Why Mullvad is the privacy maximalist's pick
Mullvad VPN is a Swedish VPN provider with a singular focus: privacy. Founded in 2009 by Amagicom AB, Mullvad has built its reputation on being the VPN that knows the least about you.
Three design choices make Mullvad unique in the consumer VPN market:
1. No signup required
You don't create an account. You don't provide an email. You get a 16-digit account number generated at signup. That number is your identity — no email, no username, no recovery question. If you lose the number, you lose access. Mullvad has no way to recover it.
2. Anonymous payment
You can pay with cash mailed in an envelope. Or Monero (the privacy-focused cryptocurrency that's untraceable to your real identity). Or Bitcoin (less private, but works). Credit cards work too, but if you use one, Mullvad's payment processor sees your card — Mullvad themselves never see it.
3. Flat €5/month pricing
No 2-year discount. No annual lock-in. No "first month free" upsells. No multi-tier subscription with paid add-ons. You pay €5/month, you get the full product. Subscribe for 1 month, 6 months, or 5 years — same per-month price.
What you give up with Mullvad
1. No streaming unblocking
Mullvad doesn't optimize for Netflix unblocking, doesn't have streaming-optimized servers, and doesn't have a team monitoring streaming detection. If you want to watch Netflix US from outside the US, Mullvad isn't the right pick.
2. Smaller server network
700 servers in 47 countries. NordVPN has 6,400 servers in 111 countries. ExpressVPN has 3,000 in 105 countries. Mullvad's smaller footprint is fine for general browsing but limiting if you need geographic spread.
3. 5 simultaneous connections
NordVPN allows 10, Surfshark unlimited. Mullvad caps at 5 — fine for individuals but tight for households.
4. No port forwarding (since 2023)
Mullvad removed port forwarding in 2023 citing abuse for illegal activity. This was a controversial decision in the torrenting community. If you need port forwarding for seedboxes or specific torrent applications, IVPN or AirVPN are the modern alternatives.
Mullvad's strongest use cases
1. Activists, journalists, researchers
If your threat model involves a state actor wanting to identify you, Mullvad is the right pick. Anonymous signup + cash payment + Swedish jurisdiction + open-source apps + audited code = a VPN that knows essentially nothing about you.
2. Privacy-paranoid general users
If you just want a VPN that respects your privacy by design (rather than just claiming "no-logs"), Mullvad is the most-transparent option. Their privacy policy is short, plain-English, and verifiable.
3. Power-user torrenting (with caveats)
Mullvad supports P2P. The no-logs claim has been court-tested in Sweden (police raided a server in 2023 and got nothing — no logs to seize). Note: port forwarding is gone, so seedbox-style torrenting is harder than it was pre-2023.
4. Long-term holders who hate VPN sales tactics
If you're tired of "first 2 years 70% off then 5x renewal" pricing games, Mullvad's flat €5/month is refreshing. You'll pay the same in year 5 as year 1.
Pricing
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Monthly | €5.00 (~$5.50 USD) |
| Annual | €60.00 (~$66 USD) |
| 5-year | €300.00 (~$330 USD) |
That's it. No promo codes, no holiday discounts, no "first month free."
How Mullvad compares to top competitors
- Mullvad vs Proton VPN: Both privacy-focused. Proton has a free tier and unblocks more streaming. Mullvad has flat pricing and anonymous signup. Privacy maximalists pick Mullvad; convenience-leaning privacy users pick Proton VPN.
- Mullvad vs IVPN: Very similar positioning. IVPN allows 7 connections (Mullvad: 5), is more aggressive on tracker blocking, but more expensive. Mullvad is the more-recognized brand.
- Mullvad vs NordVPN: Different optimization targets. NordVPN is the practical "do-everything" VPN. Mullvad is the privacy purist's VPN. Pick based on whether streaming matters.
Our verdict
Mullvad is the cleanest VPN in the consumer market — clean in policy, clean in pricing, clean in operation. If your primary VPN use case is general privacy from your ISP and you don't need streaming unblock, Mullvad is the right pick.
If you stream Netflix or torrent with port forwarding, Mullvad isn't the right tool. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Proton VPN are better for those use cases.
The €5/month flat pricing is the kicker. After 2 years, you'll have paid Mullvad €120 — about what you'd pay for one year of ExpressVPN at full renewal price. Long-term, Mullvad is also one of the cheapest premium VPNs despite never running promos.