Proton VPN overview and test. Is it reliable to use in 2021?

Getting your personal data secure is essential in the 21st century—lots of advertisers and simply dishonest people hunting for the user’s private data on the Internet. The ISP can sell your data to them. VPN broadcasts your activity within the encrypted tunnel, which is encrypted. VPN also helps you hide your real Internet address. This way, advertisers can’t monitor your web activity. If you pick a remote server, you may even fake the country you are connecting from.

Choosing a reliable VPN service provider is crucial. There are so many providers in the market that it’s difficult to make the right choice. Here is why I prepared an overview of the Proton VPN service. I tested its features thoroughly. If you are interested in picking this service provider, this page will be helpful for you. Let’s start.

About Proton VPN. Company overview

This service provider doesn’t stand among the most popular, the most feature-rich, or at least the most affordable VPNs in the market. It is a relatively small market player. This organization is a partner of a popular and secure email service provider Proton Mail. This VPN service is located in Geneva, Switzerland. This country is famous for its strict laws concerning confidentiality and data privacy. Laws in Switzerland don’t necessitate keeping the user data logs, which is a substantial benefit.

How much does it cost to use Proton VPN?

There are a few subscription options on a pricing page. The Proton VPN doesn’t slow down your speed no matter what subscription you have. We will check it later. Now let’s have a closer look at the suggested plans.

The first one is a free subscription. It is said to have a “medium” speed as it may be overcrowded by too many users. Expectedly, this is quite a restricted opportunity. It involves servers in 3 countries and one device for VPN connection. Even if you want to have free VPN access, you will need to register on a website. But the positive thing is unlimited data for free subscribers. Many other service providers place a limit concerning it.

The next option is “Basic.” The cost is $4 per month or S48 per year. It enables access to all the locations provided by Proton VPN. However, users are still limited to only two devices. This one also involves high-speed connection and support of peer-to-peer and BitTorrent. The price is a little lower than other providers charge for similar services.

“Plus” subscription plan is marked as the best offer on the website. Its price is $8 per month or $96 per year.

This plan provides you access to all the features of Proton VPN. You can utilize 5 devices simultaneously, which is normal for most VPN services. The extra features open are the Tor anonymizing network access and Core VPN security. It means protecting your Internet address by transferring your Internet traffic via numerous servers. It also enables access to popular websites with geoblocks, like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Facebook, etc. This plan also allows access to the Secure Core servers, which made me curious. Proton VPN holds such servers and keeps them in safe areas (like a former military base). By doing so, the company confirms that nobody can interfere with the server operation to receive your private data. When you connect with these servers, your VPN performs two steps. Firstly, it connects to the Core Server, and secondly, to the picked VPN. This guarantees full security even in case the intruders took over control of your VPN server. This traffic management scheme has much in common with TOR, but the second one is more complicated and includes more steps.

However, such complicated connections require compromises when it comes to speed and performance. But this original feature can bring relief even to the greatest security paranoiacs. There are various similar systems like that elaborated by the competitors. But this Core Server one stands out among all of them, bringing the most use.

A Visionary plan is a complete pack of features offered by the Proton VPN service. It costs $24 per month or $288 per year. It gives access to all the paid features of both Proton VPN and Proton Mail. Proton Mail features include 20 GB storage, 10 email domains support, and five users for each email. The number of simultaneously connected devices increased up to ten.

As for me, the price for the Basic one is more or less reasonable. Plus and Visionary is overpriced for the functionality they offer. Paid plans don’t include a free trial, which is not well-thought as you can’t test the whole functionality. But if you sign up for a free plan, you receive a weekly free Plus access.

Proton VPN offers discounts if you subscribe to a yearly or two-yearly plan. It may look attractive for users, but I wouldn’t recommend you purchase a yearly plan right away. Better buy a few months or a free plan first and see whether it works for you.

You can buy subscriptions via a credit card or PayPal. Users can even purchase bitcoins if they want to upgrade their subscription plan. Proton VPN has recently announced its cryptocurrency, which is interesting. They assumed their platform would become more open to anonymous money transfers.

Testing the speed for different subscription plans

Speed is one of the key differences between more affordable and expensive subscription plans of Proton VPN. Let’s check whether this VPN speed is really faster or we are just buying the same speed for a different cost. Firstly, I want to mention that utilizing the Core Server significantly decreases the speed.

So, I measured the download activity first. The free one demonstrated a 97-percent decrease, Basic – 64 percent and Premium 57 percent. The Visionary wasn’t very different from the Premium one, comprising a 52 percent decrease. When I utilized the Core Server, the speed decreased up to 94 percent.

The upload speed testing outcomes were also not so outstanding. The free plan decreased by 85 percent, Basic and Premium by 64 and 70 percent correspondingly. Visionary showed the best results, with a 58 percent upload speed reduction.

The first summing-up I can make judging by these test results is that the subscription plan does affect the VPN activity. Secondly, this is not the case with this VPN service provider. The separation between Free and Premium plans is not so big. However, the results prove that the wider the server choice you have, the faster your connection is. But the change is not as dramatic as I expected. And if we talk about speeds in general, they are all below average. You may get a faster solution in the market.

Secondly, the use of Core Servers affects your performance very negatively. It is almost the same as utilizing a free plan. Or even worse. I don’t know whether I will be suitable for users. I wouldn’t recommend you using this VPN as I don’t think it’s reasonable to pay so much for such a slow speed.

Protocols

This VPN service employs OpenVPN protocol for Windows and Linux that is the most reliable choice available. For macOS, Android, and iOS, the IKEc2 protocol is utilized. The provider announced the intention to move on to only OpenVPN protocol support.

Server locations

This VPN is available in 54 countries. This figure did not impress me, as there are competitors that cover almost twice more. The more server locations the provider has, the better performance users receive and the more opportunities for faking locations they have. As for me, it could have been more.

However, Proton VPN is doing its best to improve the situation. The provider now has a few server locations in Africa, a continent that is unreasonably avoided even by the biggest VPN service providers. It also possesses locations in South America, one more neglected area. This provider is extending its presence step by step. This is great because promising fast connections with servers in 54 countries is a little untrue.

Some users have stated they're being concerned regarding the usage of virtual services by this company. There exist such servers, where one physical host can include a few virtual ones. They can even be located in different countries. Users are concerned because they need to understand the exact server they are joining, what areas their data is crossing. I can’t claim employing virtual servers is dangerous. It is not desirable as the VPN may not be the only one that rents a certain server. The users don’t know who else can access it.

Privacy with Proton VPN

This VPN service provider possesses a few useful privacy and data safety features. Except for this, this provider benefits from its location in Switzerland. There are many competitors from the US, claiming that laws don’t matter at all. However, there are many cases when service providers give private user information to different authorities. What is more, there are more cases of selling user data to advertising companies, which is quite unpleasant. To enhance user privacy, Proton VPN employs such features as:

Kill switch

This is a crucial feature that doesn’t influence the daily user experience, but in some situations, it acts like a life-saver. Imagine that you are downloading a large file with Torrent, and it may take several hours to download it completely. If your VPN connection interrupts for a few seconds, your ISP can see what you are doing. It can cause trouble later. It is also essential for journalists who want to remain incognito on the Internet. The kill switches are available for Mac and Windows versions.

How does Proton VPN prevent leaks?

Ideally, the VPN doesn’t leak any info about your Internet service provider, your actual IP address, or your DNS queries. Let’s move on to the DNS leak test that I conducted. I want to mention that the function of DNS Leak Protection is the default. Proton VPN has successfully passed the leak test with no issues. I conducted it on several servers and was satisfied with the results.

Split tunneling

I can’t say this option is a must for every user. But it is nice if a VPN service provider gives it to users. This feature divides your Internet connection into two tunnels: one uses a VPN connection, another one doesn’t. Protonvn has this feature, which makes it beneficial for users. When I tested it, I didn’t have any problems with split tunneling.

Compatibility with devices

Sadly, the Proton VPN service doesn’t have a browser extension. But it has an application for mobile devices. It is supported on most operating systems: iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux. These apps have a high rating on app stores when compared with competitor applications presented by other VPN services. But the device coverage still could be better.

Can Proton VPN be used to watch Netflix?

Watching Netflix with VPN is a real challenge for modern users as the conflict between the VPN services and streaming websites continues. Proton VPN supports such regions as Netflix US, Netflix UK, and Netflix Germany. During my test, I was blocked several times. It worked out with the servers located in the US, but I was blocked by most European servers. I was disappointed by such an experience when I realized the reason. I made 12 attempts (6 for the US and 6 for Europe), and 8 of them were blocked. This happened because Proton VPN offers a limited number of servers to choose from. What disappointed me, even more, is that you have to subscribe to the most expensive (Premium or Visionary) plan to be blocked. This feature doesn’t work for free and Basic plans.

On the other hand, you need to realize that the situation with Netflix is very changeable. The things that work for users today may be banned the next day. I don’t recommend you relying on my results too much. However, I wouldn’t say this VPN service is among even my top-10 most suitable choices for watching Netflix.

How fast is Proton VPN?

This is the part of the review most users are interested in. So let’s move on to it. For testing, I used the Premium plan and selected servers located in the US and Europe. I utilized the Ookla speed-testing tool. Firstly, I tried a server in New York. The results were slightly below average with 73 Mbps. Then I tried to connect to Las Vegas and Houston servers, but there weren’t any significant speed improvements. The best result was in Washington D.C., which comprised 86 Mbps.

Testing the European servers was quite disappointing. The UK and French servers showed only 23 Mbps. The results are not so great, and this VPN service is far below the fastest ones. This VPN service just doesn’t meet the requirements of present and future customers. I find these speeds not competitive in the modern market at all. This VPN just costs too much for what they offer. They try to explain their prices with Switzerland being an expensive country.

Customer service

We all know that customer service is crucial for such kinds of service providers. The users may require help at any time. I was unpleasantly surprised when I found out that proton VPN doesn’t offer a live chat for customer support. In my opinion, this is a must-have feature that enhances the overall user experience. However, Protonvpn does offer customer service via emails. There are also various guides and FAQ blog articles on the website.

When I tested the time of support response, I filled in the contact form on their website. I got answers to some of my inquiries on the same day. But in most cases, I had to wait up to 3 days. That’s just a disappointing result for a service where users may need instant help in solving various issues. I don’t think that customer service is a strong side of Protonvpn, and they should consider improving it so as not to lose reputation and customers.

Other features

Many VPN service providers want to enhance the user experience by offering other services apart from VPN. Usually, they are ad blockers, trackers, anti-virus software, etc. Proton VPN doesn’t offer such features except for access to their partner email service Proton Mail for the most expensive subscription plan. However, they announced that they are now working on their ad blocker, which will be launched soon. But the users can get access to it for free or purchase it separately for a more affordable price than the Visionary plan.

Proton VPN and gaming

To be completely fair, I tested this VPN service for gaming, too. However, I realized that the performance would be far from perfect. But I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I had so many lags that I couldn’t run the game even at medium and low settings. It wasn’t something outstanding, just an ordinary simulation game. The disadvantages of Protonvpn for gaming are:

User reviews

Except for all the features and speed tests above, I also paid attention to user reviews on such websites as Sitejabber and Trustpilot. I wanted to find out the opinion of other users concerning the Protonvpn service.

The majority of negative reviews were connected with bad customer service and slow speeds. They complain about being unfair with free users and asking money for accessing websites from the free plan users. They claim the Secure Core services slow down their speed to a snail pace. I was so disappointed to read this. The rating of Proton VPN was 3 stars, which tells me much about the real user experience with this service provider.

FAQ

Is Proton VPN suitable for torrenting?

Yes, this service has a torrenting option. Peer-to-peer file sharing is also allowed. Your activity is protected by a strict no-logs policy. You can find articles concerning torrenting on the Proton VPN website. They even provide a guide for utilizing BitTorrent with Protonvpn.

Does this VPN service work in China?

I haven’t found a clear answer, but it seems that Proton VPN doesn’t work in China due to the recent support update. But Proton VPN has some servers situated nearby. I think this VPN service just can’t cope with the Great Firewall of China. I tried to access Chinese server locations, but most of them were blocked.

Does Proton VPN offer static IP addresses?

No, it doesn’t offer such a service. Static IP addresses are those that are unlikely to be blocked by the server. However, they were talking about the plans to start offering static IP addresses for sale. This feature will improve the user experience and become another benefit of this service.

Can I get a refund if I don’t like this VPN service?

Yes, the Proton VPN policy concerning refunds is pretty well-thought. A user has a month to place a request for a refund in case he is not satisfied. They don’t offer a full refund, only a refund for unused time. This is a good offer compared with competitors that offer more limitary refund policies.

Can I use Proton VPN on Android TV?

This feature is still in beta testing. But if you are interested, you may download a beta version from the website. It is installed right on your TV set. The Android TV feature lets you explore content from more than 50 countries if you are a paid plan subscriber (Visionary or Plus).

Can I get a coupon from this VPN service?

Yes, but they don’t offer coupons for users. You can receive it as an excuse for a mistake that occurred. It can also be issued to paid plan subscribers during the checkout process. But I found information that these coupons are often faked by scam websites. So be careful while purchasing it.

Is Proton VPN better than Nord VPN?

Nord VPN is one of the widely used VPN services. Nord VPN has more than 5 thousand servers in over 60 countries, whereas Proton VPN has more than 500 in 54 countries. Both these services don’t record the user's personal data. Only Protonvpn offers a split tunneling feature. Overall, there is no great difference between these two service providers.

What devices is this VPN compatible with?

Proton VPN is offering native applications for such operating systems as Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android. There are no browser extensions or router apps presented by this service provider. The number of connected devices at the same time is different depending on your subscription plan. It is up to 10 devices.

Does this VPN have an ad blocker?

No, the adblocker feature is not included in this VPN service.

The bottom line

To sum it up, let’s define the pros and cons of using Proton VPN first and then move on to my final thoughts. Benefits:

• Flexible subscription plans;
• Free subscription option;
• Focused on user security and privacy.

Disadvantages:

• Limited functionality;
• Lack of high-quality customer support;
• Speeds below average;
• Not suitable for gaming;
• Few server locations are available.

I don’t think this VPN is a good choice that meets the requirements of most users. Proton VPN still has many drawbacks, but they are willing to improve the situation, which is worth praise. During my tests, I realized that my experience was not as hassle-free as I expected. It was all unstable and dependent on many factors like the subscription plan, your area, and the server location, and others. I’d prefer using a service that has more guarantees concerning the user experience. The other problem is being too expensive as for such quality. In my opinion, it’s not just worth its cost. But the improvements of Proton VPN give me hope that in a few years, the quality will be significantly improved. I don’t recommend using Proton VPN.