How Much Does Proton VPN Cost?
For this review, we evaluated the base-level Proton tier ($9.99 per month), which can be sized up to the annual plan for $59.88 per year ($4.99 per month) or a two-year plan for $107.76 ($4.49 per month). We track pricing across 33 different VPNs, and the current monthly average stands at $10.30, while the average annual subscription costs $58.30. This puts Proton's pricing almost bang-on in the median for both monthly and annual pricing while also representing a nearly 30% discount compared with other top competitors in the space, like NordVPN, which currently charges $12.99 per month for its most basic plan. Speaking of Nord, check out our complete comparison between Proton VPN and NordVPN for more.
We're happy to see Proton VPN also continues to offer an excellent free tier as well. This includes access to five VPN server locations (Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the US), but only allows one device to be connected at a time. On every platform except Android, you have to create an account with Proton to access its free tier, but you also get access to the rest of the Proton product line (Drive, Calendar, Mail), including Proton Pass as an added bonus. Meanwhile, Android users alone are presented with the option to "continue as guest" from within the mobile app, which allows you to use the network for free without any official account at all.
How a VPN Works
The free version of Proton VPN doesn't limit the amount of data you can use; as long as you're on one of the approved free servers, you can download and upload as much as your heart desires. Meanwhile, competing free VPNs like TunnelBear limit you to 500MB (upgradable to 1.5GB) of secured traffic per month, and Windscribe keeps its free users under 2GB every month. Given Proton's favorable attitude toward its free users, we recommend it over any other free options we've tested thus far.
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NordVPN
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ExpressVPN
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IPVanish VPN
Mullvad VPN
Windscribe VPN
Hide.me VPN
Some less feature-rich services beat Proton VPN on price. Private Internet Access VPN, for example, offers annual plans for an affordable $39.95. Despite the potential savings, though, we caution against starting with any long-term VPN subscriptions. Instead, get a monthly or free plan first and see how the VPN works with the sites and services you need before making a high-cost commitment.
The highest tier for Proton's products is Proton Unlimited, which costs $12.99 per month, $119.88 per year, or $191.76 every two years. This doesn't add any additional VPN features, but it does significantly increase the value of the rest of Proton's offerings. You'll get 500GB of storage shared between Mail and Drive, 15 email aliases, unlimited email messages per day, up to 25 calendars, calendar sharing, 20 vaults in Proton Pass, unlimited Proton Pass email aliases, and a Proton Pass authenticator app.
This year, Proton also started offering group plans for its products. These include Proton Duo, a plan built for two people to access the same membership starting at $14.99 per month, and Proton Family, which starts at $23.99 per month. Proton Duo and Proton Family accounts have access to all the same features as Proton Unlimited but offer slight discounts compared with buying individual subscriptions.
The savings only go up from there with a Proton Family account, which allows for six users on the same plan with an upgraded 3TB of available storage, each with their own ten-device limit. Extrapolate out along the same math, and you're looking at a discount of over $50 per month. Lastly, if you want to go even bigger, Proton offers business subscription plans. Business plans start at $6.99 per user per month and can be scaled up from there with a plan that's custom-built for your needs.
Proton VPN subscriptions can be purchased via a major credit card or PayPal. You can make bitcoin payments, but you must create an account first. Proton VPN says it will also accept cash sent directly to its headquarters (but you have to send an email first), an option we've otherwise only seen with IVPN and Mullvad VPN.
When you buy an annual or two-year plan, Proton clearly states the renewal price at checkout. This is the price you will be charged once your discounted subscription runs out.
While many VPNs will give you fair warning ahead of your plan's renewal and tell you what price you should expect the plan to renew at, very few show this information during your initial checkout process. We commend Proton for keeping this information front-and-center, especially when, more often than not, the only place you'll find it from other VPNs is buried deep in the legalese of their terms and conditions.
What Do You Get for Your Money With Proton VPN?
Proton VPN Plus is the company's paid plan. With it, you get access to servers in Proton's network reserved for paying customers. Unlike the free servers, these are likely less crowded, which usually means faster speeds and less latency, though this may not always be the case (more on that in our speed testing section below).
Proton VPN Plus subscribers can use up to 10 devices simultaneously, double the industry average of five. That said, some VPN companies have eliminated device limitations entirely, including Atlas VPN, Avira Phantom VPN, Encrypt.me, IPVanish, Private Internet Access, Windscribe, and TunnelBear. (Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Proton VPN Plus subscribers also unlock multi-hop connections to Secure Core servers (check out the next section for more on those) and access to the Tor anonymization network via VPN—both rare features. You don't need to pay or use a VPN to access Tor, but it's nice to have.
For all the extra features VPN Plus subscribers get, they're still limited to only the free features of Proton Calendar, Drive, and Mail. Proton's highest tier of service, VPN Unlimited, bundles in access to the premium features of the company's other services.
It bears mentioning that while VPNs are valuable tools that can improve your privacy online, they don't protect against all threats. We also recommend you use a password manager, activate multi-factor authentication wherever it's available, and install an antivirus app whenever possible.
What Are Proton's Secure Core Servers?
Proton VPN Plus includes access to multi-hop servers called Secure Core servers. In most cases, when you connect to a VPN, your web traffic is encrypted and sent to a server operated by the VPN company, through which your traffic exits onto the open internet. In a multi-hop connection, your traffic connects to a server operated by the VPN company and then a second server before exiting onto the internet.
When you connect via Secure Core servers, your VPN connection makes two hops, once from your device to the Secure Core servers and then onward to the VPN server you select. Proton says that its Secure Core servers are housed only in countries with strong privacy laws and that it owns them directly. Physically, they reside in secure facilities (on an old military base, in one example).
While a VPN protects your data with its encrypted tunnel, you're out of luck if an attacker has taken control of the VPN server. That's an exotic, unlikely scenario, but the Secure Core server scheme guarantees your information is protected from your computer to the Secure Core server, which is under lock and key. If the next VPN server you connect to after the Secure Core server has been compromised, whoever has taken control won't be able to glean anything about you because your traffic will appear to be coming from the Secure Core server and not your actual computer. This setup is similar to what Tor uses, but Tor is much more complex, with many more hops in between you and your destination.
Unsurprisingly, multi-hop connections tend to come at a hefty trade-off in terms of speed and performance, but they are a feature we rarely see and should put even the most paranoid mind to rest.
What VPN Protocols Does Proton Offer?
Proton VPN offers the option to connect via IKEv2, OpenVPN, WireGuard, WireGuard over TCP, and Stealth (WireGuard over TLS). The platform you use determines which protocols are available, but to help you choose the right one, Proton's apps include a feature called Smart Protocol Selection (SPS). SPS will automatically detect and select the best protocol depending on your location and the device you're using to connect to the network.
Proton VPN Servers and Server Locations
Proton covers a respectable 112 countries, which is just around the median for most premium VPNs. For comparison, HMA offers coverage for 190 countries, while PureVPN sports coverage for over 140. Having more server locations is helpful because it means you're more likely to find a VPN server near you, giving you better performance and more options for spoofing your location while traveling.
Proton deserves credit for improving its geographic distribution, considering that around this time last year the company only had a network presence in 56 countries total. That's double the coverage in a bit over 12 months, and when you add that stat to an increase of 3,600 servers last year to over 8,000 this year, it's clear that Proton is dedicated to investing in its network growth.
This count is, at least partially, boosted by the inclusion of virtual servers. Virtual servers are software-defined servers, meaning a single physical server can play host to many virtual ones. Virtual locations are VPN servers configured to appear somewhere other than their physical location. Neither is inherently problematic, but we prefer VPN companies be transparent about server infrastructure and location.
A representative for Proton told us it employs some virtual locations to provide VPN servers in regions where it may not be safe to house servers physically or to expand its server capacity in high-demand areas. The company calls this feature Smart Routing, and such servers are marked in the app with a globe icon. The company's documentation breaks down the true location of its server hardware, which we greatly appreciate. Regardless of location, we were told the company only uses "bare metal" servers, meaning they are dedicated physical machines, which is important for security.
Speaking of security, Proton says it uses full disk encryption, meaning any seized server would be inaccessible by law enforcement. The company also says its dedicated servers are harder to attack than virtual servers, and any server that goes offline in "unforeseen circumstances" is immediately wiped and reprovisioned. Other services—such as ExpressVPN—have gone further, deploying servers that run only in RAM.
A company rep for Proton told us the company doesn't deploy RAM-only servers but clarified that Proton disagrees with the suggestion that diskless options are inherently more secure. "The claimed security benefits of RAM-only servers only apply if the server is turned off. And regardless of that fact, in our view a reputable VPN service should never log anything that might compromise its customers’ privacy anyway (and produce third-party audits confirming that this is the case, as Proton VPN does)."
Your Privacy With Proton VPN
VPN companies must both respect your privacy and protect your personal information. After all, the main reason to use a VPN is to limit access to that personal information. After reading Proton VPN's documentation and speaking with the company, we believe it is acting in its customers' best interests—though determining that with total certainty is all but impossible. If, for any reason, you feel you cannot trust a particular VPN company, look elsewhere.
Proton's privacy policy and no-logs policy says it does not log user activity or IP addresses. Previously, the company stored timestamps of the last login, but it no longer does so. A representative from Proton VPN tells us the company only makes money through subscription sales, not by selling user information, nor does it "do any targeted advertising or any profiling."
Proton VPN is owned by the parent company Proton AG (formerly Proton Technologies AG) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. It can be found in the Swiss Commercial Registry and operates under Swiss law. As such, it only responds to requests for information from an approved Swiss court order, which also requires that the individual who is the target of the investigation be notified. Even if Proton were required to respond to a request, it would have little or nothing to provide.
The company's transparency report indicates it received a valid request for information in January 2019, but it did not have any data to give, and the company has not received new requests for Proton VPN data since. This is already excellent from a privacy and security standpoint, bolstered further by the pedigree of Proton AG's primary shareholder, the Proton Foundation. The Proton Foundation is a long-standing group of engineers, journalists, researchers, and activists who maintain the privacy-first mission of all products that fall under the Proton umbrella.
Proton has open-sourced its apps, meaning any researcher can verify there are no potential vulnerabilities. It also manages a bug bounty, paying researchers for the bug vulnerabilities they submit, and had its apps audited by SEC Consult. In April 2022, the company released the results of an audit of its security policies by the European security company Securitum, which found Proton VPN fulfilled its promises of privacy for customers. In July 2024, another Securitum audit verified Proton's no-logs claims. Audits can be imperfect, but are still useful for establishing trust nonetheless.
Hands On With Proton VPN for Windows
We had no trouble installing Proton VPN's Windows app on our Intel NUC 13 Extreme Kit ('Raptor Canyon') test PC, which runs the latest version of Windows 10.
A few years ago, Proton ditched its stalwart black-and-green color scheme for a snazzier, sleeker purple look. The controls and layout are the same as before, but some of the buttons have been restyled to match the rest of the app. It's a small but welcome change and makes the whole app feel modern. The app's design puts everything within reach but also keeps the home page a little too busy. Newcomers may be overwhelmed and might be better served by options like TunnelBear, which still offers the friendliest and most approachable design we've seen.
By default, Proton VPN shows a large map and real-time network status graph. All the controls for the VPN are in the left rail, including the option to hide the map. A large, purple Quick Connect button will get you online immediately, which we appreciate. Once connected, the flag of the country you're connected to appears in the upper left, along with your new IP address.
Profiles are one uncommon feature of the Proton VPN desktop and mobile apps. These let you define certain parameters and settings for your VPN connection that can be saved ahead of time and applied with the touch of a button. For instance, you can say you want to connect only to Tor servers but don't care where or set up specific parameters for the connection protocols used. You can create your own or use one of the included options. Profiles are an accessible way to customize your VPN connection, but most people can safely ignore them.
In the middle of the left rail are toggles for some of the app's features: Secure Core, the NetShield ad and malware blocker, the Kill Switch, and Port Forwarding. Clicking Secure Core changes the server list, now letting you select the multi-hop path your data will take. The Kill Switch halts web traffic on your machine should the VPN link become disconnected. That prevents your traffic from being exposed, even if only briefly. An enhanced Permanent Kill Switch, which prevents the computer from communicating with the internet even if it is rebooted, is accessible from a nearby toggle. A recent upgrade to the NetShield interface now shows how many ads it blocked.
The bottom of the left rail has a searchable list of available servers organized by country. You can select individual servers in each country and see the current load on any server, a feature that's preferred in any VPN we test. Companion icons make it easy to figure out if P2P or Tor is available for a particular server or region, but somewhat annoyingly, you can't filter the list to show all the Tor locations. You can, however, connect to servers by clicking on their map location in the main window—a change we're happy to see.
From Settings, you can also easily access Split Tunneling—that is, routing the traffic from specific apps or IP addresses either into or outside of the VPN tunnel—and adjust which VPN protocol the app uses to secure your data. By default, the app is set to Smart Protocol, which we mentioned earlier. Overall, the Windows app for Proton VPN is slick, streamlined, and user-friendly for novices and experts alike.
Hands On With Proton VPN for Other Platforms
Proton VPN offers clients for Android, Android TV, ChromeOS, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows.
The Proton VPN app for iOS is excellent for new users. Just log in, tap the Connect button at the bottom of the screen, and you’re done. Proton eschews a dashboard or home screen for the app, instead allowing you to find all the core features from the navigation menu at the bottom of the screen. It’s easy to connect to a server, disconnect, switch to a new server, and change your settings from the navigation bar.
Proton has also added some other familiar features to its iOS app, including a Kill Switch, an accelerator, the NetShield ad blocker, an Always-On feature, and more.
After opening the app, you can choose from a list of countries with Proton VPN servers. You can select a specific, named server within that city or country and even determine whether you want to use a Plus server for a specialized task such as streaming video. A purple bar at the top of the app window indicates whether your device is connected, while at the bottom of the window is a purple triangle button to disconnect or reconnect with ease.
We tested Proton VPN’s NetShield, an ad-blocker that also purports to stop website trackers. Initially, we couldn't load any websites while NetShield was running, but it worked after disabling the feature and turning it back on again. Overall, the iOS app's performance was excellent, and thanks to NetShield, we successfully watched Twitch streams and YouTube videos without interruptions while connected to a server based in Oslo.
Does Proton VPN Work With Netflix?
The majority of streaming services use some form of geo-restriction regarding what you can and can't see on their sites. For example, while some shows are only available on, say, Peacock in the United States, you'd have no issues watching the full series on Netflix in the UK due to local licensing deals with major studios.
We were glad to see that Proton VPN allowed Open library access on four of the five servers we tested, including Australia, Japan, the UK, and the US. Canada was the only region where we were met with a Limited library. You can read more about how we qualify these results in the chart above, as well as in our guide on how to unblock Netflix with a VPN. While you're at it, check out our recommendations for the best VPNs for Netflix overall.
Proton VPN Speed and Performance
When you use a VPN to secure your web traffic, your data won't be taking the optimal route to and from the internet. Generally, a VPN will increase latency while reducing upload and download speeds. To get an impression of that impact, we perform a series of tests using the Ookla Speedtest tool and find the percent change between when the VPN is on and when it is off. You can read how we test VPNs for a complete breakdown of our methodologies, as well as the limitations of our testing. (Note: Oookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Proton earned fifth place in our download tests, with a speed reduction of 2.8%. While this number is fine, it really shined in our upload speed testing with a reduction of just 0.22%, the best result we've seen.
Finally, our testing showed Proton increased latency by 170.31%.
Now, as a disclaimer: We benchmark all our VPNs from Manhattan between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET in a test designed to see how they perform during peak congestion hours in a densely populated area. VPNs often do one of two things in this scenario: Connect you to the server that's physically closest to your device or connect you to the fastest option regardless of distance.
In this case, it seems Proton opted to send us to its Arlington, Virginia, data center rather than a local option to achieve the best download and upload speeds. The same reason the first results are so fast (lack of congestion) is also why the latency result came back so high (our test server was located far from Manhattan).
You can see how Proton VPN compares with other products in the chart below:
Keep in mind that while our testing is useful for comparison, your results may differ greatly depending on the time of day and area you're connecting from. We believe that security, privacy, and overall value are far more important differentiators than speed and that speed should not be the primary consideration when choosing a VPN.
Verdict: A Class-Leading VPN Experience
Since we last reviewed it, Proton VPN has more than doubled its number of servers, server locations, and simultaneous connections per account. The company has shown it can scale up its service without sacrificing its integrity or yielding performance in the process. Its free version is excellent and places no limits on the amount of bandwidth you can use, making it our go-to recommendation. It becomes even more powerful with a paid subscription, and integration with Proton's secure calendar, email, and storage apps makes it a stacked starter pack for online privacy. We believe that Proton is setting the standard for the VPN industry, which is reflected in our five-star rating and Editors' Choice award.
Proton VPN rises above the competition with an excellent collection of features, a high-performance server network, and a nearly peerless free subscription option, making it the top service we recommend.
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