ProtonVPN Pricing: Plans & Costs Compared
Compare ProtonVPN pricing across 3 plans from free to $12.99/month. See what's included, get 30-day money-back guarantee details.
Compare VPN Pricing
How Much Does ProtonVPN Cost?
ProtonVPN offers 3 plans. The Free plan costs $0 forever with limited servers. VPN Plus costs $2.99/month on a 2-year plan or $9.99 monthly. Proton Unlimited costs $7.99/month on a 2-year plan or $12.99 monthly. All paid plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ProtonVPN Plans at a Glance
ProtonVPN structures its pricing around 3 tiers with 3 billing cycles each. Longer commitments access steeper discounts. Here is what each plan includes at every billing interval.
Proton Free stays at $0 across monthly, 1-year, and 2-year terms. You get access to servers in 5 countries, 1 device connection, and medium speeds. No credit card required to start.
VPN Plus costs $9.99/month on a monthly cycle. The 1-year plan drops to $3.99/month ($47.88 total), a 60% discount. The 2-year plan drops to $2.99/month ($71.76 total), a 70% discount. You get 4,900+ servers in 110+ countries and 10 simultaneous connections.
Proton Unlimited costs $12.99/month on a monthly cycle. The 1-year plan drops to $9.99/month ($119.88 total), a 23% discount. The 2-year plan drops to $7.99/month ($191.76 total), saving 38%. This tier bundles ProtonMail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass.
Intro Pricing vs Renewal: What You Actually Pay
The advertised per-month prices assume you pay upfront for the full billing cycle. Many users miss this detail. A $2.99/month VPN Plus plan requires $71.76 paid on day one.
Proton has historically honored the same pricing at renewal for existing subscribers. However, Proton reserves the right to adjust pricing between billing cycles. Check your subscription page 30 days before renewal to confirm your rate.
This contrasts with providers like Surfshark or NordVPN that frequently raise renewal prices by 50-100%. ProtonVPN’s renewal consistency is a genuine advantage for budget-conscious subscribers.
Which Plan Fits Which User Type
Not every user needs the same tier. Your usage pattern determines which ProtonVPN plan delivers the best value.
Casual Users: Proton Free
You browse occasionally and want basic IP masking. Proton Free covers 5 countries and handles light browsing. It works for checking email on public Wi-Fi or basic geo-restriction workarounds. Zero cost means zero risk.
Privacy-Focused Individuals: VPN Plus
You stream content across regions, torrent files, or travel frequently. VPN Plus opens 4,900+ servers in 110+ countries with full-speed connections. The 2-year plan at $2.99/month delivers serious value. This is the sweet spot for most users.
Families and Power Users: Proton Unlimited
You want a full encrypted ecosystem for multiple family members. Proton Unlimited bundles 500 GB of encrypted cloud storage, 15 email addresses, and unlimited hide-my-email aliases. At $7.99/month on the 2-year plan, it replaces separate subscriptions for email, storage, and VPN.
A family paying separately for cloud storage ($2-10/month), a password manager ($3-5/month), and a VPN ($3-5/month) spends $8-20/month. Proton Unlimited consolidates those tools at a competitive $7.99/month.
Payment Methods Available
ProtonVPN accepts credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), PayPal, Bitcoin, and cash. Yes, actual cash mailed to their Swiss office. Bitcoin and cash payments maximize anonymity for privacy-focused users.
Bank transfers are not directly available through the checkout page. Proton also supports payment through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Note that app store purchases may cost slightly more due to platform fees.
Seasonal Discount Patterns
Proton runs predictable sales during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and occasionally around its anniversary in May. Black Friday deals have historically offered the 2-year VPN Plus plan at roughly $2.99/month or lower.
Summer months rarely feature discounts. If you are considering a purchase, November consistently delivers the best ProtonVPN pricing. Setting a calendar reminder for late October gives you time to compare that year’s deal.
Proton does not offer flash sales or weekly rotating coupons. The pricing structure stays stable outside major seasonal events. Third-party coupon sites rarely provide codes beyond what Proton already advertises.
ProtonVPN vs Competitor Pricing
ProtonVPN sits in the mid-to-premium range. Here is how its 2-year pricing compares against 4 major competitors.
| Provider | 2-Year Monthly Cost | Servers | Simultaneous Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProtonVPN Plus | $2.99 | 4,900+ | 10 |
| NordVPN Standard | $2.99 | 6,400+ | 10 |
| Surfshark | $2.19 | 3,200+ | Unlimited |
| ExpressVPN | $4.99 | 3,000+ | 8 |
| Mullvad | $5.50 (flat) | 600+ | 5 |
ProtonVPN matches NordVPN’s 2-year price while offering a free tier NordVPN lacks. Surfshark undercuts both on price but operates from the Netherlands, not Switzerland. ExpressVPN costs 67% more for fewer servers.
Mullvad charges a flat $5.50/month with no long-term discounts. That simplicity appeals to some users, but ProtonVPN’s 2-year plan saves $60 annually by comparison.
The free tier deserves emphasis. No competitor on this list offers a genuinely usable free plan. ProtonVPN Free runs zero ads and collects zero logs. That alone makes it the best entry point for VPN newcomers.
Money-Back Guarantee and Refund Process
All paid ProtonVPN plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. This applies to direct purchases through Proton’s website. App store purchases follow Apple or Google refund policies instead.
To request a refund, submit a ticket through the Proton support page. State your account email and reason for cancellation. Proton typically processes refunds within 5-10 business days. Credit card refunds may take an additional billing cycle to appear.
The guarantee covers the full subscription amount, not a prorated portion. If you buy a 2-year plan and cancel on day 25, you receive the entire $71.76 back. After day 30, no partial refunds are available.
Bitcoin and cash payments complicate refunds since those transactions are harder to reverse. Proton handles them on a case-by-case basis. If refund simplicity matters to you, pay by credit card or PayPal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does each ProtonVPN plan cost across billing cycles?
ProtonVPN runs three tiers. Free costs $0 indefinitely. VPN Plus lists at $9.99 a month, drops to $47.88 billed yearly (a 60% discount), and reaches its lowest rate of $2.49/month on the 2-year plan. Proton Unlimited starts at $12.99 monthly, falls to $119.88 yearly (23% off), or $191.76 over two years (38% off).
How does ProtonVPN’s refund process work if I cancel?
Every paid plan carries a 30-day money-back guarantee, refunding the full subscription amount rather than a prorated portion, even if you cancel on day 25. Submit a ticket through Proton’s support page with your account email and reason; refunds process in 5 to 10 business days. Purchases through Apple or Google app stores follow their own refund policies instead.
What do you lose by staying on ProtonVPN’s free plan instead of upgrading?
The free tier randomly assigns you a server from a limited country list and caps you at one device and medium speeds, versus VPN Plus’s full access to 15,000+ servers across 120+ countries on up to 10 devices. Free also skips NetShield, Proton’s ad and malware blocker, though it remains ad-free and logless either way, just slower and more restricted.
Will ProtonVPN raise my price after the discounted term ends?
Unlike many competitors, Proton has historically honored the same rate at renewal for existing subscribers, though it reserves the right to adjust pricing between billing cycles. Check your subscription page roughly 30 days before renewal to confirm your locked rate. This contrasts with providers like Surfshark or NordVPN, which frequently raise renewal prices by 50 to 100%.
How does ProtonVPN’s cheapest price stack up against NordVPN and Surfshark?
ProtonVPN’s lowest rate is $2.49/month on its 2-year plan, undercutting NordVPN’s cheapest at $3.49/month, though Surfshark still comes in lowest at $1.99/month. ProtonVPN counters with a larger network, 15,000+ servers across 120+ countries, versus NordVPN’s 8,900+ servers in 129+ countries and Surfshark’s 3,200+ servers in 100+ countries. All three carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How many devices can I run simultaneously on each ProtonVPN tier?
Proton Free restricts you to a single device, while both VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited raise that ceiling to 10 simultaneous connections. That matches NordVPN’s 10-device limit but falls short of Surfshark’s unlimited connections. If you’re covering a large household, the paid tiers’ 10-device allowance covers most setups without needing Surfshark’s unlimited option.
Is ProtonVPN fast enough to justify its VPN Plus price?
ProtonVPN ranks #12 of 22 in our Speed Lab, aggregated from independent labs, a middle-of-the-pack result rather than a top performer. VPN Plus accesses its full 15,000+ server network across 120+ countries plus NetShield’s ad and malware blocking, features stripped from the free tier’s medium-speed, single-device access. Speed-sensitive users should weigh that rank against the $2.49/month lowest rate.
What does Proton Unlimited actually add beyond the VPN itself?
Proton Unlimited bundles the full VPN Plus feature set with Proton’s privacy suite: 500 GB of encrypted Drive storage, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases through Proton Pass, and premium Proton Mail with 3 custom domains. At $191.76 over two years, it replaces separate subscriptions for cloud storage, a password manager, and a VPN with one Swiss-based account.
What payment methods does ProtonVPN accept, and which protect anonymity best?
ProtonVPN accepts credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), PayPal, Bitcoin, and even cash mailed to its Swiss office. Bitcoin and cash payments maximize anonymity for privacy-focused subscribers, though they complicate refunds since those transactions are harder to reverse. Bank transfers aren’t available at checkout, but Apple App Store and Google Play purchases work too, sometimes at a slightly higher cost.
What if I pay by Bitcoin or cash and then need a refund?
Refunds on Bitcoin or cash payments are handled on a case-by-case basis, since those transactions are harder to reverse than card payments. Proton still honors its 30-day money-back guarantee, but if refund simplicity matters, pay by credit card or PayPal instead, since those processes complete in 5 to 10 business days without added review.
Does paying more for ProtonVPN actually buy better privacy protections?
Upgrading accesses Secure Core routing, which passes traffic through extra servers in privacy-friendly countries, and VPN Accelerator for optimized performance, both absent from the free tier. ProtonVPN operates under Swiss jurisdiction with a strict no-logs policy verified annually by independent auditors, most recently Securitum. Free and paid tiers share the same zero-ads, zero-logs foundation, but Secure Core is paid-only.
When is the best time to buy ProtonVPN for the lowest price?
Proton runs predictable sales around Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and occasionally its May anniversary, with Black Friday historically offering the steepest 2-year VPN Plus discounts. Summer months rarely feature deals, and Proton skips flash sales or rotating coupon codes, so pricing stays stable outside those events. Setting a reminder for late October gives you time to compare that year’s offer.
Does Proton Unlimited save money over buying separate privacy tools?
Yes, for households needing more than just VPN access. Paying separately for cloud storage, a password manager, and a standalone VPN typically costs more over time than Proton Unlimited’s bundled rate, which consolidates all three plus 500 GB storage and premium Mail features at $191.76 over two years. It only makes sense if you actually use the email and storage extras, not just the VPN.