ProtonVPN Free Review 2023: 2 cons and 2 pros

by Vít Nováček, updated August 7, 2022

1. ProtonVPN Free: 2 Disadvantages & 2 Advantages

   • Use on only one device at a time
   • Often high load on free servers

   • No data transfer restrictions
   • Good privacy protection

   ProtonVPN’s free version is one of the best free VPNs from trusted providers.

   The VPN doesn’t have a limited amount of data transferred like competing free services. We were pleasantly surprised by the connection speed, as it outperformed not only the competition of free VPNs but also some paid ones.

   Compared to the paid versions of ProtonVPN, the free version lacks the ability to connect multiple devices, support for streaming, torrenting, and the ability to use advanced features.

2. ProtonVPN Free Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price:  ​NAN% off Free (1 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: No
   • Free Trial: No
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     No

     Bitcoin :No
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   Download For Free

   ProtonVPN Free is completely free, without any restrictions. ProtonVPN also offers a Basic subscription (offering multiple countries and basic VPN features), ProtonVPN Plus (unlocks all advanced features), and Vision (adds secure ProtonMail email to the VPN).

3. ProtonVPN Free and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: 1

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 99 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     Yes

     Android TV is supported by 37 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     Yes

     Apple TV is supported by 26 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     Yes

     Fire TV is supported by 39 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     Yes

     Chromebook is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     Yes

     Chromecast is supported by 22 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     Yes

     Kodi is supported by 27 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     Yes

     Linux is supported by 54 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     Yes

     NAS is supported by 32 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     Yes

     nVidia Shield is supported by 27 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     Yes

     Playstation is supported by 31 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     Yes

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     Yes

     Roku is supported by 26 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     Yes

     Router is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     Yes

     xBox is supported by 31 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     No

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     No

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     No

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 16 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     No

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 38 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     No

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 2 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     No

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 51 % of reviewed VPNs.

   In the free version, you can only use the VPN on one device at a time.

   You can download ProtonVPN for Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iOS, and Android TV. VPNs can also be set up on selected routers, fireTVs, and more.

   You won’t find browser extensions with ProtonVPN.

4. ProtonVPN Free App: User-friendliness, whitelist, server selection…

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited
   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English +9 more🇫🇷 French 🇮🇹 Italian 🇩🇪 German 🇳🇱 Dutch 🇮🇷 Persian 🇵🇱 Polish 🇵🇹 Portuguese 🇷🇺 Russian 🇪🇸 Spanish
   • Whitelisting:
     Yes

     Whitelisting is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs

   For ease of use, you can use the whitelist and blacklist functions. Whitelist gives you the option to choose which sites will use the VPN connection. Blacklist, on the other hand, allows you to select apps and websites where the VPN connection will not be used.

   The option to automatically connect to the VPN when the device boots up can be used on both mobile and desktop.

   The app is clear and easy to use. It offers a one-click connection to the fastest server or the option to select a server manually. The VPN app is translated into 12 languages, English is missing among them.

5. ProtonVPN Free Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 94 MB/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 62 MB/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 65 ms.

   Although ProtonVPN is free, it offers a VPN with no data transfer limit. The speed is slower at the expense of paid users, but we still measured impressive download speeds that are several times faster than 4K video playback. In contrast, the upload speed was slower, so uploading larger files to the cloud, for example, takes longer.

   The downside of the free ProtonVPN is the limited range and high load on the free servers, which sometimes causes longer waits to connect to the server. It can also cause slower speeds.

6. ProtonVPN Free Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     23

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1436.
   • Number of countries:
     3

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 38.

   Europe	🇳🇱 Netherlands
   North America	🇺🇸 USA
   South America
   Asia	🇯🇵 Japan
   Africa
   Oceania

   The free ProtonVPN offers only 23 servers available in three countries: the Netherlands, the US and Japan.

   This country and server offering puts Proton behind some competing free VPNs that offer a larger number of countries and servers. However, unlike ProtonVPN, they have a limit on data transferred, while some competing free VPNs don’t even allow you to choose a country.

7. ProtonVPN Free Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 95% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 80% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Tor:
     No

     Tor support is offered by 7 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   ProtonVPN Free offers always-on DNS protection and the option to use a kill switch. Additional VPN security is offered for the paid versions. The free VPN offers only basic features. Some competing free VPNs do not offer a kill switch, so here ProtonVPN is above average.

8. ProtonVPN Free & Streaming: Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     No

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 46 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     No

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 45 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     No

     HBO streaming is supported by 48 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     No

     Hulu streaming is supported by 44 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     No

     Netflix streaming is supported by 61 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 81 % of reviewed VPNs

   Like all free private networks, ProtonVPN Free is not designed for streaming. Although it doesn’t have limited data transfer, unblocking streaming libraries is only offered from the Plus version onwards.

9. Features of ProtonVPN Free: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     No

     Ad blocking is offered by 48 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     No

     Malware blocking is offered by 45 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     No

     Trackers blocking is offered by 41 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   More advanced features are offered in the paid versions of the VPN.

10. Zatížení počítače s ProtonVPN Free

    ProtonVPN has higher performance requirements than competing VPNs. Yet, it doesn’t put enough strain on your device to be noticeable in normal use.

11. ProtonVPN Free Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      No

      Torrenting support is offered by 86 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    ProtonVPN in the free version does not support the use of VPNs for torrenting, this feature is offered from the Basic subscription onwards.

12. What is the country of origin of ProtonVPN Free?

    • Country of origin: 🇨🇭 Switzerland

    ProtonVPN is operated by Proton Technologies AG, a company based in Switzerland. This country is known for its strong laws that protect local businesses and citizens. So you don’t have to worry about your data not being legally protected.

13. ProtonVPN Free and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      Yes

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 86% of reviewed VPNs.
    • Multi-Hop:
      No

      Multi-Hop connection is offered by 31 % of the VPNs reviewed.

    ProtonVPN does not store any records of its users’ searches. ProtonVPN’s applications are open source, so anyone can view them and verify that they don’t contain any backdoors. In addition, ProtonVPN is audited by an independent company.

    Another protection is the complete encryption of the disks, although they contain almost no personal data. Encryption helps in protecting the servers from hackers and misuse of any data.

    ProtonVPN also has physical protection, their key infrastructure is stored 1,000 meters underground in a former army bunker.

14. ProtonVPN Free Support: Chat, e-mail…

    If you need support, you can find the support centre on the ProtonVPN website. The Support Center contains tutorials and troubleshooting procedures. You can also find a form to contact support.