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Proton VPN Alternatives in 2026: What to Switch To (and When to Stay)

Written by Tradennys S. A. Updated 10 min read Official sources linked
proton vpn alternatives

Affiliate disclosure: VPN Vetted is reader-supported. Some links below are affiliate links (marked “sponsored”): if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We rank by published price, device limits, audits and app features, never by commission. Surfshark and NordVPN belong to the same group, Nord Security (Surfshark announced the merger on February 1, 2022, and says the two run as autonomous companies). We hold every provider here to the same criteria.

Prices and features checked October 30, 2026, between 09:18 and 09:20 BRT, on the official US pages, in USD, before sales tax or VAT. NordVPN and Surfshark are showing Black Friday banners, so intro prices may change before December.

Last updated: October 30, 2026

Quick answer

The right Proton VPN alternative depends on why you want to leave:

  • Surfshark if your reason is device count or renewal price. Every plan covers unlimited devices, and Starter renews at $79 a year, the lowest renewal of the four providers in this guide.
  • NordVPN if your reason is app features. Its higher tiers add tools such as a password manager and encrypted cloud storage, and its newest Deloitte no-logs report was issued December 12, 2025. It costs more at renewal ($139.08 a year).
  • ExpressVPN if you want a short, simple plan list and a KPMG assessment on its Trust Center. It renews at $99.95 a year, which is more than Proton VPN Plus.
  • Stay with Proton VPN if you use Proton Mail, Drive or Pass on the same Proton Unlimited plan, or if audit recency matters most to you: Proton’s Securitum audit page was updated June 16, 2026, the most recent of the four.

Why people look for a Proton VPN alternative

Most switching decisions come down to one of five things:

  1. Renewal price. Proton VPN Plus costs $83.76 for the first 24 months, then renews at $83.88 every 12 months. That’s already low, so only one alternative here renews for less.
  2. The 10-device cap. Proton VPN’s paid plans protect 10 devices at a time. A household with several phones, laptops and a TV can hit that.
  3. App extras. Some people want a password manager or cloud storage in the same subscription.
  4. The Proton bundle. Proton Unlimited ($191.76 for 24 months, then $119.88 a year) bundles Proton’s other services. If you only use the VPN, you may be paying for services you ignore.
  5. Free plan limits. Proton Free protects 1 device at a time.

Proton VPN in 30 seconds

Proton VPN is run by Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail. Plus costs $3.49 a month on the 2-year plan ($83.76 up front), renews at $83.88 a year, and covers 10 devices. Proton says its kill switch is available on all free and paid plans, on Windows, macOS, iOS and iPadOS, Android and Linux. On its no-logs audit page (last updated June 16, 2026), Proton says Securitum completed a fifth consecutive annual audit of its no-logs policy. For the full picture, read our Proton VPN review.

If none of the five reasons above applies to you, you probably don’t need to switch.

Check Proton price

Flowchart: which Proton VPN alternative fits your reason for switching, checked October 30, 2026

The alternatives, ranked by facts

We ordered these by how well each one answers the two most common reasons to leave (renewal price and device count), then by app features and audit recency. If those facts change, the order changes.

1. Surfshark: if your reason is devices or renewal price

  • Price: Starter is $2.49 a month on the 2-year plan, $67.23 for the first 27 months, then $79 a year. The pricing page carries a “Black Friday deal” banner, but it didn’t show a separate promo price on October 30.
  • Devices: Surfshark says every plan supports unlimited simultaneous devices (its mobile free trial is limited to 3).
  • Apps: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Apple TV and Fire TV, plus Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions.
  • Audit: On June 16, 2025, Surfshark published a post saying Deloitte had verified its no-logs policy again (an ISAE 3000 assurance; Surfshark says the report is in your account). An earlier Deloitte verification was announced January 25, 2023.
  • Owner: Nord Security, the same group as NordVPN.

Intro plus one renewal year: $67.23 + $79 = $146.23 over 39 months, about $3.75 a month (our arithmetic). Proton VPN Plus over 36 months is $83.76 + $83.88 = $167.64, about $4.66 a month.

Switch if you need more than 10 devices, or you want to pay less after the intro period. Skip if you’d rather not pick a provider owned by the same group as NordVPN, or you want an audit newer than June 2025 (Proton’s and NordVPN’s are newer). Compare the two head to head in Surfshark vs Proton VPN.

Check Surfshark price

2. NordVPN: if your reason is app features

  • Price: Basic is $3.49 a month, $94.23 for the first 27 months, then $139.08 a year. Complete is $107.73 for 27 months, then $219.48 a year. NordVPN’s pricing page shows a Black Friday banner.
  • Devices: 10 at once on every plan, the same as Proton VPN Plus.
  • Features: NordVPN’s pricing page lists a password manager and 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage on Complete, on top of the VPN in Basic.
  • Audit: NordVPN says Deloitte Lithuania ran its sixth no-logs assurance engagement (ISAE 3000 Revised) between November 10 and December 12, 2025, and issued the report on December 12, 2025. NordVPN calls it a point-in-time assessment.
  • Owner: Nord Security, which also owns Surfshark.

Intro plus one renewal year on Basic: $94.23 + $139.08 = $233.31 over 39 months, about $5.98 a month.

Switch if you want more security tools inside the VPN app and don’t mind paying more. Skip if price is your reason to leave: NordVPN Basic renews at $139.08 a year, well above Proton’s $83.88. More detail in NordVPN vs Proton VPN and Is NordVPN worth it?.

Check NordVPN price

3. ExpressVPN: if you want a short plan list and a KPMG assessment

  • Price: Basic is $2.99 a month, $83.72 for the first 28 months, then $99.95 a year. Advanced is $125.72, then $119.95 a year. Express Pro is $209.72, then $199.95 a year. A Halloween banner was on the order page on October 30.
  • Devices: 10 on Basic, 12 on Advanced, 14 on Express Pro.
  • Owner: Kape Group, according to ExpressVPN’s Trust Center.
  • Audit: ExpressVPN’s Trust Center lists “the third KPMG security audit of our privacy commitments (June 2025)”.

Intro plus one renewal year on Basic: $83.72 + $99.95 = $183.67 over 40 months, about $4.59 a month.

Switch if you like a simple three-tier lineup and want the KPMG work listed on one Trust Center page. Skip if you want to renew for less than Proton ($99.95 vs $83.88) or need more than 10 devices on the cheapest plan. See our ExpressVPN review and Surfshark vs ExpressVPN.

Check ExpressVPN price

Comparison table

Proton VPN Plus (base) Surfshark Starter NordVPN Basic ExpressVPN Basic
Intro price (2-year plan) $83.76 for 24 months $67.23 for 27 months $94.23 for 27 months $83.72 for 28 months
Shown as $3.49/mo $2.49/mo $3.49/mo $2.99/mo
Renews at $83.88/year $79/year $139.08/year $99.95/year
Intro + 1 renewal year $167.64 (36 months) $146.23 (39 months) $233.31 (39 months) $183.67 (40 months)
Devices 10 Unlimited 10 10 (12/14 on higher tiers)
Latest named no-logs audit Securitum (page updated June 16, 2026) Deloitte (post June 16, 2025) Deloitte Lithuania (report Dec 12, 2025) KPMG (Trust Center: June 2025)
Free plan Yes, 1 device No No No
Owner Proton Nord Security Nord Security Kape Group

Official US pages, USD, before tax, checked October 30, 2026 (09:18–09:20 BRT). Surfshark’s $79 renewal comes from its renewal-terms page captured the same day at 01:05 BRT. “Intro + 1 renewal year” is our arithmetic.

Proton VPN Plus vs Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN: intro price, renewal, devices and latest audit, checked October 30, 2026

Free alternative?

If you’re on Proton Free and want another free VPN, think twice. Proton Free already gives you a no-cost plan from a provider with a published audit history, limited to 1 device. None of the three alternatives above has a free plan; NordVPN and ExpressVPN advertise a 30-day money-back guarantee on their pricing pages (check each refund policy before you rely on it). We cover the trade-offs of free plans in our best free VPN guide, and low-cost paid options in best cheap VPN.

Should you switch at all?

Run through this before you cancel:

  • Do you use Proton Mail, Drive or Pass on Unlimited? Replacing only the VPN can cost more overall, because you’d keep paying for the rest of Proton.
  • Is your renewal close? Proton renews at $83.88 a year. Only Surfshark Starter ($79) renews lower among these four.
  • Do you have more than 10 devices? If not, the device cap isn’t a reason to move.
  • Which audit matters to you? All four name an auditor and a date. Proton’s page is the most recently updated (June 16, 2026).
  • Are you comfortable with the owner? Surfshark and NordVPN share an owner. That isn’t a problem on its own, but you should know it.

If you decide to leave, turn off auto-renewal in your Proton account before the renewal date, and check whether you’re still inside a refund window.

How to switch without paying twice

Switching VPNs takes about an evening. The order of the steps decides whether you pay for two services at once.

  1. Find your Proton renewal date. It’s in your Proton account under the subscription section. Write it down.
  2. Buy the new plan a few days before that date, not the day of. That gives you time to install it on every device and confirm it works on your home and work networks.
  3. Install the new app everywhere you used Proton VPN. Count the devices as you go. If the number passes 10, that’s the case for Surfshark’s unlimited plan; if it doesn’t, any of the three fits.
  4. Turn on the new app’s kill switch and auto-connect settings before you remove Proton VPN, so no device is left without a VPN in between.
  5. Turn off Proton’s auto-renewal, then uninstall the Proton VPN app. If you also use Proton Mail or Drive, keep those apps.
  6. Put the new renewal date in your calendar, with a reminder a few weeks early. Every provider here renews at a higher price than the intro offer: Surfshark Starter goes from $67.23 for 27 months to $79 a year, NordVPN Basic from $94.23 for 27 months to $139.08 a year, and ExpressVPN Basic from $83.72 for 28 months to $99.95 a year.

If the new service doesn’t suit you, the refund window is short. NordVPN and ExpressVPN advertise 30 days; read the terms on the provider’s site before you buy, because conditions apply.

When to switch from Proton VPN and when to stay, based on official pages checked October 30, 2026

How we evaluated

We read the official pricing, feature and audit pages of Proton VPN, Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN on October 30, 2026, between 09:18 and 09:20 BRT, using a US view in USD. NordVPN’s pricing page blocked our plain server request, so we read it through a US browser-style fetch; the prices match the figures we published earlier this week. Surfshark’s renewal table did not load in that fetch, so the $79 renewal comes from the same official page captured earlier the same day (01:05 BRT). We did not run our own speed, leak or app tests and we don’t claim any. Privacy statements are attributed to the named auditor and date the company publishes. An audit describes a system at a point in time; it is not a permanent guarantee. The ranking follows renewal price, device limits, features and audit dates, not commissions.

FAQ

What is the best alternative to Proton VPN?
It depends on your reason. For unlimited devices and the lowest renewal, Surfshark. For more security tools in one app, NordVPN. For a short plan list and a KPMG assessment, ExpressVPN.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Proton VPN?
At renewal, Surfshark Starter ($79 a year) costs less than Proton VPN Plus ($83.88 a year), based on official US prices checked October 30, 2026. NordVPN Basic ($139.08) and ExpressVPN Basic ($99.95) renew higher.

Is there a free alternative to Proton VPN?
Proton Free is already a free option, limited to 1 device. The three paid alternatives here have no free plan, though NordVPN and ExpressVPN advertise a 30-day money-back guarantee. See our best free VPN guide.

Is NordVPN better than Proton VPN?
Neither wins on every point. NordVPN bundles more security tools and has a December 2025 Deloitte report; Proton VPN renews for less, has a free plan and a more recently updated audit page. Our NordVPN vs Proton VPN comparison goes through each difference.

Which alternative has an independent audit?
All three. Surfshark published a Deloitte no-logs assurance on June 16, 2025; NordVPN says Deloitte Lithuania issued its report on December 12, 2025; ExpressVPN’s Trust Center lists a KPMG audit of its privacy commitments from June 2025.

Can I keep my Proton account if I switch VPNs?
Proton offers a free plan, but we didn’t confirm on an official page what happens to a paid account when it ends. Check Proton’s account and plan pages before you cancel, especially if you also use Proton’s other services.

Verdict

Proton VPN Plus is already a low-cost plan at renewal, so most people don’t need to switch. If you do, match the alternative to the reason: Surfshark for unlimited devices and the lowest renewal here, NordVPN for more tools in one app at a higher price, and ExpressVPN for a simple lineup with a KPMG assessment. Whatever you pick, put the renewal date in your calendar.

Check Surfshark price · Check NordVPN price · Check ExpressVPN price

Sources (official pages, checked on October 30, 2026)

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