Mullvad review
The one that does not want to know who you are — our July 2026 findings, plus what independent reviewers and real customers are reporting.
The one that does not want to know who you are
Mullvad is the least commercial product in this list and the most uncompromising. There is no account, no email address and no tiered pricing — you get a randomly generated account number, and you pay a flat €5 a month, by card, crypto or literally cash in an envelope.
Reviewers rate it the strongest privacy option available, and its speed reputation has improved sharply since it moved to WireGuard exclusively. It also fails every streaming test, deliberately, and finishes last in our weighted ranking as a direct result.
What other reviewers and customers rate it
Our score is one data point. Here is how Mullvad is rated by independent review sites and on public customer-review platforms, so you can see where we agree and where we do not.
What people say is good
Truly anonymous signup
No email, no name, no personal data of any kind. You receive an account number and that is the entirety of your identity. Payment by cash or Monero is accepted. Nothing else in this list comes close.
Very fast in practice
One 2026 test measured an average download speed reduction of just 2% — among the lowest overhead of any provider. Reviewers specifically recommend it for competitive online gaming.
Repeatedly audited, fully open source
Multiple third-party audits passed, open-source clients and reproducible builds. The verification story is as strong as Proton's.
Flat, honest pricing
€5 a month, no tiers, no introductory rate that triples on renewal, no upsells. Several reviewers call this the most honest pricing in the industry.
What people say is bad
Streaming does not work — at all
Mullvad failed to unblock Netflix and every other major platform in testing, and this matches our own 0-of-6 result. The company does not chase geo-unblocking and says so openly. If streaming is why you want a VPN, this is simply the wrong product.
Speed is unpredictable
The flip side of the excellent average: reviewers report significant variation between servers, with some much slower than expected. Great when it is good, inconsistent overall.
Small network
Around 700 servers — a fraction of NordVPN or CyberGhost — which limits your options when a location is busy.
No apps for streaming devices
No Fire TV, Apple TV or smart TV clients. The focus is desktop and mobile privacy, and the product range reflects that.
Poor value on paper
Flat €5/month means no long-term discount. Against Surfshark or CyberGhost at $2.19, it costs more than double for fewer consumer features.
How fast Mullvad actually was
Measured against a 942 Mbps unprotected control line in Frankfurt, median of five runs per server, at the 21:00 CET peak window.
Our measurements
Mullvad held 788 Mbps nearby and 583 Mbps long-haul in our cycle — respectable, and better than its bottom-of-the-table rank suggests. It finishes tenth because streaming and value are weighted categories, not because the tunnel is slow.
What independent testers found
One 2026 test measured an average download reduction of just 2%, among the best overhead figures recorded for any VPN. Other reviewers report more variability between individual servers, so results depend heavily on which endpoint you land on.
Category scores
Overall = speed 30% · security 20% · privacy 20% · streaming 15% · value 15%. Support is published but unweighted.
Security and privacy
Swedish jurisdiction. Anonymous account numbers with no email required, WireGuard exclusively as of 2026, open-source clients with reproducible builds, repeated third-party audits, and a large share of owned rather than rented hardware.
Streaming results
Six platforms, six servers each, three minutes of real playback per test.Mullvad cleared 0 of 6. A pass means full resolution with no proxy error on an ordinary server — not only ones the app labels "streaming optimised".
Should you buy Mullvad?
Buy it if…
- Your privacy requirement is real, not theoretical
- You want to pay without identifying yourself
- You want honest flat pricing with no renewal trap
Look elsewhere if…
- You want to watch anything geo-blocked
- You need smart TV or streaming device apps
- You want the lowest possible monthly cost
Sources for third-party findings
Scores and user sentiment quoted on this page come from the independent reviews and public rating platforms below. Our own speed, leak and streaming figures are separate, and the raw per-server exports are free on request.
- vpnMentor — Mullvad VPN Review 2026 vpnmentor.com
- CyberInsider — Mullvad VPN Review 2026 cyberinsider.com
- RTINGS — Best VPNs for privacy 2026 rtings.com
Third-party ratings and review counts were accurate at the time of writing and change constantly. Provider specifications are taken from each company's published information — check the current figures on their site before purchasing. Photography via Unsplash under the Unsplash License; images are illustrative and are not supplied by, or affiliated with, Mullvad.