Proton VPN offers a solid VPN product with fast speeds and excellent security and privacy measures. It’s also easy to use, provides a variety of features, and can unblock streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.

We like that Proton VPN has a strict no-logs policy that’s been tested in court and is backed up by Swiss data privacy laws. Proton’s no-logs policy is further backed up by an independent security audit from Securitum.

We don’t love that Proton VPN is more expensive than average (starting at $4.99 per month), but it’s not a deal breaker because of the quality you get. Check out our Proton VPN review to see in-depth details about speed tests, features, customer support, and more.

Proton VPN overview

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Overall Rating:

“Proton VPN is a safe and trustworthy VPN provider that’s fast, unblocks streaming content, and offers high-level privacy and security. And its no-logs policy was tested in court, plus Proton VPN headquarters is located in a country with strict data privacy laws. 

But Proton VPN isn’t the cheapest option available. And certain VPNs provide access to more servers.”

Who is Proton VPN best for?

• Recommended for people who want a fast VPN that doesn’t compromise on privacy or security and can unblock multiple streaming services.

Proton VPN is a virtual private network (VPN) service owned by Proton AG, a company that was founded in 2014 by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientists who wanted to create an encrypted email service. Proton’s first product was ProtonMail, but other products include Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton VPN.

The main focus of Proton products is to provide you with as much security and privacy as possible. This is shown with Proton VPN through its strict no-logs policy and its headquarters in a country with strong data privacy laws.

Proton VPN also strives to offer you an easy-to-use interface and essential features such as a kill switch and split tunneling.

Overall, Proton VPN is an excellent product. We wish it were slightly cheaper to compete with certain other VPNs, but we were impressed with its fast speeds and commitment to privacy.

We weren’t quite as impressed with not having a live chat feature if you’re not a paid subscriber. And the fact that the live chat isn’t 24/7 (and is associated with a European time zone) could be problematic if you need quick support.

ProtonVPN pros and cons

Proton VPN features

We primarily tested Proton VPN using the Windows desktop app, so the available features could vary depending on the app you use. But most of the features we mention here should be available across a variety of devices.

This includes over 1,600 servers to choose from in more than 60 countries. You can also expect to have the same no-logs policy across the board.

The interface itself might vary, but we found Proton VPN was easy to navigate and use on the Windows app.

Server count and countries

• 1,600+ servers in 60+ countries

Proton VPN offers access to over 1,600 servers in more than 60 countries. That’s a below-average number of servers and server locations compared to popular VPNs such as NordVPN, Surfshark, and CyberGhost.

You can find the complete Proton VPN server list on the main page of the Windows app. This includes all the available countries that have dropdown menus for individual servers.

Having more servers and countries to choose from is typically better for multiple reasons. This includes having a variety of servers to choose from to meet your needs, whether it's unblocking a streaming service or torrenting some files.

More servers could also help keep your internet speeds (while connected to the VPN) more consistent. A VPN could suffer from slow speeds if it has tons of users and they’re all using the same servers.

You can check server load (how many people there are connected to a server depicted as a percentage) by clicking into a country’s server list and hovering over the circle to the left of the server name. A circle that’s partly green has a relatively low server load and shouldn’t have much effect on your internet speeds.

But a circle that’s red is likely overloaded with connections. For example, Iceland had a bunch of servers at 100% load when we checked. Though, there was one Tor server with a lower load.

Types of servers

Proton VPN includes icons in its server list to denote possible uses for a specific server.

Here are a few of the icons you might run into:

• P2P/BitTorrent: Shown as two arrows, these P2P servers are optimized for torrenting and file sharing.
• Streaming: Shown as a play button, these servers are optimized for different streaming services.
• Smart Routing: Shown as a sphere or globe, these servers are optimized for high speed and security in difficult-to-serve locations.
• Tor: Shown as an onion, these servers are set up to route your online traffic through the Tor network. Tor servers are often slower, but provide higher levels of privacy.

No-logs policy and headquarters

• Proton VPN logs policy: No logs
• Proton VPN headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

Proton VPN has a strict no-logs policy and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Proton doesn’t log or track anything that could compromise your privacy, including the websites you visit, your internet protocol (IP) address, your traffic, or session lengths.

Proton is able to back up its no-logs policy because of its location in Switzerland, which has strong data protection and privacy laws. Switzerland also isn’t part of the Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes Alliances, which are global surveillance networks.

The Proton VPN no-logs policy was put to the test in January 2019 when the Swiss court system approved a data request from a foreign country. But since Proton VPN doesn’t keep logs of customer IP information, it wasn’t able to provide any requested information to the foreign party.

Proton also had an independent security audit done of its no-logs policy, which was completed in March 2022 by Securitum. The Securitum security report successfully showed that Proton VPN’s no-logs policy provides high levels of privacy. These were some of the questions the audit aimed to answer:

• “Does ProtonVPN track user’s activity on the VPN servers (servers which are passing the traffic)?
• Does ProtonVPN log the metadata about the activity on the VPN server such as DNS traffic?
• Does ProtonVPN inspect or log the network traffic on the VPN servers?
• Does ProtonVPN monitor or log information about which services (websites, servers) the user is connecting to?
• Does ProtonVPN monitor which services (websites, servers) have been used by the specific VPN server?
• Does ProtonVPN apply the same privacy policy to all servers, in all regions and to all subscription tiers?
• Does ProtonVPN have a specific process to ensure that any unauthorised configuration change (such as ‘log=false’ → ‘log=true’) will be detected? Will it trigger an automatic alarm?
• Does ProtonVPN have a proper Change Management process in place to ensure that any authorized changes applied to the logs-related configuration files are reviewed and approved by another employee (dual control)?
• Does VPN configuration files have any logging enabled?
• Does ProtonVPN log the information about which VPN server is the user connected to at the time (and analogically — which user is connected to the specific VPN server)?”

Not every popular VPN (including Surfshark and CyberGhost) has done a third-party audit of its no-logs policy, so it’s helpful that Proton has had independent experts review and test its no-logs policy.

Kill switch

Proton VPN provides a kill switch feature on the homepage of its app. The icon looks like a light switch.

You have three options with the Proton kill switch:

1. Kill Switch Off: Turns off the kill switch feature.
2. Kill Switch On: Turns on the kill switch feature.
3. Permanent Kill Switch: Turns on a stronger version of the kill switch feature.

We tested the kill switch by first turning it on (Kill Switch On) and then connecting to the VPN. We then attempted to disrupt our internet connection by turning on airplane mode and by following a set of directions from a customer service representative.

Neither of those strategies seemed to work or we couldn’t tell if they worked because we didn’t receive any notifications from Proton that our internet connection had been paused.

We then tried the Permanent Kill Switch option by turning it on. Note that this feature is supposed to make it so you can’t connect your device to the internet at all if the feature is turned on and you aren’t connected to the VPN.

We weren’t able to connect to the internet at all while the Permanent Kill Switch was on and we hadn’t established a VPN connection. We were able to connect to the internet once we connected to the VPN.

Keep in mind that manually ending the Proton VPN process by using the Windows Task Manager will bypass the Permanent Kill Switch. We were able to connect to the internet after shutting down Proton VPN with Task Manager even though we originally had the kill switch turned on.

Split tunneling

Proton VPN offers a split tunneling feature that you can find in the app’s advanced settings.

Split tunneling is a feature that allows you to exclude certain apps, browsers, or IP addresses from using the encrypted VPN tunnel. You might want to use split tunneling if you’re not worried about the privacy of a specific app and you want the app to run faster.

For example, you might be using a VPN to stream foreign content, but you want to surf the internet with your Chrome browser at the same time. So you could have your VPN bypass Chrome to potentially free up some bandwidth and improve your browsing speeds. In doing so, though, you’d be browsing without a secure connection.

Encryption

Proton VPN uses AES-256 and ChaCha20 encryption depending on which VPN protocol is being used. AES-256 encryption is used with OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec, while ChaCha20 is used with WireGuard.

It would take an extremely advanced computer billions of years to break AES-256 encryption. ChaCha20 is said to be as secure as AES-256, but faster.

VPN protocol

Proton VPN uses these protocols:

• OpenVPN
• WireGuard
• IKEv2/IPsec

All three of these protocols are considered to be secure or very secure. You can manually change the VPN protocol in the app settings, but it’s recommended to leave the selection as “Smart,” which automatically chooses for you.

Note that the available protocols might vary depending on the type of device you use. For example, we could only see options for OpenVPN and WireGuard on the Windows app, but the Proton VPN says it uses IKEv2/IPsec as well.

Proton VPN uses encryption and VPN protocols that support the system of perfect forward secrecy (PFS). PFS aims to improve VPN security by never re-using old encryption keys that could end up being compromised.

Secure Core

Secure Core is an option on the main page of the Proton VPN app.

This is a security feature that passes your online traffic through multiple VPN servers. You might recognize this feature from other VPNs, but labeled differently. For example, “double VPN” or something similar is a common name for what Proton calls its “Secure Core servers.”

The purpose of Secure Core is to provide increased security and privacy for your connection. But you risk having a slower internet connection.

Port forwarding

Port forwarding is a new feature from Proton VPN that could speed up your torrenting, file sharing, or online gaming while connected to the VPN. You can find the feature in the advanced settings of the app.

The port forwarding process opens a port on your device so that incoming connections can bypass the VPN firewall and connect through the open port. This could present a security risk with someone being able to attack your system through the open port.

NetShield

NetShield is an included feature that’s designed to block ads, trackers, and malware on your device. You can find the NetShield options on the main page of your app. You can choose to turn NetShield off, have it only block malware, or have it block malware, ads, and trackers.

We tested NetShield’s ad-blocking capabilities by visiting the ad-ridden Forbes website. We first visited a page without NetShield on and immediately ran into a giant banner ad.

The ads continued as we scrolled down the page.

We then turned on NetShield and visited the same page. Now there was a lovely field of white where the ad usually lived.

We found a similar field of white in the other ad’s position.

As far as ad blocking is concerned, NetShield performed admirably.

VPN Accelerator

This is a feature that Proton VPN says can increase your VPN speeds by up to 400%. You can find VPN Accelerator in the connection settings of the app.

VPN Accelerator is also supposed to reduce latency and network congestion. This is typically more noticeable if you’re connected to a high-latency or distant server rather than a low-latency or nearby server.

DNS Leak Protection

DNS Leak Protection is a feature that’s always turned on. It’s designed to prevent third parties from accessing your information through DNS queries.

You can find this feature in the advanced settings of the app, but you can’t turn it off.

Proton VPN test results

We conducted a speed test, DNS leak test, and a WebRTC leak test to see how Proton VPN performs with internet speeds and overall privacy. We also conducted Netflix tests while connected to servers in different regions to see if Proton VPN unblocks streaming services.

Proton VPN passed all of the tests we performed. Check out the details for each test.

Speed tests

• Proton VPN speed test results: Proton VPN passed its speed tests.

We ran Proton VPN speed tests to see whether connecting to this server significantly slows down your internet connection. It’s common for VPNs to have some impact on your internet speeds, but we only take note of large impacts that would affect your overall experience.

We first tested our internet speeds without connecting to Proton VPN to get a baseline for our internet connection. We then ran speed tests while connected to VPN servers in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. This was our baseline speed:

These tests were run using a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 from a physical location in the U.S.

Proton VPN speed test results

As you can see, the internet speeds at the location where we ran these tests weren’t the fastest, but more than suitable for everyday internet usage, streaming, and standard gaming.

Having run separate tests with other VPN services while on faster internet, we expected some major drops in internet speeds, especially while connecting to servers across the world. But we were pleasantly surprised by the relatively small changes across the board as we rotated between VPN servers.

In one instance, we actually had a slightly higher download speed while connected to a nearby U.S. server compared to not being connected to the VPN at all.

But in general, we did see internet speeds drop a bit while using Proton VPN. The drops just weren’t significant enough to take note of, especially considering how far away some of these servers were from our location.

For example, connecting to a server in Australia caused our latency to spike, which is likely due to the extreme distance. But the internet speeds barely suffered at all. We also had little to no downtime while attempting to connect to these different servers. A few seconds or more is all it took.

Proton VPN Netflix tests

• Proton VPN Netflix test results: Proton VPN passed its Netflix tests.

Our Proton VPN Netflix tests went off without a hitch and were a massive success. So if you want to watch Netflix with Proton VPN, you’re in the right place.

We conducted these tests by connecting to Proton VPN servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. We then opened Netflix.com on a Chrome browser while connected to the different servers.

We had two main objectives for conducting these tests:

1. See if we were able to load the applicable Netflix content library
2. Check for any significant buffering or other issues while streaming content

We didn’t have any issues loading the applicable Netflix library while connected to different VPN servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

Proton VPN Netflix test results

We also tested how well content streams on Netflix while connected to different VPN servers worldwide. We wanted to see whether there were any buffering issues while trying to stream a show or if the video quality of the stream suffered at all.

We didn’t have any issues streaming content on the U.S., U.K., or Canada servers. We did have to wait around 10 to 15 seconds for “Friends” to load on an Australian server, but there weren't any buffering or video quality issues after the initial load.

Note that Proton VPN advertises its premium (non-free plan) U.S. servers work with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ESPN, Spotify, Peacock, HBO Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Audible, and more streaming services.

We did a quick test to see if BBC iPlayer worked while connected to a U.K. server and it was a success.

The servers that are meant for streaming have a play button icon next to them.

However, we found that some servers that don’t have this icon still work for streaming. For example, we were still able to load and watch Netflix while connected to this server in Belgium.

And some servers that have the icon weren’t working with Netflix. We tried multiple servers in India with the icon and they were all able to load Netflix. But we always got an error whenever we tried to play anything.

It might be worth running some of your own tests if you have specific streaming needs in mind with certain countries. Proton offers a 30-day-money-back guarantee (it’s a prorated refund), so you have some time after signing up to run a few tests.

DNS leak tests

• Proton VPN DNS leak test results: Proton VPN passed its DNS leak tests.

The domain name system (DNS) leak test is designed to show whether your connection is leaking any private information while connected to a VPN. We used the DNS Leak Test service from BrowserLeaks to test for DNS leaks before and after connecting to Proton VPN.

We were able to see private information using the DNS leak test before we connected to Proton VPN. This info included our IP address, internet service provider (ISP), and general location.

We then ran the DNS leak test again and the information that showed up was connected to the VPN server. This means we could see the IP address, ISP, and general location of the VPN server, but not our actual info. So the VPN successfully masked our private information.

WebRTC leak tests

• Proton VPN WebRTC leak test results: Proton VPN passed its WebRTC leak tests.

A WebRTC leak is a privacy vulnerability that could be found in certain web browsers and applications. Your device’s IP address could be exposed if you have a WebRTC leak.

We used the BrowserLeaks website to test for WebRTC leaks before and after connecting to Proton VPN.

We were able to see our device’s IP address before connecting to Proton VPN. After connecting to Proton VPN, we could only see an IP address associated with the VPN server. This means our IP address was successfully masked.

Proton VPN compatibility

Proton VPN can be set up on different devices, mobile apps, and operating systems, including:

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• macOS
• GNU/Linux
• Chromebook
• Android TV
• Amazon Fire TV
• Amazon Fire TV Stick

You can find Proton VPN download links in your online account in the “Downloads” section. But I didn’t see any download links when using the Proton VPN Windows app.

This is what the download links look like when logged in to the Proton VPN website through a Chrome browser on Windows:

Note that all Proton VPN apps — including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android apps — are open source. This gives transparency and opportunities for peer review to Proton apps, which is an intentional goal to make a more private and secure VPN.

Proton VPN customer support

Proton VPN offers customer support through its support website, social media channels, and email. You can also submit bugs and issues directly through the app or your online account (we were able to see options to report issues through the Windows desktop app and through the online account on a Chrome browser).

Proton VPN social media channels where you can interact with customer service reps include Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

You can also email Proton VPN at [email protected].

Live chat

Proton VPN only offers a live chat feature for paid subscribers. You can access live chat through your online account.

We had a bit of trouble trying to find the live chat feature, but we eventually found it in a “Get help” part of the online account.

After choosing the chat option, you’ll see a chat window pop up.

We put in our question about how to test the Proton VPN kill switch feature and we were connected to a live representative (Teodora) in a few seconds. Teodora was polite and easy to understand throughout our conversation.

However, they didn’t necessarily answer our question about how to test the kill switch feature. At least not initially. They sent us a few articles about what kill switches are and how they work, but that didn’t give us concrete steps to take for testing purposes.

We eventually received a specific answer to our question, though the steps may have been a bit too advanced for the average VPN user. Also, they didn’t work when we tested them later.

Overall, it was a quick and simple experience, but it’s unfortunate that only paying subscribers can take advantage of Proton VPN live chat. It’s also not a 24/7 feature.

According to Teodora, live chat is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CEST, which is 3 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT.

It’s nice to see that Proton VPN has a live chat feature, but it seems to be severely lacking in its usefulness if you live in the Western hemisphere because of its time limitations. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and CyberGhost all have 24/7 live chat that’s available to everyone.

Support website

The Proton VPN support center has a search bar for specific questions or you can choose from popular categories.

While it’s helpful to have a support page at all, this support center isn’t the easiest to navigate. Choosing a popular category doesn’t bring you to a page with loads of topics to choose from. Rather, you get a few links to (seemingly) popular pages.

If you’re lucky, the info you’re looking for will be in one of the popular pages. But if not, you’ll have to use the search function. This isn’t a huge deal because the search function seems to populate relevant results.

But having a list of guides and other common support links on the main support page could also be useful.

Proton VPN prices and subscriptions

The Proton VPN Plus plan is the paid subscription service for Proton VPN. Details about the Proton VPN Free plan are below.

Proton VPN offers three subscription plans for its paid service depending on how long you want to sign up for. There aren’t any differences between plan features other than the overall cost and the length of the plans.

The cheapest option for Proton VPN: Two-year plan for $4.99 per month

The most expensive option for Proton VPN: Monthly plan for $9.99 per month

Your best bet for getting the lowest Proton VPN price is choosing one of the longer plans. This is often an easy way to save money on a VPN because it lowers your VPN cost per month. But it also locks you in to a plan for more time.

Note that Proton VPN isn’t the cheapest service around. In fact, it tends to skew toward being more expensive than many other VPNs. Here’s a look at the lowest monthly options for some of the most popular VPNs:

• ExpressVPN: $8.32 per month for 12 months
• Hotspot Shield: $7.99 per month for 12 months
• Proton VPN: $4.99 per month for 24 months
• NordVPN: $3.69 per month for 24 months
• Surfshark: $2.49 per month for 24 months
• CyberGhost: $2.19 per month for 24 months
• Private Internet Access: $2.03 per month for 36 months

While not the most expensive VPN provider compared to other services, Proton VPN costs more than double some of the options on this list.

Proton VPN cost

Proton VPN payment options include:

• Credit card
• PayPal

You can choose to pay in U.S. dollars (USD), Swiss francs (CHF), or euros (EUR). We didn’t see any options to purchase paid plans with bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrencies.

Proton VPN Free vs. Proton VPN Plus comparison

You have the option to choose between two types of Proton VPN plans: Proton VPN Free or Proton VPN Plus. Here’s how they stack up against each other:

The Proton free VPN plan offers unlimited bandwidth and a strict no-logs policy. But you’re limited to using one device at a time and only have access to about 60 servers in three countries (U.S., Netherlands, and Japan).

The Proton VPN Plus plan starts from $4.99 per month and offers loads more features compared to the free plan. This includes access to over 1,600 servers, faster speeds, and up to 10 simultaneous connections.

Perhaps most importantly for certain users, Proton VPN Plus also provides access to streaming service support. So Proton VPN Plus is the better choice if you want to unblock regional streaming content on services such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max.

Proton VPN FAQs

Bottom line: Is Proton VPN safe?

Yes, Proton VPN is a safe and trustworthy VPN provider that does plenty of things right. It’s fast, unblocks streaming content, and offers high-level privacy and security. And Proton backs up its no-logs policy with the experience of having had it tested in court, as well as being located in a country with strict data privacy laws.

But Proton VPN isn’t the cheapest option available. And certain VPNs provide access to more servers.

Proton VPN does basically everything you want a VPN to do, and it does it well. But NordVPN pretty much matches Proton across the board, and at a cheaper price. Check out our NordVPN review for more details.

Learn More

On Proton VPN's website

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• Easy to use
• A strict no-logs policy that’s been tested in court

• More expensive than NordVPN, Surfshark, and CyberGhost

Author Details

Ben Walker

About the Author

Ben Walker is a writer at All About Cookies with a passion for all things internet and technology, whether it's using VPNs while away from home or organizing his life with password managers.