Proton VPN vs Mullvad

The short answer

Proton VPN and Mullvad are the two names that come up most when people ask for a VPN chosen for privacy. On the public record, both deserve it. Neither is owned by a large investor group, both publish their app code, and both have had outside firms check their systems for years.

The differences are in the kind of evidence and the kind of product. Proton's evidence is a run of yearly no-logs audits, outside checks that its servers aren't set up to record what users do. Mullvad's strongest evidence is a police search in 2023 that found nothing to take. Proton is the fuller product, with a free plan, ten devices, port forwarding and a censorship-resistant protocol. Mullvad is the leaner one, built to know as little about you as possible.

Tunnelcheck hasn't tested either service. The fact table above comes from our provider files. This page explains what the differences mean, and every claim links to a source at the bottom. Read how we review for the method.

Who owns Proton VPN and Mullvad?

Proton VPN is run by Proton AG in Geneva, Switzerland, the company behind Proton Mail. Since June 2024 its largest voting shareholder has been the Proton Foundation, a Swiss non-profit. Proton says the foundation can block any change of control, so a sale would need its consent.

Mullvad is run by Mullvad VPN AB in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its about page says Mullvad VPN AB and its parent, Amagicom AB, are wholly owned by the two founders. There are no outside investors on record. In July 2026 Mullvad responded publicly to a private political donation by co-owner Daniel Berntsson, saying the company took no part in it. That has no bearing on how the service handles data, but some readers care who profits from their subscription.

Both structures resist a quiet sale to a data-hungry buyer, which is the risk our who owns your VPN page tracks across the industry. On jurisdiction, Sweden is in the EU and Switzerland isn't. Both countries' courts can and do issue orders to companies, as each provider's record shows.

Logging: audits versus a real-world test

Both companies say they keep no activity logs. They back the claim in different ways.

• Proton has hired Securitum, a European security firm, to audit its no-logs setup every year from 2022 to 2026. According to Proton, the auditors spend several days on site, review server configuration, check procedures and interview staff. All five reports are linked from Proton's audit page.
• Mullvad has a long list of named security audits of its apps, servers, Android code and payment systems, from Cure53, X41 D-Sec, Radically Open Security, NCC Group, Assured and Leviathan. These test security, and none is a formal no-logs assurance report. The 2020 Cure53 infrastructure audit came closest, reporting no personal data or privacy leaks.

Then there is the field test. On April 18, 2023, Swedish police came to Mullvad's office with a warrant to seize computers holding customer data. Mullvad says it showed them no such data existed, and the officers left with nothing. Few VPNs have had a no-data claim tested by police on site.

Proton's best-known legal case involved Proton Mail. In 2021, under a Swiss order, Proton logged and handed over the IP address used to reach a French activist's email account, as TechCrunch reported. Proton said Swiss law gave no legal basis for logging VPN users. The lesson for both companies is the same: a provider's protection is only as good as the data it doesn't hold. Our no-logs policies explained and VPN audits pages explain how to weigh audits against real cases.

How much each one knows about you

Mullvad is built to know almost nothing. You get a random account number, with no username or email, and you can pay in cash, cryptocurrency, card, PayPal or bank transfer. If you want to give a VPN company as little as possible to hand over, this is Mullvad's main advantage. Proton's VPN is one product in a wider family that includes Mail, Drive and Pass, sold together as Proton Unlimited. That suits people who use those services; if you only want a VPN, Mullvad's model leaves less behind.

Features, protocols and devices

A protocol is the rule set an app uses to build its encrypted tunnel. Our WireGuard vs OpenVPN guide explains the main ones.

• Proton offers WireGuard, OpenVPN and Stealth, which wraps WireGuard in the same encryption ordinary HTTPS sites use, so networks that block VPNs have a harder time spotting it. Its Secure Core option sends traffic through a server in Switzerland, Iceland or Sweden first. Paid plans allow ten devices.
• Mullvad runs on WireGuard only, having removed OpenVPN with a final date of January 15, 2026. That matters if your router or an older device needs OpenVPN. It offers DAITA, meant to defend against traffic analysis (guessing what you do from the size and timing of packets), and multihop. One account covers five devices, and the FAQ says you can't add more.

Both have a kill switch, which blocks traffic if the VPN drops; Mullvad's is on by default and can't be turned off. If five devices is too few, a VPN on your router covers a whole home as one connection.

Does either have a free plan?

Only Proton. Proton Free covers one device, connects you to servers in a limited set of countries chosen for you, and excludes streaming and P2P, according to Proton's pricing page. Proton says it has no data limit, which is rare among free plans. Mullvad has no free tier, though it offers a 14-day refund. See free vs paid VPN for how free plans compare.

Streaming and torrenting policies

Torrenting. Proton allows P2P (peer-to-peer) traffic only on paid plans and only on dedicated P2P servers. It offers port forwarding, which helps a torrent client accept incoming connections, on paid plans for Windows and Linux, with macOS in early access. Mullvad's terms don't mention P2P, but it removed port forwarding in 2023, saying it had led to abuse and law-enforcement contacts. If port forwarding matters to you, Proton is the only one of the two that offers it. A VPN hides your downloads from your internet provider. It doesn't make copyright infringement legal. See is torrenting illegal.

Streaming. Proton lists streaming as a paid-plan feature. Mullvad makes no streaming claims. Either way, watching another country's catalog usually breaks the streaming service's terms of use, and services block IP addresses they link to VPNs, so results change from week to week. We don't promise that either one gets anything unblocked. Our explainer on why streaming services block VPNs covers how the blocking works.

Price and refunds (checked 2026-11-13)

Proton is cheaper in the first year and much more expensive at renewal. Mullvad never changes its price, gives 10% off for cryptocurrency and bills in euros. Proton's page also lists 2-year terms and regional pricing, so check both official pages before you buy. Our checked VPN prices page lists the rest.

Which should you pick?

• Pick Proton VPN if you want a free plan, more than five devices, port forwarding for torrenting, or a protocol built for networks that block VPNs. Also if a yearly no-logs audit is the evidence you trust most.
• Pick Mullvad if you want to give the provider as little personal data as possible, down to paying in cash, and you dislike renewal price jumps.
• Look at both reviews if you are still undecided: Proton VPN review and Mullvad review. IVPN is another founder-owned, privacy-focused option.