Proton VPN vs Windscribe: which free VPN is better? (2026)

Proton VPN vs Windscribe is the comparison most people make when they want a free VPN they can trust. Proton’s free plan is the better default, with no monthly data cap and no ads, but it covers only one device. Windscribe’s free plan caps you at 10 GB a month and works on every device you own, in ten countries you can see listed.

Both are run by companies that sell paid plans, which is how they pay for a free tier, and both have had their no-logs claims put under some pressure. They differ a lot in how: Proton through yearly audits, Windscribe through seizures and a court case. This guide compares the free plans first, then the paid ones, then trust and refunds. Every number has a source, and we haven’t run speed tests.

Which free plan is better, Proton VPN or Windscribe?

Proton’s, if you use the VPN on one device and want it on all the time, because there is no data cap. Windscribe’s, if you need it on several devices for occasional use, like café Wi-Fi, and 10 GB a month is enough.

Sources: Proton VPN free plan¹, Proton VPN pricing² and Windscribe free plan¹¹, checked Nov 12, 2026.

Proton VPN Free in detail

Proton’s free-plan page¹ says it “has no data or speed limits”, “has no advertisements” and “does not log your online activity”, and calls the plan “free forever”. The catch is in its pricing table²: the free tier lets you “connect to servers in 10 countries (randomly selected)”, secures “1 device at a time”, and is rated “Medium VPN speed” against the paid plans. Streaming and P2P are listed as VPN Plus features, so free users don’t get them.

In practice that means Proton Free is good for always-on protection on your phone or laptop, and poor for picking a particular country. One device is the real limit: you’ll be choosing between phone and laptop.

Windscribe Free in detail

Windscribe’s free-plan page¹¹ says: “Give us an email and get 10 GB a month, or don’t and get 2 GB.” It names its ten free countries, says “one free account covers as many devices as you want”, offers the “same protocols” as the paid plan, and runs its R.O.B.E.R.T. ad, tracker and malware blocker “even on the free plan”. It also says “we never throttle”, though free users share free servers.

10 GB goes quickly if you stream video, but it’s plenty for checking email and browsing on hotel or airport Wi-Fi across a phone, a tablet and a laptop. If you want to understand what that protection actually buys you, the FTC’s public Wi-Fi advice²⁴ notes that most websites already encrypt traffic, so a VPN is an extra layer, not a requirement.

Which paid plan is cheaper, Proton VPN Plus or Windscribe Pro?

Proton is cheaper in year one ($35.88 vs $69 as listed on Nov 12, 2026), and Windscribe is cheaper after that, because Proton’s yearly plan renews at $83.88. Month to month, Windscribe is $9 and Proton $9.99 (with a $1 first month).

Proton’s pricing page² listed VPN Plus at $2.99 a month on the 1-year plan, “billed at $35.88 for the first 12 months, then renews at $83.88 every 12 months”. The page’s plan data lists a 2-year plan at $3.49 a month ($83.76), and month to month is $9.99 with the first month at $1. VPN Plus covers 10 devices.

Windscribe’s upgrade page¹² listed Pro at $69 a year ($5.75 a month) or $9 a month, both renewing automatically; it doesn’t show a separate renewal price. It also has Build-A-Plan, a cheaper way to add just the locations you need: $1 per location per month, with a $3 minimum and up to 7 locations, each adding 10 GB to your monthly allowance. Pro gives unlimited data in “over 69 countries” on all your devices.

Windscribe’s upgrade page¹² accepts card, PayPal, cryptocurrency and local payment methods, and links to a guide for paying with cash, which matters if you’d rather not tie a card to a VPN account. For more on renewal traps across all the providers we cover, see the cheapest VPNs.

Which is more trustworthy: Proton VPN or Windscribe?

Proton has the stronger paper trail: five annual no-logs audits in a row. Windscribe has the more dramatic real-world record: server seizures and a criminal case in which, it says, there were no logs to hand over. Neither proves the future, but Proton’s is easier to check.

Proton’s audits

Securitum ran Proton’s fifth consecutive annual no-logs audit from May 20 to 27, 2026, reviewing a sample of production servers, their configuration and internal procedures. According to CyberInsider’s report⁸, it found nothing indicating logging of browsing, DNS queries, destinations, traffic contents or records linking a user to activity, and the sample included servers from both the free and paid tiers. Securitum notes it’s a point-in-time review of a sample, not the whole network. Proton’s audit page⁷ says Securitum also did the 2022 to 2025 audits.

Windscribe’s audits

Windscribe has no Big Four-style no-logs assurance report. Its audit page¹⁸ points instead to a Packetlabs penetration test of its new FreshScribe server stack in June 2024: 20 code repositories, about 80,000 lines of code, and external and internal tests. Windscribe’s FreshScribe post¹⁹ says the test found no intentional subversion of the no-logs policy, but the audited stack was still rolling out across its servers at the time. Leviathan Security Group audited the desktop apps in September 2021 and the mobile apps in March 2022, and the apps are open source.

Windscribe is unusually specific about what it does keep. Its no-identifying-logs page¹⁷ lists the last date you used the service (no time), your total bandwidth over 30 days, and which app versions you’ve activated, and says its servers run entirely in RAM.

Have Proton VPN or Windscribe ever handed over user data?

Neither VPN is known to have handed over user activity data. Windscribe has had servers seized twice and its CEO prosecuted in Greece; Proton’s best-known case involved Proton Mail, not the VPN.

Windscribe: Ukraine, Greece and the Netherlands

• Ukraine, 2021. Ukrainian authorities seized two Windscribe servers that ran a legacy, unencrypted setup, exposing an OpenVPN server certificate and private key. Windscribe’s July 2021 post²⁰ says no user logs were on them, only OpenVPN was affected, and it rotated its OpenVPN certificate authority. Leaving keys unencrypted on servers was a real security lapse.
• Greece, 2023–2025. CEO Yegor Sak was personally charged after a Windscribe server in Finland was allegedly used in a 2023 intrusion. The case was dismissed on April 11, 2025, with Windscribe saying it had no logs to hand over, CyberInsider reported²¹; security expert Bruce Schneier also wrote about the acquittal²².
• Netherlands, 2026. In February 2026 Windscribe said Dutch authorities seized one of its servers without a warrant and, by its own account¹⁷, found only a RAM-run stock Ubuntu install with no logs.

Proton: the 2021 Proton Mail order

In 2021 a binding order from Switzerland’s Federal Department of Justice, following a French police request via Europol, compelled Proton Mail to log a French activist’s IP address, The Record reported⁹. That was the email service. Proton’s CEO said Swiss law treats email and VPN services differently, so the same kind of order can’t force VPN logging. It’s still a useful reminder that a provider can be compelled to start logging going forward, whatever its policy says today.

Where are Proton VPN and Windscribe based?

Proton is Swiss and Windscribe is Canadian. Proton says it’s moving much of its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland; Windscribe’s terms are governed by Ontario law.

Proton AG is a Swiss company in Geneva, supervised by the non-profit Proton Foundation, according to its terms³. Citing proposed changes to Switzerland’s surveillance ordinance, Proton said in 2025 it is moving most of its physical infrastructure out of the country, starting with servers in Germany and Norway, while saying it isn’t leaving Switzerland, heise reported¹⁰.

Windscribe Limited is registered in Ontario, Canada, with an address in Toronto, and its terms¹³ are governed by Ontario law. Its founder and CEO is Yegor Sak.

How do the paid features compare?

Proton VPN Plus includes port forwarding, P2P, Secure Core double-hop servers and streaming support. Windscribe Pro covers unlimited devices, more protocols for blocked networks and an optional paid static IP with port forwarding.

• Protocols. Proton offers WireGuard over UDP or TCP, Stealth and Smart Protocol⁶, with OpenVPN only in its Linux app and IKEv2 only on macOS. Windscribe offers WireGuard, OpenVPN over UDP and TCP, IKEv2, and Stealth and WStunnel modes¹⁴ for blocked networks, and now AmneziaWG¹⁵ for censorship circumvention. See WireGuard vs OpenVPN for when to switch.
• Port forwarding. Proton includes it on all paid plans, on Windows, macOS and Linux⁵. Windscribe offers permanent port forwarding only with a paid static IP¹⁶ (datacenter IPs in 10 locations, residential in 3, ports above 1024 only); the page doesn’t show the price.
• Devices. Proton VPN Plus allows 10 devices². Windscribe has no device limit on free or paid plans, though its upgrade page says account sharing is prohibited.
• Extras. Proton lists P2P support, Secure Core, a kill switch in all apps and split tunneling on most platforms on its features page⁴. Windscribe lists a firewall (its kill switch), split tunneling and R.O.B.E.R.T. on its features page¹⁴.
• Network. Proton says it has servers in 140+ countries⁴; Windscribe says over 69 countries and 135 cities¹⁴ (its upgrade page says 112 cities). These are the providers’ own figures.

On streaming, Proton lists Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+¹ under its paid streaming feature. We don’t promise either will work: using a VPN to reach another country’s catalog usually breaks the streaming service’s terms (Netflix says you may watch primarily within the country in which you have established your account²³), and “works with” claims change often. For torrenting, a VPN doesn’t make copyright infringement legal; this is not legal advice. We couldn’t confirm Windscribe’s current P2P policy from its own pages.

Which has the better refund policy?

Proton’s, clearly. Proton gives a full refund within 30 days of a first purchase. Windscribe refunds only the first payment, only within 7 business days, only if you’ve used less than 10 GB, and only for a technical problem support can’t fix.

Proton’s terms³ allow a full refund if you cancel within 30 days of the initial purchase, once per user, for purchases made directly from Proton; cash and bank-transfer payments aren’t refunded. Windscribe’s terms¹³ limit refunds to the first payment, requested within 7 business days while you’ve used under 10 GB, and only where there’s a technical problem support can’t resolve in a reasonable time. Renewals aren’t refundable.

That makes Windscribe’s free plan the right way to try it: test it free on your devices first, and only pay when you know it works for you.

Proton VPN or Windscribe: which should you pick?

Pick Proton VPN if you want a free VPN on one device with no data cap, or a paid plan with port forwarding, P2P and the strongest audit record of the two, and you want a normal 30-day refund. Budget for the renewal price after the first year.

Pick Windscribe if you need a free VPN on several devices for light use, want to choose from named free countries, or want a paid plan with no device limit and a price that doesn’t jump after year one. Try it free before paying, because its refund terms are strict.

Many people end up using both free plans: Proton on the device they use most, Windscribe on the rest. Read the full Proton VPN review and Windscribe review, then see the best free VPNs, free vs paid VPNs and Proton VPN vs NordVPN if you’re thinking of paying.