People weigh an ExpressVPN alternative when the renewal figure surprises them, when they would rather not pay for mail relay, password and AI add-ons next to a tunnel, or when the ownership chain matters. Choices run from account-number services that ask for no email to free tiers and larger bundles.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for ExpressVPN? Mullvad VPN, IVPN and Windscribe come first in our VPN services ranking. We open the ranking with smaller vendors and put the established brands from fourth place onward. Start with Mullvad VPN if you want one published price with no renewal step and no email on file. The 11 entries that follow are all ranked in Best VPN Services in 2026; each one explains what sets it apart from ExpressVPN.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Basic, Advanced and Express Pro tiers published; 30-day refund for new users
Established in: British Virgin Islands
Built for: Buyers who want a mainstream VPN with audited privacy claims and 113 countries
Not for: Anyone who wants an owner outside the Kape group or a stable price
01
Why buyers look past ExpressVPN
01
The headline price is a 28-month figure
The order page shows Basic at 2.49 euros a month, but that is 69.72 euros for the first 28 months. It then renews at 79.95 euros a year, Advanced at 109.95 and Express Pro at 179.95. Anyone comparing monthly numbers across vendors should compare the renewal line instead.
02
Tiers add products around the tunnel
Advanced and Express Pro stack ExpressAI, ExpressMailGuard, ExpressKeys and a travel eSIM on top of the VPN, and the device cap climbs from 10 to 12 to 14 across the three. If you want a tunnel only, a good part of the step up buys things you did not shop for, and the dedicated IP is an extra in the first two tiers.
03
Part of a larger group
Express Technologies sits under British Virgin Islands law and has belonged to Kape Technologies since 2021, which our records also tie to CyberGhost and Private Internet Access. Choosing one of those is therefore a change of brand rather than of owner, a point worth knowing if group structure drove your search.
you want a well-known name and the account limits suit your household
#6
03
What each one does differently
1
Mullvad VPN
Sweden · Published
Mullvad VPN AB in Sweden, owned by two founders, charges a flat 5 euros a month including VAT whether you pay for one month or a decade, a rate it says is unchanged since 2009. Accounts are generated numbers, so no email is needed, and cash is accepted. A paid account allows five devices. Refunds run 14 days, except for cash.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want one published price with no renewal step and no email on file.
IVPN Limited is registered in Gibraltar and states it has been under the same ownership since 2009. Registration asks for no email, and its privacy policy enumerates the records that exist. Standard is the plain tunnel; Plus and Pro Suite add extras such as mail aliases and an application firewall. Servers span 41 countries, fewer than ExpressVPN's 113.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you value a small operator with a named policy list over a long country list.
Windscribe Limited in Ontario describes itself as self-funded. Pro costs 9 US dollars monthly or 69 a year with unlimited data, or you assemble a plan at 1 dollar per location per month. Its Pro page lists locations in more than 69 countries. Refunds close after 7 business days or 10 GB, and sharing an account is not allowed.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want to pay only for the locations you will really use.
Proton VPN comes from Switzerland and is sold alone as VPN Plus or inside Unlimited with Mail, Drive and Pass. Its pricing page cites servers in more than 140 countries, against ExpressVPN's 113. A free plan on a single device exists as a trial. Streaming and P2P need a paid plan, and intro prices only cover the first term.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want a larger server map and a free plan to test before paying.
TunnelBear LLC signs off from Toronto and sells Free at 2 GB, Unlimited from 3.33 US dollars a month and a Teams plan at 5.75 per user. Unlimited covers unlimited devices, a notable contrast with ExpressVPN's tiered caps. It claims yearly published security audits, which we did not test. The refund promise covers annual plans bought on its own site.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you have many devices and prefer one plain plan without device ceilings.
Private Internet Access gives a Denver address and is part of the Kape family that also owns ExpressVPN, so it changes the product more than the owner. Prices listed are 11.95 dollars monthly, 47.88 for a year and 79 for three years, the last renewing every three years. Unlimited devices run on RAM-only servers.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you accept a Kape-group service in return for unlimited devices at a lower term price.
IPVanish names a New York office and refers to the Ziff Davis group in its privacy policy. Essential, Complete and Advanced tiers all allow unlimited devices with round-the-clock chat; phone help, antivirus, cloud storage and a secure browser appear only above the base. Introductory rates cover the first one or two years, then list price applies.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you need unlimited devices and may want chat support or antivirus bundled.
Hotspot Shield has a Basic tier capped at 500 MB a day, 2 Mbps and one US location, a test rather than a daily driver. Premium allows 10 devices and a Family tier adds five member accounts, with a 45-day refund. Its legal pages sat behind a bot check, so we could not read the operator's country.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want the longest refund window and a family tier of member accounts.
CyberGhost S.R.L. is registered in Bucharest, and its privacy policy names Kape Technologies PLC as ultimate holding company, the same group as ExpressVPN. Each term allows seven devices. The 45-day guarantee covers long terms only; monthly gets 14 days. A dedicated IP is a paid add-on tied to the term.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want a long refund period on a multi-year plan and accept Kape ownership.
Surfshark B.V. is registered in Amsterdam and says it has merged with Nord Security. Starter, One and One+ all bundle the tunnel with Alternative ID and scam protection. The cheapest monthly figure is a first-term price spread across 27 months. A 30-day refund applies. It is a Dutch entity inside the same group as NordVPN.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want a Dutch-registered supplier and do not mind the bundled extras.
nordvpn S.A. operates in Panama under its own jurisdiction, with Nord Security in the Netherlands as parent. One account covers 10 devices, but only five can share a server at once, split by protocol. The seven-day trial needs a one- or two-year plan, a card or PayPal and one of 15 listed countries.
Switch from ExpressVPN if you want a well-known name and the account limits suit your household.
You want to pay one fixed price with no account details
Mullvad VPN: It costs a flat 5 euros a month whatever the term, uses a generated account number and accepts cash.
02
You want to pay only for the countries you really use
Windscribe: The build-a-plan option charges 1 US dollar per location per month, while Pro unlimited costs 9 monthly or 69 yearly.
03
You want a free plan to test first
Proton VPN: The free plan covers one device, and the pricing page cites servers in more than 140 countries on paid plans.
04
You have many devices to cover
TunnelBear: Unlimited lists unlimited devices from 3.33 US dollars a month, against ExpressVPN's cap of 10 to 14.
05
You want a Gibraltar operator that lists its records
IVPN: Signup needs no email, and the privacy policy enumerates the records that exist.
04
When ExpressVPN is still the right choice
ExpressVPN stays sensible if you want a large country list, 113 countries on every tier, with the same apps and routers across all three plans, and you use the add-ons around the tunnel anyway. The 30-day refund for new users is a fair way to test it. Judge it on the renewal price printed on the order page, not the first-term price.
05
What moving off ExpressVPN involves
01
Settings and devices do not carry across
Split tunnelling lists, kill switch choices and router setups are stored per app, so each has to be redone. Count your devices first: a service with a five-device account may need a router profile to cover the rest.
02
Cancel against the renewal date
Terms of 28 months renew yearly, so note the date before buying elsewhere. Refunds on the order page apply to new users, which means you cannot count on one from ExpressVPN once you have been using it for more than a short while.
06
Questions about replacing ExpressVPN
6 answers
What does ExpressVPN cost after the first term?
The order page lists Basic at 79.95 euros a year after the first 28 months, Advanced at 109.95 and Express Pro at 179.95. The first-term totals are 69.72, 111.72 and 181.72 euros.
How many devices can I use?
Basic allows 10 simultaneous devices, Advanced 12 and Express Pro 14. Private Internet Access, IPVanish and TunnelBear Unlimited list unlimited devices, while Mullvad allows five per account.
Is there a free option instead?
Proton VPN offers a free plan on one device, Windscribe gives 10 GB a month and TunnelBear 2 GB. Hotspot Shield Basic is capped at 500 MB a day. These work as trials more than as a replacement.
Which alternatives take no email at sign-up?
Mullvad uses a generated account number, and IVPN's signup asks for no email either. Mullvad also accepts cash by post. Both are small operators with published policies.
Is moving to CyberGhost a change of owner?
Not by group. ExpressVPN joined Kape in 2021, and CyberGhost's privacy policy names Kape Technologies as ultimate holding company. Private Internet Access also mentions Kape in its policy.
Does ExpressVPN include a dedicated IP?
Only Express Pro includes it. On Basic and Advanced it is an optional add-on, sold on top of the plan price.
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Sources
Checked 3 November 2026
ExpressVPN order page: Basic, Advanced and Express Pro prices, 28-month term and renewals, 10, 12 and 14 devices, 113 countries, dedicated IP, 30-day refund for new users.
Mullvad pricing: Flat 5 euros a month, unchanged since 2009, 14-day guarantee except cash.
IVPN pricing: IVPN Limited registered in Gibraltar, account generation.
IVPN home: Same ownership since 2009, 41 countries, Standard, Plus and Pro Suite tiers.
Windscribe upgrade page: 9 dollars monthly, 69 yearly, 1 dollar per location, 69 countries, account sharing prohibited.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 3 November 2026; our review process is public.
