NordLayer vs Proton VPN for Business: $8.00 against $6.99, 5-user against 2-user minimum
Short version
- Cheapest plan against cheapest plan: NordLayer Lite $8.00, Proton VPN Essentials $6.99, per user per month on yearly billing. A gap of $1.01.
- The minimums are 5 and 2. For a two-person team that turns into $20.00 against $6.99, a gap of $13.01 per person.
- One tier up, Core at $11.00 against Professional at $9.99, Core carries a required $40-a-month "Server with Dedicated IP." Two people: $47.50 against $9.99. A hundred: $11.40 against $9.99.
- On monthly billing it is Lite $10 against Essentials $8.99, and Core $14 plus a $50 server.
- Trial terms: Proton says "Try free for 14 days," NordLayer says "14-day money-back guarantee."
- This site files NordLayer under ZTNA and Proton under business VPN, so they never share a ranking page. What follows compares published prices and conditions. It does not compare features or performance.
Cheapest plan against cheapest plan, by team size
| People | NordLayer Lite | Proton VPN Essentials |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $20.00 ($40.00 a month) | $6.99 ($13.98 a month) |
| 5 | $8.00 ($40.00) | $6.99 ($34.95) |
| 10 | $8.00 ($80.00) | $6.99 ($69.90) |
| 25 | $8.00 ($200.00) | $6.99 ($174.75) |
| 50 | $8.00 ($400.00) | $6.99 ($349.50) |
| 100 | $8.00 ($800.00) | $6.99 ($699.00) |
| Three years at 10 | $2,880 | $2,516 |
Per person per month; the team's monthly bill in parentheses. Yearly billing. Read 2026-09-07.
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See Proton VPN for Business pricing
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Where is the gap widest?
At two people. NordLayer bills five seats, so $8.00 x 5 = $40.00, and two people split it at $20.00 each. Proton's minimum is two, so two people pay the card price of $6.99, $13.98 for the team. The difference is $13.01 per person, $26.02 on the monthly bill.
At three and four people NordLayer's side is still $40.00, which is $13.33 and $10.00 per person. Proton's side is still $6.99 times the headcount.
From five people, it is $1.01
Once NordLayer reaches five seats, the card and the invoice match, and from there on it is $8.00 against $6.99 at any size. At ten people that is $80.00 against $69.90 a month, $121.20 over a year. Over three years, $2,880 against $2,516.
Core against Professional: the $40 server
| People | NordLayer Core | Proton VPN Professional |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $47.50 ($95.00 a month) | $9.99 ($19.98 a month) |
| 5 | $19.00 ($95.00) | $9.99 ($49.95) |
| 10 | $15.00 ($150.00) | $9.99 ($99.90) |
| 25 | $12.60 ($315.00) | $9.99 ($249.75) |
| 50 | $11.80 ($590.00) | $9.99 ($499.50) |
| 100 | $11.40 ($1,140.00) | $9.99 ($999.00) |
| Three years at 10 | $5,400 | $3,596 |
Per person per month. Yearly billing. Read 2026-09-07.
NordLayer's Core card says "Server with Dedicated IP +$40/month required." Because it is required, this site adds it to every month's total. $11.00 x 5 + $40.00 = $95.00 is the bill for five people, and for two people as well. Divided across a hundred people the $40 is $0.40 each, which is why Core lands at $11.40 there, close to its $11 card price.
Proton's Professional card lists "Dedicated IPs in 20+ countries & private gateways" with no separate fee shown. This article compares the published conditions; it does not judge whether the two vendors' dedicated IPs are the same thing. Every fixed charge this site holds is listed on dedicated-ip-cost.
What if you bill monthly?
Lite is $10 and Essentials $8.99. Core is $14, and the server line changes to "+$50/month required," so five people come to $14 x 5 + $50 = $120. Professional is $11.99 x 5 = $59.95. The monthly figures on both sides were read in a browser on 2026-09-07.
What this comparison leaves out
The two are in different categories here: NordLayer under zero-trust network access, Proton VPN for Business under business VPN, and this site's rankings are built per category. This page lines up one thing: what happens to the published per-user price once the minimum and any required fixed charge are included. What each plan contains is copied from the vendors' own pricing pages in the two single-vendor articles (article-40, article-43). Neither article, and not this one, says anything about how either product performs.
Who this is not for
Price and conditions only, not a product judgment. We have not used either. There is no "which is better" here, only "how far apart are they at my headcount."
Sources
- https://nordlayer.com/pricing/ — checked 2026-10-02
- https://proton.me/business/vpn/pricing — checked 2026-10-02 (amounts returned as "$0.00"; prices as read in a browser 2026-09-07)
- https://seatbill.com/vpn-pricing/d/nordlayer — checked 2026-10-02
- https://seatbill.com/vpn-pricing/d/proton-vpn-business — checked 2026-10-02
Related on this site
- NordLayer pricing: the 5-user minimum and the $40 server
- Proton VPN for Business pricing: a 2-to-3-user minimum
- NordLayer, cost per user by team size
- Proton VPN Business, cost per user by team size
- Run both at your own headcount
- NordLayer against Twingate
- Proton VPN Business against Windscribe ScribeForce
Written by Kaz (pen name). Published October 2, 2026. Prices were checked on the dates given under Sources. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.