Proton VPN Review
Community-sourced VPN review based on real Reddit & Twitter discussions
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...
What the Community Says
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
Summary generated 1 week ago from 1012 community mentions
Filter by Topic
Clear ×Performance by Use Case
Compare Proton VPN With...
Reviews about "Free Tier"
50 reviews"ProtonVPN let's you use it for free on one computer. They're probably the only entity that I actually trust to care about privacy"
"+1 Switched to proton after its free version outperformed surfshark/nord/express/PIA paid versions (I had access to all). 11 months in and still the right choice. I still try the others from time to time to check in"
"@Proton_Pass My phone always runs Proton VPN 24/7 and my primary email is Proton. Proton is great company and the free versions are fire too!"
"...vacy, you cant go wrong with Librewolf (Mullvald/Tor If you want to be anonymous).You could install Proton VPN (free, best vpn along with Mullvald vpn) as a extension or app."
"Mullvad ja ProtonVPN. Protonilla on ihan kiva ilmainenkin plan jos ei ole tarvetta valita maata itse."
"Best free ones are gonna be either proton VPN or windscribe free. If you can get a paid Mullvad is only approximately €5 a month ($5.91). All of these are reputable VPNs."
"so yeah as other people are saying it depends, if it is a government or ISP Geo block a VPN will most likely bypass it, that is unless your ISP has blocked VPN port forwarding. Recommendations? i recommend ProtonVPN or Norton (Proton is the..."
"Proton VPN is good in free tier. You will not have any nice features like port forwarding, split tunneling or killswitch but it will work for web browsing and connecting to internet from a device. In my case on 800mbs I am getting about 720..."
"...e an issue; and if it is, I doubt it is significant. I've never had fundamental speed problems with Proton VPN. Obviously it may be different for you. But as others have said, just try. I suspect many complain about Proton are using the Fre..."
"When in china last november, I used proton vpn. its free and it worked. My friends tried to use other paid VPN when using Wifi. but seems like proton works better for us"
"ProtonVPN Review in 2026: Any thoughts? Using the internet today feels a lot less private than it used to. Between constant ads following you around and the risks of public WiFi, I felt like a VPN was no longer optional. I have been using ..."
"Thanks for this, downloaded protonvpn and it was an instant fix. For those in my boat - there IS a free plan, it’s just more hidden"
"You could always go for ProtonVPN, that is a pretty good option and is much faster as well. They do have a free plan, however you don't choose the servers and it's only for 1 device. But it's one of the most secure VPN's out there (besides ..."
"If you’re looking for a good paid VPN, then try NordVPN, CopVPN, ProtonVPN, or Mullvad. If you’re looking for a free good VPN, then try ProtonVPN, Windscribe or CopVPN."
"Proton VPN is the least restrictive free VPN if that's what you want. It's also super easy to use."
"... to peer file sharing, it has been valuable. You missed all the Black Friday sales for VPNs. I use proton vpn free on my phone, I have a different paid one that works better on my computer. The speed slowdown is minimal on my phone and non..."
"...omputer repair shop owner here (check my profile), there are only 4 VPNs anyone should be using: * Proton VPN (free) * Mullvad * IVPN * Windscribe These VPN companies are proven to be trustworthy, which is important because whichever serv..."
"I use proton vpn... free version and works flawless.. just gotta get your provider to turn on location as auto & vpn based and you won't have any isp blocking issues.. or just download the 8k app the older version which works off the cl..."
"I second proton vpn. Even the free version works well with Firewalla."
"If you are still looking for a free VPN for Australia then, I will recommend you can try ProtonVPN. It gives great features for online privacy, streaming and gaming. It works well for me."
"Proton / iVPN / Mullvad Proton has the best free VPN."
"Firefox browser Then adguard, ublock, and id recommend adding a third one of your choice I also suggest sponsorblock, privacy badger, and ghostery, plus getting a VPN, so far proton has been the best free option"
"I am using proton free and it is very good."
"if you want a good free VPN service try Proton or Windscribe"
"Proton is the only safe reliable free VPN..."
"Express is bad - why not use Proton, unlimited free, audited."
"I use proton free and have no issues at all. On android box you do get a few locations to actually choose. On my phone I don't, not sure why, guess a different version. "
"Free VPNs are always a compromise. Proton Free is still the most trustworthy long term, but X-VPN is fine for light browsing if you accept the limits."
"Your best bets for free are Proton, Windscribe or RiseUp VPN. RiseUp is funded by donations so if you do use them and like them shoot them a donation."
"Mullvad for everything but streaming, proton works well streaming with fast servers mostly but it works and there’s a lot to choose from. Free service for select servers paid us where it’s at"
"@weskambale Airtel Use paid vpn Proton (VPN PLUS) Works well Free one is blocked"
"@MrLitstar @9393_ACrowley @ReclaimTheNetHQ Proton get audited every year and I'm yet to see any evidence they keep logs, even for free stuff. I would hapily use Proton or Surfshark, they both seem decent."
"@startpage @torproject @signalapp @MyStartMail @ProtonPrivacy 1) Any Linux OS but I prefer Fedora 2) Quad9 ( DNS privacy) 3) Tor, Brave, Librewolf (browsers) 4) ProtonVPN ( free), Mullvad ( paid) 5) Session, Signal (Messaging) 6) Tutamail & Protonmail 7) GrapheneOS over any phone OS 8) Orbot (basically Tor but for apps) 9) VLC 10) Bitwarden https://t.co/ZwS1OgTYXz"
"@thecoastguy Tor browser Then download VPN. Proton VPN offers free from Switzerland. Not even a swiss judge can demand access to its Server. Starmer has no chance."
"@shanrocksnwa Proton free VPN is good and fast"
"it’s so easy to 🏴☠️ nowadays and these sites are fancy as hell now. just download an adblock and a vpn (proton vpn is a good free one!) and you’re set. pls stop giving netflix money."
"@Murithire Tafuta proton vpn ni free connect to albania, hai allow you tube ads. Now access you tube using chrome browser. Eka desktop version. Play what you want to play, press home button or recent button. Ita pause but kwa notification panel utaona what is playing, click play"
"So i only recently found out about Proton VPN from a friend who’s more of tech expert than me. Thank you Mellisa x So installed it on my phone, well actually just downloaded the app and signed up totally free. Yes I’m actually a technophobe anyway wanted to read a news article but had this annoying message pop up so quickly turned on Proton VPN to switch my location to Singapore from the U.K ..."
"@firasmodad Use Proton free VPN. Always works for me. Connect to the Netherlands or any EU for fast internet"
"TikTok is still down but you can access it with a VPN. Use Proton VPN, it’s free!!"
"@sxemariocfh @grok @luisjgomez Get proton the free vpn my niggaaaa"
"@moveincircles I use Proton VPN. It's free and works great."
"ProtonVPN (USA server - free version) and Bitdefender (Argentina & USA servers) are not being blocked in hidive.com/login ExpressVPN (USA server) is getting blocked, though. Weird..."
"Best reddit free VPN in 2026? Any thoughts? Are there any actually decent free VPNs right now? I am traveling through parts of North Africa on a budget and trying to keep costs low while moving around. A lot of websites are restricted wher..."
"ProtonVPN is best for free use, but their servers are selected randomly. You can also try CopVPN; their free version provides 7 locations, and you can easily change it."
"Been relying on ProtonVPN free while traveling and it’s been solid for reading news and checking socials"
"...VPN you really need to pay for it (though there are good mail options around $1 a month). Free tier Proton VPN is slower and you can't choose your server. The free email is oversensitive about the bots issue and you won't get much support (..."
"Protonvpn is free no ads but must use quaddns so Proton will not get detected so you can use youtube or Hulu. Go to settings/network/check network status/advance take pic of settings, then click back and go to forget network then find forg..."
"Protonvpn is free no ads but must use quaddns so Proton will not get detected so you can use youtube or Hulu. Go to settings/network/check network status/advance take pic of settings, then click back and go to forget network then find forg..."