This ExpressVPN Review is an update to our original guide that was published approximately one year ago. We’re revisiting this ExpressVPN review due to their newly added features, upgraded server fleet, and updated geo-blocking circumvention technology.
ExpressVPN is widely considered the best of the best when it comes to premium VPN services. Yes, it’s slightly more expensive than most other VPNs, but its faithful user base will tell you that you absolutely get what you pay for.
In this review, I will be testing the service using the most popular streaming device on the market: the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. I will also cover the important features offered on both Windows and Mac desktop systems, since most cord-cutters secure those devices as well. Keep in mind that ExpressVPN offers custom-built applications for all popular devices such as Fire TV, Android TV, Windows, Mac, Linux, custom routers, iOS, Android phones, and tablets.
You can find our step-by-step installation guide for Amazon and Android devices via the link below.
ExpressVPN Tutorial for Firestick & Android TV
ExpressVPN Review & Core Features
This comprehensive ExpressVPN review covers the platform’s most vital security features, streaming capabilities, and areas where it falls short.
You may find additional technical specifications by exploring the official website via the link below.
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160 ExpressVPN Server Locations
ExpressVPN offers over 160 VPN server locations spanning 94 countries.
No matter where you are physically located in the world, you will be able to connect to a nearby, high-speed VPN server to minimize latency.
ExpressVPN also utilizes Virtual Server Locations to ensure a fast, secure, and reliable connection even in countries with poor physical infrastructure.
When you connect to a virtual location, your traffic will appear to come from an IP address registered in the target country, while physically being routed through a secure server in a nearby country with a superior network connection.
The existence of virtual servers is a primary reason why ExpressVPN remains one of the fastest VPNs available today. I put this to the test and consistently noticed faster speeds (compared to rival VPNs) when connecting to servers outside of the United States.
Why connect to an international server? Most streamers do this to circumvent geo-blocks implemented by platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or Prime Video. ExpressVPN is one of the few services that consistently unblocks these streaming giants, effectively doubling or tripling your available streaming catalogs with the click of a button.
Smart Location
ExpressVPN makes it incredibly simple to secure your connection by providing the Smart Location feature.
Smart Location automatically analyzes metrics like download speed, latency, and distance to recommend the optimal server for your current network. This is almost always going to be the server physically closest to your actual location.
While you can manually search and connect to any international server you prefer, most users will rely on the Smart Location setting for daily browsing and streaming.
ExpressVPN Kill Switch (Network Lock)
ExpressVPN is one of the very few services that provide a fully functional native kill switch on Fire TV and Android TV operating systems. For many developers, integrating a system-level kill switch on streaming sticks is difficult, but ExpressVPN has engineered a flawless solution.
If your ExpressVPN connection ever drops unexpectedly, Network Lock will immediately sever your internet connection, stopping unencrypted traffic from leaking to your ISP.
If you’ve been a TROYPOINT reader for any length of time, you know my stance on kill switches: What good is a VPN if there’s no kill switch to protect you during a disconnect?
The Network Lock Kill Switch is included across their Fire TV, Android TV, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and router applications.
Split Tunneling
Split tunneling allows you to selectively deactivate the VPN connection for specific applications that might not play well with proxies or require local network access.
This is highly popular among Firestick and Google TV users. For example, if a specific local news app blocks VPN traffic, split tunneling allows you to bypass the VPN tunnel solely for that application. This means you don’t have to turn the VPN completely off just to use one app.
Split tunneling works in two different ways within the ExpressVPN dashboard:
- Standard Split Tunneling: Protect all connected applications except for those specifically excluded.
- Inverse Split Tunneling: Protect only selected applications. Everything else flows outside the VPN tunnel.
Thankfully, both Prime Video and Netflix work flawlessly with ExpressVPN active when connected through a United States server, so you won’t need to bypass those.
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New ExpressVPN Threat Manager
Threat Manager is a powerful DNS-level blocking feature that was implemented since our last review of ExpressVPN.
Threat Manager prevents all apps and websites on your device from communicating with third-party domains known to track activity, harvest demographic data, or engage in malicious behavior. This gives you absolute control over your online privacy.
It works by preventing any part of your device from pinging servers listed on ExpressVPN’s frequently updated “blocklist” of trackers and malware sites.
Best In-Class Encryption & Protocols
Besides masking your IP address, ExpressVPN encrypts your traffic between their secure servers and your hardware. This ensures your data cannot be intercepted or read by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), network administrators, or hackers on public Wi-Fi.
ExpressVPN uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 256-bit keys—widely known as AES-256. This is the exact same encryption standard adopted by the U.S. government and military to protect highly classified information.
On Fire TV and Google TV systems, you will find the following protocol options:
- Automatic: ExpressVPN automatically selects the protocol most appropriate for your current network conditions.
- Lightway – UDP: ExpressVPN’s proprietary next-generation protocol, highly optimized for speed and streaming reliability.
- Lightway – TCP: May be slightly slower than UDP but connects much more reliably on strict or heavily throttled networks.
- OpenVPN – UDP: The traditional industry standard; a great combination of speed and security.
- OpenVPN – TCP: Highly resilient on restrictive networks, but typically slower than UDP variants.
The Lightway VPN Protocol was developed entirely in-house by ExpressVPN and is touted as the fastest protocol in their arsenal. However, speeds always depend on your unique network environment. Personally, I achieve the fastest speeds on my devices when connecting via Lightway – TCP, so I highly recommend running your own speed tests with each protocol.
Here is what ExpressVPN has to say regarding their proprietary Lightway protocol:
“Built from the ground up by ExpressVPN, Lightway is created for the modern world, forgoing features that are no longer needed from a VPN and implementing those that provide a smooth, secure experience. Establishing a VPN connection might take only a fraction of a second, depending on your network. Lightway does the minimum needed to get you connected quickly and securely, so you might even notice less battery usage on mobile devices. We’ve published the source code of Lightway on GitHub under an open-source license, ensuring total transparency.”
Note: If you have enabled the Threat Manager feature, you will only be able to use the Lightway protocol, as the older OpenVPN protocols do not support the DNS blocking layer.
One notable omission is the lack of WireGuard support. ExpressVPN has stated they are avoiding WireGuard because traditional implementations require statically allocating a single IP address to a user, which compromises anonymity. ExpressVPN prefers dynamic IP allocation to protect user privacy.
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TrustedServer Technology
ExpressVPN promotes its TrustedServer Technology as a key infrastructure innovation not found in many competing budget VPNs.
ExpressVPN regularly undergoes independent third-party audits (by firms like PwC and Cure53) to verify that these TrustedServers are functioning exactly as advertised.
Key TrustedServer features include:
- 100% RAM-only servers. All data is completely wiped with every reboot.
- Servers never write to a physical hard drive, eliminating data seizure risks.
- The entire software stack and OS are reinstalled on every server at startup.
- Guaranteed cryptographic consistency across the entire global network.
Because RAM requires continuous power to store data, all information on an ExpressVPN server is physically wiped every time it is powered off. Even if a government agency physically seized a server rack, there would be zero data to extract.
Private DNS on Every Server
ExpressVPN runs its own private, zero-knowledge encrypted DNS on every single VPN server.
The benefits of private DNS include:
- No activity logs and no connection logs
- Immunity to ISP DNS blocking, filtering, or hijacking
- Significantly faster DNS query resolution (less buffering)
- End-to-end 256-bit encryption
Many lower-tier VPNs force you to rely on your ISP’s DNS, which leaves a breadcrumb trail of your web traffic. With ExpressVPN, your DNS requests are handled internally, completely protecting you from third-party exposure.
No Activity or Connection Logs
ExpressVPN’s privacy policy is incredibly strict. According to their official documentation:
ExpressVPN does NOT and WILL NEVER log:
- IP addresses (source or VPN assigned)
- Browsing history or website traffic
- Traffic destination or metadata
- DNS queries
Here is the minimal diagnostic data ExpressVPN collects and why:
- Apps and app versions successfully activated
- Dates (not times) when connected to the VPN service
- Choice of VPN server location
- Total amount (in MB) of data transferred per day
According to ExpressVPN, none of this diagnostic data can be used to match an individual to specific network activity. They collect this purely to troubleshoot app crashes, optimize network loads, and provide technical support.
Based in the British Virgin Islands
Crucially, ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The BVI has no data retention laws and falls entirely outside of the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances.
Additional Privacy Tools
ExpressVPN offers its customers several handy web tools to verify their security.
IP Address Checker
A quick diagnostic tool to verify that your true IP address is actively being masked by the proxy server.
DNS Leak Tester
Many budget VPNs suffer from “DNS leaks,” where the VPN tunnel protects web traffic but accidentally routes DNS queries through the unencrypted ISP. This tool verifies your DNS tunnel is completely sealed.
WebRTC Leak Tester
WebRTC uses advanced techniques within your browser to discover your true IP address, bypassing standard VPN proxies. This tester ensures your browser isn’t leaking data through the Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) protocol.
Password Generator
A built-in utility to generate highly secure, randomized cryptographic passwords for your streaming and financial accounts.
Browser Extensions
ExpressVPN provides lightweight browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
These extensions allow you to spoof your HTML5 geolocation and control the desktop VPN application directly from your browser toolbar. If you encounter a website that blocks VPN traffic, you can instantly pause the connection without opening the main desktop app.
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Supported ExpressVPN Applications
ExpressVPN provides native, highly optimized applications for the following systems:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android & Android TV
- iOS (iPhone & iPad)
- Chromebook (Chrome OS)
- Fire TV & Fire Tablet
- Custom Network Routers
ExpressVPN Download Speeds
Because your traffic is being encrypted and routed through an external server, all VPNs reduce your baseline internet speed. Therefore, raw download speed is one of the most critical metrics for cord-cutters.
I tested the download speeds on my Fire TV Stick 4K Max and my Windows 10 PC using a 1 Gigabit Fiber connection. I connected using the Lightway – TCP protocol and ran the wireless tests on the 5GHz band of my Asus ROG Rapture WiFi 6 Router.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max Download Speeds
Wireless Connection:
- Download: 123 Mbps
- Upload: 88 Mbps
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Windows 10 PC Download Speeds
Ethernet Connection:
- Download: 604 Mbps
- Upload: 113 Mbps
Wireless Connection:
- Download: 264 Mbps
- Upload: 109 Mbps
VPN Speed Test on Windows & Mac Software
ExpressVPN features an incredibly useful Speed Test tool built directly into the Windows and Mac desktop applications!
You must be disconnected from the VPN to run the tool. It actively pings the global server fleet and lists the available servers ranked by Latency and Download Speed. You can also filter the results by region.
While the Smart Location feature automatically picks the fastest local server, this tool is invaluable if you need to connect internationally and want to find the fastest overseas node.
New Geo-Block Circumvention Technology
Many users rely on VPNs to bypass geo-blocked streaming content. For example, a user in the United States might connect to a UK server to access the British Netflix catalog.
Streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video aggressively block VPN IP addresses. During my last review, ExpressVPN struggled with the Netflix proxy error. However, their updated circumvention technology has completely resolved this issue.
I connected to a UK server and was immediately able to stream episodes of The Office that are locked out of the US catalog.
Here are just a few of the major streaming services ExpressVPN successfully unblocks:
Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, Disney+, FuboTV, ITV, DAZN, HotStar, SKY, Showtime, Apple TV+, Spotify, Sling TV, Discovery+, beIN Sports, DirecTV Stream, Philo, Pluto TV, Crackle, BritBox, Crunchyroll, STARZ, and Tubi.
ExpressVPN is Real-Debrid Friendly
Thousands of TROYPOINT subscribers use Real-Debrid to access premium, buffer-free cached torrent streams inside third-party apps.
Real-Debrid employs strict IP blocking against unsupported VPNs. Thankfully, ExpressVPN is officially listed as a Cooperative VPN Provider, meaning it works flawlessly with Real-Debrid servers.
No Socks5 Proxy Support
ExpressVPN does not provide SOCKS5 Proxy support. SOCKS5 is a protocol often used by advanced users to add a layer of IP masking directly within a BitTorrent client without the encryption overhead of a full VPN.
Here is ExpressVPN’s official stance on SOCKS5:
“ExpressVPN does not offer a SOCKS5 proxy on its servers or applications; in fact, it does not make a lot of sense to do so. While both SOCKS5 and a VPN can give you a different IP address to conceal your location and hide your identity, only a VPN offers online security by encrypting your data. Your ExpressVPN app routes all traffic from your device through its secure, encrypted tunnel, offering far superior protection to SOCKS5.”
5 Devices Per Account Limit
ExpressVPN currently caps customers at 5 simultaneous device connections.
While you can install the application on as many devices as you own, only 5 can actively be routed through the VPN tunnel at the exact same time.
Given the sheer number of internet-connected smart TVs, phones, and computers in a modern household, this is a notable drawback. Competitors like Surfshark and IPVanish offer unlimited connections.
ExpressVPN Aircove Router
The best workaround for the 5-device limit is to utilize the ExpressVPN Aircove Router.
The Aircove is a custom-built Wi-Fi 6 router with ExpressVPN’s software baked directly into the hardware. When you use the Aircove, the router itself counts as just one of your five allotted connections, yet it actively protects dozens of devices (smart TVs, game consoles, IoT devices) connected to your home network.
VPN Router Firmware
If you don’t want to buy the Aircove hardware, ExpressVPN has engineered custom router firmware that can be flashed directly onto compatible third-party Asus, Linksys, and Netgear routers.
By flashing your router, you can secure your entire network and easily protect devices that don’t support native VPN apps (like Roku or Apple TV).
ExpressVPN Pricing
As of this review, new customers who select the 12-Month Plan ($99.95) will receive 3 additional months completely free.
This means you are billed $99.95 for your first 15 months of service. After that promotional period, the subscription renews at $99.95 every 12 months. They also offer a 1-Month option at $12.95 and a 6-Month option for $9.99 per month.
ExpressVPN includes a no-risk, 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
Yes, ExpressVPN costs more than budget competitors, but their flawless infrastructure, speed, and privacy features justify the premium price tag.
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What I Like
- New: Threat Manager DNS tracking blocker
- New: Flawlessly unblocks Netflix & major international streaming services
- New: Aircove Wi-Fi 6 Router integration
- Blazing fast WireGuard/Lightway download speeds
- Highly secure TrustedServer RAM-only Technology
- Native applications for Firestick, Android TV, Windows, Mac, and iOS
- Exceptionally clean, user-friendly app interface
- 100% Real-Debrid compatible
- Custom ExpressVPN router firmware available
- No annoying CAPTCHA prompts while browsing
- Strict zero-logs policy based in the British Virgin Islands
What I Dislike
- Strict 5-device simultaneous connection limit
- No SOCKS5 proxy support for torrenting
- Higher monthly price point than the competition
ExpressVPN Review Final Thoughts
There is absolutely no doubt that ExpressVPN sits at the top of the industry if you’re looking for a highly secure, blisteringly fast, and incredibly reliable VPN service.
It is refreshing to see a premium VPN company continuously innovate. The recent additions of the Threat Manager ad-blocker, the dedicated Aircove router, and their resilient geo-block circumvention technology prove they are actively investing in their infrastructure.
If you’ve suffered from buffering or slow download speeds on budget VPNs in the past, I strongly suggest trying ExpressVPN. It is uniquely positioned as the ultimate tool for unlocking international streaming catalogs without sacrificing 4K playback quality.
Keep in mind that ExpressVPN offers a true no-risk 30-day money-back guarantee. If it doesn’t perform to your expectations, you can request a hassle-free refund through their 24/7 live chat.
For our overall ExpressVPN Review, TROYPOINT has upgraded our rating for this premium service from 4.5/5 stars to 4.7/5 stars.
Attention Firestick and Android TV Users! Get our free step-by-step ExpressVPN Setup Tutorial via the link below.
ExpressVPN Tutorial for Firestick & Android TV
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