Mullvad VPN keeps its flat $6 price and strong privacy focus

Mullvad, a VPN service, still costs a flat 5 euros (about $6) a month, whether you sign up for one month or a year. CNET's October 2026 review says little has changed in the past year. It still calls Mullvad the VPN it recommends most to people with critical privacy needs. Streaming fans may want to look elsewhere.

What Mullvad is

A VPN, or virtual private network, sends your internet traffic through another server to help keep your activity private. Mullvad focuses on that job and little else. CNET lists several strengths: the software is fully open-source, meaning anyone can inspect its code. It is regularly audited. Its servers run on RAM only. It also offers split tunneling on MacOS, which lets you choose which apps use the VPN.

Price and payment

Many VPNs offer tiers, big first-term discounts and high renewal prices. Mullvad does not. Most rivals cost $10 to $18 or more for a month of service, according to CNET. A year of Mullvad works out to roughly $72, about the same as Proton VPN, Windscribe or Surfshark, and well below ExpressVPN or NordVPN. CNET also notes a year can be bought through Amazon for $65.

There is no recurring subscription, which helps Mullvad store as little customer data as possible. You can pay with cash, voucher, credit card, PayPal, crypto or bank wire, among others. Refunds are available within 14 days of purchase.

Speed test results

CNET's team ran more than 200 speed tests over Wi-Fi and Ethernet on MacOS and Windows, using six server locations. Mullvad cut speeds by 26.5% on average. That is close to NordVPN at 27.2% and better than Surfshark at 33.5%. ExpressVPN led at 20.8%. CNET notes many VPNs cut speeds by 50% or more.

• Ethernet: 30.9% loss on Mac, 36.1% on Windows
• Wi-Fi: 14.5% loss on Mac, 24.7% on Windows
• Fast enough for streaming and torrenting unless your base speed is under 100Mbps

Where it falls short

Mullvad struggles with streaming, because it puts little effort into getting around streaming blocks. It allows only five devices at once. It has no native Apple TV or Fire TV apps. It does not publish transparency reports. It also skips extras such as antivirus, password managers or encrypted email, which Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN offer as add-ons. CNET names Nord as its top pick for bundles.

Who it fits

Mullvad suits people who want strong privacy, a simple price and no long commitment. Those who mainly want a VPN for streaming, or who need many devices or bundled security tools, may be better served by another provider.