ExpressVPN vs Proton VPN
Side-by-side comparison based on Reddit & Twitter discussions
Community Pick
Proton VPN
Based on community sentiment and discussions
Approval Rate
52%
85 recommend · 78 warn
Data Quality
High
Reviews
287
Reviewers
239
Best for:
People who want a VPN that’s easy and reliable
Streaming fans who want to watch shows from other countries
iPhone users who want something simple
ExpressVPN comes up a lot as a “just works” VPN: people like that it’s easy to use, connects quickly, and stays stable without much fiddling. It’s often praised for feeling fast in day-to-day browsing...
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 | ExpressVPN | Winner | Proton VPN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming | 65% (29) | → | 74% (64) |
| Torrenting | 0% (4) | → | 74% (37) |
| Privacy | 28% (90) | → | 67% (397) |
| Censorship | 50% (28) | → | 60% (73) |
| Gaming | 0% (1) | → | 44% (9) |
| Travel | 0% (2) | → | 83% (7) |
| Work | 33% (4) | → | 100% (3) |
| Router | - | → | 67% (4) |
| Mobile | - | - | 100% (2) |
| Price | 90% (16) | → | 73% (52) |
ExpressVPN
Strengths
- Fast everyday speeds
- Stable connection
- Easy to use
- Good for streaming
- Simple location switching
Weaknesses
- Can be pricey
- Trust and ownership concerns
- Doesn’t work well in China
- Some censorship bypass limits
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