# Alternatives to Mullvad

Flat-fee VPN with anonymous accounts and cash payment.

Mullvad ranks #7 of 9 in Personal VPNs, with an Alt Score of 78. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, sold by subscription from €5/month and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. 11 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mullvad/
Category: Personal VPNs

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Privacy-conscious individuals who want to hide their browsing from ISPs, networks, and third parties without tying their VPN use to a personal identity.
- **What you get**: A no-logs VPN service that encrypts your traffic and masks your IP address, with WireGuard and OpenVPN protocol support and open-source, third-party-audited apps for major desktop and mobile platforms. Pricing is a flat EUR5/month regardless of plan length or device count, with no upsells or tiers. Payment can be made anonymously via cash, cryptocurrency, or other non-identifying methods.
- **How it works**: You generate a random 16-digit account number to sign up, with no email or personal details required, then top it up with payment and use it to log into the Mullvad app on your device. From there you select a server location and connect, routing your traffic through Mullvad's encrypted network.

## Profile

- **License**: GPL-3.0 (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: €5/month (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Private Internet Access](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/private-internet-access.md) | 100 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 2 | [Windscribe](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/windscribe.md) | 96 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 3 | [Surfshark](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/surfshark.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 4 | [NordVPN](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nordvpn.md) | 89 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 5 | [ExpressVPN](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/expressvpn.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 6 | [Proton VPN](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/proton-vpn.md) | 85 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 7 | [IVPN](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ivpn.md) | 66 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 8 | [Cloudflare WARP](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cloudflare-warp.md) | 51 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Personal VPNs checklist | Mullvad | Private Internet Access | Windscribe | Surfshark | NordVPN | ExpressVPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Subscription | Freemium | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starts at | €5/month | $1.33/mo | $1.00 per location/month (Build-A-Plan, $3 minimum); Pro from $5.75/month billed yearly | €2.29/mo. | $3.49 per month | $3.49/month |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension |
| Independent audit published | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No-logs policy jurisdiction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| WireGuard support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Server count / countries | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous devices | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Split tunneling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Port forwarding | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Dedicated IP option | No | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| P2P allowed | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| RAM-only servers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous payment accepted | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Mullvad. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: GPL-3.0 — <https://github.com/mullvad/mullvadvpn-app> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “GPL-3.0 license”
- **Starts at**: €5/month — <https://mullvad.net/en/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “€5 per month”
- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://mullvad.net/en/pricing> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “one flat monthly rate for ultimate flexibility”
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android — <https://github.com/mullvad/mullvadvpn-app> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Desktop: Windows, Linux, and macOS. Mobile: Android and iOS”
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/mullvad/mullvadvpn-app/releases> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “android/2026.7”
- **Independent audit published**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/blog/the-report-for-the-2024-security-audit-of-the-app-is-now-available> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The report for the 2024 security audit of the app is now available”
- **No-logs policy jurisdiction**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/no-logging-data-policy> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The underlying policy of Mullvad is that we never store any activity logs of any kind.”
- **WireGuard support**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/wireguard-and-mullvad-vpn> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The Mullvad VPN app for Linux uses the WireGuard protocol by default, so all you need to do is connect.”
- **Server count / countries**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/servers> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “576 / 576 servers”
- **Simultaneous devices**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/faq> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You can use your account on up to 5 devices.”
- **Kill switch**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/faq> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The app has a built in kill switch that is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.”
- **Split tunneling**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/split-tunneling-with-the-mullvad-app> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Split tunneling is included in the Mullvad VPN app for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android.”
- **Port forwarding**: No — <https://mullvad.net/en/blog/removing-the-support-for-forwarded-ports> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Today we announce that we no longer support port forwarding.”
- **Dedicated IP option**: No — <https://mullvad.net/en/help/faq> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “No, it is not aligned with privacy since it somehow has to be linked to a user”
- **RAM-only servers**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/blog/we-have-successfully-completed-our-migration-to-ram-only-vpn-infrastructure> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Today we announce that we have completely removed all traces of disks being used by our VPN infrastructure!”
- **Anonymous payment accepted**: Yes — <https://mullvad.net/en/blog/cash-still-king> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Use cash as payment, and keep your privacy to yourself.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/