Pros & Cons
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- Affordable
- Requires no email or account information
- Radically transparency
- Stalwart privacy standards
- Anonymous account system
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- Awkward desktop interface
- Modest server network
- Inconsistent Netflix unblocking
Mullvad VPN Specs
| 500+ Servers | |
| Free Version Data Limit | No Free Version |
| Geographically Diverse Servers | |
| Server Locations | 50 Countries |
| Simultaneous VPN Connections | 5 |
| Supported Protocols on Android | WireGuard, OpenVPN |
| Supported Protocols on iOS | OpenVPN, WireGuard |
| Supported Protocols on macOS | WireGuard, OpenVPN |
Mullvad VPN sets itself apart by focusing solely on privacy, affordability, and user anonymity. Instead of having a suite of extra tools you may not need, Mullvad keeps its price low by offering just an excellent, feature-rich VPN. Simply put, it’s one of the best services out there if you value privacy and complete company transparency. Proton remains the only five-star VPN we've tested thanks to its similar privacy stance and generous free tier, but Mullvad easily stands out as a worthy Editors' Choice winner for its blend of transparency and affordability.
How Much Does Mullvad VPN Cost?
Mullvad forgoes complicated price structures and terms. There are no discounts, free versions, or upsells. It’s 5 euros per month (approximately $5.90 as of writing), no matter how long you subscribe, which I like, since long-term VPN contracts have some drawbacks. Mullvad puts anonymity first, as evidenced by its payment options. If you don’t mind leaving a trace, you can pay with traditional methods like credit cards, PayPal, or bank wire. You can see how its price compares with the competition in the chart below:
You can stay anonymous by paying with Bitcoin at a 10% discount, thanks to the lack of processing fees. For even greater security, you can pay Mullvad directly with cash by sending your payment along with your unique account number to the company’s office in Sweden. You don’t have to include your name or any other identifying information. Mullvad lets you generate a unique account identifier in lieu of a username or password.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)Mullvad even sells prepaid cards on Amazon, which gives you more flexibility and anonymity. Plus, they're giftable. Mullvad doesn't accept recurring subscription payments. Since recurring payments require the company to retain payment data, it decided to end the practice entirely in 2022. Instead, it uses a pay-as-you-go model, where you fund your accounts for as little as a month or as long as you wish.
This setup is excellent from a privacy standpoint, but it could cause headaches for everyday users since you have to remember to add funds to your account. However, Mullvad’s process for creating and funding new accounts takes only seconds. If your account lapses, then you can just generate a new token and fund it since Mullvad doesn’t require a traditional account or email.
That 5-euro fee is significantly less than the average monthly price of the VPNs I have reviewed, which currently sits around $10 per month. Mullvad has a smaller network and fewer extras than more expensive options on the market, like NordVPN, but it still more than covers the basics as a VPN. It’s an excellent option if you’re just looking for a VPN and don’t want the growing number of security tools bundled into subscriptions from larger companies.
If money is tight, there are a few free VPNs you might try as well. Some are good, but all are limited. TunnelBear's free subscription, for example, limits you to 2GB per month. Proton VPN, however, has no data restriction on its free subscription, making it our top choice for free VPNs.
What Do You Get for Your Money With Mullvad VPN?
Mullvad supports five simultaneous connections with a single subscription. The industry average has been climbing over the past few years, with a push toward unlimited device connections from competitors like TunnelBear and Surfshark. The lack of connections would be a knock against the service were it not for Mullvad’s price point. It costs half as much as affordable services like TunnelBear and is nearly a third the price of premium subscriptions from Surfshark and NordVPN.
One reason Mullvad is so much cheaper than competitors is that it doesn’t include any extra security tools or services. You won’t get a password manager, dark web monitoring, threat detection, or any sort of malware scanner—you pay for a VPN and get a VPN. Now, that doesn’t mean Mullvad lacks core features.
Mullvad supports multi-hop connections that route your traffic through two servers instead of one, which further obfuscates your data at the cost of performance. Multi-hop connections are ideal for accessing sensitive content in restricted areas or for adding an extra layer of security.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)You can also make use of a simple split tunneling implementation that allows you to exclude certain apps from the VPN’s protection. Routing apps out of the VPN tunnel can be useful for competitive games that rely on low latency or for accessing services such as a bank account that may block VPNs. Just keep in mind that excluding an app or service makes its traffic visible to prying eyes, such as your internet service provider (ISP) and advertisers.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)Mullvad offers a unique connection option called DAITA (Defense Against AI-Guided Traffic Analysis) that I haven't seen from any other VPNs. It is an AI tool that analyzes and adds digital noise or interference to outgoing traffic. This process hides patterns in your encrypted activity, making it harder for third parties to identify the sites you’ve visited. Even with a VPN, advertisers can still build a profile on you through browser fingerprinting. DAITA is designed to combat fingerprinting and provide better anonymity. Like multi-hop, using DAITA will have a significant impact on your performance.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)A custom DNS blocker lets you block ads, trackers, adult content, gambling sites, and social media. There’s also a malware blocking option, but Mullvad stresses that this feature isn’t equivalent to a standalone antivirus. A basic kill switch is enabled by default, but Mullvad also offers an advanced option called lockdown mode that automatically disables any connection that isn’t secured by the VPN.
You can further configure Mullvad with an extensive array of advanced options. While the following features aren’t dangerous to enable, they are best left disabled unless you have a specific use case. Mullvad supports IPv6 tunneling, which may be necessary for certain networking configurations. It’s usually not supported, since IPv4 is much less prone to leaking information. Use IPv6 with caution.
The VPN’s anti-censorship settings can be tweaked in fine detail if you’re having trouble accessing restricted sites or content. Mullvad is the only service I have seen that allows users to toggle post-quantum encryption (PQE) on and off. It’s best to leave it on for security reasons, but disabling it can reduce data consumption on monitored networks. One area Mullvad lacks is port forwarding. The VPN removed the feature in 2023, citing valid security concerns. You can read the company’s full report on the matter here. Mullvad has also rolled out Mullvad Browser—a free, open-source, privacy-focused browser.
What VPN Protocols Does Mullvad VPN Offer?
Mullvad keeps things simple and supports WireGuard on all platforms, though the exact version of WireGuard varies on each operating system as follows:
- Windows: WireGuardNT
- Linux: Linux Kernel WireGuard
- Android: GotaTun (more details on Mullvad’s GitHub)
- iOS and macOS: WireGuard-GO
Mullvad advocates open-source software, and its VPN is no exception. Beyond using the open-source WireGuard protocol, Mullvad has released its source code so anyone can validate the service’s efficacy.
Where Are Mullvad VPN's Servers Located?
Mullvad has 578 servers in 50 countries spread out across 90 cities. The coverage is modest, but it is one of the most transparent networks I have come across. The server page provides detailed information on each server, including ownership, precise location, user load, activity status, IP address, multi-hop port number, and server provider. This kind of information is rare among VPNs, which tend to limit their server pages to the very basics.
Although the server selection is on the small side, Mullvad offers geographically diverse coverage in underserved regions such as South America and Africa. Notably, Mullvad only uses physical servers located in the region each one is servicing. Virtual servers aren’t inherently bad, but they can perform worse at unblocking and overall performance because the actual hardware may be many miles away from the region the server is pretending to be in. I prefer that companies be clear about where their servers are located—whether they're virtual or not. This isn't an issue for Mullvad. A company representative told us that it uses only dedicated servers that are located exactly where they say they are.
How Does Mullvad VPN Protect Your Privacy?
Mullvad approaches privacy with radical transparency. The company conveys its privacy policy in plain, understandable language. It’s a lengthy policy with comprehensive sections pertaining toward various laws, regulations, and business practices. Throughout, Mullvad is emphatic that it does not log user traffic, DNS requests, connection timestamps, IP addresses, or bandwidth usage.
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Mullvad is also clear about its business practices and does not pay for reviews or engage in affiliate commerce. Mullvad is organized under the parent company Amagicom AB, is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and operates under Swedish law. Mullvad VPN goes far beyond others by offering an extensive list of applicable laws and regulations.
The company even commits to "shut down the service" if it's ever legally required to spy on its users. In April 2023, Mullvad announced that Swedish police entered its headquarters with a search warrant, but the company says it successfully rebuffed the order, and the police left empty-handed.
Many VPN companies have commissioned third-party audits to establish their trustworthiness. In general, it's a good development for the industry, although not all audits are equal. Mullvad has released the results of several audits. Most recently, the service was audited by GotaTun in 2026. This is excellent, and Mullvad has committed to further verification through annual audits.
Can You Watch Netflix With Mullvad VPN?
Streaming services are constantly developing new ways to detect and block VPNs. Streaming platforms block VPNs to protect their regional contracts. Netflix, for example, may not have permission to show a movie in the US, but users in the UK can access the film freely. A VPN lets you bypass these restrictions by connecting to a server in a country where the content is being streamed.
I test every VPN with Netflix to see if it can access content in the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, and Australia. During testing, I was only able to access Netflix in the US and Canada. Netflix detected connections in the UK, Japan, and Australia and blocked them. You can learn more about how I qualify these results in my guide to unblock Netflix with a VPN, and you can see the full results of my testing in the chart above.
How Fast Is Mullvad VPN?
Connecting to a VPN routes your traffic through an additional server, often called a hop. This extra hop often requires your traffic to travel farther than it would on a regular network connection, resulting in decreased performance. To get a sense of that impact, I use the Ookla Speedtest tool to measure the difference with and without a VPN. You can read more about testing in our explainer on how we test VPNs. (Editors' Note: Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag.com's parent company. For more, see the ethics policy in our Editorial Mission Statement.)
Mullvad performed well in my latest speed test. It slowed downloads by just 8.04% and uploads by just 5.54%. It also performed well in terms of latency, increasing it by 74.78%. The chart below shows the most recent speed test results:
Keep in mind, these results are only accurate for a particular time and place. They're useful for comparison, but your experience using them will almost certainly differ.
Hands On With Mullvad VPN for Windows
I tested Mullvad on an Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast Kit ('Serpent Canyon') test PC running the latest version of Windows 11. Since Mullvad forgoes traditional usernames and passwords, downloading Mullvad is as simple as clicking your operating system of choice and running the installer. You’ll use that long account identifier string to log in once you’ve got your payment sorted, so make sure not to lose it.
Mullvad’s small interface may be a shock if you’re used to the grand dashboards full of large maps and statistics that you tend to see from premium competitors like NordVPN or Proton. The large buttons and cramped rectangular dashboard give the Windows interface the feel of a mobile app ported directly to a desktop environment, with no significant changes. Another quirk of the experience is that the dashboard remains locked to the bottom-right corner of the screen unless you go into settings and undock it.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)It is easy to use and navigate, but I would like to see a more bespoke desktop version. Even being able to expand the window to a different size would make it much more pleasant to use. The central dashboard features a map with a dot showing your current location, with a country list directly below it. Click the location listed to view a full list of countries, which can be further expanded to show cities and individual servers. Each server can be refreshed if you find your connection struggling, and you can toggle PQE if the server supports it.
It would also be useful to be able to favorite servers so you can come back to them later. I do like that you can filter servers by provider and whether Mullvad rents or owns the machine. No other VPN I’ve seen offers this option.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)The settings menu is accessed by clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard. Each advanced feature is clearly explained if you hover your cursor over the exclamation point icon next to it.
Mullvad's split tunneling feature is extremely easy to use. Once activated, select an app from the list, and its traffic will be routed outside the VPN. I confirmed that split tunneling worked as expected. Although well implemented, other VPNs are more flexible, and some even let you route URLs and IP addresses in addition to apps. I also found its content blocker effective at blocking ads, trackers, and adult content.
Hands On With Mullvad VPN on iOS, Android, and macOS
Mullvad has one of the most consistent cross-platform implementations that I have seen. Nearly all of the apps are identical, even down to the design and overall layout. The mobile app on iOS and Android feels nicer to use than the desktop version, thanks to the mobile-focused design.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)The main difference between iOS and Android is that iOS doesn’t support split tunneling. Aside from that, the two apps have the same general feature set.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)MacOS brings split tunneling back and shares the same core features as the Windows version. One frustrating aspect was that I couldn’t undock the window from the top-right corner of the screen. There was no setting for unlocking it like there was on Windows, which can be extra annoying since the dashboard will automatically minimize if you click away from it.
How Good Are Mullvad's Support Options?
Even the best service can experience errors. That’s why I assess every VPN’s support options to see if there are adequate resources for getting help when you need it most. As a baseline, I look for a robust knowledge base with detailed guides, quick support options for critical issues, and knowledgeable replies from technical staff.
Mullvad has an excellent knowledge base with detailed filters, expansive guides, and image-assisted explanations of complex steps. It’s easy to narrow your search down to issues that arise only when using a specific feature, platform, device, or protocol.
(Credit: PCMag/Mullvad)There’s no live chat system for instant resolution, but I found that my support email was answered within one hour of submission. I didn’t encounter any critical issues with Mullvad, so I asked a handful of questions about advanced features and how they worked. I received detailed answers back with links to the requisite help center articles. A quick support chat for common issues, such as billing queries, would be a nice addition, but I appreciate the fast, knowledgeable responses from Mullvad’s support team.