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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: Holiday.com, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: Holiday.com, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

Proton VPN vs PrivateVPN: Which VPN Should You Pick in 2025?

Table of Contents
    Our Score: 9.2/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Our Score: 9.2/10
    %s User Reviews
    More Info
    Editor's Note: Transparency and impartiality are important to us when bringing you our best selection of VPNs. Some of the industry-leading products on our list, including Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost, and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company. The VPNs we choose are derived from a thorough testing process.

    Our Score

    Features 9.2/10
    Pricing 8.6/10
    Ease of Use 9.2/10
    Reliability & Support 9.0/10
    Features 9.2/10
    Pricing 9.2/10
    Ease of Use 8.8/10
    Reliability & Support 9.2/10

    Reviews

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Kelvin Kiogora
    Kelvin Kiogora Cybersecurity Researcher
    Our Score: 9.2/10

    Proton VPN, from the creators of Proton Mail, claims to prioritize your online privacy, even on its free tier. We delved into all its features to determine if it's as private as it claims or if there are hidden trade-offs. Is Proton VPN safe? Ever since ProtonMail was caught logging an activist’s IP in 2021 (TechCrunch, 2021)1, there have been doubts about Proton’s overall privacy stance. W...

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    Latest positive user review
    P
    Peter
    8.0/10
    great but ...

    Recently migrated to ProtonVPN from another VPN provider. Using manual OpenVpn setup 2.6.x with DCO. ... Good service but... ProtonVPN does not allow data cipher AES-128-GCM, only AES-256-GCM. The former cipher is faster, and just as secure as the latter cipher. Using AES-128-GCM for my TLS cipher but would also like it for my data cipher. Would help speed improvements.More

    Latest negative user review
    N
    Network Man
    2.0/10
    Proton Privacy Policy is a JOKE

    REFUSED TO REMOVE MY GMAIL account information after trying their ProtonMail application. After being ... happy as a VPN customer, i tried ProtonMail. I stupidly allowed them to access my Gmail account, then when I was unhappy with the product, I could not get their service to remove my Gmail account, and it continued accessing my account. I was forced to use Google to remove their access because their support organization would not help me. Then, I demanded they close my account and remove my personal data under the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) in Switzerland. They have refused thus far with no response. They have thus far still not removed my account.More

    Read the full review
    Review by our expert
    Author Image Matthew Amos
    Matthew Amos Senior Editor
    Our Score: 9.2/10

    PrivateVPN advertises itself as one of the best VPNs for streaming at a low price. It also claims to have great torrenting support, strong security features, and a true no-logs policy. But PrivateVPN is a small company, so can it compete with the biggest VPNs? To learn the answer, I tested out everything it offers. My global team and I found out if it really lets you stream securely in the bes...

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    Latest positive user review
    D
    Daniel Andersson
    10.0/10
    Works Great for many years.

    I've been using their service for a great many years, and I'm very pleased indeed. Great service and s... upport, and more than enough speed for covering my needs. As long as they have coverage in countries I need to connect to, the number of servers in total is less relevant, as long as the servers they Do have provide enough speeds. They also support Wireguard, which is seldom mentioned in these reviews, probably since they don't have it in their native app, but they do and it's rock solid using that with their provided config files, and that in and of itself also increases the connection speeds, at least for me. All in all, they provide anything and all I want from a VPN provider. What others see as a downside, split tunneling and such, I see as a strength. I want my VPN provider to stick their nose in my business as little as possible, but rather provide a "clean VPN line" and then let Me decide what to do with my routing table. In short, they're Great, for my needs, but others will have to test and make up their own minds. :-DMore

    Latest negative user review
    E
    Emil
    2.0/10
    Been There

    I've been using PrivateVPN for a year. The main reason was due to good price. It's slow, on certain ho... urs of the day you can't watch video smoothly. They have down time or some other problem frequently and it take ages to fix it. Customer support are so poor that my mum without IT knowledge could probably do a better job. Now I switched to another one and feelings for PrivateVPN is much worse because I have something to compare withMore

    Read the full review

    Pricing

    Starting price $4.49/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 30 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices
    Starting price $2/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 30 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices

    Best VPN by Category

    Best VPN Overall
    Read the full review
    Best VPN for Torrents
    Read the full review
    Best VPN for Windows
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    Best VPN for Android
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    Best VPN for Mac
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    Best VPN for iOS
    Read the full review
    Best VPN for USA
    Read the full review

    The Bottom Line

    See Plans & Pricing
    Author Image Kelvin Kiogora
    Kelvin Kiogora Cybersecurity Researcher

    Final Verdict — Secure and Affordable VPN With Ironclad Privacy Proton VPN is a great VPN, especially regarding security and privacy. It’s tough to think of a safer VPN with a more trustworthy reputation or higher-quality privacy features. I was also impressed with the fast speeds it offers for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. There are a few things it needs to do to truly compete with the best in the industry. It could increase the number of servers to reduce instances of overcrowding. I’m also looking forward to its implementation of a smart DNS feature to make changing locations on multiple devices even more seamless. Still, I recommend Proton VPN as it's excellent for streaming and dedicated to protecting your online privacy. On top of that, it offers the best free VPN service you’ll find, and all paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Smooth streaming quality Fast speeds

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    Time to decide which one is best for you

    Go with Proton VPN
    Go with PrivateVPN
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    We rank vendors based on rigorous testing and research, but also take into account your feedback and our commercial agreements with providers. This page contains affiliate links.