Both words mean 'in due proportion, comparable', and are used almost interchangeably, except in certain fixed expressions such as
proportional parts and
proportional representation. Otherwise, when
proportional occurs it tends to be in more formal and technical contexts:
By 1979 all the beds and hospital places, which were provided up to the prescribed national levels proportional to the catchment population, had been opened—D. Tomlinson, 1991
The United States does not have the vote that is proportionate to its funding—CNN news transcripts, 2004 [Old English (up to 1150)C].