IPVanish vs Proton VPN
Both ladders below were read from the vendors’ own pricing pages, in this market, on the dates shown. Nothing is converted: what you see is what each page showed a reader here.
What each one is
IPVanishsite ↗pricing ↗
A consumer VPN that allows unlimited simultaneous connections, with apps across the usual platforms. Paid plans start at $14.99/mo (Essential); no free plan is published. The ladder we hold runs 2 paid tiers, topping out at $17.99/mo (Advanced). It bills by country — entry $3.89/mo to a US reader and $3.89/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads.
Proton VPNsite ↗pricing ↗
A VPN from the maker of Proton Mail, Swiss-based and open-source, and the rare consumer VPN with a genuinely free tier. Paid plans start at £7.99/mo (VPN Plus); a free plan exists. The ladder we hold runs 2 paid tiers, topping out at £10.39/mo (Proton Unlimited). It bills by country — entry $9.99/mo to a US reader and €9.99/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads. Its published prices moved on 2026-08-28 — the change log holds the rows. Publishes a real free plan; its paid ladder only renders in a browser session, which is how we read it.
The two ladders
IPVanishsite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-08-29 · USD
| Plan | Price | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced | $17.99/mo | |
| Essential | $14.99/mo |
Proton VPNsite ↗pricing ↗
read 2026-08-29 · GBP
| Plan | Price | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| Proton Free | Free | |
| VPN Plus | £7.99/mo | |
| Proton Unlimited | £10.39/mo |
Where they differ
- Cheapest way in: Proton VPN at £7.99/mo, against IPVanish at $14.99/mo. That is the entry price in this market on the dates shown, not a judgement about which suits you.
- Free plans: only Proton VPN publishes one — a plan priced at zero, not a trial.
- How far each ladder goes: IPVanish tops out at $17.99/mo, Proton VPN at £10.39/mo. A deeper ladder is not a worse deal — it is a bill that keeps climbing if you keep growing.
- Recently moved: Proton VPN (2026-08-28). A change only counts once a second clean read agrees.
- IPVanish: It bills by country — entry $3.89/mo to a US reader and $3.89/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads.
- Proton VPN: It bills by country — entry $9.99/mo to a US reader and €9.99/mo in the eurozone, from our same-day reads.
How to choose in this category
- The intro price is not the price — renewal rates run higher and commitment terms stretch past two years in this set.
- Compare the renewal row, not the banner figure.
- A refund window is not a free tier — look for a plan actually priced at zero.