We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
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vpnMentor was established in 2014 as an independent site reviewing VPN services and covering privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
Advertising Disclosure

vpnMentor was established in 2014 as an independent site reviewing VPN services and covering privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

ExpressVPN Speed Test - Is This the Fastest VPN of 2024?

Kate Veale Updated on 4th December 2023 Senior Editor

ExpressVPN calls itself the “fastest” VPN around. We put its claims to the test so you don’t have to.

ExpressVPN makes this bold claim multiple times on its website, but does it live up to the hype?

We tested for connection speed and performance using servers across its 148 global locations to see how it compared to other premium VPNs, and the results are in.

Testing ExpressVPN’s Speed - Quick Summary

Yes! ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN on the market. Its speed and performance beat other top VPNs in every country we tested.

When we connected to its US servers, we noticed very little speed loss - in fact, the change only slowed us down by a tiny 0.5 Mbps.

We then crossed the globe to test its Australian servers. Even though we were connected to a VPN, our speeds were even faster than the average internet speed in Australia.

Why VPNs Affect Your Connection Speed

The speed of your connection is determined by several factors, including your internet service provider (ISP), available bandwidth, line quality, and the physical distance between your device and your ISP's server.

When you connect to a VPN, your data has to travel farther to the server, which will reduce your overall speed. It also takes a little extra time for your VPN to encrypt and decrypt your data, which also affects your speed.

Because of this, we expect to see a drop in speed when we're connected to a VPN. But when we were connected to ExpressVPN, our test results were consistently faster than we expected - even when we were connected to foreign servers.

ExpressVPN Speed Test Results - It Really Is That Fast

ExpressVPN is right, it is the fastest VPN available.

To help you understand what we measured, here are what the terms mean:

Ping: Ping measures how long it takes for a website to respond. It’s measured in milliseconds (ms). Low ping rates mean faster connections.

Download speed: This measures how quickly a page loads, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). The higher it is, the faster your connection will be. If you’re just browsing and sending emails, you won’t notice a low download speed. However, low speeds become a problem  if you’re streaming, gaming, or downloading large files.

Upload speed: Your upload speed measures how quickly you can send data to others. Similar to your download speed, this is measured in Mbps, and the higher it is, the faster your connection will be.

On to the results!

Without a VPN (to compare with our ExpressVPN results):

Connection speed without a VPN.Connected to a local ExpressVPN server:

Connection speed when connected to ExpressVPN.

Our download speeds were reduced when we connected to ExpressVPN. However, they were still so fast that we didn’t notice a difference, even when streaming high-quality videos. Our ping barely changed at all.

Connected to an ExpressVPN server in the US:

Speed test performed on one of ExpressVPN's US servers

Our download speed was barely affected. We only lost 0.5 Mbps.

Our upload speed was reduced, but this change wasn’t noticeable. It still felt as fast as having no VPN.

Our ping rate increased because the server we connected to was farther away, but it was still on par with the other VPNs we tested.

When connecting to US servers, many VPNs cause speed drops of 82% or more—but ExpressVPN only caused a decrease of 0.2%.

Connected to an ExpressVPN server in Australia:

Speed test performed on an ExpressVPN Australian server

Given that the average ADSL internet speed in Australia is only 8 Mbps, we anticipated a significant decrease in speed.

Impressively, ExpressVPN was able to achieve download speeds 76% faster than the national Australian average.

Our ping increased a little, but was still about 4% lower than the other VPNs we tested.

More Than Speed—All You Need in a VPN

While the test results for speed are commendable, speed isn't the only factor. Here are some other strong points of ExpressVPN:

Security: ExpressVPN offers 256-bit AES encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and an automatic kill switch that prevents data from leaving your network in the rare event that your VPN connection fails.

Diverse apps (see the chart): ExpressVPN’s intuitive apps are easy to set up and use. There is an app for almost every device, including game consoles and smart TVs, and you can connect up to five devices to your account.

ExpressVPN's Supported Platforms

A wide range of servers: You can choose from over 3,000 high-speed servers across 94 countries.

30-day money-back guarantee: You can try ExpressVPN risk-free—if you decide it’s not for you, the company will refund your subscription, no questions asked.

In Short...

The results are in, and ExpressVPN truly is the fastest VPN on the market.

Our tests showed that ExpressVPN maintains fast, stable connections on local and international servers.

With high-end security features, ExpressVPN also excels at protecting your security and anonymity online.

We really love ExpressVPN. You will too with these exclusive deals on ExpressVPN that save you money!

Further Reading

You can use this quick and easy get a free ExpressVPN trial for up to 30 days.

See which VPN providers impressed us in the best VPNs overall.

Security freak? Check out our expert recommendations for the best no-log VPNs.

Privacy Alert!

Your data is exposed to the websites you visit!

Your IP Address:

Your Location:

Your Internet Provider:

The information above can be used to track you, target you for ads, and monitor what you do online.

VPNs can help you hide this information from websites so that you are protected at all times. We recommend ExpressVPN — the #1 VPN out of over 350 providers we've tested. It has military-grade encryption and privacy features that will ensure your digital security, plus — it's currently offering 49% off.

Visit ExpressVPN

We review vendors based on rigorous testing and research but also take into account your feedback and our affiliate commission with providers. Some providers are owned by our parent company.
Learn more
vpnMentor was established in 2014 as an independent site reviewing VPN services and covering privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

About the Author

Kate has been writing and editing for vpnMentor since 2018. She is driven by her passion for helping people to protect themselves from online threats.