ExpressVPN has relatively few genuine gaps. What it has more of are moments where the product does something in a way you’d rather it didn’t (a tier boundary, an allocation method, a routing limitation) that gets mistaken for a missing feature.
Those are different problems, and they call for different responses. One is worth switching over. The other usually isn’t.
The table below sorts the common reasons people search for an alternative into both categories, before anything else.
Quick answer: what to switch for, and what to leave alone
| If you need… | Best-supported path | Switch? | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary port forwarding | Proton VPN | Yes | Port is dynamic and server-assigned |
| Static IP + dedicated resources + configurable forwarding | NordVPN Dedicated Server | Yes, for this specific case | Separate subscription and add-on, with real limits |
| A stable, fixed IP address | ExpressVPN Dedicated IP | No | You likely already have this |
| True app-level routing on iPhone or iPad | No clean substitute among the alternatives compared here | No useful switch | Nothing in this comparison solves it |
| More than 14 simultaneous connections | No clean substitute among the alternatives compared here | No useful switch | ExpressVPN already leads this comparison |
| Free, no-cost VPN access | Proton Free | Yes | Limited to one connection |
| Flatter pricing or fewer account identifiers | Mullvad | Yes, if that’s genuinely the priority | Real capability losses come with it |
Why “ExpressVPN alternative” rarely means what it sounds like
ExpressVPN isn’t one flat feature list. It’s a tiered product (Basic, Advanced, Pro, and a separate Dedicated IP layer) which means a capability can exist on ExpressVPN and still feel absent if you’re looking at the wrong tier, or expecting it to behave a particular way.
That’s worth sorting out before comparing anything else. Is this something ExpressVPN genuinely doesn’t do, or something it does differently than you’d like?
The rest of this article follows that question, one trigger at a time. Where the answer is a genuine gap, an alternative is named, along with what it costs to switch. Where it isn’t, that gets said plainly too.
You need port forwarding
This is the cleanest genuine gap on this list.
ExpressVPN doesn’t offer ordinary inbound VPN-tunnel forwarding, on any tier. If you’re running something that needs an open inbound port (a torrent client waiting on incoming connections, self-hosted software or services) Express’s core product simply doesn’t do that.
Proton VPN does. On its paid plan, Proton supports dynamic NAT-PMP forwarding on Windows, macOS, and Linux (macOS is currently early access), through servers that support P2P. The port is assigned automatically, and it typically changes when you reconnect.
That detail matters more than it sounds like it should. If you need a forwarded port, this solves it cleanly. If you need the same port, reliably, every time, this isn’t that: and that’s a different requirement entirely, covered next.
Proton solves this specific gap. It isn’t a general upgrade over Express, and its own trade-offs show up later, once every trigger has had a turn.
When the requirement is a chosen port, not just an open one
Ordinary forwarding and forwarding you control aren’t the same request, even though they sound close.
If what you actually need is the ability to configure and choose your forwarded port (as part of a setup with a static IP and dedicated resources, rather than accepting whatever Proton assigns) Proton’s dynamic model doesn’t cover that.
NordVPN’s Dedicated Server is built for this narrower case. It combines a static IP, dedicated resources, and configurable forwarding in a single add-on. It’s worth being clear about what that involves: it sits on top of an active NordVPN subscription rather than standing alone, starts at $11.99 a month with the exact qualifying term and renewal unconfirmed at signup, runs on NordLynx across four current locations, and isn’t available through Nord’s browser extension or tvOS apps. Independent, product-specific security assurance for this add-on hasn’t been established separately from Nord’s core service.
This is a specialist path for a compound, specific need, not a general Express replacement. If your requirement is simply an open port, the ordinary Proton path above is the better fit, and considerably simpler.
You want a stable, fixed IP address
Here’s a reason to switch that usually turns out not to be one.
ExpressVPN already has a Dedicated IP. It’s included on Pro, and available as a paid add-on on Basic and Advanced. If a static, personal IP address is genuinely all you’re after, this already covers it, switching providers for this reason alone tends to trade a capability you have for one that works elsewhere, without any real gain.
A few details are worth knowing. Express’s Dedicated IP runs on its Lightway protocol, spans 29 current locations, and is supported on native apps and the browser extension, router and TV/tvOS support isn’t established. Your location stays fixed for the length of your add-on term, though the specific IP can be reassigned after extended inactivity. Express describes its allocation as a blinded-token, zero-knowledge method meant to separate your identity from your assigned IP; that description is provider-stated, and independent validation of it hasn’t been established.
None of that changes the basic point: if a stable IP is the goal, you likely don’t need to go anywhere.
If the objection is the architecture, not the IP itself
There’s a narrower case where switching still makes sense here: not because the function is missing, but because you specifically don’t want Express’s method of providing it.
NordVPN’s Dedicated IP is a different product built on a different model. Where Express describes a token-based allocation, Nord’s version is explicitly linked to your account email. It doesn’t include forwarding, and it carries its own protocol and device constraints, along with an unresolved inconsistency around browser support.
This is worth considering only if the allocation model itself is your actual objection. It isn’t a privacy upgrade in either direction, just a different way of handling the same function, with a different set of trade-offs attached.
You rely on ExpressVPN’s Mac routing controls
This section isn’t about finding something better. It’s about knowing what a switch, made for a different reason, would quietly cost you.
Express’s Mac app supports native include/exclude routing, you choose exactly which apps use the VPN, down to IP and subnet rules. It’s a genuinely capable implementation, and none of the alternatives elsewhere in this article match it. Proton’s version is exclusion-only, experimental, and narrower. Mullvad is exclusion-only as well. NordVPN has no current native app-level equivalent.
So if forwarding, pricing, or account structure is pulling you toward an alternative, and you rely on this kind of routing on a Mac, weigh that separately. The trigger pulling you toward a switch and the workflow you’d lose by making it are two different questions, it’s easy to only think about the first.
You want the same routing control on iPhone or iPad
Express’s iOS app doesn’t offer true app-level routing. What it offers is narrower: you can exclude specific IPv4 addresses from the tunnel, but not by app, domain, or range, and using it requires reconnecting, it also isn’t compatible with Advanced Kill Switch.
If genuine app-level routing on iPhone or iPad is what you need, no clean substitute was established among the alternatives investigated here. Proton, NordVPN, and Mullvad don’t offer it either.
This is a real gap. It just doesn’t have an answer within this comparison, and that’s worth knowing plainly rather than being pointed toward something that doesn’t actually solve it.
You need more than 14 devices connected at once
Express’s device ceiling depends on plan: 10 on Basic, 12 on Advanced, 14 on Pro.
If your requirement is genuinely 15 or more simultaneous direct connections, none of the alternatives compared here get you there, Proton and NordVPN cap at 10, Mullvad at 5. Among the providers in this comparison, Express already leads. There’s no useful switch to make for this reason alone.
You want it for free
ExpressVPN has no standing free tier. Proton does. Proton Free gives you persistent, no-cost access — genuinely free, not a trial.
It comes with real limits: one connection at a time, and a destination flow controlled by Proton rather than free server choice. Paid-tier features like forwarding and P2P don’t carry over.
Treat this as what it solves (free access, specifically) rather than a stand-in for Express’s paid tiers. If cost is the only issue, and you don’t need forwarding, more devices, or Express’s higher-tier extras, it’s a reasonable narrow fit.
You want a simpler, flatter account, not more features
Some readers aren’t missing a capability at all. They want a different relationship with their VPN provider: one flat price, and fewer conventional account details tied to it.
Mullvad fits that specifically. It runs on a single paid entitlement and uses a numbered account rather than a mandatory email and password.
That comes at a real cost, worth stating up front rather than discovering later. Mullvad caps at 5 devices, well below Express’s range. It has no forwarding and no Dedicated IP. Its account model means recovery is more constrained than a conventional email-based account, lose your number, and there’s less of a conventional safety net. It has no app-level iOS routing, and its current written P2P policy isn’t clearly established.
Mullvad isn’t a more private or more anonymous option here. It’s a different account and pricing architecture, worth choosing because that structure is what you actually want, not because it fixes something Express is missing.
Streaming, speed, and trust
These come up often in searches like this one, and none of them support a clean, generic answer.
Streaming results depend on the specific service, region, server route, and date you test, for every provider here, including Express. A result today on one service says little about tomorrow, or a different one.
Speed comparisons depend on protocol, platform, and test conditions. Nothing behind this article supports a provider-wide speed ranking.
Trust and assurance need to be evaluated claim by claim, not aggregated into an audit count or a general reputation. Express, Proton, NordVPN, and Mullvad each have differently scoped assurance records, and none of them adds up to a single trustworthiness score.
One historical item is worth naming directly: a Windows-specific DNS-routing issue tied to split tunneling, which persisted for roughly 21 months under specific conditions before it was fixed and rechecked. It’s a bounded, remediated historical event, not a live issue, and not evidence of a broader pattern.
If a streaming or speed claim actually matters to your decision, it needs testing against your specific service and setup, not treating as a general truth about any provider.
When ExpressVPN is still the better fit
Running back through all of this, ExpressVPN stays the stronger choice in several recurring situations:
- Your device count fits inside 10, 12, or 14 connections: nothing compared here goes higher.
- You use Express’s Mac routing controls, and nothing else matches that workflow.
- A stable IP is the actual requirement, and Express’s method of providing it isn’t your real objection.
- You need P2P without needing inbound forwarding: Express already supports the former.
- Conventional account recovery and support access matter more to you than Mullvad’s minimized-identifier trade.
- You get real use out of Express’s broader suite, rather than treating it as unwanted bulk.
- Your reason for considering a switch is streaming or speed, without a specific, tested service or route behind it.
- The alternative on the table solves something minor while costing you something Express already handles well.
None of this means Express is the right fit for everyone reading this. It means that in each of these situations, switching trades away something working for something that doesn’t clearly improve on it.
Conclusion
The reasons for leaving ExpressVPN fall into two very different categories: a genuine gap, or a preference about how Express already does something.
The genuine gaps are narrow. Ordinary port forwarding is missing, and Proton VPN fills it cleanly, with the caveat that the port is dynamic rather than chosen. A specialist, configurable-forwarding need points instead to NordVPN’s Dedicated Server, a different kind of product entirely. Free, no-cost access doesn’t exist on Express, and Proton Free covers that exact case.
Two requirements (true app-level iOS routing, and 15 or more simultaneous connections) have no clean answer among the alternatives compared here. That’s a real limit worth knowing, not a reason to force a switch that won’t actually solve it.
Everything else (a stable IP, flatter pricing, fewer account identifiers, Mac routing habits) comes down to preference rather than absence. Solving for those preferences is reasonable. It’s just worth being honest that it’s a trade, not a straightforward upgrade.
The right move depends on which specific problem you actually have, and what you’d be giving up to fix it.
The STACK View
The more capable something already is, the narrower a legitimate reason to leave it becomes. What looks like a reason to switch away from ExpressVPN is often a preference about architecture rather than a missing capability, and a useful alternative fixes the specific thing Express fails at for this reader, without quietly removing something more important that was already working.
FAQs
Does ExpressVPN support port forwarding? No. ExpressVPN doesn’t offer ordinary inbound VPN-tunnel forwarding on any current plan.
Which VPN has port forwarding instead of ExpressVPN? Proton VPN, on its paid plan, supports dynamic port forwarding on Windows, macOS, and Linux, through P2P-enabled servers. The port is server-assigned and typically changes on reconnect.
Does ExpressVPN have a Dedicated IP? Yes. It’s included with the Pro plan and available as a paid add-on on Basic and Advanced.
What’s the difference between ExpressVPN Dedicated IP and NordVPN Dedicated Server? They solve different problems. ExpressVPN’s Dedicated IP gives you a stable, personal IP address. NordVPN’s Dedicated Server is a separate add-on combining a static IP, dedicated resources, and configurable forwarding — a more specialist product built for a different need.
Does ExpressVPN support app-level routing on iPhone or iPad? Not at the app level. It supports excluding specific IPv4 addresses from the VPN tunnel, but not routing by individual app.
Which VPN supports more than 14 simultaneous connections? None of the alternatives compared here do. ExpressVPN Pro’s 14-device limit is the highest among the providers in this comparison.
Is there a free alternative to ExpressVPN? Proton Free offers persistent, no-cost VPN access, limited to one connection and without paid-tier features like forwarding.
Do I actually need to leave ExpressVPN? Only if your specific requirement is one of the genuine gaps covered above. Other reasons to switch may be preferences about how ExpressVPN delivers a capability rather than something the product actually lacks.
Continue your research
An alternatives list helps you widen the field. The next step is narrowing it back down around the things that actually matter: trust, ownership, privacy architecture, safety, features, and whether the product is worth paying for.
Go deeper on ExpressVPN
- ExpressVPN Review
- Is ExpressVPN Worth It?
- Is ExpressVPN Private?
- Is ExpressVPN Safe?
- Who Owns ExpressVPN?
- ExpressVPN Features
Compare the strongest alternatives
If ExpressVPN is still in contention, compare it directly against the other VPNs you’re considering: