AirVPN vs ExpressVPN

Comparing: two VPNs
Decided by: Independent no-logs audits
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

AirVPNTakes bitcoin

Activist-run since 2010, taking bitcoin straight to its own wallet, with a three-day plan for two euros and no audit to its name.

ExpressVPNTakes bitcoin

Courtroom-tested no-logs claim and a bitcoin refund policy that pays back the coins you sent, from a company that also owns two rivals here.

Verdict: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 5 against 0 for AirVPN. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides.

Criterion: Independent no-logs audits
AirVPN: 0
ExpressVPN: 5

AirVPN and ExpressVPN, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

AirVPN and ExpressVPN compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	AirVPN	ExpressVPN
Independent audits	None	5, latest 2025 (favoured on this row)
Real-world tests	0	1
Incidents on record	0	0
Market exits	0	1
Owner	AirVPN di Paolo Brini	Kape Technologies
Jurisdiction	Italy	British Virgin Islands
Eyes alliance	Fourteen Eyes	Outside
Price	EUR 2 for 3 days, EUR 99/3yr	From $2.99/mo on the 2yr plan
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Crypto accepted	bitcoin, monero	bitcoin
Anonymous signup	Yes	No
Free tier	None	None
Servers	Vendor runs a modest network of owned and rented servers across roughly twenty countries	Vendor states servers in 113 countries, all running from RAM under its TrustedServer design
Last reviewed	2026-08-26	2026-08-26

No-logs evidence, side by side

Dated audits and real-world tests from each review. An empty column is a finding: the claim has not been independently checked.

AirVPN

No independent audit or real-world test on record.

ExpressVPN

2025Audit by KPMG: third KPMG audit of the no-logs privacy commitments
2024Audit by Cure53: fourth security audit of the Lightway VPN protocol
2023Audit by KPMG: assessment of the privacy policy claims
2022Audit by KPMG: no-logs policy and the TrustedServer architecture
2019Audit by PwC: privacy policy compliance and the TrustedServer technology
2017Turkish investigators seized a physical ExpressVPN server during the inquiry into the killing of the Russian ambassador to Turkey: The server produced no logs tying any customer to the IP addresses under investigation

Frequently asked questions

Is AirVPN or ExpressVPN better for privacy?

ExpressVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 5 against 0 for AirVPN. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides. Audits, court and seizure records and incidents are dated on each review with their sources.

Can I pay AirVPN or ExpressVPN with bitcoin?

AirVPN takes bitcoin and monero (processor: In-house). ExpressVPN takes bitcoin (processor: BitPay). Each review quotes the vendor's own refund sentence for crypto purchases verbatim.

Which is cheaper, AirVPN or ExpressVPN?

AirVPN: EUR 2 for 3 days, EUR 99/3yr. ExpressVPN: From $2.99/mo on the 2yr plan. Money-back: AirVPN 30 days, ExpressVPN 30 days. Prices are from each vendor's own page as of the review date.

Where are AirVPN and ExpressVPN based?

AirVPN: Italy (fourteen eyes member). ExpressVPN: British Virgin Islands (outside the five, nine and fourteen eyes alliances). A jurisdiction matters less than a court record showing what the provider could hand over; the reviews carry those where they exist.

The full reviews: AirVPN and ExpressVPN, each with its sources, and every VPN we review.

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