Using OpenVPN, Mullvad retained close to 39 percent of the base speed. OpenVPN performed better than WireGuard in our testing, which takes the average performance of connections to five different countries over three days of testing with multiple runs. You can see which servers are owned by Mullvad and which are rented on its Servers page.įor this round of testing we tested both OpenVPN and WireGuard performance to see if there was any difference on Windows.

Mullvad explains in clear terms on its help pages what the differences are between rented and owned servers. Mullvad’s change is largely thanks to its decision to start renting servers (actual boxes, not virtual servers) instead of owning every single piece of equipment that runs its VPN. That is a massive increase considering Mullvad only had 304 last time we looked. The company now covers 38 different countries (35 over OpenVPN), with a staggering 780 servers. That’s great news since Mullvad was already one of the standouts. Mullvad’s number of servers and country locations has increased since our last review, while its performance has remained solidly the same. Mullvad has apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. It also checks to see if you are leaking DNS requests, suffering from a WebRTC leak, or using a blacklisted IP address. It lets you know if the app is working and currently connected to Mullvad. Split tunneling is a beta feature, but if you want to use it, go to Settings > Advanced > Split tunneling.Īnother nice tool to use with the VPN is Mullvad’s connection check webpage. Mullvad’s also added split tunneling, which allows some apps to operate over the VPN, while others don’t. The long and short of it is that the new DNS blocking doesn’t substantially change how its service is configured and therefore doesn’t affect Mullvad’s privacy promises. If you’d like to read about how Mullvad implements ad blocking check out the blog post on the company’s site. To turn them on you need to select Settings > Preferences > Block Ads and Preferences > Block trackers. These features aren’t activated by default. Mullvad recently introduced DNS-based ad and tracker blocking inside the desktop app. It doesn’t promise to get past Netflix VPN restrictions (though sometimes it does), there aren’t any double-hop connections, or smart DNS however, it has added a few extra features recently. Mullvad traditionally hasn’t been big on extra features or services compared to other VPNs. To do so select the settings cog at the top right of the window and then go to Preferences > Unpin app from taskbar. If you don’t like that, however, Mullvad allows you to undock the app and move it around like a normal window. There’s enough space that it doesn’t feel constrained sitting there. Instead it’s a panel that’s permanently fixed to the bottom-right corner of the screen. It’s not a free moving window by default. The app is very easy to read and understand. The app doesn’t show any specific metrics about each server such as ping times or load, but if there’s a red circle next to it that means it’s not available for use. If you jump into the country listings, you can either select a country, select a specific location within the country if more than one is available, and drill down to individual servers. The top of the screen, meanwhile, shows a green banner with the Mullvad VPN logo indicating you’re connected.Ĭlick the Disconnect button and Mullvad shows your true location, the top goes from green to red, and the buttons at the bottom are labeled as the last country you connected to and Secure my connection. When connected, you’ll see a Switch location and Disconnect button at the bottom of the window. The company doesn’t even want to retain your email address-whether a primary address or a “burner” one only for VPNs. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.ĭespite the changes, Mullvad’s greatest strength is still that it prefers to know as little about you as possible, which is a huge win for anyone trying to stay as anonymous as possible online. Note: This review is part of our best VPNs roundup. It continues to use its improved VPN app that we saw roll out several years ago, but the company is also adding new features and dramatically expanding its network compared to what we saw last time around.

Data authentication: TLSv1.3 (TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256)įor a long time Mullvad has been a solid VPN service that didn’t change a whole lot other than adding an improved app.

Cost: €5 ($5.86 at this writing) billed monthly.

Number of country locations: 35 (38 for WireGuard).

Mullvad leaks