ProtonVPN Quick information
Our score: 4.0 stars out of of 5Pricing: Begins at $5.99 per monthKey featuresSwiss-protected and independently audited VPN.Round 3,000 servers throughout 65 nations.Free model with limitless information.
Proton VPN is an open-source VPN with a great stability of safety and affordability. Its spotlight characteristic is its Swiss-based privateness. Primarily based in Switzerland, Proton complies with Switzerland’s sturdy privateness legal guidelines — a plus for companies and people involved about authorities information requests.
Proton additionally affords a free model of the VPN, giving customers entry to servers in three nations (the U.S., the Netherlands and Japan). Whereas it isn’t the quickest VPN in the marketplace, Proton’s wholesome server community and stable encryption protocols make it a great all-around choice.
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ProtonVPN Pricing
Proton VPN FreeProton VPN PlusProton VPN Limitless
1 yearFree$5.99 per 30 days$9.99 per 30 days
2 yearsFree$4.99 per 30 days$7.99 per 30 days
1 monthFree$8.99$12.99
VPN speedMediumFastestFastest
Predominant Features86 servers in 3 countries1 VPN connectionKill switch3,000 servers in 65 countries10 concurrently linked devicesKill switchNetShield malware and advert blockerStreaming and torrenting available30-day money-back guarantee3,000 servers in 65 countries10 concurrently linked devicesKill switchNetShield malware and advert blockerStreaming and torrenting available30-day money-back guaranteeIncludes ProtonMail Plus, Proton Drive Plus and Proton Calendar
ProtonVPN Free Model
Determine A
Proton affords free entry to 86 servers from the USA, Netherlands and Japan. With the free model, you get medium VPN pace, a kill swap and limitless information. Home windows and Android customers additionally get entry to Proton’s break up tunneling characteristic totally free.
Should-read safety protection
The free model is finest for customers who’re not sure about spending on a full VPN service or those that solely want one VPN connection and fundamental performance.
Should you plan on connecting a number of gadgets or want the quickest connection, Proton VPN Plus is finest. It permits customers to attach 10 gadgets concurrently, has Proton’s quickest speeds on the lowest doable price and consists of Proton’s full server suite. Those that additionally use VPNs for torrenting (P2P) and streaming ought to go for the VPN Plus plan, as this isn’t obtainable on the free model.
Lastly, I like to recommend Proton Limitless just for customers who need Proton’s different encryption-based providers on prime of the options you get with VPN Plus.
Is ProtonVPN protected?
ProtonVPN will get good marks for safety and privateness. It affords industry-standard protocols OpenVPN and IKEv2, in addition to the newer WireGuard and Stealth protocols throughout the Home windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS variations. This offers customers a mixture of extra established and well-tested safety protocols and more moderen choices with newer applied sciences.
Proton additionally operates underneath a strict no-logs coverage, which implies they don’t log person exercise or metadata. This covers web sites visited, session lengths, IP addresses or any information that might be used to establish a person.
Lastly, Proton VPN additionally just lately handed an unbiased safety audit carried out in 2021. The report uncovered no main safety points or vulnerabilities — which is a win for Proton’s privateness and safety claims.
Key options of Proton VPN
Proton VPN affords quite a lot of options that defend and safe person information. This consists of its protection underneath Swiss privateness legal guidelines, good pace and efficiency and DNS leak safety. For the complete rundown, go to the Proton VPN web site.
Swiss-based privateness
Determine B
As Proton relies in Switzerland, it complies with the nation’s sturdy privateness legal guidelines and political neutrality. All Proton customers will take pleasure in the identical authorized privateness protections that Swiss residents do.
This additionally implies that any requests for Proton person information can’t be granted and not using a Swiss courtroom order. This can be a key characteristic for customers or companies which can be involved about authorities intervention. Whereas no nation is resistant to breaches, Proton’s compliance with Swiss legal guidelines will grant a layer of safety you received’t discover with different VPNs.
DNS leak safety
Determine C
Proton VPN additionally guarantees safety towards DNS leaks throughout dropped connections. To check this, I ran Proton VPN Free by means of a DNS leak check device a number of instances. All through testing, no leaks have been detected.
Proton additionally prompts DNS Safety out of the field. Provided that DNS leak safety is an important VPN characteristic, we commend Proton for setting it to “all the time on” upon setup.
Kill swap
Determine D
Proton additionally comes with a kill swap that acts as a final line of protection throughout an outage or disruption. Within the occasion your VPN connection fails, the kill swap will routinely cease your machine from reconnecting to the web with out the VPN’s safety. This prevents any undesirable sharing of information out of your pc to your web service supplier.
It goes additional as Proton permits customers to activate a “everlasting kill swap.” When activated, any connection not executed by way of a Proton VPN server is blocked or minimize out.
In my testing, the everlasting kill swap labored as marketed — even with the principle app closed and working within the background. This set-it-and-forget-it characteristic can hold your information personal throughout undesirable disruptions.
Velocity and efficiency: How briskly is ProtonVPN?
Whereas it’s regular to have decrease add and obtain speeds with a VPN, Proton nonetheless supplied good and steady numbers throughout testing. This was true throughout my common use of the service, which included searching social media, accessing Google providers like Docs and Drive and watching YouTube movies. I additionally didn’t expertise any problem sustaining a steady connection whereas testing Proton. For pace and stability, Proton VPN carried out properly.
ProtonVPN Servers and places
Proton affords 3,024 servers in 69 nations to select from on the time of publication.
Proton’s fleet of servers falls within the center tier amongst its competitors. Whereas its variety of servers is common, it nonetheless maintains an satisfactory unfold throughout completely different nations.
It affords three completely different server sorts: Free, Plus and Safe Core servers. Free servers, which include Proton’s free model, present fundamental safety with medium speeds. In the meantime, Plus servers enable streaming help, advert blocking, torrenting and a quicker connection.
Lastly, Safe Core servers add to Plus servers’ performance by introducing stronger safety towards information assaults. Safe Core routes your visitors by means of a number of servers, making it more durable for unhealthy actors to achieve your true IP tackle. These servers are wholly owned by Proton and are housed in privacy-friendly nations (like Switzerland or Iceland) for much more safety.
For my part, Safe Core is a singular promoting level of Proton VPN that many privacy-focused customers will discover worthwhile. That is very true in case you use servers situated in additional high-risk areas just like the U.S.
ProtonVPN Professionals
Affords sturdy Switzerland-based privateness options.
Implements a strict no-logs coverage.
Offers greater than 3,000 servers in 69 nations.
Open supply and independently audited.
Has a free model.
Helps as much as 10 simultaneous connections.
ProtonVPN Cons
Priced comparatively excessive.
Stay chat help is just obtainable for paid customers.
Who’s ProtonVPN finest for?
Should you’re searching for a VPN that specializes towards authorities surveillance, ProtonVPN is a superb answer. Its Swiss-backed privateness is a significant worth proposition, particularly in relation to defending delicate enterprise or person information. It additionally will get lots of the core options proper with its sturdy set of protocols, kill swap and DNS leak safety, to call a number of.
ProtonVPN is made for individuals who need an built-in ecosystem of encrypted and safe software program. Proton additionally affords the VPN bundled with its different encrypted providers by means of its Proton Limitless plan.
Whereas there are cheaper choices on the market, Proton’s total package deal and lack of obvious drawbacks make it a good selection. Not sure consumers additionally get pleasure from having the ability to entry Proton VPN totally free.
ProtonVPN options
Whereas ProtonVPN is a good VPN choice, not everybody will discover it a great match. We’ve listed comparable options beneath that provide completely different options for every VPN person.
NordVPN
NordVPN is without doubt one of the most well-known VPNs available in the market at the moment. Nord is nice for safe file-sharing, as its Meshnet characteristic permits customers to switch and share recordsdata by means of their very own personal encrypted community. It has round 5,710 servers in 60 nations and a menace safety characteristic that combats malware, advertisements and net trackers.
Surfshark
One other outstanding VPN is Surfshark. This VPN is finest for a number of gadgets, because it offers customers a vast variety of machine connections to the service. It additionally has zero bandwidth limitations and affords a seven-day free trial to try it out.
CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost VPN is one other nice VPN answer. It’s recognized for its in depth server community, providing round 9,200 servers in 91 nations. This enables customers to entry a broad collection of geo-restricted content material whereas sustaining a steady connection.
Assessment Methodology
My assessment of Proton VPN concerned an in depth evaluation of its safety features, price and real-world efficiency. I had hands-on time with ProtonVPN’s free model and supplemented my findings with person testimonials and respected critiques for each the free and paid tiers.
For pace and efficiency, I examined ProtonVPN Free utilizing a Home windows pc and ran it by means of Ookla’s Speedtest. As a disclaimer, VPN speeds will range relying on lots of components: your web service supplier, your machine, your location and the actual server you select. To check for DNS leaks, I ran Proton VPN Free a number of instances by means of DNSleaktest.
Lastly, I scored Proton on all the things from its pricing to its protocols primarily based on an inner algorithm to get a remaining score out of 5 stars. The scoring on the rubric was primarily based each on Proton VPN by itself and in relation to different VPN providers available in the market.