Mullvad vs ProtonVPN - Privacy VPN Comparison

Mullvad and ProtonVPN are the two VPN providers most frequently recommended by security researchers and privacy advocates. Both are independently audited, open-source, and have proven no-logs policies. Choosing between them comes down to your priorities: Mullvad maximises anonymity and simplicity; ProtonVPN integrates with a broader privacy ecosystem and offers more flexible pricing.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Criterion	Mullvad	ProtonVPN
Pricing model	Flat €5/month - No discounts, no annual plans	Tiered plans - Free (unlimited data), Plus (~$3.99/month 2yr), Visionary
Account system	Anonymous account number - No email or personal details required	Email address required for account creation
Jurisdiction	Sweden - 14 Eyes member	Switzerland - Outside 14 Eyes, strong constitutional privacy protections
No-logs audit	Cure53 - Multiple audits (2020, 2022, 2023)	SEC Consult - Multiple audits including infrastructure review
Open-source clients	Full - All clients on GitHub	Full - All clients on GitHub
Protocols	WireGuard, OpenVPN	WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth (obfuscated)
Multi-hop / Double VPN	Yes - Any two servers, fully configurable	Yes - Secure Core (entry in Iceland/Switzerland/Sweden)
Simultaneous devices	5	10 (Plus plan)
Streaming	Not optimised - Inconsistent unblocking	Good - Netflix and most major platforms on Plus
Ecosystem	VPN only	Proton Mail, Proton Drive, Proton Calendar, Proton Pass (integrated)
Real-world test	Police raided offices (2023) - No user data found; logs technically impossible	Swiss court orders received - No usable user data provided

Mullvad - Key Strengths

• Maximum account anonymity: Sign up with just an account number - No email, no name, no payment data linked to identity. Pay with cash sent by post or Monero.
• Flat pricing removes the incentive to collect or retain user data for billing purposes.
• All WireGuard key pairs are rotated automatically, preventing long-term IP mapping.
• The 2023 police raid proved the no-logs policy technically rather than just legally - Officers left empty-handed.

ProtonVPN - Key Strengths

• Swiss jurisdiction: Switzerland has not signed the CLOUD Act, and Swiss courts have a high bar for ordering data disclosure.
• Free tier offers unlimited data with no bandwidth cap - The only reputable truly free VPN option.
• Stealth protocol reliably bypasses censorship in China, Iran, and Russia.
• Deep integration with Proton ecosystem: use the same account for Proton Mail (end-to-end encrypted email), Proton Drive, and Proton Pass (password manager).
• Secure Core multi-hop routes traffic through privacy-friendly jurisdictions (Iceland, Switzerland) before exiting anywhere.

Audit History

Provider	Auditor	Years	Scope
Mullvad	Cure53	2020, 2022, 2023	Apps, infrastructure, no-logs, network security
ProtonVPN	SEC Consult, Securitum	2019, 2021, 2022, 2023	Apps, infrastructure, no-logs, cryptography

Verdict

Choose Mullvad if your priority is maximum anonymity - You want no identity linked to your subscription and the simplest possible setup. Choose ProtonVPN if you want Swiss jurisdiction, a free tier to start, streaming support, or integration with the Proton privacy ecosystem.

Decision Framework by Threat Model

Choose Mullvad if…

• You want no personal identifier attached to your subscription at all - Account numbers, cash, and Monero make the billing trail effectively anonymous.
• You distrust discount-driven pricing - The flat monthly fee means the provider has no incentive to track or segment customers.
• You want fully open-source clients and a provider whose no-logs stance has survived a police raid in practice.
• Streaming unblocking is not on your list - Mullvad does not optimise for it.

Choose ProtonVPN if…

• You want to start free - Its free tier is the only audited, uncapped free VPN from a reputable company. See Are Free VPNs Safe?
• You need censorship circumvention - The Stealth protocol is built for networks that block standard VPN traffic.
• You want streaming support alongside privacy on the paid plans.
• You already use, or want, encrypted email, storage, and a password manager from one privacy-focused account.

Set Up and Verify Either Provider

1. Download the client from the official site - Both publish their apps' source code on GitHub if you want to inspect or build them yourself.
2. Enable the kill switch (Mullvad's "lockdown mode" or ProtonVPN's kill switch) before first use.
3. Connect and run our VPN Leak Test - Confirm the detected IP, DNS servers, and WebRTC results all point to the VPN, not your ISP.
4. If you use multi-hop (Mullvad multi-hop or Proton Secure Core), re-run the test to confirm the exit server's location is what websites see.
5. For maximum-anonymity setups, pay anonymously and avoid logging into personal accounts while on the VPN - The tunnel cannot anonymise a session you have signed into.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is more anonymous, Mullvad or ProtonVPN?

Mullvad. Its numbered-account system requires no email or identity, and it accepts cash and Monero. ProtonVPN requires an email address to create an account, though it has a strong audited no-logs record of its own.

Is ProtonVPN's free tier safe to use?

Yes. It is funded by Proton's paying subscribers rather than data monetisation, is covered by the same audited no-logs policy as the paid tiers, and has no data cap - though speeds and locations are limited.

Why don't privacy-focused VPNs unblock streaming as well as mainstream ones?

Unblocking is a constant arms race that requires dedicating engineering effort and IP ranges to evading blocklists. Mullvad deliberately does not play that game; ProtonVPN does on its paid plans, which is why it streams more reliably.

Does Mullvad's Swedish jurisdiction undermine its privacy?

Sweden is a 14 Eyes member, which looks bad on paper. In practice Mullvad mitigates this technically: it retains no logs to hand over, a position tested when police raided its offices in 2023 and left without user data.

How We Evaluate VPNs

Every recommendation in our VPN guides is weighed against the same five criteria:

• No-logs policy and audits - We prioritise providers whose no-logs claims have been verified by independent auditing firms, and we note real-world events (subpoenas, server seizures) that tested those claims.
• Leak-test results - A VPN must not expose your real IP, DNS servers, or WebRTC addresses. You can run the same checks we use with our free VPN Leak Test.
• Speed impact - We favour providers supporting modern protocols (WireGuard, or equivalents like NordLynx and Lightway) that keep overhead low.
• Jurisdiction - Where a provider is incorporated determines which governments can compel it to hand over data.
• Price transparency - Clear renewal pricing and honest refund terms. We avoid quoting specific prices in guides because promotions change frequently - Always check current pricing on the provider's site.

Our assessments are based on published third-party audits, vendor documentation, and our own leak-testing tooling - We do not have insider access to any provider's infrastructure. These pages are reviewed periodically and updated when audits, ownership, or features change.

Once you have picked a provider, two practical checks matter more than any review: if your connection fails, see how to fix a VPN that won't connect; and to confirm you are actually protected, learn how to test if your VPN is working.

ⓘ Affiliate disclosure: Some links to VPN providers in these guides are affiliate links - We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never affects rankings or evaluations.

Last updated: June 2026