ProtonVPN vs AdGuard VPN

Honest comparison for VPN in 2026

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a privacy-focused VPN from the team behind ProtonMail. Based in Switzerland, it's open source, independently audited, and offers a genuinely useful free tier — rare among VPNs.

Strengths

Swiss-based with strong privacy jurisdiction
Open source and independently audited
Genuinely useful free tier (no data limits)
Part of the Proton privacy ecosystem (Mail, Drive, Calendar)

Weaknesses

Speeds can be slower than NordVPN or ExpressVPN
Free tier is limited to servers in 5 countries
Fewer servers than major competitors

protonvpn.com

AdGuard VPN

Partner

AdGuard VPN comes from the makers of the popular AdGuard ad blocker. It uses a proprietary protocol that's harder to detect and block, with built-in ad and tracker blocking at the network level.

Strengths

Proprietary VPN protocol
Built-in ad and tracker blocking
No-logs policy (independently audited)
Streaming unblocking (Netflix, Hulu)
Cross-platform apps

Best for

Privacy-conscious users who want VPN + ad blocking

Try AdGuard VPN →

The verdict

ProtonVPN is better if:

Privacy-focused users who want an open-source, audited VPN

AdGuard VPN is better if:

Privacy-conscious users who want VPN + ad blocking