Proton VPN vs NordVPN (2026)

Pick Proton VPN if you want to start free, care most about privacy or torrent a lot: its free plan has no data cap, its apps are open source, Securitum has audited its no-logs policy five years running, and paid plans add port forwarding on P2P servers. VPN Plus cost $9.99 a month or $83.76 for two years on November 4, 2026. Pick NordVPN if you want more than a VPN on your computer: Next-gen antivirus on Windows and Mac scans downloads and flags scam sites even with the VPN off, and you can rent a dedicated IP in 31 countries. NordVPN has no free plan, but new customers in the US and 14 other countries get a 7-day free trial on 1-year and 2-year plans. Both cover 10 devices and offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pricing compared

Proton VPN is the easier one to price. On November 4, 2026, Proton's US pricing page listed VPN Plus at $9.99 month to month, $53.88 for the first year ($4.49 a month) or $83.76 for the first two years ($3.49 a month). The 2-year plan then renews at $83.88 every 12 months. Proton Unlimited, which adds premium Proton Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar with 500 GB of storage, was $12.99 a month or $191.76 for two years. Proton changes its introductory offers often, so the price at checkout can differ.

If you only need one device and don't mind the app choosing your server, you don't have to pay Proton at all. The free plan has no data cap and no ads, and it includes the Stealth protocol and kill switch.

NordVPN sells 1-month, 1-year and 2-year plans, with the longer plans paid in full upfront, and it sells the VPN on its own or inside larger bundles. Its help center says the Complete bundle, for example, adds the NordPass password manager and NordLocker encrypted storage. NordVPN's website didn't load for us on November 4, 2026, so we can't quote a current US website price. Apple's US App Store lists NordVPN in-app purchases of $11.99 and $13.99 for one month and $83.99 and $99.99 for a year, without saying which bundle each one buys; those are App Store prices, so check the price on NordVPN's site at checkout.

Both companies charge the first term at a discount and renew at a higher rate. NordVPN emails you about the renewal price before it charges. The difference for a cautious buyer is how you try each one: Proton lets you use the free plan for as long as you like, while NordVPN gives new customers in the US and 14 other countries a 7-day free trial on 1-year and 2-year plans, paid by card or PayPal, that converts to a paid plan unless you cancel.

Privacy, audits and where each company is based

Proton AG runs Proton VPN from Plan-les-Ouates, near Geneva, under Swiss law, and its main shareholder is the non-profit Proton Foundation. Proton publishes the source code of all its apps. Securitum, a European security firm, has audited the no-logs policy every year since 2022; the 2026 report found no sign that the servers it examined logged browsing, DNS queries or connection data that could identify a user.

NordVPN is sold by Nordvpn S.A. under Panama's jurisdiction, and its parent company, Nord Security, is based in the Netherlands. NordVPN says it keeps your email address, a VPN username and payment records, and nothing about what you browse. Nord Security says Deloitte Audit Lithuania checked that claim at the end of 2024 under the ISAE 3000 assurance standard, covering standard, Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated and P2P servers. That was NordVPN's fifth independent assessment since 2018.

Both companies have their logging claims checked by outside firms, so either is a sound choice for everyday privacy. Proton gets the edge for people who want to read the code themselves or prefer a Swiss provider whose main shareholder is a non-profit foundation.

Features head to head

On networks that block VPNs, such as some hotel, campus and office Wi-Fi, both have an answer. Proton's Stealth protocol wraps WireGuard in TLS so traffic looks like ordinary HTTPS, and it works on every plan, the free one included, on Android, Windows, macOS, iOS and the Linux desktop app. NordVPN offers its NordWhisper protocol and obfuscated servers for the same job.

For extra privacy routing, Proton's Secure Core sends your traffic through a server in Iceland, Sweden or Switzerland before it exits in the country you picked. NordVPN's Double VPN also chains two servers, and both services let you reach Tor's .onion sites from your normal browser (Proton calls it Tor over VPN, NordVPN calls it Onion Over VPN).

Torrenting favors Proton. Its paid plans allow BitTorrent on P2P servers, and port forwarding works on those servers in the Windows, Linux and macOS apps (macOS is early access), which Proton says improves P2P performance. Every standard NordVPN server allows P2P traffic, but NordVPN supports port forwarding only with its Dedicated Server add-on.

Malware protection favors NordVPN. On Windows 10 and 11, and on Macs running the version from NordVPN's website, Next-gen antivirus scans downloads, quarantines malware and shows scam-site alerts in your browser, even with the VPN off. Phones, Linux, TV apps and the browser extensions get Real-time protection, a DNS filter for ads, trackers and unsafe domains. Proton's NetShield, on paid plans, is a DNS filter of the same kind and works only while you're connected.

NordVPN has two more tools Proton doesn't match. Meshnet links your own devices into a private network, so you can reach files on a home computer from elsewhere. The dedicated IP add-on gives you an address only you use, in one of 31 countries, which helps with work logins and sites that block shared VPN addresses. Proton's answer is the bundle: Proton Unlimited adds encrypted email, cloud storage and a password manager to the VPN.

Apps, devices and ease of use

Both cover 10 devices at once on a paid plan, and both have apps for Windows, macOS, Linux (a desktop app and a command-line client), iPhone and iPad, Android, Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV, plus router setups that protect every device on your network. Proton adds a Chromebook app; NordVPN adds an Edge extension next to Chrome and Firefox, and its App Store listing supports Apple Vision.

Proton's free plan is the simplest start: install the app, sign up and connect, and the app picks a server for you in one of 10 countries (the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada or the United States). Choosing a country yourself needs VPN Plus.

Split tunneling, which keeps chosen apps outside the VPN, works on Proton's Windows, Linux, Android and Android TV apps and in its browser extension, with an experimental version on macOS; it's a paid feature. NordVPN offers it on Windows, Android and Android TV, and its Linux app uses an allowlist of ports and subnets instead. Neither company lists split tunneling for the iPhone.

Buying is where NordVPN asks more of you. Its help center uses several bundle names across its articles, and the extras you get depend on the bundle. Proton's consumer choice comes down to VPN Plus or a Proton bundle that includes it.

Support and refunds

Proton offers 24/7 live chat, but only to paying customers; free users rely on the help center, a troubleshooter and email. NordVPN's 24/7 live chat is open to everyone and starts with an AI chatbot that hands you to a person if it can't solve the problem. NordVPN also answers its email form within 24 hours. NordVPN says it offers no phone support, and Proton's support page lists no phone line.

Both give 30 days to ask for your money back. NordVPN's guarantee covers only your first purchase, not renewals, and App Store or Amazon purchases go back through Apple or Amazon. Proton handles refunds for purchases on its website through support, sends App Store buyers to Apple, and says it can't refund payments made in cash or by bank transfer.

Who each one suits

Proton VPN suits you if you want to start free and maybe stay free, if you torrent and want port forwarding, or if you'd rather trust a Swiss company whose app code is public. It's also the better buy if you were going to pay for private email or cloud storage anyway, because Proton Unlimited folds them into one bill.

NordVPN suits you if you want the VPN to double as malware and scam protection on a Windows PC or Mac, if you need a fixed IP address for work, or if you want to link your own devices with Meshnet. Its 7-day trial on 1-year and 2-year plans lets US buyers test the full app before the first charge.

If 10 devices isn't enough, look at Surfshark VPN, which sets no device limit. If you want to sign up without an email address, Mullvad VPN gives you an account number and accepts cash by post.