Proton Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Proton costs Free to $12.99 per month as of April 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Proton offers a freemium plan as of April 2026. The free tier includes 8 features with limits on storage and devices. Paid plans start at $7.99/month (Unlimited (2-Year)). Pricing verified from 4 sources by CostBench.
Proton offers a freemium model with limited features; upgrade to unlock more.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 1 GB encrypted email storage
- 1 email address
- 150 emails per day
- Proton VPN on 1 device (servers in 5 countries)
- Proton Calendar
- Proton Drive (up to 1 GB)
- Proton Pass (unlimited logins on unlimited devices)
- End-to-end encryption on all services
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 500 GB total storage
- 15 email addresses
- Unlimited email sending
- Custom email domain support
- Proton VPN on up to 10 devices (servers in 110+ countries)
- Proton VPN Secure Core and NetShield ad blocker
- Proton Pass with unlimited hide-my-email aliases
- Proton Drive with full storage
- Proton Calendar with full features
- Proton Sentinel advanced account protection
- Priority customer support
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| storage | 1 GB | Unlimited/Higher |
| devices | 1 | Unlimited/Higher |
| emailsPerDay | 150 | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like 500 GB total storage or 15 email addresses
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Proton branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Unlimited (2-Year) Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Unlimited (2-Year) $7.99/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 8 included | 11+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Proton branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Privacy-conscious individuals who want basic encrypted email and VPN at no cost | Long-term privacy adopters who want the lowest per-month cost |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Proton free?
Yes, Proton offers a freemium plan with 8 core features included. However, there are limits on storage, devices that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Proton's free plan?
Proton's free plan includes: 1 GB encrypted email storage, 1 email address, 150 emails per day, Proton VPN on 1 device (servers in 5 countries), Proton Calendar, and 3 more features. Key limits include storage: 1 GB, devices: 1, emailsPerDay: 150.
03 What's NOT included in Proton's free plan?
The free plan excludes: 500 GB total storage, 15 email addresses, Unlimited email sending, Custom email domain support, Proton VPN on up to 10 devices (servers in 110+ countries). You'll also have Proton branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Proton's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like 500 GB total storage or 15 email addresses, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $7.99/month.
05 Is Proton's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Proton's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.