Avast VPN and ProtonVPN represent two distinctly different tiers of VPN service, as reflected in their overall scores of 22% and 89% respectively. While both providers share a common set of core technical features, the gap between them across nearly every measured category is substantial and worth examining closely.
Both services support WireGuard protocol, kill switch functionality, split tunneling, and P2P or torrenting use cases. ProtonVPN adds a bug bounty program to its feature set, which signals a more proactive approach to identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities through external researcher involvement. On the privacy audit front, the difference is stark: ProtonVPN earned a perfect score of 100% in that category, while Avast VPN scored just 8%, suggesting a meaningful disparity in independently verified transparency and trust.
ProtonVPN operates under Swiss jurisdiction, a country widely regarded for its strong privacy laws and independence from major intelligence-sharing alliances. Avast VPN is based in the Czech Republic, which falls within the European Union legal framework. Jurisdiction alone does not determine a VPN's trustworthiness, but it does affect the legal obligations a provider must navigate regarding user data.
In terms of performance, ProtonVPN scored 80% for speeds compared to Avast VPN's 20%. For streaming, ProtonVPN achieved 86% while Avast VPN registered 0%, indicating that users who rely on a VPN to access streaming content would find little utility in the Avast offering based on current testing. Customer support tells a similar story, with ProtonVPN earning a full 100% and Avast VPN scoring 0%, which raises practical concerns for users who may need assistance resolving technical issues.
One area where both providers share equal footing is ethics, with each earning a perfect 100% score in that category. Application quality shows a notable difference as well, with ProtonVPN scoring 80% compared to Avast VPN's 33%. The graphical user interface category further reinforces this pattern, as ProtonVPN scored 100% versus Avast VPN's 20%.
Pricing scores of 73% for ProtonVPN and 45% for Avast VPN suggest that ProtonVPN offers stronger perceived value relative to its cost, even without specific monthly or annual figures available for direct comparison. Taken together, the data consistently points to ProtonVPN as the more capable and well-rounded service across privacy, performance, usability, and support.