hide.me vs Mullvad VPN: which wins in 2026?
Head-to-head on the facts that decide the purchase: real prices in the provider's own unit, minimum, KYC, proof, payment and terms - every number sourced in the linked reviews.
A rare genuinely usable free plan (no card, P2P allowed on the 10 GB free tier) plus audited no-logs claims twice over - DefenseCode 2015 and Securitum 2024 - from a Malaysia-registered operator outside retention alliances. Paying unlocks multihop, port forwarding and 10 connections at EUR 2.69/mo, and a 'Pricing Guarantee' now promises renewal at the same price and duration. Coverage is thin compared with the majors and the app is more a tinkerer's toolbox than a one-click product, but the honesty per euro is hard to beat.
The most honest VPN on the internet, and in 2026 still the one this industry is measured against: numbered accounts, cash or Monero accepted, open-source clients, a no-logs policy page updated June 2026 (verified live), and Swedish police walking away empty-handed in 2023. The price of that integrity is a small network (566 servers / 50 countries, verified live 2026-09-28), zero streaming chops, no port forwarding since 2023, and a 2026 ownership-donation controversy that cost it some principled customers - which is exactly what a non-marketing VPN looks like.
Short answer: hide.me wins overall (7.3/10 vs 6.5/10). Mullvad VPN is the better pick if you care most about security. Facts checked 2026-10-06.
The facts
 hide.me |  Mullvad VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score (0-10) | 7.3 | 6.5 |
| Privacy & proof | ||
| Logging claim | No logs - 'first VPN provider in the industry who volunteered itself to be audited'… | We do not keep activity logs of any kind |
| Logging evidence | independently audited | proven in court |
| Audits | DefenseCode (Leon Juranic) 2015, Securitum 2024 | X41 D-Sec 2024, X41 D-Sec 2021 |
| Jurisdiction | Malaysia | Sweden |
| Owner | eVenture Ltd. | amagicom-ab |
| Money | ||
| Intro price | €2.69/mo (about $3.04/mo) | €5/mo (about $5.65/mo) |
| Renewal price | €69.99 / 26 mo (€2.69/mo) | €5 / 1 mo |
| Anonymous payment | btc, doge, eth, ltc, xmr, sol, usdt, usdc · fiat | btc, xmr · fiat |
| Account | ||
| Personal info | none | none |
| Kind | Commercial VPNs | Commercial VPNs |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-01 |
Score breakdown
hide.me leads on ownership & track record (+3.5), honest value (+2) · Mullvad VPN leads on security (+1.5).
hide.me at a glance
++ What holds up
- One of the first VPNs ever audited (DefenseCode, 2015) and re-audited by Securitum (2024)
- Malaysia-based eVenture Ltd.; 'no data retention laws, not part of the Fourteen Eyes' (operator statement)
- Free plan without credit card, P2P permitted on the 10 GB free tier (echoed by Reddit users)
- Feature depth: multihop, dynamic port forwarding, split tunneling, StealthGuard obfuscation, WireGuard
- New 'Pricing Guarantee': renewal at the same price and duration (live 2026-09-28)
- Crypto payments incl. Monero, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Solana, Tether
-- What to watch
- Free tier: only 8 locations, 1 connection, restricted speeds
- Network (92 locations / 2600 servers) smaller than tier-1 competitors
- Long plans billed in EUR with big upfront totals (69,99 EUR over 26 months)
- Kape-adjacent history: hide.me once published Kape-sponsored blog comparisons (press reports) - trust requires the audits to stand on their own
Mullvad VPN at a glance
++ What holds up
- Flat EUR 5/month - the same price for 1 month, 1 year, or 1 decade of service
- Numbered accounts, no email; Bitcoin (since 2010), Monero, and cash by mail accepted
- Open-source GPLv3 clients with a long independent-audit record (Cure53, Radically Open Security, X41 D-Sec, MASA via NCC Group and Leviathan)
- 2023 Swedish police search warrant ended with nothing to seize - the architecture held
-- What to watch
- Small fleet: 566 servers in 50 countries (real-time operator page) - thin coverage outside Europe
- Streaming is effectively unsupported; its IPs are widely detected and blocked
- Port forwarding removed in 2023 - a hard loss for self-hosters
- No warrant canary; the counterweight is data minimization, not a transparency page
FAQ
Which is cheaper, hide.me or Mullvad VPN?
hide.me is cheaper at $3.04 month versus $5.65 month.
Which has better logging evidence, hide.me or Mullvad VPN?
Mullvad VPN has the stronger logging evidence; hide.me is audited too - the winner adds a courtroom test on top.
Which renewal price is honest, hide.me or Mullvad VPN?
hide.me renews cheaper: €2.69/mo vs €5/mo - hide.me renews at 1x its intro price, Mullvad VPN at 1x.
Which needs less KYC, hide.me or Mullvad VPN?
Both have the same KYC stance (none).
Which has the longer track record?
Mullvad VPN has the longer track record (since 2009).
Scores and facts: meta-reviews with dated sources - hide.me · Mullvad VPN. Method: how we verify. More: all providers compared · all head-to-heads.