ProtonVPN Review 2025 – A Feature-Rich VPN That Dominates the Competitive Market with a Truly Free Plan

ProtonVPN stands out in the competitive world of free VPNs with its lack of a data cap and widespread reputation. Proton is a truly free VPN which you can use every day.

Of course, you won’t get all the features and functionalities that come with the paid plans, but that’s a given. On the other hand, it has covered the basics pretty well, which is why I decided to try out its free plan.

Let me tell you, even if I downloaded the VPN client out of curiosity and never really paid for it, Proton did not limit how much data I can use for free.

Most so-called “free VPNs” are heavily feature-limited, and I found Proton to be quite generous when it comes to bandwidth. Since it is forever free, you can use it without fearing of going over the data cap.

Just in case you are considering to upgrade to one of its paid plans, head below this fold to learn more about its speed, ease of use and subscription structure.

Proton also offers add-on services, such as the much-popular Proton Mail, but I will focus on its VPN service only. Sit tight!

Feature	Information
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
No-Logs Policy	(Verified through independent audits)
Kill Switch
Devices Per Account	Supports up to 10 devices on paid plans
Server Coverage	Available in 118+ countries
Total Servers	12,733+ servers worldwide
Torrenting Supported
Works with Netflix
Encryption Standard	AES-256
Customer Support	Email support; live chat only for paying customers
Free Trial Available
Split Tunneling
Multi-Hop Feature	(via Secure Core)

Let’s begin with the basics. The first and foremost concern of anybody who’s going to invest in a VPN is whether it can deliver stable performance and whether it is reasonable fast across servers. Well, I didn’t pay for it, so I can’t complain about speed drops, but the results would give you an idea of how good (or not) the free plan is at least.

I kicked things off by checking my raw internet speed without any VPN running. On my home connection, I pulled 100.72 Mbps download and 101.01 Mbps upload, with just 9 ms ping. That’s pretty fast, I must add. This kind of speed is more than enough for HD streaming, video calls, or large file uploads.

Next, I activated the ProtonVPN free trial and connected to a server in Tokyo. The download speed dropped to 76.26 Mbps, which is still decent, but the upload rate tanked to just 19.18 Mbps. Ping also jumped up to 170 ms. While basic browsing and video streaming were fine, I started to feel the lag on anything involving uploads, like uploading files to the cloud.

Then I tried a U.S. server out of Dallas. Here’s where things really slowed down—downloads came in at 51 Mbps and uploads fell even further to 11.51 Mbps. Ping rose to 278 ms. That’s a steep drop from my baseline, and it made it really difficult for me to stream or multitask with multiple tabs open.

Just this past May, I stumbled upon a news article that really intrigued me. In an interview with Radio Télévision Suisse, Proton AG CEO Andy Yen expressed his concern about the proposed legislative amendment of Switzerland and he believed that the amended law could soon contradict Proton’s ethos of “privacy by default.”

He even hinted at leaving Switzerland for protecting the privacy of the users. Switzerland’s current surveillance laws do not extend to VPNs and social media messaging apps, but the proposed revision could soon bring VPNs too, among other things, under surveillance. Perhaps this is why I noticed a major uptick in the recent search trends for ProtonVPN. Here’s what I found on Google Trends.

Apparently, ProtonVPN has seen a steady rise in global interest over the past year. Based on Google Trends data, overall searches for “Proton VPN” show a clear upward curve, especially from late summer 2024 onward.

That bump could be tied to Proton’s expanded features, increased visibility during sales events, or renewed interest in digital privacy amid global events, or, as I found, the news about the possibility of shifting its bases.

Searches for “Proton VPN review” have been a bit of a roller coaster—spiking occasionally but showing volatility. This tells me folks are curious, but maybe unsure or digging deeper before pulling the trigger.

On the other hand, “buy Proton VPN” trends are more scattered and show spurts of intent rather than consistent buying interest—likely tied to flash deals or seasonal offers like Black Friday.

I also compared that with competitors: ProtonVPN outpaces both TurboVPN and Private Internet Access by a wide margin in global attention.

The gap’s pretty significant, which could say something about Proton’s trust factor or feature set resonating more with privacy-conscious users.

Feature	ProtonVPN	Turbo VPN	Private Internet Access (PIA)
Jurisdiction	Switzerland	Singapore	United States
Ownership	Proton AG	Innovative Connecting	Kape Technologies
No-Logs Policy	(independently audited)	Claims no-logs; lacks security credentials	(court-tested and audited)
Open-Source Apps	(100% open-source)		(100% open-source)
Free Plan Available
Simultaneous Connections	10	10	Unlimited
Server Locations	117 countries	111 countries	91 countries
Streaming Support	(Plus plan)		(dedicated servers)
Ad/Malware Blocking	(NetShield)		(MACE)
Double VPN / Multi-Hop	(Secure Core)
Tor over VPN
Split Tunneling
Kill Switch
Money-Back Guarantee	30 days	30 days	30 days

Good customer support can make or break your VPN experience. Ideally, you want a provider that offers real-time help through live chat, along with email support and a searchable help center.

Live chat is great when you’re in a pinch and need fast answers. Email’s better for more complex issues that take a little back-and-forth. And if you’re the DIY type, a solid knowledge base can go a long way in solving common problems on your own.

Sadly, in the case of ProtonVPN, live chat is only available to paying users. If you’re on the free plan or still deciding, you’re stuck with email and a contact form.

I reached out myself as a free plan user and got an automated response, which pointed me to their support articles. The good news is, their website does have a well-organized help section, packed with guides and walkthroughs—so if you don’t mind digging in, chances are you’ll find what you need.

Proton VPN still manages to hold its own if your main concern is privacy, but it’s not without trade-offs. I ran into speed dips more than once.

Also, with the free plan, you’re stuck with just a handful of regions and there’s no way to pick your server manually.

They’ve even added a timer now if you try to switch servers too fast, which feels a bit restrictive. That said, I’ve got to hand it to them for not capping data. That’s a rarity in the free VPN world.

If you’re just trying to browse securely or dodge censorship, Proton’s US-heavy server setup should get the job done.

But if you’re hoping to stream content from different corners of the globe or want consistent speeds, you might find yourself hitting a wall. It’s a mixed bag, honestly.

I would recommend gravitating towards more reliable alternatives like ExpressVPN or PIA in that case.

ProtonVPN Review

• 1Pros and cons
• 2Features in details
• 3ProtonVPN speed tests
• 4ProtonVPN trends
• 5ProtonVPN Vs competitors
• 6Customer Service
• 7Conclusion

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