Skip to content
Alt-subs
Proton Free1 device at a time
Free

Source

See Proton Free

VPN in the US

Proton VPN in the US: free plan, Plus and servers

Proton VPN is the only one of our six with a free plan: one device, no data limit, no ads, and servers in 10 randomly selected countries. VPN Plus unlocks 10 devices, P2P, port forwarding and servers in 149 countries; Proton Unlimited adds Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar. In the US, Proton lists 6,015 servers in 22 cities. It’s based in Switzerland, with a 2026 independent audit.

  • A real free plan. No data limit and no ads — one device.
  • 6,015 US servers. In 22 cities.
  • Port forwarding. On paid plans, on P2P servers.
  • 2026 audit. The most recent of our six.
  • Secure Core. Routes traffic through privacy-friendly countries like Switzerland or Iceland first.

Most important before you buy

The free plan picks the country for you and allows one device. On the 2-year plan the intro price covers the first 24 months, then it renews every 12 months. Proton’s price list doesn’t say whether tax is added.
Compare six VPNsWhere the servers are

Tomas StankevičiusUpdated 2026-10-14Checked on Proton’s official pages

At a glance

Jurisdiction
Switzerland
Independent audit
2026
Servers
149 countries (Plus)
US
6,015 servers in 22 cities (Oct 13, 2026)
Plans
Free, VPN Plus, Proton Unlimited
Currency
USD; tax not stated
Money-back
30 days
Devices
10 (Free: 1)

Facts come from the provider’s own pages.

Every fact has a source and a date

Every fact on this page comes from the provider’s own pages.

We didn’t measure speeds

There are no numbers here we didn’t measure ourselves. Instead of our own speed tests, we explain what can be checked in documents and how to read other people’s tests.

Affiliate links labeled

If a link is an affiliate link, we say so next to the link, not somewhere at the bottom of the page.

Short summary

Proton VPN is where to start if you’re not sure you need to pay: the free plan has no data limit and no ads. If you need more, VPN Plus adds port forwarding — only Proton and PIA offer it, and PIA not on US servers — and Proton has the most recent audit of our six. The limits: 10 devices on paid plans, and the free plan chooses your country.

Biggest advantage

A free plan with no data limit, and port forwarding on Plus.

Biggest compromise

The free plan allows one device and picks the country for you.

We recommend first:
People who want to try a VPN free; torrent users who need port forwarding.
With caveats:
Big households — Plus stops at 10 devices.

Who Proton VPN is for, and who it isn’t

Honestly — it isn’t the best choice for everyone.

A good choice

  • If you don’t want to pay

    The free plan has no data limit and no ads.

  • If you need port forwarding

    On paid plans, on P2P servers.

  • If you already use Proton Mail

    Proton Unlimited bundles VPN, Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar.

A weaker choice

  • For many devices

    Plus allows 10; Surfshark and PIA have no limit.

  • If you need a specific country free

    The free plan picks one of 10 countries for you.

  • If you want port forwarding on a phone

    Proton lists Windows, macOS and Linux.

Free, VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited

Encryption and the no-logs policy are the same on every plan, including Free.

Free, VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited
Proton FreeWhat it includesOne device, medium speed, servers in 10 randomly selected countries; no data limit and no ads.Who it makes sense forPeople who want to try a VPN, or need one occasionally on public Wi-Fi.
VPN PlusWhat it includes10 devices, highest speed, servers in 149 countries, P2P and port forwarding, ad and malware blocking, Secure Core, priority support.Who it makes sense forPeople who use a VPN every day.
Proton UnlimitedWhat it includesEverything in VPN Plus plus the paid versions of Proton Mail, Calendar, Drive and Pass.Who it makes sense forPeople who want to move email, files and passwords to Proton too.

Start with Free; if you hit the one-device limit or need to choose a country, Plus is the next step.

How it compares with competitors

Quick picks by priority and a full table of criteria.

Six VPNs on criteria you can check

This table has no speeds and no stars — only what can be checked in the providers’ documents. The last three rows are about the US: devices, sales tax and servers in the country.

Jurisdiction
Panama — outside the 14 Eyes
Latest independent audit
2025
Server countries
150
Port forwarding
No
Money-back guarantee
30 days
Devices at once
10
Sales tax
Added at checkout (state sales tax line)
Servers in the US
2,400+ in 55 cities (170 marked virtual)

When you want a free plan or port forwarding — Proton VPN

The only free plan of our six.

Broad US city coverage — NordVPN

55 US cities.

Best for many devices — Surfshark

Unlimited devices.

See NordVPN

Facts with sources

Every fact comes from Proton’s official pages.

Facts with sources
Jurisdiction„Proton VPN" — current statusSwitzerlandWhat it means for youOutside the EU and the 14 Eyes.
Independent audit„Proton VPN" — current status2026What it means for youThe most recent of our six.
Servers„Proton VPN" — current status149 countriesWhat it means for youProton lists 17,985 Plus servers.
US„Proton VPN" — current status6,015 servers in 22 citiesWhat it means for youProton’s server list.
Devices„Proton VPN" — current status10 (Free: 1)What it means for youPer account.
Port forwarding„Proton VPN" — current statusYes, paid plansWhat it means for youOn P2P servers; Windows, macOS and Linux.
Money-back„Proton VPN" — current status30 daysWhat it means for youThe provider promises a 30-day money-back guarantee. That isn’t the same as canceling: the subscription renews until you cancel it, and the guarantee covers the first days after purchase.
Tax„Proton VPN" — current statusNot stated on the price listWhat it means for youAt checkout Proton asks for your country of tax residency.

Servers and speed

Where the servers are, how they work from the US, and what to expect day to day.

Where the servers are and when it matters

VPNs advertise the number of server countries first, and in everyday use it matters last. What matters is that the one you need is among them — and that the server really is where its address says.

When you really need a US server

When you’re abroad and want to use US services — online banking, or streaming services that only work in the US. Then you need a server in the US, and a provider without one is out.

When a nearby server is enough

On public Wi-Fi at home, any nearby server is enough for ordinary privacy. The speed difference is small and security doesn’t change.

Physical and virtual servers aren’t the same

A virtual location means the IP address is registered in one place while the machine is elsewhere. It’s usually fine for content; for speed it’s a longer route. In the US, NordVPN’s server API marks some locations as virtual and PIA marks some regions as geo-located; Surfshark marks none of its US locations as virtual.

The number of countries isn’t server quality

A hundred countries sounds better than fifty, but the number says nothing about how loaded the server you connect to is. It’s big in ads because it’s easy to measure and show.

If you need a server in a specific US state or city, check the provider’s server list before paying. PIA, for example, has regions in all 50 states.

Speed: what the numbers mean

We didn’t measure speeds in the US, and there isn’t a single number of our own on this page. But speed is the first thing people look for, so it’s worth knowing how to read published tests — and why two tests of the same provider can show opposite results.

Distance matters more than the brand

A connection to a nearby server is almost always faster than to a distant one — with every provider. If you compare two VPNs and one connects to your city and the other across the country, you’re comparing distance, not providers.

Download speed isn’t the only number

Tests usually show download speed because it looks best. For calls, games and video meetings, latency and its variation matter more — and they can get worse while download speed stays high.

The protocol changes the result

A newer protocol usually gives a clearly better result than an older one. If a test shows weak speed, check which protocol it used first.

Your own connection is the ceiling

A VPN isn’t faster than what you already have. If your home connection is 100 Mbps, a 900 Mbps test promises you nothing.
Speed test scenarios
Nearby server, modern protocolWhat available tests showMost of the original speed is keptWhat it means in practiceEnough for streaming and large files — the everyday case
Distant serverWhat available tests showDownload speed may stay high, but latency growsWhat it means in practiceFine for watching, worse for games and calls
Mobile networkWhat available tests showResults vary most hereWhat it means in practiceTests almost never show this — and it’s where VPNs are used most
EveningWhat available tests showServer load growsWhat it means in practiceThe same server at 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. isn’t the same server

No published number promises you anything: it’s one measurement, in one place, at one moment, on one device. The practical test is the money-back window — try it on your own connection and cancel if it doesn’t work well.

Security and privacy

What the provider promises, what has been independently audited, and where the limits are.

Security and privacy

With a VPN this is the only part that really decides. The rest are features; this is the reason.

What your internet provider knows

It sees that you connect to a VPN but not which sites you open. That’s the same with all six providers.

What Proton knows about you

Your email and, on paid plans, payment details. The free plan needs no credit card.

Why Switzerland matters

Swiss law applies — outside the EU and the 14 Eyes alliance.

An audit has a year

Proton’s latest independent no-logs audit is from 2026 — the most recent of our six.
An audit doesn’t make you anonymous. When you sign in to an account, the service knows who you are — regardless of the address.

What happens when the connection drops

Kill switch

When the VPN connection drops unexpectedly, a kill switch stops internet traffic until it’s back. Without one, the device quietly falls back to your normal connection — and that’s exactly when everything the VPN was for is lost.

Limitation: In some apps it isn’t on by default, and it works differently across platforms. Check the settings on day one.

Leaks through DNS and the browser

Even with the VPN on, a browser can reveal your real address through DNS requests or some of its own features. That isn’t the VPN’s fault but how the network works — which is why some providers have separate protection for it.

IPv6

If your connection uses IPv6 and the VPN doesn’t support it, some data may travel outside the tunnel.

You can check this with public leak tests: turn on the VPN and see whether the address shown belongs to the server. We didn’t run these tests, but they take five minutes.

Features and what they’re good for

Everyday features, more advanced options and real use cases.

What a VPN does — and what it doesn’t

What it does

It routes your internet traffic through the provider’s server and encrypts it on the way. Your internet provider sees that you connect to a VPN but not which sites you open. Websites, in turn, see the server’s address.

What it can help block

  • On public Wi-Fi it’s a real benefit: someone on the same café network can’t see what you do.
  • Your internet provider loses the detailed browsing history.
  • Sites see a different location, which changes what content they show.

What it doesn’t replace

  • It isn’t anonymity. When you sign in to an account, the service knows who you are — regardless of the address.
  • It isn’t antivirus. A VPN encrypts the route — it doesn’t check what you download.
  • It doesn’t protect against ad tracking. Cookies and account data stay.
  • It doesn’t guarantee you can’t be identified. It’s one layer.

The most important sentence on this page: a VPN changes WHO sees your connection — not WHO you are online. Anyone promising the latter is selling something they don’t have.

No logs

Almost every provider says it doesn’t keep activity logs. The claim alone means little — what matters is an independent audit and its year.

What to look for

The year of the independent audit and what exactly was checked. A 2019 audit says little about today’s practice.

What it doesn’t promise

Even without logs, the service knows your payment details and email. That’s a different category of data, and it stays.

Jurisdiction

The country where the company is registered decides which laws bind it and who can demand data. On its own it’s neither an advantage nor a drawback — it’s a choice.

Registered in the US

Familiar rules and reachable courts if there’s a dispute; at the same time part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

Registered outside the alliances

Lower likelihood of data sharing between governments, but a harder path if you have a complaint.

Neither option is objectively better. It depends on what exactly you want to protect yourself from — and only you know the answer.

Protocols

A protocol is the way the encrypted tunnel is built. In practice it affects two things: speed and connection stability.

What it can help block

  • Modern protocols are usually faster and reconnect faster after a drop.
  • Older ones work where newer ones are blocked — on some networks only they connect.
  • If the app picks the protocol itself, that’s enough for most people.

Protocol names look like a feature list in ads, but in practice you pick one and don’t think about it again. It isn’t a reason to choose a provider.

Extra features: what matters and what doesn’t

In ads they all look equally important. In practice most people use one or two.

What it is

You choose which apps go through the VPN and which don’t.

Who it’s useful for

Useful when your bank or a streaming service doesn’t work with the VPN and you want to keep everything else in the tunnel.

Matters for most?

Yes, more often than you’d think — banks in particular often reject unfamiliar addresses.

What it is

The connection goes through two servers.

Who it’s useful for

People with heightened privacy needs — journalists, activists.

Trade-off

Speed drops noticeably. For everyday use it’s a cost without a benefit.

What it is

The service blocks known ad and tracking domains on its side.

Who it’s useful for

People who don’t want to install a separate blocker in the browser.

Matters for most?

Handy, but not the same as a full blocker. Some sites may behave differently.

What it is

Servers optimized for one task — streaming or file sharing.

Who it’s useful for

People who do exactly that.

Matters for most?

No. For ordinary use a regular server works the same.

What it is

Lets incoming connections reach your device through the VPN.

Who it’s useful for

A small group — some file-sharing and remote-access setups.

Matters for most?

No. But for those who need it, its absence decides — which is why it’s in the comparison table.

Practical advice: choose by jurisdiction, audit and guarantee. Features you won’t use only make the ad longer.

What Proton VPN is used for most

Why it may fit

The free plan is enough to encrypt traffic on café and hotel networks.

Key feature

No data limit on Free.

Possible drawback

Free picks the country and allows one device.

When a competitor may be better

If you want several devices protected at once, Surfshark has no limit.

Why it may fit

Plus includes P2P servers and port forwarding.

Key feature

Port forwarding on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Possible drawback

Not compatible with NAT type 2; not listed for phones.

When a competitor may be better

PIA also offers port forwarding — but not on its US servers.

Why it may fit

6,015 US servers in 22 cities on Plus.

Key feature

Secure Core can route through another country first.

Possible drawback

Free doesn’t let you choose the US.

When a competitor may be better

NordVPN covers more US cities; PIA covers all 50 states.

Why it may fit

Proton Unlimited bundles VPN, Mail, Drive, Pass and Calendar.

Key feature

One account and one bill.

Possible drawback

You pay for apps you may not use.

When a competitor may be better

If you only need a VPN, VPN Plus is enough.

Devices and apps

Where it works, how many devices are allowed, and what’s missing.

Apps and platforms

Kill switch is on every plan, including free; split tunneling needs a paid plan and works differently on each system.

Apps and platforms
WindowsOfficial appYesKey featuresStandard and advanced kill switch; split tunneling for apps and IP addresses, around or only through the VPN.LimitationsThe only system where kill switch and split tunneling work together.
macOSOfficial appYesKey featuresKill switch, plus app split tunneling as an experimental feature.LimitationsSplit tunneling doesn’t work with Safari and other WebKit apps, and only with WireGuard and Stealth.
LinuxOfficial appYes, with and without a graphical interfaceKey featuresStandard and advanced kill switch.LimitationsSplit tunneling only in the official apps for some distributions.
Android and ChromebookOfficial appYesKey featuresSplit tunneling; kill switch via Android’s Always-on VPN. Chromebooks use the Android app.LimitationsNo kill switch on Android 7 and older.
iOS and iPadOSOfficial appYesKey featuresKill switch; advanced kill switch is in beta.LimitationsSome DNS requests from Apple’s own services can bypass the VPN, even with kill switch on.
BrowserOfficial appExtensionKey featuresChrome and Firefox – on the free plan too; split tunneling for domains.LimitationsProtects only browser traffic.
Want split tunneling and kill switch at the same time? Only on Windows; elsewhere you have to pick one.

One device free, ten on Plus

The free plan protects one device at a time, VPN Plus ten. The free plan has servers in ten randomly chosen countries.

Fair use: Apple TV needs tvOS 17 and a paid plan; Android TV needs Android 8.

Matters less for: The browser extension protects only browser traffic – not the rest of the computer.

Windows, Mac and Linux
iPhone, iPad, Android and Chromebook
Android TV and Apple TV
Extensions for Chrome and Firefox
Routers with OpenVPN or WireGuard

A router counts as one connection, however many devices sit behind it.

App ratings in the stores

These are ratings from store users. They rate how the app works; they say nothing about whether the subscription price is fair.

App Store

iOS and iPadOS
4,6out of 5

118,729 ratings

Source

Ratings change constantly and often drop after price increases or removed features. We show the value from the check date together with the number of reviews, because 4.8 from two hundred and 4.5 from two million ratings aren’t the same thing.

What US App Store reviewers say

Proton VPN has 4.6 out of 5 stars from 119,000 ratings on the US App Store. We also read the 50 most recent US reviews — 13 of them gave one or two stars. Recent reviews skew toward people with a problem, so read them as a list of what can go wrong, not as a verdict.

Praised

Reviewers like the quick setup, speed and that the free version has no ads.

Complaints

Some describe dropped or slow connections, and turning off the kill switch or Secure Core to stay connected.

Try the free plan first — it’s the cheapest way to check connection quality where you live.

Our score and what it’s made of

This is our own assessment based on checked facts. It isn’t an average of user reviews or the provider’s claim. Below — every criterion, its weight and the source of each data point.

4,2out of 5· 14 of 14 criteria checked

average of 2 plans: VPN Plus 4,5 · Proton Unlimited 3,9

The score is calculated for each plan separately, and their average is shown here. Speed and unblocking of streaming services aren’t included — we can’t verify them, so we only assess what can be checked in official sources. Full methodology.

The same for all “Proton VPN” plans

Criteria that are the same for all of this provider’s plans
CriterionWhat we foundScoreSource
Advertised price is the final price(10 %)listed before tax3,0our catalog
Free way to try it(10 %)free version5,0source
What’s included in the same plan(5 %)ad blocking, tracker blocking, split tunneling (3 of 3)5,0source
Streaming services(4 %)streaming servers5,0source
Independent no-logs audit(8 %)20265,0source
Servers in the US(12 %)physical, number published5,0source
Network coverage(12 %)149 countries5,0source
Jurisdiction(9 %)outside the 14 Eyes, no data retention obligation5,0source
Devices at once(2 %)104,0source
Modern protocol(1 %)on all major platforms5,0source
Port forwarding(1 %)yes5,0source
App rating(1 %)4,6 out of 54,6our catalog

Depends on plan

Criteria that differ between plans
CriterionVPN PlusProton Unlimited
Price now(20 %)4,03,49 USD/mo before tax1,07,99 USD/mo before tax
Price jump at renewal(5 %)3,06,99 USD/mo — 2,0× more expensive4,09,99 USD/mo — 1,3× more expensive

Streaming services

It counts toward the score with a weight of 4%, but we only assess what the provider offers. We don’t test whether a specific service actually unblocks today: that would take six subscriptions, and the answer would be valid for one day.

  • Smart DNS for TVs and consoles:provider doesn’t saysource
  • Streaming servers:yessource

Extra options

These two aren’t part of the score: multi-hop is a niche feature, and a dedicated IP is almost always a paid add-on, so as a criterion it wouldn’t separate providers. But they matter when you choose a plan, so we show them with a source.

  • Double VPN (multi-hop):yessource
  • Dedicated IP address:not offered on consumer planssource

What to do right after you buy

Turn off auto-renew right after you buy, in your account settings. Your subscription isn’t canceled by this — it stays active until the end of the period, and the renewal price (currently 6,99 USD/mo — 2,0× more expensive) won’t be charged automatically.

A week before the end: compare again — and don’t just consider renewing. With most providers we’ve checked, the renewal price is higher than the intro price, so switching often costs less than staying.

In this provider’s terms we found no rule that the intro price is for new customers only — but that’s no promise the promotion will apply if you come back.

What we don’t claim

There are more myths than facts about VPNs. These are the ones you meet most with Proton VPN.

  • With a VPN I’m anonymous online.

    You’re not. The account you sign in to knows as much about you as before.

  • A free VPN must sell your data.

    Proton’s free plan has no ads and needs no card; it’s limited by devices and country choice instead.

  • Free lets me pick a US server.

    Free connects to one of 10 randomly selected countries.

  • Port forwarding works on every server.

    Only on P2P servers, on paid plans.

All points come from Proton’s own pages.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free plan

    No data limit, no ads.

  • Port forwarding

    On paid plans.

  • 2026 audit

    The most recent of our six.

  • Switzerland

    Outside the EU and the 14 Eyes.

Cons

  • Free: one device

    And no country choice.

  • 10 devices on Plus

    Fewer than Surfshark or PIA.

  • Tax not stated

    Check the checkout total.

  • Port forwarding on desktop only

    Windows, macOS, Linux.

Final verdict

Proton VPN is the safest first step: try the free plan, and upgrade to Plus only if you need more devices, a specific country or port forwarding. With a Swiss base and the newest audit, it’s also a strong paid choice.

To try a VPN

Proton Free — no card needed.

For file sharing

VPN Plus with port forwarding.

For many devices

Look at Surfshark or PIA.

It beats every other provider here on the free plan and on audit recency. Surfshark and PIA win on device count; NordVPN on the number of US cities.

How much Proton VPN costs

Prices from Proton’s US price list in dollars.

Compare six VPNs

A VPN price list rarely shows the final amount. In the US, providers list prices before sales tax, and several add it at checkout depending on your state — NordVPN’s checkout, for example, showed state sales tax as a separate line. Long plans show an intro price for the first term; what they renew at, and how often, is the number to compare — and not every price list shows it.

Compare six VPNs

Proton VPN deals and discounts

We have no confirmed deals or promo codes for Proton VPN right now. When the provider publishes one and we have checked it, the dates and terms will appear here — we never list made-up promo codes.

Track price and deals

Proton VPN free trial

We found no free trial for Proton VPN on the provider’s website right now. If one appears, we will mark it here and in the free trials list.

All free trials

How to pay less for Proton VPN

  • Annual billing for “VPN Plus”: $53.88 for 12 months instead of $119.88 if you pay monthly — you save 55%.

Compare the price with alternatives: ExpressVPN price · CyberGhost VPN price · Surfshark price

We only show the provider’s official options — no shared accounts and no region switching.

Customer support

The help center is available in English.

Contact options the provider lists:

  • live chat
  • email or form

Source: protonvpn.com/support

FAQ

The free plan has no data limit and no ads, and needs no credit card. It allows one device and connects to servers in 10 randomly selected countries.

Yes. Proton lists 6,015 US servers in 22 cities.

No. The free plan selects the country for you.

Yes, on all paid plans, on P2P servers, in the Windows, macOS and Linux apps.

10 on paid plans, 1 on Free.

30 days on paid plans. The subscription renews until you cancel it.

Start by checking who charges you — that decides where you cancel. If you signed up in an app, the payment usually goes through your Google or Apple account, outside the service’s own website. Check your subscriptions in Google Play, and on iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions, signed in to the account you paid with. If you can’t find it, Apple suggests searching your email for “receipt from Apple” or “invoice from Apple”: the receipt shows which account paid. If there’s no receipt at all, you probably bought it on the service’s website or in a bundle from your wireless carrier, internet or TV provider — your bank or card statement shows which company bills you.

On a computer, open your subscriptions in Google Play, click Manage next to the one you want to cancel, then Cancel subscription, pick a reason and confirm with Continue. Some apps on Google Play also let you pause a subscription instead of canceling — that’s not the same thing as canceling.

On iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → choose the subscription → Cancel Subscription; you may need to scroll down to see the button. If there’s no Cancel button, or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already canceled. For a free trial, Apple asks you to cancel at least 24 hours before it ends.

No. Google says it in a separate warning: when you uninstall an app, your subscription won’t cancel. Payments continue until you cancel in the account where you bought the subscription. It’s an easy trap: the app disappears from your phone, but the bill stays.

Then you cancel with that provider. Apple says it plainly: if you got the subscription through your wireless carrier or another provider, contact them. In the US this is common for streaming — services are often bundled with phone, internet or TV plans. If your plan has a minimum term or the subscription is part of a bundle discount, check the terms before you cancel.

No. Apple is clear about it: you can’t cancel a family member’s subscription. If the receipt shows a family member’s Apple Account, ask them to cancel it themselves. If it shows another account you use yourself, sign in to that one and cancel there.

Not as a general rule. Unlike the European Union, the US has no general 14-day right to withdraw from online purchases. Rules on automatic renewal and how easy canceling must be are set mostly by individual states and differ between them. In practice, check the provider’s own terms: some offer a money-back guarantee (common for VPNs and antivirus software), others don’t refund at all.

Usually not. Access typically lasts until the end of the period you’ve already paid for, and only then does the subscription expire. It works the other way too: canceling right after a payment usually doesn’t refund that period — it only stops the next charge.

Don’t rely on the confirmation pop-up — check the list. On iPhone, open Settings → your name → Subscriptions: if there’s no Cancel button anymore, or there’s an expiration message in red text, the subscription is canceled. In Google Play, a canceled subscription can be restarted with Resubscribe, so you can see the difference there too. If the subscription isn’t on either list, you bought it somewhere else, and that’s where you have to cancel it.

Sometimes, but it’s not guaranteed, and it’s not always the service whose logo you see that decides. Google says most apps on the Play Store are made by third-party developers, who can process refunds under their own policies and applicable laws; according to Google, contacting the developer directly is often the quickest way. If you paid on the service’s website, send the request there. For a charge that neither you nor anyone you know made, Google asks you to report it within 120 days of the transaction.

No — they’re two separate things that are easy to mix up. Deleting the account erases the data but doesn’t stop payments if you bought the subscription in an app store: there the subscription lives independently of the account. So the right order is the reverse — first cancel the subscription where you pay, check that it has really ended, and only then delete the account.

Usually only access to the content ends, while the account remains: history, settings and saved items stay, so you don’t start from zero if you come back. No law requires that, though — it’s the service’s own decision, so the data may be deleted after some time. If something matters to you, export it before the subscription ends.

Often yes, but in the US it depends on where you live. There’s no single federal law for this; several states give their residents the right to know what data a company holds, to get a copy and to have it deleted, and some providers offer the same tools to all users. Send the request to the provider itself — its privacy policy explains how. We don’t promise on the provider’s behalf that a request will be handled quickly or well.

On your card or bank statement. The amount there can differ from the price on the website for two common reasons: a promo price has ended, or sales tax was added at checkout. US providers list prices before sales tax, and whether it’s added — and how much — depends on your state. That’s why the same subscription can show up on your statement as a slightly higher amount than the price you saw on the pricing page.

Renewal and what the provider says about it

Proton’s paid plans renew automatically. On the 2-year plan the intro price covers the first 24 months, then the plan renews every 12 months. The free plan needs no credit card, so it can’t renew into a charge.

Prepaid term with auto-renewal

Intro price for 24 months, then renewal every 12 months.

Always check this on the plan card

  • The full amount for the first term
  • At what price and how often it renews
  • Whether tax is added at checkout
  • When the money-back guarantee ends

The intro price isn’t the price of the service

Check the renewal amount before buying a long plan.

Separate page: how to cancel this subscription →

How we work

This page is a comparison, and for every claim we say where it comes from.

Facts from the provider’s documents

Jurisdiction, the year of the independent audit, the number of server countries and the money-back window come from the providers’ own pages, with a quote.

We didn’t test speeds or leaks

We don’t publish a single number we didn’t measure. The speed section explains HOW to read published tests: location, time and protocol change everything, so someone else’s result promises you nothing.

Prices aren’t written into the text

VPN price lists depend on your IP address and on promotions that change weekly, so prices are in the price block.

Currency and tax as the provider shows them

In the US all six bill in dollars, but tax is another matter: several providers add sales tax at checkout depending on your state. We say which is which.

Product facts are shared, market facts aren’t

How many screens a plan allows, how many devices an account works on, how many servers a network has — that doesn’t depend on the country, and on our pages those numbers are the same in every language; a separate tool watches over that. Price, promotions, availability and app language belong to the market, and we never carry them over from another country.

The provider’s list is the same for everyone

If a service publishes a list of countries or languages, we can say whether the US is on it — that list looks the same for everyone. Checkout, however, can look different for every account, so for amounts a provider shows only at checkout we write: check before you pay.

A shorter section doesn’t mean something is missing from the product

If a section here is shorter than for another service, it’s because the provider publishes less about it. We don’t fill the gap with generic wording just to make the page look more complete.

Three different answers

We distinguish between “none”, “the provider doesn’t say” and “we didn’t find it”. They’re three different situations — mixing them up would turn our own limitation into a flaw in the product.

A price without a source isn’t shown

If an amount has no source and date, we don’t show it. An empty spot is more honest than a number that only looks right — and prices change more often than articles get updated.

Data from the US market

This page isn’t a translation of another language version. Numbers from other countries don’t end up here: markets differ, and that’s exactly why this page exists.

Affiliate links are labeled at the link

If a link is an affiliate link, we say so right next to it. The commission doesn’t affect what we write — and you know about it before you click.

We fix errors openly

If we got something wrong, we fix it and note what changed. A silent correction would mean you never find out you once relied on wrong information.

How we check the data

If anything on this page has gone out of date, write to us — we’ll fix it and note the date.

The order in the comparison is set by the criteria; affiliate partnerships don’t affect it.

Some links to providers are affiliate links: if you subscribe through them, we may earn a commission. It changes neither the price nor the placement in the comparison. Affiliate links are always labeled next to the link.

Track the price

Get an email when the price drops to the level you choose.

We’ll let you know when the price of “Proton VPN” drops to the amount you set or lower.

We compare the regular monthly price after promotions and free trials.

Report an error

What do you think of “Proton VPN”?

One vote per reader, and you can change it. The average is shown on this page.

Reader rating: 5.0 out of 5 · Ratings: 1

Read next

Other pages that cover Proton VPN.

Comparisons with competitors

Who wins, and when the cheaper one is worth choosing.