Proton VPN Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Proton VPN costs Free to $12.99 per month as of November 2026, with 3 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), VPN Plus at $9.99/month, and Proton Unlimited at $12.99/month. 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: Yes
Proton VPN offers 3 pricing tiers: Free, VPN Plus, Proton Unlimited. A free plan is available. Paid plans include VPN Plus at $9.99/month, Proton Unlimited at $12.99/month. The VPN Plus plan is users who want premium vpn features without a long commitment.
Yes, Proton VPN offers a forever free plan as of November 2026. The free tier lists 7 features. Limits apply to users and servers. Paid plans start at $9.99/month (VPN Plus). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.
Proton VPN's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Unlimited data (no bandwidth cap)
- 1 device connection
- Servers in 10 countries (randomly selected)
- Medium-speed access
- No-logs policy
- No credit card required
- No ads or tracking
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 10 simultaneous device connections
- 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries
- Highest VPN speeds
- NetShield ad blocker and malware protection
- Secure Core (multi-hop VPN routing)
- Streaming and P2P support
- WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and Stealth protocols
- No-logs policy (independently audited)
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan |
|---|---|
| Users | 1 |
| Servers | 10 countries only |
| Speed | Medium priority |
- Only 10 server countries (randomly selected)
- Medium speed (slower than paid plans)
- No P2P/BitTorrent support
- No streaming optimization
- No port forwarding
- No Secure Core servers
- No NetShield ad-blocker
- No access to Plus servers
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You need to torrent or use P2P file sharing
- You want to access streaming services from specific regions
- You need faster speeds for HD streaming or large downloads
- You want to choose your server location
- You need port forwarding for better torrent speeds
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Server selection is automatic/random within the 10 available countries
- Speeds intentionally throttled compared to paid tiers
- Not designed for heavy usage or bandwidth-intensive activities
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
You only need basic privacy protection for browsing from restricted countries, don't torrent, and aren't concerned about speed or server location choice.
You Need Paid If...
You need torrenting support, want to stream content, require fast speeds, or want control over server selection.
Free vs VPN Plus Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | VPN Plus $9.99/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Casual users who want a trustworthy free VPN with no data limits or ads | Users who want premium VPN features without a long commitment |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Proton VPN free?
Yes, Proton VPN offers a forever free plan. It includes unlimited data (no bandwidth cap), 1 device connection, servers in 10 countries (randomly selected), and more. Key limits: Users: 1, Servers: 10 countries only, Speed: Medium priority.
02 What's included in Proton VPN's free plan?
Proton VPN's free plan includes: Unlimited data (no bandwidth cap), 1 device connection, Servers in 10 countries (randomly selected), Medium-speed access, No-logs policy, and 2 more features. Key limits: Users: 1, Servers: 10 countries only, Speed: Medium priority.
03 What's NOT included in Proton VPN's free plan?
Paid-only: 10 simultaneous device connections, 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries, Highest VPN speeds, NetShield ad blocker and malware protection, Secure Core (multi-hop VPN routing). Free plan limitations: only 10 server countries (randomly selected); medium speed (slower than paid plans); no P2P/BitTorrent support.
04 When should I upgrade from Proton VPN's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you need to torrent or use P2P file sharing; you want to access streaming services from specific regions; you need faster speeds for HD streaming or large downloads. The cheapest paid plan starts at $9.99/month.
05 Is Proton VPN's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Proton VPN'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.
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