Proton VPN Review

Community-sourced VPN review based on real Reddit & Twitter discussions

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Community Verdict
Recommended

Proton VPN has a solid reputation as a privacy-focused VPN, and a lot of people like it because it feels trustworthy and reliable day to day. The free plan gets praised a lot as one of the better “act...

71%
positive
1,012
reviews
Best for: People who want a good free VPN that doesn’t feel sketchy Privacy-focused users who like the Proton ecosystem Folks who want optional anonymous payments Everyday users who want a reliable VPN for general browsing
71% Positive Reviews
493 recommend, 203 warn
High Data Quality
1012 reviews from 836 people
Best For
People who want a good free VPN that doesn’t feel sketchy, Privacy-focused users who like the Proton ecosystem, Folks who want optional anonymous payments
Approval Rate
71% positive
493 recommend · 203 warn
Reviews
1,012
411 Reddit · 552 Twitter
Unique Reviewers
836
Data Quality
High

What the Community Says

Community Rating 7.5/10

Proton VPN has a solid reputation as a privacy-focused VPN, and a lot of people like it because it feels trustworthy and reliable day to day. The free plan gets praised a lot as one of the better “actually usable” free options, and the paid plan is often mentioned as a good pick if you care about things like no-logs, audits, and even anonymous payment options. It also comes up often alongside other privacy tools (like Proton Mail), which makes it appealing if you want everything under one roof.

The biggest complaint is speed: some people switch over from other VPNs and find Proton noticeably slower, especially depending on the server. A few also don’t love how certain torrenting setups work, since things like port forwarding can be a bit annoying to manage if the port changes when you reconnect. And while many trust Proton more than typical “affiliate-list” VPNs, there’s still a slice of people who are skeptical or just prefer competitors like Mullvad.

Strengths

  • Strong privacy reputation
  • Best-in-class free tier
  • No-logs and audit-focused image
  • Anonymous payment options
  • Good reliability overall

Weaknesses

  • Can be slower than competitors
  • Port forwarding can be annoying for torrenting setups
  • Auto-connect behavior can be frustrating
  • Not everyone trusts it as much as top privacy rivals
Best for: People who want a good free VPN that doesn’t feel sketchy Privacy-focused users who like the Proton ecosystem Folks who want optional anonymous payments Everyday users who want a reliable VPN for general browsing
Not ideal for: People who need consistently top speeds for gaming or heavy downloads Torrent users who want a set-it-and-forget-it port forwarding setup Anyone who’s extremely picky and would rather stick with Mullvad-style simplicity

Summary generated 1 week ago from 1012 community mentions

Reviews about "Easy To Use"

6 reviews

"Proton VPN is the least restrictive free VPN if that's what you want. It's also super easy to use."

r/vpn_reviewer 1 month ago View on Reddit →

"As a security professional who speaks at a lot of conferences and advises on privacy, Mullvad is the best. The ONLY other one I would recommend is ProtonVPN if you want an easier experience. The "top" VPN providers you see on advertisements..."

r/stlouis 1 month ago View on Reddit →

"If you’re new to VPNs, Proton is a pretty friendly place to start – the app explains things well and it’s easy to turn on and forget. I know a couple people in Brazil using it without issues."

r/vpn_reviewer 1 month ago View on Reddit →

"@princess_kim_k They changed US servers, use an international location Proton VPN is free and easy to use"

@adhdwonderwoman 1 week ago View on Twitter →

"@ElysZethax you can try proton vpn or turbo vpn, they are easy to use"

@hxy941 1 week ago View on Twitter →

"@ameliarate123 @ghost_wales @Keir_Starmer It’s not as technical as it sounds. Just like installing a normal app - I use Proton VPN, it’s pretty easy to use 😊"

@Melissa5857 3 weeks ago View on Twitter →