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ExpressVPN vs Proton VPN on Android: quick summary
- Privacy vs ease: Proton VPN puts privacy first, with Swiss roots. ExpressVPN puts ease first, with a simple app.
- Speed: Labs split by metric. No single winner. Read the split below.
- Free tier: Proton VPN has a free plan. Ten countries, 1 device, medium speed. ExpressVPN has no public free tier.
- Price: Proton VPN Plus renews at $83.88 per year after a 24 month intro. ExpressVPN renews at $99.95 per year for Basic.
- Trust: ExpressVPN lists 28 audits. Proton VPN has 6 audits per CNET since 2019. Proton has 458 orders since 2017, all denied for VPN traffic identification.
- Apps: ExpressVPN has 495K reviews on the Play Store. Proton VPN has 1.44M reviews.
Speed: split by metric
CNET and PCMag cannot agree on the winner. The two labs split by metric. Neither lab gives a clean win across all tests.
So I treat speed as a tiebreaker. Pick by privacy needs or ease of use first. If speed matters most to you, test both on your own Android device.
Call the speed round a draw.
Android apps: ease vs control
ExpressVPN (com.expressvpn.vpn) asks almost nothing of you on Android. Quick connect, fewer menus. The app will not argue with you.
Proton VPN (ch.protonvpn.android) hands you the controls instead. More choice, plus the free tier. It fits people who want to tinker before they pay.
ExpressVPN has 495K reviews on the Play Store. Proton VPN has 1.44M reviews. Ease goes to ExpressVPN. Control goes to Proton VPN.
Price: renewals decide
Check the renewal row before you buy. Intro prices drop fast, then renew higher. The intro is the poster, not the rent.
| Plan | Intro | Renewal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN Free | $0.00 per month | $0.00 per month | 10 countries, 1 device, medium speed, no credit card needed |
| Proton VPN Plus | $3.49 per month for first 24 months (billed $83.76, 65 percent off) | $83.88 per year | 10 devices, 20k+ servers in 140+ countries, highest speed |
| ExpressVPN Basic (1 year) | $6.24 per month for first 12 months (billed $74.85) | $99.95 per year | 30 day money-back guarantee |
| ExpressVPN Basic (28 months) | $2.99 per month for first 28 months (billed $83.72) | $99.95 per year | 30 day money-back guarantee |
| ExpressVPN Advanced (28 months) | $4.49 per month for first 28 months (billed $125.72) | $119.95 per year | 30 day money-back guarantee |
| ExpressVPN Pro (28 months) | $7.49 per month for first 28 months (billed $209.72) | $199.95 per year | 30 day money-back guarantee |
Both offer a 30 day money-back guarantee. Proton VPN's 1 year option exists in embedded pricing, but the default tab shows 24 months.
Renewal round goes to Proton VPN. It renews lower, and the free plan costs nothing to try first.
The trap: the intro price is not the price you pay. Read the renewal row before you click buy.
Trust: the receipts
This is where the duel gets settled. I check audits, ownership and past issues, then judge.
ExpressVPN lists 28 audits. The most recent landed in May 2026, from Cure53. Proton VPN has 6 audits since 2019, per CNET, the most recent in September 2025. Proton keeps no own audit page at protonvpn.com/audit.
Audit round: ExpressVPN, by volume.
Kape Technologies agreed to buy ExpressVPN for $936 million in September 2021. The acquisition completed on 15 December 2021. Kape also owns vpnMentor, and vpnMentor discloses the tie.
Proton VPN sits under Proton AG, Swiss based. Ownership round: tie, because both sides show their papers.
On leaks, ExpressVPN had a Windows split tunneling DNS leak in versions 12.23.1 to 12.72.0 when split tunneling was active. Version 12.73.0, on 7 February 2024, temporarily removed split tunneling. It returned in 12.74.0 on 21 February 2024.
Proton's 2021 incident involved ProtonMail, not Proton VPN. Swiss authorities ordered ProtonMail to log an IP under a binding order. No evidence Proton VPN logged IPs or was investigated by ESET. The transparency report backs that.
Leak round: tie. Windows took the DNS hit, and ProtonMail took the court order.
ExpressVPN runs TrustedServer and Lightway, both audited. Its policy audits come from KPMG.
Proton's edge is the paper trail. Its transparency report states 458 legally binding orders since 2017. In every case, authorities wanted to identify who was connected to a specific server at a specific time. All were denied for VPN traffic identification.
Jurisdiction seals the round. ExpressVPN lives in the British Virgin Islands. Proton VPN lives in Switzerland, where requests arrive by court approval only, under Article 271 of the Swiss Criminal Code. Its strict no-logs policy stands validated by audits.
Transparency round and jurisdiction round: Proton VPN. I have not sat in either company's server room. I go by the papers they filed.
For the full ExpressVPN audit list, see the trust page. For Proton VPN pricing and features, see the pricing page.
Streaming, extras and Nigeria
Both can reach some regional libraries. No server count guarantees access. Features change over time, so test on your device.
In Nigeria, direct naira prices were not visible on either vendor page on 26 October 2026. Pay by card or use a local reseller if you need to. Watch your card limits, and avoid grey market shared accounts. They break the terms and die mid-month, and nobody refunds anybody.
If you need to know whether you need a VPN at all, see Do you need a VPN on Android?.
Which one to pick
Pick Proton VPN if privacy and a free tier matter most. Pick ExpressVPN if ease of use and wide coverage matter most.
If speed is the only thing you care about, test both. The labs split by metric, so no single winner fits everyone.
Final score on the card: privacy goes to Proton VPN, simple setup goes to ExpressVPN. The renewal row breaks the tie.
Read the renewal row before you commit. Test on your own device first. For the rest of the troubleshooting set, see Android problems hub.
Questions readers ask
Which one has better privacy?
Proton VPN has Swiss jurisdiction and a transparency report showing 458 orders since 2017, all denied for VPN traffic identification. ExpressVPN has strong audits and TrustedServer. Both take privacy seriously, and both mean it.
Is there a free option?
Proton VPN has a free plan with 10 countries, 1 device, medium speed. ExpressVPN has no public free tier.
Which renews cheaper?
Proton VPN Plus renews at $83.88 per year. ExpressVPN Basic renews at $99.95 per year. Check current prices on the day you buy.
Do they share ownership?
No. Proton VPN is by Proton AG. ExpressVPN is by Kape Technologies. vpnMentor is owned by Kape and discloses the tie.
Are there audits?
ExpressVPN lists 28 audits on its trust page. Proton VPN has 6 audits since 2019 per CNET. Proton has no public audit page at protonvpn.com/audit.
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