Mullvad VPN Review – In-Depth Breakdown (2025 Edition)

Don’t we all deserve to surf the web without being tracked, just as we deserve to lie in bed without a camera recording us?

That’s essentially what Mullvad and other VPN providers do: protect you from being spied on by encrypting your internet traffic and hiding your IP address.

A VPN can be a useful tool for digital nomads, especially for those who tend to use public Wi-Fi for work or who live in a country with questionable internet freedom. While using a virtual private network is by no means a magic bullet, it can help safeguard you and your data.

Some can even circumvent firewalls and/or spoof your location to get around content censorship.

Of all the VPNs on the market – and there are a lot – Mullvad is one of the most privacy focused, with a ton of features designed to ensure your information isn’t being recorded and monetized by telecoms companies, Big Tech or any other third-party actors.

In this review, we’re going to deep dive into how it stands out from the pack and the kind of user experience that it offers.

Company Background

Mullvad (“mole” in Swedish) burrowed up into the world in 2009. Despite its success and popularity, it is still 100% owned by founders Fredrik Strömberg and Daniel Berntsson, who run it under the parent company Amagicom.

Mullvad is well known in the VPN space for being super serious about privacy and transparency. It even removed the ability to sign up for subscriptions in 2022, since the company doesn’t want to store your name, your email, your payment details – anything that could be used to identify you.

That’s enabled by the fact that Sweden doesn’t require VPN providers to store logs, so Mullvad can offer greater privacy.

Its founders have been rabidly critical of the way Big Tech harvests data and have lobbied against government initiatives like Chat Control that would massively increase governments’ ability to monitor the public.

It is also extremely clear about the capabilities and limitations of its service, while calling out false advertising by other VPN providers

Core Features

Mullvad comes with a whole host of security features and configuration options. This can be complemented with the company’s browser and search engine, which are also designed to avoid tracking and data gathering.

The VPN can be used on up to 5 devices simultaneously, which is not as good as ExpressVPN (8), Proton (10) or Surfshark (unlimited), but it’s probably enough for most users.

Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux are all supported.

Security & Privacy

Mullvad is in the process of phasing out Open VPN, leaving it with WireGuard as its only tunneling protocol. This is encrypted with ChaCha20, which has proven itself as a robust encryption algorithm.

The business also operates a no-logs policy, which is strict to the point that not only do they not store browsing activity or connection info, they don’t even record your email address!

One of Mullvad’s VPN most unique features is that users do not have to sign up with a username or password. Instead, an account number is randomly generated when you enrol. This is used to access the service and facilitate payments instead of email, adding another layer of anonymity that most VPN providers don’t have.

Other security features include:

• Kill switch. Integrated into the software, it automatically halts your connection if the VPN drops, so that no data is exposed.
• DNS leak protection. This ensures your ISP cannot track your activity.
• Multi-hop. Route your traffic through multiple servers for increased encryption.
• Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis (to give it its full name) manipulates the packets of data coming from your connection to make it harder to analyze.
• Quantum-resistant tunnels. Using Classic McEliece and Kyber encryption algorithms, Mullvad aims to make your traffic completely uncrackable, even by quantum computers.

Performance & Server Network

Like NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark, Mullvad has migrated its infrastructure to RAM-only servers. Without getting too technical, this basically means that all data is wiped each time the servers are turned off or restarted.

There are 695 servers in total, spread across 49 countries. Most of these are in Europe, but there’s also a good percentage in North America and Australia. You can also access a handful in Asia, located in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, as well as a small number in Brazil.

All the servers are at least 10 Gbps, though some are 20 Gbps. Mullvad clearly labels which ones it directly owns and which ones are rented from third-party providers.

There’s no bandwidth limit, so you can browse to your heart’s content – well, at least within the feasibility of the Mullvad’s infrastructure! It’s possible to reach up to 900 Mbps, though of course the actual speed that you reach will depend on your connection.

Special Features

Mullvad supports split tunneling on most devices, excluding iPhone and iPads. This allows some traffic to make a direct connection while the rest of your browsing activity remains private. This can be useful if speeds are low or if a firewall is blocking VPN access for a specific app or website.

An alternative way to try and get around firewalls is Mullvad’s Shadowsocks obfuscation. Turning on this feature improves the VPN’s ability to circumvent censorship.

The app also contains a DNS content blocker, which lets you toggle on settings to stop ads, trackers, malware, adult content, gambling and/or social media from being shown on your device.

Speed, Streaming & Torrenting Performance

Things like geography and time of day can massively affect the speed and lag on your connection. However, we’ve tried to provide a general idea of the kind of speeds you can reach with Mullvad VPN.

Speed Test Results

We connected from Europe to a Swedish server, which gave us very good speeds – as you would expect, given that Mullvad is headquarter in Sweden and has a good chunk of servers located there.

Downloading: 4.65%

Uploading: 1.93%

Latency: 1,255.67%

The speed when connecting to a US server was also decent, although slower and with a massive ramp up in latency – about 100 m/s compared to 5 m/s.

Downloading: 13.83%

Uploading: 5.58%

Latency: 3166.667%

We also tested the servers in Japan, which were markedly sluggish, but we’d expect it to work a lot better for people located in Asia.

Streaming & P2P Support

Mullvad doesn’t actively support streaming – and that’s very obvious from how badly it did in our tests. With the VPN on, we couldn’t access any streaming platform consistently, from Netflix to Hulu.

When we turned to the help center, the advice was simply to turn on the split tunneling to exclude streaming traffic from the VPN tunnel. That’s not going to help us access overseas content, but at least it means we can simultaneously watch Netflix on an open connection while keeping our web browsing private.

Torrenting fairs better, although there’s no port forwarding. Again, Mullvad doesn’t appear to actively support the practice, but its servers are all P2P friendly and don’t block torrents like some VPN providers.

We racked up a decent download speed with qBittorrent – not the best in show, but certainly no slouch.

Security and Data Protection

As part of Mullvad’s commitment to privacy, it only uses the strongest encryption and the most secure VPN protocol for its services.

Encryption & VPN Protocols

Mullvad is streamlining its protocols to offer just one: WireGuard. While a lack of choice might seem like a bad thing, it’s actually not a particularly significant issue, since WireGuard is the fastest and most secure protocol on the market – at least for now.

WireGuard is composed of relatively few lines of code, which makes it easier to deploy and debug. It’s encrypted with ChaCha20, which uses shorter cryptographic keys that facilitate faster speeds.

While some people prefer OpenVPN as an older, more established protocol, Mullvad has opted to funnel all their resources into working with WireGuard, rather than splitting their focus. They’re not the only ones either, as both Proton and ExpressVPN have phased out at least part of their support for OpenVPN on certain devices.

No-Logs Policy & Audit History

Mullvad doesn’t log traffic, DNS requests, IP addresses, time stamps, user bandwidth or user details. The only thing it does log is total simultaneous connections, in order to enforce its device limit of 5 devices.

The logging policy was last audited in 2022, although Mullvad has had multiple security audits since then, investigating everything from its Android app to the overarching VPN infrastructure.

The company has been open about being served with a warrant to seize data by the Swedish police in 2023. Since its servers didn’t have any data to offer, the police went away empty handed – an interesting incident that showcases that its privacy policies work.

 Jurisdiction & Privacy Implications

Sweden does not require VPN providers to store logs, which is what facilitates Mullvad’s no-logs policy.

The country’s laws also don’t allow police or other intelligence services to compel Mullvad to secretly begin logging data – as the US courts have been known to do.

One slight niggle is that Sweden is part of the Fourteen Eyes, an intelligence network that shares information gathering. However, since Mullvad doesn’t store any useful data, the point is largely moot.

Pricing and Subscription Plans

Mullvad has one of the simplest, most transparent subscription rates on the market, with a single fee regardless of whether you sign up for a month, a year or two years. All features are included as standard, so no need to worry about annoying extra charges.

Plan Breakdown

Mullvad costs $5.68 per month (the equivalent of €5 per month), which is far and away the cheapest monthly subscription on the market. By comparison, Surfshark’s prices start from $15.45 plus VAT, while Proton charges $9.99.

However, it doesn’t offer discounts for annual or multi-year subscriptions – which is both good and bad. On the one hand, you can get a much better deal with Surfshark if you sign up for two years ($2.19 per month plus VAT).

On the other hand, you aren’t locked into a long-term contract with Mullvad. That means that that you can simply cancel whenever you like.

It also means that the price won’t shoot up when it comes to renewal, as it does with most VPN providers, who offer stellar introductory rates but later massively increase the fees.

Payment Options & Refunds

In support of Mullvad’s extreme privacy policies, it’s possible to pay using crypto or by cash, which keeps you anonymous.

The cash option is particularly nifty. All you do is generate a payment token on the website, then mail this in with your fees. Mullvad accept a range of currencies, including euros, US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars and Swedish krona.

For people who aren’t quite so privacy conscious, Mullvad also accepts credit card, PayPal and a range of other regional payment systems like Swish (Swedish) and Przelewy24 (Polish).

At 14 days, the refund window is a little smaller than the 30 days offered by ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but that’s still plenty of time to try the service. Just bear in mind that only credit card, PayPal and Google in-app payments can be returned.

Customer Support Experience

The only way to contact Mullvad is through email or to report a problem through its apps. It doesn’t offer live chat like Surfshark or NordVPN.

Customer service is only available during Swedish office hours, which isn’t ideal for digital nomads, who might be in a completely different time zone.

Fortunately, the help center is very thorough and covers a lot of functionality in detail, from initial setup to configuring a SOCKS5 proxy.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

✅ Excellent suite of privacy features

✅ No-logs policy

✅ Simple, transparent pricing

✅ Regular audits

Cons:

❌ Not optimized for streaming

❌ Relatively few servers

Comparison with Other VPNs

*We’ve selected the midrange option for each service listed above, rather than the basic or premium plan. Speeds and prices will vary according to geography.

The relatively small number of servers is obviously an issue, since it means that the coverage isn’t as broad and speeds can sometimes slow when usage is high. It is also obviously less able to offer good service in certain geographies.

That said, it didn’t appear to have a big effect on our speed tests, given that the percentage speed loss was on par with the best on the market. For European users at least, it’s an excellent product.

The one big downer is the problems with streaming, but not everyone utilizes their VPN to try and circumvent geo-blocking, so it won’t be a deal breaker for all.

User Reviews and Ratings

Users on Reddit are mostly positive about Mullvad, which strongly contrasts to its rating on app stores. On the Google Play Store, it scores just 3.3/5, while on the Apple App Store it lands at 4.2/5 – which sounds good, but most other VPNs are on at least 4.5/5.

On Trustpilot, it manages just 3.5/5, although the scoring is skewed by the fact that Mullvad doesn’t engage with the site.

What people like:

The clean user interface. Despite having a lot of options, the app is easy to navigate.

The privacy ethos. Reviewers feel reassured by the company’s dedication to data security.

The subscription scheme. Users enjoy not being locked into multi-year contracts.

What people don’t like:

Customer service isn’t 24/7. Most of the negative feedback revolves around the limited support.

The removal of OpenVPN. Some users are unhappy that the tunneling protocil is being phased out.

Final Verdict & Recommendation

Mullvad is the gold standard when it comes to privacy. Even though some of its advanced features do slow down connections, most of them can be turned on or off depending on whether you’re more focused on security or speed.

We’re big fans of the pricing structure. Even though you can get cheaper options, Mullvad’s flat monthly rate is very attractive. We certainly know plenty of nomads who have been locked into multi-year contracts and then bitterly regretted it.

Streaming has always been a drawback with Mullvad, and it doesn’t seem like that’s changing anytime soon. For people who want a VPN that is able to connect to the international libraries for Netflix and Amazon Prime, Surfshark or ExpressVPN is a better fit.

The torrenting performance, on the other hand, is perfectly adequate and not a reason to be turned off.

One of the things that makes Mullvad so attractive in our eyes is that it caters to both the person who wants an easy-to-use VPN and the person who wants a VPN they can customize for their specific needs.

Yes, it can get very complicated digging into the proxy options and the custom DNS configuration for someone who’s not particularly techie, but for those people it’s as simple as toggling the VPN on and letting the automatic settings do all the work.