Head-to-head comparison
IPRoyal Proxy vs ProtonVPN; Proxy vs VPN Technical Comparison
Compare IPRoyal Proxy and ProtonVPN by use case, privacy model, request routing behavior, and technical tradeoffs.
Networking Editorial
Quick verdict
Recommended: ProtonVPN
ProtonVPN is stronger for encrypted privacy and full tunnel protection. IPRoyal Proxy is stronger for request level automation, web data collection, and location based testing where app level encryption is not the primary requirement.
IPRoyal Proxy
Best fit for proxy pools and request routing workloads across residential and datacenter paths.
ProtonVPN
Best fit for full tunnel encryption, privacy hardening, and user side traffic protection.
Methodology
How we test and score
Every provider on this page is scored against the same criteria. Facts (pricing, protocol support, audit dates) are re-verified against vendor sources on the date shown next to each provider.
- Speed
- iperf3 throughput against a same-region endpoint on a 1 Gbps residential uplink, averaged across three consecutive runs at peak hours.
- Privacy
- Jurisdiction, published no-logs audit recency, diskless (RAM-only) server posture, and ownership independence.
- Auditing
- Only third-party audits published within the last 24 months contribute to the score. Vendor self-attestations are excluded.
- Protocol implementation
- Preference for native WireGuard and exportable peer configuration over proprietary protocols that block manual deployment.
- Configuration flexibility
- Router firmware availability, split tunneling, port forwarding, and IPv6 support are graded as boolean feature flags for machine-readable comparison.
Side-by-side comparison
Values below are re-verified against vendor documentation on the date shown in the final row.
| Metric |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $1.00/mo renews at $1.00/mo | $4.49/mo renews at $9.99/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Refund window | 0 days | 30 days |
| Jurisdiction | Lithuania | Switzerland |
| Logs policy | Proxy service terms and usage logs depend on plan and traffic type | No-logs, source-available clients |
| Independent audit | No public audit | Yes Securitum | 2025-01-20 |
| WireGuard | Not offered | Native WireGuard | exportable |
| Speed rating | 4.1/ 5 | 4.4/ 5 |
| Median latency | 36 ms | 30 ms |
| Server locations | 195 | 91 |
| Streaming-optimized pools | No | Yes |
| Router firmware | No | No |
| Port forwarding | No | Yes |
| Multi-hop | No | Yes |
| Kill switch | No | Yes |
| Split tunneling | No | Yes |
| Unlimited devices | Yes | No |
| Facts verified | ||
| Visit | View Configuration | View Configuration |