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Mullvad alternative · Honest take · No activity logs
Mullvad does plenty right, and we will not pretend otherwise. If you want a free way in, modern stealth protocols and a clear no-activity-logs promise, here is how ROOT VPN compares, trade-offs included.
Free forever plan. No card, unlimited data, up to 10 devices.
Mullvad is a capable VPN. Mullvad is the privacy purist's pick. You get an anonymous account number instead of an email, you can pay in cash, the apps are audited and open-source, and the flat 5-euro price never plays discount games. Nobody does anonymity better. But it is not for everyone, and the usual reasons people go looking elsewhere are clear: the weak streaming, the five-device limit, or wanting a free tier and more everyday features.
In plain terms, the sticking point is often this: It deliberately does not chase streaming, dropped port forwarding, caps you at five devices, and the flat price is not the cheapest if you only need basics. If that is what pushed you here, it is worth seeing what a different approach looks like.
Not more features for the sake of it, a different set of priorities.
Unlimited data and time on the free plan, no card and no trial countdown. It is funded by an optional community program you can switch off, not by logging you.
REALITY, Shadowsocks and Hysteria2 look like ordinary web traffic, so ROOT connects on school, office and country networks that block Mullvad and most other VPNs.
ROOT keeps no record of the sites you visit or what you stream, across a growing server network. Nothing stored, nothing to hand over, nothing to sell.
The honest side by side. For the full breakdown, see ROOT VPN vs Mullvad.
| ROOT VPN | Mullvad | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, then £3.99/mo | From £4.29 |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| No activity logs | Yes | Yes |
| Protocols | WireGuard, REALITY, Shadowsocks, Hysteria2 | WireGuard, OpenVPN |
| Devices | 10 | 5 |
| Streaming | Good | Poor |
| Jurisdiction | Independent, no activity logs | Sweden |
Mullvad is the privacy purist's pick. You get an anonymous account number instead of an email, you can pay in cash, the apps are audited and open-source, and the flat 5-euro price never plays discount games. Nobody does anonymity better. If that is central to how you use a VPN, it may still be the right call.
Free to start with unlimited data, four protocols including REALITY and Hysteria2 for restrictive networks, and no activity logs. For a free start, restrictive networks and a simple privacy promise, ROOT is the easier yes.
Browse more, or see every option on the alternatives hub and the comparison hub.
Create a free ROOT VPN account and connect in under a minute. No card, unlimited data.
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