Head-to-head VPN comparisons that go beyond spec sheets. We line up audit records, independent speed results, features, and pricing side by side — and name a winner for your specific needs.
Both give you 45 days to change your mind, which is the longest window available. One has published a transparency report every quarter since 2011. The other has published none since 2019.
Published sources credit ExpressVPN with anywhere from 18 to 28 audits. Hotspot Shield has none of its no-logs policy. The two cost within a few dollars of each other.
Most comparisons involve a trade-off. This one does not. Surfshark costs less across four years and comes out ahead on every criterion except raw speed on nearby servers.
Both allow unlimited simultaneous connections, which removes the argument that normally settles this kind of comparison. What is left is streaming, coverage, and a refund window one of them does not have.
TunnelBear gives unlimited devices and has published an audit every year since 2017. It also has no refund window, which makes its free tier the only trial you get.
Both are genuinely fast. One has six independent no-logs audits, a transparency report every month and servers that store nothing. The other has none of those, for roughly the same price.
Across four years these two cost $267 and $260. Both have had no-logs claims tested by police rather than by auditors. Price settles nothing here, which is unusual.
Surfshark allows unlimited devices and costs $55 less across four years. Mullvad allows five and never learns your email address. No pair we have compared splits this widely.
Both are independent, both publish every audit, both open-source their apps. What separates them is whether you need a VPN that also streams, covers ten devices and forwards ports.
NordVPN wins on speed, streaming and device count. Mullvad refuses to learn your email address, publishes every audit report, and costs $75 less over four years.
