Mullvad user reviews: praised for privacy, faulted for shaky app connections

Mullvad earns loyalty through its privacy model and one flat price, and loses points over two things: unstable app connections and email-only support. That split shows up everywhere in the collected reviews, and the polarisation is extreme: one-star and five-star reviews together make up 73 to 88 percent of each platform's sample. None of this moves the VPNRadarLab score of 4.78 out of 10, which is built from published facts alone.

How the three platforms rate Mullvad

App Store reviewers are the harshest and the most numerous. Trustpilot sits in the middle but has nearly stopped receiving new reviews, with only four in the last 90 days; the Trustpilot profile itself shows a TrustScore of 3.4 from 186 reviews. Google Play users are noticeably friendlier, and it is the only place where the company answers criticism, replying to 106 of 110 negative reviews.

Store headline figures look better because they count star-only taps: the App Store shows 4.14 from 1,466 ratings while written reviews average 3.31. The monthly trend dipped through 2026, partly because roughly a dozen mid-year reviews objected to the company's leadership rather than the VPN itself.

What happy customers single out

Praise centers on the anonymous sign-up: a random account number, no email, no password, with cash by mail or Monero for anyone who wants no bank involved. The €5 monthly price never changes: no sales or promo codes, and the same price on every term. On Trustpilot, reviewers praise speed just as much as privacy, usually people who switched from larger brands.

The main complaints: unstable connections and email-only support

Two themes carry most of the negativity. App Store reviewers focus on the tunnel: connections drop or fail to establish, often right after an app update, and battery drain appears as a smaller thread (the troubleshooting page covers these problems). Trustpilot negativity is dominated by the help desk: support comes up in about 42% of its negative reviews, and with no live chat or phone, customers must wait for an email reply.

The shares below are approximate keyword counts by VPNRadarLab over the 329 negative reviews; one review can touch several themes.

One-star reviews from people expecting a free VPN

Around 22 percent of angry Google Play reviews come from people who installed the app, hit a paywall, and left a one-star review on the way out. Mullvad offers no free plan and no trial; what it has instead is a 14-day money-back window, and the refund page details which payment methods it excludes, cash among them. Since time is prepaid and added to the account with auto-renewal off by default, money complaints concern failed payments and time not credited, not surprise charges.

Captchas, blocked sites and censored networks

Mullvad runs 566 servers in 50 countries on shared IPs only, no dedicated or residential options. When one shared address gets flagged, captchas and blocks follow for everyone. The VPNRadarLab data names no streaming platform for Mullvad, matching reviewers who report geo-blocked content staying blocked. About 6 percent of all negative reviews come from people using Mullvad in censored countries such as China, Iran and Russia. Mullvad lists obfuscation and bridge servers, but none of the newer anti-censorship protocols.

How reviews relate to the VPNRadarLab score

The score of 4.78, 13th in the ranking, uses published facts only. Privacy is its strongest pillar at 6.9, backed by a Cure53-audited no-logs policy and anonymous sign-up. Weakest is bypass at 2.4, followed by price and terms at 3.0, reflecting the missing free tier and short refund window. User reviews never change the score.

FAQ

Is there a free way to try Mullvad?

No trial exists. Pay for one month and use the 14-day refund if needed, but not if you paid cash.

Does Mullvad answer bad reviews?

On Google Play, almost always (106 of 110). On Trustpilot and the App Store, no replies are recorded.

Why is the App Store rating lower than Google Play?

The iOS app draws most connection complaints, and App Store also holds the largest share of collected reviews.

Mullvad reviews in short

Privacy features and the fixed €5 price win the five-star reviews. Shaky app connections, email-only support and the absence of a free option drive the one-star ones. If streaming or use from a censored country matters to you, test inside the refund window and avoid paying cash.