Proton VPN
VPN · protonvpn.com
Proton VPN is a Swiss-based VPN service with open-source apps, a no-logs policy, and paid plans offering access to 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries.
Switching to Windscribe saves $119.88 / year and covers 75% of the compared capabilities.
Find my alternative
Way less money.
Top Proton VPN alternatives
We compared 10 products and found 6 cheaper alternatives · vs Proton VPN VPN Plus at $9.99/mo · scenario: single user, monthly billing, USD.
Proton VPN’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.
Proton VPN costs $9.99/mo on the VPN Plus plan at single user, monthly billing. We found 6 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 2 of them cover at least 75% of the 8 compared capabilities. The cheapest option that covers everything we compared is Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) at $3.33/mo (1 Year plan), 67% less. Proton VPN's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK Windscribe Build A Plan plan · missing: Simultaneous devices, Money-back guarantee | 75% | $1/mo how? ⓘ | $107.88 / year 90% cheaper | |
Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) 1 Year plan | 100% | $3.33/mo how? ⓘ | $79.92 / year 67% cheaper | |
Mullvad VPN Flat monthly rate plan · missing: Ad & tracker blocking, Server network size, Split tunneling | 63% | $5.84/mo how? ⓘ | $49.80 / year 42% cheaper | |
IVPN Standard plan · missing: Simultaneous devices, Server network size, Split tunneling, Port forwarding | 50% | $6/mo how? ⓘ | $47.88 / year 40% cheaper | |
ExpressVPN Basic plan · missing: Ad & tracker blocking, Multi-hop, Port forwarding | 63% | $8.33/mo how? ⓘ | $19.93 / year 17% cheaper |
Which Proton VPN alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best full coverage
- Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) — $3.33/mo (1 Year plan) · covers 100%
- Best free plan
- Windscribe — $0/mo (Free plan) · covers 75%
- Best open source or self-hosted
- Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) — $3.33/mo (1 Year plan) · covers 100%
- Best paid drop-in
- Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) — $3.33/mo (1 Year plan) · covers 100%
- Need simultaneous devices or money-back guarantee?
- PrivadoVPN — from $0/mo (Free plan)
- Need no-logs policy, ad & tracker blocking, multi-hop, server network size, split tunneling or port forwarding?
- Windscribe — from $0/mo (Free plan)
What you give up
Capabilities Proton VPN has that the top alternatives lack.
- Simultaneous devices — Connect a set number of devices to the VPN at the same time.Missing from Windscribe.
- Ad & tracker blocking — Block ads and trackers while connected.Missing from Mullvad VPN.
- Multi-hop — Route traffic through more than one VPN server for extra privacy.Missing from PrivadoVPN.
- Server network size — Choose from a large network of server locations.Missing from PrivadoVPN, Mullvad VPN.
- Money-back guarantee — Get a refund if you cancel within a guarantee period.Missing from Windscribe.
- Split tunneling — Route only chosen apps or sites through the VPN.Missing from Mullvad VPN.
- Port forwarding — Forward a network port through the VPN connection.Missing from PrivadoVPN.
Feature comparison
Proton VPN vs the top alternatives, on the 8 compared capabilities.
| Capability | Proton VPN | Windscribe | PrivadoVPN | Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) | Mullvad VPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous devices from Proton Free | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No-logs policy from Proton Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ad & tracker blocking from VPN Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi-hop from VPN Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Server network size from VPN Plus | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Money-back guarantee from VPN Plus | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Split tunneling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Port forwarding | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $9.99/mo VPN Plus | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Free | $3.33/mo 1 Year | $5.84/mo Flat monthly rate |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What Proton VPN covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Simultaneous devices — from Proton Free
- ✓ No-logs policy — from Proton Free
- ✓ Ad & tracker blocking — from VPN Plus
- ✓ Multi-hop — from VPN Plus
- ✓ Server network size — from VPN Plus
- ✓ Money-back guarantee — from VPN Plus
- ✓ Split tunneling
- ✓ Port forwarding
- ✗ Unlimited devices
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://protonvpn.com/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-10-03)
- https://protonvpn.com/features (feature_page, checked 2026-10-03)
Frequently asked
How much does Proton VPN cost?
Proton VPN's VPN Plus plan costs $9.99/mo in our scenario (single user, monthly billing). A free plan exists.
Is there a free Proton VPN alternative?
Yes. Windscribe has a free plan that covers 75% of the 8 capabilities we compared against Proton VPN.
What is the cheapest Proton VPN alternative?
In our scenario (single user, monthly billing), Windscribe is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Free plan).
What is the cheapest Proton VPN alternative with Server network size?
Windscribe covers Server network size and costs $0/mo (Free plan) in our scenario.
Does Proton VPN have a free plan?
Yes. Proton VPN's free plan is limited to 1 seat.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-09-21 and 2026-10-03, on the vendors' official pricing pages.