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In this guide
Proton VPN's free plan is unusual in the category: one device, servers in ten countries selected at random, no data cap, no ads and no card. It is a real free tier, not a seven-day trial, and it is the reason to read Proton before any paid VPN.
VPN Plus costs $4.49 a month for the first 12 months, billed at $53.88, then renews at $83.88 every 12 months. That buys ten devices, 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, higher speeds, streaming, P2P and NetShield. The question is whether the free tier already covers the job, and whether the renewal price still does.
Our verdict
Proton VPN's free plan is unusually usable, and $53.88 for the first year of Plus adds devices and speed; the $83.88 renewal is the number to check.
- A good fit for
- One-device users who want a no-logs VPN with no data cap, and paid users who need ten devices and streaming.
- We would skip it if
- Households needing several devices on the free plan, a specific free country, or a business account with central management.
Reasons to consider it
- Free tier with one device, ten countries, unlimited bandwidth and no ads.
- No-logs policy verified by Securitum, Swiss jurisdiction and open-source apps.
- Plus adds ten devices, 20,000+ servers and streaming/P2P for $53.88 in year one.
The compromises
- The free plan's ten countries are randomly selected, not chosen by the user.
- The Plus renewal is $83.88, well above the first-year $53.88.
- The 30-day refund can be used once per user and only for purchases made directly through Proton's site or apps.
What we have not verified: Connection speeds, streaming access and app behaviour on each platform are unverified; the plan limits and prices are Proton's US pricing page on the day, and the terms let Proton charge the then-current price at renewal.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Proton VPN
Free covers one device and ten countries with no data cap; $53.88 in year one adds ten devices, 20,000+ servers and the speed to use them.
Before you buy: The free plan's ten countries are randomly selected, and the Plus renewal rises to $83.88 after the first year.
Price checked November 1, 2026. Retailer prices can change.What the free plan actually gives
Proton Free is one device, not a family plan. It connects to servers in ten countries chosen at random, which means the user cannot pick the country; the page lists that limit plainly. The bandwidth is unlimited, there are no ads, and no card is required.
According to Proton's pricing FAQ, the free plan has no data limits and no artificial speed limits, though the plan table rates its speed as medium against the highest for Plus. The trade is control. A user who needs a specific country, a second device or streaming cannot get there on the free plan, and the pricing table names all three limits.
What $53.88 buys in year one
VPN Plus raises the device count from one to ten and the server list from ten countries to 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries. It adds higher speeds, streaming, P2P, NetShield ad and malware blocking, and Secure Core. The first-year price is $4.49 a month, billed at $53.88.
The plan is priced for a household or for one person with a laptop, a phone and a tablet: any second device already exceeds the free tier. A direct buyer who cancels within 30 days gets all the money back, but Proton grants that once per user and not for cash or bank-transfer payments; after 30 days the year cannot be refunded, and the second year is priced at $83.88, not $53.88.
The no-logs claim and its audit
Proton says it keeps no logs of online activity and no metadata: no visited pages, no session lengths, no IP address monitoring. The claim has been audited by Securitum, an independent security firm, and Proton links the audit write-up from its no-logs page. An audit is a point-in-time check, not a permanent guarantee.
The company is Swiss, and it says Swiss law does not oblige it to retain data logs. The apps are open source, the protocols are WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, and the kill switch is included on every plan, free as well. None of that proves a server is configured correctly on a given day; it does mean the claims are checkable rather than pure marketing.
The price after year one
The renewal is $83.88 every 12 months, which is $6.99 a month. That is still below the $9.99 Plus costs on the month-to-month plan, but it is 56% more than the first-year $53.88, and the terms let Proton charge whatever the renewal price is by then. The 2-year term, $83.76 for the first 24 months, renews at the same $83.88 a year.
Proton Unlimited bundles VPN with Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive for $9.99 a month on a 1-year term, billed at $119.88, also renewing at $119.88. That is a different purchase: a suite, not a VPN. For a reader who only wants the VPN, Plus is the relevant line, and the free plan is the place to start.
When Proton is the wrong choice
Skip the free plan if the household needs more than one device or a specific country. Skip Plus if the job is a single laptop on a home network and the free tier already covers it; the paid tier is for device count, streaming and speed, not for a different no-logs promise.
A business with central management, SSO or team billing needs Proton VPN for Business, a separate product with its own plans. A reader who wants a one-time purchase rather than a subscription is also in the wrong category: VPNs are rented, and the renewal is part of the cost.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Proton VPN: Pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Proton VPN: Free VPN (opens in a new tab)
- Proton VPN: No-logs policy (opens in a new tab)
- Proton: Terms of Service (opens in a new tab)
