NordVPN vs Mullvad

Which VPN Is Better?

Products

NordVPN
Mullvad

Tested using Methodology v0.9.1

Updated Jun 03, 2025 05:26 PM

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NordVPN

Tested using Methodology v0.9.1

Updated Aug 14, 2025 03:31 PM

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Mullvad
  1. Recommended in 6 articles:
  2. VPNs
  3. iPhone
  4. Mac
  5. 3

Our Verdict

NordVPN

Mullvad

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.

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Variants

  • NordVPN (Basic)
  • NordVPN (Complete)
  • NordVPN (Plus)
  • NordVPN (Ultra)
  • Mullvad (VPN)

Check Price

Basic
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
VPN
Mullvad
SEE PRICE
Mullvad
Complete
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 
Plus
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 
Ultra
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 

Main Differences for
Torrent

Threshold 

0.10

Torrent 

8.1
9.1

Kill Switch Robustness 
 

2.0
8.0

Registration 
 

6.1
9.5

Full Comparison

Security

Registration 
 

6.1
9.5

Payment Options  

Email Required 
 

Yes
No

Password Required 
 

Yes
No

Cryptocurrency 
 

Yes
Yes

Cash 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

IP And DNS Leaks 
 

9.0
9.0

IPLEAK.net Screenshot  

Wireshark IP And DNS Leak Screenshot  

Leak Detected 
 

No
No

In-Browser IP 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

In-Browser DNS 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

System DNS 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

System Traffic 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

Kill Switch Robustness 
 

2.0
8.0

Wireshark Kill Switch Screenshot  

Leak Detected 
 

Yes
No

During VPN Software Crash 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

During Loss Of Internet 
 

No Leak Detected
No Leak Detected

During System Reboot 
 

Leak Detected
No Leak Detected
Show Text 

Man-In-The-Middle Attacks 
 

8.5
8.5

Man-In-The-Middle Attacks Screenshot  

TLS Interruption Risk 
 

No Evidence
No Evidence

Proper BGP Implementation 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Performance

Download Speed 
 

9.3
8.3

Download Speed Graph  

See details
See details

Without VPN 
 

325 Mbps
338 Mbps

With VPN 
 

394 Mbps
224 Mbps

Speed Difference 
 

69.3 Mbps
-113.0 Mbps
Show Text 

Upload Speed 
 

9.0
8.9

Upload Speed Graph  

See details
See details

Without VPN 
 

319 Mbps
334 Mbps

With VPN 
 

239 Mbps
211 Mbps

Speed Difference 
 

-79.7 Mbps
-123.7 Mbps
Show Text 

Latency 
 

7.7
8.7

Download Latency Graph  

See details
See details

Upload Latency Graph  

See details
See details

Download Latency Without VPN 
 

147 ms
149 ms

Download Latency With VPN 
 

191 ms
149 ms

Download Latency Difference 
 

44 ms
0 ms

Upload Latency Without VPN 
 

149 ms
151 ms

Upload Latency With VPN 
 

153 ms
151 ms

Upload Latency Difference 
 

4 ms
0 ms

Combined Latency Consistency 
 

±45 ms
±41 ms
Show Text 
Features

Downloads 
 

9.5
9.5

Torrent Test Picture  

Torrent (P2P) 
 

Yes
Yes

Data Limit 
 

N/A
N/A

Platform Support 
 

9.3
9.3

Windows 
 

Yes
Yes

macOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Linux 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Protocols 
 

Protocol Results Table  

WireGuard 
 

No
Yes

OpenVPN Over UDP 
 

Yes
Yes

OpenVPN Over TCP 
 

Yes
Yes

IPSec With L2TP 
 

No
No

IPSec With IKEv2 
 

Yes
No

Proprietary Protocol(s) 
 

NordLynx
None
Show Text 

Simultaneous Devices 
 

9.1
6.8

Tested Simultaneous Connections 
 

10
5

Simultaneous Locations 
 

Yes
Yes

Advertised Max Simultaneous Connections 
 

10
5

Destinations 
 

8.6
9.0

VPN Destination Selection Example  

Countries 
 

118
49

Countries With Multiple Cities 
 

9
11

Server Choice 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Split Tunneling 
 

8.0
6.1

VPN Disabled For App Screenshot  

VPN Enabled For App Screenshot  

Disabling Of VPN For Specific Apps 
 

Yes
Yes

Enabling Of VPN For Specific Apps 
 

Yes
No

Splitting Based On Address 
 

No
No

Ping Local Address - Same Subnet 
 

Yes
Yes

Ping Local Address - Different Subnet 
 

No
No

Headless Setup 
 

7.0
10

Headless WireGuard Connection Screenshot  

Headless OpenVPN Connection Screenshot  

Headless WireGuard Connection 
 

No
Yes

Headless OpenVPN Connection 
 

Yes
Yes

Check Price

Basic
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
VPN
Mullvad
SEE PRICE
Mullvad
Complete
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 
Plus
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 
Ultra
NordVPN
SEE PRICE
NordVPN
 

NordVPN

Mullvad

Comments

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NordVPN vs Mullvad: Main Discussion

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