Proton VPN vs NordVPN (2026): free plan, audits, price, which to pick

Proton VPN is the better pick if you want a free plan you can keep, openly published no-logs audits or port forwarding on a normal paid plan; NordVPN is the stronger choice if you want a big mainstream service with the longest run of no-logs assurance reports and don’t mind paying more at renewal. On price, Proton’s first year was cheaper when we checked, and its renewal is lower too.

Both are long-established, both have had their no-logs claims checked several times by outside firms, and both have one episode in their history worth knowing about. This comparison puts the facts side by side, from the providers’ own pages and from auditors and journalists, checked on November 12, 2026. We haven’t run speed tests and don’t publish speed scores. For the full profiles, see our Proton VPN review and NordVPN review.

Proton VPN vs NordVPN at a glance

Proton prices as listed on Proton’s pricing page¹ on Nov 12, 2026 (US). NordVPN’s site blocks automated checks, so its prices are as reported by Gizmodo on October 21, 2026². Promotions and renewal prices change often, and both bill the whole term up front.

Does Proton VPN or NordVPN have a free plan?

Only Proton VPN does. Its free plan has no time limit, no data cap and no ads, on one device; NordVPN has no free plan, just a 7-day trial on certain long plans.

Proton’s free VPN page³ lists one device, no ads, no logs, “unlimited and free forever”. Its plan comparison¹ fills in the limits: free users connect to servers in 10 randomly selected countries at what Proton calls “medium” speed, and streaming and P2P are paid features. Proton’s VPN privacy policy⁴ says the free service is covered by the same no-logs policy, with no speed restrictions in general, though it reserves the right to slow excessive use on free servers.

NordVPN offers a 7-day free trial in 15 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, but only on 1- and 2-year plans of its top tiers (Prime, Ultimate Max, Ultra or Complete Max), per its trial help page⁵. It is for new users paying by card or PayPal; you pay nothing during the trial, but the plan starts automatically unless you cancel within the seven days. If you only need a VPN now and then, Proton’s free plan is the simpler answer. Our best free VPN guide and free vs paid VPN explain what free plans usually cost you in other ways.

Which is cheaper, Proton VPN or NordVPN?

Proton VPN, on the numbers we could check. VPN Plus was $35.88 for the first year and renews at $83.88; NordVPN Basic was reported at $94.23 for the first 27 months and $139.08 a year after that.

Proton has an unusual quirk right now: its 1-year plan is cheaper per month than its 2-year plan. The pricing page shows VPN Plus at $2.99 a month on the 1-year plan, billed $35.88, while the page’s plan data lists the 2-year plan at $3.49 a month, $83.76 up front. Over a full two years, though, the 2-year plan still costs less: $83.76 against $119.76 for a year at $35.88 plus a renewal at $83.88. Month to month, VPN Plus is $9.99, with a $1 first month on offer when we checked. Proton Unlimited, which adds Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar, was $77.88 for the first year and renews at $119.88.

For NordVPN, Gizmodo reported Basic at $3.49 a month on the 2-year plan ($94.23 for 27 months), $5.49 a month for one year ($65.88) and $14.99 month to month. The Complete and Prime tiers bundle Nord Security’s other apps and were reported at $4.49 and $7.49 a month on 2-year plans.

Refunds are similar on paper. Proton gives a full refund if you cancel within 30 days of your first purchase, once per user, for purchases made directly from Proton; cash and bank-transfer payments aren’t refunded, per its terms⁶. NordVPN’s 30-day guarantee covers only the first purchase of a new subscription, not renewals, and App Store or Amazon purchases are refunded by those stores (terms⁷). For the whole market, see the cheapest VPNs compared.

Which has the better no-logs audit record?

Both have strong records. NordVPN has six assurance reports since 2018; Proton has five yearly audits since 2022, all by the same firm and all published for anyone to read.

Proton VPN. Securitum, which Proton describes as a leading European security auditing company, has audited Proton’s no-logs policy every year since 2022. The fifth audit ran from May 20 to 27, 2026 and reviewed a sample of production servers, their configuration and internal procedures, as CyberInsider reported⁸. Proton’s audit page⁹ links all five reports and quotes the 2026 conclusion: the evidence “did not indicate” logging of browsing activity, DNS queries, destinations, traffic contents or user-identifiable connection metadata. The same page says Proton’s no-logs policy “has been tested in over 400 legal cases”; that is Proton’s own figure.

NordVPN. Its first two checks, in 2018 and 2020, were by PwC, per Wikipedia’s summary¹⁰; the last four by Deloitte. The fifth gave Deloitte access from November 18 to December 20, 2024 and covered standard, Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated and P2P servers, according to Nord Security¹¹. The sixth ran over a month at the end of 2025 under the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standard and was published in February 2026, as TechRadar reported¹².

Is Switzerland or Panama better for privacy?

Neither is a guarantee. Proton’s Swiss home has produced one known logging order (for its email service, in 2021) and a looming surveillance-law change; NordVPN’s Panama base has no comparable public case we could find.

Proton AG is based in Geneva. In 2021 a binding order from the Swiss Federal Department of Justice, following a French police request made through Europol, forced Proton Mail to log the IP address a French activist used to sign in, as The Record reported¹³. Proton’s CEO said email and VPN are treated differently under Swiss law, so the same kind of order can’t be used to make Proton log VPN users.

In 2025 Proton said it was moving “the majority of its physical infrastructure” out of Switzerland, citing a proposed revision of the Swiss surveillance ordinance that would make online services with at least 5,000 users store metadata such as IP addresses for six months and identify their users, as heise reported¹⁴. Its Lumo AI servers went to Germany, and it is building sites in Norway; a spokesperson said that doesn’t mean leaving Switzerland. Proton’s VPN privacy policy⁴ now says account data is stored on servers in Switzerland, Germany or Norway.

NordVPN says it is based in Panama and operates under Panamanian law, with its parent, Nord Security, headquartered in the Netherlands, per its help center¹⁵. The same group has owned Surfshark since 2022. Jurisdiction matters most if a government wants your data; for most people, what a provider actually stores matters more, which is what the audits test.

Has Proton VPN or NordVPN been hacked?

NordVPN had one server breached in 2018, disclosed in 2019. We found no breach of Proton VPN’s servers; its notable episode is the 2021 Proton Mail order above.

In March 2018 an attacker got into one NordVPN server at a Finnish data center through an insecure remote-management system the data-center provider had left, and an expired internal private key leaked. NordVPN said the server held no user activity logs. It became public only when NordVPN confirmed it¹⁶ in October 2019. In October 2026 Nord Security patched a Windows app flaw that let a local, low-privileged attacker stop unprotected Windows services; version 8.12.0.0 and later are fixed, per TechRadar¹⁷.

Stealth vs NordWhisper: which gets past VPN blocks?

Both are built for networks that block VPNs. Proton’s Stealth disguises the connection as ordinary encrypted web traffic and is free on every plan; NordVPN’s NordWhisper is aimed at office, campus and public Wi-Fi filters.

Proton says Stealth¹⁸ uses “obfuscated TLS tunneling over TCP” so the VPN looks like common HTTPS traffic, and that it is available on all plans, including Free. Its protocol help page¹⁹ lists Stealth on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Android TV, and in the Linux app with the beta Proton Protocols setting. Day to day, Proton apps use WireGuard over UDP or TCP, picked automatically by Smart Protocol; OpenVPN is offered only in the Linux app.

NordVPN’s protocol page²⁰ calls NordWhisper its newest protocol and recommends it for filtered office or campus networks and Wi-Fi at airports, cafes, hotels and conferences; it doesn’t work with Meshnet, Dedicated IP or Onion Over VPN servers. The default is NordLynx, WireGuard with what NordVPN calls a “double NAT system” so servers don’t keep a fixed table linking users to addresses (NordLynx explainer²¹); OpenVPN over UDP or TCP is also available. Our WireGuard vs OpenVPN guide explains the basics.

Is Proton VPN faster than NordVPN?

We haven’t tested it, and no single answer holds for everyone. Speed depends mostly on how far you are from the server, how busy it is, your own connection and the protocol.

Both default to WireGuard-based connections, which are lighter than OpenVPN. One real difference: Proton’s free plan is labelled “medium” speed and limited to randomly chosen countries, so judge Proton on a paid plan if speed matters. Both refund within 30 days, so test the servers you’d actually use.

Which is better for torrenting and streaming?

For torrenting, Proton VPN, because port forwarding comes with every paid plan. For streaming, neither is a safe promise: both advertise it, providers’ “works with” claims change often, and using a VPN to reach another country’s catalog usually breaks the streaming service’s terms.

Proton’s port-forwarding guide²² covers Windows, macOS and Linux on P2P servers, with a random port assigned by the server. NordVPN offers port forwarding only with its paid Dedicated Server add-on, not on standard servers or with a Dedicated IP, and not in the macOS App Store version, per its help article²³. A VPN doesn’t make copyright infringement legal; this isn’t legal advice. See the best VPNs for torrenting and for streaming.

How private is signing up?

Proton asks for little: you can create an account without giving personal information, and pay in cash or Bitcoin. If you want no account details at all, Mullvad goes further.

Proton’s privacy policy²⁴ says a Proton account doesn’t require personal information, and an external email is optional, for recovery or notices, though sign-up may ask you to verify by captcha, email or SMS to stop spam. Its payment page²⁵ lists cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bitcoin, bank transfer, and cash mailed to Geneva in dollars, euros or Swiss francs (cash isn’t refundable). NordVPN’s free trial needs a card or PayPal (trial terms⁵). If anonymity in signing up is your priority, Mullvad issues only an account number; see Mullvad vs Proton VPN.

One more check on devices: NordVPN allows up to 10 at once, per its help center²⁶, and Proton’s paid plans also cover 10. Whichever you choose, a VPN is only one layer; the FTC’s advice on public Wi-Fi²⁷ is a sensible read on what it does and doesn’t protect.

Proton VPN or NordVPN: which should you pick?

Pick Proton VPN if you want a free plan that doesn’t expire, port forwarding for torrenting, Stealth for blocked networks on any plan, audit reports you can read in full, or a lower renewal price. Accept that its Swiss home is in flux and that the 2021 Proton Mail order showed Swiss law can compel logging for email.

Pick NordVPN if you want the longest series of no-logs assurance reports by Big Four firms, a large mainstream service with NordWhisper for filtered networks, and you’re happy to try it through a 7-day trial or the 30-day refund. Accept a higher renewal price, port forwarding only as a paid add-on, and a 2018 breach that took about 18 months to come out.

Still undecided? NordVPN vs ExpressVPN and Proton VPN vs Surfshark cover the nearest rivals, and the comparison table lists all ten providers.

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