What is ProtonVPN? ProtonVPN is a highly respected, privacy-focused Virtual Private Network (VPN) based in Switzerland. It is fully open-source, independently audited, and is one of the only premium VPNs left on the market that still supports port forwarding, making it the ultimate tool for torrenting and home media servers.
If you have spent any time in the r/DataHoarder or r/Usenet communities on Reddit, you have probably noticed a massive shift in how people talk about VPNs.
For years, users recommended dozens of different providers. Today, almost every power user recommends exactly the same one: ProtonVPN.
Why has the entire community rallied behind this specific company? In this ProtonVPN review, we will explain the strict privacy standards they follow, test their download speeds, and explain why their port forwarding feature makes them the undisputed king of the home NAS and automation world.
Table of Contents
1. Privacy, Audits, and Open Source
When you turn on a VPN, you are shifting your trust from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to the VPN company (read our What is a VPN guide for more details). If the VPN company secretly logs your data, the service is useless.
ProtonVPN is built by the exact same team of CERN scientists who created ProtonMail, the world’s most secure encrypted email service. Privacy is their entire business model.
- Jurisdiction: They are headquartered in Switzerland, which has some of the strongest privacy laws in the world and is outside the “14 Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance.
- Open Source: Every single ProtonVPN app (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) is 100% open-source. Anyone can inspect the code to ensure there are no hidden trackers.
- Independent Audits: They regularly hire independent security firms (like Securitum) to audit their “No-Logs” policy and publish the results publicly.
Verdict: 10/10. It is the gold standard for absolute privacy.
2. Port Forwarding (The Killer Feature)
If you use a torrent client to download files, or if you run an automated media server using Sonarr and Radarr, you need a feature called Port Forwarding.
Port forwarding allows other users on the network to connect directly to your machine. Without it, your torrent client cannot connect to enough “peers,” and your download speeds will crawl to a halt.
Historically, many VPNs supported this feature. However, over the last two years, almost every major VPN (including Mullvad and IVPN) removed port forwarding due to legal pressures and abuse.
ProtonVPN is one of the only premium, trusted VPNs left that still fully supports port forwarding. If you are a heavy seeder on private trackers, ProtonVPN is practically mandatory.
Verdict: 10/10. The only viable choice for power users.
3. WireGuard Download Speeds
Privacy and features don’t matter if the VPN is too slow to download massive 4K movies.
ProtonVPN utilizes the modern WireGuard protocol. WireGuard is incredibly lightweight and efficient. During our testing, ProtonVPN easily saturated a 1Gbps fiber internet connection.
Furthermore, ProtonVPN uses a unique technology called “VPN Accelerator.” This rewrites the underlying code of how data travels across the internet, reducing latency and boosting speeds by up to 400% when connecting to servers that are far away (like connecting to a European server from the United States).
If you are learning how to download from Usenet, ProtonVPN will not bottleneck your newsreader software.
Verdict: 10/10. Flawless gigabit speeds.
4. Pricing and The Free Tier
ProtonVPN is a premium service, and it is slightly more expensive than budget options (like the one covered in our Surfshark review). A premium subscription costs roughly $5 to $10 a month, depending on the length of the plan.
However, ProtonVPN offers something incredibly rare: A truly safe, unlimited Free Tier.
While we strongly advise against using random free VPNs (because they sell your data), Proton’s free tier is subsidized by their paying users. It offers unlimited bandwidth and a strict no-logs policy.
The catch? The free tier does not support P2P torrenting, it does not support port forwarding, and it restricts your speeds during peak hours. If you are building a dedicated Plex server, you must buy the premium “ProtonVPN Plus” plan.
Final Verdict: Is ProtonVPN Worth It?
If you want the absolute best privacy protection in the world, combined with the technical features required to run a home media server, ProtonVPN is the best VPN on the market.
Because it still supports port forwarding, it is the undisputed champion of the data hoarding community. It is fast, secure, and completely transparent.
Want to protect your server? You can sign up for ProtonVPN and download their open-source apps directly from their website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ProtonVPN work with streaming services?
Yes. The premium “ProtonVPN Plus” plan includes specialized servers designed to bypass geo-blocks on services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. You can connect to a server in another country to unlock their regional content libraries.
Can I run ProtonVPN on my router?
Yes. If you have a compatible prosumer router (like Asus, pfSense, or DD-WRT), you can install the ProtonVPN WireGuard configuration files directly onto the router. This protects every single device in your house, including smart TVs and IoT devices that don’t natively support VPN apps.
Is ProtonVPN better than Mullvad?
This is a massive debate in the privacy community. Both are incredible, open-source, audited VPNs. Mullvad is slightly better for absolute anonymity (because they don’t even require an email address to sign up). However, Mullvad recently removed port forwarding. Because of this, ProtonVPN is currently the better choice for data hoarders and torrent users.