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ExpressVPN and FastestVPN share one structural advantage: both are registered in British overseas territories outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes arrangements, ExpressVPN in the British Virgin Islands and FastestVPN in the Cayman Islands. Almost everything else sets them apart.
ExpressVPN lists 28 published third-party security reports and charges $99.95 a year after its first term. FastestVPN has a single audit from 2023 and sells a lifetime plan, reported at $23 to $40, that lasts as long as the company does. This page compares what each gives you for the money.
ExpressVPN vs FastestVPN: The Short Answer
Choose ExpressVPN for verification, streaming and polish. It rates 4.5 in our ExpressVPN review, runs every server from RAM and works reliably with the major streaming services. It has no port forwarding.
Choose FastestVPN for the lowest long-term cost and for seeding. It rates 3.7 in our FastestVPN review, includes port forwarding and sells a lifetime plan.
Over four years, ExpressVPN Basic costs $283.62 on the current offer; FastestVPN’s lifetime plan costs its one-off price. The difference buys audits, scale and a company very likely to outlast the plan.
Jurisdiction: The One Thing They Share
Both companies sit in British overseas territories with no mandatory data retention and no membership of the intelligence alliances. Our FastestVPN review makes the comparison directly: the Cayman Islands give FastestVPN the same structural position that ExpressVPN has from the British Virgin Islands.
Ownership differs sharply, though. ExpressVPN belongs to Kape Technologies, which also owns CyberGhost and PIA, and whose earlier history our review discusses. FastestVPN is independent, but its corporate structure is thinly documented. Our ownership guide covers both.
Privacy: Evidence Behind the Claims
ExpressVPN lists 28 published security reports, from PwC, KPMG, Cure53 and F-Secure, including three no-logs assessments by KPMG. Every server runs from RAM, and in 2017 Turkish authorities seized one and recovered no usable data.
FastestVPN was audited once, by Altius IT in 2023. That is real verification, and more than many budget providers offer, but it is three years old and unrepeated. Our audit tracker compares both records.
| Provider | No-logs audits | Auditor | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 6 | PwC, Deloitte | Panama |
| Surfshark | 2 | Deloitte | Netherlands (9 Eyes) |
| ExpressVPN | 3 | KPMG (28 security reports in total) | British Virgin Islands, Kape-owned |
| CyberGhost | 3 | Deloitte | Romania, Kape-owned |
| PureVPN | 4 | KPMG | BVI, operated from Pakistan |
| IPVanish | 2 | Leviathan, Schellman | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| Windscribe | 1 | Packetlabs, production infrastructure | Canada (Five Eyes); Greek case dismissed, no data to give |
| Proton VPN | 5 | Securitum | Switzerland, moving infrastructure to EU |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | Deloitte | United States (Five Eyes), Kape-owned |
| Mullvad | 10+ | Cure53, Assured AB | Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| TunnelBear | Annual since 2017 | Cure53 | Canada (Five Eyes), US parent |
| Norton VPN | 2 | VerSprite | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Hotspot Shield | 0 | protocol audited, policy not | United States (Five Eyes) |
| AirVPN | 0 | none — the client is open source instead | Italy (14 Eyes) |
| IVPN | 8, annual since inception | Cure53 | Gibraltar (status disputed) |
| Hide.me | 1 modern, in 2024 | Securitum, though one source names Altius IT | Malaysia (outside the alliances) |
| PrivadoVPN | 0 | none in six years of operation | Iceland (moved from Switzerland, 2026) |
| TorGuard | 0 | none; settled a lawsuit without disclosing records | United States (Five Eyes) |
| FastestVPN | 1, in 2023 | Altius IT | Cayman Islands (outside the alliances) |
| StrongVPN | 0 | none in over two decades | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| VyprVPN | 1, in 2018 | Leviathan Security, before the 2023 sale | United States (Five Eyes), Certida-owned since 2023 |
| PrivateVPN | 0 | none; support says there is nothing to audit | Sweden (14 Eyes), ownership disputed |
| ZoogVPN | 0 | none; support describes one as planned | Greece (outside the alliances), run from Ukraine |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 1, in 2026 | X41 D-Sec, white-box over two months | United States (Five Eyes), runs AzireVPN infrastructure |
| Astrill | 0 | — | Disputed: Seychelles or Liechtenstein |
Price: Subscription Against Lifetime
ExpressVPN Basic costs $83.72 for 28 months on the current offer, then $99.95 a year. Advanced and Pro cost more and add devices. Our ExpressVPN pricing page explains the tiers.
FastestVPN’s lifetime plan has been reported at $23, $35 and $40 within about a year. At $35 it costs less than half of ExpressVPN’s first bill, and nothing after that.
⚠️ The lifetime plan is a bet on the company. If it closes, the service ends, and our lifetime guide warns there may be no recourse. FastestVPN has run since 2017, which counts in its favour. Our lifetime VPN guide sets out the wider risk.
Features and Everyday Use
Streaming: ExpressVPN worked with the major Netflix libraries in every 2026 test we found, as our ExpressVPN and Netflix page records. Reviewers report FastestVPN working across major platforms too.
Port forwarding: FastestVPN includes it; ExpressVPN does not offer it on its VPN servers. For seeding and private trackers, that is FastestVPN’s clearest advantage, as our port forwarding guide explains.
Devices: ExpressVPN allows 10, 12 or 14 by tier; FastestVPN allows ten, with reports of fifteen on its higher lifetime tier. Our multi-device guide compares the limits.
Speed and network: CNET measured an 18% average download loss with ExpressVPN. FastestVPN runs around 800 servers in about 49 countries and is not in our speed table; reviewers call it respectable nearby and unremarkable at distance, whatever the name suggests. Our fastest VPN page discusses the name.
Fire TV and routers: ExpressVPN now runs on both Fire TV systems, as our Fire Stick guide explains, and now sells the Fortify router, built with GL.iNet, in place of its retired Aircove models.
Which One
ExpressVPN if you want privacy with extensive evidence behind it, dependable streaming and polished apps on every platform, and you will pay a renewal for them.
FastestVPN if the lifetime price or port forwarding matters more, and you treat the plan as money spent rather than a contract. NordVPN against FastestVPN and Surfshark against FastestVPN, two Nord Security brands against the same rival, cover the alternatives.
How We Research
ExpressVPN’s current price comes from its pricing page, read on 25 September 2026, and its reports, server seizure and devices from our ExpressVPN review and tables. FastestVPN’s lifetime price range, audit, network and features come from our FastestVPN review, which names the sources behind each figure. The speed figure is CNET’s, via our speed table. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
ExpressVPN vs FastestVPN FAQ
On verification, streaming and apps, yes. ExpressVPN rates 4.5 against FastestVPN’s 3.7 in our reviews, with 28 published security reports against a single 2023 report. FastestVPN’s advantages are its lifetime plan and port forwarding.
FastestVPN, if its lifetime plan lasts. It has been reported at $23 to $40, once. ExpressVPN Basic costs $83.72 for 28 months on the current offer, then $99.95 a year.
Yes. ExpressVPN is registered in the British Virgin Islands and FastestVPN in the Cayman Islands, both outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes arrangements.
Not on its VPN servers. FastestVPN includes it, which helps with seeding torrents.
No independent testing we have seen supports the name. Reviewers describe its speed as respectable nearby and unremarkable at distance. CNET measured an 18% average download loss with ExpressVPN.
The Verdict
ExpressVPN is the better VPN; FastestVPN is the cheaper one. Both have offshore bases worth having, but only ExpressVPN has years of published verification, reliable streaming and apps across every platform.
If you can pay the renewal, choose ExpressVPN. If the lifetime price or port forwarding is the point, FastestVPN is a credible budget option with an audit behind it, as long as you treat the plan as spent money.