Privacy & Security · Tool Face-Off

Windscribe VPN vs ProtonVPN

Quick answer

ProtonVPN wins on trust, transparency, and speed; Windscribe wins on free-tier generosity and price flexibility. Pick Proton if privacy is non-negotiable, pick Windscribe if your wallet is.

Windscribe VPN

The scrappy Canadian VPN with a surprisingly beefy free plan

4★

Our pick

ProtonVPN

Swiss-engineered privacy from the folks who brought you ProtonMail

4.4★

Free Plan

10 GB/month, 10+ countries

Unlimited data, 3 countries, 1 device

Paid Price (monthly)

~$9/mo or build-your-own from $3/mo

~$10-12/mo (monthly billing)

Paid Price (annual)

~$69/yr (~$5.75/mo)

~$100/yr (~$8.33/mo)

Server Count

~480 servers, 69 countries

~9,700+ servers, 112+ countries

Simultaneous Devices

Unlimited (paid)

10 (paid)

Audit / No-Log Verification

Independent audit (2022)

Annual independent audits, open-source

Open Source

Partial (some components)

Yes, all apps fully open-source

Kill Switch

Yes (firewall mode)

Yes (always-on option too)

Tor / Onion Routing

No native Tor integration

Yes, Tor over VPN servers

Ad & Tracker Blocker

Yes (R.O.B.E.R.T. — customizable)

Yes (NetShield)

Jurisdiction

Canada (Five Eyes member)

Switzerland (outside 14 Eyes)

Protocols Supported

OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard

OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard, Stealth

Windscribe VPN

Support★★★☆☆

Features★★★★½

Ease of Use★★★★☆

Pricing Value★★★★★

Server Network★★★½☆

Performance & Speed★★★½☆

Privacy & Transparency★★★★☆

ProtonVPN

Support★★★★☆

Features★★★★½

Ease of Use★★★★½

Pricing Value★★★½☆

Server Network★★★★½

Performance & Speed★★★★½

Privacy & Transparency★★★★★

Worth knowing

Windscribe's free plan lets you add more data by tweeting about them — yes, really.
ProtonVPN is built by the same Geneva-based team behind ProtonMail, a privacy OG since 2014.
Windscribe lets you pay per country/location, making it oddly customizable for budget users.
ProtonVPN's 'Stealth' protocol is designed to bypass VPN blocks in places like Iran and Russia.
Both providers have a verified no-logs policy, but Proton's Swiss legal shield is considerably stronger.

Windscribe's ad-blocker is named R.O.B.E.R.T. — which stands for 'Really Outstanding Blocker Ensuring Righteous Tracking-protection.' Someone had a very long afternoon coming up with that.

If you want

You want maximum privacy and live under a hostile government or surveillance regime

Swiss jurisdiction, Stealth protocol, Tor servers, and full open-source code make ProtonVPN the hardest to compromise.

→ Pick ProtonVPN

If you want

You're broke but still want a decent free VPN

Windscribe's free 10 GB/month across 10+ countries absolutely demolishes every other free VPN offer on the market.

→ Pick Windscribe VPN

If you want

You need VPN on unlimited devices (family or power user)

Windscribe paid allows unlimited simultaneous connections; Proton caps you at 10.

→ Pick Windscribe VPN

If you want

You want speed and a massive server network for streaming

ProtonVPN's 9,700+ servers and WireGuard support deliver consistently faster, more reliable connections.

→ Pick ProtonVPN

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