Is Mullvad still worth buying?

Recently, we redid our Mullvad VPN review to see whether the claims from this privacy powerhouse are still accurate.

Mullvad has made some major changes since the last time we reviewed them, with pretty much all of them enhancing user privacy. Its app has been audited, and it passed with flying colours. Other improvements include updated resistance to quantum attacks and upgrades to thwart AI data mining of traffic.

Not all changes are technical, however, but they're still focused on making users as private and secure as possible. Mullvad is phasing out support for PayPal as it requires the collection of end user data in order to be functional, something that directly goes against what the VPN provider stands for.

But, are all these changes enough to make Mullvad still worth your money?

A super private VPN: Mullvad

User anonymity is the number one priority for Mullvad. This is shown not only in its variety of anonymous ways to pay (including cash!) but its use of military-grade encryption and fully-audited no-logs policy, too.

One of the interesting things about Mullvad is the fact that it is always one price, no matter what. It's €5 ($5.15) every month, which means no discounts, but also no price hikes. It also comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee (unless you pay cash), so you can try it out risk-free.

Pros of getting Mullvad

One of the major benefits of Mullvad is just how hardcore they are about its user's privacy and security. It recently proved this yet again by passing a massive infrastructure audit by Cure53 in June 2024. While the audit did find a few areas for improvement, they were quickly remediated, and overall it proved that when Mullvad says it's a no logs VPN, it truly means no logs.

Another interesting, but overall excellent, thing about Mullvad is that it is always one price, no matter what. While this does mean that you can't get a discount for signing up for a multi-year subscription like you can with other VPNs, it does also mean that you will not have to deal with any hefty price hikes at any point. Plus, at €5 ($5.15) per month, it's one of the cheapest monthly VPN services out there. Mullvad has a range of payment options, too, even allowing you to pay via cryptocurrency or cash if you want to be completely anonymous.

Finally, Mullvad's speeds are a real boon. In our testing, it had peak speeds of 857 Mbps while using WireGuard. While this may not make it the absolute fastest VPN we've ever tested, it's still more than fast enough to ensure that you're not slowed down while you use it.

It's interesting to note that Mullvad is actually planning to phase out the use of OpenVPN – an older and slower VPN protocol than WireGuard – within the next 12 months. This shows that Mullvad truly is dedicated to keeping its speeds, well, speedy.

Cons of getting Mullvad

With this being said, Mullvad is not a perfect VPN. In many ways, its strength is also their weakness. There's no doubt that it's one of the most private VPNs, and its top priorities are absolutely security, privacy and speed. However, this means that its performance in some areas that other VPNs excel in is fairly underwhelming.

For example, if you're looking for the best streaming VPN, then Mullvad is absolutely not for you. Granted, this is not something it advertises, so it's not exactly surprising that it doesn't have the best performance in this area. This is reflected in the fact that, in our testing, it could only unblock iPlayer, ITV and 9Now.

Anti-malware, anti-phishing and ad-blocking are also not a top priority with Mullvad, blocking 0% of malware sites and only 31% of newer phishing sites in our testing. Additionally, while it does offer some ad blocking, its ad blocking score has dropped from 97% to 74%. While these options are definitely a nice-to-have rather than a need-to-have for VPN providers, those looking for a full cybersecurity suite with a single subscription are better off looking at other providers that actually offer this, like NordVPN or Surfshark.

Finally, its technical support leaves a little to be desired. While it is true that Mullvad's target audience are the more technically-minded that most likely need less support than the average user when it comes to VPN use, it would be good to see a little more help given to users beyond a help center and an email support option. As Mullvad says, privacy is a universal right, and it would be good to know that absolute beginners are able to access this easily, too.

Should I get Mullvad?

Mullvad has built itself to appeal to a specific demographic – privacy-conscious users who value security, anonymity and speed above all else. As this demographic tends not to be concerned about using their VPN for streaming or unblocking, Mullvad isn't bothered about expanding its offering into these services.

Overall, this means that it is one of the top providers for privacy and security, but if you're expecting it to excel in any other areas, you'd better lower your expectations. This isn't to say it doesn't perform excellently as a VPN, it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles that are rapidly becoming the norm in the VPN space.

In summary, Mullvad is quick, fast and secure, but it doesn't provide any additional features or streaming functionality. While this may appeal to you if privacy is your number-one concern, for those who want an all-rounder of a VPN, you may be better off going with a different provider.