Mullvad claims popularity is the ability to reach customers from a different angle – the goal is complete anonymity. Thankfully, Mullvad passed the anonymity test easily, making it one of the best online security solutions on the market.
Mullvad VPN Overview
service name | Mullvad VPN |
---|---|
Company location | Sweden |
Website | mullvad.net |
Number of positions | 36 Countries |
Number of servers | 764 servers |
Unblock Netflix | Yes |
Equipment used at the same time | 5 |
Encode | AES-256 bit |
Protocols | OpenVPN (TCP / UDP), WireGuard |
Customer support | Email, FAQs |
Logging policy | The data uses anonymous servers |
Price | $5.50/month |
Free trial | Not available |
Mullvad VPN security is always at the top of the list, torrents are never an issue, the price is reasonable and the customer support system is good. The only thing this VPN doesn’t do well is unblocking Netflix.
Still, Mullvad remains one of the best options for users who really value their anonymity, privacy, and security. And this is exactly why we started evaluating Mullvad VPN.
Security and Privacy
Mullvad is considered to be one of the most secure VPN providers out there. Take a look at what they have to offer in terms of security:
- The user account and registration are completely anonymous
- Meet the criteria of privacytools.io
- Military-grade AES-256 encryption
- Tunnel protocols OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Bridge
- There is no identity log
- DNS leak protection
- Protection against IPv6 leaks
- Kill switch
- Shadowsocks, SSH, and split tunneling (via the Bridge server)
The protocols of OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Bridge tunneling are known for their high security. However, privacy protection comes with the fact that none of your personal information is used to create an account. Furthermore, no identifying information is recorded when you are connected through the service, and you can make an anonymous payment with cryptocurrency and cash.
The combination of all these features makes this VPN as solid as it is supposed to be.
Logging
Mullvad is one of the very few VPNs that doesn’t ask for any personally identifying information when you sign up for the service. All they know about you is randomly generated account numbers. If you are also using an anonymous payment method to pay for your subscription, then there is almost no way Mullvad will ever know who you are.
On top of that, they have one of the most stringent non-logging policies in the industry. Other than some cookies necessary to ensure the functioning of their website (most of which expire as soon as you close your browser window), there is nothing to identify you or your session. with Mullvad.
This means your activities using Mullvad will remain as private as possible.
Speed and Performance
Compared to other VPN services, Mullvad VPN is incredibly fast, at least in Europe and North America.
Before we ran Mullvad’s performance test from Europe, a base download speed was 240 Mb/s. Here’s what we get when we turn on a VPN:
London, UK
- Downloads: 84 Mb / s (65% decrease)
- Uploaded: 17 Mb / s
New York, USA
- Downloads: 95 Mb / s (60% off)
- Upload: 20 Mb / s
Singapore
- Downloads: 12 Mb / s (95% off)
- Upload: 2 Mb / s
As you can see, Mullvad’s servers in London and New York offer speeds as well as high-speed VPNs in the market. However, the Singapore server ended its test run with disappointing results.
Server Coverage Area
Mullvad VPN operates around 300 OpenVPN servers, 110+ WireGuard, and more than 20 Bridge servers globally, bringing its server network to over 600 servers in more than 30 countries.
Most of the servers we connect to (with Asia being an exception) are fast enough for everyday use. Of course, there are regional variations but overall speeds are good, especially in Europe and the US.
The majority of Mullvad VPN servers are spread across the Europe region. However, there are also quite a few in North America, Asia, and Australia.
Packages and Prices
The pricing plan at Mullvad VPN is also very simple. There are subscription plans and a separate price for the user to choose from.
Pricing at Mullvad VPN is also simple. There is always one subscription type and one price for everyone. Most VPNs will offer substantial discounts on annual or multi-year plans. However, the price of Mullvad’s monthly subscription is around $5.50 whether you use a 1-month or 10-year subscription. Instead, to get a 10% discount, you’ll have to pay with cryptocurrency.
The available payment options include:
- Cash (by mail)
- Cryptocurrencies
- PayPal
- Credit
- Swish
- Bank transfer
There is no trial plan, but Mullvad has a 30-day money-back guarantee for most payment options, except for cash payments.
$ 5 and a few cents a month is not a bad price, especially since Mullvad allows five concurrent connections per account. Most of the top VPNs require the same amount with much longer subscriptions.
Easy to Use and Cross-Platform Support
For all of the most popular desktop environments, there’s one app available. Mullvad offers custom services for the following platforms:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux (Debian & Fedora)
- Android (beta)
However, if you are looking to use this VPN on your smartphone, tablet, or Chromebook, you will need to use WireGuard or the OpenVPN app.
Downloading and setting up Mullvad VPN is just as easy as you’d expect. To create a user account, select “Create an account number”.
The next step is to pay 5 euros (about $ five) for a month using the service using one of the many payment methods available. One thing to keep in mind when creating an account is that for true anonymity, users must use an anonymous payment method, such as Bitcoin or a prepaid cash card.
Using Mullvad VPN is as easy as creating an account and installing apps on your device. Once logged in, all the complicated settings that do the VPN magic run in the background. This leaves you with only a handful of options to change, such as server or protocol selection, port selection, and more.
While this VPN service boasts some of the best security out there, it also does a great job of providing a user-friendly experience. The application interface is easy to use and the configuration is simple but powerful.
Netflix and Its Streaming Platforms
One of the cool things about Mullvad is control over their servers and owning most of them. Unlike most other VPNs that rent server space for their services, Mullvad wishes to maintain complete ownership. In luck with luck, Mullvad can provide a high level of predictability when it comes to stability, speed and security.
However, when it comes to Netflix, the fact that Mullvad doesn’t regularly have a new IP means it can’t bypass Netflix’s block feature.
P2P and torrenting
If torrenting over a VPN is something you find important, then Mullvad is definitely worth your consideration. This is a service with top security features and quite high speed.
Mullvad does not block P2P traffic, which is good news, you will find a lot more interesting as you learn more about Mullvad’s approach to torrents. Users can safely download torrents: the OpenVPN connection that Mullvad VPN uses has a 4096-bit RSA Handshake. All traffic runs through AES-256 encrypted servers (one of the most powerful on the market).
Additionally, Mullvad offers users a free SOCKS5 proxy, which is a good way to make your connection more secure.
Customer Support
There’s no live chat option, which means you’ll have to wait patiently if you want to contact the support staff.
Email is the only way to send a query to the Mullvad team. One thing to remember when sending queries via email is the anonymous focus of this VPN service. If you used anonymous payment methods to create your account, the support staff won’t know about you.
To maintain your complete anonymity, you should use an anonymous email service like ProtonMail or a similar service to submit your request for help.
Mullvad VPN has come up with many detailed instructions to guide its customers through all of the services offered. Additionally, there are comprehensive installation instructions for almost every operating system and device type available.
All instructions are classified into groups, such as:
- Troubleshooting guide
- Account management
- Privacy issues
- WireGuard
- Bridge
- …and more
So finding the help you need at Mullvad VPN is never a problem.
Conclusion
In our own opinion, Mullvad VPN is doing a great job of providing a model for other VPNs to follow. It is not surprising to see others imitating Mullvad’s approach.
Mullvad VPN is one of the most private VPN services we’ve reviewed.
One thing that always comes up in VPN privacy-related conversations is the question of how secure they are. Most VPNs collect your personally identifiable information when you sign up and receive payments. This means there are some records of your relationship with the VPN service. Although it said that there were no logs to be retrieved, these VPNs still had to obey the government’s request.
Mullvad VPN is different. The numbered account approach, coupled with complete anonymity options makes Mullvad VPN unique when it comes to true online anonymity.
The company is located in Sweden, one of the Fourteen Eyes countries. That means there are some privacy concerns. However, the reality is that they don’t know who their customers are and they are very limited in what they can reveal.
Also, Mullvad can be a little more flexible. While it’s good for P2P and a good choice in China, users who just want to get past geoblock platforms like Netflix can find better VPN services. To find out this, you can read more articles on services The best VPN for Netflix is ours.
- 1General information about the service
- 2The safest today
- 3Does Mullvad VPN record your data?
- 4Outstanding speed, one of the best VPNs
- 5The number of servers is still quite modest
- 6Only one Price
- 7Nice application, easy to use
- 8Mullvad cannot unblock Netflix
- 9You will not get immediate and immediate support
- 10So I advise you: consider carefully!