Proton VPN: Exceptionally Secure, Fast, and the Best Truly Free VPN

Proton VPN’s streaming ability depends on your plan. Free servers are blocked by Netflix, while Plus servers consistently work with US Netflix and five other regions.

Although Proton VPN claims it works with Netflix “in almost every country,” our tests show it unblocks only six regions.

That’s better than average, but significantly fewer than top competitors like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, which access 18 and 17 regions respectively.

Proton VPN also fails to unblock several popular Netflix regions, including Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Works with Popular Streaming Services

Beyond Netflix, Proton VPN unblocks Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. In our latest tests, it even worked to watch the Australian Football League from abroad.

Here are the Proton VPN servers we tested that successfully unblocked popular streaming services:

Free Version Doesn’t Work with Streaming Services

Proton VPN Free is a poor choice for streaming. You can’t select a country, so you can’t unblock services from other regions or access different Netflix libraries.

The VPN used to offer three free locations (the US, the Netherlands, and Japan), but as of 2025 Proton VPN now connects you to the “fastest” available server from 10 locations. In addition to those three, you might also be connected to Canada, Mexico, or Singapore, for example.

This is disappointing, as it previously unblocked services like F1TV to stream live races without paying.

For a free VPN that works better for streaming, consider Windscribe Free or PrivadoVPN Free.

We’ve compiled an up-to-date list of the best free VPNs for Netflix to help you choose.

Oddly, despite testing from New York, Proton VPN produced faster download speeds on several servers farther away than its New York server.

It’s possible the New York servers were slower or congested, and you may get faster speeds on a nearby server.

Proton VPN struggled on very distant servers: 64Mbps in South Africa and 76Mbps in Australia are decent and better than many lesser VPNs, but still slower than big-name rivals like Hotspot Shield or even Ivacy VPN.

Proton VPN Free Is the Fastest Free VPN

Proton VPN’s free app impressed us. It’s the fastest free VPN we’ve tested.

Beyond the raw speeds, Proton VPN Free is the only reputable free VPN with no data cap.

You won’t run out of bandwidth for downloading, streaming, gaming, or anything else.

Just note that with only about 2,000 free servers (versus 15,370 on paid), speeds may be less consistent due to congestion.

Installation is simple. For the paid plan, choose your term, enter your email, and pay by credit card or PayPal. You’ll get an auto-generated password or you can create your own.

For Proton VPN Free, it’s even easier. Go to Proton VPN Free, sign up with your email, and install the app on your device. We like that the free plan doesn’t require payment details.

There are apps for all popular devices: Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS. You can also manually configure Proton VPN on your router to cover your entire home.

Proton VPN’s purple, black, and white color palette feels modern and sleek — a much-needed upgrade from the older green-and-black scheme.

However, the interface could still improve. Map-based interfaces on desktop can be confusing when zoomed out, especially in dense regions like Europe.

On the plus side, you can quickly toggle essential features like the kill switch and multi-hop servers from the home screen. You can also access your preset Profiles from the home screen, making it faster to unblock your favorite Netflix show or start torrenting.

Relying on Proton VPN day-to-day is smooth. Once you set up Profiles and tweak settings, you can make it behave exactly how you want.

We didn’t encounter connection failures or major bugs. When issues did arise, there were clear in-app notices and helpful information via Proton’s website and live chat.

Overall, Proton VPN excels as a daily driver with feature-rich, intuitive apps and streamlined navigation. In our experience, its windows and tabs are thoughtfully organized and easy to use.

Proton VPN doesn’t offer Smart DNS for unblocking video content on devices like Xbox or PlayStation, which makes these devices harder to use with the service.

The only workaround is to install Proton VPN on your home router, but many routers aren’t supported. You can find the full list of compatible models in the support section of Proton VPN’s website. Your router’s firmware must be one of the following:

• AsusWRT
• DD-WRT
• OpenWRT
• pfSense
• Tomato
• FreshTomato
• Vilfo

Alternatively, you can buy a router pre-flashed with Proton VPN. This avoids the complex setup, but it’s expensive.

If you want to stream on game consoles and similar devices, we strongly recommend choosing a VPN with a reliable Smart DNS service instead — CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are both excellent options.

You can see a summary of the differences between Proton VPN’s apps in the table below:

Profiles Feature Is Useful & Convenient

A standout benefit of Proton VPN is its Profiles feature, which lets you create custom presets of servers and settings to match your needs.

Profiles allows you to choose the server type (standard, Secure Core, P2P, or Tor), location, specific server, and protocol (WireGuard, WireGuard TCP, IKEv2, or Stealth).

For example, if a specific server consistently works with US Netflix, you can create a profile as a shortcut to that server and access it from the Profiles tab on the home screen.

This is an advanced feature designed for power users, but it’s also one of Proton VPN’s best.

Split Tunneling

With split tunneling, your VPN creates a separate pathway that goes directly through your ISP, as if you weren’t using a VPN.

This is useful for keeping compatibility with devices and services that need a local IP address, such as a wireless printer.

Proton VPN includes split tunneling in its Windows and Android apps, but not on macOS or iOS. To use it, toggle on the apps you want to exclude from the encrypted VPN tunnel.

In our tests, split tunneling allowed us to access devices on our local network while connected to a Netherlands server to safely download a torrent file.

EXPERT ADVICE: Any app you exclude from the VPN tunnel will use your real IP address. Avoid using this setting for sensitive activities, especially on public Wi-Fi.

NetShield Is a Poor Ad Blocker

Proton VPN Plus and Unlimited subscribers can use NetShield, the built-in ad, malware, and tracker blocker. You can enable it by clicking the shield icon on the app’s home screen.

We found NetShield effective at blocking malware and trackers, but weak at blocking ads.

Unlike many ad blockers, NetShield doesn’t remove ad elements from pages. It replaces them with gray boxes, which is distracting.

Also, NetShield only works when you’re connected to a Proton VPN server, so you must stay connected to keep ads from appearing.

Proton VPN’s Secure Core Servers

Proton VPN owns servers in 68 of its locations. These make up its Secure Core network.

This feature — available only on Plus and Unlimited plans — routes your traffic through a Secure Core server before sending it to another server in Proton VPN’s network.

This is a form of Double VPN (also called Multi-Hop), which routes traffic through two VPN servers instead of one for added security.

Because Proton VPN owns and controls these servers, Secure Core may offer stronger security than similar features like NordVPN’s or Surfshark’s Double VPN.

Not long ago, Secure Core servers existed in only three countries — it’s good to see Proton VPN expanding the list.

Download speeds are much slower on the Secure Core network due to extra encryption and the longer data path.

Additional Features We’d Like to See

• A much better ad blocker. As shown above, NetShield isn’t strong enough. We like that it’s built in, but it needs major improvements.
• A reliable Stealth protocol. Proton VPN currently doesn’t work consistently in China, despite offering Stealth. It needs to be improved to reliably bypass the Great Firewall.
• An advanced kill switch. With the current kill switch enabled, you lose access to your local network and its devices. A more advanced version should allow some customization.