Proton VPN Review 2026: Safety, Speed, Real Price and Who It’s For
Proton VPN is one of the most trustworthy VPNs you can buy: all of its apps are open source, it has passed five annual no-logs audits in a row, and it posted some of the fastest speeds in TechRadar’s tests. It is weaker with Prime Video and in China, and it has yet to roll out post-quantum encryption. The two-year VPN Plus plan costs €71.76 including VAT through the partner offer, which works out to €2.99 a month (about CZK 73), and then renews at €83.88 a year. Unlike NordVPN, it also has a free plan with no data cap. We went through the pricing page and checkout from a Czech IP address, Proton’s help center and reports, and independent tests by four publications and one lab. All details are as of October 19, 2026.
Proton VPN is run by Proton AG, the Geneva company behind the encrypted email service Proton Mail. Its primary shareholder is the nonprofit Proton Foundation, and the company says it has no venture capital investors (Proton VPN). The service is built on Swiss law, open-source code and a free tier that offers basic protection at no cost.
We did not test the apps ourselves. This review is based on the pricing page and checkout we opened from a Czech IP address on October 19, 2026, on Proton’s help center, policies and reports, its server list, and on independent tests by TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, CNET, Security.org and the lab Artifact Security. Key facts are linked in the text, and every source is listed under Sources. Our Proton VPN links are affiliate links: if you subscribe through them, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and the partner offer is actually cheaper than the price on Proton’s regular pricing page. If you are new to VPNs, start with What is a VPN and how does it work.
01Proton VPN pros and cons: the verdict at a glance
| Area | Rating | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | Excellent | Swiss jurisdiction, five annual no-logs audits by Securitum from 2022 to 2026, 458 legal orders since 2017 with no user data handed over. |
| Security | Very good | All apps open source, app audit in November 2025, kill switch even on the free plan. No post-quantum encryption yet. |
| Speed | Very good | 1,475 Mbps on the nearest server and 1,548 Mbps from the US to the UK in TechRadar’s test. |
| Streaming | Good | Netflix worked in every country tested, Prime Video failed in several. |
| Features | Very good | Secure Core via Switzerland, Iceland and Sweden, NetShield ad blocker, Stealth obfuscation, P2P and port forwarding. |
| Price | Good | VPN Plus at €2.99 a month with VAT through the partner offer, then €83.88 a year after 24 months. |
| Free plan | Yes | 1 device, servers in 10 countries, no data cap and no ads. |
| Servers in Czechia and Slovakia | Yes | 85 servers in Prague, 62 in Bratislava. |
| Czech and Slovak | Yes | Apps in both languages (except Linux), website in Czech. |
Pros
- All apps are open source, and the no-logs policy has passed five independent audits in a row.
- Among the fastest VPNs in TechRadar’s tests, especially over long transatlantic routes.
- A free plan with no data cap and no ads that you can keep using indefinitely.
- 85 servers in Prague and 62 in Bratislava.
- Apps in Czech and Slovak, website in Czech.
- Secure Core, NetShield, Stealth, P2P and port forwarding are all included in VPN Plus.
Cons
- After the first 24 months the yearly price more than doubles, from €35.88 to €83.88 on the partner offer.
- Post-quantum encryption is still in the works.
- Prime Video failed in several countries in tests, some regional services needed a server switch, and Czechia is missing from Proton’s list of supported Netflix countries.
- According to Tom’s Guide, it does not work in China.
- No split tunneling on iPhone, and only an experimental version on Mac.
- Dedicated IP addresses are for business customers only.
02Who is behind Proton VPN
Proton was founded in Switzerland in 2014 and launched Proton VPN in 2017. Besides the VPN and email, it now offers the Proton Pass password manager, Proton Drive cloud storage and a calendar. Proton says it serves more than 100 million people (Proton VPN).
Switzerland is Proton’s main selling point. According to the company, Swiss law does not require it to keep connection logs, and it cannot be forced to log the connections of specific users (Proton VPN). It only complies with foreign requests approved by a Swiss court. Since launching in 2017, it has received 458 legally binding orders from Swiss authorities, all of them trying to identify who was connected to a given server at a given time. Proton does not have that data (Proton VPN).
Even the Swiss setup is changing, though. In July 2025, Proton announced that, because of legal uncertainty around Swiss government proposals to expand surveillance, it is moving most of its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland and investing over €100 million in the EU (Proton). Proton VPN stores account data encrypted on servers in Switzerland, Germany or Norway (Proton VPN). The services are still operated by Geneva-based Proton AG and governed by Swiss law (Proton).
03Is Proton VPN safe? Privacy and audits
Since 2022, Proton has had its no-logs policy audited every year by the European auditing firm Securitum, with 2026 marking the fifth audit in a row. Each year the auditors spent several days on site reviewing server configurations and procedures and interviewing staff. According to the 2026 report, they found no evidence that the servers log browsing activity, DNS queries, traffic contents or connection metadata that could identify users (Proton VPN). Keep in mind that any audit verifies a specific period, not a permanent state.
Proton published the source code of all its apps back in 2020, and anyone can inspect it on GitHub (Proton VPN, GitHub). The apps were most recently audited in November 2025 by independent security researcher Ruben Santamarta. Proton says all its servers are bare metal with full disk encryption (Proton VPN).
Traffic is encrypted with AES-256 or ChaCha20. The default is Smart Protocol, which picks the best protocol automatically, and you can switch to WireGuard or the Stealth obfuscation protocol manually. OpenVPN is now only in the Linux app and IKEv2 only on Mac (Proton VPN). Every app has a kill switch that cuts your internet if the VPN drops, including on the free plan. Proton has not yet deployed post-quantum encryption, which is meant to protect data against future quantum computers. Its spring and summer 2026 roadmap only lists groundwork for it (Proton VPN).
Independent tests found no leaks. Security.org saw no IPv6, DNS or WebRTC leaks (Security.org), and in Artifact Security’s Windows test none of the five VPNs leaked an IP address or DNS, not even when switching servers (Artifact Security).
04Proton VPN speeds in independent tests
- MullvadNearest server: 2,308US to UK: 938
- Proton VPNNearest server: 1,475US to UK: 1,548
- NordVPNNearest server: 1,249US to UK: 688
- ExpressVPNNearest server: 967US to UK: 699
- SurfsharkNearest server: 1,021US to UK: 935
Selected rows from TechRadar’s fastest VPN table, 10 Gbps line, tests from March and April 2026 (TechRadar). PrivadoVPN, Windscribe and CyberGhost also rank above Proton in the table.
Proton VPN is fast, especially over long distances. In April 2026, TechRadar measured 1,475 Mbps with WireGuard on the nearest server and 1,548 Mbps from the US to the UK, the highest intercontinental speed it recorded (TechRadar). Tom’s Guide, which belongs to the same publisher, reports the same figures and gave Proton full marks for speed (Tom’s Guide). With OpenVPN, Proton is much slower at 449 Mbps, and the Stealth protocol reached 403 Mbps (TechRadar).
On a typical home connection, what matters more is how much speed the VPN costs you. Security.org measured an 8.18% drop in download speed (Security.org), and CNET found an average loss of 15.8% across more than 250 tests in 2025 (CNET). According to Security.org, Secure Core is roughly 35% slower because traffic passes through two servers.
Artifact Security’s June 2026 report tells a different story. Proton earned a Gold award and 83 points, but on Windows it had the lowest average download speed of the five VPNs tested, 165.2 Mbps. On the other hand, it had by far the most stable connection, with jitter of just 5.93 ms (Artifact Security). The report does not say who commissioned the test. Speed results depend heavily on who measures, when and how. On a typical home connection, Security.org and CNET found Proton costs you roughly 8 to 16% of your speed.
05Features: Secure Core, NetShield, Stealth and more
| Feature | Free | VPN Plus | Where it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes | All apps |
| Stealth obfuscation | Yes | Yes | Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, Android TV, Linux in beta |
| Secure Core | No | Yes | Via servers in Switzerland, Iceland and Sweden |
| NetShield (ads, trackers, malware) | No | Yes | All platforms |
| P2P and torrenting | No | Yes | Windows, Mac, Android, Linux |
| Port forwarding | No | Yes | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Tor over VPN | No | Yes | Selected servers |
| Split tunneling | No | Yes | Windows, Mac (experimental), Linux, Android, Android TV, not iPhone |
| Dedicated IP | No | No | Business only |
Secure Core routes your traffic through a server in Switzerland, Iceland or Sweden before it reaches the destination country. Proton owns and operates these servers itself: the Swedish ones sit in an underground data center and the Icelandic ones on a former military base (Proton VPN). Secure Core has 124 servers with exits in 68 countries (Proton VPN). It suits journalists and anyone worried about network-level surveillance, but it is unnecessarily slow for everyday use.
NetShield uses DNS filtering to block ads, trackers and malware sites (Proton VPN). In TechRadar’s test, though, it blocked only 32% of phishing sites and 4% of malware sites, compared with 88% of ads (TechRadar). Treat it as an ad blocker, not a replacement for antivirus.
Stealth disguises VPN traffic as ordinary encrypted traffic and helps on networks that block VPNs, such as hotel or office Wi-Fi. It works on the free plan too. Torrent users will appreciate the P2P servers and port forwarding (Proton VPN). P2P servers are available on iPhone, but the App Store does not allow torrent apps (Proton VPN).
What is missing: dedicated IP addresses, which help with online banking or company systems, are only sold to businesses (Proton). In its autumn roadmap from October 15, 2026, Proton promises redesigned apps for Mac, iPhone, Linux and Android TV, a better kill switch, and a pause feature that reconnects the VPN automatically after a set time (Proton).
06Servers in Prague, Bratislava and worldwide
On October 19, 2026, Proton’s server page listed 20,839 servers in 149 countries and 197 locations (Proton VPN). The checkout showed 20,799 servers in 149 countries that day, and the pricing page says “20,000+ servers in 140+ countries”. The differences are small, and the numbers change all the time.
Close to home, Proton’s network is dense: 85 servers in Prague and 62 in Bratislava (Proton VPN). Some countries are served virtually, though. Proton calls this Smart Routing: you get an IP address from that country, but the server is physically elsewhere. This applies to 109 countries, and neither Czechia nor Slovakia is among them (Proton VPN). The free plan cannot connect to servers in Czechia or Slovakia, since its free servers are in 10 other countries (Proton VPN).
07Proton VPN and Netflix, iVysílání and other streaming services
Proton is good at streaming, but not the best. TechRadar unblocked every Netflix library it tried, plus BBC iPlayer and Australian and New Zealand services, but Proton failed with several Amazon Prime Video libraries. Disney+ UK and ITV only worked from a different server (TechRadar). Tom’s Guide had trouble with Prime Video in Australia, Canada and Japan and had to switch servers a few times for Disney+ UK (Tom’s Guide).
Proton only supports streaming on paid plans. The free plan does not block streaming sites, but nothing is guaranteed (Proton VPN). Its streaming guide lists Netflix in 26 countries, including Slovakia but not Czechia (Proton VPN). Netflix also has its own rules: over a VPN you will only see titles with global licenses, and VPNs are not supported at all on Netflix’s ad-supported plan (Netflix). When traveling in the EU, you do not need a VPN, since Netflix shows your home catalog for a limited time (Netflix).
Be careful with Czech services. On devices with a foreign IP address, Czech Television’s iVysílání will not play shows it only has licensed for Czechia, although ČT24 news plays without restriction (ČT). So if you leave Proton connected to a server abroad, some shows will not play even at home. Pick a Prague server for iVysílání or turn the VPN off. With a Slovak Voyo subscription, you can keep watching during a temporary stay elsewhere in the EU and EEA without a VPN, as long as your subscription is active (Voyo). No independent test has checked Proton with Czech or Slovak streaming services.
08Apps, devices and languages
One VPN Plus subscription covers 10 devices at a time (Proton VPN). Proton has apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad, Android, Linux, Chromebook, Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV, plus extensions for Chrome and Firefox (Proton VPN). Apple TV requires a paid plan and tvOS 17 or later (Proton VPN). Our guides to setting up a VPN on Windows and Mac and on iPhone and Android walk you through installation.
If you share devices with Czech or Slovak family members, language support helps. All apps except the Linux one are available in Czech and Slovak as well as English (Proton VPN), and the website has a Czech version (Proton VPN). Paid plans include live chat support (Proton VPN).
App store ratings are strong. In the Czech App Store it has 4.68 out of 5 stars from 887 ratings (App Store), and on Google Play 4.7 out of 5 from 1.42 million ratings and more than 100 million downloads (Google Play).
09How much Proton VPN costs
Proton sells the VPN on its own as VPN Plus and in the Proton Unlimited bundle, which adds the premium versions of Proton Mail, Pass, Drive with 500 GB, and Calendar (Proton VPN). Prices are listed in euros including VAT. The checkout we opened from Czechia showed “Total for 24 months 71.76 €” for the partner offer, with 21% Czech VAT included.
| Plan | Price with VAT | In CZK | Per month | Then per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | CZK 0 | €0 | free forever |
| VPN Plus, 2 years, partner offer | €71.76 | CZK 1,747 | €2.99 | €83.88 (CZK 2,042) |
| VPN Plus, 2 years, pricing page | €83.76 | CZK 2,039 | €3.49 | €83.88 (CZK 2,042) |
| VPN Plus, monthly | €9.99 | CZK 243 | €9.99 | same every month |
| Proton Unlimited, 2 years | €191.76 | CZK 4,667 | €7.99 | €119.88 (CZK 2,918) |
The 70% discount on our button is measured against the €9.99 monthly plan: the two-year VPN Plus partner offer works out to €2.99 a month. Without the partner link, the pricing page offers €3.49 a month and 65% off. Both prices rely on a discount code that the page applies automatically and that can be used only once per user. After 24 months, VPN Plus renews automatically at €83.88 for 12 months, about €6.99 a month. Proton notes at checkout that renewal prices may change. At today’s renewal price, over four years including two renewals, the partner offer costs €239.52 in total (about CZK 5,830).
At checkout we saw card, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay. According to the help center, Proton also accepts Bitcoin, cash and bank transfers (Proton VPN). Our Proton VPN price guide covers every plan, the one-year options and the difference between Plus and Unlimited.
10Proton VPN Free: what you get and where it stops
Proton Free has no data or time limits, shows no ads and is covered by the same no-logs policy as the paid plans (Proton VPN). You can only connect 1 device, though, and you cannot pick the server. The app first connects you to the fastest free server in one of 10 countries: the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada and the US. After that it picks servers at random, with a cooldown between changes of 45 seconds the first time and then 10 minutes (Proton VPN). The pricing page lists medium speed, and P2P and guaranteed streaming are for paid plans only.
There is no free trial of the paid plan. The free plan and the 30-day money-back guarantee fill that role. On Android, and since 2025 on iPhone too, you can use Proton without an account in guest mode (Proton VPN). When Free is enough and when to upgrade to Plus is covered in Proton VPN Free. For free VPNs in general, see the best free VPNs.
11Browser extension for Chrome and Firefox
Proton VPN’s extension for Chrome and Firefox has been available on the free plan since 2024 (Proton VPN). It only protects browser traffic, not the other apps on your computer, so it mainly makes sense when you cannot install the app, for example on a work laptop. Our guide Proton VPN browser extension for Chrome and Firefox shows how to install it in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox and how it differs from the app.
12Money-back guarantee and cancellation
Proton gives you a full refund if you cancel within 30 days of your first purchase. Both the cancellation and the refund request must happen within that window, you can only request a refund once, and payments made in cash or by bank transfer are not refundable. The guarantee only covers purchases made directly from Proton, on its website or in its apps. Purchases through the App Store or Google Play follow the store’s rules. Proton processes refunds within 30 days of the request (Proton).
According to the checkout, you can cancel your subscription at any time. What happens to your account afterward and the steps on the web, Android and iPhone are covered in how to cancel Proton VPN and get a refund.
13China and travel
In countries that block VPNs, Proton is not a dependable choice. Tom’s Guide says it does not work in China (Tom’s Guide), and Security.org quotes Proton as saying there is only about a 50% chance its service works in countries like China or Russia (Security.org). Proton itself recommends installing the app before you travel and turning on Stealth and alternative routing, both of which are available on the free plan (Proton VPN). If you are heading to China, keep a second VPN as a backup.
14Proton VPN reviews: what experts and users say
- Security.org93
- Tom’s Guide87
- TechRadar84
- CNET84
Security.org 9.3/10 (September 2026), Tom’s Guide 86.5/100 (April 2026), TechRadar 84/100 (May 2026), CNET 8.4/10 (September 2025), converted to a 100-point scale and rounded (Security.org, Tom’s Guide, TechRadar, CNET).
Reviewers consistently rate Proton highly. Tom’s Guide gave it an Editor’s Choice award and full marks for speed (Tom’s Guide). TechRadar gave it full marks for privacy and its server network and took points off for features, where Proton offers less than the most feature-packed rivals (TechRadar). Users agree, with around 4.7 out of 5 stars in both the Czech App Store and Google Play.
15Proton VPN vs NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and Mullvad
Proton is most often compared with NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and Mullvad. We cover each matchup in a separate article:
- NordVPN vs Proton VPN: NordVPN is stronger for streaming, in China and on extra features, while Proton is cheaper after renewal and has a free plan.
- Proton VPN vs Surfshark: price, number of devices and features.
- Proton VPN vs ExpressVPN: speed, streaming and price.
- Proton VPN vs Mullvad: which offers more anonymity.
For the rivals themselves, see our NordVPN review, Surfshark review and ExpressVPN review. Our best VPNs for 2026 comparison covers fourteen services.
16Is Proton VPN worth it? Who it is for and who should skip it
Choose Proton VPN if you
- care most about privacy and want an open-source VPN with regular audits,
- want to start for free and move to Plus once Free is no longer enough,
- want apps in Czech or Slovak and plenty of servers in Prague and Bratislava,
- use or want to use Proton Mail, Pass or Drive as well, in which case Unlimited pays off,
- download torrents and value port forwarding.
Probably skip it if you
- watch a lot of Prime Video, especially its foreign versions,
- travel to China or other countries that block VPNs,
- need a dedicated IP address,
- want split tunneling on iPhone.
17FAQ
Is Proton VPN safe?
Yes, it is one of the most thoroughly vetted VPNs. All its apps are open source, Securitum has audited its no-logs policy every year since 2022, most recently in 2026 (Proton VPN), and it is based in Switzerland. It does not have post-quantum encryption yet.
Is Proton VPN free?
The basic Proton Free plan costs nothing and has no data cap or ads, but it covers only 1 device and the app picks your server from 10 countries. The paid VPN Plus plan costs €71.76 for two years through the partner offer, or €2.99 a month.
How much does Proton VPN cost?
Two years of VPN Plus costs €83.76 including VAT on the pricing page (€3.49 a month) and €71.76 through the partner offer (€2.99 a month). It then renews at €83.88 a year (about CZK 2,042). The monthly plan is €9.99.
Does Proton VPN work with Netflix?
In TechRadar’s and Tom’s Guide’s tests, Netflix worked in every country they tried. Over a VPN, though, Netflix only shows titles with global licenses, does not support VPNs on its ad-supported plan, and Czechia is not on Proton’s list of supported Netflix countries.
Is Proton VPN worth it?
For privacy-minded users, yes: it combines open-source apps, yearly audits, fast speeds and a usable free plan at a moderate price. If you mainly want a VPN for Prime Video or for China, other services do better.
How many devices can I use Proton VPN on?
Up to 10 devices at a time with VPN Plus or Unlimited, and one on the free plan.
Is Proton VPN better than NordVPN?
Proton is cheaper after renewal and has a free plan, open-source apps and Czech and Slovak language support. NordVPN is stronger for streaming, in China and on extra features. Our NordVPN vs Proton VPN comparison goes into detail.
How do I cancel Proton VPN and get my money back?
Within 30 days of your first purchase made directly from Proton, cancel your subscription and ask support for a refund. Proton refunds the full amount, once per user, and not for payments made in cash or by bank transfer (Proton).
18Conclusion
In 2026, Proton VPN is one of the best choices for anyone who puts privacy first. It has open-source apps, regular audits, a Swiss base and fast speeds even over long distances. For readers in Czechia and Slovakia, it also has Czech and Slovak apps, plenty of servers in Prague and Bratislava, and a free plan that lets you try it without paying. Heavy Prime Video viewers and travelers to China are better served elsewhere. If you buy Proton, note the renewal date after 24 months.
Data protection matters for business websites and apps too. If you are planning a project that handles customer data, see how we build custom websites, what it costs and how we work.
19Sources
- Proton VPN: pricing
- Proton VPN: free vs paid
- Proton VPN: free plan servers
- Proton VPN: about us
- Proton: privacy policy
- Proton VPN: privacy policy
- Proton VPN: features
- Proton: moving infrastructure (blog, 2025)
- Proton VPN: transparency report
- Proton VPN: no-logs audits
- Proton VPN: open source and app audit
- GitHub: ProtonVPN
- Proton VPN: server list
- Proton VPN: Smart Routing
- Proton VPN: Secure Core
- Proton VPN: NetShield
- Proton VPN: VPN protocols
- Proton VPN: split tunneling
- Proton VPN: Tor over VPN
- Proton VPN: P2P and BitTorrent
- Proton VPN: port forwarding
- Proton: dedicated IP addresses
- Proton VPN: spring and summer 2026 roadmap
- Proton: autumn and winter 2026 roadmap
- Proton VPN: 2025 year in review
- Proton VPN: free browser extension
- Proton VPN: downloads
- Proton VPN: Apple TV
- Proton VPN: app languages
- Proton VPN: website in Czech
- Proton VPN: live chat
- Proton VPN: streaming guide
- Proton VPN: China
- Proton: terms of service
- Proton VPN: payment options
- App Store (Czechia): Proton VPN
- Google Play: Proton VPN
- TechRadar: Proton VPN review
- TechRadar: fastest VPN
- Tom’s Guide: Proton VPN review
- CNET: Proton VPN review
- Security.org: Proton VPN review
- Artifact Security: VPN Performance World Tour 2026 (PDF)
- Netflix: VPNs and proxies
- Netflix: watching while traveling
- Czech Television: iVysílání FAQ
- Voyo: watching abroad
- Czech National Bank: exchange rates
Proton VPN prices as of October 19, 2026; other Proton details as of October 18 and 19, 2026; Netflix, Czech Television and Voyo help pages as of October 13, 2026. Per-month figures, multi-year totals and koruna amounts are our own calculations at the Czech National Bank rate of CZK 24.340 per euro (October 19, 2026).