Below ProtonVPN review comprises an extensive review of ProtonVPN with a detailed description. I’m going to digging out what ProtonVPN is about, including pros and cons, features, performance, subscription plans, customer support, and the ProtonVPN apps.
Let’s decide together if ProtonVPN is right for you.
Table of Contents
ProtonVPN Review (2024 Updated)
Throughout our ProtonVPN review, ProtonVPN isn’t the biggest, oldest, or even the cheapest VPN in the VPN industry. But it has plenty of appealing aspects to help it stand out from the crowd. It rated as one of the Top 10 Best VPN services from our VPN reviews, by placing an enormous emphasis on security and user privacy.
ProtonVPN is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, known for the world’s strongest personal privacy laws. Based in Switzerland mean ProtonVPN is able to benefit from strong legal protection. It remains outside of US and EU jurisdiction and isn’t compelled to cooperate with international surveillance alliances.
Plus, Swiss Law doesn’t require VPNs to keep user data logs, which allows ProtonVPN to have a strict no-logging policy. The no-log policy is even applied to anyone even for Free ProtonVPN users.
- Features: High-Speed Connection (Up to 10Gbps), strictly no-logs policy, split tunneling, secure email service ProtonMail
- Connections: Up to 10 devices at once (Depends on your subscription tier)
- Works on: Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, Linux
- Streaming sites unblocked: Netflix, iPlayer, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu
- Servers: 1077+ servers in over 54 countries
- Number of IP addresses: 5,000
- Support: NO Live Chat. Only email and ticket support
- VPN Plans: Free VPN, Basic at $4/mo, Plus at $8/mo, and Visionary at $24/mo
Price: Starting at $11.95 for one month to as low as $3.71/mo for 2 years plan (+3 months FREE)
ProtonVPN Pros and Cons
But first, let’s kick off with quick ProtonVPN pros and cons for those who don’t want the in-depth review. This quick and easy comparison will let you know whether ProtonVPN is worth buying, and how it compares to rival VPNs.
ProtonVPN PROS
+ Best free subscription
+ Flexible plan to suit your budget
+ No log policy
+ Tor connections
+ ProtonMail bundles with fully encrypted email services
ProtonVPN CONS
– Unimpressive speeds
– Fewer servers’ location
– No live customer supports
– No offer an ad blocker
What Features Does ProtonVPN Offer?
ProtonVPN believes everyone should have security, privacy, and freedom on the internet. The degree of security a VPN has depends on the protocol chosen, which determines how data packets are dispatched across a network.
ProtonVPN Protocol
Unlike some of the VPNs that use outdated, insecure protocols to save on cost, ProtoVPN uses top-of-the-range protocols which highly secure by the infosec community.
The two secure protocols that ProtonVPN uses are OpenVPN for Mac and Android and IKEv2/IPSec protocols for iOS and Windows.
OpenVPN
The OpenVPN is an open-source VPN protocol used to make secure tunnels for your web traffic. It has a reputation for being fast and reliable and offers up to 256-bit encryption using the Open SSL library and many other security features that can be configured as desired with protocols such as PPTP, L2TP, IKEv2/IPSec, SSTP, and more.
Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2)
The Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) is a widely used VPN protocol that automatically re-establishes your connection with your VPN after you’re disconnected from the Internet. This comes in handy when you would like to switch between Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots, which happens all the time when you’re on a mobile phone.
Strictly no-log policy
The no-log policy from ProtonVPN is very transparent and straightforward. Backed up by Swiss law, the user does not require retention for any information about your connection, session bandwidth, IP address, or online activity. Even if the Swiss government requests it, there’s nothing to hand over as ProtonVPN doesn’t keep any user data.
If you’re looking for an even stronger guarantee of anonymity, you can take advantage of the Tor over VPN service, which will direct your traffic through the Tor network without you having to download the Tor browser.
ProtonVPN does not offer an ad blocker as part of its service.
Security
ProtonVPN doesn’t compromise your security by using weak protocols like PPTP. It supports only IKEv2 and OpenVPN, uses top-of-the-range encryption, and can route your traffic through multiple servers and even the Tor network for maximum possible privacy.
ProtonVPN is packed with robust security features to protect your connection. Your IP address is masked and kept safe with built-in DNS leak protection.
We did not detect any DNS leaks during our tests. Here’s our result from a DNS leak website while connected to a ProtonVPN server in Hong Kong.
How Much for ProtonVPN Cost?
The first thing to notice about ProtonVPN’s pricing plan is it has a free plan and three free pain plan options to choose from Basic, Plus, and Visionary. All plans are available in both monthly and annual subscriptions, with small discounts offered on annual subscriptions.
The paid plans differ in the number of simultaneous connections you can and the more advanced security featured offer. Of course, the highest tier gives you access to more servers, faster speeds, and access to more secure servers in more countries.
ProtonVPN Free Download: The bare-bones ProtonVPN experience is free. This free plan only gives access to servers in just three countries and only one VPN connection. The speed is slower and priority will be given to paid subscriptions.
The FREE ProtonVPN download is the best we have tested so far and good to have if you have budget concerns. But the paid subscriptions are affordable as well.
ProtonVPN Subscription Plan
If you’re interested in ProtonVPN, we recommend taking some time to consider what your main purposes are with the VPN. This can help you decide which plan will give you the best value. If security and anonymity are important to you, the Plus plan will likely provide you with the best value for your money.
Besides, you can make use of the 30-day money-back guarantee offered on all paid subscriptions to check are the ProtonVPN is the best suited for you.
ProtonVPN accepts multiple payment methods, including major credit cards, PayPal, and anonymous cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
ProtonVPN Basic Plan ($4/month)
The basic plan is very reasonably priced at $4/month with P2P/BitTorrent support. It is good only for a limited usage user.
ProtonVPN Plus Plan ($8/month)
We recommended that your subscription to the Plus plan at $8/month which added access to Secure Core servers, access to Tor servers, and the ability to access block content for secure streaming.
ProtonVPN Visionary Plan ($24/month)
While the Visionary plan is on the pricey side at $24/month. It includes all the Plus plan features for up to 10 connections and is added with the ProtonMail Visionary account.
Using ProtonVPN for Torrenting
ProtonVPN is a good choice for torrenting. You will be able to download with P2P file sharing on all servers. All the torrenting activity is private with a strict no-logs policy. The faster speed on the Plus subscription compares with using the Free and basic servers.
There are several articles related to torrenting on ProtonVPN’s website, including a guide to using BitTorrent with ProtonVPN.
ProtonVPN Review: Do We Recommend ProtonVPN?
ProtonVPN features an awesome connection with the highest security considerations. Their customer service was good and Netflix even worked on one server. A Switzerland home base is generally a good thing for privacy. But they are cooperative with other aggressive government agencies around the world.
If budget is one of the concerns, ProtonVPN might be a good VPN choice for you. Else, we recommended NordVPN, one of our Top-Rated VPN services from our reviews.