ExpressVPN Review Australia

Reviewed by Laurence Deer, founder and reviewer in Melbourne, testing VPNs since 2019

ExpressVPN

Price checked 3 NovLast tested August 2021Update coming soonNumber 9 of 16 in our calculated order

BestVPN score: not scored, because our last test of ExpressVPN was August 2021. How we score

Our verdict

Good for picking your own Australian city

ExpressVPN suits Australians who want a server in their own city and apps for almost every device. In our August 2021 tests a Sydney server barely slowed our line, but overseas servers were much slower. The catch is cost: it bills in US dollars and renews higher. We have not retested it since, so newer independent tests carry more weight.

From US$2.99 (about A$4.27) a month

Basic plan, paying for 28 months, US$83.72 upfront. Renews at US$99.95 every year. Lowest plan of each VPN we track: A$1.58 to A$17.84.

Visit ExpressVPNFrom US$2.99/mo · checked 3 Nov (Lowest monthly price (about A$4.27), on the Basic plan paid upfront for 28 months; read from expressvpn.com on 3 November 2026)

Price and plan details read from www.expressvpn.com.

Choose it if

• You want a server in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth or Sydney
• You need apps for routers, Apple TV and Fire TV
• You want no-logs audits by named firms

Skip it if

• You want to pay in Australian dollars
• You want a price that stays low after the first term
• You would rather avoid Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost

ExpressVPN: key facts

Money-back

30 daysVPNs we track: 7 to 45 days

Free trial

3 daysiPhone app (App Store). Compare VPN free trials

Devices at once

10 to 14VPNs we track: 2 to unlimited

Server countries

113VPNs we track: 30 to 150

Australian cities

5Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Company, audits, protocols and features

Company

Based in the British Virgin Islands

Audits

KPMG, PwC and Cure53, says ExpressVPN

Protocols

IKEv2, Lightway, OpenVPN, WireGuard

Features

Ad and tracker blocker, Dedicated IP, Kill switch, Obfuscation, Port forwarding, RAM-only servers, Split tunnelling

As ExpressVPN's own site lists them, read 2 Nov 2026.

ExpressVPN test results

Speed, Australian server

86% keptOf our download speed with the VPN off. Tested August 2021

DNS leaks

None foundTested 11 Aug 2021

Streaming

Played BBC iPlayer, the one service we tried to playTested August 2021

Speed kept by the VPNs we have tested (2021 to 2026 rounds): 44% to 100% or more.

ExpressVPN: what has changed

• 3 Nov 2026 Plans on its site switched between 15 months and 28 months on 31 Oct 2026, 1 Nov 2026, 2 Nov 2026 and 3 Nov 2026; 28 months when last read (3 Nov)
• 26 Oct 2026 Review text last edited
• 18 Oct 2026 Plans on its site switched between 15 months and 28 months on 15, 16, 17 and 18 Oct 2026; 28 months when last read (18 Oct)

Prices are read from ExpressVPN's website every morning (last read 3 Nov 2026) and its feature pages weekly; we record every change we see.

What stood out

ExpressVPN was fast close to home and slow far away in our only hands-on round, from Melbourne in August 2021. On a Sydney server you would hardly know it was on; the US lost the most.

Newer tests find the same weak spot. Top10VPN’s review, updated in September 2026, still marks long distances as ExpressVPN’s weakness.

We have no 2026 speed, leak, kill switch or streaming result of our own yet. For a VPN we measured from Melbourne in October 2026, see our NordVPN review.

From our August 2021 tests in Melbourne.

Who should buy ExpressVPN?

Buy it if you want a server in your own city: its list names Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It also suits a house full of gadgets, with apps for routers, Apple TV and Fire TV as well as phones and computers.

Skip it if you want to pay in Australian dollars, want a price that stays low after the first term, or want current test results. The VPNs we tested in October 2026 are under alternatives.

If you would rather not buy from Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost and Private Internet Access, look elsewhere.

ExpressVPN tested from Melbourne: August 2021 results

These results are from a Melbourne home line in August 2021. Apps, servers and streaming services have changed since, so treat them as a dated record.

Speed kept

Melbourne home connection · August 2021

Sydney server	86%
India	62%
South Africa	54%
United Kingdom	42%
Brazil	42%
United States	25%

Download, upload and ping in Mbps, and how we measured

From our test bench Melbourne, August 2021

Sydney server, tested from Melbourne, August 2021

Connection	Download	Upload
No VPN	102 Mbps	18.4 Mbps
ExpressVPN, Sydney server	88.2 Mbps −13.5%	9.83 Mbps −46.6%

Overseas servers, tested from Melbourne, August 2021

Server in	Download	Upload
United States	25.1 Mbps −75.4%	7.08 Mbps −61.5%
United Kingdom	43.1 Mbps −57.7%	4.95 Mbps −73.1%
India	63.5 Mbps −37.7%	4.88 Mbps −73.5%
Brazil	42.6 Mbps −58.2%	11.7 Mbps −36.4%
South Africa	55 Mbps −46.1%	3.94 Mbps −78.6%

11.8 MiB/s average torrent download rate on an Australian server (August 2021)

Our own measurements on a Melbourne home connection of about 102 Mbps at the time, August 2021. Changes are against the speed of the same line with the VPN off, measured the same day.

Share of our download speed kept with ExpressVPN on, against the same line with the VPN off, measured the same day.

Speed: close to home fine, long distance slow

Near home, ExpressVPN barely slowed us. A Sydney server gave us 88 Mbps of a 102 Mbps line, about 86%, which you would hardly notice on a 100 Mbps NBN plan.

Uploads roughly halved, from 18 to just under 10 Mbps. That is still fine for video calls.

Overseas servers lost far more. The US gave 25 Mbps, about a quarter of our line; the UK and Brazil 43, South Africa 55 and India 64.

ExpressVPN now lists India as a virtual location routed via Singapore and the UK. We did not record ping in that round.

Streaming: BBC iPlayer worked on a UK server

BBC iPlayer played EastEnders on a UK server in August 2021. That was one service on one server, so it tells you little about iPlayer today.

Torrenting: about 12 MiB/s

Torrents downloaded fast: 11.8 MiB/s on average, roughly 99 Mbps, in August 2021. The graph stayed between about 8 and 13 MiB/s; we did not record the server.

IP and DNS leaks: none seen

Nothing pointed back to our own connection in browserleaks.com’s check in August 2021. IP, WebRTC and all three DNS servers showed only the Australian server, in New South Wales.

No IPv6 address appeared, though we cannot say whether IPv6 would have leaked. The app also let us pick a city, not just “Australia”.

Support: live chat

ExpressVPN’s live chat told us in August 2021 that the service works in China and the UAE. That is ExpressVPN’s word, not something we tested.

Still to test

We have not yet run ExpressVPN on our 2026 bench: speed, leaks, the kill switch and streaming. We will add each result here, dated, when we do.

What other ExpressVPN reviews found

Newer independent tests match our 2021 pattern: fine close to home, weaker far away. Top10VPN, updated in September 2026, found nearby servers lost almost nothing on Lightway, ExpressVPN’s own protocol.

Its international speeds had fallen since Top10VPN’s earlier tests, by 34% to South Africa and 13% to Germany.

Security.org measured small upload losses in September 2026, fine for video calls. Both sites test from outside Australia, so use them to compare providers, not to forecast your NBN line.

Both are summarised, with links, under ExpressVPN reviews on other sites at the end of this page.

ExpressVPN deal in Australia (checked 3 Nov 2026)

ExpressVPN price in Australia

ExpressVPN costs US$2.99 (about A$4.27) a month at its lowest, when you pay for 28 months upfront. After that first term it renews at US$99.95 (about A$142.62) every year.

It charges in US dollars, so the Australian-dollar figure is approximate. Your bank’s rate and any international transaction fee change what you pay.

Checked 3 Nov 2026 Price and plan details read from www.expressvpn.com.

Visit ExpressVPN

Plans cover 10 devices on Basic, rising to 14 on Express Pro, per the order page. Here is what the cheapest plan costs over three years, renewals included.

Is ExpressVPN safe? Privacy, audits and ownership

ExpressVPN says it keeps no logs and has been audited by KPMG, PwC and Cure53. It says its TrustedServer technology, which runs servers in RAM only, has been audited too.

Top10VPN notes that ExpressVPN keeps some data, none of which it says can identify you. Security.org said ExpressVPN’s openness about what it collects gave it confidence.

The company is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Kape Technologies lists ExpressVPN, CyberGhost and Private Internet Access among its brands, so those three share one owner.

ExpressVPN apps, devices and Australian servers

You can pick your own city: the server list names Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, across 113 countries. A nearby server adds less delay if you leave the VPN on all day.

One account covers 10 devices on Basic and up to 14 on Express Pro. It supports Lightway, WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, and lists these extras:

• Kill switch: blocks your traffic if the VPN drops, so nothing leaks out unprotected.
• Split tunnelling: lets your banking app or Stan skip the VPN while everything else uses it.
• Obfuscation: disguises VPN traffic on networks that block VPNs, such as some hotel and office Wi-Fi.
• Ad and tracker blocker, dedicated IP and port forwarding.

Using ExpressVPN in Australia

• Australian servers: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, according to ExpressVPN's server list.
• Billing: charged in USD, so the Australian-dollar cost moves with the exchange rate.
• Where it is based: the British Virgin Islands, according to its own site.
• Refund period: 30 days.

Australian law requires internet providers to keep customers' metadata for two years. A VPN encrypts the connection between your device and the VPN server, so your internet provider can see that you are using a VPN but not which sites you visit. It does not make you anonymous to the VPN provider itself, which is why the provider's logging policy and audits matter.

Alternatives to ExpressVPN

For a head-to-head, read NordVPN vs ExpressVPN or Surfshark vs ExpressVPN. On a budget, start with the cheapest VPNs in Australia.

These are our three picks. Each card shows the fact from our tests or data behind its label, with its BestVPN score.

• NordVPNOne of our picksBestVPN score 8.3/10From A$4.79 a monthBlack Friday deal ends soonVisit NordVPNNordVPN review
• SurfsharkMost popular with our readersMost clicks from readers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore in the last 30 daysBestVPN score 7.2/10From A$3.49 a monthVisit SurfsharkSurfshark review
• Proton VPNFastest on Australian servers in our testsKept 99% of our download speed on a Melbourne server, 21 Oct 2026BestVPN score 8.7/10From US$3.49 (about A$4.98) a monthPartner offerVisit Proton VPNProton VPN review

ExpressVPN FAQ

How we keep this review current

Prices, plans and server details are read from ExpressVPN’s own site, dated beside each figure. Our latest round for ExpressVPN is August 2021; 2026 results will be added when we retest.

Sources

ExpressVPN’s own pages, read on 13 and 15 October 2026: order page (www.expressvpn.com), server locations, features and logging policy.

Kape ownership is from Kape’s own site, read on 18 October 2026.

Independent reviews, both updated in September 2026: Top10VPN and Security.org.

Our own results are from Melbourne, August 2021.