Proton VPN is a VPN service that was launched in 2017. It's owned and operated by Proton AG, a Swiss company that also operates Proton Mail, the encrypted email service. Proton VPN has open-source applications on several different platforms, servers located in over 110 countries, and additional features like obfuscation, multi-hop, and DNS filtering.
Our Verdict
Proton VPN is great for torrenting. It lets you download torrents, has no data limit, and keeps your IP address and DNS queries inside the VPN tunnel, ensuring your traffic remains private. However, its kill switch doesn't function properly, as it allows some unencrypted traffic through upon restarting your system. It also lacks anonymity-preserving registration options, as it requires an email address and password to create an account.
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Accepts a variety of privacy-preserving payment options.
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Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
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Doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries.
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Kill switch doesn't work as intended.
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No registration options that preserve anonymity.
Proton VPN has acceptable security. It doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries while you're connected to it, and it has proper TLS implementation, protecting you from man-in-the-middle attacks. However, its kill switch doesn't work correctly, as it leaks some unencrypted traffic upon rebooting your system, which is a concern if you need all your traffic to be encrypted after a restart.
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Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
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Doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries.
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Kill switch doesn't work as intended.
Proton VPN has fast download and upload speeds, so you can download files quickly with ample bandwidth for 4k video streaming. That said, it has poor latency performance, so it's unsuitable for latency-sensitive tasks like online gaming and won't feel responsive when using the internet in general.
Changelog
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
Proton VPN has a free tier and a paid Plus tier, which we bought and tested in this review. We also tested Proton VPN Free separately.
| Plan | Maximum Devices | Torrents (P2P) | Country Selection | Speed Throttling | Split Tunnelling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | No | No (5 available countries, fastest chosen automatically) | Yes | No |
| Plus | 10 | Yes | 117 | No | Yes |
It's also included in Proton Unlimited, a subscription with all of Proton's services.
Compared To Other VPNs
Proton VPN is a solid choice that's on par with its peers in its security performance. Like the rest, it fails the kill switch test. It also has higher latency than many other VPNs, which is a downside if you're concerned with gaming performance and general responsiveness.
It has several additional security features, like multi-hop and obfuscation, and servers located in over 110 countries worldwide. Its owner, Proton AG, also has a fairly positive reputation among those concerned with privacy.
To see which services we recommend, check out our article on the best VPNs.
Test Results
ProtonVPN accepts credit cards, PayPal, and Proton credits. You can purchase Proton credits with bank transfers, Bitcoin, or cash, but you must sign up for an account first.
The kill switch doesn't work as intended, as network traffic leaks outside the VPN tunnel after a reboot. This can be problematic if you're concerned with keeping your traffic encrypted at all times, like if your system freezes and you have to restart it.
Proton VPN doesn't implement BGP properly, but this is true with almost every VPN service.
Proton VPN delivers fast and consistent download speeds that are suitable for downloading files quickly and streaming 4k content.
Proton VPN has consistently fast upload speeds suitable for uploading files quickly, such as cloud backups.
Proton VPN has significantly worse latency performance than other VPNs. It's unsuitable for latency-sensitive applications like online gaming, can lead to issues in video calls, and generally feels less responsive when browsing the web.
This VPN has native Linux apps for Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora GNOME desktop environments. Proton indicates that the app should work on most derivative distributions despite not being supported officially. You can also manually configure OpenVPN or WireGuard on Linux.
It's also available on a variety of different platforms, including iOS, Android, Chromebook, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Chrome and Firefox extensions.
Stealth is a proprietary protocol that uses obfuscation to make your VPN traffic look like HTTPS traffic. This is useful if you're contending with internet censors that don't allow access to a site through a VPN.
