Proton VPN

Proton VPN is developed by the team behind Proton Mail, one of the world's most trusted encrypted email services. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Proton VPN benefits from some of the strongest privacy laws in the world. The service has been independently audited and is fully open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the code for vulnerabilities.

The free tier is remarkably generous, offering unlimited bandwidth across servers in five countries (United States, Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and Poland). While the free plan does not support streaming or torrenting, it provides solid everyday protection for browsing and email. No other reputable VPN provider offers unlimited free data.

Paid subscribers gain access to over 4,600 servers across 91 countries, along with features like Secure Core (which routes traffic through privacy-friendly countries before reaching the destination), NetShield ad blocker, and support for up to 10 simultaneous connections. Proton VPN supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols, with WireGuard offering the best balance of speed and security.

Proton VPN is also one of the few providers that publishes a transparency report, detailing every legal request it receives from authorities. Because Swiss law does not require VPN providers to log user activity, Proton VPN has consistently been unable to comply with data requests, demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of its privacy protections.

For UK users, Proton VPN provides reliable access to BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, and Channel 4 on paid plans, making it a strong choice for both privacy and entertainment. The Stealth protocol can bypass VPN blocking on restricted networks.