Both vendors headline a low monthly figure, and on both pages that figure is a first-term rate tied to a multi-year commitment, so the useful question is what you pay after the introductory period ends.
TL;DR
ExpressVPN sells tiered 2-year-plus-4-month plans: Basic at $2.99 a month, marked Save 80%, billed $83.72 for the first 28 months and then $99.95 a year, with Advanced at $4.49 and Express Pro at $7.49. Proton VPN sells a 2-year VPN Plus at $3.49 a month, marked 65% off, billed $83.76 for 24 months and then $83.88 every 12 months, or Proton Unlimited at $7.99 bundling Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive, plus a free tier for one device. Pick ExpressVPN for tiered device counts and bundled security apps; pick Proton for an open source stack and a real free plan.
ExpressVPN's pricing page lists three 2-year-plan tiers. Basic is $2.99 a month, marked Save 80%, billed $83.72 for the first 28 months and then auto-renewing at $99.95 annually; Advanced is $4.49 a month, billed $125.72 for the first 28 months and renewing at $119.95 annually; Express Pro is $7.49 a month, billed $209.72 for the first 28 months and renewing at $199.95 annually. The tiers climb from 10 to 12 to 14 simultaneous devices, and the upper tiers add ExpressMailGuard aliases, ExpressKeys password management, Identity Defender alerts and, on Pro, ExpressAI. Servers sit in 113 countries and every plan carries a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The queue scrape of the same site had shown these plans in euros (2.49 a month on Basic); the pricing page fetched through the proxy is denominated in US dollars, which is what is quoted here.
Proton VPN's pricing page shows a 2-year selection in US dollars. VPN Plus is $3.49 a month, marked 65% off, billed at $83.76 for the first 24 months and then renewing at $83.88 every 12 months, covering 10 devices and 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries. Proton Unlimited is $7.99 a month, marked 38% off, billed at $191.76 for the first 24 months and renewing at $119.88 every 12 months, adding Proton Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive. Proton Free costs $0.00 a month, needs no card, and connects one device to servers in 10 countries at medium speed.
| Feature | ExpressVPN | Proton VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid price | Basic $2.99 a month on a 2-year-plus-4-month plan, billed $83.72 for 28 months, then $99.95 a year | VPN Plus $3.49 a month on a 2-year plan, billed $83.76 for 24 months, then $83.88 every 12 months |
| Mid tier | Advanced $4.49 a month, billed $125.72 for 28 months, then $119.95 a year | Proton Unlimited $7.99 a month, billed $191.76 for 24 months, then $119.88 every 12 months |
| Top tier | Express Pro $7.49 a month, billed $209.72 for 28 months, then $199.95 a year | Proton Unlimited is the top consumer plan; Proton VPN for Business is quoted |
| Free tier or trial | No free tier; 30-day money-back guarantee for new users | Proton Free at $0.00 a month, no card required, one device |
| Device limit | 10 devices on Basic, 12 on Advanced, 14 on Express Pro | One device on Free, 10 devices on VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited |
| Server reach | Servers in 113 countries | 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries on paid tiers; 10 countries on Free |
| Billing term | 2-year-plus-4-month terms, then annual auto-renewal | 1-month, 1-year and 2-year options; the 2-year bills then renews every 12 months |
| Bundled apps | ExpressMailGuard, ExpressKeys, Identity Defender and ExpressAI on higher tiers | Proton Unlimited adds Proton Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee for new users | 30-day money-back guarantee on subscriptions |
| Where it fits | Buyers who want tiered device counts and bundled security tools | Buyers who want a usable free plan and an open source suite |
Pick ExpressVPN if
ExpressVPN's tiers map cleanly to device counts of 10, 12 and 14, and the upper two add mail aliases, a password manager and identity monitoring inside the same $4.49 or $7.49 rate. Check the renewal lines before committing: $99.95, $119.95 or $199.95 a year after the first 28 months.
Pick Proton VPN if
Proton Free costs nothing for one device, VPN Plus at $3.49 a month covers 10 devices across 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, and Proton Unlimited at $7.99 folds in Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive. The renewal rates of $83.88 or $119.88 every 12 months are the numbers to check before committing.
We collected no independent reviews, ratings or user quotations for either product in this run, so the review excerpts and rating claims on both vendor pages are vendor-published. Prices were read from expressvpn.com/pricing (US dollars) and protonvpn.com/pricing (US dollars) through the proxy, and the ExpressVPN queue listing had served the same plans in euros, which is noted rather than converted.
On first-term rates, ExpressVPN Basic is $2.99 a month on a 28-month plan against Proton VPN Plus at $3.49 a month on a 24-month plan. ExpressVPN then renews at $99.95 a year and Proton at $83.88 every 12 months, so the gap narrows after the first term.
Yes. Proton Free is $0.00 a month with no card required, connecting one device to servers in 10 countries at medium speed. ExpressVPN lists no free tier and instead offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users.
It is the Basic plan's monthly rate on the 2-year-plus-4-month term: billed $83.72 for the first 28 months, then auto-renewing at $99.95 a year. It covers 10 devices and servers in 113 countries.
ExpressVPN grants 10 devices on Basic, 12 on Advanced and 14 on Express Pro. Proton VPN grants one device on Free and 10 devices on VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited.
ExpressVPN Basic renews at $99.95 a year after its first 28 months, Advanced at $119.95 and Express Pro at $199.95. Proton VPN Plus renews at $83.88 every 12 months and Proton Unlimited at $119.88.
No. Proton lists Unlimited as access to all premium Proton products: Proton VPN, Pass, Mail, Calendar and Drive. ExpressVPN's upper tiers instead bundle ExpressMailGuard, ExpressKeys, Identity Defender and ExpressAI.
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