VPN Deal of the Week: Proton VPN doesn't do thrills – but when it comes to privacy, it can't be beaten

Laptop and smartphone on a table, both connected to Proton VPN Free
(Image credit: Future)

VPN deals and plans have a habit of being a little complicated. There are different tiers, at different price points, with each tier unlocking new features.

Many of the best VPNs now offer tiered subscription models, but Proton VPN keeps it simple. What you see is what you get, with one subscription unlocking all of its VPN features.

Proton VPN | $2.99 per month | 2 years

Proton VPN | $2.99 per month | 2 years
Proton VPN prioritizes privacy above all else. It's a highly secure VPN, with super fast speeds and powerful streaming unblocking. Plus, one plan unlocks all Proton VPN's features.

What you'll get...

🔒 Class-leading privacy credentials
✨ Dedicated anti-censorship features
🌍 18,000+ servers worldwide
🚀 1,500+ Mbps speeds

A two-year plan costs $2.99 per month ($71.76 upfront) and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Privacy is Proton VPN's priority

If you're looking for one of the most private VPNs, Proton VPN is hard to beat. It values privacy above all else, and its features reflect that.

Secure Core is its Double VPN feature, and it routes your VPN traffic through two servers rather than one. Proton VPN owns and operates all of its Secure Core servers, and you connect to your desired location via Iceland, Sweden, or Switzerland.

VPN obfuscation is provided through the Stealth protocol. This disguises your VPN traffic to help it bypass internet restrictions.

Proton VPN Stealth protocol logo

(Image credit: Proton VPN)

There's a rock-solid kill switch, and 18,600 servers in 170 locations and 129 countries worldwide. It's also one of the fastest VPNs we've seen. In our testing it recorded speeds of 1,521 Mbps, and we saw near flawless streaming unblocking.

There's threat protection in the form of NetShield, but this is Proton VPN's biggest weakness. It's handy to have, and better than nothing, but it's nowhere near as powerful as NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro.

Proton VPN isn't known for being cheap

Historically, Proton VPN has been one of the more expensive VPNs – usually sitting at $3.50+ per month. But its $2.99 per month price is still here and makes it much better value.

It's still more expensive than ExpressVPN and Surfshark, but the cheapest plans from these two VPNs don't include the same number of features as Proton VPN. At the time of writing, Proton VPN is cheaper than all NordVPN plans.

There's one tier of plan, with two-year, one-year, and one-month plans available. All come with a 30-day money-back guarantee:

I'd always recommend paid VPNs, especially Proton VPN. I use it every day and it rarely lets me down. I use it on my phone, laptop, and tablet, but you can protect up to 10 devices on one plan.

If you can't afford the premium version, Proton VPN Free is one of the best free VPNs. It only protects you with basic VPN features but the necessities are there – including a kill switch and unlimited data.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

George Phillips
Staff Writer

George is a Staff Writer at Tom's Guide, covering VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity news. He is especially interested in digital rights and censorship, and its interplay with politics. Outside of work, George is passionate about music, Star Wars, and Karate.

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