Proton VPN review: the Swiss VPN that really keeps no logs

In short: Proton VPN is the virtual private network from Swiss company Proton, the company behind Proton Mail and the Proton Pass password manager. It encrypts your connection, hides your IP address and protects you on public Wi-Fi. It has an independently audited no-logs policy, open-source apps and features such as Secure Core, NetShield and the Stealth protocol. The free plan has no data limit, and VPN Plus costs €3.49 a month on a two-year plan.

A VPN is no longer just a tool for watching TV from another country. It is useful for anyone who connects through Wi-Fi in a café, hotel or airport, who doesn’t want their internet provider to see which websites they visit, or who travels and wants to reach their usual services as if they were at home. But with a VPN, one thing matters more than with almost any other service: all of your traffic passes through the provider’s servers. So it matters a lot who you trust with it.

Proton VPN is especially interesting if a simple “connect” button is not enough and you want real control over your privacy. It has a usable free plan with no data cap, open-source apps and, on paid plans, advanced traffic routing. It is worth knowing which device you will use it on, though, because the features on Windows, Mac and phones are not identical. If you are still comparing providers, our best VPN comparison can help.

How we tested Proton VPN

We tested Proton VPN in the macOS and Android apps. We went through connecting, NetShield, Secure Core, the kill switch, protocol settings, profiles and the pricing page, and we measured connection speeds against ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Where we describe features on other platforms, we checked them against Proton’s own documentation.

Video review

Prefer watching? The video below walks through the Mac app and the main features in about two and a half minutes.

Who is behind Proton VPN

Proton is a Swiss company founded in 2014 by scientists who met at CERN. It became known for Proton Mail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, launched Proton VPN in 2017 and has gradually added Proton Drive cloud storage, Proton Calendar and the Proton Pass password manager. According to Proton, more than 100 million accounts have been created across its services.

Since 2024, Proton’s majority shareholder has been the non-profit Proton Foundation. In practice this means the company cannot simply be sold to an investor who would like to start monetising user data. For a VPN, which sees all of your traffic, that kind of ownership is a strong argument.

Being based in Switzerland means Proton falls under Swiss law, which is among the stricter privacy regimes. On its own, though, that is no guarantee of flawless software. The verifiable steps are more useful: Proton published the source code of all its apps in January 2020, and it has its no-logs policy checked regularly by an outside firm (more on that in the privacy section).

At a glance (October 2026)

The Mac app

App overview

The macOS app shows your connection status and the country list on the left and a server map on the right. Below the connect button there are four quick toggles: Secure Core, NetShield, kill switch and port forwarding. Icons next to each country show whether it supports P2P or streaming, and expanding a country takes you to individual cities and servers.

During our test the app listed 149 locations. Proton’s server page lists 21,798 servers in 149 countries as of 20 October 2026; the pricing page rounds this to “20,000+ servers in 140+ countries”.

Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and iPad, Chromebook, Android TV, Apple TV and Fire TV, plus browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

One-click connection

The Quick Connect button picks the fastest available server and you are protected within seconds. While connecting, the app first checks that the server is available. Once connected, it shows the server name, your new IP address, the current server load, the protocol and live transfer speed. In our test, the app connected to a server in Czechia over WireGuard at 33% load.

NetShield

NetShield is a DNS-level filter. It blocks domains known to spread malware and, at the higher level, ads and trackers as well, before they even load. On the Mac you have three options: no blocking, block malware only, or block malware, ads and trackers. The number next to the icon shows how many items NetShield has blocked so far.

NetShield is part of the paid plans. It does not replace an antivirus, and it won’t remove every ad, for example ads served directly from the website’s own domain. If a page doesn’t load properly, the app itself suggests turning NetShield off temporarily.

Secure Core

Secure Core first routes your traffic through hardened servers in Switzerland, Iceland or Sweden and only then through an exit server in the destination country. If someone were watching the exit server, they would only see traffic coming from a Secure Core server, not your real IP address. The feature is available on all paid plans.

The price for the extra protection is speed. The app itself warns that Secure Core may slow down your VPN, because your data takes one more hop. That makes it a poor default for gaming or video calls. Turn it on deliberately, when privacy matters most.

Kill switch

The kill switch cuts your internet connection if the VPN suddenly drops, so your real IP address doesn’t leak. On the Mac you turn it on with one click right on the main screen. The app is upfront about two things: your IP may be briefly visible when switching between servers, and with the kill switch on, devices on your local network, such as a printer or home NAS, may stop working.

Settings and protocols

The connection settings let you choose a protocol. The default is Smart, which picks a working protocol automatically; you can also choose WireGuard, OpenVPN or Stealth manually. Stealth disguises VPN traffic so it is harder to recognise and helps on networks that block VPNs. It doesn’t make you invisible, though, and it can’t guarantee getting through every block. Proton offers it to free users too. On the Mac it requires allowing a network extension in System Settings, otherwise it may not appear in the menu.

The same menu has auto-connect on launch, the default Quick Connect behaviour, VPN Accelerator, local network access, DNS leak protection and split tunneling, which is still marked as experimental on the Mac. Older guides that mention the IKEv2 protocol are out of date: Proton has removed it from its apps and has been switching it off on its servers since April 2026.

Profiles and port forwarding

Profiles save your favourite connections. By default you get a “fastest” and a “random” server profile, and you can create your own, for example for the fastest server in a specific country, with a chosen protocol or with Secure Core switched on.

Port forwarding improves P2P download speeds and helps with hosting games. It works on paid plans, on P2P servers, in the Windows, macOS (currently in early access) and Linux apps. Keep in mind that the port number usually changes after you reconnect, and you then have to update it in your torrent client too. It is not the same as a permanently open port on your home router.

Split tunneling: differences by device

Split tunneling is a paid feature that lets you decide what goes through the VPN and what bypasses it. It is handy for banking apps that block VPNs, or for work apps. But an exception also means that traffic loses the VPN’s protection. The options depend on the platform:

The Android app

The Android app connects almost instantly, and the main features, such as Quick Connect, choosing a country, Secure Core, NetShield and the kill switch, are one or two taps away. The layout mirrors the desktop version: a country list, a server map, an overview of the current connection and the settings.

Kill switch and VPN Accelerator on other platforms

On Windows and Linux, the kill switch also has an advanced variant that forces traffic through the VPN even outside an active app session. On Android, protection relies on the system’s always-on VPN and “block connections without VPN” settings. After turning it on, always check that your printer or NAS on the home network is still reachable.

VPN Accelerator is meant to improve connection performance, especially on distant servers. Marketing speed multipliers can’t be applied to every home connection, though. What counts is the result on your route, not the switch itself. In our test we noticed its benefit mainly on Android.

Our speed measurements

We measured speeds at several locations and compared them with ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Treat the results as a guide: the speed on your connection depends on server distance, your network, the protocol and the current load.

In our measurements, Proton VPN kept pace with the big competitors and had the lowest ping of the three services.

Privacy and audits

Proton publishes the source code of all its apps and information about external audits. Its no-logs policy is checked every year by the firm Securitum. The fifth audit in a row took place in May 2026, and according to its findings the auditors found no records of visited websites, DNS queries or connection metadata on the examined servers that could be tied to a specific user. That is far more useful evidence than a marketing promise alone. Still, an audit always covers a specific scope and period.

A VPN encrypts the path between your device and the VPN server and changes the IP address that the services you visit can see. It does not remove cookies, logins to your accounts or browser fingerprinting. It is no substitute for an antivirus, two-factor authentication or care when entering passwords. For passwords, a password manager makes sense, such as the Proton Pass mentioned above.

Pricing

Proton VPN has a free plan and two paid plans for individuals. We checked the prices on the official pricing page on 20 October 2026:

Paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The lowest price applies to the first term only; after that the subscription renews at the regular yearly price (€83.88 a year for VPN Plus and €119.88 a year for Proton Unlimited, according to the pricing page). The free plan needs no credit card, shows no ads and has no time or data limit. To choose a country, stream or use P2P, however, you need a paid plan. If you want to compare other free options, see our best free VPN overview. And if you are considering the whole Proton suite, we looked at whether Proton Unlimited is worth it.

Who is Proton VPN for

• People who want a free VPN from a trustworthy provider and don’t mind one device and automatic server selection.
• Privacy-minded users who value an audited no-logs policy, open-source code, Secure Core and ownership by a non-profit foundation.
• Travellers and public Wi-Fi users who want to secure their connection quickly on a laptop and a phone.
• Users on networks that block VPNs, because Stealth is available even on the free plan.
• Existing Proton users, for whom Proton Unlimited with all services in one subscription makes sense.

What to set up after installing

1. Install the official app and keep the automatic protocol choice (Smart), or try WireGuard.
2. Turn on the kill switch, and on Windows or Linux consider its advanced variant.
3. Check that your printer, NAS and work apps still work. Add split tunneling exceptions only where you need them.
4. Use a nearby server for everyday work and turn on Secure Core deliberately.
5. If the VPN doesn’t work on a particular network, switch the protocol to Stealth.

What we like

• ✅ Regularly audited no-logs policy, Swiss base and open-source code
• ✅ Free plan with no data limit and no ads
• ✅ Secure Core and kill switch right on the main screen
• ✅ NetShield against malware, ads and trackers
• ✅ Stealth protocol against VPN blocking, even on the free plan
• ✅ Apps for all major platforms, up to 10 devices
• ✅ Speed on par with the big competitors and the lowest ping in our measurements

Things to watch out for

• The free plan offers medium speed only, one device, and picks the server for you.
• The best price requires a two-year plan and applies to the first term only.
• Secure Core can slow your connection down.
• Features differ by platform; for example, split tunneling is experimental on the Mac and missing on iOS.
• Streaming unblocking can change over time and can’t be guaranteed.

Verdict

Proton VPN is one of the most trustworthy VPNs on the market. A Swiss base, an independently audited no-logs policy, open-source code and a generous free plan make it a great choice for anyone who wants more privacy online. In our test we had no connection problems, and both the Mac and Android apps are clear, with the most important features one click away.

Our reservations are mainly about the differences between apps and the fact that you only get the lowest price with a two-year commitment. If you need a specific feature, such as split tunneling or port forwarding, check first that your system supports it. The free plan is enough to start with; VPN Plus pays off once you want to choose countries, stream or use P2P. For more options, see our regularly updated comparison of the best VPNs.