We could mention the comprehensive 2020 Cure53 audit (opens in new tab) of its (already open source) desktop and mobile apps, but, well, you get the picture. The company provides its own authoritative DNS servers for an extra privacy guarantee, and – you’ve guessed it – that recently passed an independent audit (opens in new tab), too. Mullvad backs up its privacy claims with a 2021 infrastructure audit (opens in new tab), and a 2022 VPN server audit (opens in new tab), neither of which found any sign of logging or leaks. There’s no logging of connection times, IP addresses, DNS requests, traffic, or anything else that can be used to link an action back to a specific account, the company explains. Mullvad does very well on the privacy front compared to rival VPNs (Image credit: Mullvad) Privacyįiguring out a VPN's logging policy is often a real challenge, but again, Mullvad is different, spelling out the fine detail in an excellent policy page. There are potential complications (the refund help page (opens in new tab) has more), but it's still better than the blanket 'no Bitcoin refunds' we see with most providers. Not only is there a 30-day money-back guarantee, but it can also refund Bitcoin payment in some situations. Mullvad scores a plus for its refund procedure, though. Private Internet Access is only $2.03 a month for the first term of its three-year plan, for instance, a fraction of the price. If you're happy to sign up for longer, though, there's a lot of money to be saved elsewhere.

Even better, Mullvad offers a 10% discount if you pay by cryptocurrency. That's half the price you'll pay for monthly billing with some providers, and cheaper than many annual plans. No discounts for long-term contracts, no doubling of the price at the end of the first term it’s just €5 a month. Pricing is extremely simple at €5 ($5) a month (opens in new tab), and, well, that’s it.

Mullvad offers a whole host of different ways to pay (Image credit: Mullvad)

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