Disclosure: VPNFin is reader-supported. If you buy a VPN through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never affects our ratings — here’s our full disclosure.
Astrill vs FastestVPN sets two pricing philosophies against each other. Astrill charges $300 for two years, and the same again every two years after. FastestVPN sells a lifetime plan reported at $23 to $40, paid once. Over four years, that is $600 against a single small payment.
Astrill’s case for charging so much is China, where GreatFirewallGuide scored it at 98% in April 2026. FastestVPN’s case is value, backed by an audit from 2023 and a base in the Cayman Islands. Both list port forwarding, and both are small companies whose ownership is thinly documented.
Astrill vs FastestVPN: The Short Answer
Choose Astrill over FastestVPN only if you need to get through the Great Firewall. It rates 3.0 in our Astrill review, has no audit, and costs $30 a month or $300 for two years.
Choose FastestVPN for almost everything else. It rates 3.7 in our FastestVPN review, has an audit from 2023, and sells a lifetime plan that lasts as long as the company does.
Using an unapproved VPN in China is a regulatory violation, with an individual fine of up to RMB 5,000, as our China legality page explains.
Astrill vs FastestVPN on Price
Astrill costs $30 for a month, $180 for a year or $300 for two years, according to its pricing page, and the amount repeats at renewal. Over four years its two-year plan comes to $600.
FastestVPN’s lifetime plan has been reported at $23, $35 and $40 within about a year. It is a bet on the company surviving, as our lifetime VPN guide explains, so treat it as money spent.
⚠️ The price gap is enormous either way. Even if FastestVPN closed after a year, its lifetime plan would have cost less than two months of Astrill paid monthly.
Privacy: An Audit Against None
Altius IT audited FastestVPN once, in 2023, and it operates from the Cayman Islands, outside every intelligence alliance. Its ownership is thinly documented.
Astrill has no audit. It logs your IP address, connection time and device details during a session, deleting them afterwards by its own account, according to VPN.com. Reviewers disagree on whether it is based in the Seychelles or Liechtenstein. Our audit tracker and our no-logs guide explain why both points matter.
| 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 |
China and Restrictive Networks
Astrill designed its StealthVPN and OpenWeb protocols for the Great Firewall. GreatFirewallGuide scored Astrill at 98% on China Telecom’s CN2 GIA network in April 2026, and recommended Hong Kong or Japan servers.
We have no comparable figure for FastestVPN. If China is the reason for buying, that absence decides the question. Our obfuscation guide explains why stealth protocols matter there.
Astrill vs FastestVPN on Features
Port forwarding: both list it, which few providers still do. Our port forwarding guide covers the rest of the market.
Devices: Astrill’s page claims unlimited devices in your household, while several reviewers counted five. FastestVPN allows ten, with reports of fifteen on its higher lifetime tier. Our multi-device guide compares the providers.
Refunds: for Astrill, several reviews report none and two sources describe seven days. Our refund guide explains what to check with either provider.
Streaming: reviewers call Astrill’s hit and miss, and neither is a streaming specialist.
Which One
Astrill if you live or work in mainland China and reliability there justifies $300 every two years.
FastestVPN for everyone else: an audit, an offshore base and a lifetime price that is a small fraction of Astrill’s. NordVPN vs Astrill and TorGuard vs FastestVPN set each against another rival.
How We Research
Astrill’s prices come from its pricing page, read on 25 September 2026, and its logging, refunds, devices and jurisdiction from the sources named in our Astrill review. The China score comes from GreatFirewallGuide’s April 2026 review. FastestVPN’s audit, lifetime price range, devices and features come from our FastestVPN review. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
Astrill vs FastestVPN FAQ
In Astrill vs FastestVPN, FastestVPN rates higher, 3.7 against 3.0, with an audit and a far lower price. Astrill is the better choice only for getting through China’s Great Firewall.
Astrill has the published evidence: GreatFirewallGuide scored it at 98% on China Telecom in April 2026. We have no comparable figure for FastestVPN.
FastestVPN by a wide margin. Its lifetime plan has been reported at $23 to $40, while Astrill costs $300 for two years.
FastestVPN once, by Altius IT in 2023. Astrill has no audit and logs some session data while you are connected.
Both list it. FastestVPN includes it, and Astrill names it among its features.
The Verdict
Outside China, Astrill vs FastestVPN has a clear answer: FastestVPN. It is audited, based offshore and costs a fraction as much.
Astrill’s only argument is China, but there it is a strong one. If you need to get through the Great Firewall reliably, its price buys a record that FastestVPN has not published.