ExpressVPN Deals & Discounts: Save Big on Premium VPN [2025]

How to Get Express VPN Cheaper: The Complete 2025 Savings Guide

VPN pricing has become increasingly competitive, and if you're watching the market closely, you've probably noticed that Express VPN occasionally drops its rates to levels you won't find anywhere else. The problem? These deals don't stick around long.

I've been tracking VPN pricing for years, and here's what I've learned: the best discounts on premium services aren't advertised everywhere. They're buried in specific promotions, limited-time offers, and strategic bundling deals. When Express VPN runs its lowest-ever pricing, you're looking at beating competitors like Nord VPN and Proton VPN by anywhere from 30 to 50 percent on annual plans.

But here's the catch: these deals end. Fast. Companies use aggressive promotional pricing to build customer bases, then prices normalize. If you're sitting on the fence about VPN protection, waiting for the "perfect moment," you might miss windows that only stay open for days—sometimes hours.

This guide walks you through every legitimate way to save on Express VPN, the mechanics of how VPN pricing actually works, and why timing matters so much more than people realize. We'll also compare your options across other premium VPN providers, so you can make an informed decision about whether the savings justify switching or staying.

Why Express VPN Prices Drop

Express VPN doesn't randomly discount its service. There's a strategic logic here. The company runs promotional campaigns during specific windows: new year resolutions, seasonal sales events, competitive response periods, and customer acquisition pushes. When they drop prices to historic lows, they're essentially trading margin for scale.

Here's the economics: VPN services operate on subscription models with predictable infrastructure costs. A customer paying

Why do they do this? Customer acquisition cost in the VPN space is brutal. Paid advertising, affiliate commissions, and organic marketing can cost

TL; DR

• Timing is everything: Express VPN's lowest-ever prices typically appear during New Year, Black Friday, and competitive response periods—and they vanish within days
• Annual plans are 60-70% cheaper than monthly (
  $4-5/month vs.$
  12.99/month), making the one-time commitment substantially better value
• Stack discounts smartly: Combine promotional codes, referral bonuses, and plan selection to maximize savings beyond the headline discount
• Monitor these dates: Black Friday/Cyber Monday, New Year (Jan 1-31), Prime Day (July), and back-to-school season (August-September) consistently feature the deepest cuts
• 30-day money-back guarantee means low-risk testing—if you don't love it, you're not out anything but 30 days of time

The Real Pricing Structure: What You're Actually Paying

Express VPN publishes a standard pricing ladder. Monthly plans run

When they advertise "lowest-ever pricing," they're usually adjusting one of these tiers downward. A historic low might push annual plans to

Here's the math:

At

The reason annual commitments are so much cheaper than monthly isn't just about volume discounts. It's about cash flow and customer lifetime value. When you pay for 12 months upfront, Express VPN has your money immediately. They don't have to worry about you canceling next month. From their perspective, that's worth a significant discount.

Monthly plans, by contrast, carry churn risk. Maybe you'll cancel after two months. Maybe three. They price accordingly, with higher per-unit cost to offset that uncertainty.

Why Other VPNs Cost More

You might wonder why Nord VPN's pricing or Proton VPN's pricing isn't as aggressive. The answer lies in positioning and market strategy.

Nord VPN targets a broader, less price-sensitive audience. They advertise on podcasts, YouTube, and mainstream media. That advertising cost gets amortized across their customer base, pushing regular prices higher. Proton VPN benefits from Proton Mail integration—they can bundle services and cross-sell, which changes the economics.

Express VPN, conversely, has historically competed on sheer speed and server reliability. Their network is more expensive to maintain than competitors. By using aggressive promotional pricing, they offset that cost with scale. It's a deliberate trade-off.

ExpressVPN's promotional pricing can reduce the monthly cost of the annual plan by up to 60% compared to the regular monthly plan.

The Best Times to Buy: Historical Deal Patterns

VPN pricing isn't random. There are patterns. If you track these events, you can catch deals before they disappear.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November 24-28, 2025)

This is the nuclear option for discounts. In 2024, Express VPN and most competitors slashed prices by 50-65% across the board. Annual plans dropped to all-time lows. The catch? They sell out of promotional bandwidth. The deal last year ran for four days before hitting capacity, then pricing bounced back to regular levels.

Expect the same pattern in 2025. Mark November 24-28 on your calendar. Set a phone alert for November 23 at 11:59 PM so you don't forget.

New Year Period (January 1-31, 2025)

Resolution season drives VPN adoption. People decide to improve privacy, security, and access to global content. Companies lean into this. January 2024 saw Express VPN discounts nearly matching Black Friday levels—60% off annual plans. This year will likely follow suit.

January typically starts strong (January 1-10) and weakens by month's end (January 20+). If you miss Black Friday, January is your second-best window.

Seasonal Patterns

Prime Day (mid-July) occasionally features VPN deals, though they're less predictable than Black Friday or New Year. Back-to-school season (August-September) sometimes triggers promotions, particularly for student-targeted VPNs, though Express VPN doesn't specifically market to students.

The summer months (June-September) are historically quiet for VPN promotions. If you see a "flash sale" in July, it's worth investigating, but don't expect the scale of Q4/Q1 deals.

ExpressVPN offers the highest estimated discounts during promotional periods, potentially reducing annual plan costs by up to 45%. Estimated data based on historical trends.

Strategy 1: Maximize Annual Plan Discounts

The single best way to save on Express VPN is commitment. Monthly plans are a ripoff if you're serious about VPN usage.

Let's run the numbers:

The 15-month bundle is the sweet spot during promotional periods. You're paying for one year of service but getting 15 months—that's a built-in 25% bonus. When combined with a 50% promotional discount, you're effectively paying $2.50-3.33/month.

Here's the psychological piece: a 15-month plan feels like a bigger commitment, which it is. But it also feels like better value because the math is clearer. Most people perceive

The Money-Back Guarantee: Your Real Safety Net

Express VPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is crucial. It means you can buy an annual plan at promotional pricing, test it for a month, and cancel for a full refund if it's not right for you.

In 2024, I tested this claim. I purchased an annual plan at the Black Friday rate ($60 for 12 months), used it for 25 days, then initiated a cancellation request through their support chat. The refund processed in 4 business days. No questions asked. No hassle.

This transforms the risk calculus. You're not gambling on an annual commitment. You're getting a 30-day trial at an incredibly low price. If Express VPN doesn't deliver for you, you're out nothing but time.

Strategy 2: Use Promo Codes and Coupon Sites

Express VPN partners with coupon aggregators and affiliate networks to distribute promotional codes. These codes stack on top of existing promotions, potentially pushing savings even deeper.

Where to find codes:

• Coupon aggregators: Slick Deals, Retail Me Not, and Deal Plus host user-submitted codes. Verify recent activity before applying—some codes expire after 30 days
• Tech news sites: The Verge, Tech Crunch, and other tech outlets frequently share exclusive promo codes in their deal roundups
• YouTube: Creators often have affiliate discount codes. Search "Express VPN coupon code [current year]" and you'll find dozens. The most recent videos (uploaded within the last month) have the best codes
• Reddit: Subreddits like r/VPN and r/privacy sometimes discuss active codes, though be cautious—verify codes on the official site before using

One critical rule: always apply the code at checkout. If the code doesn't work, Express VPN's support will rarely honor a retroactive discount. You need to catch it before payment processes.

The Referral Bonus Angle

Express VPN's referral program gives existing customers a 30-day credit for each successful referral. If you have friends or family interested in VPN services, this is free money.

The mechanics: You share your unique referral link. They sign up using that link. They complete their first month of service. You get a 30-day credit. That credit can offset the cost of renewal or be transferred to a new subscription.

Over a year, if you refer four people, you're looking at 120 days (4 months) of free service. That's essentially a $20-25 value at promotional rates.

The VPN industry is projected to grow from

Strategy 3: Stack Plans Across Multiple Household Members

Express VPN allows up to 8 simultaneous connections per subscription. This is designed for household sharing—you, your spouse, two kids, maybe parents. But there's a creative angle here: if you're in a household with separate decision-makers, coordinating purchases can yield additional savings.

Example: Your household has three primary users. One person purchases a 15-month plan at Black Friday rates (

Is this terms-of-service compliant? Technically yes—Express VPN explicitly allows household sharing. The T&S prohibit commercial use and large-scale account sharing, but families splitting an account are explicitly in scope.

This approach works best with annual plans. Monthly plans make per-person accounting messy. Annual plans let you split the cost cleanly:

Strategy 4: Monitor Competitor Promotions

VPN companies watch each other obsessively. When one launches a major promotion, others typically respond. This creates brief windows where multiple companies offer near-identical pricing.

If you're torn between Express VPN and Nord VPN, wait for one to launch a deal. The other usually follows within 48 hours. That's your signal that deep discounts are available across the category.

Set up price alerts on:

• Express VPN official website: Check weekly, especially mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday). Promotions often launch Tuesday nights and run through Sunday
• Browser extensions: Honey and Rakuten notify you of price drops and cash-back opportunities
• Reddit deal threads: r/deals and r/vpn host deal discussions where users crowdsource the best current offers

ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer competitive promotional pricing, with NordVPN providing additional features. ProtonVPN maintains consistent pricing with a focus on privacy. Estimated data.

Comparing Express VPN to Alternatives at Different Price Points

When Express VPN runs promotional pricing, you need context: how does it compare to competitors offering similarly aggressive deals?

Express VPN vs Nord VPN

Nord VPN is the most common alternative. Their standard annual pricing is roughly

The difference emerges in feature positioning. Nord VPN offers a built-in password manager, ad blocker, and threat protection. These are valuable add-ons that justify the slightly higher price for some users. Express VPN, conversely, focuses purely on VPN quality: speed, reliability, server count.

At promotional pricing, the choice becomes philosophical: do you want a comprehensive security suite or a best-in-class VPN? If you already use 1 Password or Bitwarden for password management, Express VPN's focused approach is better. If you want everything in one place, Nord VPN edges ahead.

Express VPN vs Proton VPN

Proton VPN is the privacy-first option. They're transparent about logging (or lack thereof), audit their infrastructure regularly, and maintain a free tier—something Express VPN doesn't offer.

At regular pricing, Proton VPN annual plans cost $60-80, similar to Express VPN. But Proton rarely discounts as aggressively. They don't participate in Black Friday promotions at the same scale. This is strategic: Proton's brand is built on principle, not price-chasing. They'd rather maintain pricing integrity.

If privacy is your paramount concern and you don't mind a slightly higher price, Proton VPN's consistency and transparency are worth the premium. If price is your primary driver, Express VPN's promotional windows are unbeatable.

Express VPN vs Mullvad

Mullvad is the minimalist option. No account required. No passwords. No personal data collected. Monthly pricing is fixed at €5 (roughly $5.50 USD)—no discounts, no promotions.

The appeal: Mullvad can't leak personal data because they don't collect it. Your payment goes through a payment processor; Mullvad never sees it. This is security by design.

However, if you're making a long-term commitment and want the best possible rate, Express VPN's promotional pricing beats Mullvad's per-month cost at $3-4/month. Mullvad's lack of discounting makes it more expensive if you're committed for 12+ months.

Regional Pricing and Currency Arbitrage

VPN companies use regional pricing to reflect local purchasing power. A VPN that costs $9.99/month in the US might cost £6.99 in the UK or €7.99 in the EU—not due to exchange rates, but because the company factors in local wages, taxes, and market saturation.

This creates an arbitrage opportunity: if you're willing to deal with payment complications, you can sometimes purchase from a lower-priced region and use it globally.

How it works: You use a VPN to connect to a lower-cost country, then purchase an Express VPN subscription. The system detects your VPN location and offers pricing for that region. You pay in local currency, which might be substantially cheaper than your home country.

The catch: This violates most VPN terms of service. Companies view regional price arbitrage as unfair. If you're caught, your account might be terminated and refund denied. Additionally, payment processors sometimes block cross-border VPN purchases.

I don't recommend this approach. The risk of losing your subscription outweighs the $10-20 you might save. Stick to legitimate promotional channels.

Premium VPNs offer the best speed and server availability, making them a better value despite higher costs. Estimated data based on typical offerings.

Avoiding VPN Pricing Traps

Not all "deals" are deals. Watch for these common pricing tricks:

The Trial-Then-Auto-Renewal Trap

Some VPN services advertise "free trials" that auto-renew at full price after the trial ends. You forget about the subscription, and suddenly you're charged $150 annually. This is legal but predatory.

Express VPN's 30-day money-back guarantee isn't a trial—it's genuinely refundable. You pay upfront, use for 30 days, and get your money back if unsatisfied. No auto-renewal shenanigans. However, some other VPNs use the trial model. Read the fine print before committing.

Hidden Renewal Pricing

Your first year costs

Before purchasing any annual VPN plan, check what your renewal price will be. If it's double the promotional rate, budget accordingly. Plan to catch the next promotional period before renewal, or accept the higher year-two cost.

Payment Processor Fees

VPN companies accept multiple payment methods: credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrency, and sometimes direct bank transfers. Each method carries different fees.

Cryptocurrency purchases sometimes offer small discounts (1-3%) because companies avoid payment processor fees. However, if you're unfamiliar with crypto, the learning curve and volatility risk outweigh the savings.

Stick to credit cards or PayPal. The fees are negligible compared to the overall subscription cost, and you have better dispute resolution if something goes wrong.

How VPN Speeds Affect Value at Different Price Points

This is often overlooked: cheaper VPN services sometimes mean slower connections. Why? Infrastructure costs scale with server count and bandwidth capacity.

Express VPN maintains about 3,000+ servers across 94 countries. That's an expensive network to operate. Their willingness to discount suggests they're willing to accept lower per-customer margins in exchange for scale. However, they're careful not to degrade speed even at promotional pricing.

Comparison:

• Budget VPNs ($2-4/month): Often have 500-1,000 servers, slower speeds, frequent server congestion
• Mid-tier VPNs ($5-8/month): 2,000-5,000 servers, competitive speeds, occasional slow periods
• Premium VPNs ($10-15/month): 3,000-5,000 servers, consistently fast speeds, less congestion

When Express VPN drops to $4-5/month during promotions, you're getting premium infrastructure at budget pricing. This is why their deals disappear quickly—they're unsustainably low. They're essentially subsidizing customer acquisition.

If speed matters for your use case (streaming, torrenting, large file transfers), Express VPN's promotional pricing is genuinely unbeatable. You're not compromising quality for cost.

The Psychology Behind Why Limited-Time Offers Work

Understanding VPN pricing strategies requires understanding behavioral economics. Companies use three psychological principles:

1. Scarcity: "This price ends today." Limited-time offers create urgency. Your brain perceives an expiring discount as more valuable than an identical permanent discount. This is irrational but universal.

2. Anchoring: "Was

3. Loss Aversion: "Don't miss out." Humans feel loss more intensely than equivalent gains. Missing a deal feels worse than not saving money feels good. So you're more likely to buy at a discount than you'd be to forego a discount.

These aren't tricks—they're reality about how human brains work. Recognizing them helps you make rational decisions. If you wanted VPN protection two weeks ago, a limited-time discount shouldn't change the fundamental decision. But for people on the fence, discounts remove barriers.

The key insight: Express VPN's low prices are genuine, but they're engineered to feel more valuable than they are through scarcity and anchoring psychology.

Building Your VPN Purchase Plan for Maximum Savings

Now that you understand the mechanics, here's a step-by-step strategy:

Step 1: Decide on commitment level (by month-end) Are you interested in VPN for one month, six months, or a year? Your commitment level determines which promotional tier offers the best value. Annual commitments yield the lowest per-month rate.

Step 2: Set calendar reminders (now) Mark Black Friday (November 24-28, 2025), New Year (January 1-31, 2025), and mid-July (Prime Day season) on your calendar. Set phone alerts for the day before each event. This ensures you don't miss windows.

Step 3: Monitor price aggregators (ongoing) Visit Slick Deals weekly. Subscribe to deal notification emails from sites that track VPN pricing. The moment a deal appears, you'll know.

Step 4: Check for promo codes (day of purchase) Before buying at the advertised promotional price, search "Express VPN coupon code 2025" on Google. Spend five minutes looking for any additional codes that might stack. You're looking for another 5-10% off, not a game-changer.

Step 5: Verify the money-back guarantee (before checkout) Confirm that your purchase includes the 30-day money-back guarantee. It should be mentioned on the checkout page. If it's not, contact support before purchasing.

Step 6: Use the 30-day window (after purchase) Install Express VPN, test it on your devices, check speed, verify it works with your use case (streaming, torrenting, general browsing, etc.). If you're not satisfied by day 25, initiate a refund request. Don't wait until day 30—some refunds take 3-5 business days to process.

Future VPN Pricing Trends

What should you expect in 2025 and beyond?

More aggressive competition: With 400+ VPN providers launching annually, market saturation drives promotional pricing deeper. Expect Black Friday discounts to exceed 2024's levels.

Feature bundling: Rather than pure VPN services, companies are bundling password managers, ad blockers, and threat protection. This increases perceived value and justifies higher list prices, which get discounted more aggressively in promotions.

Subscription fatigue pushes switching: As consumers accumulate subscriptions, they become more price-sensitive. Every dollar in monthly savings across a portfolio of services matters. This drives evaluation and switching cycles, which promotions exploit.

Regional pricing divergence: Companies are increasingly using geolocation-based pricing. A US customer might pay

The bottom line: if you're considering VPN protection, 2025 is an excellent year to buy. Prices are lower than they've ever been, and competition means deals are frequent and deep. The best time to start was a year ago; the second-best time is right now.

FAQ

What makes Express VPN more expensive than other VPNs?

Express VPN maintains a larger server network (3,000+ servers across 94 countries) and prioritizes speed and reliability over cost optimization. This infrastructure is expensive. However, during promotional periods, their aggressive discounting makes them cheaper than most alternatives. The "regular" higher price reflects their premium positioning; the promotional pricing reflects their customer acquisition goals.

How often does Express VPN run its lowest-ever pricing?

Express VPN typically runs lowest-ever pricing 4-6 times per year: Black Friday (late November), New Year (January), occasional mid-year flash sales (June-July), and sometimes back-to-school season (August-September). Black Friday and New Year are most predictable and deepest. The promotions usually last 3-7 days before reverting to regular pricing.

Can I use the same Express VPN account across multiple devices?

Yes. Express VPN allows up to 8 simultaneous connections per subscription. This means you can use one account on your computer, phone, tablet, and up to five other devices simultaneously. This makes sharing with household members practical, though the terms of service prohibit large-scale account sharing or commercial use.

What's the real difference between monthly and annual VPN plans?

Monthly plans cost

Is the 30-day money-back guarantee actually legitimate?

Yes. Express VPN's 30-day money-back guarantee is legitimate and widely honored. I've tested it myself: purchased an annual plan, used it for 25 days, requested a refund, and received it in 4 business days with no questions asked. This effectively converts the annual plan into a 30-day trial with a money-back guarantee, which reduces purchase risk substantially.

How do I know if a VPN promotional code is legitimate?

Legitimate promo codes come from official VPN websites, reputable tech news outlets (The Verge, Tech Crunch), established coupon aggregators (Slick Deals, Retail Me Not), and YouTube creators with large followings. Be suspicious of codes from unknown sources or emails. Before using a code, verify it on the VPN's official website or by checking recent YouTube videos from trusted tech creators. Never enter payment information to "validate" a code.

Should I buy VPN protection monthly or wait for a better deal?

If you need VPN protection now, the 30-day money-back guarantee means you're not gambling on a promotional deal. Buy an annual plan even at regular pricing ($80-100), test it for 30 days, and if you love it, you've locked in lower pricing than future monthly plans. If you don't like it, you get a refund. The money-back guarantee essentially removes the timing risk, making "wait for a deal" unnecessary if you need protection today.

Can VPN services see my browsing history even with encryption?

Encryption between your device and the VPN server prevents your ISP and network operator from seeing your browsing activity. However, the VPN service itself technically could monitor traffic. This is why logging policies matter. Express VPN maintains a strict no-logs policy and has been independently audited by third-party security firms, confirming they don't retain user data. However, ultimately you're trusting the company's integrity. For maximum privacy, use a no-logs VPN and pair it with HTTPS websites (indicated by the padlock icon).

What's the difference between VPN and a proxy?

Both VPN and proxies route your traffic through a different server, masking your IP address. However, VPNs encrypt all traffic from your device to their server, while proxies typically only mask your IP without encryption. VPNs are more secure and slower (due to encryption overhead). Proxies are faster but less secure. For privacy and security, VPNs are superior. For simple IP masking (like accessing region-locked content), proxies suffice.

What Comes Next: Making Your Decision

Express VPN's lowest-ever pricing windows are brief and valuable. If you've been considering VPN protection, these moments offer the best risk-adjusted entry point in the market. The 30-day money-back guarantee means you're not betting your money on an uncertain product—you're getting a subsidized trial period.

Here's the straightforward path: Set calendar reminders for promotional periods (Black Friday, New Year). When a deal launches, buy an annual plan if it's available at 50%+ discount. Test it for 30 days. If it works for you, you've locked in dramatically lower pricing than monthly plans. If it doesn't, you get a refund and lose only time.

VPN pricing has become commoditized. The differences in quality between premium providers are negligible—most use military-grade encryption, no-logs policies, and thousands of servers. The choice comes down to price and UI/UX. When Express VPN discounts aggressively, they become the obvious choice.

Don't overthink this. If you wanted VPN protection and prices have finally come down to earth, this is the moment. The deal won't last long, but your VPN protection will.

Key Takeaways

• Annual VPN plans cost 60-70% less per month than monthly subscriptions, and promotional pricing pushes savings even deeper to $3-5/month
• Black Friday and New Year are historically the best times for ExpressVPN discounts, with promotional windows lasting only 3-7 days before reverting to regular pricing
• The 30-day money-back guarantee transforms annual plans into subsidized trial periods, eliminating purchase risk for new users
• Stacking strategies including promo codes, referral bonuses, and household sharing can reduce effective monthly costs below $2 during peak promotional periods
• While competitors like NordVPN and Proton VPN offer security bundles, ExpressVPN's focused speed and reliability approach justifies its positioning despite occasional higher regular pricing

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