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Government · head to head

CityView vs ExpressVPN

CityView logo

CityView

Government

Community Development Software

From
$10000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
ExpressVPN logo

ExpressVPN

Cybersecurity

Consumer VPN registered in the British Virgin Islands, owned by Kape Technologies since 2021, with repeated third-party audits.

From
$6.67/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CityView high implementation and licensing costs for smaller municipalities; ExpressVPN ownership passed in 2021 to Kape Technologies, formerly Crossrider, whose earlier browser extension platform was widely used to distribute adware, and Kape also owns VPN review publications, so nominally independent rankings a buyer consults may originate inside the same corporate group.
  • They diverge on capability: CityView covers Building Permits, ExpressVPN covers TrustedServer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CityView and ExpressVPN actually diverge.

Attributes where CityView and ExpressVPN differ
AttributeCityViewExpressVPN
Starting price$10000/year$6.67/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWebWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Api
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded19762009

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CityView

  • Building Permits
  • Business Licensing
  • Code Enforcement
  • Inspections Management
  • Online Citizen Portal
  • Esri ArcGIS
  • Microsoft Office
  • Payment Gateways

Only in ExpressVPN

  • TrustedServer
  • Lightway protocol
  • Repeated external audits
  • Network Lock
  • Split tunnelling
  • Aircove router
  • Threat Manager
  • Private DNS

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CityView

  • Citizen Servicesnot ExpressVPN
  • Records Managementnot ExpressVPN
  • Public Safetynot ExpressVPN
  • Civic Engagementnot ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

  • A buyer who wants the largest available body of published third-party audit evidence behind a no-logging claimnot CityView
  • Households wanting whole-network coverage through a router without configuring firmware by handnot CityView
  • Frequent travellers who need connections that survive switching between mobile data and hotel Wi-Fi without droppingnot CityView
  • Non-technical users who want the kill switch and DNS handled correctly by default rather than configurednot CityView

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CityView

  • High implementation and licensing costs for smaller municipalities
  • Complex setup and customization requiring expert assistance

ExpressVPN

  • Ownership passed in 2021 to Kape Technologies, formerly Crossrider, whose earlier browser extension platform was widely used to distribute adware, and Kape also owns VPN review publications, so nominally independent rankings a buyer consults may originate inside the same corporate group.
  • In 2021 the company's then chief information officer was named in a United States Department of Justice deferred prosecution agreement over work for a foreign government's offensive cyber programme and remained in post, which is a governance fact that sits uncomfortably alongside a product sold entirely on trust.
  • Audits are point-in-time engagements against an agreed scope, so they establish that specified servers and code matched the stated policy when examined, not that the infrastructure behaves the same way today or under different ownership.
  • Several country locations are virtual, meaning the hardware physically sits elsewhere, and after India's 2022 directive requiring VPN providers to retain subscriber data ExpressVPN withdrew its Indian servers, so an Indian connection is routed through hardware in another country, which matters if you need genuine in-country routing.
  • There is no port forwarding and no dedicated IP option, so seeding torrents, hosting a service behind the tunnel and any inbound connection do not work, and users who need those capabilities have to use a different provider.

Pricing, plan by plan

CityView

$10000/year

No published plan breakdown. See the CityView review.

ExpressVPN

$6.67/month
  • 1 Month$12.95/month
    • 8 devices
    • 94 countries
    • Unlimited bandwidth
  • 12 Months$6.67/month
    • All features
    • 3 months free
    • Best value
  • 6 Months$9.99/month
    • All features
    • 30-day guarantee

Which should you pick?

Choose CityView if

  • You need building permits.
  • You also want business licensing.
CityView review

Choose ExpressVPN if

  • You need trustedserver.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want lightway protocol.
ExpressVPN review

Questions people ask

Is CityView or ExpressVPN better?
Neither clearly leads. CityView starts at $10000/year and ExpressVPN at $6.67/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CityView or ExpressVPN?
CityView starts at $10000/year and ExpressVPN at $6.67/month.
Does CityView or ExpressVPN run on more platforms?
CityView runs on Web. ExpressVPN runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Api.
What is CityView best used for?
CityView is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what ExpressVPN is typically brought in for.
What can CityView do that ExpressVPN cannot?
CityView covers Building Permits, Business Licensing, Code Enforcement, Inspections Management. ExpressVPN covers TrustedServer, Lightway protocol, Repeated external audits, Network Lock.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CityView: Is CityView cloud-based or on-premise?

CityView offers both cloud-based SaaS deployments and on-premise options depending on municipality preference and requirements.

Source
ExpressVPN: Who owns ExpressVPN?

Kape Technologies, which acquired it in 2021. Kape was previously named Crossrider and also owns CyberGhost, Private Internet Access and Zenmate, along with the review sites vpnMentor and Wizcase.

CityView: What modules are included?

CityView Suite includes Property Information, Permits and Inspections, Planning, Code Enforcement, Licensing, Animal Licensing, Service Requests, Rental Housing, Cemetery Management, Parking Management, and Cashiering modules.

Source
ExpressVPN: Is the British Virgin Islands jurisdiction actually useful?

It has no mandatory data retention law and is outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes arrangements, which is the reason it was chosen. It also means limited practical legal recourse for a subscriber, so the jurisdiction protects the company's ability to hold no data rather than protecting you against the company.

CityView: How long has CityView been in the market?

CityView has over 40 years of experience serving local governments with community development and municipal land management solutions.

Source
ExpressVPN: Has the no-logs claim been audited?

Yes, repeatedly. PwC and KPMG have examined the no-logging claims and the TrustedServer architecture, and Cure53 has reviewed the applications, extension and protocol. The reports are published.

CityView: What is the pricing structure?

CityView pricing ranges from $10,000 to $75,000+ per year for mid-sized municipalities, or approximately $100 to $250 per user per month for SaaS deployments, depending on modules selected.

Source
ExpressVPN: Can I torrent with it?

Yes, peer-to-peer traffic is permitted on the network, but there is no port forwarding, so you can download but you cannot accept inbound connections and seeding performance suffers as a result.

ExpressVPN: Does it work in China or similar networks?

Sometimes, using obfuscated connection modes, but no provider can guarantee this and availability changes without warning. Treat it as best effort and have a fallback.

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