Proton VPNProton VPN review 2026: our full test
Proton VPN is the service privacy people point to first: Swiss jurisdiction, fully open-source apps, an independent audit every year and a free plan with no data cap at all. We tested both the free tier and VPN Plus to work out where the real limits are, and who should actually pay.
Verdict: the privacy benchmark
Proton VPN is the most serious choice for confidentiality: Swiss jurisdiction, fully open-source code, a no-logs policy audited every year by Securitum and a free plan that is genuinely unlimited. The apps are a notch less mainstream than NordVPN, and the entry price sits slightly above the cheapest providers.
What to remember
- The only genuinely unlimited free plan on the market in terms of data.
- Swiss jurisdiction, fully open-source code and a yearly no-logs audit by Securitum.
- The apps stay a notch less mainstream than NordVPN’s.
What we liked
- +
A genuinely unlimited free plan, with no ads.
- +
100% open-source, independently audited apps.
- +
Swiss jurisdiction, outside the 14 Eyes.
- +
Native Secure Core and Tor-over-VPN routing.
What could be better
- –
Apps are less mainstream than NordVPN.
- –
Entry price higher than Surfshark.
- –
The free plan is limited to 1 device and a handful of countries.
Spec sheet
- Servers
- 20,000+
- Countries
- 145+
- Jurisdiction
- Switzerland
- Flagship protocol
- WireGuard
- Audited no-logs
- Securitum (annual)
- Simultaneous connections
- 10
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 days
- Starting price
- $2.99/month
VPN Plus promo price on the 2-year commitment, indicative, checked July 2026.
Go for it if
- ✓
Privacy comes before everything else in your decision.
- ✓
You want to try a serious VPN without pulling out a credit card.
- ✓
You care about open-source code and public audits.
Look elsewhere if
- ✕
You want absolute top speed, NordVPN keeps the edge.
- ✕
You prefer an ultra-simplified app with no settings.
- ✕
You are hunting for the lowest entry price on the market.
What is Proton VPN?
Proton VPN is the virtual private network service from Proton AG, the Swiss company born out of the CERN ecosystem and best known for Proton Mail. Its promise comes down to one word: privacy, backed by open-source code, regular independent audits and a jurisdiction, Switzerland, with strong data protection law and no obligation to log. It is the provider we point to whenever a reader puts confidentiality above everything else in our best VPN comparison.
Is the Proton VPN free plan really unlimited?
Yes, and that is what sets it apart from nearly every other free VPN. Proton VPN applies no data cap and no time limit on its free tier, with no advertising and no selling of your data. In exchange you get one device, a restricted choice of countries and speeds that are usable but throttled compared with the paid servers. For occasional secure browsing, it is the best free option on the market, and we said as much in our best free VPN ranking.
Start with the free plan to judge stability and ergonomics, then move to VPN Plus if you need streaming, P2P or multiple devices.
Does Proton VPN really protect your privacy?
This is home turf. The no-logs policy has been audited every year by the independent firm Securitum, whose consultants visit the Geneva offices to verify that no activity data is retained. More importantly, every app is open source: any researcher can inspect the code, which no large closed-source rival allows. On top of that sit Secure Core (routing through hardened servers in Switzerland, Iceland or Sweden) and a native Tor-over-VPN mode. To dig deeper, see our guide on no-log policies.
Try Proton VPN risk-free
The free plan lets you try the service before paying anything at all.
Is Proton VPN fast?
Throughput on the paid plans is very good, thanks to WireGuard and the VPN Accelerator technology. On nearby servers the speed loss stays marginal, easily enough for 4K streaming or P2P downloads. Proton is not quite at NordVPN level on the most distant servers, but the gap is small in everyday use. The free servers are a different story, expect noticeably lower speeds at peak hours.
Does Proton VPN unblock Netflix?
On VPN Plus, yes. In our tests Proton VPN opened Netflix US, UK and the main catalogs, along with Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, through its Plus-labelled servers. The free plan, by contrast, is not designed for streaming and will generally be blocked. If streaming is your main use case, budget for the paid tier from the start.
How much does Proton VPN cost?
The free plan costs nothing and stays free. VPN Plus starts around $2.99/month on a 2-year commitment, and the Proton Unlimited bundle adds Mail, Drive, Calendar and Pass for those already inside the ecosystem.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 device, limited country choice, unlimited data |
| VPN Plus | ≈ $2.99/month (2-year) | 10 devices, streaming, P2P, Secure Core |
| Proton Unlimited | Higher, bundled | VPN + Mail, Drive, Calendar, Pass |
Indicative prices, checked July 2026. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies to paid plans.
What are the alternatives to Proton VPN?
For maximum speed and the largest set of extras, NordVPN remains the performance reference. To cover an unlimited number of devices on a tight budget, Surfshark is the value pick. And if streaming is the whole point, CyberGhost and its dedicated profiles make it effortless. Our best VPN 2026 comparison puts them side by side.
Our verdict: 4.7/5, the privacy benchmark
The strongest privacy setup on the market, with a free plan to try before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Proton VPN free plan any good?
Yes, it is the best free VPN we have tested. There is no data cap, no time limit and no advertising. The limits are one device at a time, a restricted list of countries and speeds below the paid servers. It is not suitable for streaming.
Is Proton VPN really no-logs?
Yes. The policy is audited every year by the independent firm Securitum, all apps are open source and therefore inspectable, and Proton operates under Swiss law, which imposes no logging obligation on VPN providers.
Does Proton VPN work with Netflix?
On the VPN Plus plan, yes. The Plus servers opened Netflix US and UK, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in our tests. The free plan is not intended for streaming and is usually blocked.
Proton VPN or NordVPN?
Proton VPN wins on privacy: open-source apps, annual audits, Swiss jurisdiction and a real free plan. NordVPN wins on raw speed, network size and extra features. Choose Proton if confidentiality is your priority, NordVPN if performance is.