NordVPN vs. Mullvad – At a Glance
NordVPN
NordVPN offers comprehensive VPN protection and enhancement at a reasonable price. The provider’s large global server network provides reliable access to geo-fenced content, while providing support for popular connected devices.
The provider will be an attractive option for those looking for fast, well-protected access to content around the world.
Visit NordVPN
Mullvad
Mullvad is a privacy-first Swedish VPN provider that puts a priority on online privacy and security over access to blocked content. The privacy-focused VPN provided fast connections in my speed tests, although it let me down when it came to accessing content in other countries.
If your focus is solely on stealthy online activities, Mullvad may be worth taking a look at.
Visit Mullvad
How to Choose a VPN
When you’re deciding on which Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider is the right one for your personal and business needs, there are several VPN features you should consider.
In this article, I’ll take a close look at two VPN providers (NordVPN and Mullvad). I’ll compare them in each service category, providing information about how well both VPNs performed and then declaring a winner. I will then tally up the scores and crown an overall winner.
By the time you finish this article, you should have more than enough information at hand to make an informed VPN decision.
NordVPN vs. Mullvad – Features
Connection Speeds
The faster your internet connection, the more enjoyable your online experience will be.
Pixel Privacy conducts VPN connection speed tests on a regular basis. The speed tests are performed as follows:
- All tests are carried out using a North American Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection.
- Tests are performed using the latest Windows version of the VPN providers’ app. The apps are configured to use the OpenVPN UDP connection protocol when possible.
- During testing, connections are made to United Kingdom-, United States-, and Hong Kong-based VPN servers. Connections are made at three different times of day.
- Once connected to a VPN server location, theSpeedtest.net app is used to test the connection speeds. The Speedtest app is shutdown before testing the next VPN location.
It should be noted that if you perform your own connection speed tests, you’ll likely see different results than I did. This is due to multiple factors that can affect your results, including your usual connection speeds, where you are located, and which VPN server location you connect to.
While NordVPN and Mullvad both deliver plenty of bandwidth for your favorite online pastimes, one provider outpaced the other.
NordVPN’s download speeds were quite fast, averaging in at 300.1 Mbps. Connection speeds like that make the provider an excellent choice for streaming, onlinegaming, andfile sharing.
However, Mullvad performed a bit better, measuring in at 390.4 Mbps. Again, these speeds can easily handle any popular online activity.
Average Connection Speed Winner: Mullvad
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| NordVPN | 300.1 Mbps | Visit Site |
| Mullvad | 390.4 Mbps | Visit Site |
Pricing
Pricing is an important consideration for those of us on a tight budget. However, you should never decide on a VPN based only on its subscription rates.
Both NordVPN and Mullvad offer a reasonable price for their services. NordVPN takes the crown in this category, thanks to its $3.99 USD per month rate when you sign up for a two-year subscription. Meanwhile, Mullvad only offers monthly subscriptions, which are $5.41 USD per month.
Make sure to double-check pricing on both provider’s websites, as many providers change their rates on a regular basis. I based NordVPN’s victory on its Standard pricing, as it allows me to compare apples to apples. At that level, NordVPN’s offering is similar to Mullvad, with no extra features.
Pricing Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Monthly Price | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Links |
| NordVPN | $3.99 Standard $4.99 Plus $6.99 Ultimate |
30 days | Visit Site |
| Mullvad | $5.41 USD | 30 days | Visit Site |
Privacy
If you’re using the internet, someone is interested in seeing the records of what you do online. Be it your ISP, advertisers, hackers, or the government, someone is interested in your online activities. That’s why any VPN provider worth your consideration should offer comprehensive privacy protection.
A VPN service’s privacy protections can best be rated by considering the following:
- Is the provider located in a privacy-respecting country?
- Does the provider save user logs?
- Does the provider accept cryptocurrency? (Protects your payment privacy.)
NordVPN is based in Panama, which respects internet users’ privacy rights. The provider does not save user activity logs on its servers. Users can pay with cryptocurrency and use a disposable email address to keep their subscription information private.
NordVPN also runs all of its servers solely from RAM, writing no data of any kind to a physical storage device. This ensures that all data is automatically wiped from a NordVPN server whenever it is rebooted or shut down. The provider’s owned-and-operated servers keep third-party contractors well away from your personal information.
Mullvad is based in Sweden, which is one of the most privacy-friendly countries in the world. The provider does not save any user-identifying information that can be linked back to a user and accepts various forms of cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, Mullvad does not own all of its servers, leasing them from third-party operators in some countries.
I love that there is no requirement to hand over any personal details when subscribing to the provider. The provider simply assigns you an account number and you use that in place of an email address or any other identifying info to log in.
Privacy Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| NordVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Mullvad | 4.5 | Visit Site |
Online Security
While you’re online, it’s likely that someone is attempting to follow you around. Whether it’s hackers monitoring users of WiFi hotspots or your ISP – someone is attempting to monitor your online activity.
This makes it important to use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection, as it keeps your personal and business-related online activities from being monitored in real-time or logged by your ISP.
NordVPN protects its customers’ connection with banking-grade encryption,kill switch protection, andDNS/IP leak prevention, as well as malware and ad blocking.
As for Mullvad, it uses military-grade encryption, a kill switch, IP/DNS leak prevention, and more to protect its users’ connections.
Security Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| NordVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Mullvad | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Simultaneous Connections
I would venture to say that most of my readers own more than one internet-connected device. This makes a VPN provider’s simultaneous connection policy an important thing to consider.
NordVPN allows users to connect up to 10 devices at once to their servers.
Mullvad allows its users to concurrently connect up to five devices to its servers.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| NordVPN | 6 | Visit Site |
| Mullvad | 5 | Visit Site |
Streaming Support
According to a recent report, 85% of U.S. households have at least one video streaming subscription, and 60% have at least one paid music streaming subscription. 7% of Americans have six or more streaming subscriptions.
While this means that most viewers have easy access to a wealth of online content, the majority of streaming services place geographic limitations on most content. This means that you may not have access to your favorite content when you’re traveling or living outside of your home country.
A VPN resolves these limitations, as it temporarily assigns an IP address located in another country to your connected devices. This provides access to the geo-fenced content that normally you do not have access to in your current location.
NordVPN delivers reliable access to several streaming services, includingNetflix,Amazon Prime,BBC iPlayer, Hulu,Disney+, HBO Max, and multiple other streaming services.
However, Mullvad prefers to concentrate on providing online privacy and security and doesn’t claim to unblock streaming services. This means that it does not provide access to Netflix US, Netflix UK, Hulu, Disney+, and any other major streaming service I tested.
Streaming Support Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| NordVPN | 10+ | 5+ | Visit Site Read Review |
| Mullvad | 0 | 0 | Visit Site |
BitTorrent Support
Many internet users share files via BitTorrent (P2P), as it’s a popular online activity. While sharing non-copyrighted files is perfectly legal in most countries, several ISPs frown on the activity due to pressure from movie studios and music publishers, so they block or throttle the activity.
Luckily, a VPN can keep your P2P activity hidden, as it encrypts your internet connection. A VPN also hides your real IP address, so other P2P users can’t see your actual IP address.
NordVPN allows P2P activity on most of the servers in its global server network. If you aren’t connected to a P2P server and you fire up a BitTorrenting app, the provider will automatically connect you to a P2P-enabled server once it detects any file sharing activity.
Mullvad allows BitTorrenting activity on every server in its network.
BitTorrenting Winner: It’s a tie. (While not all of NordVPN’s servers allow P2P, you are automatically moved to a P2P server if you begin file sharing.)
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| NordVPN | All of them | Visit Site Read Review |
| Mullvad | All of them | Visit Site |
Global Server Coverage
The size of a VPN provider’s global server network provides a good idea of how much geo-restricted content you’ll likely have access to. Look for a provider with servers located in several countries. Also, look for a provider that has more than one server in the countries it serves. This helps prevent any single server from being hit with too many users at once users.
Mullvad has 650+ servers located in 40 or so countries around the world.
Meanwhile, NordVPN currently boasts more than 6,100 servers spread across 100+ countries around the globe.
Global Server Coverage Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| NordVPN | 6,100+ | 100+ | Visit Site Read Review |
| Mullvad | 650+ | 40+ | Visit Site |
Multi-Platform Support
I’d venture to say that quite a few of my readers own multiple connected devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets to computers to set top boxes. This makes a VPN provider’s native app support quite important.
NordVPN offers native app support for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, Apple TV (running iOS 17 and later), and Amazon Fire TV device platforms. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browser extensions are also available. The provider also offers support for select routers and ready-to-go routers throughFlashrouters.com.
Mullvad’s device support is not quite as expansive. It offers native app options only for iOS, macOS, Android, Linux, and Windows device platforms. The provider offers its own custom web browser, as well as a Firefox browser extension. Preconfigured WiFi routers are available from Flashrouters.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router
Support? |
Link |
| NordVPN | 8 | 3 | Yes, including pre-configured routers. | Visit Site Read Review |
| Mullvad | 5 | 1 | Yes, including pre-configured routers. | Visit Site |
Customer Support
While both providers offer relatively problem-free VPN services, you may still have an occasional question or two.
NordVPN’s customer support is available 24/7 and is made up of around-the-clock live chat, email support, and a searchable support library.
Mullvad support offerings include email support, an FAQ section, and a searchable support section.
Customer Support Winner: NordVPN
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| NordVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site Read Review |
| Mullvad | 4.0 | Visit Site |
And The Winner Is…
Both VPN providers offer comprehensive VPN protection. However, only one provider can be the victor in this faceoff.
NordVPN is the overall winner, as it comes out on top in the pricing, privacy, simultaneous connections, streaming, global server coverage, multi-platform support, and customer support categories.
Mullvad scored best in just one category, connection speeds.
Both companies tied in the online security and BitTorrent support categories.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit NordVPN.
