simultaneous device limits at each tier (10, 12, and 14 devices respectively).
All direct purchases are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee for first-time customers, and a 3-day free trial is available on iOS and Android through the relevant app store. Purchases made through Apple's App Store or Google Play are instead governed by those platforms' own refund policies rather than ExpressVPN's guarantee.
ExpressVPN states it does not log browsing activity, connection timestamps, or traffic data. This no-logs claim has been reviewed multiple times by outside auditors, most recently by KPMG in 2025, which reported no exceptions in its review of the TrustedServer system and privacy policy.
ExpressVPN offers three tiers. Basic starts at 3.49 dollars per month on a two-year plan (or 12.99 dollars per month billed monthly), Advanced starts around 5.99 dollars per month annually, and Pro starts around 7.49 dollars per month annually, with higher monthly-billed rates for each tier.
Yes, ExpressVPN is commonly used to access geographically restricted streaming libraries and is regularly tested by reviewers against major platforms, though which specific libraries unblock can change over time as streaming services update their detection methods.
ExpressVPN offers a 3-day free trial on iOS and Android through the app store, requiring a linked payment method. On other platforms, new customers can instead rely on the 30-day money-back guarantee for a full refund if purchased directly from ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN has been owned by Kape Technologies plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed digital security company, since it acquired ExpressVPN in September 2021 for approximately 936 million dollars. Kape also owns the VPN brands CyberGhost, ZenMate, and Private Internet Access.
Lightway is ExpressVPN's own VPN protocol, built primarily in Rust and open-sourced so outside researchers can review the code. It is designed to be lightweight and fast, and has been independently audited by Cure53 and Praetorian, which the company presents as evidence of its security.