Mullvad vs Surfshark

Comparing: two VPNs
Decided by: Independent no-logs audits
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

MullvadTakes bitcoin

No email, no username, no password: a random account number, cash or Monero in an envelope, and a police raid that came away with nothing.

SurfsharkTakes bitcoin

Unlimited devices and Deloitte-verified no-logs, from a company that merged into the same group as NordVPN in 2022.

Verdict: Mullvad

Mullvad carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 4 against 2 for Surfshark. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides.

Criterion: Independent no-logs audits
Mullvad: 4
Surfshark: 2

Mullvad and Surfshark, fact by fact

Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.

Mullvad and Surfshark compared fact by fact from their reviews; a check marks the side a decidable criterion favours.
Fact	Mullvad	Surfshark
Independent audits	4, latest 2024 (favoured on this row)	2, latest 2025
Real-world tests	1	0
Incidents on record	0	0
Market exits	0	0
Owner	Mullvad VPN AB	Nord Security
Jurisdiction	Sweden	Netherlands
Eyes alliance	Fourteen Eyes	Nine Eyes
Price	Flat EUR 5/mo, any term	From $2.49/mo on the 2yr plan
Money-back	14 days	30 days
Crypto accepted	bitcoin, bitcoin cash, monero	bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, dogecoin
Anonymous signup	Yes	No
Free tier	None	None
Servers	Vendor publishes a live server list, running to roughly 550 servers, and marks which are owned rather than rented	Vendor states more than 4,500 servers across 100 countries, all upgraded to 10Gbps ports
Last reviewed	2026-08-26	2026-08-26

No-logs evidence, side by side

Dated audits and real-world tests from each review. An empty column is a finding: the claim has not been independently checked.

Mullvad

2024Audit by Cure53: fourth infrastructure audit, covering one OpenVPN and one WireGuard server plus the Ansible deployment code
2023At least six officers from the Swedish police National Operations Department searched Mullvad's Gothenburg office with a warrant seeking customer data: Mullvad showed the data did not exist and the officers left without seizing equipment or obtaining any customer information
2021Audit by Cure53: infrastructure audit that found no personally identifiable information or privacy leaks
2020Audit by Cure53: penetration test and source code audit of the apps across Windows, Android and iOS
2018Audit by Cure53: penetration test and source code audit of the VPN client app

Surfshark

2025Audit by Deloitte: independent assurance that the service does not monitor or log user activity, announced June 2025
2023Audit by Deloitte: first Deloitte no-logs assurance engagement on the server configurations

Frequently asked questions

Is Mullvad or Surfshark better for privacy?

Mullvad carries more independent audits of its no-logs claim: 4 against 2 for Surfshark. We publish no rating for VPNs, so the audit count is the one criterion that decides. Audits, court and seizure records and incidents are dated on each review with their sources.

Can I pay Mullvad or Surfshark with bitcoin?

Mullvad takes bitcoin, bitcoin cash and monero (processor: In-house, on self-hosted full nodes). Surfshark takes bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash and dogecoin (processor: CoinGate). Each review quotes the vendor's own refund sentence for crypto purchases verbatim.

Which is cheaper, Mullvad or Surfshark?

Mullvad: Flat EUR 5/mo, any term. Surfshark: From $2.49/mo on the 2yr plan. Money-back: Mullvad 14 days, Surfshark 30 days. Prices are from each vendor's own page as of the review date.

Where are Mullvad and Surfshark based?

Mullvad: Sweden (fourteen eyes member). Surfshark: Netherlands (nine eyes member). A jurisdiction matters less than a court record showing what the provider could hand over; the reviews carry those where they exist.

The full reviews: Mullvad and Surfshark, each with its sources, and every VPN we review.

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