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# of Servers
4100
# of Servers
4100
Server Locations
88
Server Locations
88
Unlimited Bandwidth
Yes
Price Per Month (From)
$4.99
Price Per Month (From)
$4.99
Free Trial
-
Free Trial
-


8.3/10
Informr score
The ProtonVPN currently has an Informr score of 8.3 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 58 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

The "1-Minute" Review

Verdict

Despite being a relative newcomer to the VPN scene, ProtonVPN offers a slick client, good overall performance, and excellent privacy. Its tiered pricing and limited server locations might turn away some, but it’s likely to change as the company matures.

What's good

  • Superb privacy
  • Good performance
  • Secure OpenVPN protocol
  • P2P and TOR support
  • Excellent free plan

What's bad

  • Tiered pricing
  • Limited server locations

From the same company that secured your email with ProtonMail comes ProtonVPN, a Swiss-based VPN. While you might trust them to keep your email secure, should you trust them with all of your web traffic too? Let’s see what the Internet has to say.

Pricing

Unlike other VPNs, ProtonVPN uses tiered pricing. Not only do you receive a discounted price for longer subscriptions, but you also unlock more features depending on the plan level you choose.

Not sure you want to pay for a VPN yet? They offer a completely free plan. However, performance will likely be slower as they group all free users on only a handful of servers.

Supported devices

The service includes access to a range of apps for Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, and a command-line tool for Linux. There are currently no browser extensions available. This means you cannot secure your connection on computers where you can’t install software -- such as at your work computer.

Ease of Use

ProtonVPN impressed reviewers with how easy it was to use and how good the app itself looked. Selecting a server and securing their connection was quick and simple. Unlike many VPN applications, ProtonVPN also allows you to see how loaded each server is so you can choose the least congested options in real time.

They also allow you to create two profiles for specific activities -- one to connect to the faster server and another to connect to a random server. Of course, you can adjust your profiles to fit your needs.

Simultaneous Connections

Supported devices range from 2 on the lowest monthly plan to up to 10 at the most expensive option. This gives you plenty of flexibility in keeping all of your phones, tablets, and computers secure.

Included Features

  • Kill Switch protection
  • TOR connections
  • P2P servers
  • OpenVPN protocol
  • Access to ProtonMail at highest payment tier
  • Amazon Prime and Netflix support
  • DNS leak protection

If you want an extra layer of security, TOR connections help conceal your identity and online activity by separating your identification and routing.

More into P2P? ProtonVPN also has several servers that support common protocols, including BitTorrent. However, experts were a bit let down that the client didn’t indicate which servers support P2P. You might have to try a few before you see good results.

Privacy and Logging

Due to its Swiss location, ProtonVPN gets an immediate advantage over other VPNs. The country itself has very strong privacy laws and is not a member of the “14 Eyes” surveillance network.

ProtonVPN states their policy clearly as a no log service. When tested, reviewers were impressed with how little logs were actually kept. The only thing they could uncover was a timestamp of the last successful login. This timestamp was overwritten the next time they logged in.

If you’re looking for privacy on the billing side, ProtonVPN accepts Bitcoin as well.

PCWorld states, “Overall, ProtonVPN provides good privacy protection…

Performance

ProtonVPN currently has 30 server locations but the number of servers available is growing yearly. Even with limited servers, reviews indicate that the paid service tiers perform quite well. Critics were impressed with both download and upload speeds -- at least when connected to the correct server.

Unfortunately, performance varied wildly across the different servers for many reviewers and finding one that worked well was often just guesswork. And, as expected, the further they were from the server, the slower their performance.

Support

As the first line of defense, ProtonVPN offers a useful page where you can hopefully find answers. If you still cannot figure out your issue, you can fill out their support form and expect a response in around 12 to 24 hours. While support is certainly not the fastest, most critics had no complaints.

_

Summary

Overall, ProtonVPN might not offer the most servers or the fastest support in our VPN summaries. What it offers instead is excellent privacy and fairly decent performance for the price. While the tiered pricing might be a turn off for some, critics found it provided a good deal of flexibility for people who might want a simpler experience.

PC Magazine states, “You won’t go wrong with ProtonVPN, but it is not with its drawbacks… it may need some time to mature before it can match the ease of use and robust networks of… NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and TunnelBear. But its free plan is peerless.


What the Critics Are Saying...


Tom's Guide
Tom's Guide

Proton VPN lives up to its reputation as an excellent choice for the privacy-conscious, but also challenges the market leaders with its excellent streaming site and content unblocking power. Boosted WireGuard and Open VPN speeds, comprehensive apps, reliable connections, and one of the best free pla...

- Mo Harber-Lamond, Tom's Guide
TechRadar
TechRadar

Proton VPN isn’t the cheapest VPN around, but when you factor in the lengthy feature list, excellent unblocking results, top-notch security tools, unlimited bandwidth free plan and reassuring app security audits, it still looks like great value to us.

- Mike Williams, TechRadar
TOP10BEST VPN
TOP10BEST VPN

Proton VPN is a robust VPN service that focuses primarily on privacy and security. Being based out of Switzerland gives Proton VPN users the advantage of no jurisdictions breathing down their necks and allows for a strict zero-logging policy. Other features that bolster security include Proton VPN’s...

- TOP10BEST VPN
Expert Reviews
Expert Reviews

If you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming services and share files safely, then Proton VPN works brilliantly. However, we could say the same about several other VPNs: rivals such as Hotspot Shield, Surfshark, and Windscribe will give you a very similar streaming and torrenting experience for...

- Darien Graham-Smith, Expert Reviews
XDA Developers
XDA Developers

Overall, ProtonVPN is a comprehensive VPN solution that can easily bypass geo-restrictions and thoroughly protect your online privacy. Its no-logs policy is one of the best on the market. It has all the important VPN features, including a kill switch, advanced split tunneling, and obfuscation. It’s...

- Keelan Balderson, XDA Developers

Details


Overview
Headquarters Switzerland
Pricing/Sign Up
Starting Price (per Month) $4.99
Plans and Pricing Visit Site
Free Trial No
Money Back Guarantee No
Payment Options Credit Cards, PayPal
ID Required Valid email address
Features
Server Locations (# of Countries) 88
Number of Servers 4100 +
Devices Per License 1 - 10
Simultaneous Connections 1 - 10
Unlimited Bandwidth Yes
Double-Hop / Double VPN Yes
Accesses Netflix Yes
P2P / Torrenting Allowed Yes
Accepts Bitcoin No
Non-US Company Yes
Protected
Protocols IKEv2, OpenVPN, WireGuard
Encryption AES-256, ChaCha20, RSA-4096
No Logs / No Tracking Yes
Dedicated IP Available No
VPN Over Tor Yes
Wi-Fi Leak Protection No
Private DNS Server No
DNS Leak Protection Yes
IP Leak Protection Yes
WebRTC Leak Protection Yes
IPv6 Leak Protection Yes
Kill Switch Yes
Supported Platforms
Operating Systems Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Linux, Android
Mobile App Yes
Router Yes
Browser Extension Yes
Customer Support
24/7 Support No
Live Chat Support No
Telephone Support No
Email Support
More
Additional comments Other Names (AKA): Proton VPN

Terms & Conditions Official Terms & Conditions

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