ProtonVPN review 2024

Looking for a VPN that offers top-notch privacy and a wide array of features? ProtonVPN might be what you need! In this ProtonVPN review, you’ll find out whether the service suits home internet users seeking added freedom and security whether at home, at work, or using public wifi.
Developed by the Proton Mail team at CERN in 2017, ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland – a country that takes user privacy seriously. The VPN is designed from the ground up to put user privacy first, with a solid no-logging policy, a choice of protocols, and robust encryption.

ProtonVPN stands out as an advanced and feature-rich VPN option. Split tunneling and port forwarding make ProtonVPN a solid choice for torrenting. Users can access a selection of self-owned servers and leverage features like multi-hop and obfuscation for added protection.

In my comprehensive look at ProtonVPN, I tested ProtonVPN’s apps and features for two weeks. I took a deep dive into its performance and user experience, ran speed tests, and looked under the hood to see how security is implemented. I also tested critical security features like the kill switch and checked that ProtonVPN works to access popular streaming platforms.

ProtonVPN sits at a slightly higher price point than some competitors, so I wanted to find out whether it could live up to its name and beat competitors with similar features at a lower cost.

Do I recommend ProtonVPN?

Subscriptions start at $4.99 per month when you subscribe for two years, putting ProtonVPN in a higher price bracket than some of its top competitors. There are plenty of VPNs around that offer a similar feature set for less.

Despite the higher cost, there is no doubt that ProtonVPN is a service that is at the top of its game. The wealth of features and impeccably designed apps make this VPN a pleasure to use across many different platforms, and the fact that it has completed a full third-party audit means that it competes with the very best VPNs on the market for transparency and trust.

A choice of servers in 85 countries is a vast improvement since the last time I tested it. The privacy policy impressed me, and the fact that you get port forwarding and split tunneling ticks a crucial box for users who torrent or want to host servers. However, unless you need these features, you may ultimately feel that you’re paying for extras you don’t need.

ProtonVPN key data

* Average speed over multiple global locations based across multiple speed tests per day.

ProtonVPN pros and cons

Here’s a rundown of the areas in which ProtonVPN shines and those it could improve on:

ProtonVPN Features

To give readers a clear understanding of what ProtonVPN brings to the table, I’ve summarized its key features below. These characteristics make ProtonVPN a reliable choice for all of the following tasks:

• Secure remote work capabilities.
• Preventing ISP and government tracking.
• Overcoming workplace restrictions or blocks on campus.
• Access to regional content and streaming platforms
• Safe use of public wifi, shielding against hacking and tracking.
• Use websites and services from back home on vacation.
• Prevent censorship in heavily restricted regions.

Here is a comprehensive list of the features available with ProtonVPN:

1. 3800+ servers in 85+ countries.
2. 107 self-owned Secure Core servers in 68 countries.
3. Apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Android TV, Chromebook, and Linux (for Debian-based distributions).
4. Browser extensions are available for Firefox, Chrome, Brave, and Microsoft Edge.
5. A choice of protocols (OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard).
6. Allows 10 consecutive connections with each account.
7. Streaming: ProtonVPN works with Netflix and many other popular streaming services.
8. Security: ProtonVPN provides robust AES-256 encryption to secure your data and prevent anybody from eavesdropping on your activities.
9. All ProtonVPN apps are open-source.
10. Securitum has audited its no-logging policy.
11. Sec Consult has audited the ProtonVPN apps.
12. Kill switch cuts your internet system-wide should the VPN connection fail.
13. Net Shield feature blocks ads and trackers, and protects you against domains known to contain malware.
14. DNS leak protection and IPv6 leak protection prevents any domain requests from escaping the VPN tunnel.
15. WireGuard protocol provides lightning-fast speeds.
16. Multi-hop connections allow you to bounce your traffic through two locations for added privacy.
17. Obfuscation (Stealth VPN protocol uses obfuscated TLS tunneling over TCP). Only available on Android, macOS, and iOS devices.
18. Live chat support is in the member’s area of the website and is exclusively there to support VPN users (other services must use the contact form to get help).
19. VPN subscription comes with a Proton Drive account with 200 GB (Plus) or 500 GB (Unlimited) of storage.
20. Quick connect feature chooses the best server available.
21. Profiles allow different family members to save their favorite servers,
22. Country selection is made easy with the new map feature.
23. VPN Accelerator feature helps keep you connected to the fastest server.
24. Moderate NAT limits the randomization of local IP addresses, which makes it easier for third parties to establish direct connections while torrenting or gaming.
25. Custom DNS feature lets you configure a third-party DNS service.
26. Port forwarding lets you forward to a specific port each time you initiate a connection (available on select servers).
27. Split tunneling feature lets you route some traffic inside of the VPN tunnel and some using your unprotected internet connection.
28. Proton Ultra account comes with a subscription to Proton Drive, Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar.

Apps: What devices work with ProtonVPN?

ProtonVPN supports up to 10 simultaneous device connections per account. This makes it ideal for larger households or people who own many devices. Subscribers can install and use apps for all of the following Operating Systems:

• Windows
• macOS
• iOS
• Android
• Amazon Fire TV
• Chrome OS
• Linux (GUI)

Besides these apps, ProtonVPN also has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge. Unlike many other VPNs, this stand-alone application is not just a proxy. It provides access to fully encrypted connections to ProtonVPN’s servers including the use of its Secure Core, split tunneling, and auto-connect features.

Proton’s browser-based VPN application is extremely useful for users who want to use a secure VPN connection without installing a full VPN client. This can be useful on Chromebooks or work devices on which employees are not permitted to install a full VPN application.

ProtonVPN’s Linux app has been completely redesigned. The new Linux app looks incredible and has added a bunch of additional features: NetShield Adblocker, Kill Switch, Secure Core, Port Forwarding, and VPN Accelerator. This brings it in line with the other desktop apps and makes it an extremely comprehensive VPN option for Linux users.

Routers

ProtonVPN provides support for all routers that offer native compatibility with the OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols. It has setup guides for setting up the VPN manually on numerous router brands and firmware types including:

• AsusWRT
• AsusWRT-Merlin
• DD-WRT
• FreshTomato
• Gl.iNet Flint (OpenVPN)
• MikroTik (WireGuard)
• OpenWRT
• pfSense
• Vilfo router

Besides having setup guides for these routers, ProtonVPN has also entered into a partnership with InvizBox to create the Invizbox 2 – a router designed from the ground up to work with ProtonVPN. This makes setting up and using the VPN on your home router extremely easy because it comes ready to connect right out of the box.

ProtonVPN pricing

ProtonVPN is a touch more expensive than the best cheap VPNs on the market. If you require port forwarding, split tunneling, secure core servers, obfuscation, multi-hop, or Tor over VPN, ProtonVPN is definitely worth considering.

ProtonVPN offers prospective customers various subscription options. The ProtonVPN Plus plans are for the VPN as a standalone. These plans will cost you $9.99 for a single month, $5.99 per month if you commit for a year, and $4.99 per month if you get a two-year subscription.

The cost of a single month is very competitive compared to many other similar VPNs, meaning that if you only need a VPN to go on vacation or while traveling for work, ProtonVPN is an excellent option.

The one and two-year plans are between $1 and $3 more expensive than some of its leading competitors, including Sufshark, NordVPN, PrivateVPN, and CyberGhost. Whether you decide to go with one of these competitors depends on the features you require

You can find almost all of Proton’s features elsewhere for less. Unless you need all of its features, you may want to shop around for the specific feature you require.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of ProtonVPN are its Unlimited plans. These charge a few bucks more to give you access to Proton VPN, Proton Mail, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar.

If you need secure cloud storage with 550 GB of storage, a reliable password manager, and a secure email service, then you could save a decent chunk of money by purchasing all these services together for $7.99 per month.

The approximate equivalent cost of these services if purchased as standalone would be $3 for a password manager, $2.50 for a cheap VPN, and $3 per month for 500 GB of secure file storage. This would set you back $8.50 per month and would increase even further if you wanted to upgrade from a free private email plan with 1 GB of storage to one with additional storage.

With this in mind, the cost of Proton Unlimited is very reasonable. Not only will Proton Unlimited make it easier to keep track of all your accounts, it also comes with 500 GB of storage right out of the gate, which is plenty of storage for emails, calendar entries, and important online backups.

Business plans

As of August of 2023, Proton sells business VPN accounts. These require a minimum of two users and start at $8,99 per person. Users can scale their business account depending on their company’s requirements, with three plans available at varying costs: Essentials, Business, and Enterprise.

Can I get a dedicated IP with ProtonVPN?

It is possible to get a dedicated IP with ProtonVPN. However, they are not available as part of a standard consumer-facing subscription. Instead, they are reserved for users who pay for a business plan.

A ProtonVPN business plan starts at $8.99 per month if you commit for two years, plus the cost of a dedicated IP which is currently $35.99 per month if you commit for two years. Unfortunately, you must also have at least 2 people registered to a business account so that brings the total cost of a dedicated IP to $53.99 per month.

This makes ProtonVPN far too expensive for the average home user seeking a dedicated IP. In contrast, PureVPN and Surfshark charge around $5 per month for an account with a dedicated IP.

Payment options

ProtonVPN accepts various payment methods. You can pay by debit and credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, Discover, and AMEX), and it accepts payments by PayPal.

You can also upgrade from a free account to a paid account using Bitcoin. To do so, log in to the website using your free account credentials and then upgrade by clicking Add Credits.

At this stage, you can select Bitcoin (or cash) as your payment type for added anonymity. Bitcoin payments are handled directly.

Money-back guarantee

All ProtonVPN subscriptions come with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. You can compare the VPN to any other provider, or test the VPN with your favorite streaming services. If for any reason you aren’t satisfied, contact support via live chat or email to ask for your money back. The money-back guarantee is available to subscribers who pay via credit or debit card, PayPal, and Bitcoin.

ProtonVPN free

In addition to a 30-day money-back guarantee, ProtonVPN also has a free plan. It allows you to connect to ProtonVPN for free on an unlimited basis, and the speeds the free plan provides are very impressive. Admittedly, you will notice increased lag (worse ping), but in terms of speed, you will still be able to use the internet with the freedom to do most tasks without suffering a massive slowdown.

The free plan only provides servers in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan. However, Proton is planning to add free servers to coincide with elections in 2024. ProtonVPN’s representative told me, “Proton VPN will become the first VPN provider to offer a network of free servers to countries holding elections that have a history of censorship or repression.”

This offers a glimpse into ProtonVPN’s culture, and its dedication to not only providing users with a reliable, privacy-forward VPN service – but also free access to the VPN during those times when citizens require it most.

Speed: Is ProtonVPN fast?

ProtonVPN introduced the WireGuard protocol in all of its apps, boosting its capability for high-demand activities. The VPN Accelerator feature further helps to keep you connected to the fastest server available.

To gauge ProtonVPN’s performance relative to other leading VPNs, I thoroughly tested the VPN. I used a dedicated test machine in the USA with a minimum bandwidth capacity of 2 Gbps. This is enough to max out the VPN’s download speed on any server.

I centered my tests around servers in North America, Europe, and Asia. To account for irregularities, I tested each location three times at three-hour intervals. ProtonVPN has an average peak download speed of 331 Mbps globally.

Details of all my tests can be seen in the table below:

ProtonVPN is an extremely quick VPN that is well suited to data-intensive tasks like streaming, gaming, video conferencing, and torrenting. In fact, it is currently the 4th fastest VPN on the market.

The only caveat is that these speeds will reduce considerably if you decide to connect to Secure Core servers. Secure Core servers offer additional privacy and security benefits by ensuring your data is handled by servers owned and operated by ProtonVPN. However, they will cause additional lag and a speed drop of up to 75 percent. For this reason, we generally recommend sticking to a regular ProtonVPN server if you need to stream or do other non-sensitive tasks that require high speeds.

Finally, I was impressed with the speed at which the VPN establishes a server connection. The VPN connects almost instantly, even when connecting to a server on the other side of the world. This makes it a pleasure to use compared to many other market-leading VPNs, which may sometimes take up to 20 seconds to connect.

Does ProtonVPN work with streaming platforms & Kodi?

If you’re a Kodi user on platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, Android TV, iOS, or Firestick, you’ll be glad to know that ProtonVPN has apps for all these devices. You can easily install and connect to the VPN directly on the device you use for streaming Kodi.

If you own a smart TV, console, or some other Kodi device that doesn’t let you install a VPN directly, then you can set up a VPN-protected WiFI hotspot and share your VPN connection with your Kodi device.

Does ProtonVPN work with Netflix?

Many people want a VPN to access their home streaming services on vacation, or to access TV shows and movies not yet available in their region. So, how does ProtonVPN fare for this purpose? I connected to various regions to find out whether I could watch region-locked exclusives on Netflix. You can see the results of my tests below:

• Connected to the US server: Watched “The Great British Baking Show” (US exclusive).
• Connected to UK server: Streamed “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (UK exclusive).
• Connected to a server in Japan: Accessed the movie “Gintama” (Japanese exclusive).
• Connected to a server in France: Watched the French film “The 400 Blows” (exclusive to France).
• Connected to a server in Canada: Viewed “Mr. D” (Canada-exclusive show).

These results reveal that ProtonVPN is an exceptional VPN when it comes to streaming regional Netflix content.

Does ProtonVPN work to watch British TV?

Whether you’re a UK resident who wants to watch British TV on vacation or a foreigner keen on accessing Freeview British TV options from abroad, you will need a VPN with UK servers optimized for streaming. I tested ProtonVPN’s UK server and was able to watch all of the streaming services listed below:

• BBC iPlayer
• ITVX
• Channel 4

Does ProtonVPN work with popular US streaming platforms?

ProtonVPN is an excellent option if you want to access US-based TV platforms and streaming services from abroad. It has servers in 17 different US cities, which makes it suitable for circumventing sports blackouts. Below, we have included a list of US TV platforms and streaming services that ProtonVPN successfully works with:

• Hulu
• Disney+
• HBO Max
• Peacock
• FreeVee
• Midnight Pulp
• Amazon Prime (US)
• Tubi (US)
• Pluto TV
• Roku Channel
• Crackle
• Xumo
• Hotstar
• F1 TV
• Peacock

The only US services we tested it with that didn’t work were Paramount+, Sling Freestream, and Vudu (Now Fandango at Home).

Does ProtonVPN work with other international streaming platforms?

While a fair few VPNs work to access American and British TV streaming services, it can be a bit harder to find a VPN that works with international streaming options. To get a sense of how ProtonVPN works for this purpose I tested it with a choice of international platforms:

• Australia: ProtonVPN worked to watch 10Play. However, I had to disable the Net Shield ad-block.
• Germany: ProtonVPN worked to watch region-locked content on ARD Mediathek.
• France: ProtonVPN worked to watch France.tv.
• Brazil: ProtonVPN worked to watch GloboPlay.
• Canada: ProtonVPN worked to watch CBC using a free account.

These are truly formidable results that make ProtonVPN perfect for streaming international TV services. If you want to watch home TV services on vacation, are a student studying a foreign language, or would like access to regional coverage of sports competitions, then ProtonVPN is hard to beat.

Does ProtonVPN allow Torrenting?

Yes. ProtonVPN has servers optimized for torrenting in various locations around the world. You can locate these servers easily thanks to the P2P symbol next to torrenting servers in the app.

Most of ProtonVPN’s servers are P2P friendly. You can torrent using just about any server location you prefer.

To make this VPN even better for torrenting, it is one of the few providers that still support port forwarding. To use this feature, click the Port Forwarding button on the main page of the VPN software:

Once it is enabled, the app will open a random port each session. You cannot specify a port to open, so you will have to set the port that is opened automatically in your torrent client. You can find the port easily at the top of the VPN app’s main page:

I found the entire process of setting up and using port forwarding with ProtonVPN extremely user-friendly. I was also happy to be able to use the Split Tunneling feature to access local services (such as Netflix) while continuing to use the VPN to download torrents securely.

The split tunneling feature lets you choose apps you want to exclude or include in the VPN connection. Alternatively, you can choose to include or exclude traffic that is bound for a specific web domain. Just bear in mind that you will need to use a DNS lookup tool to find the IPv4 address for the service you want to exclude from the VPN tunnel.

Security

The most important part of any VPN lies in its ability to safeguard your privacy and provide security for all data in transit.

While reviewing ProtonVPN, I was happy to find that it exclusively offers modern, reliable protocols such as OpenVPN (both UDP and TCP), WireGuard, and IKEv2. You will not find outdated protocols like L2TP or PPTP, which means you will have reliable security regardless of which protocol you select.

The WireGuard protocol is implemented using Chacha20 encryption, and the IKEv2 protocol (available on Mac and iOS) uses AES-256 encryption. We have included the OpenVPN implementation details for ProtonVPN below:

• AES-256 cipher
• HMAC SHA-512 hash authentication
• RSA-2048 handshake encryption
• Perfect Forward Secrecy is provided using a Diffie-Hellman key exchange

For those who want added privacy – or the ability to connect in countries with strict firewalls – ProtonVPN also provides a new Stealth VPN protocol. However, this is only available on Android, macOS, and iOS devices.

All of the tunneling protocols available with ProtonVPN are known for their ability to secure your data against hackers and eavesdropping whether at home, at work, or using public wifi. This makes it a highly secure VPN for bypassing government censorship, workplace restrictions, or any other block with complete confidentiality.

ProtonVPN automatically chooses the tunneling protocol for you by default (Smart). If you prefer to know exactly which protocol the VPN is using, you will need to specify OpenVPN, WireGuard, or IKEv2  in the app.

Leak tests

VPN leaks can expose your data, browsing history, and IP address to third parties. For robust VPN security, all your data must remain within the encrypted VPN tunnel, with no leaks I conducted various tests for IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. You can see the results of my tests below.

As you can see, the VPN did not reveal my real IP address or location in any of the results. ProtonVPN securely handles all data inside the encrypted tunnel. DNS requests are handled securely, and the VPN does not suffer from any IP or WebRTC leaks.

Net Shield ad and tracker blocking

Proton’s Net Shield is designed to protect you against malicious websites, ads, and trackers. This DNS-based filtering helps to keep you safer online, makes web pages load faster, and helps save on mobile data.

Net Shield works, but I found it is sometimes helpful to switch off Net Shield to access streaming services. If you have any trouble streaming a TV platform when connected to a suitable server, I recommend briefly disabling Net Shield to check whether that helps with streaming.

Kill switch

A kill switch is a crucial VPN security tool that blocks your internet any time that the VPN connection fails. This ensures that you cannot use the internet unless you are securely routing your traffic through the encrypted tunnel. A reliable kill switch means you don’t have to worry about unprotected data leaking to local networks, ISPs, government snoops, or other eavesdroppers.

To check the reliability of ProtonVPN’s kill switch I connected to the VPN and purposely crashed the app while using a page refresh tool to check my IP address once per second. My tests check that the kill switch works as expected – and let me ascertain whether Proton has a system-level kill switch (which is the best kind).

My findings revealed that ProtonVPN completely cuts my internet until I’m fully reconnected to the VPN. I did not detect my home IP address at any stage during my tests, even when the app purposefully crashed using Task Manager.

I was also pleased to find that ProtonVPN has a killswitch in its apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Bear in mind that the mobile apps leverage the kill-switch feature that is built into those mobile operating systems (always-on VPN ensures that no traffic can leave your device unless the VPN is connected).

In the desktop apps, you can choose to set the kill switch to kick in when you are using the VPN – or to always block your internet without the VPN. If you decide to leverage the Permanent kill switch, then I recommend setting ProtonVPN to launch on startup and connect automatically, so that you don’t have to spend time launching the VPN each time.

Logging

Jurisdiction

ProtonVPN was founded by the team behind ProtonMail and is headquartered in Switzerland, a country known for its strong data protection laws.

Switzerland is a reliable location for a privacy service (like a VPN) to be based thanks to its lack of mandatory data retention laws and strong consumer privacy rules.

Switzerland is independent of major international surveillance alliances, which means it retains a neutral stance and does not work hand in hand with international surveillance agencies to gather data or snoop on its citizens at the behest of other nations. Switzerland is not a member of the “Fourteen Eyes,” an intelligence-sharing alliance between 14 Western countries.

The lack of mandatory data retention laws in Switzerland allows ProtonVPN to maintain a strict no-logging policy. Even if it is served a warrant, it will never have any data to pass to Swiss authorities.

Logging policy

Its secure base in Switzerland should allow ProtonVPN to commit to a watertight no-logging policy. Despite this, I closely analyze the entire privacy policy to ensure it has no grey areas that could potentially raise privacy concerns.

The first thing I noticed is that the ProtonVPN policy was last updated in August of last year. This demonstrates that the VPN is constantly analyzing its policies and seeking to update or improve them.

The policy itself is well written and specifies that the VPN does not keep any records of the user’s source IP address or their activities while connected to the VPN. The VPN does not share any user data with third parties and retains only minimal data to provide its services (email address, name, and payment details).

The VPN clearly states that it never logs any of the following data:

• The websites you visit
• Traffic or the content of any communications
• IP address
• Session lengths
• Any location-based information

The policy states that ProtonVPN will never store source IP addresses unless a user is suspected of breaking the terms of service. Regular users do not need to worry about their source IP address ever being stored on record.

Anybody breaking the Terms of Service while using ProtonVPN could theoretically have their IP address logged. Proton states that the kinds of activities that could cause an IP address to be temporarily stored include “spamming, DDoS attacks against our infrastructure, and brute force attacks.”

The policy says:

Enabling “Proton’s advanced security program” lets Proton store your IP address until you turn the feature off. The Proton advanced security program refers to Proton Sentinel, which is an advanced account protection program that provides maximum security for users who want it. It mitigates security threats by combining AI with human analysis. You can find out more about Proton’s Sentinel program on its website.

Although the Sentinel program sounds great in theory, I personally never feel comfortable using a VPN that is holding my IP address. When an IP address is stored on file, it creates potential for real-time surveillance and time correlation attacks.

That said, the policy clearly states, “The authentication logs feature records login attempts to your Account and does not track product-specific activity, such as VPN activity.” So other than your IP address, Proton Sentinel should not affect your privacy while using the VPN.

ProtonVPN keeps no connection logs that could allow a user’s IP address to be linked to a specific server in its network. This removes concerns regarding correlation attacks. Despite this, any users seeking watertight online privacy may still prefer not to opt-in to this additional security feature.

ProtonVPN’s privacy policy has been closely scrutinized by an independent auditing firm, and it was found to offer strong protection to its users. In addition, a legal case from 2019 proved Proton’s commitment to user privacy when the VPN was asked to provide information – but was unable to comply because it didn’t have the information requested.

Does ProtonVPN work in China?

Even with its new Stealth VPN protocol, Proton does not work in China. The VPN was blocked in the country in 2019 and since then the VPN has decided to offer no official support for users living in or visiting China.

If you already have the VPN installed on your device when you go to China, then you may be able to get it to work. Enable StealthVPN and the Allow Alternative Routing feature, which help ProtonVPN connect when there is a strict firewall in place.

China is not officially supported, though, so if you need a VPN for China, then it is a good idea to shop elsewhere.

Customer support

Subscribers can head over to the member’s area of the website and talk to a support agent at any time of day. To find the live chat support simply log in, and click the little icon in the top right. Select Chat with us from the drop-down menu.

The live chat agents are available around the clock to help you with any issues or questions you might have. Those agents have a lot of excellent knowledge about the VPN and can help you resolve most problems.

To make the support process easier for both the user and the support agents, the website is brimming with useful guides and FAQs. This can help you to get set up on any device and will explain how to use the VPN or overcome issues you might encounter.

I found the entire ProtonVPN website to be excellently well laid out, packed with important technical information that many other VPNs forget to supply, as well as an almost bottomless amount of support materials in its knowledge base.

Proton’s blog is packed with news, guides, and information articles that help educate and inform people regarding all topics in the privacy and security niche. Proton’s Observatory is a webpage dedicated to providing information about censorship and internet shutdowns around the world.

Overall, the depth of knowledge and support provided by ProtonVPN is very impressive. If you don’t have time for a live chat, then you can drop them an email or start a support ticket instead.

Should I buy ProtonVPN?

Having thoroughly tested ProtonVPN for a fortnight, I can confidently recommend it to anybody. Yes, the VPN is a touch more expensive than some of its closest competitors. But I got what I paid for.

The speed with which ProtonVPN connects make this VPN relaxing and pleasurable to test. I could digitally teleport myself from one side of the world to the other in mere seconds to check different Netflix catalogs for region-locked exclusives, and connection speeds were stable when gaming, streaming, and torrenting.

The ProtonVPN apps are impeccably designed. Despite having a wide selection of features, everything is laid out in a sensible and user-friendly manner. What’s more, I found features that are often hard to use with other VPNs, such as its port forwarding feature, to be extremely easy to benefit from.

The live chat support agents are polite, well-trained, and knowledgeable. I found each encounter with them to be a pleasure, and they could answer my questions quickly without struggling to search through materials to find a response (a trait common with many other VPNs).

A few years ago Proton had a relatively small network of servers, and it didn’t work well with international streaming services. Now, those days are firmly behind it. Proton accessed more streaming services than any other VPN I have re-reviewed this year making it an exceptional VPN for the average home user.

Most important of all, this VPN is extremely robust in terms of privacy and security. The only real caveat is that it costs a few dollars more than some of its competitors. However, thanks to the updates and improvements it has made, those who can afford it will find it one of the most impressive VPNs that money can buy.