Home/Alternatives/Proton VPN alternative
Proton VPN alternative · Honest take · No activity logs
Proton VPN does plenty right, and we will not pretend otherwise. If you want a free way in, modern stealth protocols and a clear no-activity-logs promise, here is how ROOT VPN compares, trade-offs included.
Free forever plan. No card, unlimited data, up to 10 devices.
Proton VPN is a capable VPN. Proton VPN is the benchmark for trustworthy free VPNs: unlimited data on the free tier, fully open-source and audited apps, Secure Core multi-hop routing and Swiss jurisdiction. On privacy grounds it is genuinely excellent. But it is not for everyone, and the usual reasons people go looking elsewhere are clear: the free tier's country and device limits, wanting more locations for free, or modern stealth protocols on every plan.
In plain terms, the sticking point is often this: The free tier is capped to a handful of countries, one device and slower speeds, and the paid plan costs more than budget rivals. If that is what pushed you here, it is worth seeing what a different approach looks like.
Not more features for the sake of it, a different set of priorities.
Unlimited data and time on the free plan, no card and no trial countdown. It is funded by an optional community program you can switch off, not by logging you.
REALITY, Shadowsocks and Hysteria2 look like ordinary web traffic, so ROOT connects on school, office and country networks that block Proton VPN and most other VPNs.
ROOT keeps no record of the sites you visit or what you stream, across a growing server network. Nothing stored, nothing to hand over, nothing to sell.
The honest side by side. For the full breakdown, see ROOT VPN vs Proton VPN.
| ROOT VPN | Proton VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, then £3.99/mo | From £3.59 (has free tier) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| No activity logs | Yes | Yes |
| Protocols | WireGuard, REALITY, Shadowsocks, Hysteria2 | WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth |
| Devices | 10 | 10 |
| Streaming | Good | Good |
| Jurisdiction | Independent, no activity logs | Switzerland |
Proton VPN is the benchmark for trustworthy free VPNs: unlimited data on the free tier, fully open-source and audited apps, Secure Core multi-hop routing and Swiss jurisdiction. On privacy grounds it is genuinely excellent. If that is central to how you use a VPN, it may still be the right call.
Free to start with unlimited data, four protocols including REALITY and Hysteria2 for restrictive networks, and no activity logs. For a free start, restrictive networks and a simple privacy promise, ROOT is the easier yes.
Browse more, or see every option on the alternatives hub and the comparison hub.
Create a free ROOT VPN account and connect in under a minute. No card, unlimited data.
Get ROOT VPN, free