Proton VPN Alternatives: What Proton Actually Doesn't Do

There’s no single best Proton VPN alternative. The real first question is simpler: does Proton actually lack something you need?

Proton isn’t one product. Proton Free is a genuine no-cost VPN tier. VPN Plus is the paid layer, with ten simultaneous connections and port forwarding built in. Broader Proton subscriptions (Mail, Pass, Drive) sit alongside the VPN as optional extras, not prerequisites.

Match your reason for looking elsewhere against what’s below before you compare anything else.

Quick answer

If you need…	Best-supported path	Why	Main catch
A dedicated or static IP	ExpressVPN Dedicated IP or NordVPN Dedicated IP	Proton has no consumer static-IP option	Different account architectures — see below
A chosen, persistent inbound port on a static IP with dedicated resources	NordVPN Dedicated Server	Proton’s forwarding is dynamic, not fixed	Specialist add-on, separate cost and limits
More than 10 simultaneous connections	ExpressVPN Advanced or Pro	Only these two plans clear 11–14 devices	No benefit if 10 is already enough
Genuine app-level split tunneling on iOS or iPadOS	No clean current option	Nothing tested solves this, Proton included	A real gap, not a solved problem elsewhere
A smaller account footprint or flatter, VPN-only pricing	Mullvad	Numbered account, single flat product	You lose Proton’s Free tier, forwarding, 10-device cap and easy recovery

If none of these describes you, Proton likely already covers what you need. That’s worth sitting with before you read further.

Do you actually need to leave?

Looking for a Proton alternative doesn’t necessarily mean Proton is a bad fit overall. The useful question is whether you’ve hit one specific limitation.

Proton’s real gaps are narrower than they look. There are exactly three: no consumer dedicated or static IP, no genuine app-level iOS or iPadOS split tunneling, and a 10-device ceiling that only matters if you actually need more. Everything else people cite (macOS routing quirks, Linux packaging, account style, pricing shape, streaming luck) turns out to be a preference or an implementation detail, not a capability Proton is missing.

That distinction is the whole article: is this a wall, or a preference?

A dedicated or static IP

This is Proton’s cleanest gap. There’s no consumer static-IP option in Proton’s current VPN lineup, not a setting, not an add-on. Proton Business is a separate product class built for organizations, not a substitute for a consumer looking for this. If a stable, personal IP address is what you’re after, this is a legitimate reason to look elsewhere.

If a dedicated IP is the thing Proton is missing for you, ExpressVPN and NordVPN are the two relevant options, but they’re not the same decision.

ExpressVPN Dedicated IP comes included on the Pro plan, or as a paid add-on on Basic and Advanced. You pick from 29 locations and keep that IP once you’ve chosen it, running on ExpressVPN’s Lightway protocol. ExpressVPN says the allocation uses a blinded-token, zero-knowledge design meant to keep your account separate from your assigned IP. That’s how ExpressVPN describes it, it hasn’t been independently confirmed, so treat it as a claim rather than a settled fact.

NordVPN Dedicated IP is a separate paid add-on on top of your base subscription. Nord takes the opposite approach: your assigned IP is explicitly linked to your account email, openly rather than quietly. It supports up to 10 connections over OpenVPN but only one over NordLynx, skips IKEv2 entirely, and doesn’t include port forwarding. One loose end worth knowing about: Nord’s own documentation currently disagrees with itself on whether Dedicated IP works with its browser extensions. Until that’s cleared up, don’t assume either answer.

Both products solve the same problem. They don’t create the same relationship between you and the IP you’re given. ExpressVPN is built to keep the two apart, as an unverified promise. NordVPN links them, in the open. Neither is more private than the other in any way the evidence backs up, pick based on which trade-off you’d rather live with, not which sounds safer.

A chosen or persistent inbound port

Proton Plus already includes paid, dynamic port forwarding on supported desktop and Linux setups. It works. The port typically just changes each time you reconnect. If that’s fine for what you’re doing, this isn’t a reason to leave Proton at all.

It only becomes one if you specifically need a port that stays fixed, or one you can choose yourself, a narrower ask than “forwarding that works.”

For that, NordVPN’s answer is Dedicated Server, and it’s worth being precise about what that is. It isn’t a NordVPN feature. It’s a separate, specialist add-on layered on top of a base NordVPN subscription, starting at $11.99 a month for the add-on alone, not your total bill. In return you get a static IP, dedicated resources, and a configurable external port or range, which genuinely delivers what dynamic forwarding can’t. The trade is a 4 TB monthly allowance with throttling past that, NordLynx as the only protocol, and a choice of four locations; Boston, Manchester, Frankfurt, Paris. The commitment term isn’t clearly stated, and there’s no independent security assurance specific to this product; it doesn’t inherit the confidence built around Nord’s regular server fleet.

Reach for this only once you’ve confirmed you need a fixed or chosen port, not just forwarding that works.

More than 10 simultaneous connections

Proton Plus stops at 10. That’s only a problem if your real number is higher.

If it is, ExpressVPN Advanced (12) and Pro (14) are the only plans here that go further. Mullvad tops out at 5, and standard NordVPN also caps at 10, so neither helps. This only matters at an actual 11–14 device need, it isn’t a broader case for ExpressVPN.

Split tunneling on iOS or iPadOS

If this is why you’re leaving, switching providers doesn’t currently fix it. Mullvad, ExpressVPN and NordVPN were all checked, and none offers genuine app-level split tunneling on iOS or iPadOS. ExpressVPN’s IP-address exclusion gets closest by name, but excluding an address isn’t the same as choosing which apps use the tunnel, it doesn’t meet the requirement.

A few more providers were ruled out specifically on this point: one offers only a website-level bypass, one’s evidence covers Windows and Android rather than iOS, and two more simply don’t build app-level split tunneling into their consumer iOS apps at all.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible on iOS altogether. It means no clean, ordinary-consumer solution exists right now, anywhere in this comparison. If this is your specific blocker, that’s the honest state of things.

Softer reasons people consider switching

A few common complaints aren’t capability failures: they’re implementation quirks or genuine preferences. Worth knowing, not worth switching over by themselves.

macOS routing. Proton’s split tunneling on macOS is experimental, exclusion-only, and limited by WebKit, it can keep apps out of the tunnel, but can’t route specific apps through it. ExpressVPN adds Bypass VPN and Only VPN app rules, plus IP and subnet rules, which does give it real inclusion-mode routing. If that’s specifically what you need, ExpressVPN may fit better. That’s narrower than “better on Mac”: the evidence doesn’t support a broader claim.

Linux Snap. Proton’s Snap build is missing several things the native package has, some protocol options, Smart routing, Stealth, split tunneling, ARM support. If you can switch to Proton’s native Linux package instead of Snap, this is a packaging fix, not a reason to change VPN providers.

Account style. Proton uses a conventional, recoverable account. Mullvad uses a numbered account instead; no required email, username or password. That does mean handing over fewer identifiers, but the trade is real: you’re now responsible for keeping that account number safe, and recovery is more limited if you lose it. Neither approach is simply better. If a narrower, VPN-only relationship with fewer conventional identifiers genuinely matters to you, Mullvad is the relevant option, but it means giving up Proton’s Free tier, its 10-device room, its forwarding, any dedicated-IP option, and easier recovery. Mullvad isn’t “more private.” It’s a different account architecture with its own costs.

Pricing shape. Proton’s long-term promotional pricing shifts by route and session. Mullvad charges a flat €5 per 30 days, no variation. If predictability matters to you, that’s a real reason to prefer Mullvad’s pricing. It isn’t evidence Mullvad is cheaper overall, the two aren’t offering the same entitlements, so a straight price comparison doesn’t tell the full story.

Streaming or speed. Proton currently has several named streaming successes, alongside some inconsistent results, BBC iPlayer among them. Every other provider here shows the same shape: wins and misses tied to the specific service, region, server and date tested. None of that adds up to a guaranteed streaming replacement or a universal speed winner. If streaming or speed is your only complaint, it isn’t a strong reason to switch on its own.

Audits. If audits are the reason you’re considering leaving, start by naming the specific claim you actually want independently checked, a general audit-count comparison won’t tell you much.

When Proton is still the better choice

Given all of this, staying can be the right call rather than a fallback. That’s likely true if:

you actually need a standing free VPN: no paid-only option replaces that;
Proton’s dynamic forwarding already covers what you’re doing;
10 simultaneous connections is enough;
you value a conventional, recoverable account;
you genuinely use Proton’s wider ecosystem: Mail, Pass, Drive, Calendar;
switching to Proton’s native Linux package solves your Snap issue;
Proton’s current macOS routing already does what you need;
your only complaint is general streaming or speed uncertainty;
the alternative you’re eyeing would fix something minor while costing you something bigger, free access, forwarding, device headroom, or easy recovery.

If several of these fit, switching is likely to solve less than it costs you.

Conclusion

Treating this as a ranking question gets you the wrong answer. The useful approach is requirement-first: name exactly what Proton isn’t doing for you, find the specific product that fixes that, and weigh what it costs to get it.

Proton’s genuine hard boundaries come down to three: no consumer static IP, no app-level iOS or iPadOS split tunneling, and a 10-device ceiling that only matters once your requirement passes 10. A persistent or chosen inbound port is a separate, more specialist case, it applies only if Proton’s dynamic forwarding genuinely isn’t enough for what you’re doing. Beyond these, and the still-open iOS gap, what looks like a reason to leave is often a preference about accounts, platforms, packaging or price. Worth knowing. Not something you’re obligated to act on.

The STACK View

Several apparent reasons to leave Proton aren’t capability failures at all, they’re architecture and preference differences dressed up as gaps.

The clearest case is dedicated IP itself. It looks like a single feature, but ExpressVPN and NordVPN solve the same functional requirement with materially different identity relationships, one that ExpressVPN describes as built to separate your account from your IP, a design claim rather than an independently validated one, and one that NordVPN links openly, by its own account. Two providers can answer the same question with two different answers, and neither is simply more correct. That’s not a ranking problem. It’s a reminder that “does this provider have X” is often the wrong question. The right one is: what does having X actually attach you to?

FAQs

Does Proton VPN offer a dedicated or static IP? No. There’s no consumer static-IP option in Proton’s current VPN lineup. ExpressVPN and NordVPN both offer dedicated IP add-ons, built on different account architectures.

Is ExpressVPN’s Dedicated IP more private than NordVPN’s? Not in any way the evidence supports. ExpressVPN describes a design meant to keep your identity separate from your IP, but that’s unverified. NordVPN openly links its Dedicated IP to your account email. They’re different approaches, not a better-and-worse pair.

Does Proton VPN support port forwarding? Yes: Proton Plus includes paid, dynamic port forwarding on supported desktop and Linux setups. If you need a fixed or chosen port instead, that’s a narrower need. NordVPN’s Dedicated Server is the only option established in this comparison that covers it.

Does Proton VPN support split tunneling on iPhone or iPad? No. This remained unsolved across the consumer VPNs tested here, rather than being a Proton-specific shortfall.

How many devices does Proton VPN support? Up to 10 simultaneous connections on Plus. If you need more, ExpressVPN’s Advanced (12) or Pro (14) plans are the only tested options that go higher.

Is Mullvad more private than Proton VPN? Not in a straightforward sense. Mullvad’s numbered-account model means fewer identifiers up front, but it isn’t anonymity, it shifts more responsibility onto you for keeping your account number safe, with more limited recovery if you lose it.

Do Linux users need to leave Proton VPN? Not always. Check whether you can switch to Proton’s native Linux package instead of Snap, that restores most of what Snap is missing.

Is Proton VPN good for streaming? Proton has several named streaming successes, alongside some inconsistent results. No provider in this comparison (Proton included) guarantees streaming access across every service, region and date.

Continue your research

An alternatives list helps you see what sits around Proton VPN. The next step is working out whether one of those alternatives actually fits your priorities better, or whether Proton’s own trade-offs still make more sense.

Go deeper on Proton VPN

Compare Proton VPN directly

If Proton VPN is still on your shortlist, move from broad alternatives into head-to-head comparisons:

Proton VPN Alternatives: What Proton Actually Doesn’t Do