Mullvad is a VPN provider headquartered in Sweden. It was founded in 2009, and its founders have privately owned it since its inception. Instead of providing an email address and password like most online services, you're assigned a randomly generated account number. You can then use a variety of payment methods to add time credit. They have applications available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, all of which are open-source with publicly reviewable code. There are several additional features like multi-hop, obfuscation, resistance to quantum computer attacks, and Defense against AI-guided Traffic Analysis (DAITA).
Our Verdict
Mullvad is great for torrenting. It has acceptable security that mostly keeps your IP address and DNS queries within its tunnel, and it's properly configured to protect you from man-in-the-middle attacks. You can register without providing personal information like an email address or even a password. This is beneficial if the VPN provider experiences a data leak, as there's less recorded information about its users. It doesn't have any data limits and doesn't place any restrictions on downloading torrents, either.
Anonymous registration.
Accepts a variety of privacy-preserving payment options.
Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
Functional kill switch.
Mullvad is an exceptionally good VPN for private browsing. Their policies and company practices demonstrate a dedication to preserving their users' privacy and security. You register without providing any personal information and are instead assigned a randomly generated account number. You can then pay for the service anonymously using cash or cryptocurrencies. The VPN also provides strong security, demonstrating no leaks during use or after your device crashes, thanks to a functional kill switch.
Anonymous registration.
Accepts a variety of privacy-preserving payment options.
Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
Functional kill switch.
Exceptional privacy policies and company practices.
Mullvad has outstanding company practices and clear, comprehensive policies that claim not to log any user activity. These claims have been supported by high-quality third-party audits, which also demonstrate good overall security. The company maintains an active blog and publishes resources intended to educate users about online privacy.
Exceptional privacy policies and company practices.
Mullvad has excellent security. It doesn't leak your IP address or DNS queries while you're connected to it, and it has proper TLS implementation, protecting you from man-in-the-middle attacks. Its kill switch also works to prevent any unencrypted data from leaking from your device in case it restarts or loses internet.
Proper TLS implementation doesn't leave you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
Functional kill switch.
We're testing this VPN's speed on an ongoing basis and will update this verdict when we have more data. See the Performance section of the review to look at the data we've collected so far.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Feb 12, 2026:
We've updated the protocols section of the review to reflect that Mullvad no longer supports OpenVPN.
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Updated Jan 23, 2026:
We've updated the text throughout the review to reflect the changes from test bench 0.10.1.
- Updated Jan 23, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.10.1! This is a minor update to how we conduct our speed tests. Read the changelog for more info.
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Updated Dec 16, 2025:
We've added text throughout the review to correspond with the new privacy tests in Test Bench 0.10.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
Mullvad only offers a single paid plan with a flat monthly fee.
Popular VPN Comparisons
Mullvad has some key differences that set it apart from other VPNs. Unlike many VPN services, you get a randomly generated account number instead of signing up with your email address and password. This is advantageous if you're wary of providing personally identifiable information to third parties. Additionally, it features a unique flat-rate pricing model. This differs from the industry norm of offering discounts for purchasing multi-month or year-long plans.
Mullvad has outstanding transparency, privacy policies, community interaction, and open-source software. These practices make it a standout choice among other VPN services.
For our recommendations, check out our picks for the best VPNs, the best VPNs for Windows PCs, and the best VPNs for Mac.
Mullvad and Proton VPN are both good VPN services, but Mullvad is better. It does a better job of preserving your personal information, as you are assigned a randomly generated account number upon registration instead of being required to provide an email address. Mullvad also has clearer privacy policies that don't specify any sort of logging, compared to Proton's unclear and jargon-filled policies that indicate possible data collection. That said, Proton has a few more nice-to-have features, like servers in more countries, and you can connect up to 10 of your devices simultaneously.
ExpressVPN and Mullvad have similar security performance, but Mullvad is significantly faster than Express. Mullvad is a better choice for privacy, as its policies indicate that it collects less information about you, and it has a more favorable history of corporate practices than Express. Additionally, Mullvad offers better anonymity-preserving registration options, as your only login credentials are a randomly generated account number, rather than requiring an email address. That said, ExpressVPN has servers in more countries.
Mullvad is a better VPN service than NordVPN, but the latter has a few distinct advantages. Namely, it delivers slightly faster download speeds and has servers in more countries, and you can connect with up to 10 devices simultaneously, compared to five for Mullvad. Unfortunately, however, Nord's kill switch doesn't function effectively, as it leaks some data outside of the tunnel after a system reboot. Mullvad is also better for privacy. You can sign up anonymously, and the company has a history of good privacy and transparent company practices. On the other hand, Nord's privacy policy vaguely indicates that it collects your data in certain circumstances, and the company doesn't have ideal transparent practices.
Test Results
Like most VPN providers, Mullvad doesn't implement BGP properly. BGP primarily focuses on high-level internet routing rather than end-user traffic. As a result, it's only a concern for highly targeted and resource-intensive attacks that are feasible only for governments or large corporations to conduct.
Mullvad has excellent privacy policies. They're clear about what little information of yours they store for payment processing and to enforce their simultaneous device limit. The only caveat is that the privacy policy indicates it may be updated without prior notification to users.
Mullvad has commissioned numerous audits over the years, with positive findings that confirm its no-log claims are accurate. In 2023, Swedish police searched Mullvad's servers with a search warrant but left empty-handed.
Mullvad has a history of exceptional company practices that exemplify the company's commitment to user privacy. They're transparent about the company structure and their mission, and haven't had any public instances of malpractice that raise concerns. Their applications are open source, and they commit to frequent security audits, with all findings in the past yielding positive results. They don't have a transparency report or a warrant canary, but have been transparent about their interactions with law enforcement in the past.
Upon creating your account, you're assigned a randomly generated account number, which is the only identifier required to use the service. You can pay with cash, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, bank wire, credit card, PayPal, Swish, Eps transfer, Bancontact, iDEAL, and Przelewy24 to load time onto your account.
We're testing this VPN's performance on an ongoing basis, and will update the text for the download speed, upload speed, and latency tests when we have more data.
In addition to native Windows and macOS apps, Mullvad VPN is available via their repository servers for Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora Linux distributions. If you're using an unsupported Linux distribution, you can download the .deb or .rpm files manually.
This VPN also has mobile apps available on iOS and Android.
Mullvad's website has a page that shows real-time info on server status, service issues, and scheduled maintenance.
