Mullvad vs Private Internet Access in 2025

Mullvad is well known for going the extra mile when it comes to privacy. It’s possible to register for the service without any personal information. Moreover, payment options include a variety of anonymous methods.

On the other hand, Private Internet Access (or PIA) does not stray too far from the established formula. But that did not stop the service from rapid growth into a well-recognized name in the VPN industry.

Mullvad and Private Internet Access are two quite decent VPNs, but how would you know which of these two VPN providers is better? Luckily, we carefully tested and compared them in different sections to determine the winner. So, let’s check out our Mullvad vs. Private Internet Access comparison!

Mullvad vs. Private Internet Access: specifications

Private Internet Access (PIA) and Mullvad share a few similarities, however, there are glaring differences as well. PIA is better at unblocking streaming services, offers better speeds, includes an extensive server network, and even works in China. Mullvad isn’t really great in these aspects.

While it has been showcased as a decent competitor, PIA is the overall winner. Let’s get into more detail.

Mullvad vs Private Internet Access: pricing

While both VPN providers are affordable, the first round of the comparison goes in PIA’s favor. It has several plans that become cheaper the longer the subscription duration. And you actually get a lot more features with PIA than Mullvad.

Mullvad pricing

Mullvad has only one pricing plan, which amounts to 5€ per month. Naturally, the price is in Euros since Mullvad is based in Sweden. The price in dollars may vary, but it’s estimated to roughly $5.40. It has stayed like that from the very beginning and still allows the team to maintain quality service while also not constraining their customers to long subscription plans.

Mullvad doesn’t have a free trial or a free version, but it has a 30-day money-back guarantee. In terms of payment methods, you can choose from credit cards and PayPal. Thanks to the cryptocurrency payment, you will even get total anonymity when buying the VPN.

Private Internet Access pricing

PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, but also doesn’t have any trial or free version to speak of. It has a fairly conventional pricing plan in the VPN industry. Essentially, the shorter subscription plans are expensive, while longer plans are substantially cheaper. The options are as follows:

• $11.95/month for a monthly subscription
• $3.33/month for one year
• $2.03/month for three years

Plus, there are plenty of PIA coupon codes available online to reduce the price by up to 83%. You can also get a dedicated IP address for $5.00/month. The available location choices are the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Australia.

PIA allows you to utilize a credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Bitcoin, as well as enjoy anonymous payments.

Speed comparison

Although PIA has more servers globally, Mullvad surpasses it regarding speeds. Therefore, Mullvad wins this round of the PIA vs. Mullvad comparison.

However, the result surprised us a bit as both VPNs employ WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. PIA even comes with an additional IKEv2 protocol. However, it seems like this wasn’t enough to beat Mullvad.

Mullvad vs PIA: which is more secure?

As privacy is one of the most crucial aspects, we double-check both VPNs’ features and policies to ensure their safety. Even though the outcome was close, PIA won this round. But before we go more in-depth, let’s see what these VPNs have in common:

• AES-256 encryption
• Kill switch
• IP & DNS leak protection
• RAM-only servers

Most notably, Private Internet Access mitigates its less-than-stellar jurisdiction with a strong no-logs policy and a server fleet that runs solely on RAM modules. The fact that the service offers a kill switch across all apps also ensures no data leaks happen no matter what device you’re using the VPN on.

While Mullvad touts itself (and is praised by many) as the most secure and private VPN out there, the facts speak for themselves. Privacy is an essential aspect when choosing a VPN. But it’s not enough for the provider to say that it has a no-logs policy – we need proof.

Privacy

Mullvad is located in Sweden and is part of the 14-Eyes Alliance. Therefore, it may be pushed to collect your information and online activities and share it with the government. However, this VPN’s safety is promising as it doesn’t require your email when creating an account.

In comparison, the Private Internet Access headquarters is in the USA, making it part of the 5-Eyes Alliance. Same as with Mullvad, if the government requests, the provider might expose your online activities. However, the company does everything it can to make this outcome impossible. And RAM-only servers play a big part in that.

Logging

Even though both VPNs are part of an alliance, they offer no-logs policies to counter it.

Mullvad is doing quite a lot to ensure privacy and store as little personal information as possible. For starters, there’s no need for an email address when creating an account. The only thing that distinguishes accounts is a sixteen-digit number. Secondly, there is a huge number of anonymous payment options, including cryptocurrencies and even cash. But the fact remains that its no-logs policy hasn’t been audited.

On the contrary, PIA has a stricter zero-logs policy as it’s independently-audited plus court-proven. We have assurance from multiple sides that this provider refuses to be privacy-invasive when it comes to its subscribers.

Servers location

In terms of the servers’ location in our Private Internet Access vs. Mullvad comparison, PIA is again the winner.

PIA has the largest server fleet in the realm of VPNs – thousands of servers in 90+ countries. Moreover, its servers run on RAM-only technology, which enhances your privacy further, as there is no evidence of your online activities after you turn off the VPN.

On the contrary, Mullvad comes with a drastically smaller server range of only 858+ servers in 39+ countries. However, it does employ RAM-only technology on certain ones and it doesn’t use any virtual servers and makes it very easy to monitor their infrastructure’s status on their website.

Sadly, neither service has full ownership of their servers. But if you want to access a plethora of foreign content without the fear of network congestion on the VPN’s side, then PIA is the way to go.

Features comparison

Moving forward, we come to the Mullvad vs. Private Internet Access features section, in which PIA once again has an advantage. It just offers more bang for your buck, with versatile perks that make this VPN a worthwhile investment.

Smart DNS

The Smart DNS feature is important if you want a smooth streaming experience, even on those devices that don’t support VPNs.

However, only Private Internet Access implements the Smart DNS feature. Mullvad lacks it, which means you can only stream on devices supported by this VPN. And truth be told, there aren’t many.

Ad & malware blocker

You need an ad & malware blocker feature to finally block all those pesky ads and avoid websites known for hosting scams and malware. Luckily, both VPNs offer this sort of feature.

PIA is armed with the unique MACE feature that blocks adware on the DNS level. Available on both mobile and desktop, it quite effectively gets rid of ads, user trackers used to create targeted ads, and even malicious websites. The only drawback in our eyes is that you can’t customize the settings.

Mullvad comes with an Ad-blocking and tracker-blocking DNS service. You can use it with every Mullvad app that supports custom DNS and it does what’s said on the box.

Split tunneling

Split tunneling lets you include or exclude applications from the VPN tunnel. This way, you can benefit from enhanced security and slightly better speeds during your chosen online activities.

Luckily, both PIA and Mullvad offer this feature, so you won’t make a mistake no matter your choice. However, Mullvad has it on Android, Linux, and Windows, while PIA offers it on Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux.

Specialized servers

Only Private Internet Access offers specialty servers:

• Obfuscated servers. A must-have if you want to bypass online censorship and VPN blocks. This is because these servers mask VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic, which usually does a great job of circumventing Deep Packet Inspection (DPI).
• Streaming servers. For easier geo-block bypassing and better streaming performance.

Other features

Additionally, Mullvad VPN includes Bridge mode which routes your VPN connection through several rotating locations and a SOCKS5 proxy. Private Internet Access also includes a SOCKS5 proxy and port forwarding.

Netflix and streaming comparison

The next part of our Mullvad vs. PIA comparison is the streaming section. This is one of the main reasons for using a VPN, so you must find one that unblocks various platforms.

In terms of streaming, there’s no contest here – PIA is the better option of the two. Mullvad is simply not targeting streaming platforms in their geo-unblocking efforts. Meanwhile, PIA works great at unblocking Netflix US, Hulu, and YouTube TV. Alas, it’s still not the best streaming VPN out there, so if this is your top priority, we advise looking at other services for this.

Device compatibility

When it comes to device compatibility, Mullvad is severely behind Private Internet Access. Sure, the options with the winner aren’t stellar, either, and there are VPNs with far better device support.

Desktop applications

Both VPNs have applications for Windows and macOS. PIA is more sleek and modern-looking, while Mullvad is just inherently simplistic. The security level of each app remains the same.

Mullvad’s desktop clients are very easy to get a hang of, since there’s not much in terms of features and customizability. Most notably, the macOS app lacks split tunneling, but you can get it with Tunnelblick.

PIA remains the same across the board. No matter what operating system your PC runs on, you can expect the same security and functionality.

Mobile applications

Regarding mobile apps, you can download Mullvad and PIA on your iOS or Android device as well. And both providers try to follow similar design choices as the desktop counterparts.

We have to note that Mullvad’s phone applications only have the WireGuard tunneling protocol and lack an essential VPN feature – the kill switch. The iOS doesn’t have split tunneling, either.

Meanwhile, PIA ensures users benefit from robust security irregardless of OS. And we see the same approach regarding features.

Torrenting

Both VPNs are solid options for torrenting and have plenty of features to ensure safety. Unsurprisingly, there are no limitations on P2P traffic on either service. Plus, SOCKS5 proxies are available to secure your torrent clients.

While PIA comes with the benefit of port forwarding, we’re not willing to give this service a win this time. Our main reasoning is speed – Mullvad is faster, so your torrenting experience is bound to be better with it.

China

China comes with many restrictions in terms of online freedom. That’s why you need a VPN that can bypass all online censorship effectively, and that is Private Internet Access in this case.

PIA has obfuscated servers that help it bypass the restrictions in no time by masking your VPN traffic as a regular one. Extensive research has shown (and many users have attested) that this service lets you access the free internet in China.

On the other hand, Mullvad lacks obfuscated servers, making it not the best option for maintaining your anonymity in such restrictive counties. In fact, the company doesn’t prioritize this at all, so it’s unlikely it will become suitable for such regions in the near future.

Customer support

Lastly, we came to the customer support section of our Private Internet Access vs. Mullvad comparison. As you may guess, it’s a draw. But let’s see why.

Mullvad and PIA come only with email support and knowledgebase, which might not be enough for every issue that arises. It’s better than having no support at all, but you’ll likely be waiting a long time for a response in each case.

Mullvad vs Private Internet Access – which is better?

The outcome is clear – Private Internet Access is the superior VPN. However, this doesn’t mean that Mullvad is a poor choice. It’s definitely better if speed and torrenting are a priority.

PIA is significantly cheaper when getting a longer subscription. Both VPNs have plenty of security features, yet Mullvad falls behind for having such a small toolkit. Plus, Mullvad is supported on a smaller number of devices. There was no contest in streaming as that is not a priority for Mullvad. Torrenting was a bit closer, but PIA managed to win. And customer support was a no-brainer since both don’t have the best options.

Private Internet Access offers more for a smaller price tag.

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You may also like to read:
PIA vs NordVPN
PIA vs VyprVPN
Mullvad vs NordVPN
NordVPN vs Surfshark vs ExpressVPN
NordVPN vs PureVPN

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FAQ

Is Mullvad better than PIA?

No, PIA is better than Mullvad. Both are tough competitors, but PIA has a lot more advantages over Mullvad, like top-notch security, streaming and torrenting capabilities, effective online censorship bypassing, and speeds.

Which is faster – Mullvad or Private Internet Access?

Surprisingly, Mullvad has superb speed and is faster than PIA. This is because Mullvad runs on WireGuard and OpenVPN, while PIA implements an additional protocol, IKEv2, which is a bit weaker.

Is Private Internet Access a good VPN?

Private Internet Access is one of the best VPNs available. It has military-grade encryption, the fast WireGuard tunneling protocol, a huge fleet of servers, and plenty of security features. The only downside is that PIA is based in the USA, a member of the Five Eyes alliance.

Is Mullvad a good VPN?

Mullvad is a great VPN for privacy. Registration does not require any personally identifiable information and there are plenty of anonymous payment options. It is also a good VPN on a technical level, with military-grade encryption, fast connection speed, and a multitude of security features.