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Proton VPN Reviews 

1,012
•
TrustScore 2 out of 5

2.1

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 206 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Customers frequently state that the desktop and mobile applications fail to establish stable connections, often freezing, crashing, or completely refusing to launch on startup. People also heavily complain about extremely slow network speeds, unexpected data dropouts, and poor streaming performance that makes daily browsing frustrating. Though some customers experienced major hurdles, some reviewers were happy with the service and reported smooth connections and easy setup. A few other people also felt that the interface was very easy to understand and navigate, while also appreciating the availability of a free plan. Reviewers found that the application works reliably on everyday Wi-Fi networks.

What people talk about most

Service

Users describe negative interactions with service, highlighting frustration over paid subscriptions that did... See more

User experience

People report ambiguous experiences with user experience, as some reviewers praise the intuitive interface,... See more

Website

Consumers find website to be frustrating due to constant redirection issues and unexpected connection drops.... See more

Application

Reviewers highlight negative aspects of application performance, noting that connection issues and bugs are... See more

Subscription

Reviewers express mixed feelings regarding their subscription experiences, with some customers praising the... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I upgraded to the paid plan hoping for a reliable connection, but it's been pretty frustrating. The application regularly fails to establish a stable session on Windows startup, forcing me to use Task... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I bought Proton VPN based on positive reviews and I’m very disappointed. It is often slow, it blocks my email on my iPad so I’m forced to use the Yahoo mail app with adverts and it just randomly sto... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

The application frequently fails to establish a stable connection on Windows startup. I often have to open Task Manager to force close the process and relaunch it manually. When it does manage to conn... See more

Company replied

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I'm very dissapointed with performance and how it simply struggles with DK's main public security login provider. It's both on pc, iPad og iPhone. Updated: I found a conflict from another piece of... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. VPN Service

About Proton VPN

Written by the company

Experience true freedom online.

Gain unrestricted access to global content, block annoying ads, and safeguard your privacy with a fast and secure VPN.

Contact info

2.1

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

1k reviews

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2.1

All reviews

(1,012)

295 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 3 out of 5 stars

If the speeds were better

If the speeds were better, this would be the best VPN. I experience issues with streaming because films frequently freeze. I tried the same streaming platform simultaneously with two other VPN services and did not experience any freezing issues. However, Proton VPN delivered better results in all other areas. It's difficult to decide.

22 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for your feedback.

Connection speeds can be influenced by numerous factors such as your native ISP speed, location, server load, network setup, etc. You can try the tips at https://protonvpn.com/support/increase-vpn-speeds to improve your connection speeds. If there are no improvements, please contact us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact so we can assist you further.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I found it caused a long delay in…

I found it caused a long delay in connecting to the internet when first booting and the connection seemed less reliable and slower in general. I had to uninstall it and now my PC works normaly again. I only had the free service so perhaps that is why it was not as good as I had hoped.

18 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

Connection speeds can be influenced by many factors such as your native ISP speed, location, server load, network setup, etc. The free servers may also be slower at times since a lot of users are connecting to them. You can try the tips at https://protonvpn.com/support/increase-vpn-speeds to improve your speeds.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Refund pending for 1.5 months

Tried the app with a trial and automatically subscribed to a paid version without any notice, reached out to support and requested a refund and they said since i reached out as soon as it happened a chargeback would be possible but it’s been over a 1.5 months now, I am still waiting for the refund and support is just emailing gibberish. They sent a reference number called CRN which bank has no idea what that is.

1 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

Could you share your ticket number with us here? We'd be happy to check on your report and see how we may be able to help you further.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

If I could use ZERO STARS

If I could use ZERO STARS, then I would. THEY LIE in Google Search then you discover ZERO USA SERVERS.

So, I signed up, deleted the program and they are pestering me with Spam. DO NOT TRUST THESE FOKKERS!

9 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right.

Would you mind clarifying your review further? We do have US servers available both on the free and the paid plan. You can find a list of the Proton VPN servers at https://protonvpn.com/vpn-servers.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Downloaded as free VPN

Downloaded as free VPN. Works, hasnt signed me into unknow subcriptions. Easy to turn on and off when required. As its been free so far, cant find any faults.

8 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for the review.

If there happens to be anything we can assist you with, don't hesitate to contact at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact at any time. We're always eager to help!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Should have stayed with Express VPN

I bought an annual VPN plus package in September 2025. After a couple of months, I suddenly realised I couldn't extend it to other devices. By this time the credit card I had paid for it with had expired so I had no way of proving purchase and still can't. So in effect, I'm on their free VPN with apparently no recourse. I've just been on their chat line and was charged 23 euros for something for some check I wasn't aware of. As of the moment it still has not be resolved. Not happy.

5 February 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

Would you mind sharing your ticket number with us here? We'd be happy to check on your report and clear up any confusion or misunderstandings, as well as see how we can assist you further.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Well i found proton via a youtube and…

Well i found proton via a youtube and other channel to be the best. Probably can be but not for me. My thunderbird email didn't work anymore and some websites i couldn't get to anymore without turning vpn off. But as paying customer i quit after 3 days and they refunded me so for me this is ok but next time please tell people the whole story

5 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for your review.

Unfortunately, some web services are not VPN-friendly and block known VPN IP addresses. If you'd be interested in giving Proton VPN another chance at any point in the future, feel free to contact us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact with more details about the issue so we can note your feedback for future improvement. Meanwhile, we suggest switching between multiple different servers to see whether the behavior improves.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

WARNING THEY TRICK YOU INTO UPGRADING TO PAID VERSION BY HAVING PRE COMPLETED FORMS HOPING THAT YOU WONT NOTICE!!! YOU DONT STEAL/TRICK YOUR CUSTOMERS TO OBTAIN ETRA BUSINESS!!!

I downloaded the fre version, however every time I go to sign in to the site it shows their other paid deals and there is always a chargeable deal ticked & if NOT UNTICKED BEFORE GOING INTO THE SITE THEN I WOULD BE SIGNING UP TO A CHARGEABLE SUBSCRIPTION THAT I DONT WANT OR NEED!
THIS IS A CLEAR MISLEADING SCAM AIMED AT THE UNAWARE TRICKING THEM INTO SIGNING UP FOR AT LEAST A YEARS CONTRACT!!!??? why be so underhand by getting business/money by tricking your customers into upscaleing them from a free application to a paid version. THIS IS CLEARLY A DISGUSTING METHOD OF STEALING FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS! I will never buy from a seller who is dishonesty obtaining money by deception. IM ANGRY AND ANNOYED. J.S.As a result I'm forced to delete my account in case I get tricked from my free settings as this is all I need & want. The application is perfect & is excellent in every way.

4 February 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right at all.

Please reach out to us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact with more details so we can have a better idea of what you're referring to exactly. We'd be happy to have your feedback. That said, you cannot accidentally upgrade your account as this would require you entering your payment details in order to complete the upgrade. There's a whole checkout process that you'd need to go through before you're charged anything.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Used to be an amazing VPN provider

Used to be an amazing VPN provider, But something changed in the last few months.

I'm now in to my 2nd year of VPN plus with Proton and really not happy with the current service and will certainly not be renewing.

So a few months ago I was getting very high speeds on most European and US servers like 700mbps+ high with my gigabit symmetrical internet but now its like 100 - 150mbps if I'm lucky and the latency is huge, There has been no change on my ISP side and the speeds and latency are incredible without the VPN, Now obviously Proton in their replies claim its other factors causing this but the only change is their side with speeds and latency.

I have 12 months with mullvad also and when connected to them I get 700mbps - 800mbps even with DAITA enabled so I'm very happy with them.

Overall though I don't know what happened at Proton but its now terrible and there are mentions of it on their reddit page too.

1 January 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right.

Could you share more details about the issue? What platform are you experiencing slow speeds on? Are you using any other VPNs on the same device? What about any antivirus or firewall software? Contact us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact so we can help you troubleshoot. Meanwhile, you can try the tips at https://protonvpn.com/support/increase-vpn-speeds to see if there are any improvements.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Waste of money. Never again!

I am in London. I first of all used Proton VPN free service but it suddenly stopped.
I therefor paid for it......and at first it worked well. But eventually it began to interfere with my WiFi. It eventually blocked my WiFi every time I connected to it and so I had to uninstall it. What a waste of my money.....and what a load of rubbish!
Never again!

29 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right.

Could you share more details about the issue? Are you receiving any error messages? Have you tried switching protocols? What type of internet connection are you using? Contact us through the 'Report an issue' option in the app menu so we can help you troubleshoot.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

EXTREME WARNING – DO NOT TRUST PROTON VPN

This is one of the worst subscription experiences I have ever had. ProtonVPN is a complete disappointment and, in my case, feels like a borderline scam.

I paid 1,299 CZK (approx. 52 EUR) for a one-year subscription, but the service did not work at all. Connections were unstable or completely non-functional, and the service failed to operate as advertised.

Despite this, the app kept demanding additional payments, even though I had already paid for a full year. So apparently, you are expected to keep paying again and again for a service that does not work.

I cancelled the subscription properly via the Apple App Store, yet my money was still charged. When I contacted ProtonVPN support, their response was unacceptable: they told me to “resolve it with my bank” instead of taking responsibility.
Zero accountability. Zero customer care.

To be very clear:
• I paid for a service
• The service did not work
• ProtonVPN continued to request payments
• No refund was provided
• Support refused to help

This is not how a legitimate company behaves. Taking money for a non-functional service and then pushing the problem onto the customer’s bank is unethical and unprofessional.

I am now requesting full reimbursement and compensation for damages, and I am warning others publicly so they do not fall into the same trap.

Be very careful. If something goes wrong, ProtonVPN will take your money and disappear behind automated replies.

I strongly advise people to avoid ProtonVPN and choose a provider that actually delivers what you pay for and communicates honestly.

27 January 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! We're sorry to hear about your experience.

Would you mind sharing your ticket number with us here? We'd be happy to check on your inquiry so we can have a better understanding of the situation and see how we can help you further.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Misleading promotion

Misleading promotion, sold me subscription for 1£ but later I realised I get -8£ each month for a while. See this more as a scam don't use it

28 January 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! We're sorry to see that you're dissatisfied.

The offer you're referring to is an introductory one, meaning the plan renews at the standard price after the first month. This is also noted when performing the upgrade. That said, if you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact so we can help.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Been using this app a few months now.i…

Been using this app a few months now.i have tried others,this is by far the best.easy to install and setup

8 September 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for the support.

If there happens to be anything we can assist you with, don't hesitate to contact at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact at any time. We're always eager to help!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst customer service I've encountered…

Worst customer service I've encountered in ages.

Most servers just do not work in linux and they refuse to engage in any troubleshooting at all as I am not using their selected distribution.

One thing is to not officially support and another to just not engage in any kind of support or help.

Do not buy any services from them!

EDITED: Ticket number is 4362018, but there is no misunderstanding, you just decided not to help, and needing to go to a public forum to get things moving is not good customer service

22 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

Could you share your ticket number with us here? We'd be more than happy to check on your report so we can clear up any confusion or misunderstandings, and see how we may be able assist you further.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have had many problems with this VPN

I have had many problems with this VPN for over 6 months now. When I try to connect to a URL the VPN is stopping the connection. I have to disconnect the VPN, go to the website, then reconnect the VPN. I have contacted the compnay for help numerous times, but nothing that they suggested works. I have requested a refund, but they are ignoring me. I do not recommned this product or this company!!

20 January 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right.

Could you share your ticket number with us here? We'd be more than happy to check on your report and see how we can assist you further.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Nord>Surfshark>Norton>Proton: So Far So Good!

Nord>Surfshark>Norton>Proton So Far So Good!

It's only been a week. But as the title says, so far so good.
Decent speeds. Connections are virtually instant.
Haven't noticed any drops whatsoever thus far.
I have used a number of competitors prior. Some were ok, others were an absolute nightmare. I'll let you decide. I've already left my honest feedback and reviews for those others.
So, here we are. After a bit of research I've decided on Proton VPN.
My 4. rather than 5 starts are purely because I have not yet, (and fingers crossed never) had to contact any support, nor have I encountered any issues. I guess I will see what that's like if/when the time comes.
All I can add is: Price was very reasonable for a 2yr plan. Happy with the cost. Setup was a doddle.
The "app" itself, the menu. The map and all of it's features and information: Looks very easy to understand and to navigate.
Keep it up! (:

11 January 2026
Unprompted review
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Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for your support.

We'd love to earn a 5-star rating from you -- if you have any suggestions on how we can further improve our service, don't hesitate to pass your feedback along to us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact. We always appreciate our community's input.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Caused wifi problems

I downloaded proton vpn on my laptop to be able to access content not in my country. I chose proton vpn because most vpn's that change your location cost money that I don't have, so I went with the free version. Most of their servers are locked behind a paywall and their interface sucks. I decided to just abandon the vpn because it downloaded a lot of unnecessary programs and didn't work well in general. Only a couple days after download, all of the sudden my laptop won't connect to the internet and It's basically impossible to do things that require it. I tried several things, but WADDA YA KNOW when I deleted proton vpn and it's other useless downloads, suddenly everything started working again. Would not reccomend.

16 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Sorry to hear that.

Our mission is to make online privacy accessible to all, and that's why we offer a free plan that costs $0. Our free VPN has no ads, no logs, and is as secure & private as our paid plans. It's made possible thanks to the support from our paying users, not your data. With that in mind, certain features are necessarily available only on our paid plans.

That said, downloading and installing Proton VPN does not download any other software. With that in mind, can you clarify what you're referring to exactly? We'd be happy to clear things up.

Lastly, regarding the issue with your internet connection, did you perhaps have the kill switch enabled in the Proton VPN app? A kill switch is a security feature that protects your IP address in case you unexpectedly lose the connection to a Proton VPN server. In case the connection is interrupted, the kill switch blocks all external network traffic to and from your device until the VPN connection is automatically re-established (https://protonvpn.com/support/what-is-kill-switch).

Feel free to reach out to us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact with more details and we'd be happy to help with any Proton VPN-related issues or concerns.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Proton VPN: Poor performance. Poor service.

Addendum: Interesting how Proton responds here in hours; but i am lucky to get a response in days.
What a disembling disengenuous liar.
A pity we can't post screenshots, isn't?
You have constantly updated in detail for WEEKS,
Eg
====
06/01
Hi there
Your network performance continues to be appalling.
Constant instances of Web pages/forms not responding.
I expected so much better from Proton; but instead Proton has been by far the WORST performing VPN of the 4 or so I have tried in past couple of years.
Either fix it or refund my sub.
Regards
Dec Sites
===

08/01
Hi there Martin
Please see attached tests.
1. the problematic Perth (AU) server; ands one the Hanoi (VN) server
2. BitDefender
3. CAT5 ADSL (with no other users)
4. VNPT Premium Plan
5. No Torrents
6. I would stream movies off HBO - if it f*g worked on your Perth server‼‼
I have never had these problems with other previous VPN providers
Regards
Don Card
===

09/01
Hi there Martin
A new of tests INCL a new set with no VPN this time
So here you have three sets of tests -
- no VPN
- Proton VPN @ Hanoi (VN)
- Proton VPN @ Perth (AU)
See what you make of these this morning
Regards
Don
===

Proton VPN turned my VNPT ADSL into lousy.
And their 'Support', when you get any, jsut ignores the problem/s,and when i asked for a frefund after a month of lousy performance and complaints, some arrogant bastard just told me “too late for '30 Day Guarantee'”
Location: Vietnam, VNPT. Wired Cat5, nothing exotic.
Without Proton (baseline):
nPerf to Singapore: ~950 Mbps down, ~240 Mbps up, ~48 ms ping.
Browsing + streaming scores in the “good” range.
Cloudflare and other tests: low latency, no packet loss, everything snappy.
In short: the connection is excellent without Proton.
With Proton – Perth & Hanoi exits:
Perth server: ~730 Mbps down, but upload collapses to ~2–3 Mbps, ping jumps to ~160 ms, browsing score tanks to ~46%.
Hanoi server: 180+ ms ping, upload strangled, nPerf streaming test literally crashes with an error.
Some tests show 300+ ms and stupid spikes over 1 second.
Flip Proton OFF and it all instantly goes back to 48 ms and full upload. Same PC, same ISP, same test targets. The only difference is Proton on/off.
Real‑world result:
Pages hang when loading or logging in.
Web apps feel sticky and delayed.
Streaming start/seek is slow or fails.
The line goes from “fantastic” to “barely usable” the moment Proton connects.
Support clown show:
I sent them multiple sets of screenshots: VPN off vs VPN on, Perth vs Hanoi, speed + latency + failed streaming tests.
Replies were non-existent, or slow, and copy‑paste, completely ignoring the clear side‑by‑side evidence.
After weeks of this, their latest genius move was to point out that my 30‑day money‑back window has expired.
So yeah: this isn’t 'VPNs add a bit of overhead'. This is Proton taking a rock‑solid connection and wrecking it, then hiding behind “sorry, guarantee period is over” instead of fixing their routes or servers. Or apologising, Or refunding.
So much for their 'reputation'. Trashed. Along with my money.
Anyone else using (or previously using) Proton, seeing similar Proton performance AND lack of support?

16 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! That doesn't sound right.

Could you share your ticket number with us here? We'd be more than happy to check on your report and see how we may be able to assist you further.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

On the Plus Service

I've had no issues with the service to date, so can't speak for the customer service standards. The VPN itself has been great. No issues connecting to it, changing servers etc. I've been able to access sites from my location that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. No noticeable slowdown, although no VPN will be able to cut that out entirely. Been with Proton for a year now and happy to renew my subscription as soon as it's time :)

15 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for your support.

If there happens to be anything we can assist you with, feel free to reach out to us at https://protonvpn.com/support/contact at any time. We're always eager to help!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I mainly use the free plan

I mainly use the free plan. The speed is a bit slow, but it works consistently. The main drawback is the very limited choice of servers, with only three countries available. The ping is high, so it's not suitable for streaming or gaming. It's fine for normal browsing, but if you need something more, it's better to look for other options or pay.

10 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton VPN logo

Reply from Proton VPN

Hi! Thank you for your review.

Connection speeds can be influenced by many factors such as your native ISP speed, location, server load, network setup, etc. The free servers may also be slower at times since a lot of users are connecting to them. You can try the tips at https://protonvpn.com/support/increase-vpn-speeds to improve your speeds.

On another note, the free servers are not optimized for streaming or gaming. To access streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many others), as well as take advantage of our Plus servers with the highest VPN speeds (with up to 10 Gbps connectivity in most locations), you may consider upgrading your plan.

Lastly, we currently have free servers in the US, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Norway, Mexico, and Switzerland, thereby providing global coverage. The default Connect option will connect you to the fastest available server for you. That said, you still have the option to switch to another randomly allocated server.

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