Proton VPN

VS

VPN.ac

VPNs Comparison

Proton VPN vs VPN.ac: Side-by-Side Comparison

Proton VPN
VPN.ac
Rating
★★★★★★★★★★
4.6/5
★★★★★★★★★★
4.1/5
Free Tier
Yes
No
Trial Days
30-day trial
7-day trial
Pricing
Free tier available. Plus from $4.99/month (2-year). Proton Unlimited from $7.99/month.
Annual plan from $3.75/month. 6-month plan $4.50/month. Monthly plan $9/month.
Company
Proton AG
Netsec Interactive Solutions
Founded
2017
2012
Best For
Privacy advocates wanting an audited open-source VPN with free tier and Swiss legal protection
Technical privacy users needing multi-hop, Shadowsocks obfuscation, and independently audited logs policy

Pros & Cons

200 Jobs AI Will Replace
FREE REPORT

200 Jobs AI Will Replace

Is yours on the list? 52% of workers are already worried. Find out where your career stands before it's too late.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

Proton VPN

Based in Switzerland with the strongest legal privacy protections of any VPN jurisdiction
Open-source apps with published code independently audited by SEC Consult
Secure Core routes traffic through privacy-safe countries before exiting to destination
Free tier available with no data limits and no ads or tracking
Netshield ad-blocker and Stealth protocol included on all paid plans
Speeds on the free plan are noticeably slower due to server congestion
Fewer total servers than NordVPN or Surfshark limits server selection variety

VPN.ac

Multi-hop through two servers in different countries for strong anonymity
WireGuard, OpenVPN, and Shadowsocks protocols for maximum flexibility
Diskless servers in key privacy-critical locations for zero persistent data
Independently audited by Netsec for no-logs policy and security verification
Port forwarding available on most server locations for technical users
Interface less polished than major consumer VPN competitors
Smaller server network limits geographic variety for streaming content access

Use Case Analysis

Which is better for Privacy?

Both Proton VPN and VPN.ac support Privacy workflows. Proton VPN has a slight edge with a 4.6 rating and Only major VPN with fully audited open-source apps and a genuinely unlimited free tier. If Privacy is your primary use case, Proton VPN is the safer pick.

Which is better for No Logs?

Both Proton VPN and VPN.ac support No Logs workflows. Proton VPN has a slight edge with a 4.6 rating and Only major VPN with fully audited open-source apps and a genuinely unlimited free tier. If No Logs is your primary use case, Proton VPN is the safer pick.

Which is better for Encryption?

Both Proton VPN and VPN.ac support Encryption workflows. Proton VPN has a slight edge with a 4.6 rating and Only major VPN with fully audited open-source apps and a genuinely unlimited free tier. If Encryption is your primary use case, Proton VPN is the safer pick.

Which is better for Kill Switch?

Both Proton VPN and VPN.ac support Kill Switch workflows. Proton VPN has a slight edge with a 4.6 rating and Only major VPN with fully audited open-source apps and a genuinely unlimited free tier. If Kill Switch is your primary use case, Proton VPN is the safer pick.

Verdict

Proton VPN edges out VPN.ac with a 4.6 vs 4.1 rating. Proton VPN's main advantage: Only major VPN with fully audited open-source apps and a genuinely unlimited free tier. That said, VPN.ac may still be the better choice if Technical privacy users needing multi-hop, Shadowsocks obfuscation, and independently audited logs policy.

Try Them Yourself

The best way to choose is to trial both. See full details on each:

Try for Free Try VPN.ac

Related Comparisons

NordVPN vs Proton VPN ExpressVPN vs Proton VPN Proton VPN vs Surfshark Private Internet Access vs Proton VPN
200 Jobs AI Will Replace - Is yours on the list? 52% of workers are already worried. Find out where your career stands before it's too late.