Mozilla VPN review: An easy-to-use VPN with Firefox compatibility

Price When Reviewed

$9.99

Best Prices Today: Mozilla VPN

Mozilla VPN in short:

• P2P allowed: Yes
• Unlimited system connections: No, 5 simultaneous system connections
• Business location: California
• Number of servers: 500+
• Number of nation areas: 30+
• Cost: $9.99 monthly, or $59.88 for a yr

Mozilla is without doubt one of the prime gamers within the browser sport together with Chrome and Safari. So when such an enormous identify within the business comes out with its personal VPN, individuals take discover. What started as a Firefox browser extension greater than 5 years in the past has grown into a completely standalone software.

In the following years, Mozilla has added assist for extra companies reminiscent of MacOS and Linux, in addition to boosting its server community and present process a number of impartial safety audits. So how does this web browser large’s VPN stack up in opposition to longtime gamers reminiscent of ExpressVPN and NordVPN? I put it to the take a look at to seek out out. 

Further studying: See our roundup of the best VPNs to study competing merchandise.

What are Mozilla VPN’s options and companies?

Since the launch of the service, Mozilla VPN has grown considerably. It now contains most of the similar options as different prime VPN companies. Let’s take a look at what you’ll get in your cash.

Mozilla VPN gives as much as 5 simultaneous system connections. That isn’t unhealthy, however the development is in the direction of eradicating these limitations, and plenty of different companies reminiscent of Surfshark, TunnelBear, and Private Internet Access are already providing limitless connections.

When you first open the applying you’re instantly confronted with a swap within the center to activate the VPN, a Select location possibility, and some different settings options on the backside. The complete design and format of the app is extremely clear and properly thought out. Even the wording above the swap “Turn on to protect your privacy” is a pleasant contact that’s positive to make sense to even essentially the most novice of customers.

When you select Select location, a drop-down menu will seem with all the obtainable server areas listed. You can select to type them by Recommended or All. As an entire, Mozilla VPN’s server community is sadly relatively small in comparison with different companies. At over 500 servers you’ll have choices to select from, however the truth that it solely gives round 40 nation areas is disappointing. This is an space that may hopefully be improved upon sooner or later.

The Mozilla VPN’s community is definitely piggy-backing off of Mullvad VPN’s community. There isn’t quite a lot of commercial for this, and actually the one place it turns into obvious is whenever you verify the server standing on the web site — it really hyperlinks to the Mullvad server standing net web page as an alternative.

Sam Singleton

Under the server checklist you’ll additionally discover the choice to modify to multi-hop connection. I used to be genuinely stunned that Mozilla VPN gives multi-hop. It’s a very nifty function that not quite a lot of VPNs presently supply. With multi-hop you may choose your entry and exit server areas thereby permitting your site visitors to be rerouted by means of greater than only one VPN server. This additional obfuscates your true IP location and makes your connection extra personal.

You can navigate to the settings menu by clicking the ever-present gear icon on the backside of the web page. Here you’ll be capable of activate ad-, tracker-, and malware-blocking beneath the Privacy options tab. These are all generally included with most different VPNs these days, however nonetheless good to have.

Sam Singleton

Mozilla VPN gives a split-tunneling function, however it’s not labeled as such. Instead it’s nestled beneath App exclusions. Here you may choose and select which specific apps you want to be excluded from working by means of a VPN and relatively simply use your common web connection. This may be helpful if you wish to stay nameless whereas looking, however want your full web pace whereas gaming.

The service additionally gives a kill swap that may droop web site visitors ought to your VPN connection drop for any surprising motive. This function was deemed so necessary by Mozilla that the app doesn’t will let you flip it off. This is a bit distinctive from different companies which let you manually activate or off the kill swap function. From a privateness and safety perspective I don’t thoughts this, however I see a case for having the choice to vary it. When I examined this function it labored with out a hitch.

Firefox customers may also discover that the VPN integrates to some extent with Mozilla’s browser. The greatest function right here is assist for Multi-Account Containers. This lets you join totally different Firefox tabs to separate VPN servers. With this function you not want to vary servers do you have to want to use totally different areas for various web sites. It’s a quality-of-life function that feels a bit area of interest, however I’m positive Firefox energy customers will admire it.

How is Mozilla VPN’s efficiency?

To take a look at Mozilla VPN’s speeds I rated connection speeds throughout its servers in six totally different nations around the globe after which in contrast them to my baseline web pace. Mozilla VPN’s speeds have been fairly common with the obtain speeds at 38 % and add speeds at 47 % of base speeds. 

That’s nowhere close to our fastest VPNs reminiscent of Hotspot Shield, ExpressVPN, and NordVPN. All of those reached speeds upwards of 60 % or extra of baseline throughout our testing. Still, in the event you’re simply searching for a VPN to maintain you secure throughout informal looking or streaming, Mozilla VPN must be simply superb.

One notable perk with Mozilla VPN is that the precise connection time to a server is lightning quick. Sometimes VPNs can take just a few moments to attach between servers, however Mozilla VPN was close to instantaneous. It’s a relatively trivial factor for most individuals, however mixed with the Multi-Account Containers function, customers who want to vary servers regularly will discover it a pleasant quality-of-life fringe profit.

When it involves unblocking streaming content material, nevertheless, very like my childhood aspirations to play within the MLB, Mozilla VPN falls flat on its face. The service wasn’t capable of entry any of the key streaming companies reminiscent of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, or Hulu in any nation that I examined. This simply goes to point out that Mozilla VPN is extra centered on consumer safety and privateness than accessing geo-restricted content material.

How is Mozilla VPN’s safety and privateness?

Mozilla

Mozilla VPN comes with the business commonplace AES-256 bit encryption and solely permits connections to be executed over the WireGuard protocol. The reasoning behind this isn’t unsound as WireGuard is without doubt one of the newer protocols and gives wonderful pace and safety. But those that want to tweak and customise their connections will really feel a bit laborious executed by.

That being mentioned, the corporate did rating properly on our privateness checks. When checking for DNS leaks, the service got here away with good marks, displaying no leaks from any of our take a look at websites.

In addition, the corporate’s privateness coverage clearly states that it doesn’t retailer any on-line consumer exercise logs. It does acquire some information although, reminiscent of your IP handle whenever you first register for the service in addition to your working system and {hardware} configuration. It doesn’t, nevertheless, acquire information on site visitors, subsequent IP addresses, bandwidth utilization, session occasions, or DNS requests. 

To again up these claims, Mozilla VPN has undergone two separate impartial safety audits by third-party cybersecurity agency Treatment53. The first audit was executed in 2021 and the latest audit was accomplished in December of final yr. The agency recognized just a few vulnerabilities, however Mozilla VPN was fast to handle the problems and repair them.

Much like Mullvad VPN, the service that underpins it, Mozilla VPN has sturdy general privateness credentials. That’s to be anticipated although from an organization like Mozilla who prioritizes a free and open web. Privacy is certainly certainly one of Mozilla VPN’s sturdy fits and relying on what you worth in your VPN, could also be a deciding issue. 

Is Mozilla VPN price it?

Is Mozilla VPN one of the best VPN I’ve ever used? In a nutshell, no. It lacks the widespread server community of different VPNs and there are some severe unblocking points. That being mentioned, followers of Mozilla and its free web beliefs will discover that there’s sufficient right here to fulfill them. 

The app is extraordinarily straightforward to make use of and approachable for novices and the event crew appears to be working laborious to implement extra options to enchantment to energy customers. It additionally makes all the proper privateness guarantees. Still, in its present state, Mozilla VPN has some excellent points and its value is nearly double that of Mullvad, the service it’s constructed round.

Editor’s notice: Because on-line companies are sometimes iterative, gaining new options and efficiency enhancements over time, this evaluate is topic to vary with the intention to precisely mirror the present state of the service. Any modifications to textual content or our remaining evaluate verdict will probably be famous on the prime of this text.