ExpressVPN vs IVPN

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

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.

IVPNTakes bitcoin

Eight straight years of Cure53 security audits, cash or Monero accepted, and a company that publicly refuses to commission another no-logs audit.

Verdict: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 5 against 3 for IVPN. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides.

Criterion: Independent no-logs audits
ExpressVPN: 5
IVPN: 3

ExpressVPN and IVPN, 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.

ExpressVPN and IVPN compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	ExpressVPN	IVPN
Independent audits	5, latest 2025 (favoured on this row)	3, latest 2026
Real-world tests	1	0
Incidents on record	0	0
Market exits	1	0
Owner	Kape Technologies	IVPN Limited
Jurisdiction	British Virgin Islands	Gibraltar
Eyes alliance	Outside	Outside
Price	From $2.99/mo on the 2yr plan	From $60/yr on Standard
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Crypto accepted	bitcoin	bitcoin, monero
Anonymous signup	No	Yes
Free tier	None	None
Servers	Vendor states servers in 113 countries, all running from RAM under its TrustedServer design	Vendor runs a deliberately small network, in the low tens of countries, rather than competing on server counts
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.

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

IVPN

2026Audit by Cure53: eighth annual security audit, covering the cryptography and privacy model of the Unlinked Access system
2023Audit by Cure53: penetration test and configuration review of the new VPN gateway infrastructure, report published in full
2019Audit by Cure53: the no-logs audit of the VPN gateway and authentication servers, which IVPN says was its first and only audit of that format

Frequently asked questions

Is ExpressVPN or IVPN better for privacy?

ExpressVPN carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 5 against 3 for IVPN. 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 ExpressVPN or IVPN with bitcoin?

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

Which is cheaper, ExpressVPN or IVPN?

ExpressVPN: From $2.99/mo on the 2yr plan. IVPN: From $60/yr on Standard. Money-back: ExpressVPN 30 days, IVPN 30 days. Prices are from each vendor's own page as of the review date.

Where are ExpressVPN and IVPN based?

ExpressVPN: British Virgin Islands (outside the five, nine and fourteen eyes alliances). IVPN: Gibraltar (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: ExpressVPN and IVPN, each with its sources, and every VPN we review.

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