Proton VPN review: the free tier and the paid jump
Proton VPN's free plan covers 1 device in 10 countries. Plus is the plan to price carefully, because the 24-month deal renews at $83.88 a year.
Pasha, November 2, 2026, prices checked November 1, 2026
Start on the free plan. Proton VPN is one of the few services where that's a real suggestion, since the free tier costs $0.00 a month on the pricing page. Move to Plus when you hit its limits, not before.
What free gets you
Proton's pricing page (checked Nov 1, 2026) says Free secures 1 device at a time, connects to servers in 10 countries "randomly selected", and runs at medium VPN speed. Its plans page lists P2P and streaming support under Plus only, along with split tunneling, NetShield ad blocking and Secure Core servers.
Both plans include a kill switch and DNS leak protection, per the plans page. So the free tier isn't a stripped-down trap. It's a plain VPN with one slot and no choice of country. If you want to watch a specific country's catalog, you need to pay.
What Plus costs, and when it changes
Plus on a 1-year plan is 4.49 USD/mo a month, billed up front for the year. Month-to-month is 9.99 USD/mo. The yearly figure is a first-year price: renewal is $83.88 a year after the first term.
The 24-month deal is the headline. The page shows $3.49 a month and says: "Billed at $83.76 for the first 24 months, then renews at $83.88 every 12 months." That renewal works out to $6.99 a month, double the headline. So the cheapest-looking deal is the one with the biggest step up.
Proton at least prints the second number next to the first. For how another vendor handles the same step, see NordVPN's review.
Devices, servers, guarantee
Plus allows up to 10 devices at the same time, against 1 on Free. The pricing page claims 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries and a 30-day money-back guarantee on Plus and Unlimited. It does not mention a refund on Free, which needs none.
The plans page puts the top speed at "up to 10 Gbps". That's a ceiling the vendor states, not a measurement.
Privacy record
Proton says it enforces a strict no-logs policy and is based in Switzerland. Its no-logs page says Proton VPN "does not have forced logging obligations" under the current Swiss legal framework. It also says the policy was "tested in a legal case in 2019", when Proton was ordered to hand over logs that did not exist.
That is Proton's account of the case. The page also says the policy was "verified by external independent experts" but names no auditor and gives no year. For a named audit, see our NordVPN vs Proton VPN comparison.
Who should pay
Pay for Plus if you torrent, need more than one device, or want to pick your country. Otherwise skip it. If you only want a VPN on a laptop at the occasional café, Free covers that. Torrent users should read the VPN roundup for torrenting first, and travellers the one for hotel wifi.
Proton Unlimited bundles Pass, Mail, Calendar and Drive. The page lists it at $7.99 a month on the 24-month deal, renewing at $119.88 a year. You only want it if you'd use the rest of the suite. Current prices for all plans sit on the Proton VPN product page, checked November 1, 2026.
8/10
A VPN you can try for nothing, with Swiss jurisdiction and a 30-day refund on paid plans. Take Plus if you need streaming or P2P, and read the renewal line before the 24-month deal.
Yes
- Free plan exists, with 1 device and 10 countries
- Plus allows 10 devices at once
- 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans
- Renewal price is printed on the pricing page
No
- Free plan has medium speed and random countries
- 24-month Plus renews at $83.88 a year
- Page names no auditor or audit year
| Billed monthly | 9.99 USD/mo |
|---|---|
| Billed yearly | 4.49 USD/mo |
| Free tier | 1 device at a time, 10 countries (randomly selected), medium speed |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Renewal | $83.88 a year after the first term |
Sources
- Proton VPN pricing, checked November 1, 2026
- Proton VPN plans, checked November 1, 2026
- Proton VPN no-logs policy, checked November 1, 2026