Proton VPN is one of the few well-known VPNs with a free version, so many people expect a trial of the paid plan too. The paid plan adds streaming support, torrenting, and the full list of server locations, and its lowest monthly price comes with a two-year commitment.
Few people want to sign up for two years of a VPN they’ve never used. So is there a Proton VPN free trial, and if not, what’s the closest thing? One option covers every paid feature for a month at no cost, and the other is a free plan with no end date.
Each option has limits, though, and it’s worth knowing them before you start. Here’s all you need to know before you proceed.
Proton VPN Risk-Free for 30 Days: Steps for November 2026
- Subscribe to Proton VPN Plus on Proton VPN’s website or in its app, paying by card, PayPal, or Bitcoin.
- Install Proton VPN on your phone, computer, or TV and sign in with your new account.
- Try the paid features, from streaming services to torrenting, on all your devices.
- Cancel and request a refund from support within 30 days if it isn’t right for you.
Prefer not to pay? The free plan has no time limit, but it picks your server for you and doesn’t support streaming services or torrenting.
Does Proton VPN Have a Free Trial?
No, not for individual users. Proton VPN doesn’t offer a free trial of VPN Plus or Proton Unlimited on its website, in the App Store, or in Google Play. When I checked the Android app, it offered no trial and no discounted first month either.
Proton VPN’s referral page also states plainly that VPN Plus and Unlimited aren’t available as free trials. It wasn’t always like this. New free accounts used to receive 7 days of Plus, but Proton VPN ended that offer several years ago.
According to the company, people were creating multiple accounts to keep using premium features, which slowed servers down for paying customers. Today, the 30-day money-back guarantee does the trial’s job. You pay first, use every Proton VPN Plus feature, and request your money back if it doesn’t work for you.
Some VPNs still offer short app store trials, such as the NordVPN free trial on Android. Proton VPN skips trials and leans on its refund window.
How to Test Proton VPN Plus for 30 Days
Start on Proton VPN’s website and pick a plan. The monthly plan costs the least up front, while the two-year plan has the lowest monthly rate, and the guarantee covers both. Proton Unlimited, which adds Proton Mail, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass, comes with the same 30 days. Still deciding between Proton VPN and NordVPN? Both come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pick the payment method with the refund in mind. Cash and bank transfers can’t be refunded, so use a card, PayPal, or Bitcoin. It’s also best to buy directly from Proton VPN, because resellers apply their own refund rules.
In-app purchases count as direct, but the App Store or Google Play then processes the refund. Once you’ve subscribed, install the apps and sign in on every device you’d use, up to ten at once. A month is then enough to see how Proton VPN performs on your connection, your streaming services, and your TV.
How to Cancel and Claim Your Refund
On the website, sign in to your Proton VPN account, open Subscription, select Cancel subscription, and confirm. Canceling only stops the renewal, so contact Proton VPN’s support team to request the refund as well. Both steps have to happen within 30 days of your first payment.
Proton VPN’s terms promise a full refund within that window, once per customer. The money goes back to the original payment method, in the original currency. Proton VPN says card refunds take 5 to 10 business days, while PayPal and Bitcoin refunds take 1 or 2.
Subscriptions bought in an app follow the store’s process:
- iPhone and iPad: cancel in Settings under your Apple Account, then request the refund from Apple through its Report a Problem page.
- Android: cancel under Subscriptions in the Play Store, then request the refund through Google Play or Proton VPN’s support.
Without a refund request, Plus keeps working until the paid period ends. The account then switches to the free plan. Our guide to canceling Proton VPN covers each step in more detail.
What You Can Test With Proton VPN Plus
Plus unlocks the full network of 20,000+ servers in 149 countries. In our tests, it kept enough speed for 4K video on nearby servers and unblocked Netflix, Peacock, and almost all the other popualr streaming services. Try the services you use to watch US TV from abroad during the month.
A few Proton VPN features are worth a look while the guarantee runs:
- NetShield, which blocks ads, trackers, and malicious sites.
- Secure Core, which first sends your traffic through a server in a privacy-friendly country such as Switzerland, then on to your chosen server.
- Stealth, a protocol that disguises VPN traffic on networks that block VPNs.
- P2P servers for torrenting, plus a kill switch that cuts your internet if the VPN drops.
Proton VPN is based in Switzerland, and independent auditors have checked its no-logs policy more than once, so it ranks among the most secure VPNs we’ve tested.
Other Ways to Pay Less for Proton VPN
Beyond the refund window, three offers can lower the cost, though only the first two are always available:
- Referral credit: when a friend subscribes through your link, each of you receives $20 in credit toward a paid plan. It lowers the cost, but it doesn’t add free days.
- Business trial: Proton VPN’s business plans come with a 14-day free trial for new business accounts, covering teams of up to ten people.
- First-month deals: Proton VPN has sold the first month of Plus for about $1 during some promotions. The offer comes and goes, and codes from past years, such as TRYVPNPLUS2024, belonged to earlier campaigns.
Our Proton VPN coupon page lists the current discounts. Avoid “free Proton VPN premium accounts” shared online, though. These logins usually come from hacked accounts. Proton VPN’s terms also ban self-referrals and running several free accounts, so they tend to stop working without warning.
Proton VPN Free Plan Limitations
As free VPNs go, this one is strong. There’s no data cap and no time limit, the apps show no ads, and the same no-logs policy covers free users. On Android, you can even use it without an account through Guest mode. It’s one of the best free VPNs we’ve tested for browsing on public Wi-Fi.
Still, it leaves out a lot of what people pay for:
- No server choice: Proton VPN assigns a free server for you. Its free locations cover ten countries: the US, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Japan, and Singapore. The Change server button picks another at random, and the wait between changes grows after the first one.
- One device at a time, compared with ten on Plus.
- No streaming support. Netflix didn’t work on its free US server in our tests.
- No torrenting, and no NetShield or Secure Core.
- Lower priority: Proton VPN rates free speeds as medium and reserves its faster servers for paying users.
So the free plan works well for email, browsing, and banking on hotel or cafe Wi-Fi. For streaming services, a specific country, or several devices, Plus is the version to test.
Proton VPN Plus vs. Free Plan
| Proton VPN Plus | Proton VPN Free | |
| Cost | Paid, with a 30-day money-back guarantee | Free, with no time limit |
| Data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Countries | 149 | 10 |
| Choose your server | Yes | No, assigned automatically |
| Devices at once | 10 | 1 |
| Streaming services | Supported | Not supported |
| Torrenting | P2P servers | Not allowed |
| Ad and malware blocker | NetShield | Not included |
| Stealth and kill switch | Included | Included |
| Support | Live chat and email | Email and help center |
Conclusion
Proton VPN no longer offers a timed trial on any platform. Its 30-day money-back guarantee covers the complete paid service instead, with a full refund if you cancel and request it in time. Unlike most trials, it applies to every plan, including Proton Unlimited.
The free plan is a genuine alternative for light use. It costs nothing, never caps your data, and keeps your browsing private on public Wi-Fi. However, you can’t choose a country, you’re limited to one device, and streaming services and torrenting aren’t supported.
If those are the reasons you want a VPN, subscribe to Plus directly and pay by card or PayPal so the refund stays simple. Then spend the first week on the services you care about most. For other VPNs that let you try before committing, see our roundup of VPN free trials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a 7-day Proton VPN free trial?
No. Proton VPN ended its seven-day Plus trial years ago, and neither the website nor the app stores offer a timed trial now. The 30-day money-back guarantee and the free plan replaced it.
Can Proton VPN Plus be used for free for a month?
Yes, in effect. Plus can be used for a month and refunded in full, as long as the subscription was bought directly with a refundable method such as a card or PayPal.
Does Proton Unlimited have a free trial?
No. Like VPN Plus, Proton Unlimited isn't offered as a free trial to individuals. The bundle comes with the same 30-day money-back guarantee, which returns the full amount within that window.
Is the Proton VPN refund prorated?
No. Canceling within 30 days of the first purchase, with the refund request made in that period, returns the whole amount. After that, refunds are at Proton VPN's discretion.
Does the Proton VPN free plan require a credit card?
No. The free plan requires no payment details. On Android, its Guest mode skips account creation entirely, while computers and iPhones require a free account with an email address.
Are free Proton VPN premium accounts safe?
No. Shared logins are often stolen from paying subscribers, and Proton VPN's terms ban self-referrals and multiple free accounts. Such logins can be suspended at any moment, cutting off the connection without warning.