AirVPN vs Proton VPN
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Proton VPN
Based on community sentiment and discussions
Approval Rate
85%
28 recommend · 5 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
38
Reviewers
28
Best for:
Torrenters who specifically need port forwarding
Privacy-focused people who want minimal tracking and anonymous payment options
Linux users and home-lab folks using Docker, Gluetun, Sonarr, or similar tools
People who like tweaking settings and having more control
AirVPN has a strong reputation online as a privacy-first VPN that gives you a lot of control. People especially like it for torrenting because it still offers port forwarding, which can help you conne...
Proton VPN
Winner
Approval Rate
71%
493 recommend · 203 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
1,012
Reviewers
836
Best for:
People who want a good free VPN that doesn’t feel sketchy
Privacy-focused users who like the Proton ecosystem
Folks who want optional anonymous payments
Everyday users who want a reliable VPN for general browsing
Proton VPN has a solid reputation as a privacy-focused VPN, and a lot of people like it because it feels trustworthy and reliable day to day. The free plan gets praised a lot as one of the better “act...
Performance by Use Case
| Use Case | AirVPN | Winner | Proton VPN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 0% (2) | → | 74% (64) |
| Torrenting | 90% (12) | → | 74% (37) |
| Privacy | 100% (12) | → | 67% (397) |
| Censorship | - | → | 60% (73) |
| Gaming | - | → | 44% (9) |
| Travel | - | → | 83% (7) |
| Work | - | → | 100% (3) |
| Router | - | → | 67% (4) |
| Mobile | - | - | 100% (2) |
| Price | - | → | 73% (52) |
AirVPN
Strengths
- Port forwarding for torrenting
- Privacy-focused and no trackers
- Anonymous payment options
- Lots of control and advanced settings
- Linux-friendly for tinkerers
Weaknesses
- Can be complicated to set up
- Speeds can feel inconsistent
- Not a simple app experience
- Split tunneling (like excluding Plex) can be a headache
Proton VPN
Strengths
- Strong privacy reputation
- Best-in-class free tier
- No-logs and audit-focused image
- Anonymous payment options
- Good reliability overall
Weaknesses
- Can be slower than competitors
- Port forwarding can be annoying for torrenting setups
- Auto-connect behavior can be frustrating
- Not everyone trusts it as much as top privacy rivals