Mullvad VPN

Our verdict: the most credible choice for anonymous VPN use — open source, repeatedly audited, and transparent even about its own flaws.

Mullvad has operated from Sweden since 2009 on a single premise: you should not have to identify yourself to buy privacy. There is no email address, no username and no subscription profile — an account is a randomly generated number, and the price has stayed a flat €5 per month with no tiers, no renewal hikes and no annual-discount games. Payment can be made by card, cash in an envelope or cryptocurrency, and the privacy policy commits to storing no activity logs or metadata.

The client apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS are fully open source under GPL-3.0, with every release cryptographically signed. Mullvad commissions independent audits on a regular cadence — Cure53 for its server infrastructure, X41 D-Sec for the apps — and publishes the reports in full, including the vulnerabilities found in its own code. It deliberately skips the streaming-unblocking arms race; this is a tool built for people whose first requirement is privacy.