How fast is ProtonVPN?
Want to know if ProtonVPN's fast? Can you stream, game and torrent with it? Check out this article where I conduct an in-depth ProtonVPN speed test on 9 different servers worldwide. Results may shock you.
- Updated: December 30, 2020
- 0 User Reviews
- Abdul Rehman
ProtonVPN is an all-around powerful VPN service, however, it’s speed are not consistent across the board. Now don’t get me wrong, ProtonVPN is not slow by any means. In fact, it is plenty fast as you’ll soon realize when I share with you the speed test results.
But the thing is, despite offering 873 servers in 50 countries, a lot of its servers don’t offer any internet connectivity. I had to switch a ton of servers just to get connected to a working server. That’s something to keep in mind.
In order to find out what ProtonVPN was capable of, I performed an extensive speed test using nine (9) of ProtonVPN’s servers scattered worldwide.
If you’re in a hurry and don’t want to stick around throughout the entire article, here’s a brief table with all the speed test results compiled for your convenience.
| Server location | Download speed | Upload speed | Pings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 81.42 Mbps | 92.34 Mbps | 180 ms |
| Canada | 39.5 Mbps | 92.75 Mbps | 261 ms |
| France | 60.17 Mbps | 28.25 Mbps | 366 ms |
| India | 74.59 Mbps | 47 Mbps | 219 ms |
| Israel | 43.42 Mbps | 84.92 Mbps | 169 ms |
| Russia | 61.34 Mbps | 30.75 Mbps | 180 ms |
| South Africa | 69.84 Mbps | 96.42 Mbps | 293 ms |
| UAE | 87.09 Mbps | 94.09 Mbps | 50 ms |
| USA | 75.59 Mbps | 89.59 Mbps | 233 ms |
ProtonVPN’s in-depth speed test for 2020
In order to get a good idea of how ProtonVPN would perform across different servers, I tested nine (9) different server locations of ProtonVPN with my 100 Mbps internet connection. Here’s how my testing went.
1. Australia
First off, I connected to the Australian server of ProtonVPN. When I ran the test, I got a download speed of 81.42 Mbps, an upload speed of 92.34 Mbps, and a manageable ping of 180 ms.
2. Canada
With the Canadian server, I did notice my download speed suffer a bit. Once I ran the test, I recorded my download speed at 39.5 Mbps, my upload speed at 92.75 Mbps, and my ping at 261 ms.
3. France
When I connected to the French server, this time I noticed that my upload speed had dropped quite majorly. When I ran the speed test, ProtonVPN managed to output 60.17 Mbps download speed, 28.25 Mbps upload speed, and 366 ms pings.
4. India
When I tested the speeds with the Indian server, I again noticed that I was not getting the upload that I expected. Once I ran the test, I managed to get a download speed of 74.59 Mbps and an upload of 47 Mbps with 219 ms pings.
5. Israel
Next up, I connected to the Israeli server of ProtonVPN. This time, my upload speed was great, however, my download speed dropped by more than 50%. To be more specific, ProtonVPN managed to output 43.42 Mbps download speed, 84.92 upload speed, and 169 ms pings.
6. Russia
As for the Russian server location, I was not expecting too much considering that VPN usage is kind of banned in Russia. When I ran the test, I managed to get a 61.34 Mbps downloading speed, 30.75 upload speed, and 180 ms ping.
7. South Africa
Next, I wanted to check ProtonVPN’s long-distance performance. After connecting to the South African server location, ProtonVPN managed to output 69.84 Mbps download speed, 96.42 upload speed, and 293 ms ping.
8. UAE
With the Middle Eastern server in the United Arab Emirates, ProtonVPN managed to perform quite well. I managed to get an extremely low ping of just 50 ms. As for speeds, I noted down a download speed of 87.09 Mbps and an upload speed of 94.09 Mbps.
9. USA
Last but not least, I also ran a speed test while connected to the U.S server of ProtonVPN. After switching multiple servers since they weren’t working, I finally managed to get a download speed of 75.59 Mbps and an upload speed of 89.59 Mbps with 233 ms pings.
A bit about ProtonVPN
ProtonVPN is a pretty cool VPN service that has been around in the industry forever now. It currently offers 873 servers in 50 countries and is capable of unblocking Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more.
In addition, ProtonVPN support torrenting and P2P. You can securely download torrents with it without worrying about receiving notices from your ISP.
ProtonVPN also offers excellent app compatibility. You can use it with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and routers. You can even use ProtonVPN with Kodi and Roku too.
One thing you are going to miss with ProtonVPN is live chat support. That’s something I’ve covered in my ProtonVPN review as well. That said, if you do encounter any issues, you can still reach out to them via email. Speaking of connectivity issues, you might want to bookmark our ProtonVPN not working guide for quick troubleshooting tips.
As for pricing, ProtonVPN can be expensive for a lot of people. It starts from $6.63/mo for the 2-year plan. But the good thing, ProtonVPN offers a free trial so you can get a feel for it.
More Speed Test Results Other than ProtonVPN
Wrapping up!
So, after completing my extensive ProtonVPN speed test, I noticed that ProtonVPN was unable to consistently offer fast speeds. If you check out the table covered at the starting of this blog post, you’ll notice that my upload speed even dropped as low as 28.25 Mbps at one point.
Even if we ignore that, you can’t overlook the fact that you can’t expect ProtonVPN to deliver fast speeds across the board. Overall, ProtonVPN is fast, however, there are other VPNs out there than can do a much better job at a much more affordable price point.
If we talk about real-world usability experience, however, speeds never hindered anything I did online while testing ProtonVPN. I was still able to stream HD Netflix content without any lag and also download torrents with PrivateVPN.
If you feel like ProtonVPN is not fast enough for you, then you can always cancel your ProtonVPN subscription and get refunded.
