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Proton costs Free to $29.99 per month as of May 2026, with 7 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), Mail Plus (Yearly) at $3.99/month, Mail Plus (Monthly) at $4.99/month, Unlimited (Monthly) at $12.99/month, Unlimited (1-Year) at $9.99/month, Duo at $14.99/month, and Family at $29.99/month. The median contract is $200/year based on 50 verified purchases.

Try Proton Free

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes

Proton offers 7 pricing tiers: Free, Mail Plus (Yearly), Mail Plus (Monthly), Unlimited (Monthly), Unlimited (1-Year), Duo, Family. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Mail Plus (Yearly) at $3.99/user/month, Mail Plus (Monthly) at $4.99/user/month, Unlimited (Monthly) at $12.99/user/month. The Mail Plus (Yearly) plan is users who want advanced encrypted email features without the full proton suite.

Compared to other cybersecurity software, Proton is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

  • Median contract: $200/yr from 50 purchases
  • 7 documented hidden costs beyond list price
  • Contracts auto-renew — 30 days notice before renewal for annual plans
  • G2 rating: 4.4/5 from 132 reviews

How much does Proton cost?

Proton offers a free plan with 6 paid tiers from $3.99 to $29.99/month. Plans include Free (free), Mail Plus (Yearly) at $3.99/month, Mail Plus (Monthly) at $4.99/month, Unlimited (Monthly) at $12.99/month, Unlimited (1-Year) at $9.99/month, Duo at $14.99/month, Family at $29.99/month.

Proton Pricing Overview

Proton has 7 pricing plans, including a free tier. Paid plans range from $0 to $29.99/month. The Free plan is free and is best for privacy-conscious individuals who want basic encrypted email, vpn, and password manager at no cost. The Mail Plus (Yearly) plan costs $3.99/month, best for users who want advanced encrypted email features without the full proton suite. The Mail Plus (Monthly) plan costs $4.99/month, best for mail plus users wanting flexibility without a yearly commitment. The Unlimited (Monthly) plan costs $12.99/month, best for users wanting the full proton privacy suite without a long-term commitment. The Unlimited (1-Year) plan costs $9.99/month, best for privacy-focused users who want the best value on the full proton suite. The Duo plan costs $14.99/month, best for couples or pairs who want shared privacy protection at a lower per-user cost. The Family plan costs $29.99/month, best for families of up to 6 who want comprehensive privacy for every member.

Proton contracts auto-renew, with a Varies by plan (monthly, 1-year, or 2-year) minimum commitment, requiring 30 days notice before renewal for annual plans notice to cancel.

The median Proton customer pays $200/year based on 50 verified purchases.

There are at least 7 documented hidden costs beyond Proton's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.

This pricing was last verified in April 24, 2026 from 5 independent sources.

Proton is a Swiss-based privacy company offering end-to-end encrypted alternatives to mainstream cloud services. Founded by former CERN scientists, Proton bundles encrypted email (Proton Mail), VPN (Proton VPN), cloud storage (Proton Drive), calendar (Proton Calendar), and password manager (Proton Pass). All services are open-source and independently audited, with servers protected under Swiss privacy law.

Proton offers seven plans: Free ($0), Mail Plus at $3.99/month on yearly billing ($47.88/year) or $4.99/month monthly ($59.88/year), and Unlimited at $9.99/month on the 1-Year plan ($119.88/year) or $12.99/month monthly ($155.88/year). For shared accounts, Duo costs $14.99/month ($179.88/year) for two users and Family costs $29.99/month ($359.88/year) for up to six members.

How Proton Pricing Compares

Compare Proton pricing against top alternatives in Cybersecurity.

All Proton Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Free Free Free Privacy-conscious individuals who want basic encrypted email, VPN, and password manager at no cost
Mail Plus (Yearly) $3.99 /user/month $47.88 /user/year Users who want advanced encrypted email features without the full Proton suite
Mail Plus (Monthly) $4.99 /user/month $59.88 /user/year Mail Plus users wanting flexibility without a yearly commitment
Unlimited (Monthly) $12.99 /user/month $155.88 /user/year Users wanting the full Proton privacy suite without a long-term commitment
Unlimited (1-Year) $9.99 /user/month $119.88 /user/year Privacy-focused users who want the best value on the full Proton suite
Duo $14.99 /user/month $179.88 /user/year Couples or pairs who want shared privacy protection at a lower per-user cost
Family $29.99 /user/month $359.88 /user/year Families of up to 6 who want comprehensive privacy for every member
View all features by plan

Free

  • 1 GB storage
  • 1 user
  • 1 encrypted email address
  • 150 messages per day
  • Proton VPN on 1 device (10 countries)
  • Proton Calendar (3 personal calendars)
  • Proton Drive (up to 5 GB)
  • Proton Pass (2 vaults, unlimited logins/devices)
  • 10 hide-my-email aliases
  • End-to-end encryption

Mail Plus (Yearly)

  • 15 GB storage
  • 1 user
  • 10 encrypted email addresses
  • Support for 1 custom email domain
  • Unlimited folders, labels, and filters
  • 10 hide-my-email aliases
  • Dark Web Monitoring
  • Emergency Access
  • Desktop app included
  • Priority customer support

Mail Plus (Monthly)

  • 15 GB storage
  • 1 user
  • 10 encrypted email addresses
  • Support for 1 custom email domain
  • Unlimited folders, labels, and filters
  • 10 hide-my-email aliases
  • Dark Web Monitoring
  • Emergency Access
  • Priority customer support

Unlimited (Monthly)

  • 500 GB total storage
  • 1 user
  • 15 encrypted email addresses
  • Support for 3 custom email domains
  • Unlimited hide-my-email aliases
  • Proton VPN on up to 10 devices (15000+ servers in 120+ countries)
  • Proton VPN Secure Core, NetShield, Tor over VPN
  • Proton Pass (50 vaults, built-in 2FA)
  • Proton Drive with version history
  • Proton Sentinel advanced account protection
  • Priority customer support

Unlimited (1-Year)

  • 500 GB total storage
  • 1 user
  • 15 encrypted email addresses
  • Support for 3 custom email domains
  • Unlimited hide-my-email aliases
  • Proton VPN on up to 10 devices (15000+ servers in 120+ countries)
  • Proton VPN Secure Core, NetShield, Tor over VPN
  • Proton Pass (50 vaults, built-in 2FA)
  • Proton Drive with version history
  • Proton Sentinel advanced account protection
  • Priority customer support

Duo

  • 1 TB total storage (shared between 2 users)
  • Up to 20 VPN connections
  • All Proton Unlimited features for 2 users
  • Proton Sentinel for both accounts

Family

  • 3 TB total storage (shared across up to 6 users)
  • Up to 30 VPN connections
  • All Proton Unlimited features for up to 6 users
  • Family admin management

Compare Proton vs Alternatives

Before committing to Proton, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.

All Proton alternatives & migration guides

What Companies Actually Pay for Proton

The median Proton buyer pays $200/year based on 50 verified purchase transactions.

What companies actually pay $200/yr Median across 50 community cost mentions
Review scores
Trustpilot 2.4/5
G2 4.4/5 (132)

Score gap reflects platform demographics — G2 surveys verified business users; Trustpilot is open to all, skewing toward support complaints.

Top pricing complaints
Confusing and inconsistent pricing structureExpensive compared to competitors for similar featuresLoss of grandfathered pricing on any plan modificationLack of plan customization options
Source: Community cost mentions (Reddit, Hacker News) — aggregated from 50 distinct user reports. Indicative only — not contract-grade data.

Proton Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size

Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.

Individual Privacy User $9 Year 1 total
$119.88/year on the 1-Year plan
Total $9

A single user replacing Gmail and Google Drive with Unlimited (1-Year) for encrypted email, storage, VPN, and password manager

Couple Sharing Privacy Suite $14 Year 1 total
$179.88/year, or $7.50/user/month
Total $14

Two users on the Duo plan sharing the full Proton suite with VPN access

Privacy-Focused Family (6 members) $29 Year 1 total
$359.88/year, or $5.00/user/month
Total $29

A family of 6 on the Family plan with shared encrypted storage and VPN coverage for every member

Individual User - Mail Plus Only $3 Year 1 total
$47.88/year
Total $3

Single user who only needs advanced encrypted email features, choosing between Mail Plus (Yearly) and Mail Plus (Monthly) billing

Privacy-Focused User - Unlimited Plan $119 Year 1 total
Unlimited (1-Year
Total $119

User wanting the full suite (Mail, VPN, Drive, Pass, Calendar) and weighing annual savings against monthly flexibility

Free Tier User $0 Year 1 total
Free plan
Total $0

Privacy-conscious user testing Proton's encrypted email, VPN, and password manager at no cost before deciding whether to upgrade

How Proton Pricing Compares

Software Starting Price Top Price
Proton Free $29.99/month
CrowdStrike Free $184.99/endpoint/month
CyberArk $2/user/month $100/user/month
Fortinet $5.07/endpoint/month $5.07/endpoint/month
Norton $5/device/month $15.83/device/month
Palo Alto Networks $6.75/endpoint/month $18/endpoint/month

7 Proton Hidden Costs Beyond the List Price

Beyond the listed price, Proton has at least 7 documented hidden costs that can significantly increase total cost of ownership.

Watch for 7 hidden costs
  • Limited Free Tier Storage Upgrade to paid plan ($9.99-$12.99/month) once storage fills
    medium 1 source
    G2 "The free plan restrictions severely limit practical usability, with the 500MB storage allocation filling quickly with modern email usage patterns."
  • Platform Feature Parity Gaps No direct cost, but reduced productivity on mobile
    low 1 source
    review "Mobile apps, desktop apps, and web apps are not available consistently on all platforms, and there is a lack of feature parity between platforms."
  • Ecosystem Lock-in Hours of migration effort; Proton Bridge required for third-party email clients
    medium 1 source
    review "Premium plans can feel pricey, and some tools still lack the depth of features you'd find in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365."
  • Storage Overage Blocks Email $4-$10/month
    high 1 source
    Reddit "If your Proton storage is full, you will be unable to send or receive emails"
  • Grandfathered Pricing Loss on Plan Changes 10-30% price increase
    medium 2 sources
    Reddit "grandfathered pricing from a previous subscription isn't retained if you switch to a new plan and billing cycle"
    Reddit "Any adjustments made to an existing subscription - like changing payment method, changing billing frequency, moving from App Store subscription to Dropout.tv subscription - will result in losing legacy pricing"
  • Limited Plan Customization $4-$6/month
    medium 1 source
    Reddit "Lack of plan customization, such as buying additional storage, or more custom domain or aliases"
  • Inconsistent Regional Pricing 15-50% higher relative cost
    medium 2 sources
    Reddit "proton isn't Steam, it doesn't have localized pricing"
    Reddit "The pricing in PHP is also cheaper compared to the USD prices on the site. So there is regional pricing"
Tip

Ask your Proton sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Intelligence sourced from 4 independent sources
G2 B2B reviews review Reddit User discussions Trustpilot Consumer reviews
Key claims include inline source attribution. Data verified against multiple independent sources. 15 source citations total.

Proton Contract Terms

Proton contracts auto-renew. Changes require 30 days notice before renewal for annual plans. These terms are sourced from verified buyer experiences.

Contract Terms
Auto-Renewal Yes
Cancellation Notice 30 days notice before renewal for annual plans
Minimum Commitment Varies by plan (monthly, 1-year, or 2-year)
Mid-Term Downgrade Allowed
Payment Terms Charged upfront for subscription period
Price Escalation Prices subject to change. Legacy pricing locked in if no subscription changes made. New pricing applies at renewal if subscription modified.
Note

Downgrading results in loss of grandfathered pricing and features

Based on 2 verified sources

How to Negotiate Proton Pricing

Proton contracts are negotiable. These 3 tactics are sourced from real buyer experiences and procurement specialists.

Negotiation Playbook 3 tactics
Choose the 1-Year Plan on Proton Unlimited high success

Proton Unlimited drops from $12.99/month on monthly billing to $9.99/month on the 1-Year plan ($119.88/year vs $155.88/year), saving roughly 23%. This is the single biggest lever for reducing cost on the full Proton suite.

Proton pricing page
Watch for Black Friday and Seasonal Promotions high success

Proton regularly offers discounts on Unlimited and Mail Plus during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other seasonal events. Timing your purchase against the standard 1-Year Unlimited price of $119.88/year can yield meaningful additional savings.

Proton promotional history
Start Free and Upgrade Strategically medium success

Use the Proton Free tier to test all services before committing. This lets you evaluate whether you actually need Drive and VPN, or whether standalone Mail Plus at $3.99/month yearly ($47.88/year) covers your needs instead of the full Unlimited bundle at $9.99/month.

Proton free plan availability

Full negotiation guide →

Proton Pricing FAQ

01 How much does Proton Unlimited cost?

Proton Unlimited costs $9.99/month on the 1-Year plan ($119.88/year) or $12.99/month on monthly billing ($155.88/year). The plan bundles encrypted email, VPN, cloud storage, calendar, and password manager. For shared use, Proton Duo offers the same suite for two users at $14.99/month ($179.88/year) and Proton Family covers up to six members at $29.99/month ($359.88/year).

02 Is Proton Free enough for daily use?

Proton Free provides encrypted email, VPN (1 device, 5 countries), calendar, 1 GB storage, and a password manager. It works for light email use and basic privacy needs, but the 1 GB storage limit and 150 emails/day cap make it impractical as a primary email service. Most active users will need to upgrade within a few months.

03 How does Proton compare to Google Workspace?

Proton prioritizes privacy with end-to-end encryption across all services, while Google Workspace prioritizes productivity and collaboration features. Google Workspace offers 30 GB storage with Docs, Sheets, and Meet at a comparable per-user price. Proton Unlimited at $9.99/month offers 500 GB encrypted storage and VPN but lacks collaborative document editing. Choose Proton for privacy, Google for productivity.

04 What is included in Proton Unlimited?

Proton Unlimited bundles five services: Proton Mail (encrypted email with 15 addresses and custom domains), Proton VPN (10 devices, 110+ countries, Secure Core), Proton Drive (encrypted cloud storage), Proton Calendar (encrypted calendar), and Proton Pass (password manager with unlimited aliases). All share 500 GB of encrypted storage.

05 What happens if my Proton storage is full?

If your Proton storage reaches capacity, you will be completely unable to send or receive emails until you clear space or upgrade to a plan with more storage. This applies to the combined storage used by Mail and Drive.

06 Will I lose my promotional pricing if I change my plan?

Yes. Any changes to your subscription including changing payment method, billing frequency, or switching plan types will result in losing grandfathered or promotional pricing. You'll be charged the current standard price at renewal.

07 Does Proton offer regional pricing?

Proton's regional pricing is inconsistent. Some users report regional pricing through mobile app stores (Google Play), while web purchases typically charge the same absolute amount regardless of country, which can be significantly more expensive in countries with lower purchasing power.

08 How does Proton calculate their discount percentages?

Proton calculates discounts based on the monthly subscription price, not compared to annual pricing. For example, a 2-year plan discount is calculated against paying month-to-month for 24 months, which can make the savings appear larger than they actually are.

09 Can I add just more storage without upgrading my entire plan?

No. Proton does not currently allow purchasing additional storage, custom domains, or email aliases separately. You must upgrade to a higher-tier plan to get more of these resources, even if you only need one specific feature.

Is this pricing incorrect? — we'll verify and update it.