Mullvad VPN Review 2024: Features, Pros And Cons

Beginning operation in 2009, Mullvad (Swedish for “mole”) is a Sweden-based VPN provider with a reputation for effectively and enthusiastically protecting user privacy and security. It does this through its transparency with customers, strong no-logs policy and a unique account system that doesn’t require personal information on sign-up. While it is currently unranked on our list of best VPN services, it’s still one of the most well-regarded providers on the market.

Mullvad’s primary differentiator is its commitment to user privacy and safety online. While VPNs are obviously all cybersecurity products, not all of them approach user privacy with the same zeal Mullvad does. Its account system, which forgoes traditional usernames and passwords tied to emails/cellphone numbers for a unique account number with no ties to your personal information, is one we’ve only seen in one other VPN, IVPN.

Mullvad’s reputation as a leader in VPN privacy, as well as the efficacy of its product, have led it to, among other accolades, being shortlisted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation as one of the five VPNs that fit the nonprofit’s standards for ensuring journalists’ digital security. It should be noted that one of the other five is Mozilla VPN, a VPN developed by Mullvad in collaboration with Firefox creator Mozilla that uses Mullvad’s servers.

Pros

Mullvad’s privacy commitments are easily its biggest selling point, and we could go on about them all day. Trust is one of the most important deciding factors in choosing a VPN, as you’re essentially placing your internet traffic in the hands of a VPN provider instead of an ISP. Put simply, we trust Mullvad and its reputation as a staunch digital privacy advocate. Additionally, it performed well in our speed tests (see below), meaning its impact on device performance is minimal. It’s also an affordable VPN with simple, transparent pricing with no tiered plans. This means that if you buy a Mullvad VPN subscription, you won’t have to worry about missing out on any features found at higher pricing tiers.

Cons

Unfortunately, Mullvad has several red flags for interested business users and remote workers. The lack of Dedicated IP and low number of simultaneous connections per account are a real blow to its efficacy in business use, and the unique account system, while fantastic for privacy, can feel a bit complicated for less tech-savvy customers.

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NordVPN

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# of Devices

6

Dedicated IP

Yes (add-on)

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On NordVPN's Website

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Dedicated IP

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$2.03

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Mullvad VPN has many of the features we’ve come to expect from a VPN, from a kill switch to split tunneling to multihop. There isn’t anything groundbreaking about these features, but they don’t need to be trailblazing in order to be effective. However, Mullvad notably does not have a Dedicated IP feature or add-on. This can be a nonstarter for some businesses.

Anonymous Browsing

Unfortunately, Mullvad VPN does not offer anonymous browsing by itself. However, the provider recommends its customers use Mullvad in combination with Shadowsocks. Without getting too in the weeds, Shadowsocks is an open-source proxy project that allows users to discreetly direct their internet traffic through a SOCKS5 proxy. SOCKS is an internet protocol used to exchange information between a client (i.e., a computer) and server via proxy server, rather than directly connecting the computer and server together. When combined with a VPN, Shadowsocks should in theory allow users to bypass any regional censors.

While using Shadowsocks in combination with Mullvad is a good idea, it’s not one less-tech-savvy users will likely feel comfortable with, and we would have preferred if the option were part of the Mullvad VPN app proper.

Kill Switch

The kill switch works as intended, halting your internet traffic in the event of a network shutdown or similar event that would disconnect you from your VPN. On top of that, there is also a Lockdown Mode which blocks all internet traffic leaving your device without a VPN.

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling works as intended. Accessing the feature is as simple as going to settings, clicking on the split tunneling section, and selecting which apps you want to partition away from your VPN. While we only tested on Windows for this review, we would like to note that Mullvad VPN does not currently support split tunneling on its iOS and Mac apps.

Mullvad VPN’s pricing plan is one of our favorite things about the service. There’s only one plan, which provides access to all the VPN’s features, for €5 ($5.35) per month. We wish other providers would take note and offer straightforward, clear pricing like this.

While we’ve talked about its account system being potentially confusing, there’s nothing confusing about using Mullvad, at least on Windows. It boasts a minimalist, legible interface that we found incredibly easy to navigate and use. Digging through the settings, you’ll find a set of to-the-point options with as little jargon as possible. You’ll still need to know things such as what DNS is or what IPv6 means, but this isn’t as big of an issue as it can be with other providers.

Mullvad publicly discloses its servers, as well as listing which ones are currently down and which ones are active. This is a fantastic display of transparency but does reveal that the provider has a relatively low number of servers. As of this writing, Mullvad only boasts 641 active servers in 43 different countries. While this might sound impressive, competitors such as NordVPN boast server counts in the thousands.

While we regularly test the average speeds of all VPNs we cover, that usually involves only testing one protocol, one set of instructions the VPN uses to communicate with a server, per provider. However, most VPNs support using several different types of protocols, which can each have an effect on security and speed. To illustrate this, we’ve run a version of our normal speed test for each protocol Mullvad supports. Each protocol is tested multiple times using speed.cloudflare.com and with the same or the nearest possible server. The statistics below are the average compiled from those multiple tests. These speeds are not indicative of what you’ll see if you try this VPN, but they do provide a decent look at how these VPNs can affect performance.

Protocol	Average Download Speed	Average Upload Speed	Average Download Ping	Average Upload Ping
No VPN	331.2 Mbps	371 Mbps	11.4 ms	7.7 ms
OpenVPN	352.4 Mbps	351 Mbps	14.7 ms	9.1 ms
WireGuard	342 Mbps	362.4 Mbps	14.2 ms	10.2 ms

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For our money, Mullvad VPN is one of the safest, if not the safest, VPN providers on the market. Its reputation for staunch digital privacy protections is well-earned thanks to its no-logs policy, unique account system and semi-regular audits by independent organizations that help keep its app and servers as secure as possible. These audits test aspects of Mullvad VPN’s service, from its server security infrastructure to verifying if its no-logs policy is truly a no-logs policy.

No-Logs Policy

While plenty of companies boast a no-logs policy, Mullvad has one of the most transparent and in-depth we’ve seen yet. Not only does the company claim to not collect any user data, the provider goes out of its way to provide screenshots showing how it stores information related to user accounts and what information it stores.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Mullvad VPN does not provide multi-factor authentication (MFA) for its product. However, its account system is set up to not require MFA in the first place. The app operates on an “empty vault” style of security. By not collecting sensitive data on account setup, there isn’t very much data for hackers to steal in the event of a data breach. A username and password aren’t even set up when you create an account, instead replaced by a unique account number with no personal information tied to it.

While this is very secure, the setup has a bit of a learning curve that might make it a less-than-ideal option for business use, where users will most likely be more familiar and comfortable with MFA. The account recovery process is workable but is dependent on the payment method you used and the last time you made a payment.

Mullvad VPN’s customer support is good but likely not what a business is looking for in a VPN provider. There is no live chat, you can only contact them via email, and the company’s customer service agents only operate during Mullvad’s business hours. This is fine for European customers, but customers in other parts of the world might struggle getting ahold of them quickly.

For example, an American on the West Coast who might start work at 7 a.m. PT would only have about an hour of overlap with Mullvad customer support at most. Anyone starting at 8 a.m. is out of luck.

All that said, the agents are knowledgeable and helpful, and the provider’s knowledge base is one of the best we’ve seen from a provider. Like other apps in the space, you’re able to submit a support request through the app itself.

Mullvad VPN offers five simultaneous connections per subscription, which is about average for VPN providers. Mullvad VPN has a Firefox browser extension but no extensions for Chrome or any other browser. However, Mullvad, in partnership with internet privacy advocates the Tor Project, does have its own privacy-focused browser users can try out.

Mullvad VPN is not designed for accessing region-locked content (e.g., watching The Office (U.S.) with U.K. Netflix), and we were not successfully able to do so in our tests. We noticed a minimal effect on speeds while streaming shows, however. If your goal is to find shows not available on streaming services in your home country, Mullvad isn’t your best bet, but it does just fine streaming shows generally.

	Mullvad VPN	NordVPN	TorGuard VPN	ExpressVPN
Rating (Out of 5 Stars)
Where Is the Provider Headquartered?	Sweden	Panama	U.S.	British Virgin Islands
Starting Monthly Price	$5.35	$12.99	$9.99	$12.95
Anonymous Browsing	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dedicated IP	No	Yes	Yes	No
Kill Switch	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Split Tunneling	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-Factor Authentications	Not necessary	Yes	Yes	Yes
Learn More	–	On NordVPN’s Website	On TorGuard’s Website	On ExpressVPN’s Website
Read Reviews	–	Read NordVPN Review	Read TorGuard VPN Review	Read ExpressVPN Review

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MullvadVPN vs. NordVPN

In terms of features, NordVPN outshines Mullvad by offering Dedicated IP and Anonymous Browsing in-app. However, Mullvad is cheaper month-to-month, and while Nord allows six simultaneous connections to Mullvad’s five, this isn’t significant enough to say Nord is unilaterally the better option. Mullvad’s privacy bona fides and more affordable pricing are solid advantages, and the choice really comes down to why you need a VPN. If you’re a small business or remote worker who needs a VPN for your job, Nord is likely the better choice. If you’re an individual looking for a VPN for personal use, we’d give the edge to Mullvad.

Mullvad VPN vs. TorGuard VPN

While TorGuard has a lot of features and greater technology backing its VPN, its vague privacy policy, lack of public audits and minimal privacy features leave a bad taste in our mouths. Put simply, we’d need to see a lot more transparency from TorGuard before recommending it over most VPNs. Personal users concerned about privacy should go with Mullvad, and business users should look for a different VPN entirely.

Mullvad VPN vs. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN and Mullvad VPN match up well with regard to features, with Anonymous Browsing being the only one Express has that Mullvad doesn’t. ExpressVPN also offers eight simultaneous connections versus five connections with Mullvad. The lack of Dedicated IP makes it tough to recommend either service for business use. In terms of personal use, we’d give the edge to Mullvad thanks to its more affordable month-to-month pricing and strong privacy protection track record.

For personal use, Mullvad VPN is one of our favorites. If you’re trying to bypass region-locked content for streaming, it can’t help you much. That said, its interesting approach to account management, affordable pricing and strong no-logs policy are big pluses in our book. If you’re a single user or family looking for a more private and secure internet browsing experience, Mullvad is one of the best options on the market.

For business use, Mullvad VPN falls a little flat for us. Its low number of simultaneous connections and lack of Dedicated IP make it a tough sell for businesses looking to connect multiple users or that have a lot of remote workers. Its account system might also be a bit more confusing than some businesses would like to deal with.

Overall, we loved our time with Mullvad VPN. It’s a great product. While it does have its flaws, namely its lack of split tunneling on iOS and Mac and its low number of servers, it is a service that has a very clear, simple goal and sets out to accomplish it. If you’re looking for an affordable VPN with strong privacy protections, Mullvad is the way to go.