A proportional valve including a housing having an inlet and an outlet, and a valve element movably positioned in the housing between the inlet and the outlet. The valve element having a pilot valve opening, a first pressure chamber with a pressure acting on the valve element in a first direction, and a second pressure chamber with a pressure acting on the valve element in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A pilot valve element actuated by a drive mechanism to cooperate with the pilot valve opening to form a pilot valve. A flow resistance between the inlet and the first pressure chamber is smaller than a flow resistance between the inlet and the second pressure chamber. The pilot valve opens into a third pressure chamber connected to the outlet via a throttled flow path.