ProtonVPN Review — Tested by Nolan Voss

The Short Answer

ProtonVPN is the only VPN I’ve tested that offers a genuinely free tier with no data caps, no ads, and no speed throttling on free servers. The paid plan hits 780 Mbps on WireGuard — not quite as fast as NordVPN’s 892 Mbps, but the open-source clients, Swiss privacy jurisdiction, and Secure Core routing make it the top choice for privacy purists. If you want a free VPN that actually works, start here. If you want maximum privacy and are willing to pay, the Plus plan is the one to get.

Try ProtonVPN Free →

✅ Privacy-first users who want open-source VPN clients they can audit themselves — ProtonVPN publishes all client code on GitHub.

✅ Budget users who need a genuinely free VPN with no data caps, no ads, and no selling of browsing data.

✅ Journalists, activists, and researchers who need Secure Core routing (traffic bounced through privacy-friendly countries before reaching the destination).

✅ Proton ecosystem users already on ProtonMail, ProtonDrive, or ProtonCalendar who want a unified Swiss privacy stack.

❌ Speed-first users — if raw throughput is your top priority, NordVPN (892 Mbps) is approximately 15% faster on WireGuard.

❌ Users who need more than 10 simultaneous connections — ProtonVPN caps at 10 on the Plus plan.

❌ Free tier users who expect streaming access — the free plan blocks Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming platforms.

❌ Users who need a dedicated IP address — ProtonVPN does not currently offer static/dedicated IPs on any plan.

$ nolan@proxmox:~# vpn-benchmark –provider protonvpn –tiers free,plus –duration 30d

Baseline: AT&T Fiber 1Gbps · Proxmox 8.1 · Free tier: 3 server locations (US, NL, JP) · Plus tier: 14 server locations · 30-day average

✅ Genuinely free tier with no data caps, no ads, and no browsing data sold — the only VPN I trust at $0

✅ Fully open-source clients — all apps published on GitHub and independently audited by Securitum

✅ Swiss jurisdiction — outside Five Eyes, Fourteen Eyes, and EU data retention laws

✅ Secure Core routing bounces traffic through Iceland, Sweden, or Switzerland before reaching destination

✅ 780 Mbps on WireGuard — fast enough for 4K streaming and large file transfers

✅ Zero DNS leaks across all 14 server locations over 30 days of testing

❌ Free tier limited to 1 device and 3 server locations — adequate for basic browsing but restrictive for families

❌ Approximately 15% slower than NordVPN on WireGuard (780 vs 892 Mbps in my testing)

❌ Kill switch activation approximately 450ms — more than 2x slower than NordVPN’s 200ms

❌ No dedicated IP option on any plan — problematic for accessing IP-whitelisted services

❌ Plus plan at approximately $4.99/month is slightly more expensive than NordVPN’s $3.99/month equivalent

How Nolan Tested

Both the free and Plus tiers were tested simultaneously on separate VMs in my Austin lab. The free tier was evaluated on its own merits — not compared unfavorably against the paid plan it’s designed to upsell.

Full methodology: Lab Testing Methodology →

ProtonVPN earns an 8.9/10. It’s not the fastest VPN I’ve tested — that title belongs to NordVPN — but it’s the most trustworthy. Open-source clients, Swiss jurisdiction, Secure Core routing, and a genuinely useful free tier make it the top recommendation for privacy-first users.

If you’ve never used a VPN before, start with the free plan. It’s genuinely unlimited — no data cap, no ads, no catch. If you need streaming access, more server locations, or Secure Core routing, upgrade to Plus.

For maximum speed and the fastest kill switch, go with NordVPN. For maximum privacy and transparency, ProtonVPN is the one.

Free plan: no card required · Plus: 30-day money-back guarantee