Head to head
The gap
The security score is not a total of good things. It starts at 100 and eight channels each take a share of what is left, so one channel can settle a record on its own. Both records are drawn here on the same scale — the model’s own cap of 0.9 — rather than on a scale fitted to this pair, which would make every comparison look equally dramatic.
Line by line
Every field the contract publishes about a provider, in the contract’s own groups, including the rows where the two agree — a table that printed only differences would invent a disagreement, and one that printed only the interesting rows would be us choosing what is interesting. Open a group to read its rows; each one says how many it holds and how many of them the two records answer differently.
A green cell means the methodology itself prices that value below the other one, not that we prefer it. Rows the model does not price carry no mark at all: price is never marked, because nothing in the model says cheaper is safer, and neither is coverage, platform count or devices. Where a value was never established the cell says so instead of showing a zero.
What actually happened
Other pairs
Pairs within the top ten get a page — 80 comparisons in all. Records below that are not paired here: a comparison earns a page where the choice between the two is a real one, and that choice is made near the top of the register.
Security
Usability
Rank 4 of 68 in the register
Italy · Commercial VPN
Exits in 23 countries
1 documented demand, none of which produced data
Security
Usability
Rank 10 of 68 in the register
Not published · Commercial VPN
Exits in 25 countries
No demand on the public record
Notes
On the record as a whole.
AirVPN is a sole proprietorship ("AirVPN di Paolo Brini") registered in Perugia, Italy, and explicitly refuses service to residents of Italy (stated on every page footer and in the Terms of Service §1) — the practical effect is that its own home jurisdiction cannot compel it to log its own resident customers, though this is not evidence of a broader logging-mandate exemption.
AirVPN prices only in EUR (airvpn.org/buy/): 7.00 EUR/month, 49 EUR/year (4.08 EUR/month), flat on renewal. U04_price_monthly (8.11) is 7.00 EUR/month and U04b_price_yearly (56.74) is the 49 EUR/year total, both converted to USD at 1.158 EUR/USD — the rate Mullvad publishes on its own pricing page for the same date, where 5 EUR is shown as 5.79 USD — hence confidence C and a second source for the rate. Multi-year plans drop as low as 2.75 EUR/month.
A notable practice data point: public US federal court transcripts in United States v. Klyushin (D. Mass., docket 61629108, documents #183 and #217, found via CourtListener/RECAP) show a law-enforcement pen register was placed directly at the hosting company (DediPath), not at AirVPN, to monitor an AirVPN server's IP from Jan–Feb 2020; AirVPN's own staff, replying on their forum, confirmed the company had no knowledge of or involvement in the tap and that the device had to be installed outside AirVPN's own systems.
This is recorded in P12_case_history as a court_order/nothing_produced event, sourced to AirVPN's own forum confirmation (not to the PACER PDFs themselves, which returned 403 to automated fetches and were read only via a secondary summary).
On the record as a whole.
The Securitum engagement (20 Apr–7 May 2026, nine person-days, whitebox) inspected four production servers across four of CactusVPN's ~25 listed server countries and the VPN client's connection behaviour (including a Linux app used for testing, which is not among the platforms the downloads page currently lists — apparently manual/legacy client access rather than a listed product).
The report is a bespoke Securitum security assessment, not an ISAE 3000 or SOC 2 engagement, so V07/V15 record that rather than guessing an assurance tier.
Pricing carries a renewal-rate guarantee: the annual ($70/yr) and 2-year ($95/2yr) plans are both stated to renew at the same locked price "for life," which is unusual among providers in this catalogue and is not a lifetime one-time-fee scheme (X07=no).
Recent changes
No change logged on this record
Open questions
Still open on this record.
Retention, unchecked by anyone. No independent audit has ever been commissioned (V01=no, based on consensus among reviewers and the absence of any AirVPN announcement of one, rather than a primary AirVPN denial) — retention (C01) rests entirely on the provider's own privacy notice, never checked by an outside party.
No transparency report, no canary. No transparency report of government/legal requests and no warrant canary could be found on airvpn.org (P05, P07 unknown) — the site does publish periodic 'mission' reports, but those cover donations to NGOs, not law-enforcement requests, so they do not establish P05.
What the forum threads show. Forum threads show users repeatedly asking AirVPN for a warrant canary with no confirmation from staff that one exists, which is suggestive but not a primary denial, so P07 stays unknown rather than 'none'.
Counts nobody publishes. Request/data-handover counts are consequently also unknown (P08, P09), and total subscriber count is never disclosed (M08 unknown) — AirVPN publishes only a live concurrently-connected-users counter, not a registered-user or subscriber total, so silence/ignorance carry real weight here.
Builds and pentests. Reproducible builds are not documented on AirVPN's own build-from-source page (eddie.website/support/build/), and no dedicated client/infrastructure pentest could be found (V13, V14 unknown). Kill switch scope and split-tunneling behaviour are sourced to a third-party review rather than AirVPN's own documentation (U08, U09 at confidence C) because the relevant FAQ pages could not be reached directly through the site's routing (they render via JavaScript and returned only a loading shell to a plain fetch).
Coverage outside the affiliates. Press coverage is not affiliate-only: BleepingComputer, a mainstream outlet outside the affiliate-aggregator list, has published an independent review carrying its own affiliate-disclosure notice rather than being confined to affiliate directories (X08=no). Its same review also found AirVPN failed every streaming service it tried — Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ABC, NBC, CBS — which is why U12b_streaming_works now reads no rather than the addictivetips.com-sourced partial it carried before that host was ruled forbidden.
The yearly price. U04b_price_yearly=4.08 is the EUR effective-monthly rate of the one-year plan (49 EUR/year) on airvpn.org/buy/, flat on renewal like every AirVPN term.
The wordmark. AirVPN serves its wordmark only as PNG (/static/img/logo/web_header.png, logo_horiz.png) and has no press or brand page, so logos/airvpn.svg is left absent per AUDITOR.md §1 rather than tracing a raster.
Still open on this record.
Jurisdiction. The about-us page says CactusVPN "started as a small company in Moldova" but that is company narrative, not a registration statement, and the Terms of Service state no governing law or incorporation country at all; the Securitum report names the client only as "Cactus VPN LLC" with no jurisdiction attached. M06 and the fields derived from it stay unknown until a registry record or an explicit jurisdiction clause is found.
Mandate hosting. All 25 countries in the published server list carry a data-retention mandate in this catalogue's own table, so C09b is not a narrow question here, but the server-locations page does not distinguish physical exit points from virtual ones for any location, and no per-country hosting fact was established this session.
App-level identifiers and store declarations. C07a, C12 and X12 stay unknown: no Play Store data-safety form or Apple privacy label was read this session, and the Securitum audit's whitebox scope covered server-side configuration and DNS/traffic handling, not what the mobile or extension clients transmit to app stores or analytics SDKs on their own.
Transparency and canary. No /transparency, /transparency-report, /warrant-canary or /canary path resolves on the site, and no such page turned up in the sitemap; that is an absence found by looking, not a sourced "none", so both fields stay unknown rather than being marked none.
12 Sep 20265 changes
Major streaming services reachableU12b_streaming_works
partial changed to no
Usability scoreusability.score
60 changed to 57
Security scoresecurity.score
40 changed to 37
Monthly price USD, month-to-month plan, as chargedU04_price_monthly
8.11 changed to 8.12
Yearly plan price USD, first term as chargedU04b_price_yearly
56.74 changed to 56.84
| ChannelPressure taken from what was left | AirVPNDominant channel: Retention0 to 0.9, longer is worse | CactusVPNDominant channel: Ignorance0 to 0.9, longer is worse |
|---|---|---|
| RetentionDoes a record exist that links traffic to a person, and who checked? | 0.349 | 0.299 |
| IgnoranceHow much of this did nobody establish? | 0.162 | 0.333 |
| HygieneWhat identifying material is collected in passing, and can the client be checked at all? | 0.066 | 0.280 |
| SilenceTen years, millions of users and nothing on record? | 0.240 | 0.225 |
| IntegrityHas it been caught saying one thing and doing another? | 0.000 | 0.155 |
| JurisdictionCan someone compel what exists, without the provider getting a say? | 0.000 | 0.079 |
| ArchitectureWho operates the exit, and what does it do to the traffic? | 0.050 | 0.000 |
| DisclosureHas it already handed something over? | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| What is left of 100The channels multiply: each one takes a share of what the one before it left standing | 37 | 20 |
AirVPN and CactusVPN were assessed by the HushFleet team: AirVPN scores 37/100 for security, in the Weak band, and CactusVPN 20/100, in the Insufficient band. They share independent ownership. The 17-point gap opens widest on Hygiene — “What identifying material is collected in passing, and can the client be checked at all?” — taking 7% from AirVPN and 28% from CactusVPN.
By circumstance
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Torrenting | Allowed yes | Allowed yes |
| Streaming | Not reachable no | Reachable yes |
| Devices at once | 5 | unlimited |
| Under censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
| Exits in mandate countries | None | 2 India, Russia |
| Hosting in those countries | — the question does not arise | — not established |
| Company under a mandate | No such mandate no | — not established |
| Secret orders | Orders go through a judge judicial_only | No secret-order regime on record none_known |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | 37 weak · rank 4 of 68 | 20 insufficient · rank 10 of 68 |
| Usability | 57 out of 100 | 66 out of 100 |
| Record completeness | 82% usability 100% | 63% usability 100% |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Who operates the exit | Run by the provider itself provider_operated | Run by the provider itself provider_operated |
| Retention as declared | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkable | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkable |
| RAM-only diskless servers | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| IP allocation model | Exit address shared between users shared | Exit address shared between users shared |
| Signup without email | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBairvpn.org · | No, an email address is required noBcactusvpn.com · |
| Anonymous payment options | Cryptocurrency paid directlyBairvpn.org · | Cryptocurrency through a processorBcactusvpn.com · |
| Own DNS inside the tunnel | Yes, on the provider's word yes_declaredBairvpn.org · | Yes, checked by someone independent yes_verifiedAsecuritum.com · |
| Worst third-party SDK category in the app | No third-party SDK noneBplay.google.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Worst third-party tracker category on the site | No third-party tracker noneBairvpn.org · | Analytics analyticsBcactusvpn.com · |
| Who owns the hardware | Rented from third parties rentedCairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| Offered countries that sit under a logging mandate | NoneBairvpn.org · | 2 India, RussiaBcactusvpn.com · |
| Hosting in the mandate countries it offers | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
| Incorporation country mandates retention | No such mandate noBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| Beneficial owner sits under a retention regime | No such regime noBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| Persistent device identifier | None held noneBplay.google.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Weakest protocol still offered | — the question does not ariseBairvpn.org · | PPTP pptpBcactusvpn.com · |
| What the exit does to passing traffic | — not establishedno source published | Traffic passes through unaltered noneBcactusvpn.com · |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| At least one independent audit | No independent audit noCbleepingcomputer.com · | Yes, and the report was read yes_verifiedAsecuritum.com · |
| How the report is published | — the question does not ariseno source published | The full report is published full_pdfAsecuritum.com · |
| Subject of the audit | — the question does not ariseno source published | The no-logs claim itself · The infrastructureAsecuritum.com · |
| Server fleet coverage |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Server seizure by law enforcement | No seizure on record none_known | No seizure on record none_known |
| Actual disclosure history | No disclosure on record none_known | No disclosure on record none_known |
| Court record of compelled production | No court record none_known | No court record none_known |
| Response to a national logging mandate | Was never present in that country no_presenceno source published · | — not establishedno source published |
| Transparency report | — not established | — not established |
| Reported numbers plausible for this scale | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
| Warrant canary discipline | — not established | — not established |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Documented gap between claim and behaviour | No documented lie noneCbleepingcomputer.com · | — not establishedno source published |
| Marketing against audit findings | — the question does not ariseno source published | No gap on record noneBcactusvpn.com · 2 sources · |
| Ownership structure transparency | Ownership is stated and checkable clear | Ownership is stated and checkable clear |
| Adverse events on the owner group record | Nothing adverse on record cleanCairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| How the service is paid for |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | AirVPN di Paolo Brini — Via Sagittario 4, Perugia (PG), Italy. VAT ID IT03297800546, REA PG-279011 (individual/sole-proprietor enterprise)Bairvpn.org · | Cactus VPN LLCAsecuritum.com · |
| Where the company sits | Italy ITBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
| Year the service launched | 2010Bairvpn.org · | 2011Bcactusvpn.com · |
| User base scale (mass >=10M, mid >=1M, niche <1M) | — |
| AirVPN | CactusVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms with a client | 8 Android, Android TV, Fire TV, iOS, Linux, macOS, Routers, WindowsBairvpn.org · | 7 Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV, Fire TV, Browser extensionBcactusvpn.com · |
| Countries with an exit | 23 countriesBairvpn.org · | 25 countriesBcactusvpn.com · |
| Paying monthly | $8.11 per monthCairvpn.org · 2 sources · | $15.00 per monthBcactusvpn.com |
| — the question does not ariseno source published |
A sample of servers sampleAsecuritum.com · |
| Auditor name | — the question does not ariseno source published | SecuritumAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Auditor category | — the question does not ariseno source published | A security specialist security_specialistAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Assurance standard | — the question does not ariseno source published | Another standard otherAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Date of latest report | — the question does not ariseno source published | 2026-05-08Asecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Audit cadence | — the question does not ariseno source published | One-off one_offAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Total published audits | 0Cbleepingcomputer.com · | 1Asecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Retention as the report states it | — the question does not ariseno source published | Nothing that links traffic to a person none_linkableAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Client source code published | Every client allBairvpn.org · | None noneAsecuritum.com · |
|---|
| Reproducible builds | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Separate pentest | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Strength of the assurance opinion | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Requests received |
|---|
| — not established |
| — not established |
| Requests that produced data | — not established | — not established |
|---|
| Secret-order regime | Orders go through a judge judicial_onlyCairvpn.org · | No secret-order regime on record none_knownno source published · |
|---|
| Chronology of documented enforcement events | 1 documented demandBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
Paid subscriptions only paid_only |
Paid subscriptions only paid_only |
| Claims of 100% anonymity or military-grade crypto | Makes no such claim noCairvpn.org · | Claims total anonymity or military-grade encryption yesBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Aggressive lifetime subscriptions | Does not no | Does not no |
|---|
| Coverage exists only on affiliate sites | Covered outside affiliate sites too noCbleepingcomputer.com · | Covered only on sites paid to cover it yesCcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Security incident and how it was disclosed | No incident on record none_known | No incident on record none_known |
|---|
| Affiliate programme and payout tier | A standard payout standard | A standard payout standard |
|---|
| Owner-run review media discloses the tie | — the question does not ariseno source published | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| App store declaration | The store form matches the published policy matches_policyBplay.google.com · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| — not established |
| Ultimate beneficial owner as written | Paolo Brini, sole owner/operator trading as 'AirVPN di Paolo Brini'. The service began in 2010 as a project of a small group of Rome-based activists/hacktivists (initially operated by a company called Iridium), and was formalized under a dedicated company with Brini as owner in November 2012.Bairvpn.org · 2 sources · | Independent; founded and run by co-founders (Sergiu Candja, Pavel Bodeanu, and colleagues), who state they have refused outside buyout offersBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Other businesses of the owner group | None disclosed | None disclosed |
|---|
| Country of the ultimate beneficial owner | ITBairvpn.org · | — not establishedno source published |
|---|
| Owner group | independent | independent |
|---|
| Date the current owner took control | — the question does not arise | — the question does not arise |
|---|
| Role of this brand inside the group | The group's principal brand principal | The group's principal brand principal |
|---|
| Infrastructure shared with cluster siblings | Separate infrastructure separate | Separate infrastructure separate |
|---|
| Paying yearly | $56.74 a year at renewal, billed onceCairvpn.org · 2 sources · | $70.00 a year at renewal, billed onceBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Usable free tier | No free tier none | No free tier none |
|---|
| Works under active censorship | Claimed to work claimed | Claimed to work claimed |
|---|
| Protocols offered | 3 WireGuard, OpenVPN, An obfuscated protocolBairvpn.org · | 8 OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, L2TP, PPTP, SSTP, A vendor protocol with published source, An obfuscated protocolBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Kill switch coverage | On some platforms partialCeddie.website · 2 sources · | On every platform all_platformsBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Split tunneling available | Not available noCbleepingcomputer.com · | Available yesBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Simultaneous connections | 5Bairvpn.org · | unlimitedBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| Friction to start using it | No account needed no_accountBairvpn.org · | An email address only email_onlyBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
| P2P allowed | Allowed yes | Allowed yes |
|---|
| Major streaming services reachable | Not reachable noCbleepingcomputer.com · | Reachable yesBcactusvpn.com · |
|---|
