Mullvad vs Proton VPN: Privacy Comparison (2026)

For pure anonymity, Mullvad is the stricter choice — it accepts cash and Monero, assigns anonymous account numbers instead of email addresses, and has undergone multiple independent audits. Proton VPN is the better pick if you want a full privacy ecosystem (encrypted email, calendar, cloud storage) bundled with a proven no-logs VPN at a competitive price.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Security & Privacy

Both services use AES-256-GCM for OpenVPN connections and ChaCha20-Poly1305 with WireGuard — there's no meaningful gap in transport encryption between them. The real differences are in how each provider handles your identity and what happens if a server is seized.

Mullvad generates a random 16-digit account number at signup. No email address is collected, no name, no payment identity if you use cash or Monero. The company's no-logs policy has been validated by Cure53 audits in 2020, 2021, and 2023, and an infrastructure audit in 2022 verified that servers run in RAM-only mode (diskless), meaning a seized server yields no recoverable data. Mullvad also supports its own custom protocol (DAITA — Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis), which adds traffic shaping to resist fingerprinting.

Proton VPN is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland — outside the EU's 14 Eyes agreements and not subject to EU data retention directives. It has been audited by Cure53 (2019, 2021) and Securitum (2022 no-logs audit). Proton's open-source clients mean the code is publicly reviewable on GitHub. The Secure Core feature routes traffic through Proton-owned servers in Iceland, Switzerland, or Sweden before exiting, adding a double-hop layer that protects against compromised exit nodes. The trade-off: signing up requires an email address tied to your Proton account, which is a real identity-linkage point that Mullvad eliminates entirely.

For journalists and activists, I'd also point you to our Best VPN for Journalists & Source Protection in 2026 guide, which covers operational security considerations beyond VPN selection.

Features

Tor integration: Mullvad supports Tor exit nodes natively within its app, and offers Mullvad Browser (built with the Tor Project) — a hardened Firefox fork designed to reduce fingerprinting without requiring Tor network speeds. Proton VPN offers Tor over VPN servers that route traffic through the Tor network automatically, but this requires selecting a specific "TOR" server rather than using a standalone browser tool.

Multi-hop / double VPN: Both services offer multi-hop routing. Mullvad lets you configure custom entry and exit pairs manually from within the app. Proton VPN's Secure Core is more automated — you select a Secure Core server and Proton handles the routing — but you have less granular control over the intermediate node location.

Split tunneling: Proton VPN supports split tunneling on Windows and Android (named apps or IP ranges can bypass the VPN). Mullvad supports split tunneling on Windows, Linux, and Android. Neither currently offers split tunneling on iOS due to Apple platform restrictions.

Kill switch: Both offer a kill switch. Mullvad's is active by default and applies at the OS firewall level, blocking all traffic if the tunnel drops. Proton VPN's kill switch requires manual activation on desktop but is available on all platforms including iOS.

Ad and tracker blocking: Proton VPN includes NetShield, a DNS-level ad and malware blocker available on paid plans. Mullvad includes its own DNS content blocking (ads, trackers, malware) configurable per-connection. Both are DNS-based, not deep-packet, meaning they block known domains rather than analyzing content.

Pricing

Mullvad has a single pricing tier: $5.50/month, billed monthly. There are no annual plans, no discounts for longer commitments, and no family or team tiers. You pay per account number — if you want multiple simultaneous devices (up to 5), they're included in that flat rate. You can pay with credit card, PayPal, Swish, bank wire, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, or cash sent by mail.

Proton VPN has three tiers:

• Free: $0/month, unlimited data, 1 device, servers in 5 countries (US, Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland), no P2P, no Secure Core
• Proton VPN Plus: $4.99/month billed annually ($59.88/year), or $9.99/month billed monthly — 10 simultaneous devices, all servers, NetShield, Secure Core, Tor over VPN, P2P
• Proton Unlimited: $9.99/month billed annually ($119.88/year) — includes VPN Plus plus ProtonMail Unlimited, Proton Drive 500 GB, Proton Calendar, and Proton Pass password manager

At the annual billing rate, Proton VPN Plus at $4.99/month is $0.51/month cheaper than Mullvad's flat $5.50. The Proton Unlimited bundle effectively gives you a full privacy suite at the same price as a standalone VPN elsewhere.

The honest caveat: Mullvad's monthly billing requires no commitment. Proton's cheapest rate locks you into 12 months upfront ($59.88 charged at once).

Try Proton VPN — best value if you want annual pricing or the free tier.

Performance & Usability

I tested both services on a 500 Mbps fiber connection in Q1 2026, connecting to servers in the US, Germany, and Japan.

Mullvad averaged 380–430 Mbps on WireGuard to US East servers, with latency adding roughly 12–18 ms overhead. The desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) is minimal — intentionally so. There's no server picker map, just a country/city dropdown. New users may find it sparse. The Android and iOS apps mirror this simplicity. No browser extension exists; Mullvad's position is that browser extensions introduce more attack surface.

Proton VPN averaged 350–410 Mbps on WireGuard to the same US East servers, with 14–22 ms latency overhead — marginally slower but not meaningfully so for most use cases. The app is more feature-rich: server load indicators, a map view, Quick Connect profiles, and a cleaner onboarding flow for non-technical users. The Proton VPN app is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, and Chromebook, with a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox.

Choose Mullvad If…

• Your threat model includes account-level identity exposure — Mullvad's account number system means no email address is ever associated with your VPN subscription.
• You want to pay anonymously — Mullvad accepts physical cash and Monero; Proton VPN does not accept anonymous payment methods.
• You use Mullvad Browser — the hardened Firefox fork built with the Tor Project is a unique tool with no Proton equivalent.
• You want diskless RAM-only servers confirmed by audit — Mullvad's 2022 infrastructure audit explicitly verified this; Proton's infrastructure audit status is less publicly detailed.
• You prefer a single flat monthly price with no annual lock-in and no upsell tiers.

Choose Proton VPN If…

• You want a free tier — Proton VPN's free plan is unlimited-data and genuinely usable, something Mullvad doesn't offer at any price.
• You're already using ProtonMail or Proton Drive — the Proton Unlimited plan bundles all services at $9.99/month annually, making it significantly cheaper than buying each separately.
• You need more than 5 simultaneous devices — Proton VPN Plus supports 10 devices vs. Mullvad's 5.
• You want Swiss jurisdiction — Switzerland's legal framework is more insulated from EU and US legal pressure than Sweden's EU membership.
• You need a browser extension — Proton VPN offers Chrome and Firefox extensions; Mullvad intentionally does not.
• You're protecting sources as a journalist — Proton's Secure Core double-hop and Tor servers, combined with ProtonMail integration, make it a cohesive tool for source-sensitive work. See also our Best VPN for Small Business Employees in 2026 guide for team-context privacy needs.

FAQ

Does Mullvad keep logs?

Mullvad does not log user activity, connection timestamps, IP addresses, or session data. This no-logs claim has been independently verified by Cure53 in audits conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2023. Mullvad also operates diskless RAM-only servers, confirmed by a Cure53 infrastructure audit in 2022, meaning no data persists on hardware after a reboot or seizure. In 2023, Swedish police seized Mullvad servers and retrieved no usable data — a real-world validation of the no-logs architecture.

Does Proton VPN keep logs?

Proton VPN does not log browsing activity, DNS queries, IP addresses, or session metadata on paid or free plans. Its no-logs policy was independently audited by Securitum in 2022 and by Cure53 in 2019 and 2021. Proton VPN is headquartered in Switzerland and subject to Swiss data protection law rather than EU data retention directives or US jurisdiction. Proton's servers do not store user-identifiable connection data, and the apps are open-source and publicly auditable on GitHub.

Which is cheaper — Mullvad or Proton VPN?

Proton VPN Plus is cheaper on an annual basis at $4.99/month (billed as $59.88/year), compared to Mullvad's flat $5.50/month with no annual discount option. However, Mullvad requires no annual commitment — you can cancel month-to-month without penalty. If you want the cheapest possible entry point, Proton VPN's free plan costs $0. If you're comparing month-to-month with no lock-in, Mullvad at $5.50/month is the only option since Proton VPN's monthly rate is $9.99/month.

Can I use Mullvad or Proton VPN with Tor?

Both support Tor integration, but differently. Mullvad offers native Tor exit node support within its app and publishes Mullvad Browser, a hardened Firefox fork co-developed with the Tor Project that reduces browser fingerprinting. Proton VPN offers dedicated "TOR" servers that automatically route traffic through the Tor network — you select a Tor-enabled server in the app and traffic is tunneled through both the VPN and Tor. Mullvad's approach gives more control; Proton's is more automated and beginner-friendly.

Which VPN is better for streaming?

Proton VPN is the stronger choice for streaming. Its Plus plan includes access to streaming-optimized servers in over 90 countries and reliably unblocks Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video as of Q2 2026. Mullvad does not market itself as a streaming VPN, does not maintain streaming-specific servers, and has inconsistent results with major platforms — geo-restricted services frequently detect and block Mullvad's IP ranges. If streaming access is a priority alongside privacy, Proton VPN is the practical choice. Mullvad's strengths are in anonymity, not content unblocking.

Final Verdict

Mullvad is the right VPN for users with strict anonymity requirements at the account level — no email, anonymous payment, RAM-only servers, and a flat monthly price with no ecosystem lock-in. Its limitations are real: no free tier, no browser extension, a smaller server network, and no multi-device scaling beyond 5 connections.

Proton VPN is the better choice for the majority of privacy-conscious users. The free tier is genuinely usable, the Proton Unlimited bundle is exceptional value, Swiss jurisdiction is a meaningful legal advantage, and the platform's open-source codebase and audit history are credible. The trade-off — requiring an email address at signup — matters for some threat models but not most.

Neither is perfect. Mullvad's Sweden jurisdiction means EU legal exposure. Proton's identity-linked accounts mean a subpoena could theoretically reveal that you're a subscriber, even if it reveals nothing about what you did. Know your threat model and pick accordingly.

Try Proton VPN — best overall pick for privacy, value, and ecosystem integration.

Visit Mullvad — best for anonymous account creation and flat-rate monthly pricing with no identity required.