Proton VPN review: Swiss-based security and a strong streaming tool

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Proton VPN has steadily improved to become one of the best VPNs for privacy, and in our testing, it delivered fast speeds and reliably unlocked international streaming across multiple countries. Based in Switzerland, it operates under strict privacy laws and a clear no-logs policy.

Launched in 2017, Proton VPN has quickly become one of the biggest names in the industry, combining strong security features with competitive pricing alongside household names like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

The service will especially appeal to those seeking a VPN for privacy purposes. On top of that, minimal personal info is required when signing up.

Unlike some other VPN providers, Proton VPN is also fully open source in its apps, allowing anyone to inspect the code. This offers a high level of transparency into what is going on behind the scenes and means more independent security audits are possible.

Of course, laws and transparency are useful, but when it comes to VPNs, the features on offer are most important. Proton VPN has a wealth of options, comparable to big competitors like ExpressVPN and NordVPN.

Proton VPN is fast, offers a generous selection of global servers, and includes all the security features we've come to expect from the best VPNs. That includes an effective kill switch and an always-on VPN setting that automatically reconnects, so you are never uncovered.

Proton, the company behind the virtual private network, has a whole suite of security features. This includes a secure email service, password manager, and more. However, this review focuses solely on Proton VPN, aiming to highlight everything from setup to its effectiveness in handling a variety of key tasks.

Installation

NordVPN can be installed in several ways. You can get it as an app available on Android and iOS, and you can also download it for Windows and Mac on your desktop, or as a Google Chrome extension.

All instalment processes are fairly similar and, you'll be glad to hear, quite simple. We installed Proton VPN on an iPhone, an Android phone, a MacBook, a Windows computer, and as a Google Chrome extension.

Once downloaded, Proton asks you to create an account. This involves choosing your contract length (one month, one year, or two years), selecting the Proton VPN plan you want, and finally providing an email address and payment method.

Once you've done this, your payment will go through, and Proton will require you to pick a strong password. Then, you're all done. Simply log in to your Proton VPN account on any device using your new login details.

Unless you're using the Google Chrome extension, you will need to download a Proton VPN plugin for your Mac or Windows desktop. This is only a few extra steps and is explained step by step by Proton.

In the grand scheme of VPNs and security apps, the whole process is kept simple, requiring little personal information and time.

It is worth noting that, compared to some of its competitors, ProtonVPN isn't the easiest to use. While simply connecting to a random country is as simple as clicking one big button, if you're new to VPNs, some of the more complicated features aren't really explained.

This can leave you with lots of options and little understanding of how they work or what they mean. This is by no means the end of the world; advanced users will already understand most of these parts, and basic users won't need them, but if you're looking to get the most out of the VPN, it can take some time to learn how it fully works.

Alternatively, the Google Chrome extension has the opposite problem. It limits a lot of the available features, leaving you with a very basic version of the VPN. If you're looking to use the VPN on your desktop, I would advise downloading the full version instead of the extension to get the full feature set.

Features

When it comes to paid VPNs, most have stepped up their game in terms of features and functionality.

If you're only interested in a VPN for unlocking specific streams from other countries or for the most basic IP address workarounds, we can comfortably say that Proton VPN will do the job.

But how does it compare when you dig deeper into the features? Proton, as a wider company, was built with the intention of providing a suite of tools for privacy and security. These are essentially its two biggest selling points, and it is the focus of its VPN too.

It offers many security features you'll find in most major VPNs, such as a kill switch, split tunneling, DNS leak protection, malware and ad blockers, and options to prioritize speed or add more layers of security.

However, there are a couple of more unique features baked in. Most noticeable is Secure Core. This feature essentially adds a second layer of protection to your VPN.

Normally, a VPN essentially puts one layer between you and the internet. With Secure Core, you are rerouted twice, so if the VPN fails, it won't immediately come back to you; instead, you'll be routed through the first country you routed through.

• See the latest discounts at Proton VPN

This means added security but slower speeds, making it necessary only for tasks that require optimal privacy and security. It's similar to NordVPN's double VPN feature (which we touch on in our review of this competitor).

If you're especially worried about your privacy, you can also browse via the Tor network through Proton. This is similar to how the Secure Core works, but utilises functions outside the Proton network.

While it isn't necessarily a feature that will be useful to most, Proton VPN is also open-source. This means that anybody can access its code, test the model, and look for bugs, potential hidden concerns, and more.

All of this makes Proton VPN one of the best VPNs for security and privacy, with security as its primary focus over streaming and gaming benefits.

Server locations

Proton VPN offers 18,910 servers from 129 countries, as of its latest public update. That is unsurprisingly a lot of choice. But how does it compare to its competitors?

ExpressVPN doesn't publish this data, but claims to have servers in at least 105 countries. NordVPN has previously claimed to have over 8400 servers in 167+ countries, and Surfshark has over 4500 servers in 100 locations.

In other words, Proton VPN has an impressive selection, seemingly leading the way with the largest number of any VPN currently available.

This means that, in almost all cases, you'll find the exact server you require, with locations across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and more.

Proton VPN doesn't have a publicly available list of countries that it doesn't use. However, in our testing, there were only a few countries we couldn't find. For the most part, these were countries that were too small or had political restrictions. This includes (but isn't limited to) Vatican City, Liechtenstein, San Marino, North Korea, and Iran.

Performance

Proton claims to offer both a powerful and speedy VPN, but how effective is it actually? Before activating the VPN, the base internet speeds we were recording on the test WiFi were 37 Mbps for download, 33 Mbps for upload, and a ping of 34.

On the gaming, P2P, and work profiles, Proton automatically selects the fastest country. When using the fastest server, we recorded a drop in download speed to 27.78 Mbps, but only a small decrease in upload speed to 31.42 Mbps, and even an improvement in ping to 29.

Similar speeds were seen when trying on different occasions and using different fast profiles.

When using the most secure VPN connection via Proton's Secure Core, speeds took a turn. Download speeds only dropped to 34 Mbps, but upload speeds dipped to 25.74 Mbps. Even worse, the ping shot up to 109.

For the most part, speeds never fell too far. We tested Proton VPN in a variety of countries, downloading large files and streaming content from different regions. Only in a few cases was the drop in speeds noticeable.

We found some servers that resulted in major speed drops, but only when selecting countries far away; in one case, we saw horrendous load times when connecting to countries on the opposite side of the world.

In testing, Proton also passed a DNS leak test. This simply means that the VPN is safely passing all of your data through a screened system. VPNs can sometimes accidentally reveal what website you are visiting to your internet provider instead of sending a coded version. Luckily, when running tests to examine this, Proton VPN passed multiple times.

Streaming

One of the key benefits of a VPN is the ability to continue streaming home content even when you're away. For example, if you go on holiday and you're halfway through a show you were watching on Netflix at home, that show might not be available in another country.

While VPNs can help you get around this, streaming companies have begun cracking down on it more. Luckily, Proton VPN does still seem to work just fine for streaming internationally.

From the UK, we were able to get US-exclusive shows when connecting to multiple US cities, anime exclusive to Japan, and some shows in Germany, all via Netflix.

Disney+ caused us some issues when we first tried to log in, but it eventually cooperated, greeting us with a message saying "It looks like you're travelling" before letting us watch without any problems.

We were also able to access Australia's 9Now and live stream for free without any issues.

Of course, some regions might offer slower speeds, especially if they are farther from the country you are streaming from, but we found no major issues with this on Proton.

Pricing and plans

Proton offers a variety of plans and pricing. In fact, Proton arguably has one of the best free VPNs on the market right now. While you can secure only one device at a time, it offers medium-speed output and connectivity to 10 countries.

For a lot of people looking to use a VPN, this will be highly limited. Capped at one device and limited to just 10 countries will quickly become annoying. However, there are no limit caps, and the medium speed outputs aren't too bad for simple tasks.

However, the VPN Plus plan is the best choice for most people. This normally costs $9.99 a month, but it can often be purchased at a discounted price if you sign up for a longer term instead of the rolling month-by-month plan.

For example, Proton also offers a one-year plan that brings the price down to $3.99 a month, or you can go for two years at $2.99 a month (prices on these longer plans can fluctuate throughout the year).

• See the latest deals at Proton VPN

Proton offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its paid plans, but you'll only be refunded for the days you haven't used in that time.

For this review, we tested Proton's VPN Unlimited version. As far as the VPN goes, this is exactly the same as the Plus plan. Opting for this more expensive version instead unlocks Proton's full suite of tools, including a secure email service, a password manager, and encrypted cloud storage.

Privacy and security

One of Proton's biggest selling points as a company is its privacy and security. Proton is based in Geneva, Switzerland. We won't bore you with the ins and outs of Swiss data laws, but what you do need to know is that they are tough.

It is based outside EU and US jurisdiction, limiting the ability of authorities to intervene or apply laws to retrieve your data in extreme circumstances.

Switzerland is also outside the 14 Eyes alliance, a group of countries that actively share data. Again, while rare, VPN companies based within these regions could be forced to share data.

Switzerland also doesn't have data retention laws, limiting Proton VPN's requirements to retain customer data.

But what about Proton itself? The company operates with a no-log policy. That means no records of the pages you visit, no records of session lengths, and no monitoring of your IP addresses. In other words, there is no tracking whatsoever while using the VPN.

Privacy is one thing, but a VPN needs to back it up with a secure system. Like most of the biggest VPNs, Proton offers high-strength encryption, paired with secure protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN. It utilises encryption ciphers, such as AES-256 and ChaCha20.

Customer support

Proton VPN has come a long way in terms of customer support. A few years ago, there were plenty of complaints online about the lack of features for contacting them and the slow wait times.

Now you can contact the company via email or use the live chat feature to speak with them. However, it is worth noting that free users don't have access to live chat, and it's available only on the Proton VPN website, not in the app.

To access the live chat, go to your Proton VPN account page and log in. From here, click your profile in the top right corner, then click 'chat with us'. Like most chatbots, you'll go through the usual stage of chatting to a bot first, but will get through to a human once it's realised you need actual help.

On live chat, it took 15 minutes to get a response, and just an extra five minutes to request and get help. They quickly solved a problem with my account not connecting to certain countries on my home WiFi.

When not live chatting, you'll need to fill out a form with your email, the device you are using, and the version of Proton VPN you're on (all of which can be found in the app). This is much slower, and it took Proton two days to respond to the same request mentioned above.

For refund requests, you can do them via either the form or live chat. We did it using live chat, going from the request to finalisation of the process in just 3 messages.

There are two important notes that Proton doesn't highlight very well here. Firstly, the live chat isn't 24/7; it's 9 a.m. to midnight CET (3 a.m.-6 p.m. ET, 12 a.m.-3 p.m. PT), so it can be harder to get on live chat in the US.

Secondly, the refund isn't for the full 30 days; it's for however many days you have left. If you used the service for 20 days, you'll get 10 days' worth of your subscription price back.

Overall, it is a competent customer service experience, especially via the live chat function. If your request isn't urgent, you can fire over a form and get a response in a couple of days. Proton's responses were helpful and detailed.

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