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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs ExpressVPN

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; 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: Earthly covers Policy as code, ExpressVPN covers TrustedServer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and ExpressVPN actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and ExpressVPN differ
AttributeEarthlyExpressVPN
Starting priceFree$6.67/month
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLIWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Api
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded20202009

Identical on both: 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 Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

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.

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot ExpressVPN
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot ExpressVPN
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot ExpressVPN
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

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

Where each one falls short

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

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

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

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly 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 Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly 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 Earthly or ExpressVPN better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and ExpressVPN at $6.67/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or ExpressVPN?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Earthly and $6.67/month for ExpressVPN.
Does Earthly or ExpressVPN run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. ExpressVPN runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Api.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ExpressVPN starts at $6.67/month.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what ExpressVPN is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that ExpressVPN cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. ExpressVPN covers TrustedServer, Lightway protocol, Repeated external audits, Network Lock.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

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.

Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

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.

Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

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.

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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