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CNET· Attila Tomaschek·· 3 小時前AI 評分27

Mullvad VPN 2026 評測:私隱表現仍居頂尖,價格依然相宜

Mullvad VPN Review 2026: Still Tops for Privacy, Still Budget-Friendly

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Mullvad VPN 仍是評測者最推薦給有高度私隱需求的用戶的服務,過去一年變化不大。每月固定收費 5 euros(約 $6),沒有自動續訂。2026 年測試錄得 26.5% 速度損失;服務有 566 個伺服器,串流解鎖能力較弱。

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Mullvad VPN logo

Mullvad

8.0

Pros & Cons

  • Unique approach to privacy
  • Fast speeds
  • Budget-friendly with no-nonsense pricing
  • Open-source apps
  • Small server network
  • Struggles with streaming
  • No transparency reports
  • Only five simultaneous connections

At a time when other virtual private networks are attempting all sorts of tricks and gimmicks to try and one-up one another (sometimes to their own detriment), Mullvad remains even-keeled and seemingly unconcerned with what the competition is up to. Mullvad does its own thing, and has been doing it consistently well for years. 

Mullvad hasn’t changed much in the past year, which means that my impressions and analysis remain largely the same as in my previous review of the VPN service. That’s not a bad thing – rather, it means the service continues to offer one of the best VPNs for protecting your privacy online.

Although I’m familiar with how Mullvad operates and have come to know what to expect from the company throughout my decade-plus testing VPNs professionally, I still put Mullvad through the same rigorous testing process I do for every VPN. In addition to running hundreds of speed tests with Mullvad, I checked for leaks, tested all apps and features for usability and functionality, evaluated its streaming capabilities across platforms, pored over its privacy policy and assessed its overall value.

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Throughout the process, it was clear that Mullvad is the same top-tier, privacy-first VPN it has always been. Mullvad remains the VPN I recommend most to people with critical privacy needs. However, casual users who want to use a VPN for streaming may be better off looking elsewhere because Mullvad is so hyperfocused on privacy that it doesn’t expend much energy trying to unblock streaming content.           

Value (8/10): Budget-friendly, with a no-nonsense price structure  

  • Key takeaway: You can’t get simpler pricing than what you get with Mullvad. No autorenewal price spikes, no fake discounts. Just six bucks a month for a VPN that can hold its own against the big dogs. 
  • 5 euros (~$6) a month
  • 14-day money-back guarantee
  • Payment options: cash, voucher, credit card, PayPal, crypto, bank wire
  • No recurring subscriptions

While gas, groceries and VPNs keep getting more expensive, Mullvad’s price remains a flat fee of five euros (about $6) per month, whether you use it for a month, six months, a year or longer. That’s a stark contrast to the increasingly complicated price structures being concocted by many other VPNs, which often feature multiple tiers and term lengths, exaggerated “discounts” and skyrocketing renewal prices.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with VPN companies offering tiered price structures and bundled options on top of their core VPN services, prices are often deliberately convoluted and framed as being more attractive than they actually are. One of the things I respect most about Mullvad is that it doesn’t engage in any pricing sneakiness like too many other VPN companies do.

Mullvad keeps costs down by only offering a VPN service. A handful of other top VPNs, including Surfshark, NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN, offer additional cybersecurity tools that you can bundle with the VPN. Some of the bundled options include antivirus, password managers, data removal services and encrypted email. If you want to bundle other cybersecurity tools with your VPN, I recommend checking out one of the previously mentioned providers. (Note: Nord is our top pick for bundled services.) 

Mullvad offers ultimate flexibility at signup

Otherwise, Mullvad delivers a ton of value for privacy-first VPN users. While most other VPNs cost anywhere from $10 to $18-plus for a month of service, Mullvad’s approximately $6 a month price gives you the flexibility to choose exactly how long you need the service without being forced to lock into a lengthy subscription for a better rate. In fact, the lack of any sort of recurring subscription plan helps Mullvad store as little data about its customers as possible. 

Mullvad’s price structure is about as simple as you can get.

When you sign up for Mullvad, or at any time after you’ve created an account, you can add a month, two months, three months, six months or a year of service. The catch is that the time doesn’t automatically renew. However, your account dashboard shows you how much time you currently have left and allows you to easily add a renewal reminder to your calendar of choice. The app itself also displays the number of days left on your account. So while you have to manually manage your Mullvad “subscription,” it’s always clear how much time you have left on your account and it’s simple to add more time whenever you need to.

At about $6 per month, you’re looking at paying roughly $72 for a year of Mullvad, which is basically on par with what you’d pay for a year with Proton VPN, Windscribe or Surfshark, but significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN or NordVPN. Alternatively, you can purchase a year of Mullvad from Amazon for $65, which can save you a few bucks if you want to commit to a full year. 

You can pay for Mullvad with cash, voucher, credit card, PayPal, crypto, bank wire or a handful of other international payment services. If you’re not happy with Mullvad, you can request a refund within 14 days of purchase.        

Speed (9/10): Small server network, big time speed performance

  • Key takeaway: Despite having the smallest server network out of our top VPN picks, Mullvad’s speed performance is impressive.
  • 26.5% speed loss in 2026 tests
  • Number of servers: 566
  • Number of server locations: 91 cities across 50 countries

Mullvad’s connections remained relatively speedy this year, even as we’ve noticed a general dip in speed performance across VPN providers during our most recent testing cycle. As a team, we ran more than 200 individual speed tests with Mullvad over both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections on MacOS and Windows using the WireGuard connection protocol through six different server locations across the globe. We then averaged the speeds we got through the VPN across platforms and connection types and compared VPN speeds to our non-VPN speeds to determine the percentage of speed we lost on average when connected to the VPN.

With Mullvad, we registered a 26.5% average speed loss overall, which is in the same ballpark as NordVPN’s 27.2% speed loss and faster than the 33.5% we calculated with Surfshark, though it trails pack leader ExpressVPN’s 20.8%. Still, Mullvad’s speed performance is respectable, considering many VPNs can cut your speeds by 50% or more. Mullvad should be fast enough for basically anything you want to do online, including streaming and torrenting, unless your base connection speed is sub-100Mbps.

Solid speed performance across platforms and connection types

Over Ethernet, we averaged a speed loss of 30.9% on Mac and 36.1% on Windows, while speed loss was considerably less over Wi-Fi at 14.5% on Mac and 24.7% on Windows. Those results generally track with what we typically experience when testing VPN speeds, with less speed degradation on Mac than on Windows.

Mullvad’s speeds through NY servers (L) vs my non-VPN speeds (R).

When connecting over Ethernet, Mullvad’s speeds were faster on servers in France than they were to servers in New York on MacOS, even from our testing locations in the eastern United States. Speeds were also faster to Singapore and Australia than they were to Germany, which was unexpected, considering Australia and Singapore are on the opposite side of the globe. On Windows, speeds to New York were faster than all other server locations, but UK speeds were on par with those from Australia and Singapore.   

Mullvad’s speed performance over Wi-Fi was far more stable and predictable, with faster speeds correlating more or less directly with the physical distance between the server location and our testing location.

Either way, I was impressed with Mullvad’s speed performance in our latest round of testing, especially considering the VPN’s relatively meager server count. Most of our top VPN picks offer thousands of servers in 100-plus countries, which can theoretically translate to less congestion and, in turn, faster speeds. But Mullvad’s speed performance is more than commendable with 566 servers in 50 countries.   

Features (8/10): Unique features for privacy-conscious people

  • Key takeaway: Mullvad offers a wealth of useful and unique features that can help you elevate your privacy in ways most other VPNs can’t.
  • DAITA AI traffic analysis protections
  • Split tunneling on MacOS, Windows, Linux and Android
  • Advanced multihop functionality
  • Robust DNS filtering
  • Multiple obfuscation methods
  • Protocols available: WireGuard

With Mullvad, you get all of the features you’d expect from a top-tier VPN service, plus a handful of unique extras that set Mullvad apart. In addition to standard VPN features like a kill switch and DNS leak protection, Mullvad offers multiple obfuscation methods, multihop connections, advanced DNS content blocking and an intriguing Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis feature.

DAITA, as Mullvad calls it, works to block attackers using artificial intelligence to snoop on encrypted VPN traffic. Even if your internet traffic is encrypted through a VPN tunnel, an attacker could still potentially discern what websites you’re visiting by using AI to analyze the specific patterns of network packets being generated by the sites you use. DAITA randomly mixes dummy packets into the tunnel and makes all packets the same size, effectively rendering any network packet pattern analysis ineffective.   

It’s a simple, but ingenious solution that solidifies Mullvad as one of the best VPNs for privacy-conscious internet users. No other VPN offers DAITA, and it’s great to have on hand if you have critical privacy needs. Windscribe’s Decoy Traffic mode is the only feature that comes anywhere close to Mullvad’s DAITA, but Decoy Traffic is only available on Android, while DAITA is more robust and available across platforms. 

Just keep in mind that enabling DAITA will likely cause a dip in speeds and will eat up more data on mobile networks. 

Many ways to obfuscate your connection

Mullvad’s anti-censorship feature is another great tool if you have critical privacy needs or if you’re behind a restrictive firewall or in a region that imposes heavy internet censorship. With Mullvad’s anti-censorship settings, you can toggle between five different obfuscation methods to disguise the fact that you’re using a VPN. Most other VPNs typically only offer one way to obfuscate your VPN traffic – often a separate protocol or specialty obfuscated servers. 

That might work fine for a lot of people, but obfuscation isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. One obfuscation method may work well for one network but not the other. Giving you five different options creates a much better opportunity to establish a stable connection on a restricted network. Again, the only other one of our top VPN picks that rivals Mullvad in this regard is Windscribe, with its two dedicated obfuscation protocols plus three additional obfuscation methods. 

Mullvad has lots of great features for privacy-focused users.

I also like Mullvad’s Multihop feature, which lets you double hop through any two server locations of your choosing. All you need to do is toggle Multihop on in the settings menu, select your entry location and then your exit location and click Connect. Besides Mullvad and Surfshark, most other VPNs only let you multihop through a handful of predetermined server sets. Choosing your own multihop combinations can potentially help you achieve faster speeds while adding an extra layer of encryption.

A couple of other features that help set Mullvad apart include split tunneling on Mac (which is becoming more common, but still a relative rarity for VPNs) and its advanced DNS content blocking options. Some VPNs only offer a small selection of basic DNS filtering capabilities, and others make you pay extra for additional filters. But Millvad’s DNS content blocking is available to all users and allows you to block ads, trackers, malware, gambling sites, adult content and social media.                 

Usability (6/10): Easy to use, but struggles with streaming

  • Key takeaway: Mullvad’s app offers lots of toggles and is simple and easy to navigate, but it’s built almost exclusively for privacy. So don’t expect it to work perfectly for streaming or other extracurriculars.
  • Apps available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android, iOS, FireTV, Android TV, routers
  • Works with: Netflix
  • Five simultaneous connections

Mullvad allocates the vast majority of its resources into developing a product that excels at keeping you as private as possible. This means that while Mullvad offers a lot for privacy-minded people, the company doesn’t put a lot of focus into optimizing its service for things that may appeal more to casual VPN users, like streaming or gaming. 

This makes Mullvad’s overall usability a unique challenge to assess. A VPN power user with critical privacy needs will likely appreciate all of the ways Mullvad lets them customize and tweak how they want the VPN to behave depending on their network or usage needs. Someone on a restrictive network using Mullvad to bypass censorship will find the VPN’s multitude of obfuscation methods and server IP override functionality especially useful. From the perspective of these subsets of users, Mullvad’s usability is nearly unmatched.

On the other hand, a casual VPN user who mostly wants to unblock movies and shows from various streaming services’ international libraries – especially on a dedicated streaming device – would find Mullvad borderline useless.

Mullvad is a poor choice for streaming

During my tests, I was able to access content from various Netflix libraries across platforms, but not much else. My attempts to access content on other streaming services I tested – including Disney Plus, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video – were denied because the streaming sites detected the Mullvad VPN connection. 

Mullvad is OK for streaming Netflix on desktop, but struggles unblocking content on other platforms.

Although Mullvad doesn’t have a dedicated app for Amazon’s Fire TV devices, I was able to sideload Mullvad’s Android app onto my Fire TV Stick and stream Netflix on my TV. The FireTV experience with Mullvad wasn’t quite as slick as what you get from other VPNs with native apps for the streaming device, but it was serviceable. 

So if all you want to do is watch Netflix and you’re willing to sideload the Android app onto your Fire TV device, then Mullvad could be an option for streaming. Otherwise, it’s a no-go for basically any of your other streaming aspirations. For streaming enthusiasts, I recommend opting for ExpressVPN for the best experience, or Surfshark or Proton VPN if you’re on a budget. 

Mullvad doesn’t have an Apple TV app, and the prospects seem dim, but you’ll be able to download the Mullvad app onto various other platforms, including Windows, MacOS, Linux (CLI and GUI), Android, iOS, Android TV, Fire TV and a browser extension.                

Simultaneous connections are the other sore spot for Mullvad. Mullvad limits you to five devices at a time, which can be a significant limitation for users with many devices or anyone living in a large household. By comparison, ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer 10 simultaneous connections on their base plans, and Surfshark and Windscribe don’t limit them at all.

More annoying is the fact that you can only have five total devices registered to your account at a time, meaning that if you want to download Mullvad to additional devices, you’ll need to delete devices from your account dashboard. Most other VPNs that impose simultaneous connection limits still allow you to download the app to as many devices as you want, but limit the number of devices you can have connected to the VPN at once. This makes Mullvad’s device limitations more restrictive than most other VPNs on the market. 

Privacy and security (10/10): A top choice for privacy-critical VPN users

  • Key takeaway: Mullvad is the VPN I recommend most often to users with critical privacy needs.
  • Jurisdiction: Sweden
  • Encryption: ChaCha20
  • RAM-only server infrastructure
  • Post-quantum protections
  • No leaks detected

Mullvad is one of the best VPNs on the planet when it comes to privacy and security. Virtually every single thing Mullvad does is in the interest of protecting user privacy.

For starters, Mullvad goes out of its way to know as little as humanly possible about its users — the company actually prefers that you sign up and pay without divulging any personal information whatsoever. When you sign up for Mullvad, you generate a random 16-digit numerical account number that you use to log into your account dashboard and into Mullvad’s apps across platforms. This way, you don’t have to enter your email address, password, name, phone number or any other information other VPNs may require at signup. 

Just be sure not to lose your account number, because you won’t be able to use Mullvad without it, and retrieving a lost account number could be challenging or even impossible. I recommend storing your Mullvad account number in a reputable password manager to ensure you don’t lose it.  

While you can pay for a subscription with PayPal, your credit card or bank transfer, Mullvad allows for payments with various crypto wallets, as well as with cash in an envelope (the original anonymous payment) so you can sign up without having any payment data associated with your account number. 

Mullvad resides in a privacy-friendly jurisdiction

Mullvad is independently owned by Mullvad VPN AB and is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Although Sweden is technically part of the 14 Eyes data-sharing alliance, what actually matters is that the country doesn’t impose any laws that could compel a VPN company to log data related to user activity on its network. This means that Sweden is a safe jurisdiction for Mullvad to operate from, and this is what makes it possible for Mullvad to uphold a true no-logging policy.

In its privacy policy, Mullvad promises to “never store any activity logs or metadata and to have as minimal data retention as possible.” This is the most important promise a VPN can make, even though no-logging claims are impossible to verify with 100% certainty. A no-logs policy helps ensure that if the company were to receive an official government request for data, there wouldn’t be any useful data to hand over in the first place. 

Although Mullvad doesn’t publish a transparency report detailing the number and classification of each official request for data it receives, the company is transparent about exactly how it handles government requests for data. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Mullvad’s statement is that the company says it’s prepared to shut its service down in any jurisdiction that should “somehow succeed in legally forcing us to spy on our users.”        

Even though audits are inherently imperfect because they’re only a snapshot in time, they can help cultivate trust, and Mullvad does better than most VPNs on that front. Mullvad is second only to ExpressVPN when it comes to the number of external audits commissioned, with 19 total since 2017 (compared to ExpressVPN’s 23 since 2018). I typically like to see VPN companies commission an audit at least once a year, but Mullvad consistently outpaces that expectation, with four audits since the publication of CNET’s 2025 Mullvad review, including two in 2026.  

On top of commissioning regular external audits to help build trust in the security of its backend and in its no-logging promises, Mullvad’s apps are fully open-source, meaning that its source code is publicly available for anyone to inspect. 

And while most of our other top VPN picks have since followed suit, Mullvad was one of the first VPNs to offer post-quantum encryption, which is designed to protect Mullvad users from potential future decryption threats from quantum computers.   

Mullvad is for the privacy purist 

Mullvad is a remarkable privacy tool, but it isn’t for everyone. If you want to unblock tons of movies and shows from all over the world using different streaming platforms on your smart TV or streaming devices, then Mullvad isn’t for you. In that case, I recommend looking into ExpressVPN, Surfshark or Proton VPN. But if you need a VPN that will pull zero punches to protect your privacy, then Mullvad is tough to beat. 

From its inimitable DAITA feature to its privacy-preserving numbered account signup process, and all of the other protections the VPN provides, Mullvad does more to protect your privacy than most any other VPN available.  

I like that Mullvad packs so many privacy protections into a simple price that undercuts most of its competitors. Especially if you need privacy for just a month at a time, or want the flexibility of not having to lock in to a lengthy subscription, Mullvad’s simple and cheap price is unbeatable. 

The only VPN that comes close to matching Mullvad’s combination of privacy chops and straightforward pricing is Windscribe. If you don’t mind paying a little more, you can get comparable privacy, wider device compatibility and superior streaming capabilities with Windscribe. But if privacy is your only concern when using a VPN, stick with Mullvad.   

來源:CNET · cnet.com