Mullvad vs Private Internet Access

Almost every VPN promises it keeps no logs. These two are among the very few whose promise has been tested by something other than a questionnaire, and they were tested in different ways.

A raid and a court order

In 2023 Swedish police searched Mullvad's servers under warrant and left with nothing. Private Internet Access has been asked for records in court more than once and produced nothing each time, because there was nothing to produce.

Neither of these is an audit and both are worth more than one. The difference is what backs them up. Mullvad's position is architectural: registration takes no email address and sets no password, the account is a random number, and it accepts cash through the post. Private Internet Access holds a normal account and answers with open-source clients on every platform plus three Deloitte inspections, the most recent in October 2025.

Where Private Internet Access is weaker is jurisdiction and one feature. It is registered in Denver, inside the five-country intelligence agreement, and owned by Kape Technologies, which sells two other VPNs as separate brands. Its kill switch also allowed traffic through after a restart under testing. Mullvad's holds, though Sweden is inside the fourteen-country agreement, which is the criticism its own audits cannot answer.

Where the device limit bites

Mullvad allows five simultaneous devices and the ceiling cannot be raised. Private Internet Access places no limit at all. For one person this decides nothing; for a household it decides everything, and no amount of privacy argument moves it.

Private Internet Access also has port forwarding, which Mullvad removed, and a SOCKS5 proxy, which Mullvad has too. Mullvad's price is five euros a month at every term with nothing to expire; Private Internet Access renews its three-year plan at what it charged, so neither punishes you at renewal.

Which should you choose?

Choose Mullvad if you would rather a company could not identify you than promise it will not, and five devices covers your household. Choose Private Internet Access if you need more devices or port forwarding, and you will verify the kill switch yourself after a reboot.

If the device limit is the only thing pushing you away from Mullvad, Windscribe also takes no email address and removes the cap entirely.