Updated Oct 5, 2026
VPN Services
Proton VPN
Swiss VPN with open-source apps, annual audits and a free plan
Proton VPN at a glance
from our research
Swiss VPN with open-source apps for privacy-minded users; Proton Unlimited bundles it with Mail, Pass and Drive
Securitum has audited its no-logs policy every year from 2022 to 2026, and the reports are public
Free plan: one device, servers in 10 countries chosen at random, no P2P or secure streaming
VPN Plus is $9.99 billed monthly, or $53.88 upfront for one year, renewing at $83.88 a year
Overview
What is Proton VPN?
Proton VPN is the VPN service of Proton AG, a Swiss company founded in 2014 that also makes Proton Mail, Proton Pass, Proton Calendar and Proton Drive. Proton says Swiss law doesn't oblige it to retain data logs. Consumers can choose a free plan, VPN Plus, or Proton Unlimited, which bundles the VPN with Pass, Mail, Calendar and Drive. Separate business plans add central user management and, higher up, single sign-on and dedicated IPs.
The apps connect to more than 20,000 servers in over 140 countries using WireGuard, OpenVPN or Stealth, a WireGuard-based protocol tunneled over TLS. Every app has a kill switch and an always-on option. On VPN Plus, NetShield filters DNS requests to block malware, ads and trackers, Secure Core routes traffic through multiple servers before it leaves Proton's network, and split tunneling lets chosen apps skip the VPN on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Android TV and the browser extension. The plan also adds support for streaming and for P2P and BitTorrent traffic. Proton says its apps are 100% open source.
There are apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and iPadOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV and Chromebook, plus Chrome and Firefox extensions. The free plan has no data cap, needs no credit card and connects one device at a time to servers in 10 countries, selected at random. VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited cover 10 devices and are billed monthly or on one- or two-year terms, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Our verdict on Proton VPN
Proton VPN suits buyers who want privacy claims they can check. Securitum has audited its no-logs policy every year from 2022 to 2026, and the full reports are linked publicly. Proton says its apps are 100% open source, and the company is based in Switzerland, where it says the law doesn't oblige it to retain data logs. The free plan is the other draw, with no data cap and no credit card needed.
That free plan is narrow, though. It connects one device at a time and uses servers in 10 countries chosen at random rather than the full network of more than 20,000 servers in over 140 countries, and it leaves out P2P and secure streaming. Anyone who wants those moves to VPN Plus, which also brings NetShield's ad and malware blocking, Secure Core and split tunneling. There's no free trial of the paid features, so the 30-day money-back guarantee is the way to test them.
VPN Plus is the plan most people will pay for. It costs $9.99 a month on monthly billing, or $53.88 upfront for the first year, which renews at $83.88 a year; the two-year term is $83.76 upfront and renews at the same $83.88. Budget on $83.88 a year once the first term ends. Proton Unlimited costs $12.99 a month or $119.88 a year, with no increase at renewal, and makes sense only if you'd use Proton Mail, Pass and Drive as well. Teams have separate business plans, starting with VPN Essentials at $6.99 per user a month billed yearly, for at least 2 users.
Choose Proton VPN if audited, open-source software and a usable free tier matter to you, or if you already rely on Proton's other apps. If you'd rather give no personal details at sign-up, Mullvad generates an account number, accepts cash and charges a flat €5 a month. If a household needs more than 10 devices connected at once, Surfshark doesn't cap simultaneous connections.
Written by Lokesh Kapoor
Pros & cons
Proton VPN pros and cons
What it does well
- Free plan with no data cap, and no credit card needed to sign up
- Securitum audited the no-logs policy each year from 2022 to 2026; reports are public
- Proton says its apps are 100% open source
- VPN Plus reaches 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, with P2P and secure streaming
Where it falls short
- Free plan connects one device to servers in 10 countries, chosen at random
- VPN Plus's one-year price of $53.88 renews at $83.88 a year
- Split tunneling isn't listed for the iOS, iPadOS or Apple TV apps
Editor's assessment from vendor documentation and published pricing
Pricing
Proton VPN pricing
Proton VPN's paid plans start at $4.49/month, below the $5 median across the 5 tools in our VPN Services ranking. A free plan is available.
Free
Free plan
- No credit card required
- 1 device at a time
- Medium VPN speed
- Servers in 10 countries, randomly selected
VPN Plus
per month
or $9.99/mo billed monthly
- 10 devices at a time
- Highest VPN speed
- 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries
- Streaming, ad, tracker and malware blocking
- Priority support and live chat
Usage: 1-year price billed $53.88 upfront, renewing at $83.88 a year; 2-year price billed $83.76 upfront ($3.49 a month), renewing at $83.88 a year. Month to month renews at $9.99.
Proton Unlimited
per month
or $12.99/mo billed monthly
- Proton VPN
- Proton Pass
- Proton Mail and Proton Calendar
- Proton Drive
Usage: 1-year price billed $119.88 upfront, renewing at $119.88 a year; 2-year price billed $191.76 upfront ($7.99 a month), renewing at $119.88 a year. Month to month renews at $12.99.
VPN Essentials
per user, per month
or $8.99/mo billed monthly
Minimum 2 seats
- Servers in 140+ countries
- NetShield malware, phishing and ad blocking
- Central user management, 2FA enforcement
- Kill switch, always-on VPN, split tunneling
- MDM deployment compatibility
Usage: Minimum 2 users. The yearly price is billed upfront for the year.
VPN Professional
per user, per month
or $11.99/mo billed monthly
Minimum 2 seats
- Everything in VPN Essentials
- Single sign-on (SSO) and SCIM provisioning
- Dedicated IPs in 20+ countries
- Network segmentation and private gateways
- Network monitoring and audit trails
Usage: Minimum 2 users. The yearly price is billed upfront for the year.
VPN and Pass Professional
per user, per month
or $12.99/mo billed monthly
Minimum 3 seats
- Everything in VPN Professional
- Proton Pass password manager
- Secure password sharing
- Hide-my-email aliases, 2FA authenticator
- SIEM integration and command-line interface
Usage: Minimum 3 users. The yearly price is billed upfront for the year.
Workspace Standard
per user, per month
or $14.99/mo billed monthly
- All Proton products for business
- 1 TB storage per user
- 15 custom email domains
- VPN connection for 10 devices per user
Usage: The yearly price is billed upfront for the year.
Enterprise
Tailored pricing for larger teams
- Customizable solution
- Dedicated account manager
- All Proton services
Checked against Proton AG's pricing page on October 5, 2026 · see the full breakdown
Capabilities
Proton VPN features
Checked against the same feature list as every other tool in its category.
Privacy & Trust
- Included:Anonymous signup & paymentRegister without an email address and pay in cash or cryptocurrency.
- Included:Independently audited no-logsA third-party firm has verified and published that the no-logs claim holds.
- Included:Open-source appsClient source code is public and independently reviewable.
- Included:Privacy-friendly jurisdictionIncorporated outside major intelligence-sharing arrangements.
- Included:RAM-only serversServers run from memory, so a reboot wipes everything and nothing persists to disk.
Network & Speed
- Included:Dedicated IP optionA static IP address for services that block shared VPN addresses.Business plans only
- Included:Large global server networkThousands of servers across many countries for choice and load spreading.
- Included:Reliable streaming accessConsistently works with major streaming services rather than intermittently.Paid plans only
- Included:WireGuard protocolModern protocol offering substantially better speed than legacy options.
Apps & Extras
- Included:Ad and tracker blockingBlocks ads, trackers and malicious domains at the DNS level.Paid plans only
- Included:Free tierA free plan that stays usable, rather than a limited trial.
- Included:Kill switchBlocks all traffic if the VPN connection drops, preventing exposure.
- Included:Split tunnellingRoute selected apps through the VPN and the rest directly.
- Not included:Unlimited simultaneous devicesOne subscription covers every device you own without a connection cap.
Ecosystem
Proton VPN integrations
- Proton Mail
- Proton Pass
- Router firmware
- Tor
Alternatives
Top Proton VPN alternatives
Tools that do the same job, from the same category.
Mullvad
Best for privacy-minded users who want a VPN account with no email, paid in cash or crypto
NordVPN
Best for households with up to 10 devices that want a VPN with audited no-logs claims
Surfshark
Best for households that need one VPN plan to cover an unlimited number of devices
Fit check
Will Proton VPN fit your team?
Support
- Email support
- Knowledge base
Training
- Documentation
Deployment
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- iOS
- Android
Typical users
- Freelancers
- Small businesses
- Mid-size companies
- Enterprises
FAQs
Proton VPN FAQs
Written by our editorial team.
Is Proton VPN free?
Yes, Proton VPN has a free plan with no data cap that needs no credit card. It connects one device at a time to servers in 10 countries, selected at random: the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada and the United States. It runs at medium speed and doesn't include P2P or secure streaming. VPN Plus adds the full network and 10 devices; see Proton VPN pricing for the paid plans.
How much does Proton VPN cost?
VPN Plus costs $9.99 a month on monthly billing, $53.88 upfront for the first year or $83.76 upfront for the first two years, and both longer terms renew at $83.88 a year. Proton Unlimited, which adds Proton Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive, costs $12.99 a month or $119.88 a year, and its yearly price stays the same at renewal. Paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and there's also a free plan.
Does Proton VPN keep logs?
Proton says it doesn't keep logs of your online activity and doesn't store any metadata. Securitum has audited its no-logs policy five years in a row, in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, and the full reports are linked publicly through Proton Drive. Proton VPN is based in Switzerland, where it says it isn't obligated to retain data logs. For a comparison with another audited provider, see Mullvad vs Proton VPN.
Does Proton VPN allow torrenting and streaming?
On VPN Plus, yes. Proton lists P2P and BitTorrent support and secure streaming among the features VPN Plus adds, and the free plan includes neither. VPN Plus also brings Secure Core, which routes traffic through multiple servers before it leaves Proton's network, NetShield blocking for malware, ads and trackers, split tunneling and speeds of up to 10 Gbps, on up to 10 devices at once.
Does Proton VPN have plans for businesses?
Yes. VPN Essentials costs $6.99 per user a month billed yearly, or $8.99 monthly, with a 2-user minimum, and includes central user management, 2FA enforcement and NetShield. VPN Professional, at $9.99 per user a month billed yearly, adds single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, dedicated IPs in 20+ countries and private gateways. VPN and Pass Professional adds the Proton Pass password manager and needs at least 3 users. Enterprise pricing is by quote.
Sources & methodology
Product details come from Proton AG's public website and documentation (Switzerland). Every plan and price was checked against the vendor's pricing page on October 5, 2026. We haven't tested this product hands-on; the verdict is a desk assessment. How we research and rank tools
- Founded 2014
- 7 languages supported
- proton.me
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