Proton VPN
Standard Notes
| Feature | Proton VPN | Standard Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9.99/mo | Free / from $7.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | privacy-advocates, journalists, remote-workers, travelers | privacy-focused-users, journalists, professionals, researchers |
| Founded | 2017 | 2016 |
| No Logs Vpn | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kill Switch | ✓ | ✗ |
| Split Tunneling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Secure Core | ✓ | ✗ |
| Tor Over Vpn | ✓ | ✗ |
| Netshield | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Themes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Editors | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tags | ✗ | ✓ |
| File Attachments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Two Factor Auth | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Proton VPN Pros
- Strong no-logs policy
- Swiss jurisdiction
- Open-source apps
- Free tier available
✗ Proton VPN Cons
- Free plan limited servers
- Slower than some competitors
- Fewer server locations
✓ Standard Notes Pros
- End-to-end encrypted
- 100-year company promise
- Cross-platform
- Open-source
✗ Standard Notes Cons
- Basic free version
- Fewer features than Notion
- Limited formatting
The Verdict
Proton VPN is built for privacy advocates and journalists, with a focus on no-logs-vpn and kill-switch. Standard Notes targets privacy focused users and journalists and leads with encryption and themes.
Pricing is close: Standard Notes starts at $7.5/mo versus $9.99/mo for Proton VPN — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for journalists — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.