hide.me vs Proton VPN
It is a trade-off. Proton VPN has the higher Safety grade (7.3 against 6.2), while hide.me has the higher Privacy grade (6.8 against 6.4).
hide.me
Malaysian VPN with a no-registration free tier and crypto payment for premium
Privacy
6.8/ 10
Fair
Safety
6.2/ 10
Fair
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Proton VPN
Swiss VPN with a free tier; paid plans payable in Bitcoin or cash
Privacy
6.4/ 10
Fair
Safety
7.3/ 10
Strong
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| hide.me | Proton VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | VPNs | VPNs |
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | No ID mentioned |
| Custody | N/A | N/A |
| Sign-up | Email optional | Email required |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC, DOGE, ETH, LTC, POL, SOL, USDT, USDC | BTC |
| Pay with | Card, PayPal, Bank transfer, Crypto | Crypto, Cash, Card, PayPal, Bank transfer |
| Fees | Free plan; premium subscriptions with a 30-day money-back guarantee | Not published |
| Founded | 2012 | 2017 |
| Jurisdiction | Malaysia | Switzerland |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only hide.me
No registrationNo-logs policyClosed source
Both
5+ years operatingLegal entity disclosed
Only Proton VPN
Accepts cashOpen sourceRequires email
Where they sit among vpns
Questions
Is hide.me or Proton VPN safer?
Proton VPN has the higher Safety grade: hide.me 6.2, Proton VPN 7.3, out of 10.
Does hide.me or Proton VPN require KYC?
hide.me is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). Proton VPN is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned).
Which has more incidents on record?
hide.me has 0 and Proton VPN has 0 documented incidents in the registry.