Proton VPN review: A very solid free VPN with robust leak protection

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ZDNET's key takeaways

Proton VPN offers both a free and paid VPN service with advanced online security features to prevent cyberthreats, and a network of reliable servers for browsing and streaming.It's averagely priced compared to other VPN providers, costing $107.76 ($4.49/month) for two years and $59.88 ($4.99/month) for the annual plan.Proton VPN is compatible with a relatively small range of devices, and the free app doesn't support streaming.

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Proton VPN is a project founded by a team of internet security developers from the Europe Center for Nuclear Research (CERN). The parent company, Proton AG, has also pioneered other anti-surveillance and end-to-end encrypted products such as Proton Mail and Proton Drive cloud storage.

Also: The best VPN services: Expert tested

Thanks to its robust online protection features, Proton VPN has garnered a strong reputation in the VPN universe. It's hands-down the best free VPN we recommend. But if you're wondering whether it's worth spending money on, wait to be impressed; the premium service closely competes with elite VPN services like NordVPN and ExpressVPN.

Notably, Proton VPN has been very aggressive in upgrading its server infrastructure in the past few years. It offers dedicated streaming and torrenting servers, alongside its signature Secure Core servers, which are known to provide extra privacy. I'll also uncover some failures of Proton VPN, including issues streaming with the free servers.

Solid privacy and the best-in-class digital protection 

Proton VPN's founders' extensive engineering background and experience make the service reliable and trustworthy for online security. The software is open-source and has been inspected by external developers, eliminating flaws and vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit. The only other open-source VPN I've reviewed is Private Internet Access -- most providers choose to keep their software proprietary and closed.

All Proton VPN servers have full disk encryption, making it impossible for hackers to obtain useful data should they gain access to any of the servers. Encryption scrambles your data in transit and secures it with private keys, preventing unauthorized persons from accessing or reading it. Proton VPN uses AES 256-bit and ChaCha20 encryptions, reinforced with perfect forward secrecy (PFS). The latter keeps changing the encryption keys to lock out anyone who may have hacked your browsing sessions.

You can use the Secure Core servers if you want advanced protection online. These will reroute your connections through servers in privacy-friendly locations (mostly countries with strict consumer data protection laws), making it hard for third parties to monitor or track you. Both full disk encryption and Secure Core servers help to protect you from man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, whereby hackers can intercept your communications and steal data.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

But hackers aren't the only reason you need a solid service like Proton VPN. Websites, Wi-Fi admins, and your internet service provider (ISP) can see your online activities if the connection isn't encrypted. Using your IP address, they can monitor your digital footprints and profile you based on the preferences and choices you make. ISPs can also throttle internet connection speeds during streaming or any activity that consumes bandwidth. A VPN keeps your identity and activities private to avoid such inconveniences.

I went into the depths testing Proton VPN for leaks. None occurred, even though I switched between five random server locations. This means there is very minimal chance of websites finding out your real IP address when connected to a secure Proton VPN server. That aside, the app has built-in DNS and IPv6 leak protection tools to hide your identity. Turning on the kill switch will ensure your IP address isn't exposed should the VPN server connection drop suddenly while on the internet.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

Proton VPN has a Stealth protocol alongside other regular protocols, which include WireGuard (UDP/TCP), OpenVPN (UDP/TCP), and IKEv2. Stealth is built for restrictive networks, internet censorship, and sites that aren't friendly to VPNs. For example, if your college W-iFi or ISP has blocked access to certain sites, Stealth can mask your IP, location, and VPN usage, making it possible to bypass these restrictions. Also, the Alternative Routing feature helps to dodge VPN blocks by routing your traffic to optional standby servers in case the platform you're trying to access has blocklisted Proton VPN servers.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

NetShield helps boost online security and streamline your browsing experience. It blocks malware, ads, and trackers that malicious websites might use to steal information from you. It can also speed up page load times on the internet by blocking unnecessary ads that use up bandwidth. It doesn't leave out split tunneling, another feature that allows you to choose apps to tunnel on secure VPN servers and exclude others.

Proton VPN headquarters are in Switzerland, which doesn't require companies to store information about customers. It also doesn't have a pact with the US and other countries in the EU to share surveillance information of its citizens (like the 5 or 14 Eyes Alliances). These factors, combined with Proton VPN's commitment to a zero-logging policy, should appeal to anyone keen on how their data privacy is handled.

How fast is Proton VPN?

I started smoothly when I connected to Proton VPN servers in my region. I usually prefer the WireGuard protocol for optimal speeds because it always performs better than OpenVPN on PC.

The South Africa connections barely dropped 5% of speeds, especially when I chose servers with a lower load percentage in Johannesburg (you can see the server load on individual servers). Even servers in nearby countries such as Angola and Mozambique retained 90% of my normal internet speeds most of the time. This is commendable because it's on the low side; some VPNs can register as high as 30% connection dips even on nearby servers.

Proton VPN is one of the fastest VPNs I've tested, coming after NordVPN and ExpressVPN. A feature called VPN Accelerator helps boost speeds, especially if you're connecting to servers far away. The provider says this tool can increase speeds by up to 400%, but in my testing, I found that to be an exaggeration. I did see remarkable speeds, but nowhere near this figure. Some US servers averaged less than 15% connection loss, which is an overperformance because they're located thousands of miles away.

Speed drops are to be expected when using a VPN; the connections are likely to be slower as the server distance increases. In extreme cases, I lost up to 40% download speeds on some servers with Proton VPN, notably on the Caribbean, South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan servers. But that still didn't have any negative impact, including on full HD streaming, because my baseline internet connection of 130Mbps is fast enough to cushion against such drastic speed loss.

Upgraded servers and extensive international coverage 

Proton VPN has 8,700+ servers in 112 countries, which is a flex even to rival competitors like ExpressVPN (with servers in 105 countries). It offers a slight advantage because you have access to IP addresses in many locations. The server infrastructure has greatly improved, given that two years ago Proton VPN had only around 1,800 servers in 65 countries. 

You can see all the servers available in any particular location. I've encountered this convenient setup on a few other VPNs like IPVanish. I like it because you can pick an optimal server of your choice, instead of getting paired randomly.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

The servers are spread across all the regions, including continents like Africa, which most providers tend to overlook (I counted servers in over 20 African countries). The US has the largest share of servers, with cities such as New York and San Jose hosting over 500 servers each. In Europe, cities like London have more than 500 servers, and the number remains consistently high across other countries.

Streaming and torrenting servers

While a VPN can spoof your location, many VPNs today fail to access geo-restricted platforms due to the advanced filters that sites like Netflix use to block encrypted traffic. While doing my research, I also came across comments on Reddit that some streaming sites were blocking Proton VPN servers (but again, they would work some days later). This made me a bit skeptical, so testing them myself was the only way to find out.

Proton VPN has servers optimized for streaming and torrenting activities in most locations. You can identify streaming servers by checking for a "play" button next to them. I used these to try to access Netflix US, Canada, Mexico, UK, France, and Japan libraries; they all worked without problems. You can only stream with a Proton VPN Plus subscription because the free servers won't work with streaming platforms.

I accessed shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Shogun on Hulu, plus family programming on Disney Plus with Proton VPN. The relentless speeds also meant I could watch in high definition, including 4K, without any buffering. The VPN also worked with Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, BBC iPlayer, and Paramount+.

Torrenting-optimized servers are marked with a rotating arrow label. You'll see "P2P Server" when you hover your mouse on the double-arrow icon. I'd recommend Proton VPN as one of the best for torrenting, not only because it's secure but there are plenty of other useful features too. Port forwarding, for example, enables direct traffic routing from P2P clients like BitTorrent via secure Proton VPN ports. This can help to speed up downloads and file sharing, or even facilitate smooth gaming online.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

Is the Proton VPN free service any good?

The Proton VPN free service has many benefits, but there are also limitations to consider. One advantage is that bandwidth isn't limited, meaning you can use it for any kind of online activity without worrying about exhausting preset limits. Many free VPNs have a 10GB or less monthly bandwidth usage cap. 

The free plan provides full AES 256-bit encryption with a zero-logging guarantee. Some free apps offer weaker encryption and collect your data to sell as a way of profiting from you. Proton VPN says it uses the revenue earned from the premium plans to maintain the free service. You also won't see any ads on the free app, as is the case with some free VPNs like Hotspot Shield.

You can use servers in up to five countries for free, namely the US, Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and Poland. After launching the app and signing in, click the connect button for the VPN to pick a free server location. You can't choose a server location to connect to, but there's an option to change. 

That aside, you shouldn't expect the free servers to be as efficient as the paid ones. They are slower and, as I said earlier, they don't support streaming. Also, you can only use one device with the free account.

Proton VPN plans and pricing 

With Proton VPN, it doesn't make a big difference if you buy the one- or two-year bundle. You end up paying more or less the same prorated monthly fee. The two-year Proton VPN Plus subscription is $107.76 ($4.49/month), while the one-year plan is $59.88 ($4.99/month); that's a 50-cent monthly price difference. The one-month plan costs $9.99, which is cheaper than what most providers charge for their monthly plans. Students can also pay a discounted price of only $29.88 ($2.49/month) for the first year. 

Proton VPN Business is a different service tailored for organizations to secure workers and enterprise resources. You can get a secure dedicated or static IP address for your business and set up secure gateways where only authorized devices can access your internal networks. 

The above Proton VPN prices can change at any time, so be sure to check the website for the latest pricing. Something I like about Proton VPN plans is that you can pay the same price across three different currencies: the US dollar, the Euro, and the Swiss franc.

Proton VPN Plus allows you to connect multiple devices simultaneously, but not exceeding 10. There's no free trial, but you can test the service risk-free with the 30-day money-back guarantee on all subscriptions.

Compatible devices and ease of use

Proton VPN's compatibility isn't as extensive as some providers, but still, the coverage is decent. Native apps are available for PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook), smartphones and tablets (Android and iOS), and smart TVs (Android and Apple TV). Free extension apps are also available for Chrome and Firefox, but keep in mind that the extensions only secure traffic on the browser and not other apps on your device.

Proton VPN works on Linux, including Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu distros. The app integrates well with the Linux GNOME interface, allowing you to change settings or connect to servers with a simple tap on the app (no programming skills needed). 

Though the apps are intuitive, the fixed dark theme can be a bit inconvenient. I, for example, had difficulties locating the arrows to expand or collapse the server locations map because they're obscured by the theme. The map feature eases things because you can simply find a location and tap to connect instantly. On the app, you can also create a custom profile of how you want a Proton VPN to connect by default, for example, the country, server, and protocol to use.

To locate the settings and other features on the Proton VPN app, click the three horizontal lines (hamburger button) at the top of the PC app. Here, you can change and configure the security features and even access your account online. Proton VPN Plus customers can contact the support team by email or live chat.

Screenshot by Kennedy Otieno/ZDNET

ZDNET's buying advice

Proton VPN does really well for a service that doubles as a paid and free service. If, for some reason, you're not buying into the big names like ExpressVPN, Proton VPN should be the next cheaper and competitive alternative. The excellent server connections across borders and advanced protection tools ultimately set it on the path to becoming the best VPN. Proton VPN  also meets the needs of most free users looking for a reliable free VPN.

Which is a free alternative to Proton VPN?

Only a select few free VPNs are as secure and trustworthy as Proton VPN. Most of them have limited bandwidths, though. Windscribe, Hide.me (unlimited bandwidth), TunnelBear, Hotspot Shield (with ads), and Privado VPN are among the reliable services worth trying out. Free VPNs come with limitations that can significantly impact performance, including slow connections and limited server locations. If none of these free alternatives meets your expectations, you can also use a paid service with a free trial or opt for one of the best cheap VPNs.

Does Proton VPN have a Safari extension?

There is no Proton VPN extension for Safari browser. It only has extensions for Chrome and Firefox. However, installing Proton VPN on your Mac and iPhone devices will secure your browsing on Safari. 

Can I use Proton VPN on Firestick?

Proton VPN works on the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Just download and install the Proton VPN app from the Amazon App Store, sign in to your account, and connect to the server to start watching content. Alternatively, you can access content on your smart TV by connecting it to a Wi-Fi router installed with a VPN.