ExpressVPN advertises $2.99 a month. You will pay that for 28 months. Then it becomes $99.95 a year, which is $8.33 a month, and nobody sends you a warning first.
That is a 179 percent increase. What surprised me is that it is not the steepest rise on the ladder by much. Express Pro climbs almost exactly as far, and the middle tier, Advanced, is the flattest of the three.
I run Ecommerce Paradise from Bali, so a VPN is not optional for me, it is how I reach US supplier portals and my own bank. I have also made this exact mistake in print before, comparing one VPN’s intro price against another’s renewal, so I am being careful with it here. Every number below is the vendor’s own, and I have separated first-term from renewal every time.
The $2.99 Is a 28-Month Price, Not a Rate
Year three costs $99.95. Know the second number before you judge the first, because the gap is 179 percent.
The Full Ladder, Both Prices
These came off ExpressVPN’s own pricing page, read on 15 September 2026. Every plan on that page is a 2 year plus 4 month term, so 28 months up front. The page runs a “Get up to 80% off” banner, so each tier shows a struck-through regular price next to the one you actually pay, and I have published both.
| Plan | Advertised rate | Regular price | You pay today | Stated saving | Term | Then renews at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $2.99/mo | $419.72 | $83.72 | Save 80% | 28 months | $99.95 a year |
| Advanced | $3.99/mo | $475.72 | $111.72 | Save 76% | 28 months | $119.95 a year |
| Express Pro | $5.99/mo | $643.72 | $167.72 | Save 73% | 28 months | $199.95 a year |
ExpressVPN does one thing well here and one thing less well, and both belong in the same section. The good part is real: the renewal price is printed on the pricing page, in the same block as the offer, so the number you pay in year three is right there. Two of their competitors handle that part less honestly, which I will come to.
The less good part is that the first-term price is a sale price. Every tier shows a struck-through regular figure next to what you pay: $419.72 against $83.72 on Basic badged “Save 80%”, $475.72 against $111.72 on Advanced badged “Save 76%”, and $643.72 against $167.72 on Express Pro badged “Save 73%”.
The page footnote gives the basis: “Any discounts reflect a reduction based on the current monthly service price for the selected tier.” Divide and it checks out. $419.72 over 28 months is $14.99 a month, which is the undiscounted Basic rate, and 2.99 against 14.99 is where the 80 percent comes from.
So there are three prices per tier, not two. An undiscounted rate, a promotional first term, and a renewal. Treat the promotion as a promotion. Nothing on the page says it is permanent, and if you are reading this months after I wrote it, check what the page shows you today rather than trusting my figure.
What the Renewal Actually Does to the Rate
The advertised figure and the renewal figure are quoted in different units, which is what makes this hard to see. One is a monthly rate across 28 months, the other is an annual charge. Put both in dollars per month and the picture changes.
| Plan | First term, per month | Renewal, per month | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $2.99 | $8.33 | 179 percent |
| Advanced | $3.99 | $10.00 | 151 percent |
| Express Pro | $5.99 | $16.66 | 178 percent |
The pattern is not the one the headline price suggests, and it is worth saying slowly. Basic and Express Pro climb almost identically, 179 percent and 178 percent. Advanced is the flattest of the three at 151 percent, which makes the middle tier the one that punishes you least at renewal.
Here is the arithmetic so you can check every line. Basic: $99.95 divided by 12 is $8.33, a rise of $5.34 on $2.99, which is 179 percent. Advanced: $119.95 over 12 is $10.00, a rise of $6.01 on $3.99, which is 151 percent. Express Pro: $199.95 over 12 is $16.66, a rise of $10.67 on $5.99, which is 178 percent.
The tidy explanation, that the entry plan carries the deepest discount so it has the furthest to climb back, only half survives contact with these numbers. Basic does carry the deepest badged discount at 80 percent and it does climb the most. But Express Pro is badged at 73 percent and climbs just as far, while Advanced sits between the two on discount and comes out flattest on renewal.
The practical version is shorter. Do not assume the cheap tier is the one with the nasty renewal, because on this ladder it is the cheap tier and the dear tier together. Divide the annual figure by twelve for the tier you are actually buying, and compare that to what you are about to pay today.
The Real Cost Over Time
The way to judge a plan with two prices is to model several years rather than one.
| Plan | First 28 months | Next 12 months | Total, 40 months | Average per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $83.72 | $99.95 | $183.67 | $4.59 |
| Advanced | $111.72 | $119.95 | $231.67 | $5.79 |
| Express Pro | $167.72 | $199.95 | $367.67 | $9.19 |
Basic averages $4.59 a month over its first 40 months, not $2.99. That is still reasonable for a premium VPN, which is the honest conclusion. The number is just not the one on the button.
Notice something else in that table. By month 40, one year of renewal has cost more than the entire first 28 months on Basic. The second bill is bigger than the first bill despite covering less than half the time.
How the Competition Handles the Same Thing
I pulled the same data from two competitors on the same day, because the difference in how they present it is the most useful thing in this whole article.
| Service | Entry offer | Renewal published? | Renewal terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | $2.99/mo for 28 months | Yes, on the pricing page | $99.95 a year |
| CyberGhost | $1.99/mo for 26 months | Yes, on the buy page | $51.74 a year |
| Surfshark | $2.49/mo for 27 months | No figure given | No amount published |
Surfshark’s pricing page carries an FAQ entry headed “How much does Surfshark cost after 2 years?” It says the cost depends on the chosen plan, and then, in full: “Upon renewal, you will be charged the applicable renewal price.” That is not an answer. It is the shape of an answer with the number removed. I ranked every serious competitor on year-three cost in the ExpressVPN alternatives breakdown. I went through every Surfshark plan in the Surfshark pricing breakdown, including the figures sitting in the page’s markup but not on its screen.
I am not calling that dishonest, because the FAQ does at least acknowledge that a renewal price exists and differs. But you cannot compare a service whose year-three price is published against one whose is not, and any comparison table that lines up $2.49 against $2.99 without saying so is misleading you by omission.
The CyberGhost presentation is worth studying
CyberGhost’s buy page says of its 26 month plan: “Billed $51.74 for first 2 years, then autorenews at $51.74 annually”. Read that twice. The dollar figure does not change. The period it covers halves.
So the invoice looks identical while the price per month more than doubles, from $1.99 to $4.31. That second figure is $51.74 divided by 12, against $51.74 divided by 26 for the first term. Everything is disclosed and nothing is technically wrong, and I would still bet most people reading that line take away that the price stays the same. The full ladder is in the CyberGhost pricing breakdown.
Running the Store From Overseas?
A VPN is one line in a stack that also needs suppliers, an entity and a store. We build the whole thing and launch it with you.
What You Get on Each Tier
The tiers are not just more of the same thing, which matters because the wrong comparison is Basic against a competitor’s top plan.
| Plan | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Basic | The VPN itself, 10 simultaneous devices, Lite Protection blocking ads, malicious sites and adult sites, dedicated IP available as a paid add-on, 10 MB a month of private email relay plus 10 shared aliases |
| Advanced | Everything in Basic, plus 12 simultaneous devices, Advanced Protection which also blocks trackers, 100 MB a month of email relay with 50 shared aliases and 1 custom domain, ExpressKeys password management, Identity Defender with “5 ID alerts, automated data removal, and up to $3 million in identity theft insurance”, and a 3 GB eSIM valid 3 days |
| Express Pro | Everything in Advanced, plus 14 simultaneous devices, a dedicated IP included rather than sold as an add-on, unlimited email relay and aliases with 20 custom domains, Identity Defender with “11 ID alerts, automated data removal, and up to $5 million in identity theft insurance”, a 3 GB eSIM valid 5 days, and ExpressAI at 500 credits a day across 6 models |
Ten simultaneous devices on the entry plan is generous, though the count is tiered rather than flat: 10 on Basic, 12 on Advanced, 14 on Express Pro. For a solo operator with a laptop, phone, tablet and a couple of machines for a VA, Basic covers it without thinking about seat counts.
The identity insurance is the kind of feature that reads impressively and rarely pays out in a way that matters to a small business. Notice where it actually sits, though. The $3 million cover arrives at Advanced, one tier up from Basic, not two. Express Pro raises it to $5 million and adds the included dedicated IP, ExpressAI and the longer eSIM window. If the identity tooling is what you want, Advanced is the tier that delivers it, and I would not pay the extra $56 of first term to move $3 million to $5 million.
The Monthly Plan Trap
There is a gap in the tables above and it is ExpressVPN’s gap, not mine. The pricing page carries three plans and all three are the same 2 year plus 4 month term. ExpressVPN publishes no month to month price on that page at all, so I cannot put one in a table without sourcing it from somewhere else, and I have not.
If you are only going somewhere for a few weeks, a month-to-month plan is the right purchase and the long term is not. The problem is that this whole category prices monthly plans punitively, precisely so the long commitment looks like a bargain by comparison.
CyberGhost does publish a monthly rate, which is why it is the one I can actually show you. It is $12.99 a month against $1.99 on the 26 month plan, a multiple of 6.5. That ratio is normal for this industry rather than unusual, and it is the whole reason a long plan looks like such a bargain sitting next to it.
So if your need is genuinely short, accept that you are paying the expensive rate and buy one month rather than talking yourself into 28 because the maths looked better. Two months at a bad rate still costs less than 28 months at a good one.
And if your need is short but recurring, say you travel for a month twice a year, the honest comparison is four months of monthly billing against a long plan you would leave running. At $12.99 that is about $52 a year, against $99.95 on renewal. The monthly plan wins on that pattern and nobody advertises it that way.
The Refund Window Is the Real Safety Net
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users, stated on the pricing page next to every plan in exactly those words.
That matters more than it looks, because the biggest risk with a VPN is not price, it is whether it works for your specific situation. A VPN that cannot reach your bank’s login page, or that your supplier portal blocks, is worthless at any price.
So the sequence I would follow: buy the term you want, then in the first week actually test the things you need it for. Log into your bank. Open your supplier portals. Try the site that made you want a VPN in the first place. If any of it fails, you are inside the window.
Worth comparing: CyberGhost gives 45 days on its long plans and only 14 on the monthly one. Surfshark gives 30. ExpressVPN gives 30. Nobody in this group is stingy, and the longer window on CyberGhost’s long plans is a genuine point in its favour.
Why the Term Lengths Are Odd Numbers
Something worth noticing across all three of these services: nobody sells a plain 24-month plan.
ExpressVPN sells 2 years plus 4 months. CyberGhost sells 2 years plus 2 months, alongside a 6 month and a 1 month plan, and those three are the only plans its buy page offers. Surfshark sells 24 months plus 3 extra months. The extra months are always framed as free bonus time on top of the real term.
Two things follow from that, and only one of them is in your favour.
The good part is that the bonus months are real. You genuinely get 28 months of service for $83.72, and the per-month figure they advertise already includes them, so the advertised rate is arithmetically honest.
The less good part is that odd terms make comparison harder. Comparing $2.99 across 28 months against $1.99 across 26 months against $2.49 across 27 months is not something anyone does in their head, and the differing lengths also mean your renewal dates land at unpredictable points rather than on a clean anniversary you might remember.
The fix is to ignore the monthly figure entirely and compare two numbers only: what you hand over today, and what the annual renewal is. For these three that is $83.72 then $99.95, $51.74 then $51.74, and $67.23 then an unpublished amount.
Who Should Pay ExpressVPN Prices
Being specific, because at $99.95 a year on renewal this is the expensive end of a market where $51.74 exists.
Worth it if your access is load-bearing. If you cannot run your business without reaching US-only services from abroad, reliability is the product and a few dollars a month is not the deciding factor. This is my situation and it is why I have historically paid the premium.
Worth it if you have been burned by a cheaper one failing. The cost of a VPN that stops working during a supplier call is not measured in subscription dollars.
Not worth it for casual privacy. If the use case is public wifi at an airport a few times a year, you are paying premium prices for a commodity outcome. The cheaper services do that job.
Not worth it if you will forget to review it. This is the real trap. The service is fine and the renewal is fair for what it is, but paying $99.95 a year for something you set up once and stopped thinking about is how software budgets quietly grow.
What I Would Actually Do
Buy Basic on the 28-month term. Put a calendar reminder at month 26.
That is the whole strategy. At month 26 you decide whether to keep it at $99.95 or move. Two years of a service you use daily for $83.72 is good value by any measure, and the only way it becomes bad value is by renewing on autopilot for years without checking whether it still earns its place.
The reminder is the important half. Nobody in this market punishes you for leaving. They rely on you not noticing.
For the feature-level detail rather than the money, my ExpressVPN review goes deeper. If you are weighing it against the other premium option, the NordVPN comparison is the one to read.
Where a VPN Fits in the Build Order
Worth saying, because this is a tool people buy early for the wrong reason.
A VPN solves an access problem. It does not solve a business problem. If you are outside the US and need to reach supplier portals, payment processors or your own bank, it is genuinely required infrastructure and you should buy it on day one.
If you are in the US and just read that VPNs are good practice, it is a $99.95 a year habit that changes nothing about whether your store works. Spend the attention on what you sell instead, which the high-ticket niches list covers at no cost.
Supplier approval is the actual constraint on this business, and none of it turns on your VPN. The process is laid out in the supplier outreach guide.
Distributors will want a registered entity before they discuss terms, which is covered in the business formation guide. If the model itself is still the open question, start with what high-ticket dropshipping actually is.
Read the Full Review Before You Commit 28 Months
The review covers speed, streaming, which countries it actually works in, and where the cheaper services match it.
Common Questions
How much does ExpressVPN cost in 2026?
Basic is $2.99 a month, billed $83.72 for the first 28 months, then $99.95 a year. Advanced is $3.99, billed $111.72, then $119.95 a year. Express Pro is $5.99, billed $167.72, then $199.95 a year. Those first-term figures are sale prices, struck through against regular prices of $419.72, $475.72 and $643.72.
Does the price go up after the first term?
Yes, substantially. Basic goes from $2.99 a month to $8.33, an increase of 179 percent. Express Pro rises 178 percent, from $5.99 to $16.66. Advanced rises least of the three, 151 percent, from $3.99 to $10.00. ExpressVPN publishes these renewal figures on its pricing page.
Which plan has the biggest price increase?
Basic, at 179 percent, but only just. Express Pro rises 178 percent, which is the same cliff for practical purposes. The plan that rises least is Advanced in the middle, at 151 percent. So it is the cheapest tier and the dearest tier that change most, not the cheap one on its own.
What does ExpressVPN actually cost per year long term?
After the first term, $99.95 a year on Basic. Across the first 40 months, Basic averages $4.59 a month rather than the advertised $2.99.
Is there a refund window?
Yes, 30 days for new users, stated next to every plan on the pricing page. Use it to test the specific things you need the VPN for rather than just checking that it connects.
Is ExpressVPN worth it over a cheaper VPN?
If reaching US services from abroad is load-bearing for your business, yes. If the use case is occasional public wifi, no. CyberGhost renews at $51.74 a year against ExpressVPN’s $99.95, and for casual use the difference in reliability will not be visible to you.
How many devices can I use?
Ten on the entry Basic plan. The count is tiered rather than flat: Advanced gives 12 and Express Pro gives 14. Ten is enough for most solo operators, so the tiering rarely decides which plan you buy.
The Short Version
The ladder is $2.99, $3.99 and $5.99 a month, each billed as a lump sum covering 28 months: $83.72, $111.72 and $167.72, discounted from regular prices of $419.72, $475.72 and $643.72. Renewals are $99.95, $119.95 and $199.95 a year.
Basic has the steepest renewal at 179 percent, with Express Pro a whisker behind at 178. Advanced, in the middle, rises least at 151 percent. Across the first 40 months, Basic really costs $4.59 a month, Advanced $5.79 and Express Pro $9.19.
ExpressVPN publishes its renewal prices, which is more than one of its major competitors does. It also runs the first term as a sale against a regular price, so the $2.99 is a promotion as well as an introductory rate. Both facts are worth carrying when you compare headline numbers.
Buy Basic on the long term, set a reminder for month 26, and treat the 30-day window as the time to test the things you actually need it for.
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Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
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