Is ProtonVPN Worth it? Let’s Dive in
Today, I want to talk about a VPN service that I’ve been using for quite some time on Windows and other devices, known as Proton. Initially, it started as a Protonmail (email service with high encryption standards), but in 2017, they expanded into the VPN space and launched their ProtonVPN site, which has been upgraded ever since. I will give out my honest take on this VPN service, looking at Pros & Cons, and giving you better insight into what ProtonVPN can do for you.
If you didn’t already know there is a free version of ProtonVPN that anyone can use, so i really recommend checking that one out first and seeing if it meets your standards, please note that the free version does not support streaming on Hulu, Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming platforms, as that is tied into their paid plans.
Best Features of ProtonVPN
There are a lot of aspects to a VPN service, so let’s try to go into most of them in this article, giving you a better view of what exactly ProtonVPN is offering and what the core perks and selling points of this specific VPN provider are.
- No-Logs Policy – Under Swiss law, ProtonVPN is not obligated to collect any connection logs from the users, nor can they force targeted logging from specific users, so all browsing history under the VPN stays fully private and cannot be given to a 3rd party.
- Open Source – The apps are 100% open source, so anyone can examine the code. This means you can have confidence that the apps are doing what they are supposed to be doing, and only what they are supposed to be doing.
- Free Version – You can try the VPN with a limited number of servers for free, you are not required to have a credit card or anything on the sign-up, just an account, and then you can decide later do you want to upgrade your service. Note that the free version doesn’t include streaming services.
- Transparency – There is public information about who is behind Proton AG, including who owns the company, where it is run from, the leadership team, what data they are collecting, and also how they are interacting with law enforcement.
- Reliable Audits – Numerous 3rd party audits are public regarding Proton’s released apps and tools
- Multiple Devices Supported – Whatever you have, Android TV, Windows, MAC, Linux, or mobile devices – basically, ProtonVPN offers support to all mainstream and alternative devices out there
- Technical Features – You have access to Tor Over VPN, Double VPN, AdBlocker, VPN accelerator, Obfuscation, and other minor features
Altogether, ProtonVPN is providing a lot of features to its clients that are pretty standard in the VPN industry, this also includes access to over 170 different countries. There are some additional features which more tech savy people might be interested in. If you want to take a peek, you can view some of them here.
VPN Country Matters Too
The Jurisdictions matter a lot; anything that is part of Five Eyes or acts as a vassal to them is a threat to your anonymity and general data that you may have. ProtonVPN, being based in Switzerland, is a huge plus, and as far as I know, they are also the only player from that country altogether, and in the end of the day, there isn’t exactly any other country that meets the same level of privacy laws as Switzerland does.
It’s considered bad to get a VPN also from 14 Eyes countries because these nations are part of an intelligence-sharing alliance. VPN providers based there may be subject to government surveillance laws, data retention requirements, or secret court orders forcing them to log or hand over user activity. Even if a VPN claims to be “no-logs,” its jurisdiction could still compel cooperation with authorities, thereby undermining privacy (which could hurt your ass badly).
ProtonVPN Pricing & Different Plans
Now, I did hint earlier a bit that the pricing of ProtonVPN is slightly more on the premium side compared to some of the competition out there. That being said, if you can afford to pick up the service for a whole year or even for two years, you are going to get pretty good discounts for that. Ranking up to 4.49€ per month for a 2-year plan, and if you opt for 1 year, that is 4.99€ per month, and that is a pretty strong deal in itself.
The Proton Unlimited also sees decent discounts, but not as big ones as the VPN Plus plan when it comes to long-term packages. Overall Plus plan is the best bang for the buck here, unless you really want to have the Protonmail & Protondrive services on top of it, which are quite neat addons if I may add.
I think the prices are quite competitive when we are talking about monthly subscriptions, as Proton is currently cheaper than industry favorite NordVPN, for instance, but they give higher discounts on multi-year plans, so it’s really about whether you are going to be a short-term user or long-term user of a VPN service in the end of the day.
Pros (+)
- Based in Switzerland, with strong privacy laws that protect users from intelligence agencies and other unwanted entities
- Open-source code and apps that are independently audited
- Unlimited free plan available (No Subscriptions, No Credit Cards needed, no strings attached, no credits)
- Secure Core servers for extra anonymity
- Supports streaming, TOR, and torrenting on paid plans
Cons (-)
- Free servers can be slow at peak times
- Premium pricing is slightly higher than some competitors for multi-year plans
- The VPN Plus plan doesn’t include anything for ProtonMail or other Proton AG products, which would be appreciated
Overall, ProtonVPN is a decent VPN provider that is located in very ideal country and offers a lot of things that every other service does already. Price-wise wise it may not be the actual cheapest one out there, not that it’s too far away from the rest of the competition, but I think that comes from regional reasons, and of course, cheaper services want to data scrape and collect logs from you.
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