Proton VPN vs CyberGhost: which to buy?

Three gaps decide this matchup. Renewal price: CyberGhost’s long plan autorenews at $56.94 a year, while Proton VPN Plus renews at $83.88 — $26.94 apart every year you stay. Obfuscation: Proton VPN ships Stealth, its own protocol for networks that block VPN traffic outright; CyberGhost runs WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 with no obfuscation mode, a gap Gizmodo’s review calls out by name. Network reach: Proton VPN’s live server page counted 20,677 servers in 148 countries at the 23 Jul 2026 check, against the 100 countries CyberGhost advertises.

One familiar separator sits this comparison out. Audit access decides plenty of VPN matchups, but both of these publish their no-logs reports in full — Proton VPN’s five Securitum audits and CyberGhost’s three from Deloitte Audit Romania all download without a login. That tie pushes the decision onto price, protocols, and reach, and on those Proton VPN takes it for most people. CyberGhost wins when the multi-year bill is the deciding line. For the field beyond these two, start with our full VPN rankings.

Proton VPN vs CyberGhost at a glance

Figures are taken from the two vendors’ own pricing, server, and audit pages, as of 23 Jul 2026.

Proton VPN vs CyberGhost, as of 23 Jul 2026

	Proton VPN	CyberGhost
Monthly price	$9.99 (VPN Plus)	$12.99
Best intro rate	$2.99/mo — $71.76 for 24 months	$2.19/mo — $56.94 for 26 months
Renewal after intro term	$83.88/yr ($6.99/mo)	$56.94/yr (about $4.75/mo)
Money-back window	30 days, every paid plan	45 days; 14 on the monthly plan
Simultaneous devices	10	7
Server countries	148	100
Server count	20,677	Not published by the vendor
Protocols	WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Obfuscation	Stealth	None — per Gizmodo's review
RAM-only servers	No — encrypted disks by design	Yes
Latest no-logs audit	Securitum, 2026 (5th annual)	Deloitte Audit Romania, 2025 (3rd)
Audit report public	Yes — all five published	Yes — downloadable in full
Free plan	Yes — 1 device, no data cap	No — card-free app trials instead
Jurisdiction	Switzerland	Romania

Two footnotes. CyberGhost’s pages state 100 countries but no headline server total, and some of its locations are virtual — in-country IP address, hardware elsewhere — flagged in its public server list. Proton VPN’s marketing pages round its own network down to “140+ countries”; the live list carries the precise count. For the single-service teardowns, see our Proton VPN review and CyberGhost review.

Which costs less?

That depends on how long you commit. Month to month, Proton VPN is the cheaper service — $9.99 against $12.99 — and it refunds for 30 days where CyberGhost’s monthly plan allows just 14. Commit for two years and the order flips:

Cost	Proton VPN Plus	CyberGhost
Monthly plan	$9.99	$12.99
Long deal, billed upfront	$71.76 (24 months)	$56.94 (26 months)
Effective intro rate	$2.99 a month	$2.19 a month
Renewal after the intro term	$83.88 a year ($6.99/mo)	$56.94 a year (about $4.75/mo)

Both long-term prices are intro rates. Proton VPN’s $2.99 more than doubles to a $6.99-a-month equivalent at renewal; CyberGhost’s $2.19 roughly doubles to about $4.75, and its headline rate rides an 83% summer promotion running as of 23 Jul 2026. Play it forward and the gap compounds: roughly four years costs $239.52 on Proton VPN (48 months) against $170.82 on CyberGhost (50 months) — two extra months of coverage for $68.70 less. Rolling monthly billing flips the winner: a year of $9.99 payments totals $119.88 against CyberGhost’s $155.88.

The refund terms follow the same split. CyberGhost’s 45-day money-back guarantee covers plans of six months or longer, the longest window of the pair; its monthly plan gets 14 days. Proton VPN gives a flat 30 days on every paid plan, whatever the term.

Both publish their audits — so what separates them on privacy?

You can read the evidence on both sides before paying, which makes this pair unusual. Proton VPN’s fifth consecutive annual Securitum audit (2026) is published in full alongside the 2022–2025 reports, and every Proton app is open source. CyberGhost’s third Deloitte Audit Romania engagement (2025, after 2022 and 2024) ran under ISAE 3000 (Revised), covered the server network, change management, incident response, and the dedicated-IP token system, and downloads in full — with quarterly transparency reports on top. What an assurance engagement of that kind can and cannot demonstrate is unpacked in no-log VPN audits explained.

Jurisdiction offers no clean winner either. Proton AG operates from Geneva and says the current Swiss framework imposes no logging requirements on it; CyberGhost S.R.L. sits in Romania, outside the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances and under no mandatory data-retention law for VPNs.

Server design is the one real disagreement. CyberGhost’s fleet is RAM-only — everything lives in volatile memory and wipes on every reboot — while Proton VPN rejects that design on purpose, preferring bare-metal machines under LUKS AES-256 full-disk encryption with the keys held elsewhere. Neither approach has failed an audit, so treat this row as philosophy rather than proof.

Which one works where VPNs are blocked?

Proton VPN. Its protocol lineup includes Stealth, an obfuscation protocol built for networks that block standard VPN connections, alongside WireGuard and OpenVPN. CyberGhost’s features page lists WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, and Gizmodo’s review states it offers no obfuscation features such as Stealth, Shadowsocks, or a NoBorders-style mode. Gizmodo’s head-to-head scored the censorship round for Proton VPN on the same grounds.

On an ordinary home connection this row changes nothing. On hotel Wi-Fi that drops VPN traffic, on a filtered campus network, or in a country that blocks VPN protocols, it is the difference between connecting and not.

Which is faster?

The one direct test among the sources here is Gizmodo’s 2026 head-to-head, which reported Proton VPN losing 28% of download speed against CyberGhost’s 42% — while noting CyberGhost did better on uploads in the same run — and gave the speed round to Proton VPN. The overall verdicts still conflict across reviewers: vpnMentor calls CyberGhost the overall winner, while Gizmodo calls the match for Proton VPN. Treat any single speed figure as one test, not a law; both run WireGuard, so everyday browsing is quick on either.

Coverage, devices, and streaming

Proton VPN’s network is larger by every published number: 20,677 servers across 148 countries and 191 locations on its live list as of 23 Jul 2026, against CyberGhost’s advertised 100 countries with no stated fleet total. Devices point the same way — 10 simultaneous connections on Proton VPN Plus against 7 per CyberGhost subscription.

Streaming leans back toward CyberGhost, on reviewer judgment. AllAboutCookies picks it for streaming, crediting its streaming-optimized servers, while Gizmodo scores the streaming and torrenting round a tie. Neither provider publishes reproducible unblocking results, so both calls rest on reviewer judgment rather than measurement.

Can you try both without paying?

Yes — and in opposite ways, which makes this pair easy to test side by side. Proton VPN’s free plan is permanent: one device at medium speed, no ads and no data cap, with servers drawn from 10 random countries. The trial never expires, but it never shows full speed either. CyberGhost hands over the full product briefly instead: card-free trials run for 24 hours on desktop, 3 days on Android, and a week on iOS, with the 45-day guarantee as the backstop on long plans. A week running both on your own connection answers the speed and streaming questions better than any review. If a free tier is the whole point, our best free VPN picks weigh Proton VPN’s against the field.

Choose Proton VPN if

• You pay month to month. $9.99 against $12.99, with a 30-day refund against CyberGhost’s 14 on monthly billing.
• You hit networks that block VPNs. Stealth exists for exactly that; CyberGhost has no obfuscation mode.
• You want the bigger map: 148 countries and 20,677 servers against 100 countries.
• You want evidence you can read and code you can inspect — five published audits, open-source apps.
• You want a free plan that never expires.

Try Proton VPN — a 30-day money-back guarantee stands behind every paid plan.

Choose CyberGhost if

• Staying past the intro term is the plan: renewal runs $56.94 a year against $83.88 — $26.94 less, every year.
• You want the longest way back out: a 45-day window on plans of six months or more.
• Streaming-sorted server lists appeal — AllAboutCookies picks CyberGhost for streaming on that basis.
• RAM-only servers are your hardware bar; Proton VPN uses encrypted disks instead.

Try CyberGhost — 45 days to refund plans of six months or longer.

Frequently asked questions

Is Proton VPN better than CyberGhost?

For most people, yes. It is cheaper month to month ($9.99 against $12.99), runs servers in 148 countries against 100, allows 10 simultaneous devices against 7, offers Stealth obfuscation that CyberGhost lacks, and includes a permanent free plan. CyberGhost wins on committed cost — $56.94 a year at renewal against $83.88 — and on its 45-day refund window for long plans.

Which is cheaper, Proton VPN or CyberGhost?

It splits by term, per both vendors' checkout pages as of 23 Jul 2026. Monthly, Proton VPN: $9.99 against $12.99. On the long deals, CyberGhost: $56.94 upfront for 26 months ($2.19 a month) against Proton VPN's $71.76 for 24 months ($2.99), then $56.94 a year at renewal against $83.88.

Which is faster, Proton VPN or CyberGhost?

Gizmodo's 2026 head-to-head — the one direct test among our sources — reported Proton VPN losing 28% of download speed against CyberGhost's 42%, with CyberGhost stronger on uploads in the same run, and scored the speed round for Proton VPN. Both run WireGuard, so everyday browsing is quick on either.

Does CyberGhost have obfuscation like Proton VPN's Stealth?

No. CyberGhost's features page lists WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 with no obfuscation protocol, and Gizmodo's review states it offers no Stealth, Shadowsocks, or NoBorders-style mode. Proton VPN ships Stealth, an obfuscation protocol of its own for networks that block ordinary VPN connections.

Does Proton VPN have more servers than CyberGhost?

By every published number, yes: Proton VPN's live server list showed 20,677 servers in 148 countries on 23 Jul 2026. CyberGhost advertises servers in 100 countries and does not publish a fleet total on its own pages — third-party counts vary widely. Some CyberGhost locations are virtual, and its server list flags which.

Which is better for streaming, Proton VPN or CyberGhost?

Reviewer judgment splits. AllAboutCookies picks CyberGhost, crediting its streaming-optimized servers; Gizmodo's head-to-head scores streaming and torrenting a tie. Neither provider publishes reproducible unblocking results, so testing the services you use — inside CyberGhost's trials or Proton VPN's free plan — settles it best.

Can you use Proton VPN or CyberGhost for free?

Proton VPN, indefinitely — the free plan has no data cap and no ads, serves one device, and picks your server from 10 random countries. CyberGhost has no free plan but offers card-free trials — one day on Windows and macOS, 3 on Android, 7 on iOS — plus a 45-day money-back window on plans that run six months or more.