Mullvad and Proton VPN are the two privacy-first VPNs people shortlist together, and they price themselves in opposite ways. Mullvad's pricing page carries a single number: €5 per month including VAT, the same rate for one month, one year or one decade, with the page converting it to $5.58, £4.23 or SEK 55.94 for you. There is no discount for committing longer, and the FAQ on the same page explains why there is no free plan either.
TL;DR
Mullvad sells one product at one price: €5 a month, about $5.58, whether you pay for a month, a year or a decade, with no free plan. Proton VPN runs a ladder: a free tier at $0.00, VPN Plus at $9.99 month-to-month or $3.49 a month on the two-year term, and Proton Unlimited at $12.99 or $7.99. Mullvad wins on simplicity and anonymous signup; Proton wins on features, device count and a free entry point.
Proton VPN's page is a three-tier table. Proton Free costs $0.00 a month and covers one device at medium speed with connections to 10 countries chosen at random. VPN Plus is $9.99 a month when billed monthly or $3.49 a month on the two-year term, billed $83.76 for the first 24 months and then $83.88 every 12 months; it covers 10 devices at a time, more than 20,000 servers in 140+ countries, streaming support, the NetShield ad and malware blocker, and priority support with live chat. Proton Unlimited is $12.99 or $7.99 a month and adds Proton Mail, Pass, Calendar and Drive to the same VPN.
The difference underneath the numbers is what you are buying. Mullvad sells exactly one thing and asks for no identity: signup generates a numbered account with no username, password or email, and the company publishes a no-logging policy that covers traffic, DNS requests, connections and IP addresses. Proton sells a family of products where the VPN is the entry point, and it uses the familiar discount ladder with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test the paid tier without staying.
| Feature | Mullvad | Proton VPN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €5/month flat, about $5.58, same on monthly or multi-year terms | Free at $0.00; VPN Plus $9.99/month or $3.49/month on the 2-year term |
| Free plan | None; the pricing FAQ explains the reasoning | Proton Free: 1 device, medium speed, 10 countries |
| Devices at once | Up to 5 per account | 10 devices on paid plans, 1 on free |
| Servers and locations | Server count is not printed on the pricing page | 20,000+ servers in 140+ countries |
| Billing commitment | Same rate for 1 month, 1 year or 1 decade; prepaid time never expires | 2-year term billed $83.76 up front, then $83.88 every 12 months |
| Signup identity | Numbered account, no email or password required | Proton account with email sign-in |
| Extras | VPN only | NetShield blocker, streaming, P2P, priority support; Unlimited adds Mail, Pass, Calendar, Drive |
| Refund terms | No money-back offer stated on the pricing page | 30-day money-back guarantee |
Pick Mullvad if
Mullvad is the pick when you want one number, no upsell and no identity attached to the account. Five devices, a flat €5 rate and a published no-logging policy cover the needs of most single users and households that already know what a VPN is for. You give up a free tier, streaming features and any discount for prepaying.
Pick Proton VPN if
Proton VPN fits households that want a free plan to start, ten devices, streaming and ad blocking, and the option to fold mail, password manager and storage into one subscription. The two-year term at $3.49 a month is the price to beat on features, but check the renewal line: the plan moves to $83.88 every 12 months after the first 24 months.
No user reviews or rating-site scores were collected for this page; all figures come from mullvad.net and protonvpn.com pricing pages and Mullvad's published policy pages, fetched on 14 October 2026.
Mullvad is cheaper flat out: €5 a month (about $5.58) on any term. Proton VPN Plus is $3.49 a month only on the two-year term, which is billed $83.76 for the first 24 months, and $9.99 a month if you pay monthly.
Proton does. Proton Free is $0.00 a month with no artificial speed limits, covering one device with servers in 10 countries. Mullvad has no free plan and says so in its own pricing FAQ.
Mullvad allows up to 5 devices on one account, and its help pages say extra devices cannot be bought. Proton VPN allows 10 devices at a time on paid plans and one on the free plan.
Not with Mullvad: signup generates a 16-digit account number and no username, password or email is requested. Proton asks you to create a Proton account, which is tied to an email address.
The two-year VPN Plus term is billed $83.76 for the first 24 months and then renews at $83.88 every 12 months, according to the pricing page. Mullvad has no renewal step: prepaid time simply runs out and you top up at the same €5 rate.
Only Proton advertises it. Its pricing page lists streaming support and P2P on paid plans; Mullvad's pricing page says nothing about streaming, so treat streaming as untested there rather than guaranteed.
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