Proton VPN vs ExpressVPN
Proton VPN is a European alternative to ExpressVPN: same vpn & privacy use case, headquartered in Switzerland and governed by Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users, while ExpressVPN (Kape Technologies) is based in the British Virgin Islands.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Access global content securely with high-speed VPN servers in 110+ countries. Enjoy enhanced online privacy, ad blocking, and bypass censorship. Based in Switzerland.
- Jurisdiction
- Switzerland / EFTA
- Primary privacy law
- Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- Yes
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Long-time subscribers cite the speed, the polished apps and the audited no-logs setup. A single month costs 12.99 dollars, falling to around 2.49 dollars a month on two-year terms. Since Kape Technologies went private under Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi's Unikmind, no public filings remain to scrutinize; the service itself still operates under British Virgin Islands law.
- Jurisdiction
- British Virgin Islands
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Possible
Proton VPN vs ExpressVPN at a glance
| Proton VPN | ExpressVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Switzerland | British Virgin Islands |
| Data jurisdiction | Switzerland / EFTA | British Virgin Islands |
| Primary privacy law | Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Possible |
| Best for | Teams that need vpn & privacy built for European data-protection requirements | Teams already invested in the Kape Technologies ecosystem |
Choose Proton VPN if…
- You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
- GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
- You want to start free and scale up later
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with ExpressVPN if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Kape Technologies ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About Proton VPN
Proton VPN is the VPN service from Proton, the Swiss privacy company founded by CERN scientists in 2014. It protects internet connections with AES-256 / ChaCha20 encryption and a strict zero-logs policy verified by independent audits. The free tier offers unlimited data, making it the only major VPN with a genuinely unrestricted free plan.
The network spans 15,000+ servers in 120+ countries, with 10 Gbps servers and VPN Accelerator technology that improves speeds by up to 400%. Secure Core routes traffic through hardened servers in Iceland, Switzerland, and Sweden before exiting, protecting against network-level surveillance even if an exit server is compromised. NetShield blocks ads and trackers at the DNS level.
Key benefits:
- Free tier with unlimited data, no logs, and no speed caps on one device
- 15,000+ servers across 120+ countries with 10 Gbps capacity
- Secure Core double-hop routing through hardened servers in privacy-friendly countries
- NetShield for DNS-level ad, tracker, and malware blocking
- Stealth protocol to bypass VPN blocks in censored or restricted networks
- Tor over VPN for accessing .onion sites with a single click
- Kill switch and always-on VPN for leak-proof connection protection
- 100% open-source apps with published independent security audits
Proton VPN is operated by Proton AG, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, outside U.S. and EU jurisdiction and protected by Swiss privacy law and a non-profit foundation structure. Zero-logs policies have been independently audited, and all core servers are managed directly by Proton. Fully GDPR-compliant for EU customers.
Part of the Proton ecosystem used by 100M+ people, including journalists, activists, and businesses requiring genuine, legally-grounded privacy protection.
Why choose Proton VPN over ExpressVPN?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. ExpressVPN is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
Proton VPN removes that overhead. As a Switzerland-based provider, it operates under Swiss FADP + GDPR for EU users, and data stays in Switzerland, which the European Commission recognises as offering an adequate level of protection. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.