NordVPN vs. Mullvad: These Privacy-Focused VPNs Have Key Differences in Cost and Streaming

NordVPN and Mullvad are two of the most privacy-forward virtual private network providers on the market. But Nord is more like a summer blockbuster with mass appeal, while Mullvad is an indie film catering to a niche audience.

Nord is a versatile VPN, thanks to exceptionally fast speeds, generous global server network, and excellent streaming-service content unblocking. Although NordVPN is initially a good value, price hikes drive up costs absurdly high — you can avoid auto-renewals, but it’s an involved process. Meanwhile, Mullvad VPN minimizes the personal data it asks for (you don’t need to enter an email address for sign up) and eschews auto-renewal price hikes, for a set-it-and-forget-it subscription. However, Mullvad’s considerably smaller server network and struggles with unblocking region-restricted streaming content, meaning that it won’t work as well as Nord does for casual users who want to travel internationally or stream movies and shows.

Ultimately, if privacy is your primary concern, NordVPN and Mullvad are terrific choices, but Nord is a jack of all trades, whereas Mullvad is better for serious privacy on a budget. Let’s compare NordVPN and Mullvad so you can decide which VPN is right for you.

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Speed winner: NordVPN takes the cake

NordVPN is faster than Mullvad — and the rest of the VPNs we tested, for that matter. Its blisteringly fast speeds are fantastic for streaming from apps like Netflix in 4K, speedy competitive online gaming or buffer-free Zoom calls. In fairness, Mullvad isn’t slow, and should work for most people with already fast internet, like cable or fiber. But folks on slow and unreliable internet connections — like satellite internet or fixed wireless — should stick with Nord to maintain the bulk of their bandwidth.

In my 2025 testing, I clocked NordVPN at a class-leading 3% average internet download speed loss. All VPNs will slow down your internet speeds to some degree, which is the trade-off you make for encrypting your connection to mask your internet activity. But NordVPN’s snappy server speeds helped me maintain the majority of my base internet speeds. That said, Mullvad isn’t sluggish by any means — we measured a 24% average internet download speed loss in our 2025 benchmarking.

Generally, we find up to a 25% internet speed loss virtually unnoticeable on a reliable cable or fiber internet connection. Since NordVPN and Mullvad fall under that threshold, either should work, so long as you’ve got fast internet speeds to begin with. However, if you’re regularly using a VPN on unstable internet networks, like crowded public Wi-Fi, satellite internet or spotty 5G and 4G LTE, I’d recommend NordVPN.

Value winner: Mullvad is better in the long run, but NordVPN can be great if you’re willing to do some work

Although Mullvad and NordVPN initially charge nearly the same amount, Mullvad’s lack of price hikes makes it significantly less expensive in the future — unless you find crafty ways to save on your subscription. While Mullvad is a better budget VPN pick, NordVPN offers a few unique privacy features as well as bundles, so if you want to get a smorgasbord of cybersecurity software in one place, Nord is the better choice.

NordVPN’s VPN-only plan costs $13 a month, $60 for the first year or $83 total for the first two years. But the one- and two-year tiers renew at a whopping $140 annually. There are ways you can save money on your NordVPN plan, like stacking subscriptions by purchasing another year or two before your auto-renewal kicks in, or canceling and resubscribing. However, Mullvad’s price remains at 5 euro (about $6) a month whether you sign up for a month, a year, two years or even longer. I like how Mullvad doesn’t force you to keep a keen eye on your subscription.

Whereas Mullvad mostly sticks to the basics, NordVPN’s entry-level VPN plan gives you a few goodies that, while not game-changers for the average user, may appeal to power users. There’s basic DNS filtering for ad-blocking and guarding against malicious sites, as well as Meshnet for connecting devices virtually as though they were on the same Wi-Fi network. You can use Meshnet to securely share files with remote co-workers, host virtual LAN parties for gaming or manage home servers while away from your house. It’s admittedly a niche feature that mostly power users will take advantage of, but it’s nice to have.

Unlike some other VPN rivals, including NordVPN, Mullvad doesn’t offer bundles. By contrast, Nord offers several plans that let you roll privacy and security software, like a VPN, password manager, anti-malware software, cloud storage and identity theft protection into one nifty package. By bundling, you might be able to save money and appreciate the convenience of having one bill rather than multiple to keep up with. However, by putting all your eggs in one basket, you risk making switching providers a headache.

Ultimately, Mullvad is a solid pick for a cheap VPN that doesn’t cut privacy corners or make you monitor your bill, while NordVPN offers more amenities on its base plan and provides options to bundle additional privacy or security services. But you’ll want to avoid auto-renewal if you go with Nord.

Privacy winner: Mullvad has an edge, but both providers impress

People with critical privacy concerns, like political activists, asylum-seekers, investigative journalists, lawyers or paranoid torrenters, should be fine with either NordVPN or Mullvad. But if you’re worried about even having an email address associated with your account and want protection from future threats, stick with Mullvad.

With either VPN, you’ll get a solid privacy foundation, including modern encryption to safeguard your internet traffic, an audited no-logs policy, a kill switch and split tunneling. Mullvad prioritizes privacy above all else, and is one of the few VPNs you can purchase without providing personal details like your name or email address. By comparison, NordVPN requires a name, email address and other identifying information.

NordVPN publishes a transparency report to show the user data requests it has received and how many — if any — it has complied with. Transparency reports can further establish trust, suggesting that companies, like Nord, won’t hand your data over to authorities. Or that if they do, there’s little more than an email address and confirmation of an account. I’d like to see Mullvad offer transparency reports, but it’s not a dealbreaker.

Theoretically, audits suggest that there’s no VPN session data saved that could be handed over to authorities. But Nord and Mullvad go a step further by using RAM-only server infrastructure, which wipes data upon each server reboot, providing even more peace of mind.

VPN jurisdiction is an important consideration, and I don’t have significant concerns about either provider. NordVPN is headquartered in Panama, which is outside of the Five, Nine and 14 Eyes data-sharing alliances. Therefore, the company is under no obligation to comply with information requests from other countries. Mullvad resides in Sweden, which is in the 14 Eyes; however, the company says that Sweden remains safe jurisdiction because Swedish law doesn’t require VPN providers to log user data. Despite Mullvad’s 14 Eyes headquarters, local laws make it a seemingly safe choice as a VPN.

You’ll get some forward-thinking privacy protections with Nord and Mullvad. Both companies have post-quantum resistance to help guard against threats from quantum computers, like breaking through encryption. Mullvad provides DAITA, or Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis, which attempts to thwart online activity monitoring attempts by artificial intelligence-powered tools. I appreciate that NordVPN and Mullvad offer innovative features to help protect against future threats from AI and quantum computing.

Overall, NordVPN and Mullvad deliver the privacy basics plus advanced tools, with Mullvad a step ahead in terms of forward-thinking privacy and separation from personal information.

Usability winner: NordVPN is more intuitive, more capable for streaming and better for travel

Overall, NordVPN is much more intuitive than Mullvad, working significantly better for practical applications, like streaming videos or global travel. Its apps are more polished, you get twice as many simultaneous connections and there’s broader device support. Note that Mullvad isn’t challenging to use, but its lackluster streaming capabilities and slightly clunky app design mean it’s better for people solely focused on serious privacy.

By default, Mullvad minimizes to the system tray on Windows, which feels outdated in comparison to NordVPN’s more modern app that renders in a window. You can pop it out on Windows, but the app still feels clunkier to navigate, almost like a mobile app running on a computer. Mullvad’s mobile apps are more polished than its desktop apps, but NordVPN’s apps are slicker and more intuitive across the board, with less clicking or tapping in and out of menus.

Although VPNs are privacy tools, many folks rely on them for entertainment and travel. You can use a VPN to access movies and TV shows on streaming services like Netflix or BBC iPlayer, letting you stream content from your home country while abroad or unblocking region-restricted videos from the comfort of your couch. NordVPN trounces Mullvad for streaming and travel with its significantly larger server network of 8,000-plus servers in 126 countries, compared with Mullvad’s 712 servers in 49 countries. If you regularly travel internationally, Nord offers a much broader selection of connection options than Mullvad, especially in certain regions, like Africa and the Middle East.

For streaming service content unblocking, NordVPN drastically outperforms Mullvad. In our testing, we were able to use Nord to access dozens of global libraries on services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, CBC Gem, and other apps. By contrast, Mullvad struggled with most streaming services aside from Netflix and HBO Max. Moreover, Nord has apps for Android TV, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV streaming apps, as well as computers and mobile devices. Mullvad doesn’t offer a Fire TV app — although you can sideload an Android app on Fire Sticks — and it completely lacks an Apple TV app.

While a standard VPN connection should suffice for most folks, you may want even beefier privacy protection. Mullvad and NordVPN each have double VPN servers, but Nord also has Tor VPN servers. Double VPN (or multi-hop) and Onion over VPN servers make it even harder to trace your internet activity back to your device than with a traditional VPN connection. Multi-hop servers use two VPN connections, whereas Onion over VPN servers use Tor (or The Onion Routing) in conjunction with a VPN to accomplish additional privacy.

On the whole, NordVPN is more intuitive and delivers a better all-around experience for casual users alongside privacy-critical users, while Mullvad VPN mainly excels for privacy enthusiasts.

Bottom line: NordVPN is better than Mullvad for most folks, but Mullvad is excellent for privacy-conscious users on a budget

NordVPN is a much more versatile VPN than Mullvad, making it a good choice for most people, including those who want a VPN for general web browsing and streaming, international travelers or anyone with serious privacy concerns, such as political activists. It excels in nearly every area, aside from an exorbitant renewal price. On the other hand, I suggest Mullvad for heightened privacy, from everyday uses like browsing the web to more advanced situations where there are concerns about an email address being associated with a VPN company account. Mullvad’s lack of price hikes makes it a set-it-and-forget-it VPN subscription — unlike NordVPN — so it’s a compelling budget VPN.

One final note: If you’re looking for something in between those two — good streaming capabilities at a lower price — Proton VPN boasts excellent privacy, solid streaming chops and a large international server network, all without excessive price hikes.