Mullvad vs Proton VPN vs Tailscale vs WireGuard
Four VPN options with very different free tiers — a flat-rate no-account privacy VPN with no free tier, the only major VPN with unlimited free data forever, a WireGuard mesh VPN free for 100 devices, and the open-source WireGuard protocol itself you self-host — compared on free data, devices, countries, no-logs, and self-hosting.
| Mullvad | Proton VPN | Tailscale | WireGuard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier note | A flat-rate, no-account, cash-payable privacy VPN. There is no forever-free tier: Mullvad costs a flat €5/month with no commitment and no discounts for longer terms. Open-source apps on every platform, runs WireGuard + OpenVPN, a strict no-logging policy audited twice, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. No email or personal data required to sign up — you get a random account number. | The most generous free VPN — Proton VPN Free is free forever with unlimited data, no ads, and no speed throttling, on servers in 5+ countries with 1 simultaneous connection at medium speed. Open-source apps and a strict no-logs policy audited independently. No streaming support on the free plan; paid Plus from ~$9.99/mo adds more countries, higher speed, more devices, and streaming. | A WireGuard-based mesh VPN that connects your devices into a private network without exposing any ports. Tailscale’s free Personal plan covers up to 100 devices for personal use; the free business plan covers 3 users with access controls. Built on the open-source WireGuard protocol (Tailscale’s client is open-source, the control server is not). Headscale is the open-source self-hostable control server. Paid from ~$6/user/mo. | The open-source (GPLv2) VPN protocol that powers most modern VPNs. WireGuard is not a service — it’s a fast, minimal, audited protocol you run yourself with no device or bandwidth limits. Free to self-host on any platform (Linux kernel, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android). No managed free tier; you bring your own server (or pair it with a provider like Tailscale, Mullvad, or Proton VPN). |
| Bandwidth | unlimited | unlimited data | unlimited | n/a |
| Builds | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Requests | no free tier — flat €5/month | servers in 5+ countries, 1 device, medium speed | 100 devices for personal use, 3 users for business | free open-source protocol — self-host unlimited |
| Custom domains | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Paid from | $5/mo | $10/mo | $6/mo | $0/mo |
| Generosity ★ | 44 | 9 | 43 | 34 |
| Last verified | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 |
| Visit site | Mullvad ↗ | Proton VPN ↗ | Tailscale ↗ | WireGuard ↗ |
Data verified 2025-09-01.