Proton VPN review: Great paid plan, even better free plan

When you use a third-party VPN you have to place a certain amount of trust in your service provider. Some companies make that really hard by hiding who they are or confusing you with opaque data collection policies. Then there are services that make trusting them easy—like Proton VPN, from the creator of Proton Mail.

Swiss company Proton provides commendable transparency with all of its apps, even taking the extra step to make them all open-source. In a VPN market where everyone is out to make a quick buck, Proton seems like an anomaly. Its privacy-focused services genuinely seem intended to make the internet a better place.

Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best VPNs for comparison.

Proton VPN in brief:

• P2P allowed: Yes
• Device connections: 10 simultaneous connections
• Business location: Switzerland
• Number of servers: 11,000+
• Number of country locations: 117
• Cost: $9.99 per month, $59.88 for 1 year, or $107.76 for 2 years

What are Proton VPN’s features and services?

Proton VPN for Windows opens by displaying a map of the world with triangles signifying the countries where there are available servers. If you prefer to use the VPN without the map, there’s an arrow button on the top left to collapse it for a more smartphone-like interface.

On the left rail are your connection options and available servers. There’s a Quick Connect button at the top if you want Proton VPN to choose the fastest server based on your current location. Otherwise, you can scroll down the list of countries to choose another option.

For more info about each country’s specific servers, you’re able to click on the downward-facing arrow to the right of each country name. This displays all the server options for that location. Here you’ll find useful information such as actual server location by city, current server load, and if the server supports streaming and P2P.

Once you connect to a server, the map transforms showing a line to your virtual location and the home symbol at the top center of the map. Below the map you’ll see connection information such as session duration, up and down bandwidth volumes and speeds, as well as a bandwidth graph.

In the last year, Proton VPN has made it a priority to upgrade its server networks. In early 2024, it offered a little over 5,000 servers in 90 countries. In just over half a year, that number has more than doubled to over 11,000 servers in 117 countries. While server network size is not entirely indicative of a good VPN, it does usually translate to lower average server loads, and more options to connect to servers closer to your physical location—meaning faster average speeds.

On top of a large server network, Proton VPN offers a number of really solid extras. The Secure Core feature is a multi-hop VPN connection that tunnels you through two different VPN connections rather than one to increase anonymity. But unlike typical multi-hop implementations, Secure Core is a one-click affair where predetermined paths are already chosen for you. 

The inclusion of multi-hop is welcomed, but services such as Surfshark go even further by allowing users to customize their route by choosing their start and end points. 

Proton VPN says Secure Core puts your traffic through “privacy friendly countries” last (Iceland, Sweden, and Switzerland). The aim is to protect a user’s privacy as much as possible and defend against network traffic monitoring. Proton VPN says that this method makes it harder for an attacker to discover a user’s true IP address or attempt to match browsing activity to the user. There’s a more in-depth explanation on the Proton VPN website.

If TOR is your thing, Proton VPN supports TOR connections over VPN on specific servers. This feature is available to Plus and Visionary subscribers.

There are also the usual VPN features such as DNS leak protection, an internet kill switch that halts your internet access should the VPN connection drop, and NetShield for blocking malware, ads, and trackers at the server level.

The NetShield feature has been improved in recent years and it now displays the number of ads and trackers blocked as well as the data saved by blocking those annoyances.

Under the Settings menu at the top left, you have access to other advanced features such as Split Tunneling to choose specific apps to route into or outside of the VPN as well as an area to change your VPN protocols. This feature is only available for Windows and Android.

Finally, if you want to use different VPN connections based on contexts such as home, work, or travel, Proton VPN lets you set profiles using the tab in the left rail. Here you can lock in settings for each profile such as which servers to connect to, protocols to use, and connection type—Standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Tor.

Beyond VPN configuration, Proton VPN also touts the security of the data centers it uses in Iceland, Sweden, and Switzerland—all of which are strong personal-privacy respecting countries. 

These are a collection of data centers in former military bases, remodeled fallout shelters, and other hard-to-reach locations. The implication being that these servers are physically, as well as digitally secure. Just in case, you know, you happen to live in the Fallout universe, you can rest assured your data will still be secure.

Proton VPN is available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux. For the purposes of this review, I tested the Windows and Android app versions.

How much does Proton VPN cost?

There are a few subscription levels for Proton VPN and prices will vary with each. The basic free subscription is just that, free. At no cost, you’ll get a one-device connection limit and access to five servers located in Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the U.S. 

Despite this you can’t actually choose your server; instead, Proton VPN will automatically connect you to the optimal server depending on your home location. Those restrictions might sound harsh, but they are par for the course with most free VPNs. Plus, Proton VPN more than makes up for them with its other free subscription offerings. 

The free tier is mercifully devoid of ads and abides by the same no-logs policy of the paid tiers. It also imposes no data or time limits—a rarity among free VPNs. Overall, you get a lot for paying nothing and it’s one of the best options if you’re looking for a trustworthy free VPN.

The next step up is the VPN Plus plan which I used for this review and it provides the full VPN experience for about $9.99 per month, or you can opt for a one-year subscription at $59.88.

The highest tier plan is called Proton Unlimited and it provides not only the VPN, but also gives you access to Proton’s full suite of services including Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Wallet. This will set you back $12.99 per month or $119.88 if you go with a one-year subscription.

On the whole, I wouldn’t call it a cheap VPN, but it is more affordable than some other premium services; although it comes with notably fewer extra features. And if you like what Proton stands for, then the Proton Unlimited plan gives you good value for your money with all of the extra services.

For payments, Proton VPN accepts credit cards or PayPal. 

Proton VPN’s free tier is mercifully devoid of ads and abides by the same no-logs policy of the paid tiers.

How is Proton VPN’s performance?

As always, when testing a VPN’s speeds I measure connection speeds across its servers in six different countries around the world and then compare them to my baseline internet speed.

Proton VPN’s speeds were impressive. During the tests, while connected to Proton VPN I was able to maintain 65 percent of my base download speed and 72 percent of the base upload speed. That puts it firmly in the top-five speediest performers. For more blazing-fast services you can check out my list of the fastest VPNs.

With these results, Proton VPN should offer fantastic speeds for what most people wish to do with a VPN—browsing, streaming, and torrenting. The obvious caveat being that speed results can change based on the capability of your devices as well as your location, home internet connection, and overall user traffic on a given server.

When it comes to accessing streaming content, Proton VPN passed with flying colors. I was able to access streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Plus, and even the notoriously difficult Netflix.

I was even able to access these streaming services using Proton VPN’s free version, as well. Considering there are no data limits or time limits, this easily makes it the top free VPN for streaming.

How is Proton VPN’s security and privacy?

Proton VPN provides both WireGuard and OpenVPN protocol options and recently released its own proprietary protocol called Stealth. Stealth is touted as an “undetectable VPN protocol that can bypass most firewalls and VPN blocking methods.” 

This new protocol is open source and might be a good option for those who want to bypass internet filters—places such as school Wi-Fi or other restricted networks.

The service comes with top-of-the-line AES 256-bit encryption and a dependable kill switch. During my testing, the kill switch worked flawlessly, preventing any accidental IP address leaks during an internet disconnection.

Proton VPN’s privacy policy states that the company doesn’t track your browsing activity, your IP address, or bandwidth usage. It does track geographical distribution data on its users at an aggregated, global level. It says that it uses this data only to help allocate resources and to counteract government attempts to block Proton VPN.

To back up its no-logging policy claims, Proton VPN underwent successful third-party audits by security auditing company Securitum in 2022 and most recently in 2024. It also publishes an up-to-date transparency report.

Proton VPN is managed by Proton Technologies AG and the company offices are located in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Switzerland has strong personal-privacy laws and is not a current member of the Five, Nine, or Fourteen Eyes data-sharing alliances. So you can feel safe that your data isn’t going to be logged or shared while using Proton VPN.

Overall, Proton VPN provides excellent privacy protections—although it falls just short of the lofty standards set by Mullvad, our favorite VPN for privacy.

Is Proton VPN worth it?

Proton VPN is, simply put, a fantastic choice for a VPN. Whether you’re interested in security, privacy, or streaming, it’s hard to go wrong here. Plus, it offers the best free VPN plan on the market—you’ll get a lot of the benefits offered by the paid service without having to open up the wallet. 

The only real downside is that Proton VPN’s paid Plus subscription is a bit expensive and doesn’t pack as much in as some of the other top providers such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Still, there is a lot to like with Proton’s services and company values and the VPN is top-notch.

Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article.