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Alternatives

Best ExpressVPN alternatives in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate

Cite this list: Toolradar, best ExpressVPN alternatives 2026, toolradar.com/alternatives/expressvpn

8 direct alternatives to ExpressVPN, compared on pricing, features, and best-for use cases. Pick the right replacement without the marketing fluff.

Quick answer

  • NordVPN is the top alternative to ExpressVPN on our list, followed by TeamViewer and Surfshark.
  • 2 of the 8 alternatives have a free plan, starting with TeamViewer.
  • Highest rated: Private Internet Access, 4.6 out of 5 from 38 ratings, Mar 2026.
Publications that cover the tools tracked here
  • TechCrunch
  • Bloomberg
  • The Information
  • Fortune
  • The Verge
  • 8 alternatives
  • 2 with a free plan

Top 3 alternatives to ExpressVPN

  1. NordVPN logo

    NordVPN

    #1 Top pick

    Online VPN service for privacy

    Starting price

    From $3.49 /mo

    Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026

    4.0 /5 across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more · 18,319 ratings, Sep 2026

    Our take

    Best overall

  2. TeamViewer logo

    The platform for the digital workplace, enabling seamless remote access, support, and IT management.

    Starting price

    From $24.9 /mo

    Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026

    4.5 /5 on G2 · 4,175 ratings, Sep 2026

    Our take

    Best free tier

  3. Surfshark logo

    Unlimited devices, all-in-one online security and privacy

    Starting price

    From $2.49 /mo

    Cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026

    4.3 /5 across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra · 923 ratings, Sep 2026

ExpressVPN vs 8 alternatives

ExpressVPN and its alternatives compared on starting price (cheapest paid plan, monthly, as of October 2026), free plan and average user rating.
ExpressVPN logo
ExpressVPN Compared tool
Price: $3.49/mo Free plan: No 4.6 out of 5, from 291 ratings across G2 and Capterra (291)
NordVPN logo
NordVPN
Price: $3.49/mo Free plan: No 4.0 out of 5, from 18,319 ratings across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more (18,319)
TeamViewer logo
TeamViewer
Price: $24.9/mo Free plan: Yes 4.5 out of 5, from 4,175 ratings on G2 (4,175)
Surfshark logo
Surfshark
Price: $2.49/mo Free plan: No 4.3 out of 5, from 923 ratings across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra (923)
Azure logo
Azure
Price: Usage-based Free plan: No 3.8 out of 5, from 2,109 ratings across G2, Capterra and Trustpilot (2,109)
IPVanish logo
IPVanish
Price: $2.19/mo Free plan: No 4.1 out of 5, from 750 ratings across SourceForge, Capterra and Trustpilot (750)
Mullvad VPN logo
Mullvad VPN
Price: $5/mo Free plan: No 3.7 out of 5, from 154 ratings across G2, SourceForge and Trustpilot (154)
Private Internet Access logo
Private Internet Access
Price: $1.88/mo Free plan: No 4.6 out of 5, from 38 ratings on SourceForge (38)
Proton logo
Proton
Price: Free + paid Free plan: Yes n/a

Why people consider alternatives to ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN secures internet connections across devices with military-grade encryption and servers in 94 countries. Beyond privacy, it helps users access geo-restricted content and avoid bandwidth throttling.

Teams most often switch away when one of these starts to bite:

  • Pricing at scale as usage or premium tiers add up.
  • Missing integrations with the rest of your stack.
  • Performance or scale limits as your needs grow.
  • A specific feature gap you have hit in security.

The 8 alternatives below cover the same core job (security) with different trade-offs.

ExpressVPN by the numbers

ExpressVPN compared with 37 VPN tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
Metric ExpressVPN Peer median Position (1 is best)
Free plan No 21 of 37 have one n/a
Listed as an alternative to 14 tools 4 #5 of 37 (joint)
User rating 4.6/5 (across the web, 291 ratings) 4.3/5 #3 of 27 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews
Compare-page visits, last 30 days 65 visits 45 #8 of 30 tools with 20+ compare-page visits

Listed as an alternative to: #6 on 2026-10-16 to #5 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 37 tools, 1 is best).

Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. All VPN data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.

Cite this: Toolradar, “ExpressVPN by the numbers”, Nov 2026.

Security leaderboards from Toolradar data

Toolradar ranks Security tools on one measure at a time, only where at least 8 tools have data. As of Nov 2026.

CSV download of these Security leaderboards, licensed CC BY 4.0

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 171 tools with no stated price unit, verified price.

Lowest entry price, plans with no stated unit, Security tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 HashiCorp Vault $0.50/mo, billed monthly
2 Runbox $0.66/mo, billed yearly
3 uTerminal $0.83/mo, billed yearly
4 Alive $0.99/mo, billed monthly
5 Addy.io $1/mo, billed yearly

Lowest entry price, per-user plans

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 40 tools priced per user, verified price.

Lowest entry price, per-user plans, Security tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 Zoho Mail $1/user/mo, billed monthly
2 AccessOwl $1.50/user/mo, billed monthly
3 Corma $3/user/mo, billed monthly
3 Duo Security $3/user/mo, billed monthly
3 Fastmail $3/user/mo, billed monthly

Lowest entry price, flat team plans

Cheapest standard paid plan per month (annual prices divided by 12), read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis.

Counted among 15 tools priced as a flat team plan, verified price.

Lowest entry price, flat team plans, Security tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Entry plan
1 Hide.me $2.50/mo flat, billed monthly
2 1Password $3.99/mo flat, billed monthly
3 Malwarebytes $5/mo flat, billed yearly
4 Sentaro $6/mo flat, billed yearly
5 Avast $6.50/mo flat, billed yearly

Most visited, last 30 days

Distinct visitor sessions on the tool's Toolradar page over the last 30 days, with bots excluded by our analytics. A session counts once however many times it reloads the page.

Counted among 11 tools with 50+ visits.

Most visited, last 30 days, Security tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Visits
1 Proton VPN 1,427 visits
2 Hide.me 834 visits
3 Windscribe VPN 639 visits
4 Opera 619 visits
5 ZoogVPN 365 visits

Most media coverage, last 30 days

Number of distinct articles published in the last 30 days by independent press, blogs and newsletters that mention the tool. A story carried by several outlets counts once; the vendor's own blog, review sites, forums and republishing sites do not count.

Counted among 33 tools mentioned in the last 30 days.

Most media coverage, last 30 days, Security tools on Toolradar, as of Nov 2026
# Tool Articles
1 ServiceNow 21 articles
2 GitLab 13 articles
3 ConnectWise 12 articles
4 BitGo 9 articles
5 Harmonic Security 5 articles

A position exists only when at least 8 tools have data for that metric. 234 of 735 Security tools have a verified price; the others publish none we could read (often "contact sales"). Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source. How we compute this. Cite this: Toolradar, “Security leaderboards”, Nov 2026. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. All Security statistics.

8 alternatives to ExpressVPN

Ranked by G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editor review, plus how directly they replace ExpressVPN.

  1. 1
    NordVPN logo

    NordVPN

    Paid Battle-tested at scale

    Online VPN service for privacy

    4.0 /5 across G2, Capterra, SourceForge and more · 18,319 ratings, Sep 2026

    From $3.49/mo, billed monthly

  2. 2
    TeamViewer logo

    TeamViewer

    Free plan Cheaper than ExpressVPN

    The platform for the digital workplace, enabling seamless remote access, support, and IT management.

    4.5 /5 on G2 · 4,175 ratings, Sep 2026

    From $24.90/mo, billed monthly; free plan available

  3. 3
    Surfshark logo

    Surfshark

    Paid

    Unlimited devices, all-in-one online security and privacy

    4.3 /5 across Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra · 923 ratings, Sep 2026

    From $2.49/mo, billed monthly

  4. 4
    Azure logo

    Azure

    Paid Battle-tested at scale

    Microsoft's cloud, essential for enterprises running Windows

    3.8 /5 across G2, Capterra and Trustpilot · 2,109 ratings, Sep 2026

    Price not published

  5. 5
    IPVanish logo

    IPVanish

    Paid

    Digital Security, Privacy, & Freedom with VPN, Secure Browser, and Cloud Storage.

    4.1 /5 across SourceForge, Capterra and Trustpilot · 750 ratings, Sep 2026

    From $2.19/mo, billed monthly

  6. 6
    Mullvad VPN logo

    Mullvad VPN

    Paid

    Anonymous VPN with no personal info required

    3.7 /5 across G2, SourceForge and Trustpilot · 154 ratings, Aug 2026

    From $5/mo, billed monthly

  7. 7
    Private Internet Access logo

    Private Internet Access

    Paid

    Secure your online privacy and access content globally with a fast, no-logs VPN service.

    4.6 /5 on SourceForge · 38 ratings, Mar 2026

    From $1.88/mo, billed monthly

  8. 8
    Proton logo

    Proton

    Free plan Cheaper than ExpressVPN

    End-to-end encrypted suite for total digital privacy

    Free plan available; paid prices not published

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to ExpressVPN?

Based on real-signal scoring (G2 and Capterra ratings, media mentions, and editorial review), the top alternatives to ExpressVPN are NordVPN, TeamViewer, Surfshark. Each solves the same core job with different trade-offs on pricing, features, and integrations.

Is there a free alternative to ExpressVPN?

There is no fully free alternative in this list. TeamViewer is freemium: a permanent free tier plus paid plans (The platform for the digital workplace, enabling seamless remote access, support, and IT management).

Why do people look for ExpressVPN alternatives?

Common reasons teams switch away from ExpressVPN: pricing that scales aggressively, missing integrations with the rest of their stack, performance or scale limits, or a specific feature gap in security. The alternatives on this page solve the same core problem with different trade-offs.

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