ExpressVPN vs. Mullvad

Price: which costs less?

ExpressVPN is cheaper for the first term and more expensive after it. Its Basic plan costs $2.99 a month for 28 months, billed as $83.72, then renews at $99.95 a year. Advanced and Pro cost $4.49 and $7.49 a month at first and renew at $119.95 and $199.95 a year. Mullvad charges $5.56 a month (billed as €5), whether you buy a month or a year, with no sales and no renewal jump.

Run the numbers over the time you expect to keep it. Over 28 months, ExpressVPN Basic costs $83.72 and Mullvad about $156. In year three, ExpressVPN Basic renews at $99.95 and Mullvad costs about $67. Mullvad also lets you pay one month at a time at that same rate, while ExpressVPN’s lowest prices require the long term.

Refunds favor ExpressVPN: 30 days for new users against Mullvad’s 14 days. Mullvad does not refund cash payments. ExpressVPN renews automatically by default on cards and PayPal, so turn off auto-renew in your account if you want to decide again later. Mullvad has no auto-renew trap to watch for unless you set up a recurring card or PayPal payment yourself.

Privacy and anonymity

Both say they keep no logs of what you do online, and both have outside audits behind them. ExpressVPN lists KPMG reviews in 2022, 2023 and 2025, PwC Switzerland in 2019 and 2020, and many Cure53 audits. Its TrustedServer setup runs without hard drives, and a server seized in Turkey in 2017 held no logs tied to users.

Mullvad goes further on what it collects in the first place. It asks for no email, username or password, gives you a random account number, and accepts cash by mail and cryptocurrency. In April 2023, Swedish police came to its Gothenburg office with a search warrant to seize customer data and left with nothing, which Mullvad says is because none existed. Cure53 audited its apps in 2024, and Assured Security Consultants reviewed its web application in 2025 and its new GotaTun WireGuard code in 2026.

Ownership is part of the picture. ExpressVPN has been part of Kape Technologies since 2021, and in 2021 its chief information officer was named in a U.S. case over hacking work for the UAE before he joined; the company kept him on. Mullvad is a small, independent Swedish company. Neither record shows exposed user activity, but if you rank anonymity first, Mullvad’s design asks you to trust less.

Features, devices and apps

ExpressVPN covers far more ground. It lists servers in 113 countries against Mullvad’s 50, and it allows 10 to 14 devices against Mullvad’s 5. It also lists apps for routers, smart TVs and game consoles, and its higher plans bundle a password manager, identity theft insurance and, on Pro, a dedicated IP address.

Mullvad keeps the product small on purpose. It runs WireGuard only after removing OpenVPN on January 15, 2026, and it dropped port forwarding on July 1, 2023, saying the feature was being abused. It has apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone, and its pricing does not change with extras because there are none to buy.

ExpressVPN uses Lightway, its own protocol, which Cure53 has audited, and it supports OpenVPN and IKEv2 too. Both include a kill switch. If you torrent, both allow it, though neither offers port forwarding.

If you travel a lot or need an IP address in a particular country, check both server lists for that country before buying. ExpressVPN is more likely to have it, simply because its list is about twice as long.

Streaming and everyday use

ExpressVPN is the more common pick for streaming. It markets streaming access and has apps on TVs and streaming devices, which makes it easier to use in a living room. Mullvad does not market streaming at all, and streaming services often block its addresses. We have not tested either, so we do not list which services each reaches today, and those results change as services block VPN addresses.

For everyday browsing, both run fast modern protocols. Your home connection and distance to the server will matter more than the brand, so compare a nearby server on each during the refund window.

Support styles differ. ExpressVPN offers 24/7 live chat. Mullvad keeps contact simple and has no account details to look you up by, which fits its design but means fewer hands-on support options.

The practical test: buy one month of Mullvad, or start ExpressVPN within its 30 day refund window, and check the sites, apps and devices you use. If streaming or a TV app matters, ExpressVPN is the safer start. If you just want your traffic hidden from your ISP and public Wi-Fi with the least data collected, Mullvad is the simpler bill.