Mullvad VPN vs IVPN

Mullvad VPN is based in Sweden, which has strong privacy protections and is outside the Five Eyes surveillance alliance.

IVPN is based in Gibraltar, a jurisdiction with strong privacy protections and no mandatory data retention laws.

Cure53 conducted a comprehensive security audit of Mullvad VPN in 2020, confirming their no-logs policy and infrastructure security.

Cure53 conducted a comprehensive security audit of IVPN in 2019, confirming their no-logs policy and infrastructure security.

Mullvad VPN supports WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols with secure defaults and strong encryption.

IVPN supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols with secure defaults and strong encryption.

WG ChaCha20-Poly1305; OVPN AES-256-GCM; strong handshakes.

AES-256 & ChaCha20; PFS; rigorous configs.

Always-on kill-switch/lockdown; DNS guidance; IPv6/WebRTC mitigations.

Kill switch across platforms; independent tests show no DNS/IPv6/WebRTC leaks.

Extensive colocation/hardened fleet (not 100% owned globally).

Self-hosted/managed servers; limited regions vs giants.

Network-wide RAM-only completed Sep 20, 2023.

Not RAM-only fleet as of latest statements.

Company details public (Mullvad VPN AB, Sweden); frequent policy/audit comms.

Independent; detailed ownership & operations disclosures.

No affiliates/paid reviews policy.

No affiliate program, no paid reviews policy.

Public security contact & disclosure; no cash bounty program.

Security contact and responsible disclosure; no public bounty board.

Police visit handled transparently; follow-up protocol request published.

No material incidents; audit addressed promptly.

Mullvad VPN provides good speed performance with WireGuard protocol, though speeds may vary by server location.

IVPN provides excellent speed performance with WireGuard protocol and optimized server infrastructure.

Native apps: Windows/macOS/Linux GUI/iOS/Android; 5 devices.

Apps for Win/macOS/Linux, iOS/Android; open-source clients.

Mullvad VPN does not actively support streaming unblocking and focuses on privacy rather than geo-unblocking.

IVPN does not actively support streaming unblocking and focuses on privacy and security.

Mullvad VPN provides email support and comprehensive documentation, though live chat is not available.

IVPN provides email support and comprehensive documentation with knowledgeable staff.

Mullvad VPN offers flat-rate pricing at €5/month with 30-day money-back guarantee.

IVPN offers competitive pricing with 30-day money-back guarantee and transparent pricing structure.

Anonymous account numbers; cash by mail, Monero, BTC, cards, bank wire, Swish.

Cash by mail, Monero, Bitcoin, cards.

Civil-liberties advocacy (e.g., Stop Chat Control) and privacy-first ops.

Privacy-first stance; frequent transparency writing.

Encrypted DNS filters for ads/trackers/malware (DNS-level).

AntiTracker (DNS-level) included.

Multihop, split tunneling, custom DNS, SOCKS5, API keys, Android TV.

Multi-hop, tracker blocking; limited extras (no dedicated IP).

WG-over-TCP, Bridge, DAITA traffic camo; effective in many restricted environments.

Obfsproxy/obfuscation guidance for restricted networks.

Apps & many tools open-source (GitHub).

All apps & website open-source.

Mullvad VPN has enabled quantum-resistant WireGuard tunnels by default on all desktop platforms as of January 2025. The implementation uses Classic McEliece and ML-KEM algorithms for post-quantum secure key encapsulation mechanisms.

No PQC support announced.

Not offered (shared IP model).

Not offered.

Centralized (not a dVPN).

Centralized (not a dVPN).

No AI endpoint scanning features.

None advertised.

First-class Linux GUI; parity documented.

Native OSS Linux client; strong parity.

Apps avoid trackers; policy emphasizes minimal data.

Minimal telemetry; open code enables verification.