CyberGhost vs Proton VPN

CyberGhost and Proton VPN represent some of the safest, most reputable VPNs on the planet. This is both good and bad. Good, because you seemingly can’t go wrong with each. Bad because you still can, as Proton VPN and CyberGhost offer way different experiences.

During our in-depth assessment, we found ourselves loving Proton VPN more than CyberGhost. Simultaneously, we preferred CyberGhost’s “milder” pricing model and a powerful antivirus. Both providers are world-class options even for more demanding users.

But, if you’re stuck on the CyberGhost vs Proton VPN loophole, it’s time to cut the loop and finally get out. This article will delve deeper into Proton VPN and CyberGhost features, prices, performance, servers, support, and more, helping you choose the right option for you.

Proton VPN vs CyberGhost VPN: Quick Comparison

	🏆 Proton VPN	CyberGhost
Our Current Ranking 📋	#4	#6
Prices 🤑	Starting at $3.59/mo	Starting at $2.19/mo
Money-Back Guarantee 🪙	30 days	30 days
Free Version/Free Trial 🆓	Yes/No free trial	No/Yes (24 hours on Windows/macOS, 3 days on Android, 7 days on iOS)
Logging/Jurisdiction 🕵️	No/Switzerland	No/Romania
Protocols 🌐	OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2	OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2
Servers 🏠	12,500+ in 117 countries	12,000 in 100 countries
Specialty Servers ✅	Torrenting, streaming, Tor over VPN, Secure Core	Torrenting, streaming, NoSpy, dedicated IP
RAM-Only Servers 🛡️	Yes	Yes
Working With Netflix 📺	Yes (US, UK, JP, CA, …)	Yes (US, UK, JP, CA, …)
P2P Allowance ↔️	Yes	Yes
Customer support ☎️	Live chat, email	Live chat, email
Concurrent Connections 📟	10	7

Applications & Ease of Use

Our revamped CyberGhost vs Proton VPN comparison begins with their apps, as always. To cut to the chase, both providers support a litany of devices and systems — we’ll list some of them below:

• Computers/laptops: Windows, macOS, Linux.
• Phones/tablets: iOS, Android.
• Streaming devices: Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Nvidia Shield TV
• Other device: Routers, gaming consoles, Raspberry Pi, etc.

There’s a slew of apps and VPN configurations for every device under the Sun — except for your Toyota Corolla. In the course of our CyberGhost testing, we praised it for its Smart DNS inclusion, which aids streaming on non-VPN-friendly devices. Proton VPN, however, lacks this handy add-on.

Before we compare their apps, let’s address two key differences:

• CyberGhost offers 7 simultaneous connections;
• Proton VPN offers 10 simultaneous connections.

Now, here’s how CyberGhost looks:

It’s a good-looking VPN with a posh app that can go big or small, depending on how you like your interface. It’s a bit “janky” at times, and we found it confusing to locate some features, as its multiple “settings” menus aren’t designed all that well. Luckily, this isn’t the case on CyberGhost’s mobile versions.

Okay, so here’s our Proton VPN app:

It looks a bit better in our minds. Proton VPN reminds us of NordVPN and that’s always good. Elements like the world map and a comprehensive server list are there, plus, you’ll find all the features you need on the home screen and in the easily accessible Settings menu up top.

Its mobile apps are extraordinary too, following the same design trend and level of simplicity.

Proton VPN vs CyberGhost Price Comparison

Many of you would like to know how much is Proton VPN or CyberGhost. You don’t have to dig deeper and search wider. This time, we’ll begin with Proton VPN. Its prices are below, and as you see, it’s no-nonsense pricing structure with two distinctly cheaper long-term plans.

The 24-month plan strikes us as the best proposition. You can get it at $3.59/mo and save more than $150 compared to the monthly plan. The 12-month plan at $3.99/mo is dangerously inexpensive and threatens to give its rivals a serious run for their money.

Get the Cheapest Price on Proton VPN

Proton VPN offers an ace — a 100% forever-free VPN! It packs unlimited bandwidth, rock-solid security, and apps with no ads. A 30-day refund policy is here for premium plans, too. Now, let’s segue into CyberGhost and its current subscription plans.

CyberGhost’s 2-year plan comes with 2 free months and is only $2.19/mo or $56.94 for the first 26 months. 6-month and 1-month plans are just “placeholders” because they’re not discounted. However, 6-month and 24-month plans offer a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Get the Cheapest Price on CyberGhost

CyberGhost doesn’t have a free plan, but there’s the Security Suite, which protects your Windows computer against a slew of viruses at only $1/mo. Its dedicated IPs at $2.50/mo make their return as some of the cheapest of their kind in 2026. What about renewal costs?

Again, CyberGhost is cheaper. You’ll pay the same introductory prices when you renew but for a year. This means CyberGhost renews at roughly $4.75/mo, while Proton VPN renews at $7.18/mo, billed annually.

CyberGhost vs Proton VPN: Features Analysis

These VPNs offer plenty of features, and by that, we’re referring to their security. After analyzing both and compiling results, we noticed that Proton VPN is just a bit more equipped, but CyberGhost gave it a run for its money on a few occasions.

Basic Features

Basic features were pretty much on par, and here, there were no runs for anyone’s money. When we address basics, we usually refer to:

• 256-bit encryption (also known as bank-grade)
• Automatic kill switch
• WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols
• Ad-blocking
• DNS and IP leak protection
• Perfect Forward Secrecy
• Split tunneling, etc.

The list is a bit lengthy, but you know the deal — both VPNs have everything you need. We’ll just address ad-blocking, which was a bit more efficient in Proton VPN and its NetShield solution. CyberGhost’s ad-blocker wasn’t as good, letting some ads slip by occasionally.

Ad-blocking with a VPN, for many, isn’t a basic feature, but in 2026, we think every VPN should offer it.

Advanced Features

Now, to advanced features. We’ll start with CyberGhost’s features first:

• NoSpy servers. Owned and operated by CyberGhost in Romania. They’re built for privacy, as they operate per CyberGhost’s no-log policy that prevents data logging.
• Security Suite (optional). At $1/mo, you can get your Windows Antivirus and clear out unwanted software. The Security Suite also updates your apps regularly to keep security vulnerabilities away.

On Proton VPN’s side, we have a few interesting tools:

• Secure Core servers. Built for privacy (again), and owned by Proton. They’re located in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden and are used for Multihop, which routes your traffic through a Secure Core server first, and then another server of your choice.
• Tor over VPN servers. They’re great for visiting the dark web anonymously, with bespoke optimization for Tor traffic.
• Alternative Routing/Stealth. Both features provide traffic obfuscation, which is essential in censored countries or workplaces with restricted networks.
• NetShield. We mentioned it as an ad blocker, but the solution also blocks trackers and malicious websites. Again, CyberGhost’s “counter-attack” isn’t so efficient.
• Dark Web Monitor. A feature available outside the app, when you sign in to Proton VPN through your browser. We use it to receive email breach alerts and react accordingly.

Do CyberGhost and Proton VPN Store Logs?

Privacy protection is one of the best aspects of Virtual Private Networks. CyberGhost and Proton VPN are no slouches and they know this. That’s why their privacy policies are some of the best on the market, with clearly outlined stored and non-stored data.

Luckily for us, the scale tips over to the latter side.

In short, you’ll find that CyberGhost and Proton VPN store very few operational logs needed for proper functioning. Everything else, including your IP address, browsing history, visited websites, connection metadata, location, and so on, is NOT stored on their servers.

After trying to poke holes in their privacy claims, we must admit we failed miserably. However, we weren’t surprised because both VPNs have external audits on their no-log policies. Better yet, these audits came from renowned cybersecurity firms known worldwide.

Another thing to address is a RAM-based server infrastructure. RAM servers are known to enhance privacy by being able to be wiped clean with each restart. As a result, even if some data were to be stored, it could disappear at the drop of a hat.

Which VPN Is Faster? (Speed Test Analysis)

You might be wondering just which VPN is faster and better for bandwidth-hungry activities. Our tests have shown that they’re almost on par, with slightly lower latency on Proton VPN’s side. This comes down to Proton VPN’s VPN Accelerator, which speeds up the connection.

For these tests, we used WireGuard in both VPNs, ensuring we’re leveling the playing field. At the time, we were in Belgrade (Serbia), where we first launched a non-VPN speed test just to gauge our native speeds.

From there, we went with our standard testing procedure. We performed tests on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, three times each day, using three server locations; the UK, the USA, and Japan. We focused more on long-distance servers to compare their speed retention rates.

Speaking of which, we’ll examine their average download and upload speed losses during our VPN speed tests. As you can see below, Proton VPN has lost less speed than CyberGhost — 28% vs 42%. That’s a big difference.

	Download Speed Loss ⬇️	Upload Speed Loss ⬆️
🟡 CyberGhost	42%	8%
🟣 Proton VPN	28%	15%

However, Proton VPN simultaneously performed worse for uploads, losing 15% of its speed compared to just 8% in CyberGhost. The table below shows their average download and upload speeds across all three locations, where we can see just how similar they performed.

	UK (Download/Upload)	US (Download/Upload)	Japan (Download/Upload)
🟡 CyberGhost	37.31/9.43 Mbps	29.43/9.23 Mbps	25.23/9.12 Mbps
🟣 Proton VPN	46.25/9.43 Mbps	36.79/8.73 Mbps	29.96/7.42 Mbps

Streaming & Torrenting Comparison

Our assessment also took into account streaming and torrenting, since most people use VPNs for these purposes. We were happy with their performances. Both VPNs offer dedicated streaming servers, which meant that unblocking platforms was a breeze.

Do they work with Netflix? Oh, they most definitely do! Netflix US, UK, Japan, and Canada are all accessible with both, plus some other less popular catalogs. In particular, watching Netflix Japan abroad was a joy, as it allowed us to access anime and other Japanese shows and movies.

However, we also enjoyed services like BBC iPlayer and Hotstar that would could access from our location (Belgrade). With 10 Gbps servers and WireGuard, neither of the two was stuttery and sluggish. All streams, even 4K Dolby content on Netflix, were buttery-smooth — not stuttery-smooth (pun intended).

One thing to note is that CyberGhost has Smart DNS, allowing for streaming outside the VPN. On the other hand, Proton VPN has a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, etc. It’s phenomenal for streaming, and useful for overcoming specky geo-blocks.

Torrenting is up next, and here, we have a similar scenario. CyberGhost and Proton VPN have dedicated torrenting servers. The latter offers Port Forwarding, which improves torrenting and online gaming by improving connection speed. CyberGhost doesn’t offer this feature.

However, during our direct CyberGhost vs Proton VPN P2P comparison, we barely noticed a difference. Having used nearby servers in both cases, download speeds were on par, while Proton VPN, as expected, uploaded torrents faster, being better for what we call “seeding”.

Server Locations

How many servers do they have and which VPN is larger? We’ll spoil the fun and say they’re some of the biggest VPNs to date. If you don’t believe us, check the table underneath where we highlighted everything you should know about their globally-spread server networks:

	🟡 CyberGhost	🟣 Proton VPN
#️⃣ Server number	12,000	12,500+
🌐 Countries	100	117+
💾 10 Gbps servers	Yes	Yes
🖥️ RAM servers	Yes	Yes
📍 Dedicated servers	Yes	Yes

With massive server fleets, both VPNs are way larger than ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and even NordVPN. Proton VPN has an edge for us, as it offers 17 countries on top, which ensures more city-level locations. Do you need a VPN for the USA? Don’t worry — they have plenty of servers there, too!

But even if you’re in Ethiopia or Kazakhstan, you’ll surely find a server to enjoy. We mentioned their 10 Gbps RAM-only servers, but we haven’t precisely informed you about their dedicated servers. Let’s do it:

• CyberGhost has streaming, torrenting, NoSpy, and dedicated IP servers.
• Proton VPN has streaming, torrenting, Tor over VPN, and Secure Core servers.

The variety is strong in both, and there’s no shortage of specialty servers, which is pretty useful.

Do They Work in China and Other Censored Countries?

Let’s start with other censored countries — yes, they do. They’re vastly used VPNs in the UAE, Qatar, and many Middle-Eastern countries. Some people also use CyberGhost and Proton VPN successfully in Turkey and Russia, with very few, short-lasting connection issues.

Now, China is another story. Proton VPN and CyberGhost have struggled with this country for years.

2026 brought no resolution. CyberGhost has no obfuscation, so hurdling the Great Firewall remains impossible. Some users have reported that Proton VPN’s Stealth occasionally works in China but with poor connection stability and speed. In our experience, that rings true.

Neither of them is particularly impressive in China, and to be honest, that could be said about all other VPNs in 2026. Massive security enhancements in the Great Firewall made it impossible even for these reputable VPNs to work reliably, so we wouldn’t rely on them.

NordVPN is slightly better, and Surfshark, with its NoSpy obfuscation, is fairly dependable. Windscribe and Astrill are some of the alternatives, too, although they’re generally weaker candidates compared to CyberGhost and Proton VPN.

Conclusion: Choose Proton VPN over CyberGhost VPN

To recap, Proton VPN was a superior performer in our full 2026 comparison. If you go back and examine it again, you’ll notice that:

• CyberGhost took the pricing round;
• Proton VPN took apps/ease of use, security, speed, server, and censorship rounds;
• Ties were in privacy and streaming/torrenting rounds.

Given the overall result, we’d say that CyberGhost is more affordable overall, performing decently for streaming and torrenting, with excellent privacy. Proton VPN isn’t expensive. It’s still a very affordable provider that takes CyberGhost’s performance and brings it up a notch.

With superior ease of use, more simultaneous connections, faster speeds, a larger server fleet, and respectable censorship-bypassing performance, it’s clear why we prefer Proton VPN over CyberGhost in 2026.

You don’t have to rely on this comparison alone. Read our in-depth Proton VPN review for more details.

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