Mostly yes on the cheap tier — but ExpressVPN breaks the pattern in a way almost every review site misses. We checked expressvpn.com/pricing in August 2026: Basic sells at $83.72 for the first 28 months, then autorenews at $99.95 per year — roughly $8.33 a month versus the $2.99 headline. That is the classic jump everyone warns about.
Here is the twist. The two bigger tiers renew below their intro price. Advanced bills $125.72 up front, then renews at $119.95 annually. Pro bills $209.72, then renews at $199.95. So “the price goes up after renewal” is true for one tier and false for the other two. Any article telling you a single flat story about this brand is copying a template, not reading the checkout.
ExpressVPN discloses all of this at purchase. The line sits directly above the subscribe button and reads “then autorenews at…” with the full dollar figure. Most buyers never scroll to it. Screenshot yours.
What each tier costs now, intro versus renewal
Website pricing, checked on expressvpn.com/pricing, August 2026:
| Tier | First 28 months | Renewal | Up or down? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $83.72 | $99.95/year | UP ~19% |
| Advanced | $125.72 | $119.95/year | DOWN |
| Express Pro | $209.72 | $199.95/year | DOWN |
Two things worth noticing in that table. First, the Basic renewal works out to about $8.33/month against the advertised $2.99 — nearly triple the number that got you to click. Second, if you were going to buy Advanced or Pro anyway, the long game is cheaper than the sticker shock suggests. The expensive tiers are the ones that reward loyalty here, which is unusual for the category.
Compare that with rivals we track: Surfshark and NordVPN both renew strictly higher than their intro deals across plans (Surfshark, NordVPN). ExpressVPN is close to flat-priced around the world by our measurements too — Egypt is the only storefront with a real discount worth naming, about 22% off. There is no Turkey-style bargain door here.
How renewal actually fires
Auto-renewal is on by default. Your card is charged the annual rate disclosed at checkout, once a year, until you stop it. Turn auto-renewal off in your account dashboard and you keep access through the term you paid for — nothing ends early. The same logic applies month-to-month: $12.99/month with no commitment, billed until cancelled, and that rate has no intro discount to lose.
Bonus months are first-term padding, not a discount extension. “2 Years + 4 Months” means 28 months at the intro math, then the annual renewal rate. Do not divide the intro total by 32 months and call it your ongoing price.
One more trap: an older Bitcoin payment page still ranks in search results, but crypto was removed from the actual checkout. If a guide walks you through paying with Bitcoin, it predates the change.
What the App Store charges instead
Our dated price file (Apple catalogs, 29 Aug 2026) covers the in-app subscriptions, which are separate catalog lines from the website:
- Monthly, US Apple ID: $12.99/month, renewed monthly at the same rate.
- 12-month, US Apple ID: $99.99 once a year.
- Cheapest verified year: Egypt at E£3,949.99 = $78.38 (−22% vs US).
- Most expensive verified year: Czechia at $134.00 (+34% vs US).
In-app renewals follow the storefront list price for that SKU, not the website promo ladder — so the App Store year plan simply renews at roughly what it costs today. Full live table: /service/expressvpn/. A VPN connection does not change your Apple ID’s storefront; how regional pricing works: methodology.
Bottom line
If you are buying Basic, treat $99.95/year — not $2.99/month — as the real long-run price and decide whether that is worth it before subscribing. If you are buying Advanced or Pro, renewal is not a trap; it is a small discount. Either way, read the “then autorenews” line before you click subscribe, because that line is the entire answer to this question.