Mullvad Review
Mullvad
Mullvad
- Quick Summary (TL;DR)
- Features
- Servers & Countries
- Reliability & Speed test
- Pricing & Payments
- Support
- Policies & Logging
- Expert Recommendation
Mullvad In a Nutshell
Mullvad is a small VPN provider in Sweden, which makes them under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Thus, the provider processes data in accordance with the GDPR, which provides for inherent anonymity.
They have high levels of encryption available. Their VPN client has powerful tools included, the most notable being a useful killswitch feature. You can even pay for your account by Bitcoin or cash. Being a newer VPN provider, with a small network, we’re hoping that they continue to grow and improve they number of servers they're offering.
Reliability & Speed Tests
The first thing that was odd was how long it took to download the client. Maybe it was a problem on our end, but nearly 10 minutes is longer for a VPN client.
Here is the speed of the 2Mbps line on the day of testing:
Here is the speed we got when connected to their closest server:
This speed was consistent with connections with higher Mbps. The high ping rates are to be expected since Mullvad have servers in four countries. Germany was the closest server, and it was not close to our testing site.
Pricing & Payments
This may be the shortest section we have ever written as part of a VPN review. Mullvad offer one service plan:
- A flat fee of €5, or around $6 USD per month. You may also test their service for free for three hours, but after that you need to pay.
Features
Mullvad offers a number of useful features right in their service for all who use their VPN client:
- Unique anti-censorship technology called Obfsproxy and Shadowsock bridges
- Up to five connections at once
- A VPN killswitch
- SOCKS5 proxy connections
- Port forwarding and port selection
- OpenVPN protocol
- SSH and SSL tunneling
- Multi-hop VPN
These are all very useful features which can help you better protect your privacy. They use strong encryption, good tunneling, and a VPN killswitch that will protect you if everything else fails.
The software itself is a 21 MB file on Mac, and we downloaded it in about 15 seconds. From there you open the DMG file, which takes about 5 seconds. You then do a drag-and-drop to install it:
You then need to input your account number, which you get from their website. You get 3 hours for free with any account, so why not try it out?
The client itself is very plain, with few distraction. They have setup the VPN client the way that they want it used and allow it to do its job:
The Settings tab is equally drab and shouldn't be messed with. The 'Block the internet on connection failure' checkbox is their VPN killswitch:
The advanced setting can be accessed, but they are not simple toggle buttons. You have to change the values manually. There's no reason to change anything here if you don't know what you're looking at:
Mullvad have built useful features into their VPN client, but have taken most control out of the average user's hands. For a new VPN user, this is fine. Advanced users will be able to change the few setting which suit them if they wish. They will also enjoy the error reporting feature included so they can see what has gone wrong.
Servers & Countries
Mullvad has certainly grown over the last few years - from four country locations when we first found them, they now have 340+ servers in 30+ countries. These servers are categorized into three different types:
- Regular servers: These servers are for OpenVPN protocol, and there are currently 288 active servers of this type.
- WireGuard servers: Mullvad also supports WireGuard, and they have 51 servers for this protocol.
- Bridge servers: The VPN provider has nine bridge servers that users can connect to if they are unable to connect to Mullvad servers directly.
Mullvad’s improvement is evident in the growth in the number of servers they provide, and the number of countries where these are located.
Support
The email address of Mullvad’s support team is available on their website. They are prompt to reply to all inquiries, within 24 hours is normal. If you’re in the same time zone as Sweden, you can expect them to be faster during normal business hours.
A unique aspect of their customer service is that they provide the actual names of their ownership team, as well as a physical building address. This is unusual as many in the VPN industry don’t give out this information. It really makes customers feel like a real team is supporting them.
Mullvad also tries hard to answer questions even before people ask them by having the following resources:
- FAQ section: The section covers a wide range of questions. The FAQs are extensive and divided by topics. There are questions about accounts and payments, security, and networking.
- Guides: The Guides page is also categorized into several topics, from installation guides for different devices and operating systems, to servers, supported protocols, and policies.
It’s always wiser to consult these pages first before reaching out to Mullvad’s support team as it saves you more time.
Policies & Logging
Mullvad has one of the best, and easiest to understand, privacy policies in the business. This includes the following points:
- They don’t store any activity logs (traffic, DNS requests, IP addresses, timestamps, or bandwidth).
- They do log every user’s total number of simultaneous connections, CPU load per core, and the total bandwidth used per server.
- When users pay using PayPal, bank wire, Swish, or Stripe, they have to retain some information in case of disputes and other payment issues. Generally, payment information is deleted after six months. This is also the case when users send emails to Mullvad’s support team.
The provider’s no-logging policy is a very crucial feature since they are located in a country that’s covered by several laws other than GDPR. Therefore, they are compelled to cooperate with these laws. However, if they don’t store any information then they have nothing to divulge.
Technical Assessment
Expert Recommendation
Mullvad are serious about privacy and anonymity. They do that with their dedication to OpenVPN encryption. That encryption level, along with a cash payment method, no logging policy, and allowance of p2p makes for a very private VPN experience.
Where they stumble is with their low country server location number, and low overall VPN server count. There are many VPNs that have high privacy standards, and they all offer more servers in more countries which opens up better chances to get around geo-blocking. If you’re in one of the countries where they have servers, and only want to unlock content from those countries, they are recommended.
Mullvad is a VPN that we definitely want to continue watching, as we have been since they started out with servers in four countries. With a few more servers in a few key locations, they may just find themselves shooting up our rankings even further.
User Reviews of Mullvad
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Their support especially on email are wonderful.They responded to my queries well and quickly.Their biggest selling point off-course is their ability to keep my privacy. Its clearly stated on their site and i can confidently they keep their word.
I came across mullvad courtesy of a friend who had been using for a couple of months. She was able to download stuff much faster than everyone in the office. She explained to me about it and was impressed not just by the speeds but also their features that keep you anonymous.I paid for mine same week and its been 6 months since and everything flows perfectly.
Mullvad has great customer support. I got very fast responses on the two occasions i have sought their assistance. Their speeds are equally good. I am guaranteed of my privacy using them since they dont store our info.
I got this service for the first time in 2017. I loved the fact that i could pay for it using bitcoins. It offers great speeds and the customer support is professional and very helpful.
I have had a pretty good experience with mullvad in the last 4 months.I am writing this after paying for my 5th month's subscription. They have good download and upload speeds compared to most vpns that i have used.
Their very awesome support team informed me that i could pay using bitcoins while making an inquiry on payment options and that got me hooked to them since thats my field. The service has been excellent for the 11 months i have used it.
This is my third month using Mullvad and so far the experience has been amazing. The speeds are great as well and i feel safe so far working online without the fear of being watched by someone. Their customer support is simply worth mentioning. They always make sure i am satisfied.
Been using Mullvad since about 4 months now and their service has not failed to amaze me. They have really strong privacy with good obfuscation, good download and upload speeds. I've often contacted their support on Twitter and through their E-Mail, and they've always responded. The best part is they're moving a step ahead with the implementation of the ultra fast wireguard VPN service.
Great VPN. Best for beginners and fast for my needs. Highly recommend it for sure unlike those scammy VPNs like hidemyass or NordVPN.
I found Mullvad through a friend and I'm pretty happy with their service and their strong policies for anonymity. Very important for me. They're pretty fast nonetheless and their support is on point every time I've contacted them. If I could complain one thing, I'd say their software is pretty basic (no advance features).