Both Proton VPN and Mullvad are fully open-source, independently audited, and owned by entities independent of the Kape or Nord Security groups. Proton VPN is based in Switzerland and majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation; Mullvad is based in Sweden, founder-owned, and the only major VPN without an affiliate programme. Neither is a clear winner — the right choice depends on what you value most.
VPN comparison
Proton VPN vs Mullvad: Two Open-Source Privacy Picks Compared
By Editorial Team · Last updated 25 June 2026
Proton VPN vs Mullvad: the verified facts
| VPN | Trust & certifications | pricing | money-back | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proton VPN Since 2014 | Open-source apps + independent no-logs audits | — | — | |
| Mullvad Since 2009 | Open-source stack; repeated independent security audits | — | — |
Proton VPN Since 2014
- Trust & certifications
- Open-source apps + independent no-logs audits
- pricing
- —
- money-back
- —
Mullvad Since 2009
- Trust & certifications
- Open-source stack; repeated independent security audits
- pricing
- —
- money-back
- —
Only fields we can verify (certifications, confirmed specs, launch year) are shown.
How do they compare on the facts?
Proton VPN was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Switzerland, a jurisdiction outside the 5/9/14 Eyes intelligence alliances. Its majority owner is the Proton Foundation, a non-profit entity, which gives the company a structural incentive aligned with user privacy rather than shareholder returns. The apps — across all major platforms — are 100% open-source, and the no-logs policy has been confirmed by five consecutive annual independent audits. Proton VPN also offers an audited free plan that does not monetise user data, making it one of the few VPNs where a cost-free option is genuinely credible. The WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN protocols are all supported.
Mullvad was founded in 2009 and is based in Sweden, which sits inside the 14 Eyes alliance — a factual distinction worth noting, though Sweden has no mandatory data-retention law for VPN providers at time of writing. Mullvad is founder-owned through Amagicom AB and operates a fully open-source stack that has been audited by multiple independent firms, including Assured (web application) and reviews of its WireGuard and GotaTun protocol implementations. Its most distinctive feature is account creation without any email address or personal information: users receive an anonymous account number and pay a flat monthly rate. Mullvad has no affiliate programme — VPN Atlas earns nothing from recommending it. That independence is precisely why it belongs in this comparison: it is editorially included on merit alone.
Who suits whom?
Proton VPN is the stronger fit if you want a single provider for an entire household or team, or if cost is a real constraint — the audited free tier means you can start with zero spend and upgrade only if you need more locations. The Switzerland jurisdiction and non-profit ownership structure will appeal to users who want organisational accountability baked into the company's legal form, not just promised in a policy document. The five-audit streak also gives privacy-conscious users a meaningful track record rather than a single point-in-time snapshot.
Mullvad suits users for whom anonymity at the account level matters as much as what happens inside the tunnel. If you would rather not hand over an email address to sign up — and are comfortable paying a flat rate rather than hunting for deal pricing — Mullvad's model is architecturally cleaner from a data-minimisation standpoint. It also appeals to technically inclined users who want to inspect the full open-source stack and protocol-level audit history. The absence of an affiliate programme means every recommendation you read — including this one — has no financial motive behind it, which is itself a signal worth weighing.
Frequently asked questions
Which is more private, Proton VPN or Mullvad?
Both have strong, independently audited no-logs policies and fully open-source apps. The meaningful difference is at the account layer: Mullvad requires no email address and issues anonymous account numbers, which reduces the personal data you share at sign-up to essentially nothing. Proton VPN collects an email address for account creation. On the network side, Switzerland (Proton) sits outside 14 Eyes while Sweden (Mullvad) sits inside it — though that distinction matters only if a government could compel the provider to log future traffic, which a verified no-logs architecture is designed to prevent.
Does Mullvad have a free plan like Proton VPN?
No. Mullvad charges a flat monthly rate with no free tier. Proton VPN is the only major VPN among this pair that offers a free plan, and that plan has been independently audited — it does not monetise user data or inject ads. If budget is a deciding factor, Proton VPN's free tier is a credible starting point; Mullvad is a paid-only product.
Is Proton VPN or Mullvad better for streaming?
VPN Atlas has not run independent streaming tests on either provider, so we will not cite figures we cannot verify. Both providers support WireGuard, which is generally the fastest modern protocol. Whether either unblocks a specific streaming service in a given region can change week to week as platforms update their detection. Check each provider's own current documentation and look for user reports on current platform compatibility before making streaming access a deciding factor.