It’s rare that anything is free these days and, usually, those that are – are generally worthless, which is why Opera VPN is such a surprise! With VPN service providers prolife rating at a rapid rate, it is difficult to stay on top of which is the best value for money and, while Opera VPN can’t compete with the big boys, they still give it horns. Mullvad is also a fan of horns, with their interface dominated by a cartoon Viking, which makes it fun, unlike PIA VPN whose interface is so simple it’s almost blank. The difference with PIA is that simple is smart and behind that blank screen there is a vast pool of sophisticated features. One of Mullvad’s advantages is its location – Swedish lack of censorship and the fact that the European Union Data Retention Directive does not apply to them gives Mullvad a head-start over rivals in the EU or USA.
Features
7.0
Pricing
6.8
Ease of Use
8.8
Reliability & Support
8.4
Features
5.4
Pricing
10.0
Ease of Use
7.0
Reliability & Support
6.0
Features
9.7
Pricing
8.0
Ease of Use
9.6
Reliability & Support
9.8
Rating
Features
7.0
5.4
9.7
Pricing
6.8
10.0
8.0
Ease of Use
8.8
7.0
9.6
Reliability & Support
8.4
6.0
9.8
Reviews
Review by our expert
Kate Veale
Cybersecurity Researcher
6.2
Mullvad is a budget-friendly VPN that operates 360+ servers in 30+ countries. It also operates bridge servers that help users bypass censorship and firewalls. This means you can connect to Mullvad from places like China.
It’s easy to use and security-minded. This VPN keeps a strict no-logs policy and protects your data with military-level encryption. You can try it free for three hours before
Brilliant MullVadI used several premium VPNs for my ongoing business activities in and out of Red Star country. MullVad setup was easy, minimal configuration fuss and absolutely easy to connect to outside world. This concur with the recommendation from Privacytools.IO article as well.
Latest negative user review
Anonymously
2.0
So why the 1 star only?"It works right out of the box and the torrent speeds are excellent. If your running Linux save yourself a lot of installation pain and get this easy to install and use, good value, secure VPN."
So why did you give a 1-star?
OperaVPN once had different versions; a web-browser VPN and a mobile app.
The Opera mobile app, which was available for Android and iOS, is no longer active (read more about it below), but there are a few good free alternatives, such as TunnelBear and Windscribe.
Opera's free web-browser with a built-in VPN, however, is still up and running. Unfortunately, that isn't much of a consolation.
Would recommend for a quick, easy to use VPNI've found Opera to be a bit more demanding on my computer than other web browsers, but the built in VPN is worth it. It turns on and off with one click, and can be configured to automatically turn off when using certain sites (ex. google) to provide local content.
Latest negative user review
Anonymously
2.0
So why the 1 star only?"It works right out of the box and the torrent speeds are excellent. If your running Linux save yourself a lot of installation pain and get this easy to install and use, good value, secure VPN."
So why did you give a 1-star?
Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs on the market. True to its name, this provider is best known for its strict no-logs policy and commitment to user privacy.
Is PIA truly as trustworthy as they claim when it comes to protecting user privacy and anonymity? How does it perform in other categories like streaming, torrenting, and safety?
We tested PIA ourselves to find
Great VPN.If you port forward, Be sure to enable *both* private and public networks for your client in Windows firewall. Otherwise, it will not work. Once I did that all is good. I am very pleased with PIA. I would recommend it to anyone.
Latest negative user review
Anonymously
2.0
So why the 1 star only?"It works right out of the box and the torrent speeds are excellent. If your running Linux save yourself a lot of installation pain and get this easy to install and use, good value, secure VPN."
So why did you give a 1-star?
Mullvad is a budget-friendly VPN that operates 360+ servers in 30+ countries. It also operates bridge servers that help users bypass censorship and firewalls. This means you can connect to Mullvad from places like China.
It’s easy to use and security-minded. This VPN keeps a strict no-logs policy and protects your data with military-level encryption. You can try it free for three hours before
OperaVPN once had different versions; a web-browser VPN and a mobile app.
The Opera mobile app, which was available for Android and iOS, is no longer active (read more about it below), but there are a few good free alternatives, such as TunnelBear and Windscribe.
Opera's free web-browser with a built-in VPN, however, is still up and running. Unfortunately, that isn't much of a consolation.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs on the market. True to its name, this provider is best known for its strict no-logs policy and commitment to user privacy.
Is PIA truly as trustworthy as they claim when it comes to protecting user privacy and anonymity? How does it perform in other categories like streaming, torrenting, and safety?
We tested PIA ourselves to find
Brilliant MullVadI used several premium VPNs for my ongoing business activities in and out of Red Star country. MullVad setup was easy, minimal configuration fuss and absolutely easy to connect to outside world. This concur with the recommendation from Privacytools.IO article as well.
Anonymously
10.0
Would recommend for a quick, easy to use VPNI've found Opera to be a bit more demanding on my computer than other web browsers, but the built in VPN is worth it. It turns on and off with one click, and can be configured to automatically turn off when using certain sites (ex. google) to provide local content.
Ray
10.0
Great VPN.If you port forward, Be sure to enable *both* private and public networks for your client in Windows firewall. Otherwise, it will not work. Once I did that all is good. I am very pleased with PIA. I would recommend it to anyone.
Latest negative user review
Anonymously
2.0
So why the 1 star only?"It works right out of the box and the torrent speeds are excellent. If your running Linux save yourself a lot of installation pain and get this easy to install and use, good value, secure VPN."
So why did you give a 1-star?
Von Hohenheim, theophrastus
2.0
Opera uses Google serversI installed Opera a couple of years ago because of its included VPN. I wanted to get away from being tracked everywhere by Google. However, when I discovered that the Opera VPN was using Google servers, that idea went out the window. I stopped using the Opera VPN feature and went with a different VPN provider.
No more
2.0
Used to be okay, but terrible in mid 2020Used to have no problems with PIA, but they've switched providers and now I keep getting directed to Google.uk instead of Google.com search results. Also get geoblocked by some US sites. All while I'm selecting their East Coast, NYC, DC, Atlanta or Chicago servers. It's just not worth the incredible hassle. I was a customer for six or seven years. No more.
Overall, Mullvad is small but clever, Opera is big and loud and PIA VPN is a robust tool that promises a safe haven to internet users who wish to conceal their personal information from government agencies, hackers and publicists. Opera VPN is free, but doesn’t allow any torrenting, while PIA VPN is competitively priced, offers limited torrenting and enables the user to specify their VPN access configuration using the range of preferences available. PIA’s superior level of sophistication and competitive pricing ensures its success in this comparison.
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Kate Veale
Alex (Shurf) Frenkel
Katie Kasunic