Hotspot Shield / Mullvad VPN compared
Same criteria, same rules. You see where they diverge.
No winner on this page. vpn-matrix.com assigns no points and makes no recommendations.
Differences (114)
Criteria where the values diverge.
| Hotspot Shield | Mullvad VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal company name | Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim | Mullvad VPN ABconfirmed |
| Trademark holder, if different | Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim | Mullvad VPN ABprovider claim |
| Year founded | 2008confirmed | 2009provider claim |
| Headquarters (country) | USprovider claim | SEconfirmed |
| Other relevant jurisdictions | United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed | Swedenprovider claim |
| Intelligence alliance of the home country | Five Eyesconfirmed | 14 Eyesconfirmed |
| Parent group / holding | Point Wildconfirmed | Amagicom ABprovider claim |
| Beneficial owners publicly known | partly knownprovider claim | fully knownprovider claim |
| Ownership structure | private equityprovider claim | founder ownedprovider claim |
| Sister VPN brands in the group | Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Group owns VPN review and comparison sites | Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Runs an affiliate programme | yesprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Typical commission rate | ? | none (no classic affiliate commission program; reseller partnerships exist)provider claim |
| YouTube and influencer sponsoring | occasionalprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Documented misleading advertising claims | 'Military-grade' encryption wording appears on download/marketing pages; Hydra marketed as '#1 for speed'provider claim | ? |
| Acquisition history / former name | AnchorFree → Pango; Aura/Pango era; Dec 2024 Pango Group merged with Total Security and rebranded Point Wildprovider claim | none disclosed on homeprovider claim |
| Core statement of the logging policy | Does not store VPN browsing activity tied to a user; logs session duration, bandwidth, anonymized domains, device hashes; source IP encrypted then deleted at session endconfirmed | Kontonummer und Ablaufdatum sind die einzigen dauerhaft gespeicherten Kontodaten. Keine Speicherung von Verkehrsdaten, DNS-Anfragen, IP-Adressen, Verbindungszeitpunkten und Bandbreite je Konto.provider claim |
| Connection logs | per sessionconfirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Storage of the real IP address | transient onlyconfirmed | not storedprovider claim |
| Precision of stored timestamps | to the secondprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Recording of transferred data volume | per accountconfirmed | aggregate onlyprovider claim |
| Enforcement of the device limit | Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim | Zählung der gleichzeitigen Verbindungen laut Anbieter ausschließlich im Arbeitsspeicher, ohne dauerhafte Speicherung auf Datenträger.provider claim |
| Minimum account data required | Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim | Kontonummer und Ablaufdatum. Kein Benutzername, kein Passwort, keine E-Mail-Adresse.provider claim |
| Telemetry in the apps | cannot be disabledprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Trackers and SDKs in the Android app | Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No third-party analytics SDKs described; first-party app telemetry sends app/OS version counters onlyconfirmed |
| Trackers in the iOS app | Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No third-party analytics SDKs described in no-logging policy; first-party version telemetry discussed primarily with Android examplesprovider claim |
| Trackers and cookies on the website | Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim | Laut Cookie-Richtlinie fünf Cookies: authToken, language, csrftoken sowie __stripe_sid und __stripe_mid des Zahlungsdienstleisters Stripe. Keine Analyse- oder Werbecookies genannt.provider claim |
| Data shared with third parties | Free VPN versions: Google for personalized ads (AAID/IDFA); paid versions do not send to ad partners. Domain names logged anonymized/aggregated.provider claim | Zahlungsdienstleister (unter anderem Stripe, PayPal, Swish) und Auftragsverarbeiter für Dienstleistungen. Laut Datenschutzerklärung keine Übermittlung außerhalb von EU und EWR.provider claim |
| Retention periods stated in the policy | Source IP collected for VPN session then deleted at session end; domains aggregated ~monthly; device hashes retained for analyticsprovider claim | Zahlungs- und Transaktions-IDs 20 Tage. Buchhaltungsunterlagen nach schwedischem Buchführungsgesetz sieben Jahre. Support-E-Mails 70 Tage. Nginx-Zugriffsprotokolle des Webservers bis zu fünf Minuten.provider claim |
| No-logs audit details | Aon technical assessment for Pango Group, report dated 2023-08-25; free and paid tiers; client+server; concluded policy assertions fairly representedconfirmed | Assured Security Consultants, Serverprüfung 25.04. bis 13.05.2022, Bericht vom 21.06.2022: 0 kritische, 0 hohe, 11 mittlere, 9 niedrige Befunde. Fazit: die Konfiguration zeigte keine Anzeichen direkter Kundeninformationen.confirmed |
| Audit report published | summary onlyconfirmed | full reportconfirmed |
| App and client audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | App-Audits im Repository dokumentiert: Assured und Cure53 (2018), Cure53 (2020), Atredis (2022), X41 D-Sec (2024), NCC Group Android (2025), Leviathan Security Android (2026). Dazu X41 D-Sec für Konto- und Zahlungsdienste (Bericht vom 20.01.2026).confirmed |
| Infrastructure and server audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | Cure53 prüfte vom 03. bis 14.06.2024 WireGuard- und OpenVPN-Relays im Whitebox-Verfahren und fand fünf Punkte, davon einen mittleren und einen niedrigen Befund. Zuvor Assured (2022) und Radically Open Security (2023).confirmed |
| Audit frequency | irregularprovider claim | ? |
| Tested in court or by authorities | none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim | Am 18.04.2023 durchsuchten Beamte der schwedischen Polizeieinheit NOA das Büro in Göteborg. Der Durchsuchungsbeschluss war am 17.02.2023 auf ein deutsches Rechtshilfeersuchen hin ergangen. Nach Anbieterangabe verließen die Beamten den Standort ohne Beschlagnahme und ohne Kundendaten.provider claim |
| Security incidents and data leaks | 2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed | ? |
| Bug bounty programme | none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim | Kein Bug-Bounty-Programm mit Geldprämien. Meldungen per E-Mail, auf Wunsch PGP-verschlüsselt; der Anbieter sagt zu, gegen meldende Sicherheitsforschende nicht rechtlich vorzugehen.provider claim |
| Handling of reported vulnerabilities | none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim | Veröffentlichte Offenlegungsrichtlinie: Vorfälle mit Bezug zu Kundendaten werden nach Behebung öffentlich beschrieben, Vorfälle ohne Kundendatenbezug nur intern behandelt.provider claim |
| Open source clients | noneprovider claim | allconfirmed |
| Open source server side | noprovider claim | partialprovider claim |
| Reproducible builds | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Available on F-Droid | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Listings by independent bodies | Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim | Privacy Guides führt Mullvad neben Proton VPN und IVPN als einen von drei empfohlenen VPN-Anbietern und nennt dabei Audits, Monero- und Barzahlung sowie die Offenlegung von eigenen und gemieteten Servern.confirmed |
| WireGuard | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| OpenVPN over UDP | yesconfirmed | noconfirmed |
| OpenVPN over TCP | yesprovider claim | noconfirmed |
| IKEv2/IPsec | yesconfirmed | noprovider claim |
| Proprietary protocol | Hydra (developed internally by Pango)confirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Legacy protocols still offered | Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim | OpenVPN removed (removal announced; WireGuard-only network in relays API)provider claim |
| Default data cipher | AES-256confirmed | ChaCha20 mit Poly1305-Authentifizierung (AEAD nach RFC 7539)provider claim |
| Weakest accepted cipher | AES-256provider claim | ? |
| Key exchange and authentication | Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim | Noise_IK-Handshake mit Curve25519-ECDH, BLAKE2s als Hash und HKDF zur Schlüsselableitungprovider claim |
| Perfect forward secrecy | ? | yesconfirmed |
| Post-quantum key exchange | not availableprovider claim | on by defaultprovider claim |
| DNS leak protection | ? | yesprovider claim |
| IPv6 handling | unclearprovider claim | routed through tunnelconfirmed |
| WebRTC protection or guidance | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Obfuscation methods | Hydra proprietary protocol marketed for speed/security; censorship circumvention history (Arab Spring) per Wikipediaprovider claim | Vier Verfahren in der App: Lightweight WireGuard Obfuscation (LWO), WireGuard über QUIC (UDP 443), WireGuard über Shadowsocks und UDP-over-TCP (Ports 80, 443, 5001).provider claim |
| Kill switch | not availableprovider claim | system-wideprovider claim |
| Permanent lockdown | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Split tunneling | not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim | Anwendungsbasiert auf Windows, Linux, macOS und Android. Auf iOS laut Feature-Matrix nicht vorhanden.provider claim |
| Multihop | not availableprovider claim | freely combinableprovider claim |
| SOCKS5 proxy | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Ad and tracker filtering in DNS | fixed listprovider claim | configurableprovider claim |
| Custom DNS servers allowed | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Local network access toggle | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Auto connect rules | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Traffic analysis defence | Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim | DAITA (Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis) mit konstanten Paketgrößen, zufälligem Hintergrundverkehr und Musterverzerrung, aufgebaut auf dem quelloffenen Maybenot-Framework. Laut Feature-Matrix auf allen fünf Plattformen verfügbar.provider claim |
| IPv6 inside the tunnel | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Number of servers | 1,800 Serverprovider claim | 576 Serverconfirmed |
| Number of countries | 80 Laenderprovider claim | 50 Laenderconfirmed |
| Number of cities | 35 Staedteprovider claim | 91 Staedteconfirmed |
| Virtual locations | not labelledprovider claim | no virtual locationsprovider claim |
| RAM-only servers (diskless) | noprovider claim | entire networkconfirmed |
| Hardware ownership | rentedprovider claim | mixedconfirmed |
| 10 Gbps ports | noprovider claim | some serversconfirmed |
| Known upstream hosting providers | Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim | 14 Betreiber laut Relay-Liste: 31173, Blix, Creanova, DataPacket, HostRoyale, M247, PrivateLayer, Tzulo, Veloxserv, Zenlayer, hostuniversal, iRegister, techfutures, xtom.confirmed |
| Linux app with GUI | not availableprovider claim | native appprovider claim |
| Linux command line | not availableprovider claim | native appprovider claim |
| Android TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Fire TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Browser extension | not availableprovider claim | own extensionprovider claim |
| Type of browser extension | no extensionprovider claim | controls the desktop appprovider claim |
| Router support | Router mentioned as connectable device under Premium (up to 10 devices)provider claim | Dokumentierte Anleitungen für OpenWrt und pfSense, jeweils mit WireGuard.provider claim |
| Command line documented | noprovider claim | yesconfirmed |
| Simultaneous devices | 10provider claim | 5provider claim |
| Usable without an account | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Data required at signup | any email addressprovider claim | nothing requiredprovider claim |
| Account model | email as loginprovider claim | account number onlyprovider claim |
| Cash by mail | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monero | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Bitcoin | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Retail gift cards | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| PayPal | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| SEPA payment | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monthly price | €11.99provider claim | €5.00provider claim |
| Effective price on the longest term | €7.99provider claim | €5.00provider claim |
| Price change at renewal | moderate increaseprovider claim | same priceprovider claim |
| Flat pricing without permanent discounts | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Free tier and its limits | Free VPN products (Hotspot Shield free) supported by third-party in-app ads (Unity, ironSource, Digital Turbine, InMobi)confirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Money-back window | 45 Tageprovider claim | 14 Tageprovider claim |
| Streaming unblocking officially advertised | yesprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Netflix regions reported | Marketing claims Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+ worldwide; no audited region list on fetched pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Other streaming services | Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim | ? |
| Bandwidth cap | cappedprovider claim | no limitprovider claim |
| Data cap | Basic free: 500 MB/day; Premium: unlimitedprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Speed measurement references | Claims up to 2.2x faster than competitionprovider claim | ? |
| SMTP and port 25 handling | ? | TCP port 25 blocked (spam); ports 465/587 not singled out as blockedprovider claim |
| Official support in restrictive countries | Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim | Eigene Anleitung für Netze mit Filterung mit vier Verschleierungsverfahren. Zu China schreibt der Anbieter, dass alle Mullvad-Server in Asien blockiert seien, und empfiehlt Server in den USA.provider claim |
| Documentation assessment | workableprovider claim | thorough and currentprovider claim |
| Tracker load of the website | Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim | Necessary cookies only (authToken, language, csrftoken) plus Stripe payment cookies when payingconfirmed |
| URL of the warrant canary | none foundprovider claim | No dedicated warrant-canary page found this session (blog tag 404)provider claim |
| Length and readability of the legal documents | Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim | Clear plain-language ToS with explicit port blocks, price, and refund pointerprovider claim |
| Marketing claims contradicting the provider's own terms | Markets 'world's fastest VPN' via Speedtest; 2017 CDT/FTC complaint about free-tier data sharing (Wikipedia)confirmed | Flat €5/mo since launch messaging on pricing page; 581 servers / 50 countries / 91 cities / 14 providers on servers pageconfirmed |
All sourced criteria (154)
| Hotspot Shield | Mullvad VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal company name | Anchorfree, LLC / Pango GmbH (product under Point Wild / formerly Pango Group)provider claim | Mullvad VPN ABconfirmed |
| Trademark holder, if different | Point Wild (HotSpot Shield brand)provider claim | Mullvad VPN ABprovider claim |
| Year founded | 2008confirmed | 2009provider claim |
| Headquarters (country) | USprovider claim | SEconfirmed |
| Other relevant jurisdictions | United States (Redwood City, California); Pango/Point Wild operatorconfirmed | Swedenprovider claim |
| Intelligence alliance of the home country | Five Eyesconfirmed | 14 Eyesconfirmed |
| Parent group / holding | Point Wildconfirmed | Amagicom ABprovider claim |
| Beneficial owners publicly known | partly knownprovider claim | fully knownprovider claim |
| Ownership structure | private equityprovider claim | founder ownedprovider claim |
| Leadership team publicly named | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Verifiable postal address for legal service | yesconfirmed | yesconfirmed |
| Sister VPN brands in the group | Betternet, Ultra VPN / UltraAV, VPN360, Touch VPN (per Point Wild / Pango portfolio disclosures)provider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Group owns VPN review and comparison sites | Comparitech (listed among Point Wild brands)provider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Runs an affiliate programme | yesprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Typical commission rate | ? | none (no classic affiliate commission program; reseller partnerships exist)provider claim |
| YouTube and influencer sponsoring | occasionalprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Documented misleading advertising claims | 'Military-grade' encryption wording appears on download/marketing pages; Hydra marketed as '#1 for speed'provider claim | ? |
| Acquisition history / former name | AnchorFree → Pango; Aura/Pango era; Dec 2024 Pango Group merged with Total Security and rebranded Point Wildprovider claim | none disclosed on homeprovider claim |
| Operating status | activeconfirmed | activeconfirmed |
| Core statement of the logging policy | Does not store VPN browsing activity tied to a user; logs session duration, bandwidth, anonymized domains, device hashes; source IP encrypted then deleted at session endconfirmed | Kontonummer und Ablaufdatum sind die einzigen dauerhaft gespeicherten Kontodaten. Keine Speicherung von Verkehrsdaten, DNS-Anfragen, IP-Adressen, Verbindungszeitpunkten und Bandbreite je Konto.provider claim |
| Activity and traffic logs | noneprovider claim | noneconfirmed |
| Connection logs | per sessionconfirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Storage of the real IP address | transient onlyconfirmed | not storedprovider claim |
| Storage of the assigned VPN IP | not storedprovider claim | not storedprovider claim |
| Precision of stored timestamps | to the secondprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Recording of transferred data volume | per accountconfirmed | aggregate onlyprovider claim |
| Enforcement of the device limit | Premium links up to 10 devices per accountprovider claim | Zählung der gleichzeitigen Verbindungen laut Anbieter ausschließlich im Arbeitsspeicher, ohne dauerhafte Speicherung auf Datenträger.provider claim |
| Minimum account data required | Device hashes for free products without account; paid/account flows collect additional account data per general policyprovider claim | Kontonummer und Ablaufdatum. Kein Benutzername, kein Passwort, keine E-Mail-Adresse.provider claim |
| Telemetry in the apps | cannot be disabledprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Trackers and SDKs in the Android app | Free versions: Google advertising ID (AAID) to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No third-party analytics SDKs described; first-party app telemetry sends app/OS version counters onlyconfirmed |
| Trackers in the iOS app | Free versions: IDFA to Google for personalized adsprovider claim | No third-party analytics SDKs described in no-logging policy; first-party version telemetry discussed primarily with Android examplesprovider claim |
| Trackers and cookies on the website | Cookies for analytics, personalization, and targeted advertising (site cookie banner)provider claim | Laut Cookie-Richtlinie fünf Cookies: authToken, language, csrftoken sowie __stripe_sid und __stripe_mid des Zahlungsdienstleisters Stripe. Keine Analyse- oder Werbecookies genannt.provider claim |
| Data shared with third parties | Free VPN versions: Google for personalized ads (AAID/IDFA); paid versions do not send to ad partners. Domain names logged anonymized/aggregated.provider claim | Zahlungsdienstleister (unter anderem Stripe, PayPal, Swish) und Auftragsverarbeiter für Dienstleistungen. Laut Datenschutzerklärung keine Übermittlung außerhalb von EU und EWR.provider claim |
| Retention periods stated in the policy | Source IP collected for VPN session then deleted at session end; domains aggregated ~monthly; device hashes retained for analyticsprovider claim | Zahlungs- und Transaktions-IDs 20 Tage. Buchhaltungsunterlagen nach schwedischem Buchführungsgesetz sieben Jahre. Support-E-Mails 70 Tage. Nginx-Zugriffsprotokolle des Webservers bis zu fünf Minuten.provider claim |
| EU representative named under GDPR | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Independent no-logs audit | yesconfirmed | yesconfirmed |
| No-logs audit details | Aon technical assessment for Pango Group, report dated 2023-08-25; free and paid tiers; client+server; concluded policy assertions fairly representedconfirmed | Assured Security Consultants, Serverprüfung 25.04. bis 13.05.2022, Bericht vom 21.06.2022: 0 kritische, 0 hohe, 11 mittlere, 9 niedrige Befunde. Fazit: die Konfiguration zeigte keine Anzeichen direkter Kundeninformationen.confirmed |
| Audit report published | summary onlyconfirmed | full reportconfirmed |
| App and client audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | App-Audits im Repository dokumentiert: Assured und Cure53 (2018), Cure53 (2020), Atredis (2022), X41 D-Sec (2024), NCC Group Android (2025), Leviathan Security Android (2026). Dazu X41 D-Sec für Konto- und Zahlungsdienste (Bericht vom 20.01.2026).confirmed |
| Infrastructure and server audits | none published on fetched pagesprovider claim | Cure53 prüfte vom 03. bis 14.06.2024 WireGuard- und OpenVPN-Relays im Whitebox-Verfahren und fand fünf Punkte, davon einen mittleren und einen niedrigen Befund. Zuvor Assured (2022) und Radically Open Security (2023).confirmed |
| Audit frequency | irregularprovider claim | ? |
| Tested in court or by authorities | none documented on fetched official pagesprovider claim | Am 18.04.2023 durchsuchten Beamte der schwedischen Polizeieinheit NOA das Büro in Göteborg. Der Durchsuchungsbeschluss war am 17.02.2023 auf ein deutsches Rechtshilfeersuchen hin ergangen. Nach Anbieterangabe verließen die Beamten den Standort ohne Beschlagnahme und ohne Kundendaten.provider claim |
| Transparency report | occasionalprovider claim | occasionalprovider claim |
| Warrant canary | noneprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Security incidents and data leaks | 2017 CDT complaint to FTC alleging undisclosed data sharing/traffic redirection on Hotspot Shield Free (per Wikipedia)confirmed | ? |
| Bug bounty programme | none published on fetched Hotspot Shield/Pango pagesprovider claim | Kein Bug-Bounty-Programm mit Geldprämien. Meldungen per E-Mail, auf Wunsch PGP-verschlüsselt; der Anbieter sagt zu, gegen meldende Sicherheitsforschende nicht rechtlich vorzugehen.provider claim |
| Handling of reported vulnerabilities | none disclosed on fetched pagesprovider claim | Veröffentlichte Offenlegungsrichtlinie: Vorfälle mit Bezug zu Kundendaten werden nach Behebung öffentlich beschrieben, Vorfälle ohne Kundendatenbezug nur intern behandelt.provider claim |
| Open source clients | noneprovider claim | allconfirmed |
| Open source server side | noprovider claim | partialprovider claim |
| Reproducible builds | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Available on F-Droid | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Listings by independent bodies | Cited Speedtest/Ookla fastest VPN; TechRadar, CNET, ZDNet, PCWorld quotes on marketing pagesprovider claim | Privacy Guides führt Mullvad neben Proton VPN und IVPN als einen von drei empfohlenen VPN-Anbietern und nennt dabei Audits, Monero- und Barzahlung sowie die Offenlegung von eigenen und gemieteten Servern.confirmed |
| WireGuard | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| OpenVPN over UDP | yesconfirmed | noconfirmed |
| OpenVPN over TCP | yesprovider claim | noconfirmed |
| IKEv2/IPsec | yesconfirmed | noprovider claim |
| Proprietary protocol | Hydra (developed internally by Pango)confirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Legacy protocols still offered | Proprietary Hydra primary; OpenVPN/WireGuard not advertised as primary on fetched product pagesprovider claim | OpenVPN removed (removal announced; WireGuard-only network in relays API)provider claim |
| Default data cipher | AES-256confirmed | ChaCha20 mit Poly1305-Authentifizierung (AEAD nach RFC 7539)provider claim |
| Weakest accepted cipher | AES-256provider claim | ? |
| Key exchange and authentication | Catapult Hydra proprietary protocolprovider claim | Noise_IK-Handshake mit Curve25519-ECDH, BLAKE2s als Hash und HKDF zur Schlüsselableitungprovider claim |
| Perfect forward secrecy | ? | yesconfirmed |
| Post-quantum key exchange | not availableprovider claim | on by defaultprovider claim |
| Own DNS resolvers | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| DNS leak protection | ? | yesprovider claim |
| IPv6 handling | unclearprovider claim | routed through tunnelconfirmed |
| WebRTC protection or guidance | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Obfuscation methods | Hydra proprietary protocol marketed for speed/security; censorship circumvention history (Arab Spring) per Wikipediaprovider claim | Vier Verfahren in der App: Lightweight WireGuard Obfuscation (LWO), WireGuard über QUIC (UDP 443), WireGuard über Shadowsocks und UDP-over-TCP (Ports 80, 443, 5001).provider claim |
| Usability behind the Great Firewall | per user reportsconfirmed | per user reportsprovider claim |
| Kill switch | not availableprovider claim | system-wideprovider claim |
| Permanent lockdown | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Split tunneling | not offered on Hotspot Shield select-plan/feature lists fetchedprovider claim | Anwendungsbasiert auf Windows, Linux, macOS und Android. Auf iOS laut Feature-Matrix nicht vorhanden.provider claim |
| Multihop | not availableprovider claim | freely combinableprovider claim |
| Tor integration (Onion over VPN) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Port forwarding | not availableprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| SOCKS5 proxy | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| HTTP proxy | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Smart DNS | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Ad and tracker filtering in DNS | fixed listprovider claim | configurableprovider claim |
| Malware and phishing filter | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Custom DNS servers allowed | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Local network access toggle | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Auto connect rules | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Private device network (mesh) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| GPS location override (Android) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Traffic analysis defence | Proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol; historical circumvention useprovider claim | DAITA (Defense Against AI-guided Traffic Analysis) mit konstanten Paketgrößen, zufälligem Hintergrundverkehr und Musterverzerrung, aufgebaut auf dem quelloffenen Maybenot-Framework. Laut Feature-Matrix auf allen fünf Plattformen verfügbar.provider claim |
| IPv6 inside the tunnel | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Obfuscation without configuration | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Number of servers | 1,800 Serverprovider claim | 576 Serverconfirmed |
| Number of countries | 80 Laenderprovider claim | 50 Laenderconfirmed |
| Number of cities | 35 Staedteprovider claim | 91 Staedteconfirmed |
| Virtual locations | not labelledprovider claim | no virtual locationsprovider claim |
| RAM-only servers (diskless) | noprovider claim | entire networkconfirmed |
| Hardware ownership | rentedprovider claim | mixedconfirmed |
| Own AS (autonomous system) | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| 10 Gbps ports | noprovider claim | some serversconfirmed |
| P2P and file sharing | entire networkprovider claim | entire networkprovider claim |
| Public server list | yesprovider claim | yesconfirmed |
| Public status page | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Known upstream hosting providers | Third-party infrastructure providers (unnamed); Pango states it would leave any provider requiring activity loggingprovider claim | 14 Betreiber laut Relay-Liste: 31173, Blix, Creanova, DataPacket, HostRoyale, M247, PrivateLayer, Tzulo, Veloxserv, Zenlayer, hostuniversal, iRegister, techfutures, xtom.confirmed |
| Windows app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| macOS app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| Linux app with GUI | not availableprovider claim | native appprovider claim |
| Linux command line | not availableprovider claim | native appprovider claim |
| Android app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| iOS app | native appconfirmed | native appprovider claim |
| Android TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Apple TV app | not availableprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Fire TV app | native appprovider claim | not availableprovider claim |
| Browser extension | not availableprovider claim | own extensionprovider claim |
| Type of browser extension | no extensionprovider claim | controls the desktop appprovider claim |
| Router support | Router mentioned as connectable device under Premium (up to 10 devices)provider claim | Dokumentierte Anleitungen für OpenWrt und pfSense, jeweils mit WireGuard.provider claim |
| Native build for Apple Silicon | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Command line documented | noprovider claim | yesconfirmed |
| Simultaneous devices | 10provider claim | 5provider claim |
| Usable without an account | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Data required at signup | any email addressprovider claim | nothing requiredprovider claim |
| Account model | email as loginprovider claim | account number onlyprovider claim |
| Cash by mail | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monero | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Bitcoin | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Lightning | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Retail gift cards | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| PayPal | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Credit and debit card | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| SEPA payment | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Monthly price | €11.99provider claim | €5.00provider claim |
| Effective price on the longest term | €7.99provider claim | €5.00provider claim |
| Price change at renewal | moderate increaseprovider claim | same priceprovider claim |
| Flat pricing without permanent discounts | noprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Free tier and its limits | Free VPN products (Hotspot Shield free) supported by third-party in-app ads (Unity, ironSource, Digital Turbine, InMobi)confirmed | noneprovider claim |
| Money-back window | 45 Tageprovider claim | 14 Tageprovider claim |
| Cancellation path | cancel in accountconfirmed | cancel in accountprovider claim |
| P2P policy in the terms of service | entire networkprovider claim | entire networkprovider claim |
| Streaming unblocking officially advertised | yesprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Netflix regions reported | Marketing claims Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+ worldwide; no audited region list on fetched pagesprovider claim | ? |
| Other streaming services | Netflix, YouTube, Prime, Disney+provider claim | ? |
| Bandwidth cap | cappedprovider claim | no limitprovider claim |
| Data cap | Basic free: 500 MB/day; Premium: unlimitedprovider claim | noneprovider claim |
| Speed measurement references | Claims up to 2.2x faster than competitionprovider claim | ? |
| SMTP and port 25 handling | ? | TCP port 25 blocked (spam); ports 465/587 not singled out as blockedprovider claim |
| Official support in restrictive countries | Historically used for censorship circumvention (Arab Spring); Hydra marketed for accessprovider claim | Eigene Anleitung für Netze mit Filterung mit vier Verschleierungsverfahren. Zu China schreibt der Anbieter, dass alle Mullvad-Server in Asien blockiert seien, und empfiehlt Server in den USA.provider claim |
| 24/7 live chat | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Email or ticket support | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Telephone support | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| German-language support | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| Documentation assessment | workableprovider claim | thorough and currentprovider claim |
| Self-hosted chat widget | noprovider claim | noprovider claim |
| Self-service account deletion | yesprovider claim | yesprovider claim |
| SSL Labs grade of the website | A+confirmed | A+confirmed |
| Tracker load of the website | Essential + analytics/personalization/targeted advertising cookies disclosed on siteprovider claim | Necessary cookies only (authToken, language, csrftoken) plus Stripe payment cookies when payingconfirmed |
| URL of the warrant canary | none foundprovider claim | No dedicated warrant-canary page found this session (blog tag 404)provider claim |
| Length and readability of the legal documents | Long formal ToS with commercial/cancellation sections; not specially simplifiedprovider claim | Clear plain-language ToS with explicit port blocks, price, and refund pointerprovider claim |
| Marketing claims contradicting the provider's own terms | Markets 'world's fastest VPN' via Speedtest; 2017 CDT/FTC complaint about free-tier data sharing (Wikipedia)confirmed | Flat €5/mo since launch messaging on pricing page; 581 servers / 50 countries / 91 cities / 14 providers on servers pageconfirmed |