Swiss privacy protection with unlimited bandwidth
Visit WebsiteThe Bottom Line
Entry price
From $4.99/mo (free plan available)
Biggest pro
Secure VPN
Biggest con
Slower than some
TL;DR - Proton VPN
- Swiss-based VPN with strict no-logs policy verified by independent audit and 17,300+ servers in 127 countries
- Secure Core routes traffic through hardened data centers in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden
- Open-source apps with AES-256 encryption, kill switch, and Stealth protocol to bypass censorship
What is Proton VPN?
Available on: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome, Android, iOS
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Secure VPN
- Swiss-based
- Good privacy
- Free tier
- Active development
Cons
- Slower than some
- Limited free servers
- Expensive premium
- Server availability
- Better alternatives exist
Ratings Across the Web
Proton VPN holds an aggregate rating of 4.5 out of 5 from 41,058 reviews across G2, Capterra and SourceForge, last checked May 29, 2026.
What people say
“I have experienced occasional crashes when using ProtonVPN on my MacBook, which can be frustrating.”via G2
“It's high level encryption and security is top notch. The user interface is appealing in mobile platforms without any cluster of features. It also provides many locations with high internet speed.”via Capterra
“Easy to use, rock solid connection and good amount of locations to use.”via SourceForge
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Pricing checked Aug 20, 2026
Free
Basic VPN
- 1 device
- 100+ servers
- Medium speed
- No logs
VPN Plus
$4.99/month
Full VPN
- 10 devices
- 3000+ servers
- Highest speed
- Streaming support
Proton Unlimited
$9.99/month
Full suite
- All VPN features
- All Proton apps
- 500GB storage
- Priority support
Is Proton VPN worth the price?
Proton VPN is the strongest privacy-first VPN on the market, and the 2-year plan at $2.99/month makes it one of the cheapest premium options too.
The free tier is genuinely usable, unlimited data with no ads, which no other major VPN matches. VPN Plus delivers 18,700+ servers across 130+ countries, Secure Core multi-hop routing, and NetShield ad blocking, all wrapped in open-source audited apps.
The main tradeoff: monthly pricing at $9.99 is steep compared to NordVPN ($3.39/mo on 2-year) or Surfshark ($2.19/mo on 2-year), so you need to commit to a long subscription to get competitive pricing.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
The $2.99/month and $3.99/month prices require paying the full 2-year ($71.76) or 1-year ($47.88) amount upfront. If you cancel mid-term, you forfeit the remaining balance after the 30-day refund window.
Monthly pricing ($9.99/month) is 3.3x more expensive than the 2-year rate. Casual users testing the service for a few months pay a significant premium.
Renewal pricing reverts to standard rates after promotional periods. Check your renewal price before your term ends, it may be higher than your initial sign-up rate.
The free plan limits you to 1 device and servers in only 5 countries (Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, US) with medium speed. Streaming services are not supported on the free tier.
Proton Unlimited at $7.99/month sounds like a deal, but it also requires a 2-year upfront payment of $191.76. The monthly Unlimited plan is $12.99/month.
No dedicated IP option. If you need a static IP for accessing corporate networks or whitelisting, Proton VPN does not currently offer this, NordVPN and others do.
How Proton VPN's pricing compares
At $4.99/mo, Proton VPN is mid-range of its 6 direct competitors ($1.88 to $8/mo across the set).
Entry paid plan, monthly. Pricing checked Aug 20, 2026.
Reviews
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Best Proton VPN Alternatives
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Still deciding?
Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.
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Proton VPN FAQ
How does Proton VPN ensure user privacy?
Which teams would benefit most from using Proton VPN?
How is Proton VPN priced?
What kind of trade-offs should users consider with Proton VPN?
Can Proton VPN be used for secure browsing and data protection?
How does Proton VPN compare to NordVPN regarding server access?
Source: protonvpn.com