Mullvad VPN Review: Is It Any Good? [Full 2022 Report]

Mullvad VPN 2022 is a great security tool and privacy feature. Mullvad VPN lets users pay for subscriptions using cash and collects very little personal information once you create an account.

Mullvad VPN also offers the following:

• Absolute forward secrecy.
• Split-tunneling.
• Ad blocking.
• Tor instead of VPN.
• and more…

Mullvad VPN works well for torrenting. It is available in countries such as Iran and China, and allows users to have a free, open, and unrestricted internet.

While I give Mullvad VPN high marks, it also has its flaws. My main complaint is that Mullvad VPN doesn’t work well for streaming. Mullvad VPN was able to connect to Netflix and other streaming services in my tests. However, it could not access Amazon Prime or any other major streaming service. There is no WebRTC leak protection and Mullvad VPN does not offer 24/7 live chat support.

Mullvad VPN supports up to 5 concurrent connections per subscription. It is the only VPN that offers a fixed-rate 1-month, 3-month and 6-month payment plans. The price per month does not change regardless of which plan you choose. All plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Mullvad VPN Full Review

To compare Mullvad VPN with the best on the market, I spent several weeks testing it and researching it.

Mullvad VPN has a great reputation for being a reliable VPN.

Mullvad VPN has industry-standard VPN security features. It also has a strict no logs policy. Open-source apps have been independently audited and is based in a privacy friendly country. Mullvad VPN does not ask for personal data when you sign up, and offers anonymous payment options.

Mullvad VPN is also easy to use, has fast speeds and is great for torrenting.

Mullvad VPN Features

Mullvad VPN offers all the necessary VPN security features.

• 256 bit AES encryption. Mulvad VPN uses military grade encryption to protect your data.
• No logs policy. Mulvad VPN does not log any user data, including IP addresses, website traffic and downloaded files. The no-logs policy of Mullvad VPN has been independently verified and confirmed multiple times.
• Kill switch. Mulvad VPN will shut down your internet access in the event that the VPN connection drops. The kill switch can be configured to prevent you from accessing the internet if you disconnect manually from the VPN server.

Although I love the Mullvad VPN kill switch being customizable, it is only available for macOS and Windows. The Android OS kill switch can be manually enabled, but it is not available for iOS. PrivateVPN also allows you to choose which apps are allowed to use the internet if your VPN is disconnected.

Mullvad VPN uses OpenVPN (UDP, TCP, and TCP), which are 2 of top protocols. However, in my tests, WireGuard performed better.

Mullvad VPN offers perfect forward secrecy when you use OpenVPN. This allows you to regularly change the encryption keys that encrypt online traffic. Perfect forward secrecy protects your data from third parties (only your current encryption key is visible).

Mullvad VPN offers good leak protection. It sends your traffic through its DNS servers to prevent DNS leaks. Mullvad VPN supports IPv6 traffic, which is what Perfect Privacy does. Many VPNs do not support IPv6. Instead, they block IPv6 traffic automatically or recommend you disable it manually. Unfortunately, Mullvad VPN doesn’t prevent WebRTC leaks.

I love that Mullvad VPN allows Tor users to browse Tor sites while connecting to Mullvad VPN’s serverswhich protects against Tor IP leaks. If your IP address is leaked while surfing the Tor network, then only the VPN’s address will be exposed. Although Mullvad VPN offers good Tor support, ProtonVPN is my preferred choice. It allows you to visit Tor sites using regular browsers such as Firefox and Chrome.

Mullvad VPN offers additional security features beyond the standard features such as split-tunneling and an ad blocker.

Split-Tunneling

Split-tunneling is a good feature of Mullvad VPN that allows you to exclude certain apps from your VPN tunnel. I was able to download torrent files from Mullvad VPN’s server and then I connected to my local network to watch a Disney+ movie. Since Mullvad isn’t compatible with streaming services, this allowed me to download faster and access Disney+ content more easily.

Split-tunneling is an easy feature of Mulvad VPN. It’s available for Android, Windows and Linux. However, the process can be very complex.

ProtonVPN is a VPN with excellent split-tunneling features. It also allows you to exclude IP addresses which allows you exclude certain websites using their IP address.

Split-tunneling is a great feature of Mullvad VPN that allows you to redirect specific apps through your VPN, and other apps through your network. Although I would like to see Mullvad VPN exclude IP addresses from its split-tunneling feature, it works well for redirecting specific apps through the VPN and other apps through your local network.

Ad blocker

Mullvad VPN has an ad-blocker that blocks ads and trackers. This feature is great for websites such as news outlets and social media platforms, which often have many ads scattered all over the page. The ad blocking feature of Mullvad VPN removed every one of them. These websites loaded much faster due to the elimination of ads.

You can use the ad tracker and blocker on Android, iOS and Windows. Manual configuration is required for the Android app, but it’s very simple and takes only 1-2 minutes.

My only problem with Mullvad VPN’s ad-blocker and tracker is the fact that it does not also include a malware blocking tool, which can help you avoid visiting dangerous sites. Private Internet Access and ProtonVPN both include malware blocking as part of their ad-blocker features.

Overall, however, I love Mullvad VPN’s ad-blocker and tracker. It is a great tool for blocking ads and providing a better online experience.

Traffic Obfuscation

Mullvad VPN provides good obfuscation via its Bridge Mode feature. It uses Shadowsocks, an open-source encrypted proxy, to conceal your VPN traffic.

Mullvad VPN’s Bridge Mode is a double VPN that sends your traffic through 2 VPN servers as well as 1 Shadowsocks proxy. This is how the connection looks:

You – VPN Server 1 – Shadowsocks Proxy – VPN Server 2 – Internet

Bridge Mode can significantly slow down your speed — my tests showed that Bridge Mode enabled made my speeds 87% slower than when I was connected via a regular Mullvad VPN server.

Bridge Mode must be set to Automatic or On in order to enable obfuscation. Bridge Mode is default set to Auto. It’s activated when the app fails to connect with a server three times. Bridge Mode is On. To create a bridge connection, you will need to select your entry and exit servers. The process of selecting the entry and exit bridge server locations is a bit complicated for me. Although I enjoy the freedom to choose my own exit and entry servers, I find it difficult to set up a VPN connection using obfuscation. PrivateVPN, for instance, automatically activates obfuscation on any server when the Stealth Mode feature is turned on.

Bridge Mode is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. However, it is not available for Android or through Mullvad’s app. You can manually set it up using the Shadowsocks or OpenVPN apps on Android, but it is a tedious process. ExpressVPN and PrivateVPN are my preferred options to hide your VPN traffic on Android or iOS.

Overall, Mullvad VPN provides good obfuscation via its Bridge Mode feature. Although I would prefer Mullvad VPN to make the feature easier and add it to iOS and Android, Bridge Mode is a great way to hide your VPN traffic and bypass censorship in China.

Connection Check

The Connection Check feature of Mullvad VPN is very cool – it provides DNS and WebRTC leak testing so you don’t have to visit a site to test your VPN’s leak protection. It also checks to see if your IP address has been blacklisted and tests the ports that you opened for port forwarding.

Connection Check’s best feature is the ability to display the IP address, hosting provider and server name of the torrent you are using. This feature is great because it allows you to check for leaks in torrent clients. TorGuard offers a similar feature but only shows you the torrent IP address.

Connection Check is another great tool that allows you to check if your IP address is blacklisted. This usually triggers CAPTCHAs or reCAPTCHAs, which are both tests websites use in order to distinguish between humans and bots.

Connection Check is an excellent leak and port testing tool. You can also check the IP addresses of torrent clients to ensure that they are not leaking your IP address.

Mullvad VPN Privacy & Security

Mullvad VPN offers a transparent, no-logs policy and tons of privacy features for those who wish to remain anonymous.

Mullvad VPN’s privacy policies clearly state that the provider does not log any personal data. This includes your IP address, user bandwidth or email address. Instead, Mullvad VPN generates a 16-digit number account. This account is used to purchase a subscription, and to log into your Mullvad VPN account.

Mullvad VPN accepts cash payments via mail (like ProtonVPN), which provides better privacy as it doesn’t leave any online money trail. Independent audits have confirmed that Mullvad VPN has a no-logs policy.

The privacy policy for Mullvad VPN is very easy to understand. It also contains screenshots to illustrate the types of data Mullvad VPN might access. The privacy policy also advises cash-paying customers not to put their address or name on the envelope they use to send their money. Mullvad VPN has made a great effort to protect their users’ privacy.

I am also a big fan of the open-source nature of all Mullvad VPN applications (such as Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN), which allows anyone to examine the code to verify that the service is safe.

Mullvad VPN has its headquarters in Sweden. The country is part 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances. These alliances are a group that shares intelligence data. Mullvad VPN does not store any user data so it would be impossible for authorities to request user data. Sweden has data retention laws that only apply ISPs. Not VPNs.

Overall Mullvad VPN offers a no-logs policy that protects users privacy and is one of the most trusted VPNs. All Mullvad VPN applications are open-source.

Mullvad VPN Speed & Performance

Each of the 35+ countries that Mullvad VPN has servers, I ran speed tests. WireGuard was my speed test software. My speeds were 20% faster than OpenVPN with WireGuard. I experienced an average speed drop of 70%, but I live in Romania, which has much faster internet speeds than the US. My speed tests were conducted with WireGuard to see if there was a slower connection. On average, he reported a decrease of 17%. This is very good.

To establish a baseline, I did a speed test using my ISP’s local network.

Mullvad VPN is not like other top VPNs. It doesn’t have a quick connection feature that automatically connects to the fastest server according to your location. Instead, I connected manually to a VPN server located in Romania.

Although I did experience a slowdown of 54%, my browsing was unaffected from the time I connected to my local network. Websites loaded immediately, as did 4K YouTube videos. I also didn’t experience buffering while skipping between the videos. Online video games were also easy to play without any lag.

Next, I connected with a VPN server in the US. Although my speeds were 71% slower than I expected, I didn’t notice any difference. Websites loaded immediately, while 1080p and 4K videos took only 1-2 seconds to load. My 20GB torrent download took me 15-20 minutes. Voice over IP (VoIP), calls were stable and didn’t freeze.

Finally, I tried a VPN server in Japan and was able to see a significant improvement in my speed. Websites and 4K videos took about 4-5 seconds to load. I also experienced some buffering. P2P files downloaded very quickly, while VoIP calls took only 1-2 seconds to load. However, they were not interrupted.

My country, Romania, has extremely fast internet speeds. It’s unfair to compare my results to what people in other countries might see. So I asked my American colleague to do speed tests.

To establish a baseline, he did a speed test while connected with his local network.

Next, he connected manually to the Mullvad VPN server located in New York City. This was the closest server to him. His browsing, streaming and torrenting speeds were not affected by the decrease of 8%.

His download speed increased when he connected from Switzerland to a server than it was when he was connected from New York City. My colleague had no problems with websites loading, movies starting instantly, and P2P files downloading quickly — even international VoIP calls were clear.

Finally, my colleague connected with a server in Australia where he experienced a 19% speed drop, which is quite good considering that he was far away. He experienced some slowdowns. Websites took between 5-6 seconds and videos took 6-8 seconds to start (but there wasn’t any buffering once they started), and he experienced some lag when playing video games.

Mullvad VPN offers very fast speeds for nearby servers and decent speeds for distant servers. I enjoyed quick loading times of videos and websites, and stable VoIP calls when connected to faraway servers.

Mullvad VPN Servers & IP Addresses

Mulvad VPN has over 750 servers in 35+ nations.

Most of Mullvad VPNs servers (35+) are in Europe. Other servers are evenly distributed across North America and Oceania. Mullvad VPN doesn’t have good coverage for Asia and South America. Many users are unable to find a server in their area.

However I like that Mullvad VPN permits torrenting on all its servers. Some VPNs like ProtonVPN or CyberGhost VPN do not allow torrenting on their servers. This could prevent users from connecting to a nearby server.

Mullvad VPN is not able to offer dedicated IPs. These are IP addresses that are exclusive to you. PrivateVPN provides dedicated IPs at no cost. CyberGhost VPN and Private Internet Access have a small fee.

The Mullvad VPN server network is well-resourced and spread throughout Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia. All servers allow P2P traffic.

Mullvad VPN Streaming & Torrenting

Mullvad VPN does not work with streaming. However, my colleague in the UK stated that it occasionally worked with BBC iPlayer. Mullvad VPN did not allow me to access Amazon Prime Video or Disney+. ExpressVPN is recommended if you are looking for a VPN which works with all streaming sites.

The Mullvad VPN is great for torrenting. It supports P2P traffic across all its 750+ servers and port forwarding (to allow you to connect to more peers for faster speeds). Mullvad VPN is compatible with all torrent clients, including qBittorrent and Deluge.

Before I downloaded files, I ran DNS, WebRTC and IPv6 leak tests while connecting to more than 10 servers. Fortunately, there were no leaks.

Mullvad VPN can access Netflix but not Amazon Prime or other streaming services. It’s great for torrenting, as Mullvad VPN supports P2P traffic and works with all the best torrent clients.

Mullvad VPN Bypassing Censorship

Mullvad VPN can bypass VPN restrictions in countries that are restrictive. It has a Bridge Mode feature that allows for obfuscation. The only problem I have with the obfuscation function is its inability to be very intuitive. ExpressVPN is a VPN service that can be used in restricted countries with an intuitive obfuscation feature.

Mullvad VPN Plans & Pricing

Mullvad VPN charges a flat, fixed monthly fee. You have the option of a monthly recurring plan or you can pay a one-time fee for 1, 2, 3, 6 or 12 months. However, the monthly price remains the same regardless of which plan you choose.

Mullvad VPN’s flat rate price of D1248,830 per month is less than other VPNs, if you only use it for a year or less. However, many VPNs, like Private Internet Access, CyberGhost VPN and PrivateVPN, offer steep discounts for plans that last 2 and 3 years.

Mullvad VPN accepts many payment methods including credit cards and PayPal. Swish, Swish, SEPA cryptocurrencies, Mullvad VPN Vouchers, giropay. EPS. Bancontact. Mullvad VPN accepts cash payments in 10 currencies. ProtonVPN does not accept cash payments.

Mullvad VPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee on all plans.

Mullvad VPN’s flat rate pricing is great because it doesn’t force you to make long-term commitments. Although Mullvad VPN is more expensive than other VPNs offering discounts for long-term commitments it is still very affordable.

Mullvad VPN Ease of Use: Mobile & Desktop Apps

Mullvad VPN provides apps for iOS and Android as well as Windows, macOS, Linux, and Windows. Mullvad VPN is the only VPN that offers a Linux application with a full graphical user Interface (GUI). It looks exactly like other Mullvad apps. You don’t need to deal any command lines to use it.

Installing Mullvad VPN’s applications is very simple. It took me only 1 minute to add it to my Android, iOS and MacBook Pro smartphones. The desktop app was installed on my Windows 10 computer and MacBook Pro in 1-2 minutes.

Android

Mullvad VPN Android app is very feature-rich, and simple to use.

The Android app is intuitive and easy to use. I was able quickly to connect to a server to find all the features including split-tunneling (remember that you have to manually configure it). It also comes with WireGuard which offers very fast speeds.

However, I miss the quick-connect and one-click feature many VPNs offer on Android. The Mullvad VPN Android app does not have Bridge Mode, IPv6 leak protection, or a kill switch. However, you can still manually use the Android OS kill switches options: Always on VPN and Block connections with VPN. It is a bit annoying that Mullvad VPN does not provide instructions on how to configure the Android OS kill button manually, as other top VPNs do. I had to contact customer service to get this information. ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN are two options if you’re looking for an Android VPN app with a built-in kill button.

Another problem I have is the lack of explanations for certain settings. I reached out to customer service to find out what WireGuard MTU does. It makes connections more stable over mobile networks. I hope Mullvad VPN will add descriptions to the features in the future.

Overall, Mullvad VPN’s Android application is good. It doesn’t have a Bridge Mode quick-connect tool or a kill switch. There are no explanations of features and settings. Mullvad VPN’s Android application is fast, user-friendly and has some great features such as split-tunneling or an ad-blocker.

iOS

Mullvad VPN iOS app does not have a kill button, obfuscation or split-tunneling, although most VPNs support this feature on iOS. Private Internet Access is the best iOS app for a kill-switch.

Similar to the Android app, the iOS version only comes with WireGuard. It also includes an ad blocker.

There are many iOS VPN apps that are better than Mullvad VPN, but Mullvad VPN is an iOS VPN app that is user-friendly, fast, and offers ad blocking.

Windows/Mac (Desktop)

Mullvad VPN’s desktop apps share the same design and user interface as their mobile apps. However, it is easy to locate and connect to a server.

OpenVPN/WireGuard is supported in both the macOS and Windows OS apps. The desktop apps for Mullvad VPN both have a built in kill switch. The Windows and macOS applications support IPv6 traffic.

Bridge Mode is available for both macOS and Windows. Split-tunneling can also be found in the Windows app. ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access is a good choice if you are looking for a VPN that offers split-tunneling on macOS.

Overall, Mullvad VPN’s Windows and macOS applications are easy-to-use, feature-rich and highly secure.

Mullvad VPN’s Apps: Is Mullvad Easy to Use?

Yes, Mullvad VPN offers easy-to use apps for Android, iOS and Windows. The interfaces of all the apps are similar, making them easy to use.

Desktop apps are more intuitive than mobile apps. Both the Windows and macOS applications have an intuitive interface, OpenVPN, WireGuard and Bridge Mode. Split-tunneling is an added feature that makes the Windows app a little more superior to the macOS. Both mobile apps come with WireGuard and ad blocking, but the Android app has split-tunneling.

Mullvad VPN Customer Support

Mullvad VPN customer care includes a comprehensive library of frequently-asked questions (FAQs), troubleshooting and setup guides, as well as email support. There is however no 24/7 live chat.

The support page of Mullvad VPN is well-organized. It breaks down its FAQs into 10 topics such as Connectivity, Security and Bridges. Each topic can be found on the left-hand side of the support page. If you click on it, you will see a number of useful and comprehensive FAQs and guides.

Mullvad VPN contacted me via email when I couldn’t find an answer on the FAQs or support guide. Mullvad VPN replied to many of my emails in 2-3 hours. That’s a significantly faster response time than the industry average of around 5-6 hours. Sometimes, I got a response in less than 30 mins. Support reps were professional and friendly, and they provided helpful answers.

However, Mullvad VPN could have live chat support as other top VPNs. I prefer live chat because I can get information right away, and not waiting for emails. Mullvad should offer a 24/7 chat tool.

Overall Mullvad VPN provides good customer support. Though it does not have live chat, Mullvad has tons of FAQs that can be used to help you. I received prompt and useful responses via email.

Is Mullvad VPN the Best VPN for Privacy?

Mullvad VPN provides top-notch security and privacy features. It is also fast and easy to use.

Mullvad VPN is known for its high security and privacy. Mullvad VPN has all the industry-standard security features. It also offers strong leak protection and perfect forward secrecy. Open-sourced apps have been independently verified and audited. And it uses Tor over VPN. Mullvad VPN offers additional features such as split-tunneling or an ad blocking feature. Mullvad VPN offers privacy protection, cash payments and near-anonymous account registration.

Mullvad VPN offers torrenting via 750+ servers across 35+ countries. It also bypasses restrictive internet firewalls.

My tests showed that Mullvad VPN maintained high speeds when connected to both local and distant servers. This allowed me to stream, browse, make VoIP calls, torrent large files, and make VoIP calls without any problems. My speed dropped by 70% on average, while my colleague from the US experienced only a 17% decrease. This is among the fastest VPNs available.

However, Mullvad VPN is not perfect. Although it can access Netflix and sometimes BBC iPlayer, Mullvad VPN cannot access Hulu, Amazon Prime and other streaming services. Split-tunneling doesn’t work on macOS and there is no live chat support.

Mullvad VPN has a flat monthly rate that is affordable, regardless of how long you decide to pay. Each purchase comes with a 30-day guarantee.

Is Mullvad VPN free?

Mullvad VPN has no free plan. However, every payment plan comes with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee. Mullvad VPN offers several payment plans with the same flat rate of D124 830 per month.

There are many VPNs that you can use for free, but I don’t recommend them. They lack essential security features, often have bugs, slow speeds, limit data usage, and may record what sites you visit and the files you download.

I would recommend purchasing a cheap VPN such as Mullvad VPN. This will ensure that you have great security, fast speeds and torrenting support.

Can Mullvad be used with Netflix?

Yes, Mullvad VPN allows you to access Netflix. Mullvad VPN doesn’t rank among my top VPNs for streaming. It works well with BBC iPlayer for about half the time. However, it isn’t compatible with popular streaming services like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.

ExpressVPN or CyberGhost VPN can be used to unblock Netflix, as well as all other streaming sites.

Is Mullvad good for torrenting?

MullvadVPN is a torrenting VPN that supports P2P traffic. This allows you to pick a server closest to you in order to receive the fastest possible download speeds.

In my tests, I was capable of downloading 20 GB files in 15 to 20 minutes. This is a great speed. Mullvad VPN was also compatible with popular torrenting apps like qBittorrent. uTorrent. Deluge. and Transmission. Mullvad VPN offers port forwarding that allows you to connect with more peers and speeds up your downloads.

Mullvad VPN offers a great feature called “Connection Check” that allows you to determine if your torrent client has been leaking your IP. This feature protects your data by using industry-standard VPN security features, such as strong encryption, kill switch, and strict no-logs policy.

Does Mullvad work in China?

Mullvad VPN works around VPN block in China. The feature is called Bridge Mode. This uses Shadowsocks as a proxy to hide your VPN traffic.

Source : #safetydetectives
Editor by : BEST Antivirus KBS Team