ExpressVPN leads the pack and keeps improving its capabilities every time we review it. It's also one of the most expensive VPNs you'll find.

Editors’ note: This review is maintained for archival purposes. Check out CNET’s latest review of ExpressVPN.

Two things come to mind when I think of ExpressVPN: First, it’s a juggernaut and the VPN industry standard-bearer, especially when it comes to privacy and transparency — it’s one of two VPNs to earn a 10/10 for privacy, alongside Mullvad. Second, ExpressVPN is expensive. The price of the service nearly eclipsed its feature advancements in late 2024, but the company introduced a newly overhauled price structure in September 2025, just in time for this review. Based on my extensive testing and experience, Express holds its position at the top of the VPN pile, but it’s still the most expensive choice.

I ran ExpressVPN through a rigorous battery of tests over the course of several weeks in January 2025, retested its speed performance in March and ran additional streaming, app performance and DNS leak tests in August and September. In addition to testing ExpressVPN’s apps across a variety of devices and operating systems throughout the year, I closely examined the company’s privacy policies, corporate structure, third-party audits and security innovations. I also ran over 300 individual speed tests, checked for leaks, evaluated its streaming capabilities across various platforms and streaming services and assessed its overall value. Throughout the process, I maintained close communication with the ExpressVPN team via email and video conference.

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