Proton VPN vs PoolLevels
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Proton VPN
This app provides a secure, encrypted, and unlimited internet connection, protecting your privacy and unblocking content. It offers advanced security features and a strict no-logs policy, with both free and premium options available.
- Unlimited data, no speed restrictions
- Strict no-logs policy
- Bypass geo restrictions
- Full disk encrypted servers
- Ad blocker (NetShield)
- Stream content from any service
- Connect up to 10 devices
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Trusted by millions worldwide, Proton VPN is the world's only free VPN app that is safe to use and respects your privacy. Our fast VPN offers secure, private and encrypted internet access with advanced security features. Proton VPN also unblocks access to popular websites and streaming platforms. Proton VPN was created by the CERN scientists behind Proton Mail - the world's largest encrypted email service. Proton’s secure no-logs VPN offers 24/7 safe and private internet access, and does not record your browsing history, display ads, sell your data to third parties, or limit downloads. Free VPN features available to all users: • Unlimited data with no bandwidth or speed restrictions • Strict no logs policy • Bypass geo restrictions: smart protocol selection automatically overcomes VPN bans and unblocks censored sites and content • Full disk encrypted servers protect your data • Perfect forward secrecy: encrypted traffic cannot be captured and decrypted later • DNS leak protection: we encrypt DNS queries to ensure that your browsing activity cannot be exposed through DNS leaks • Always-on VPN/ kill switch offers protection against leaks caused by accidental disconnections Premium VPN features: • Access 20,000+ high speed servers across 140+ countries worldwide including US, UK, France, Germany, India, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, etc. • Fast VPN: high speed servers with connections up to 10 Gbps • VPN Accelerator: unique technology increases Proton VPN's speeds by up to 400% to give a faster browsing experience • Unblock access to blocked or censored content • Connect up to 10 devices to the VPN at the same time • Ad blocker (NetShield): a DNS filtering feature that protects you from malware, blocks ads, and prevents website trackers from following you across the web • Stream films, sports events, and videos on any streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Max, BBC iPlayer etc) • File-sharing and P2P support • Secure Core servers protect against network-based attacks with multi-hop VPN • Tor over VPN provides automatic integration with the Tor anonymity network Why Proton VPN? • No personal data required to sign up • Easy-to-use VPN app for iPhone, iPad, visionOS, tvOS, Mac, and any other major devices • Highest strength encryption for your connection makes it better than an internet proxy • One tap Connect to secure your internet connection, especially on public Wifi hotspots • Unique VPN Accelerator technology increases your VPN speed by up to 400% for a faster internet connection • Proton VPN's Secure Core architecture allows our secure VPN service to defend against network-based attacks • We only use VPN protocols that are proven to be secure: WireGuard • Independently audited by third-party security experts and we publish all results on our website • Trusted open-source code that can be reviewed for security by anyone • Data protection using AES-256 and 4096 RSA encryption Join the privacy revolution • Your support is important as it allows us to continue our mission to bring online freedom to people around the globe. Get our private VPN free today and enjoy fast VPN connections and a secure internet, from anywhere. Global VPN server network • Proton VPN has thousands of secure VPN servers worldwide, including hundreds of free VPN servers to ensure a high-bandwidth server nearby. Experts’ opinion: PCMag: “[Proton VPN’s] is a slick VPN with an excellent collection of advanced features, and it has the best free subscription plan we've seen. Few competitors can match its mix of affordability, features, and design. For all that, it gets a rare five-star rating and earns our Editors' Choice award” TechRadar: “The completely free tier is something no other competitor [...] offers. Wired: "The best VPN" "Overall, Proton VPN is very fast"
PoolLevels
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Type in your pool test readings and PoolLevels tells you what the water is doing and the one thing to add. Most pool apps hand you a wall of numbers and a red or green face. PoolLevels computes the saturation index the way a water chemist would, says whether the water is corrosive, balanced or scaling, and gives you a single dose sized for your pool, with the arithmetic printed underneath so you can check it yourself. WHAT IT DOES Real carbonate chemistry. The saturation index from pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, cyanuric acid and water temperature, using the Plummer and Busenberg equilibria and Davies activity coefficients, with the cyanurate correction most calculators leave out. One thing at a time. Not a list of six chemicals. One dose, sized for your pool's actual gallons, rounded to a precision you can measure with a jug. The working shown. Every recommendation prints the arithmetic that produced it, so you can see where the number came from instead of trusting it. Safe handling on every dose. Half first with the pump running, circulate, retest, then the rest. Never mix chemicals. Always acid into water. These are on the recommendation, not buried in a help page. Your history. Every reading you save, with the date you tested, so you can see whether last month's dose actually did anything. Strip capture and reading. Photograph a test strip and the app finds it in the photo, records each pad's colour, and can turn those colours into readings by matching them against the bottle's printed chart, corrected where we have paired that strip with a store test. Every reading taken from a photo is labelled as such, any pad whose colour sits far from every chart swatch is marked uncertain, and typing the numbers from a store test is always one tap away. WHAT IT WILL NOT DO It will not guess. Leave out calcium hardness or cyanuric acid and it says so rather than assuming a number. That is not fussiness: omitting cyanuric acid moved a real sample by 0.18 and flipped its verdict from corrosive to balanced. A wrong answer delivered confidently is worse than no answer. It will not track you. No account, no sign in, no advertising. Your readings, your pool and your photos are stored on your phone and nowhere else. The app sends anonymous usage events, such as that a strip was read or the upgrade screen was opened, with no readings, no photos and no location. Purchases go through Apple. Delete it and the data goes with it. It is not a substitute for a test kit, a product label, or a professional. It calculates from the numbers you give it, or reads them from a strip. A strip reading is a first look, not a test kit result. Read the label on the chemical you are actually using, because concentrations differ between brands. Terms: https://poollevels.com/terms Privacy: https://poollevels.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: Proton VPN at #9 against PoolLevels's unranked. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Proton VPN sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and PoolLevels sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Proton VPN | PoolLevels |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (129K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 54.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 129K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | #9 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 258 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Proton AG | ALSTIG INC |
Bugs and requests
Proton VPN
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to maintain stable connections
- Unexpected disconnections and reconnections
- Incompatibility with certain iOS versions
- Inconsistent behavior when switching networks
Requested features
5 requests- Option to select specific server locations
- Always-on VPN mode
- Improved kill switch functionality
- Expanded server network for free users
- Better integration with iOS features (e.g., widgets)
PoolLevels
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Proton VPN
- VPN Plus$11.991 Month
- Proton Unlimited (1 month)$14.991 Month
- VPN Plus1 Year trial$83.901 Year
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- Proton Unlimited$119.991 Year
PoolLevels
- PoolLevels Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- PoolLevels Pro Annual$41.991 Year
Questions
Is Proton VPN free?
Is PoolLevels free?
Do Proton VPN or PoolLevels have ads?
Which is updated more often, Proton VPN or PoolLevels?
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