NordVPN and Proton VPN are two of the best VPNs on the market, but which is right for you depends on whether you want an all-rounder or a VPN focused on privacy and data protection.
NordVPN is our pick for the best VPN overall, thanks to its massive selection of servers and locations, rich feature set, and reasonable value for money.
On the other hand, Proton VPN remains the best VPN for privacy thanks to its uniquely powerful privacy tools and, like NordVPN, is a top choice for streaming because of its large number of locations, including several in Africa and Asia.
We’ve tested both VPNs for connection speed, useful features, and privacy credentials to help you work out which one is best for you. For more options, check out our lists of the fastest VPNs and the best VPNs for mobile devices.
Pricing and plans
Like most major VPN providers, Proton VPN and NordVPN offer one-month, one-year, and two-year subscriptions. The longer the subscription, the more money you’ll have to commit upfront, but the bigger the savings you can make.
One key difference, however, is that NordVPN offers three subscription tiers: Basic, Complete, and Prime.
The higher the tier, the more you’ll pay, but the more features you’ll have access to. It's worth noting that these tiers vary by region and consequently not all regions get the same features per plan. For the moment, we'll focus on the US market.
So, while the Basic plan gets you just VPN access, stepping up to Complete brings an antivirus, bank transaction monitoring, call and message protection, and a handy 1TB of cloud storage, while Prime adds $1 million in identity theft insurance.
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Proton VPN, by contrast, has only one plan for all of its paid VPN features. But it also offers a limited free VPN and its Unlimited plan, which adds all of Proton's other privacy-first tools - Proton Pass, Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, and Proton Drive.
There are no discounts with either Proton VPN or NordVPN’s one-month plans. A one-month Proton VPN subscription costs $9.99 (VPN Plus) or $12.99 (Proton Unlimited). A monthly subscription to NordVPN Basic will cost you $14.99 per month, rising to $19.99 per month for the step-up Complete plan and topping out at $29.99 per month for the US-exclusive Prime plan.
It's with the one-year plans that prices drastically drop. A one-year NordVPN plan cuts the per-month equivalent price to $4.99 / $5.99 / $8.99, while for Proton VPN Plus or Unlimited you'll pay $4.49 / $9.99 per month for that duration. Note that although we’ve listed the monthly cost for the sake of comparison, the full amount of one-year and two-year subscription plans is charged upfront.
Two-year plans offer the biggest savings for both. A two-year NordVPN contract cuts the price further to $2.99 / $4.49 / $7.49 per month depending on whether you choose Basic, Complete or Prime. Proton VPN Plus and Unlimited drop to $3.49 and $7.99 per month respectively.
Remember, NordVPN’s prices are advertised before tax is added to the total cost, so they'll be a touch higher than what's mentioned above, and this will vary by region, this is not the case with Proton.
It’s hard to argue against the value of Proton VPN’s one-month and one-year plans, particularly with Proton Unlimited, which generally work out cheaper than NordVPN, despite the many impressive extras included. What's more, at the right time of year, Proton VPN Unlimited will be equally priced to NordVPN Basic over two years, despite Proton including all its VPN features.
Comparing Proton Unlimited to NordVPN's more premium plans is far more difficult, for most, the value comparison here will come down to which features you're most likely to use.
Features
Although both Proton VPN and NordVPN each have a good selection of features on offer, it’s NordVPN that comes out on top in this area.
One of its standout features is its password manager, NordPass. Compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux, as well as popular browsers including Chrome and Firefox, it’s our best password manager overall.
Another feature unique to NordVPN is Meshnet, which allows you to create a secure, encrypted private network between your devices regardless of their location. This feature is popular with LAN gamers who want to play with friends in different locations. Also included with NordVPN is Threat Protection Pro, a security suite that not only keeps you safe from ads and trackers but also from malicious sites.
Proton VPN may not be quite as feature-heavy as NordVPN, but what is on offer is no less impressive. Like NordVPN, it has ad and tracker blocking via NetShield. One feature that sets Proton VPN apart from NordVPN is Profiles, which lets you save custom settings such as server type, location, and VPN protocol to create quick one-tap connections.
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Where Proton VPN really stands out, however, is with its Proton Unlimited plan. This opens up an impressive array of features, including Proton’s mail, calendar, password manager, and cloud storage, alongside the VPN.
These are quality extras that have the same privacy-first design at their core. Proton VPN is also the only one of the two to support port forwarding.
Looking more closely at the VPN-specific features, NordVPN supports a variety of protocols: its proprietary fast NordLynx and obfuscated NordWhisper, as well as OpenVPN.
NordLynx is built for the fastest possible connections, while NordWhisper disguises itself as regular HTTPS traffic, making it a great pick for regions with restrictions on VPN use.
NordVPN also supports split tunnelling on Windows and Android, and includes an antivirus app to replace its previous ‘Threat Protection’ privacy toolkit.
Proton VPN supports WireGuard and its own Stealth protocol on all platforms, OpenVPN on Windows, and IKEv2 on iOS and Mac. Stealth is similar to NordWhisper in that it hides your VPN usage while still delivering the benefits of a VPN. Split tunnelling is available on paid plans.
We’re a fan of Proton VPN’s excellent ad blocking, but our testing showed that it missed more phishing and far more malware threats than NordVPN.
Both VPNs come with a kill switch option that will disconnect from the internet as soon as your VPN is disabled, meaning all of your traffic remains secure.
Server network
When it comes to individual server locations, NordVPN leads not only Proton VPN but all other VPNs on the market.
Its huge server network offers users the choice of 225 locations across 150 countries, with a high concentration of North American and European servers.
Proton VPN comes in at a close second for both countries and locations. It offers 195 server locations in 149 countries (just one less than NordVPN).
It’s got less of a tilt towards North America than NordVPN and offers more servers in Asia and Africa – a boost for those looking to access region-locked online content in those continents.
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Both Proton VPN and NordVPN offer some virtual servers. That is, VPN servers that appear to be located in one country based on their IP address, but are actually physically hosted elsewhere. Proton VPN and NordVPN are transparent about their virtual locations. In both cases, servers in Africa and South America tend to be virtual more often than not.
Outside of these VPNs’ regular servers, you’ll have the option of connecting to Double VPN servers with NordVPN or, in the case of Proton VPN, Secure Core. This sees your traffic routed via two VPN server locations for an extra layer of encryption. Proton VPN offers 64 locations for this feature – far more than NordVPN’s 10.
Another option you have is NordVPN’s Onion Over VPN servers and Proton VPN’s VPN over Tor, both of which add extra protection via the Tor network. Again, with six locations, Proton VPN gives you more choice than NordVPN’s three. As for P2P, NordVPN supports it in all but four countries. Similarly, Proton VPN allows P2P in all but two countries.
Privacy and security
Proton VPN and NordVPN have strong reputations for the security and privacy protection they provide. That doesn’t mean they both approach this in the same way, however.
One difference is that NordVPN uses RAM-only servers, ensuring all data is completely erased each time a server is shut down or rebooted. Proton VPN is one of few major VPNs to not use RAM-only servers, but Proton says this is unnecessary due to the use of full disk encryption.
Your data receives the same level of encryption regardless of which VPN provider you’re with. NordVPN and Proton VPN each use strong 256-bit AES encryption over the OpenVPN protocol and ChaCha20 with NordLynx (NordVPN’s proprietary protocol) and WireGuard. Only NordVPN supports post-quantum encryption. Available across all applications, future-proofing against quantum computer threats.
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One way Proton VPN and NordVPN differ is that Proton VPN uses the WireGuard protocol, which has an excellent reputation for its speed and security. Indeed, this lightweight protocol consists of fewer lines of code, making it that much easier to audit.
NordVPN’s proprietary NordLynx protocol is built on WireGuard but is closed source. In recent months, Proton has released its 'Proton Protocols' in beta, which is based on WireGuard, but as yet, we've not been able to see this at its full potential as we have with NordLynx.
Both VPNs operate no-logs policies, which have each been verified in multiple independent audits.
Proton VPN and NordVPN apps offer additional security features, including a kill switch, which, in both cases, successfully blocked internet access no matter how we tried to force shut the VPN connection.
Another extra security feature these two VPN services share is their respective ad, tracker, and malicious website blockers. NordVPN’s Next Gen Antivirus is the clear winner here and it has earned certified phishing protection from AV-Comparatives. That said, Proton VPN’s NetShield isn't far behind, and both are continuously developing these tools to ensure continued protection for users.
Performance
Fortunately, Proton VPN and NordVPN both rank among the fastest VPNs we’ve tested.
With each VPN’s fastest protocol enabled, ProtonVPN came out on top in our most recent download speed performance tests. On WireGuard, ProtonVPN managed speeds of 1783Mbps, 25 per cent faster than NordVPN’s 1427Mbps when connected to NordLynx.
The tables turn when it comes to the OpenVPN protocol however, where NordVPN achieved 633Mbps compared to ProtonVPN’s 394Mbps.
With the best possible protocol activated, both NordVPN and Proton VPN deliver blazing-fast speeds suitable for nearly any online activity. However, if you’re planning on using OpenVPN, NordVPN is the clear winner.
Unblocking
Both NordVPN and Proton VPN can give you access to region-locked online content while travelling. NordVPN has more individual server locations than Proton VPN, but the latter has more to choose from in Asia and Africa.
In our testing, Proton VPN successfully unblocked Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus, as well as local services like BBC iPlayer and New Zealand’s TVNZ+. However, we did see some issues with specific locations, and had to switch servers within countries to access Disney Plus and TVNZ+.
Our experience with NordVPN was similar – major global streamers were unblocked consistently, but required a little maneuvering in certain server countries. We also had issues with getting content to display on Netflix Japan – the issue repeated with Surfshark but not while using Windscribe.
P2P and torrenting
The speed and consistency of Proton VPN and NordVPN connections allow you to use them for torrenting. Yet neither VPN allows you to torrent on all servers. Instead, you’ll need to connect to one of their P2P-optimized servers for the best possible results. Only Proton VPN supports port forwarding, which allows you to accept incoming connections from other peers and improve download and upload speeds.
As for P2P server locations, NordVPN offers them in all but five locations in four countries, with those exceptions being Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, and North Macedonia. The only two countries in which Proton VPN doesn’t support torrenting are Myanmar and North Macedonia. Again, both VPNs are more than fast enough to allow for seamless file-sharing.
Apps and compatibility
You’ll find Proton VPN and NordVPN apps for every major platform: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux, the latter of which is a GUI for both VPNs. The two VPNs also have apps for Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. If you only want to secure your browser traffic, and not that of your apps, you can find Chrome and Firefox browser extensions for each.
The only real difference in these providers’ app offerings is that NordVPN also offers a browser extension for Microsoft Edge. Proton VPN and NordVPN each have a respectable simultaneous connection limit of 10 devices, which should be more than enough for most people. Yet you can bypass this by manually configuring a connection with a compatible router.
Read more about apps and compatibility ▼
It couldn’t be easier to get started with Proton VPN or NordVPN thanks to their handy setup wizards. Both have apps that are quite straightforward to navigate, albeit they’re not quite as beginner-friendly as ExpressVPN. You have the option of scrolling through a list of servers, using a search bar, or using the quick connect feature to connect to the best (fastest) available server.
The two VPNs’ respective settings pages are easily accessible, though there is an extra step to reach them via the profile button in NordVPN’s mobile app. You can switch up settings on the fly thanks to toggle buttons and dropdown lists, and it also helps that most features are explained in both cases, though neither provides descriptions for the respective VPN protocols on offer.
Overall, Proton VPN’s settings pages are a bit better organized, and Proton VPN’s recent revamp of its apps has made them a little sleeker. Where NordVPN stands out, however, is just how easy it makes it to find and connect to Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, and P2P servers. Proton VPN’s apps aren’t as intuitive and don’t offer a way to filter by P2P or Tor Over VPN servers, limiting you to just scrolling through the lengthy list.
Customer support
As with most paid VPN services, you can expect to have access to customer support as part of your Proton VPN or NordVPN subscription.
Live chat and email support are included with both VPNs, but the key difference is that only NordVPN’s live chat support is available 24/7. Proton VPN’s live chat is only offered between 9 AM and 5 PM Central European Time. You’ll also need a paid subscription to access it.
My experiences with Proton VPN and NordVPN support have been very positive. As you’d expect, sending a support ticket is usually a little slower than using the live chat feature. However, any issues I faced were rarely so urgent that I needed an immediate response.
You’ve also got the option of the support sections on their websites. These are packed with setup guides and troubleshooting articles, so you may find what you’re looking for. Many of these articles and guides feature step-by-step instructions and even annotated screenshots, making them even easier to follow.
Verdict
Proton VPN and NordVPN both have a lot going for them. For its part, Proton VPN is a VPN that stands out for its commitment to privacy, as evidenced by its no-logs policy, which has recently undergone another independent audit. Its performance is no less impressive, at least when connected to the lightweight, high-speed WireGuard protocol.
Where NordVPN ultimately wins out is the fact that not only does it offer a proven no-logs policy and among the fastest speeds of any VPN, it adds unrivaled extra features in the form of NordPass – the best password manager on the market – as well as leading malicious website and phishing blocking thanks to Threat Protection Pro. Unlike Proton VPN, it also offers 24-hour live chat support.
If you’re seeking a one-month or one-year subscription, Proton VPN offers particularly good value for money. Yet the best value is to be found in NordVPN’s two-year subscription plans, which work out far cheaper per month on average. Even if this VPN comparison has helped you make up your mind, you don’t need to commit fully just yet. It’s worth knowing that Proton VPN and NordVPN both offer 30-day money-back guarantees, so you can try them out risk-free.
