Comparison

Brave Browser & Search Engine vs VPN Proxy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brave Browser & Search Engine

A fast, private web browser with built-in ad blocking and a VPN. It offers an AI assistant, a crypto wallet, and a privacy-focused search engine. Enjoy offline media playback and enhanced security features.

Highlights
  • Built-in Adblock and Pop-up Blocker
  • Firewall + VPN
  • AI Assistant (Brave Leo)
  • Secure Crypto Wallet (Brave Wallet)
  • Privacy-Focused Search Engine (Brave Search)
  • Offline Media Playback (Brave Playlist)
  • Voice Search
Features
Read full description

Brave is a fast, private web browser that blocks ads and trackers on every site, automatically. No settings to change, no extensions to install. Over 125 million people browse with Brave. It's free, open source, and independent — we don't sell your browsing data. Everything below is built into the browser. One app, not a stack of them. BLOCK ADS ON EVERY SITE Brave Shields stops banner ads, pop-ups, autoplay interruptions, and the ads that play before and during videos. Same on news sites, shopping sites, forums and video pages — no per-site setup, no ad blocker extension. It dismisses cookie consent banners too, and it's on from your first tab. PRIVATE BROWSING THAT BLOCKS TRACKERS Private mode in most browsers only hides your history from your own phone. Brave blocks the cross-site trackers and fingerprinting scripts that follow you from a shopping page to your social feed, strips tracking codes from links you copy, and turns on Global Privacy Control by default. SHRED: DELETE ONE SITE'S DATA, NOT ALL OF IT Clearing browser data usually logs you out of everything. Shred deletes the cookies and storage for one site and leaves your other sessions intact. Set Auto Shred to run whenever you close a tab. BRAVE SEARCH: A PRIVATE SEARCH ENGINE, BUILT IN Brave Search is the default search engine in the browser, running on its own independent index — not resold results from Google or Bing. It doesn't profile you or log your searches. Ask Brave puts search results and AI answers in one place. Switch search engines any time. BRAVE LEO: A FREE AI ASSISTANT Summarize a long article, translate a page, or draft a reply without leaving the tab. Choose from several AI models. Leo doesn't record your conversations, share them, or use them to train models. BRAVE NEWS: A FEED WITH NO PROFILE BEHIND IT Personalize a news feed from hundreds of sources or any RSS feed with Brave News. FASTER PAGES, LESS MOBILE DATA Ads and trackers are most of what a modern page downloads. Blocking them means fewer requests, less data and less battery drain. We rebuilt Brave's ad blocking engine to use 75% less memory, so it stays responsive with many tabs open. MAKE BRAVE YOUR DEFAULT BROWSER Open Settings, scroll to Brave, choose Default Browser App. Every link you tap — from Mail, Messages or any app — opens with ad and tracker blocking already on. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT ISN'T Free: the browser, ad and tracker blocking, Shred, Brave Search, Brave Leo, Brave News, Sync and night mode. Subscriptions: - Brave Firewall + VPN encrypts your whole device, not just browser traffic, with a kill switch and smart proxy. - Brave Leo Premium unlocks more capable AI models. - Brave Origin: The streamlined, minimalist browser that gives you Brave's industry-leading privacy and ad-blocking, with none of the extras. One-time purchase: Brave Origin, an ultra-minimalist build of Brave — no AI, no crypto, nothing but the web. One purchase covers all your devices. Also inside: encrypted Sync, a self-custody Brave Wallet (off by default), night mode, voice search, password autofill, custom app icons, and bookmark import from Safari or Chrome. OPEN SOURCE Brave is open source, so anyone can audit what the browser does. Read what we collect at https://brave.com/privacy/ Our mission is to protect your privacy online by building a fast, private browser — while growing a fairer revenue model for creators. Enjoying the app? Please leave us a 5 star review! Brave.com · Support: https://brave.com/support Terms of Use: https://brave.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://brave.com/privacy/ SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Price may vary by location. Subscriptions are charged to your Apple Account. Firewall + VPN and Leo Premium are offered monthly and annually, and renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Account Settings. Free trials may be used once; any unused portion is forfeited on purchase.

About

VPN Proxy

This app provides a secure and private browsing experience by masking your IP address and encrypting your internet traffic. It offers unlimited bandwidth and data, with a simple one-tap connection to protect your online activity, especially on public Wi-Fi.

Highlights
  • Unlimited time, data, and bandwidth
  • No registration or login required
  • No user logs saved
  • One-tap VPN connection
  • Enhanced online privacy
  • Public Wi-Fi protection
  • Secure connection to other networks
Features
Read full description

VPN Proxy ■ Features: - Unlimited time, Unlimited data, Unlimited bandwidth - No registration or login required - No Log is saved from any users - Simple, one tap connect to VPN - Protect your security and privacy - Support for multiple devices for the same account - Support 9.0 for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) ■ What can I do with a VPN? - Enhance your online privacy and enable you to safely and anonymously browse the Internet - Protect you when using a public WiFi hotspot - Allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet You can be a premium user through auto-renewing subscription: ■ Suggest: * In most countries, it is recommended to use the VMss protocol first, for better stability and connection speed. * When the connection fails, please switch to OpenVPN UDP and OpenVPN TCP protocol in turn. * Switching to different countries may also increase access speed or connection success rate ■ Privacy Policy: *When the user is in normal use, we will not log any logs related to the user. * Only when the user actively fails to connect the connection (requires the user to click the feedback button), we will collect the necessary user connection failure log. *The connection failure log collected is limited to the success rate of our engineers to improve the VPN connection, and will not be shared with any individual or organization.

Screenshots

Brave Browser & Search Engine4 screens
VPN Proxy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Brave Browser & Search Engine at 73% against VPN Proxy's 43%. Brave Browser & Search Engine also leads on ratings volume (655K vs 15) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). VPN Proxy's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brave Browser & Search Engine sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and VPN Proxy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Brave Browser & Search Engine holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brave Browser & Search Engine has 655K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Brave Browser & Search Engine's written reviews are positive against 43% of VPN Proxy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brave Browser & Search Engine ships an update every 3 weeks, VPN Proxy weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Brave Browser & Search Engine versus VPN Proxy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrave Browser & Search EngineVPN Proxy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (655K ratings) — better4.6 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings655K — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#20 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB51 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBrave SoftwareMeta Word

Customer experience

Brave Browser & Search Engine

All ratings655,391 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews7,473 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral7.5%
Negative19.2%

VPN Proxy

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative57.1%

Bugs and requests

Brave Browser & Search Engine

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Disappearing tabs and lost browsing data
  • Compatibility issues with certain websites
  • Problems with the Brave Playlist feature

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to clear browsing history and data in bulk
  • More customization options for the home screen and UI
  • Improved integration with other apps and services
  • Expanded Brave Rewards program and payouts

VPN Proxy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Brave Browser & Search Engine

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Firewall + VPN7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Brave Leo AI (monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Annual Firewall + VPN7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Brave Leo AI (annual)7 Days trial$149.991 Year
One-time1
  • Brave Origin$59.99
3 purchases

VPN Proxy

Subscriptions3
  • Shield Weekly Vip$4.997 Days
  • Shield Weekly Vip3 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Shield Yearly Vip3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Brave Browser & Search Engine free?
Brave Browser & Search Engine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VPN Proxy free?
VPN Proxy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brave Browser & Search Engine or VPN Proxy?
Brave Browser & Search Engine is rated higher. Brave Browser & Search Engine averages 4.8 out of 5 from 655K ratings, while VPN Proxy averages 4.6 from 15 ratings.
Do Brave Browser & Search Engine or VPN Proxy have ads?
Neither Brave Browser & Search Engine nor VPN Proxy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brave Browser & Search Engine or VPN Proxy?
Brave Browser & Search Engine ships an update every 3 weeks, and VPN Proxy weekly. Most recently, Brave Browser & Search Engine was updated on September 25, 2026 and VPN Proxy on August 12, 2026.

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