Watch out, NordVPN! ExpressVPN trounces biggest rival, but incredible price crash won't be around long

ExpressVPN on up to 10 devices, including iPhone, Android, iPad, Linux, Windows, and Fire TV Stick, to name a few. Running a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on any of these gadgets will apply military-grade encryption to everything you do online, keeping your browsing history under lock-and-key from governments and advertisers.

Even your broadband provider won't be able to keep tabs on the websites you're checking — or how often you're visiting them. Not only that, but ExpressVPN will bundle its Lite Protection package, which blocks adverts and malicious websites on your devices to keep your browsing speedy and safe.

With the latest discount, ExpressVPN costs just £1.99 a month.

Unsure about whether you'll get enough use from a VPN? ExpressVPN includes a quibble-free 30-day guarantee on all of its subscriptions.

With 24/7 customer support, you'll be able to talk to someone from any time zone to get a full refund if you're unhappy with the experience on your devices. Yes, ExpressVPN is that confident.

It comes days after ExpressVPN has started to overhaul its desktop apps for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Some of these apps are in beta testing, while others are available to download today.

To unlock this ludicrous 80% discount, you'll need to subscribe to a two-year plan.

That might sound intimidating, especially if you haven't subscribed to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) before, but ExpressVPN offers a no-quibbles 30 day moneyback guarantee so you can try out every feature on every device before deciding whether to move ahead with the full 24-month contract.

Even better, ExpressVPN will bundle four months of extra access at no cost — so you'll be able to encrypt and secure your connection for 28 months without paying any more than a two-year plan. ExpressVPN uses military-grade AES-256 encryption, the same standard trusted by the US government to guard classified information.

ExpressVPN unveiled the biggest shake-up to its subscriptions in 16 years earlier this summer. It ditched its one-size-fits-all approach, in favour of three price plans: Basic, Advanced, and Pro.

The decision to offer different plans enables this award-winning VPN to be more competitive.

The name of this bundle undersells it slighty. Granted, it misses out on the ExpressVPN Keys secure password manager to store, manage, and generate ultra-secure passwords for all your logins, eSIM data when travelling abroad, and exclusive discount on Aircove Wi-Fi router that you'll find with other price plans... but Basic still offers access to the VPN service that earned ExpressVPN its reputation.

For example, Basic subscribers spending just 6p a day to access ExpressVPN will still benefit from its core VPN features. That includes the fast Lightway protocols and your choice of over 3,000 servers worldwide, including a dedicated location in every US state. There's also its top-tier post-quantum encryption — a feature that sets ExpressVPN apart from its competitors.

For those who don't know, as quantum computers become more powerful, these machines will eventually be able to crack encryption algorithms that are currently deemed secure.

Experts estimate that it'd take a current-generation computer around 300 trillion years to break a standard RSA-2048 bit encryption key, while a quantum computer with enough qubits could crack it in a matter of days. That could flip encryption on its head, with systems used by banks and password managers at the moment suddenly penetrable to anyone with a powerful quantum computer in under a week.

By default, ExpressVPN now relies on a supercharged form of encryption that will not be susceptible to these advances. It's part of an update rolled-out to its Lightway encryption system.

Elsewhere, the £1.99 ExpressVPN Basic plan offers protection for 10 devices simultaneously, and there's still the same 30-day money-back guarantee. The company has confirmed DNS-based ad-blocking is coming soon to Basic plans too.

So, what's missing from this most affordable ExpressVPN plan?

You won't enjoy benefits like ExpressVPN Keys password manager, threat protection features, or the Identity Defender suite. The latter boasts four essential products — ID Alerts, ID Theft Insurance, Data Removal, and Credit Scanner — designed to help you block criminals from stealing your identity.

In the latest Black Friday sale, ExpressVPN's Advanced subscription costs £2.79 per month. For that, you'll benefit from its Keys password manager, plus three days of unlimited mobile data to use anywhere on the planet via an eSIM plan courtesy of Holiday.com.

The device limit increases to 12 simultaneous connections, plus you'll gain access to identity monitoring with fraud alerts and restoration services – though these ID features only work if you're in the US.

There are also built-in features to block adverts, trackers, malicious sites, and more.

It could be the sweet spot if you want more than ExpressVPN Basic, but don't need all the premium features. If you're already subscribed to a password manager like LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane, it could be cheaper to just subscribe to ExpressVPN for its VPN and ability to suggest (and autofill) secure passwords.

Lastly, ExpressVPN Pro is the most expensive — and feature-packed — subscription tier.

Priced at £4.39 per month, this is the only subscription that includes one of ExpressVPN's most requested features – a dedicated IP address that's exclusive to you. You won't have to share it with other VPN users, and it's so private that even ExpressVPN can’t trace it back to you.

This was previously an optional add-on for ExpressVPN subscribers, so it's interesting to see the much-loved feature included as part of a monthly subscription... even if it happens to be the priciest one.

You'll get everything included with the more affordable tiers, plus 5 days of eSIM data, monthly credit reports, and data removal services for US users.

The device limit increases to 14, and you'll receive up to 75% off Aircove routers, which run ExpressVPN software so that every device connected to Wi-Fi is secured via VPN.

It's worth noting that if you're outside the US, you won't benefit from these Identity Defender features, making this tier less appealing for international users.

Whether you're looking for a cheaper ExpressVPN plan, or you're currently paying an additional fee for access to a dedicated IP address and can now fold it into your subscription, this shake-up will impact users on every price plan.