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Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad sets a fast, free, unaudited VPN against a slow-to-please, paid-only, heavily verified one. Hotspot Shield’s Catapult Hydra protocol is genuinely quick on nearby servers, and it offers a usable free tier. Mullvad asks for no email, accepts cash, has more than ten published audits, and in 2023 survived a police search that found nothing.
They answer different questions. Hotspot Shield answers how fast and how cheap to start. Mullvad answers how little the provider can know about you, and how you can check.
Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad: The Short Answer
Choose Mullvad over Hotspot Shield for privacy. It rates 4.2 in our Mullvad review, with a record that has been tested by audits and by a warrant.
Choose Hotspot Shield only for speed on nearby servers, a free tier, or a long refund window. It rates 3.4 in our Hotspot Shield review, and gives 45 days to claim a refund.
Mullvad also costs less after the first year: about $65 a year at its flat €5, against Hotspot Shield’s $95.99 renewal.
Privacy: Proven Against Unproven
Mullvad has more than ten published audits, from firms including Cure53 and Assured AB. When Swedish police arrived with a warrant in April 2023, they left with no customer data, because the servers held none.
Hotspot Shield has no audit of its no-logs policy. Outside parties have examined its Catapult Hydra protocol, but that tests the tunnel rather than whether records exist. The protocol is closed, its servers write to disk, and it has published no transparency report since 2019. Our audit tracker and our no-logs guide explain the difference.
| Provider | No-logs audits | Auditor | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 6 | PwC, Deloitte | Panama |
| Surfshark | 2 | Deloitte | Netherlands (9 Eyes) |
| ExpressVPN | 3 | KPMG (28 security reports in total) | British Virgin Islands, Kape-owned |
| CyberGhost | 3 | Deloitte | Romania, Kape-owned |
| PureVPN | 4 | KPMG | BVI, operated from Pakistan |
| IPVanish | 2 | Leviathan, Schellman | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| Windscribe | 1 | Packetlabs, production infrastructure | Canada (Five Eyes); Greek case dismissed, no data to give |
| Proton VPN | 5 | Securitum | Switzerland, moving infrastructure to EU |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | Deloitte | United States (Five Eyes), Kape-owned |
| Mullvad | 10+ | Cure53, Assured AB | Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| TunnelBear | Annual since 2017 | Cure53 | Canada (Five Eyes), US parent |
| Norton VPN | 2 | VerSprite | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Hotspot Shield | 0 | protocol audited, policy not | United States (Five Eyes) |
| AirVPN | 0 | none — the client is open source instead | Italy (14 Eyes) |
| IVPN | 8, annual since inception | Cure53 | Gibraltar (status disputed) |
| Hide.me | 1 modern, in 2024 | Securitum, though one source names Altius IT | Malaysia (outside the alliances) |
| PrivadoVPN | 0 | none in six years of operation | Iceland (moved from Switzerland, 2026) |
| TorGuard | 0 | none; settled a lawsuit without disclosing records | United States (Five Eyes) |
| FastestVPN | 1, in 2023 | Altius IT | Cayman Islands (outside the alliances) |
| StrongVPN | 0 | none in over two decades | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| VyprVPN | 1, in 2018 | Leviathan Security, before the 2023 sale | United States (Five Eyes), Certida-owned since 2023 |
| PrivateVPN | 0 | none; support says there is nothing to audit | Sweden (14 Eyes), ownership disputed |
| ZoogVPN | 0 | none; support describes one as planned | Greece (outside the alliances), run from Ukraine |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 1, in 2026 | X41 D-Sec, white-box over two months | United States (Five Eyes), runs AzireVPN infrastructure |
| Astrill | 0 | — | Disputed: Seychelles or Liechtenstein |
What Each Knows About You
Mullvad knows almost nothing. You get a random account number, it requests no email, and you can pay in cash by post.
Hotspot Shield runs a normal account, and its free Android app has a documented history of tracking code. Its parent, Point Wild, also owns Comparitech, a VPN review site. Our ownership guide explains why that matters, and our privacy guide covers why sign-up counts as much as logging.
Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad on Price
Hotspot Shield costs about $71.88 for its first year, then $95.99 a year, according to our tables; published monthly prices range from $5.99 to $7.99.
Mullvad charges €5 a month, about $5.40, with no discount and no renewal jump. Over four years our table puts Mullvad near $260 and Hotspot Shield between about $290 and $360. Our renewal price table compares both.
| Provider | 4-year total |
|---|---|
| PureVPN | ~$142 |
| CyberGhost | ~$152–161 |
| TunnelBear | ~$160 |
| Surfshark | ~$205 |
| Proton VPN | ~$240 |
| Mullvad | ~$260 |
| ExpressVPN | ~$267 |
| Norton VPN | ~$280 |
| Hotspot Shield | ~$290–360 |
| NordVPN | ~$335 |
| Astrill | ~$600 |
Speed, Free Tier and Refunds
Speed: Hotspot Shield’s Catapult Hydra is fast on nearby and US East servers, its genuine strength. Mullvad does not chase speed records. Our speed guide explains what else matters.
Free tier: Hotspot Shield has a usable one; Mullvad has none. Our free VPN guide lists free tiers with stronger privacy records.
Refunds: Hotspot Shield gives 45 days; Mullvad gives 30 and returns unused time. Our refund guide covers both.
Devices and streaming: Mullvad allows five devices and does not optimise for streaming. Sources disagree on Hotspot Shield’s device limit, giving five and ten, and our review rates its streaming 3.
What Each One Lacks
Mullvad lacks a free tier, speed-first engineering and a long refund. It also lacks streaming focus and allows only five devices, and it removed port forwarding in 2023.
Hotspot Shield lacks everything that makes a no-logs claim checkable. No policy audit, a closed protocol, disk-based servers and no transparency report since 2019 add up to a claim you have to take on trust.
Neither offers port forwarding. Our port forwarding guide lists the providers that still do.
Which One
Mullvad for privacy you can check and anonymity from sign-up onwards, at a flat price.
Hotspot Shield for speed on nearby servers, a free tier or a 45-day refund, if privacy is not the main reason you want a VPN. Proton VPN vs Hotspot Shield compares it with an audited free tier, and PIA vs Mullvad sets Mullvad against another proven record.
How We Research
Mullvad’s audits, raid, sign-up and pricing come from our Mullvad review and tables, and Hotspot Shield’s ownership, audit gap, protocol, free tier and pricing from our Hotspot Shield review and tables. Prices are as recorded in our tables in September 2026, and Mullvad’s dollar figure converts its €5 price. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad FAQ
For privacy, yes. In Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad, Mullvad rates 4.2 against 3.4, with ten-plus audits and a tested no-logs claim. Hotspot Shield’s advantages are speed, a free tier and a 45-day refund.
Its Catapult Hydra protocol has been examined by outside parties, but nobody has audited its no-logs policy. Mullvad has more than ten published audits.
Hotspot Shield’s first year costs about $71.88, but it then renews at $95.99. Mullvad costs about $65 a year at its flat €5 a month.
No. Hotspot Shield has a usable free tier, though its free Android app has a documented history of tracking code.
Mullvad. It asks for no email and accepts cash by post. Hotspot Shield uses a normal account.
The Verdict
For privacy, Hotspot Shield vs Mullvad is not close. Mullvad has the audits, the tested record and the anonymous sign-up; Hotspot Shield has none of the three.
Hotspot Shield is still fast, and its free tier and 45-day refund are real advantages. If speed is all you need, it delivers. If privacy is the reason, choose Mullvad.