Mullvad VPN vs Surfshark VPN

This is the core difference and it's not subtle. Mullvad's account number system means there's no email, no name, no payment trail if you use cash or crypto — there is literally nothing to hand over in a data breach or legal request. Surfshark has a solid no-logs policy, but you still sign up with an email and pay through traceable methods. If you're ever in a situation where your VPN provider gets a court order, these two companies are in completely different positions.

Most VPNs cap you at 5-8 simultaneous connections. Surfshark removes that ceiling entirely, which means one subscription covers every phone, laptop, router, and smart TV in your home. For a family of four, that's the difference between one subscription and four. Mullvad charges per device implicitly through its pricing model, making it significantly more expensive at scale.

PCMag's real-world speed testing put Surfshark at the top of the pack for both upload and download speeds — this matters if you're torrenting, video calling, or just hate the sluggishness that kills most VPN experiences. Mullvad doesn't lead on speed benchmarks, but it leads on independent trust: rtings.com's 9.1 rating and Wirecutter's endorsement are based on the full picture, not just throughput. Speed and trust aren't the same thing.

Surfshark was acquired by Nord Security — the same parent company as NordVPN. That consolidation means two of the most popular VPNs in the world are now under one corporate roof, which cuts against the independence that makes a VPN trustworthy. Mullvad is an independent Swedish company with no corporate parent and a long track record of resisting pressure. For privacy purists, corporate consolidation in the VPN space is exactly the kind of thing that should make you nervous.