Mullvad VPN vs Proton VPN

This is the privacy community's most interesting comparison. Mullvad and Proton VPN are both recommended by privacy advocates, both fully open source, and both operate with genuine transparency. But they make different trade-offs. Mullvad sacrifices usability for maximum privacy. Proton VPN balances privacy with streaming, a free tier, and ecosystem integration. The right choice depends on how far you want to take your privacy.

Quick Verdict

Mullvad offers stronger privacy. Anonymous accounts, cash payments, and zero personal information. Proton VPN offers more functionality. Streaming, a free tier, port forwarding, and the Proton ecosystem. For pure privacy, Mullvad. For privacy plus usability, Proton VPN. Both are excellent, and both deserve the privacy community's respect.

At a Glance

| Category | Mullvad | Proton VPN | Winner | |----------|---------|------------|--------| | Overall Score | 8.4 | 8.7 | Proton VPN | | Privacy Score | 9.8 | 9.5 | Mullvad | | Speed | 82.4 Mbps | 81.6 Mbps | Tie | | Streaming | 5.5 | 8.2 | Proton VPN | | Open Source | Full | Full | Tie | | Transparency Score | 95 | 90 | Mullvad | | Price | ~$5.48/mo (flat) | Free-$9.99/mo | Depends | | Free Tier | No | Yes | Proton VPN |

Speed Comparison

| Location | Mullvad | Proton VPN | Difference | |----------|---------|------------|------------| | US (New York) | 82.4 Mbps | 81.6 Mbps | +1.0% | | UK (London) | 78.9 Mbps | 77.3 Mbps | +2.1% | | Germany (Frankfurt) | 80.1 Mbps | 79.2 Mbps | +1.1% | | Japan (Tokyo) | 63.2 Mbps | 64.8 Mbps | -2.5% | | Australia (Sydney) | 60.7 Mbps | 61.3 Mbps | -1.0% |

Winner: Tie. Nearly identical speeds. Mullvad is marginally faster in Europe; Proton VPN is marginally faster in Asia-Pacific. Both use standard WireGuard. The difference is irrelevant in practice.

Pricing Comparison

| Metric | Mullvad | Proton VPN | |--------|---------|------------| | Free Tier | No | Yes (5 countries, no data cap) | | Monthly | ~$5.48/mo (5 EUR) | $9.99/mo | | 1-Year | ~$5.48/mo | $4.49/mo | | 2-Year | ~$5.48/mo | $3.59/mo | | Renewal | ~$5.48/mo | $4.49/mo (yearly) | | 3-Year True Cost | ~$197.28 | $164.28 |

Winner: Proton VPN on long-term plans and free tier. Proton VPN's 2-year plan is cheaper than Mullvad's flat rate. The free tier adds value that Mullvad cannot match. Mullvad's flat pricing is simpler and more predictable. Over three years, Proton VPN saves about $33.

Streaming

Winner: Proton VPN, completely. Proton VPN (Plus plan) unblocks Netflix US, UK, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and most major platforms. Mullvad scores 0/12. If streaming matters to you at all, Proton VPN is the only option here.

Privacy

| Factor | Mullvad | Proton VPN | |--------|---------|------------| | Jurisdiction | Sweden | Switzerland | | Email Required | No | Yes | | Anonymous Payment | Cash, crypto | Crypto, PayPal | | Last Audit | Jun 2025 (Assured AB) | Mar 2025 (Securitum) | | Open Source | Apps + infrastructure | All apps | | RAM-Only | Yes | No | | Post-Quantum | Yes | No | | Transparency Score | 95 | 90 | | Police Interaction | Raided, nothing found | Court order compliance (2019) |

Winner: Mullvad. Mullvad collects zero personal information. No email. Cash payments by mail. Account numbers only. RAM-only servers. Post-quantum encryption. Swedish police raided their office in 2023 and left empty-handed. Proton VPN requires an email address and was compelled by a Swiss court to log a user's IP in 2019 (they have since restructured to prevent this). Proton VPN's privacy is excellent by any standard - Mullvad's is simply in a class of its own.

Usability and Ecosystem

Proton VPN integrates with ProtonMail, Proton Drive, and Proton Calendar - a full privacy ecosystem. It offers a genuinely useful free tier, port forwarding for torrenting, a Stealth protocol for censorship circumvention, and Tor over VPN. Mullvad is a standalone VPN with no ecosystem, no free tier, and minimal extra features.

Winner: Proton VPN. Significantly more versatile and accessible.

Who Should Choose Mullvad

• Users with the most demanding privacy requirements
• Anyone who refuses to share personal information with any service
• Journalists, whistleblowers, and activists
• Users who want post-quantum encryption now
• Privacy researchers and technical advocates
• Anyone who values the simplest, most honest pricing model

Who Should Choose Proton VPN

• Privacy-conscious users who also need streaming
• Users who want a free tier before committing
• Anyone building a full privacy ecosystem (Mail, Drive, Calendar)
• Users in censored regions (Stealth protocol)
• Torrenters who need port forwarding
• Users who want strong privacy at a lower long-term cost

Our Recommendation

Both are outstanding privacy VPNs - the best in the market. Choose Mullvad if privacy is your absolute top priority and you do not need streaming, a free tier, or ecosystem integration. Choose Proton VPN if you want strong privacy combined with real-world usability. Neither choice is wrong. The privacy community benefits from both existing.