NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN vs. Proton VPN vs. Surfshark: US iPhone VPN app snapshot, October 2026
How do the top-grossing VPN apps compare on downloads, spending, prices and complaints?
- Proton VPN leads on downloads (an estimated 220K in 30 days), but NordVPN leads on App Store spend ($1.8M). Download leadership and spending leadership are not the same here.
- App Store spend per download (30 days of spend, renewals included, over 30 days of new installs) ranges from about $0.60 (Proton VPN) to $17 (NordVPN). A high figure usually means a large base of paying subscribers, not a pricier first purchase.
- Free VPN.org moved from #41 to #38 on the US Top Free Utilities chart between Sep 29 and Oct 25, the biggest climb in this group.
- Country
- United States
- Platform
- iPhone (App Store)
- Estimates
- 30 days to October 26, 2026
- Data collected
- October 26, 2026
Downloads against App Store spend
Each dot is one app's estimated US downloads and App Store spend over the same 30 days. Further right means more installs, higher up means more spending; both scales are logarithmic, so equal steps are equal multiples.
Share of downloads vs. share of spend
Within these 5 apps only: each app's share of the group's estimated downloads and of its App Store spend. An app whose spend bar is longer than its downloads bar earns more per install than the group.
- Share of downloads
- Share of App Store spend
The apps side by side
30-day US estimates with their confidence, the US App Store rating, and each app's first and last position on the overall US charts between Sep 29 and Oct 25.
| App | Downloads, 30 days | App Store spend, 30 days | Spend per download | Rating | US Top Free | US Top Grossing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 NordVPNNordvpn S.A. | 100KHigh confidence | $1.8MHigh confidence | $17 | 4.7711,201 ratings | Not in top 100 | Not in top 100 |
 ExpressVPNExpressco Services, LLC | 73KHigh confidence | $520KHigh confidence | $7.20 | 4.7419,728 ratings | Not in top 100 | Not in top 100 |
 Proton VPNProton AG | 220KHigh confidence | $140KHigh confidence | $0.60 | 4.7124,467 ratings | Not in top 100 | Not in top 100 |
 SurfsharkSURFSHARK LTD | 130KHigh confidence | $1.5MMedium confidence | $12 | 4.7132,947 ratings | Not in top 100 | Not in top 100 |
 Free VPN.orgFree VPN LLC | 42KHigh confidence | $63KHigh confidence | $1.50 | 4.5457,374 ratings | Not in top 100 | Not in top 100 |
What they charge
The in-app purchases each app lists on its US App Store page, grouped by the plan length the product name states.
| App | Weekly plans | Monthly plans | Yearly plans | All listed prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPNNordvpn S.A. | — | $11.99–$13.99 | $83.99–$99.99 | $11.99–$99.996 products |
| ExpressVPNExpressco Services, LLC | $9.99 | $11.99–$12.99 | $79.99–$99.99 | $9.99–$99.996 products |
| Proton VPNProton AG | — | $14.99 | — | $11.99–$119.994 products |
| SurfsharkSURFSHARK LTD | — | $10.99–$13.99 | $47.99–$49.99 | $10.99–$64.999 products |
| Free VPN.orgFree VPN LLC | $7.99–$9.99 | $19.99–$29.49 | $104.99–$188.99 | $7.99–$188.999 products |
A plan length is shown only where the product name states it (“Weekly VIP”, “12 Months”); other products count in the last column. The full list per app:
NordVPN: 6 listed prices
- 1-Month Plan$11.99
- 1 Month$11.99
- 1-month plan$11.99
- NordVPN: 1-month plan$13.99
- 12-Month Plan$83.99
- 1 year plan for the best price$99.99
ExpressVPN: 6 listed prices
- 1-Week Subscription$9.99
- 1-Month Subscription$11.99
- 1-Month Plan (Basic)$11.99
- 1-Month Subscription$12.99
- 12-Month Plan (Basic)$79.99
- 12-Month Subscription$99.99
Proton VPN: 4 listed prices
- VPN Plus$11.99
- Proton Unlimited (1 month)$14.99
- VPN Plus$83.90
- Proton Unlimited$119.99
Surfshark: 9 listed prices
- 1 Month$10.99
- 1 Month of Unlimited VPN!$12.99
- 1 Month of Unlimited VPN!$13.99
- 1 Months of Unlimited VPN!$13.99
- Surfshark One Subscription$17.99
- 6 Months of Unlimited VPN!$29.99
- 12 Months of Unlimited VPN!$47.99
- 12 Months of Unlimited VPN!$49.99
- Surfshark One Subscription$64.99
Free VPN.org: 9 listed prices
- Weekly VPN Subscription$7.99
- Free VPN Premium – Weekly$9.89
- Premium for Mac – Weekly$9.99
- Monthly VPN Subscription$19.99
- Premium for Mac – Monthly$24.99
- Free VPN Premium – Monthly$29.49
- Yearly VPN Subscription$104.99
- Premium for Mac – Yearly$119.99
- Free VPN Premium – Yearly$188.99
Chart movement
Each app's best daily position on the US Top Free chart (or its Utilities chart when it was not in the overall top 100 on enough days). Hover a line for the rank on a given day.
NordVPN
#18 → #20US Top Free Utilities, Sep 29–Oct 25
ExpressVPN
#19 → #26US Top Free Utilities, Sep 29–Oct 25
Proton VPN
#8 → #6US Top Free Utilities, Sep 29–Oct 25
Free VPN.org
#41 → #38US Top Free Utilities, Sep 29–Oct 25
What reviewers complain about
Of each app's recent 1–3-star US App Store reviews, the share that mention each theme. Each app's most common complaint is in bold. "Bugs & broken features" and "Billing, refunds & cancelling" are top-three themes for most of these apps.
| Complaint theme | NordVPN | ExpressVPN | Surfshark | Free VPN.org |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bugs & broken features | 19% | 27% | 19% | 20% |
| Billing, refunds & cancelling | 14% | 7% | 8% | 9% |
| Too many ads | 6% | — | 11% | 19% |
| Paywall & subscription push | 11% | 9% | 6% | 7% |
| Customer support | 8% | 10% | 6% | — |
| 1–3★ reviews / all reviews in the sample | 266 / 317Aug 14–Oct 24 | 71 / 142Aug 23–Oct 24 | 65 / 100Aug 17–Oct 15 | 187 / 247Jun 22–Oct 24 |
Where they meet in search
App Store search positions in the US, from our latest keyword checks.
| Search | Popularity | NordVPN | ExpressVPN | Proton VPN | Surfshark | Free VPN.org |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vpn | 90 | — | — | #3 | — | #6 |
| proton vpn | 76 | #4 | — | #1 | — | #9 |
| free vpn | 72 | — | — | #9 | — | #1 |
| nord vpn | 72 | #1 | #4 | #3 | #7 | — |
| express vpn | 70 | #2 | #1 | #7 | #6 | — |
| von | 70 | — | — | #7 | — | #4 |
| pia vpn | 68 | #4 | #2 | — | — | — |
| surfshark | 67 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #1 | #10 |
| windscribe | 66 | — | #7 | #2 | — | — |
| pia | 63 | #6 | #2 | — | #10 | — |
| octohide vpn | 62 | #8 | #10 | — | — | — |
| bpn | 61 | — | — | #3 | — | #5 |
| avast vpn | 60 | #8 | #5 | — | — | — |
| nordvpn | 60 | #1 | #4 | #3 | #7 | — |
| Searches where the app ranks top 10 | 124 | 57 | 43 | 26 | 17 |
The most popular US searches where at least two of these apps rank in the top 10 of App Store results, by Apple's popularity score (5–100). “—” means the app is not in that search's top 10. Brand searches for other apps show up because the store also returns related apps for them.
Key findings
- Proton VPN leads on downloads (an estimated 220K in 30 days), but NordVPN leads on App Store spend ($1.8M). Download leadership and spending leadership are not the same here.
- App Store spend per download (30 days of spend, renewals included, over 30 days of new installs) ranges from about $0.60 (Proton VPN) to $17 (NordVPN). A high figure usually means a large base of paying subscribers, not a pricier first purchase.
- Free VPN.org moved from #41 to #38 on the US Top Free Utilities chart between Sep 29 and Oct 25, the biggest climb in this group.
- 2 of the 5 apps (ExpressVPN and Free VPN.org) list a weekly plan on the App Store.
- "Bugs & broken features" is a top-three complaint for all 4 apps with a review sample.
- Searching for one app's name shows its rivals too: for "proton vpn", Proton VPN is #1, with NordVPN #4 and Free VPN.org #9 in the top 10.
Use this data
You are welcome to quote these figures and reuse the tables and charts in articles, newsletters and talks. Please credit AppTrendKit with a link to this page, and call the figures estimates.
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How this snapshot was made
Selection. The VPN apps at #5, #9, #19 and #38 of the US Utilities Top Grossing chart, averaged over October 19–26, 2026, plus Surfshark, which Apple lists under Productivity (#46 there), so it has no line on the Utilities chart. Not included: Norton 360 (a security suite with a VPN) and Mullvad (which sells mainly on its website).
When and where. US App Store, iPhone apps. Data collected on October 26, 2026; download and spend estimates cover the 30 days to October 26, 2026; chart positions are daily best ranks from September 29, 2026 to October 25, 2026. This page is a frozen snapshot and will not change; newer editions get their own page.
Sources. Apple's US Top Free and Top Grossing charts (overall and Utilities), recorded several times a day; each app's US App Store listing (rating, listed in-app purchase prices); recent US App Store reviews; and US App Store search results for the keywords we track. Downloads and spend are AppTrendKit estimates from chart positions, ratings and pricing. How we estimate.
- Downloads and App Store spend are AppTrendKit estimates for the US App Store over 30 days, not figures from Apple or the developers. Spend is what users paid through Apple before Apple's commission, so it is higher than what a developer receives.
- Web subscriptions, advertising income, enterprise deals and Android are not included.
- Spend per download divides 30 days of App Store spend, which includes renewals from existing subscribers, by 30 days of new downloads. It shows how much an app earns relative to its install volume, not what a new user pays, and it is left out where either estimate has low confidence.
- Prices are the in-app purchases Apple lists on each app's US App Store page; Apple shows a limited number, and the price someone actually pays can differ with offers and trials.
- Complaint themes come from a sample of recent US App Store reviews, classified by topic. A theme's share is the share of the sample's 1–3-star reviews that mention it, not a share of all reviews or users. Themes mentioned fewer than 3 times are left out.
- VPN providers sell most multi-year plans on their websites, often far below the App Store price; App Store spend covers only what is bought in the app.
- Proton VPN has a free tier with no time limit, so many of its downloads never pay.
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