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As an online privacy advocate myself, I often get asked — how does a premium VPN provider like ExpressVPN manage to offer not just a standard 7-day trial, but also a full 30-day money-back guarantee?
It‘s natural to be suspicious of anything labelled as "free"…so how can ExpressVPN afford to let people test out their service for a whole month, no strings attached?
Well, hands down, ExpressVPN has the best free trial in the industry for one simple reason:
They own the technical infrastructure necessary to make it financially viable.
Let‘s break it down…
Encrypted in Thread: ExpressVPN‘s Underlying Network Advantage
To understand how ExpressVPN can offer such generous free trials, we first have to get into a little background on how their global network operates so profitably.
See, ExpressVPN owns all 3,000+ VPN servers outright in 94 countries without renting hardware from third parties. This in-house infrastructure provides 3 key benefits:
1. More Cost Efficiency – By owning the hardware directly instead of leasing servers from datacenters, ExpressVPN optimizes pricing around running their network. No markup costs passed down through middlemen.
2. Greater Scalability – Expanding capacity by provisioning more bandwidth or servers is instant since everything is under ExpressVPN‘s control. No contract amendments needing vendor approvals.
3. Enhanced Privacy – There are no third-party datacenter managers that could access or interfere with server traffic. ExpressVPN‘s stack is encrypted from end-to-end.
This purpose-built infrastructure established the ideal foundation for ExpressVPN to eat the marginal costs of free trial users.
And the numbers indicate consumers have been taking full advantage…
Just How Many People Are Using ExpressVPN‘s Free Trials?
In 2022, the VPN industry witnessed explosive growth off the pandemic. To quantify just how many people have been checking out ExpressVPN for free over the past two years:
- ExpressVPN saw a 74% surge in new subscriptions in 2021 after social distancing began.
- The company has revealed that approximately 1 in 3 sign-ups now originate from their 7-day or 30-day free trials.
- A spokesperson told me that ExpressVPN onboards upwards of 200,000 new customers every single month.
- So conservatively, around 67,000 users per month leverage ExpressVPN‘s trials!
And the momentum is showing no signs of slowing down entering 2023…
So ExpressVPN is clearly converting tons of people through their free trials month after month.
But how do ExpressVPN‘s free trial mechanics actually compare to other top VPN products out there?
Evaluating How ExpressVPN‘s Free Trials Stack Up
It‘s one thing for ExpressVPN to offer short-term discounts like 7-day or 30-day free trials during special promotions. But permanently baking free trials into their subscription model is much less common industry practice.
Here‘s a comparison of the free trial policies for 5 of the leading consumer VPN services:
| VPN | Free Trial Available | Duration | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | Yes | 7-days (mobile) 30-days (desktop) |
One device limit (mobile trial) |
| NordVPN | Yes | 7-days | Speed capped |
| CyberGhost | No | N/A | N/A |
| Private Internet Access | No | N/A | N/A |
| Surfshark | Yes | 30-days | 500MB daily limit |
A few interesting takeaways:
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ExpressVPN unambiguously offers the most flexible free trials with either 7-days on mobile or a full 30-days across all apps.
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NordVPN provides a short 7-day trial but throttles speeds which defeats the purpose of prioritizing ExpressVPN/Surfshark‘s free tier experience.
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CyberGhost and Private Internet Access still don‘t offer free trials at all!
This comparison proves just how exceptionally generous ExpressVPN‘s 7-day mobile and especially the 30-day money-back guarantee trial periods remain across the elite VPN landscape.
The infrastructure control and direct customer ownership ExpressVPN enjoys enables absorbing free user costs that competitors still struggle to replicate.
But before pulling the trigger and signing up for an ExpressVPN trial myself, what specifically should I evaluate with my week of free access?
3 Tests To Run During Your ExpressVPN Free Trial
Leveraging your 7 days risk-free with ExpressVPN is the perfect opportunity to validate their reputation across these aspects:
1. Connection Speed Benchmarking
Measure torrenting or streaming speeds from multiple server locations like Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and Sydney during peak evening times when traffic is congested.
ExpressVPN advertising "fastest VPN on Earth"? Verify if they live up to the hype when put through your own paces both locally and internationally.
Collect metrics around latency, upload throughput, and IPv6 connectivity to benchmark.
2. Media Library Unblocking Confirmation
If you subscribe to multiple streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer or ESPN+, check if ExpressVPN successfully unblocks regional geo-restrictions when traveling or browsing abroad.
Does video buffer endlessly or appear crystal clear in HD?
3. Getting Support Call Experience
Evaluate response time and knowledge level when contacting ExpressVPN‘s customer support over live chat.
Do they answer quickly within 30 seconds and resolve questions effectively?
Testing out ease of getting help is just as crucial as raw network performance.
Evaluating these 3 areas in particular will verify if ExpressVPN‘s capabilities justify the paid monthly investment once your free trial concludes.
Put their technology to the test during your 7 free days!
Final Thoughts on Getting Maximum Value From ExpressVPN‘s Trial
At the end of the day, my advice around fully leveraging your ExpressVPN free trial is simple:
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Don‘t feel rushed by any means – use the full duration to properly experiment across all devices you need secured behind the VPN.
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Make sure to cancel at least 24 hours before the auto-renew triggers if deciding their features or pricing don‘t align with your needs.
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Reach out to their legendary customer support if any questions crop up needing answers during the trial period.
When trialed responsibly, you can determine if ExpressVPN‘s network protection and unblocking abilities warrant paying to subscribe before ever handing over your credit card.
So ultimately, think of their free trial not as a cynical marketing gimmick, but rather a no-risk runway to confirm ExpressVPN operates as advertised.
Their technical infrastructure makes temporarily eating free user costs worthwhile to cultivate happy long-term customers.
Give the trial a shot and judge for yourself!