Mullvad VPN vs WireGuard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, WireGuard grades higher than Mullvad VPN: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 2, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mullvad VPN grades higher on ease of use. WireGuard grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mullvad VPN
Flat-rate Swedish VPN with anonymous numbered accounts
Which one is for you
Pick Mullvad VPN if
- Fits if you don't want your name or email tied to your VPN
- Works for a short trip abroad, as one month costs the same €5 rate as a year
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try before paying, as there's no trial or free plan
- Watch out: the 14-day refund excludes cash payments, and the VPN page says crypto too
- Skip it if you torrent and need port forwarding, or want a dedicated IP; Mullvad offers neither
- Tight if you have more than 5 devices to cover
- Watch out: it's priced in euros, €5 a month, which the page converts to about $5.60
Pick WireGuard if
- Fits if you are happy to run your own server and exchange keys by hand
- Works for people building a VPN or a provider's app on top of a small protocol
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a hosted VPN, as there are no provider servers
- Not for you if you want sign-in, users and policy, because those need other tools
- Too light for a team: pushing configuration to many people is outside its scope
- Watch out: the site says the project is under heavy development
- Watch out: the Mac and iPhone apps come from the App Store, and Android from Google Play or an APK
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAMullvad VPNWeak | 2.4GPAWireGuardFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C€5 a month flat, about $5.60, whether you pay for one month or a year ahead, so two years come to €120. That's a little above the middle of what VPNs charge, with no first-term discount to expire. Paying in cryptocurrency takes 10% off. | CFree to download, but there are no provider servers, so you pay for a server of your own. Software that is only free if you host it yourself is a C. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: there's no trial, and the 14-day money-back guarantee excludes cash and, on the VPN page, crypto payments too. A money-back guarantee isn't a trial anyway. | AFree outright, with donations asked for. The software has no plan or cap. |
| Features | CAnonymous numbered accounts, DAITA against traffic analysis, quantum-resistant tunnels, multihop, obfuscation and DNS blocking. But the listing names the gaps: 5 devices, no port forwarding and no dedicated IPs. | CKey-based tunnels with a small codebase. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job: key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope. |
| Ease of use | C4.1 from about 1,500 App Store ratings, below most VPNs here. You sign up with a generated account number rather than an email, so keep that number somewhere safe. | DNo rating on record, and setup is on you: keys, a server and config files, usually from a command line. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, with open-source apps. There's no integration list or API on record, so it stops at B. | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, though the listing names no API or integrations. |
| Best for | a VPN with no email or name attached | a fast tunnel you host yourself |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Mullvad VPN and WireGuard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mullvad VPN starts at about $5.59 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WireGuard has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Mullvad VPN scores higher, and starts $5.59 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other VPNs on the chart, 20 score higher than Mullvad VPN for less, and none scores higher than WireGuard for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Mullvad VPN also covers ad and tracker blocking.
At a glance
| Mullvad VPN | WireGuard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| Starts at | €5 per month, the same rate for any length paid ahead | Free |
| Free plan | None | Free open-source software; the project accepts voluntary donations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mullvad VPN AB | Jason A. Donenfeld (ZX2C4) and Edge Security |
| Price read from | mullvad.net | wireguard.com |
| Checked | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mullvad VPN
- Priced in euros: €5 a month, which the page converts to about $5.60 at the current exchange rate.
- Covers up to 5 devices, and offers neither port forwarding nor dedicated IP addresses.
- No free trial; the 14-day money-back guarantee excludes cash payments, and the VPN page also excludes crypto payments.
WireGuard
- It is software, not a hosted VPN: there are no provider servers, and you supply the server and keys.
- Key distribution and pushed configuration are outside its scope, so users, sign-in and policy need other tools.
- The site says the project is under heavy development.
- The macOS and iOS apps are installed from the App Store, and the Android app from Google Play or as an APK.
Key features
Mullvad VPN
- Anonymous accounts
- Signing up generates an account number; no email or other personal details are asked for, and cash or cryptocurrency are accepted.
- DAITA
- Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis, a feature in the app meant to make encrypted traffic harder to analyze.
- Quantum-resistant tunnels
- Quantum-resistant VPN tunnels can be switched on in the apps on every supported platform.
- Multihop and obfuscation
- Route traffic through two or more servers in different jurisdictions, and use obfuscation to get past firewalls that block VPNs.
- DNS content blocking
- Built-in toggles block ads, trackers and malware through Mullvad's DNS, except on Android, where custom DNS entries do the same job.
WireGuard
- Key-based tunnels
- A connection is made by exchanging public keys between peers, and each peer lists the tunnel IP addresses it is allowed to send from.
- Modern cryptography
- Uses the Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24 and HKDF.
- Small codebase
- Designed to be short enough for one person to review, in contrast to the larger IPsec and OpenVPN codebases, the project says.
- Roaming
- A connection can keep working as a peer's IP address changes.
- Wide platform support
- The install page lists Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and many Linux and BSD distributions, plus OpenWRT.
Plans
Mullvad VPN
Flat rate€5
per month, whether you pay for 1 month, 1 year or longer
Every feature on up to 5 devices, VAT included. The page shows a dollar equivalent that moves with the exchange rate. No sales or term discounts.
WireGuard
WireGuard$0
Free software you set up and host yourself. The kernel components are GPLv2; other projects use MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0 or GPL licenses.
Ways to pay less
Mullvad VPN
- Other savings
10% off when paying with cryptocurrency
Mullvad discounts payments made in its accepted cryptocurrencies by 10%, citing lower fees and less administration.
WireGuard
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mullvad VPN or WireGuard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, WireGuard is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $5.59 a month for Mullvad VPN. Mullvad VPN starts at €5 per month, the same rate for any length paid ahead, and WireGuard is free.
Which has a free plan, Mullvad VPN or WireGuard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only WireGuard has a free plan. Mullvad VPN does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.