Mullvad Browser Alternatives: 5 Picks by Threat Model

The best Mullvad Browser alternatives are LibreWolf for most people, Brave if you want zero setup or a phone app, and Tor Browser if you need the IP hiding Mullvad Browser never had. Firefox in Strict mode is the low-effort pick, and Safari 26 or later covers iPhone and Mac users. All five are free.

LibreWolf is our pick because it enables Firefox’s resistFingerprinting (RFP), the protection that reached Firefox through the Tor Uplift project, while letting you keep logins for sites you choose. Brave is the runner-up: it randomizes your fingerprint instead of standardizing it, and it works on nearly every site and phone. Since every option costs nothing, the budget pick is really the low-effort one, Firefox with Enhanced Tracking Protection set to Strict.

Why look for a Mullvad Browser alternative?

People usually leave Mullvad Browser for one of four reasons: it forgets every login when you close it, it has no Android or iOS version, it does not hide your IP address, and any customization weakens the protection you installed it for. Each alternative below fixes at least one of those, and each costs you something in return.

All four follow from the design. Mullvad describes the browser as Tor Browser without the Tor network, built with the Tor Project, available for Linux, macOS and Windows only, and running in private mode with session-only cookies. Its technical documentation says it is engineered for “a nearly identical fingerprint across its users per operating system,” sends all DNS to Mullvad’s DoH resolver without fallback, and offers three security levels. The current stable release is 15.0.24, published 30 September 2026 on Firefox 140.17.0esr, with a 16.0 alpha moving to ESR 153.

That sameness is the product. Install an extra extension, maximize the window or sign in to a personal account, and you step out of the crowd. Our Tor Browser vs Mullvad Browser comparison explains why the shared design punishes personalization, and our privacy browsers ranked shows where Mullvad Browser itself places.

The five alternatives at a glance

Threat models served

1. Ad-tech and data brokers are linking your visits across sites, but you still need to stay signed in to email and banking. Winner: LibreWolf. According to its feature list, it ships with RFP on, uBlock Origin bundled, Tracking Protection in Strict mode, telemetry removed and cookies wiped on close. Its FAQ explains how to add per-site exceptions under Settings > Privacy & Security > History before you log in, so your bank survives a restart while everything else is cleared. If you need Chromium compatibility, Brave is the runner-up here, and Brave vs Firefox for privacy covers that trade in depth.

2. Your ISP or the café Wi-Fi operator should not see which sites you visit, and those sites should not see your real IP. Winner: Tor Browser. Mullvad Browser never covered this, and neither do LibreWolf, Brave, Firefox or Safari in normal use. Tor Browser 15.0, released 28 October 2025 on Firefox ESR 140, routes traffic through three relays on desktop and Android. The other route is any browser behind a reputable VPN, which moves your trust to one company; Tor vs VPN for anonymity explains that trade.

3. You want comparable protection on your phone. Winner: Brave on Android and iPhone, with Safari 26 or later as the built-in option on Apple devices. Mullvad Browser has no mobile build. Brave randomizes canvas, WebGL and Web Audio readouts “between websites and between browsing sessions,” so a tracker sees a different device each time. Apple’s iOS 26 announcement extended “advanced fingerprinting protection” to all Safari browsing by default. On Android specifically, our guide to the most private Android browser compares Brave, Firefox and GrapheneOS’s Vanadium.

Firefox, the fifth option, suits people who will not switch browsers at all. Mozilla says Firefox 145 cut the percentage of users seen as unique “by almost half,” with protections covering graphics hardware details, fonts, processor cores, touchscreen capabilities and time zone. Our Firefox privacy hardening guide walks through the settings worth changing and what each one breaks.

The catch

Mullvad Browser has no browser-specific audit. Mullvad’s audit archive covers its VPN apps, infrastructure, web app and payment services, not the browser. The nearest evidence is Cure53’s 72-day audit of Tor Browser and the Tor Project’s censorship-circumvention tools, which found two high-severity issues across the tested components, both mitigated. The general Firefox codebase was out of scope.

LibreWolf does not update itself. The FAQ says it has no auto-update capability and relies on package managers or users, with releases usually landing within three days of Firefox’s. Letterboxing stays off unless you enable it, DRM video is disabled until you switch it on, and the FAQ warns that when it comes to RFP, “even a single change could make it useless.” There is no mobile version.

Brave’s fingerprint is unlinkable, not common. Randomization stops a tracker connecting your visits, but you never blend into a crowd the way Mullvad Browser users do. Brave is also a business that sells add-ons through the browser. In October 2023, Brave opened GitHub issue 33726 after users found two VPN services, “Brave Vpn Service” and “Brave Vpn Wireguard Service,” registered on fresh Windows installs whether or not anyone had bought Brave VPN. The fix was assigned to the 1.64.x release.

Tor Browser is slow and many sites dislike it. Three relays add latency, exit traffic often meets CAPTCHAs or outright blocks, and signing in to a personal account undoes the anonymity no matter how the traffic travels.

Firefox’s newest defenses are not on for everyone. Mozilla said the Firefox 145 protections arrive in “Private Browsing Mode and ETP Strict mode initially, while we work to enable them by default.” Set Strict yourself rather than assuming. Privacy Guides also recommends turning off telemetry and search suggestions, which Firefox leaves on out of the box.

Safari only acts on known fingerprinters. WebKit’s Safari 26.0 notes describe stopping “known fingerprinting scripts” from reliably reading screen dimensions, hardware concurrency, web audio readback, 2D canvas and more. A script that is not on Apple’s list falls outside that protection, and the browser runs only on Apple hardware.

How to verify each claim

You can run every one of these checks in a few minutes, without an account.

1. Check your fingerprint. Open EFF’s Cover Your Tracks and run the test, then restart the browser and run it again. LibreWolf and Tor Browser aim to look like every other copy of themselves; in Brave, canvas and audio values should differ between sessions because it randomizes them.
2. Compare out-of-the-box defaults. PrivacyTests.org publishes open-source tests of what major browsers block by default. Find your browser and version, then compare the tracking and fingerprinting rows against the claims above.
3. Check LibreWolf’s update lag. Open Help > About LibreWolf and compare the version number with Firefox’s latest release. If you are more than a few days behind, update through your package manager or the installer from the LibreWolf site.
4. Test the IP layer if you add a VPN. With the VPN connected, run the DNS leak test and the WebRTC leak test. Neither your ISP’s DNS resolvers nor your real IP address should appear.
5. Read audit scope, not headlines. Mullvad’s audit archive and the Tor Project’s Cure53 write-up both state what was tested. Check that the browser you plan to use was actually in scope before treating an audit as evidence for it.

Pricing (as of 2 October 2026)

All five browsers are free, and none of the privacy features described here requires an account or subscription. Mullvad Browser is also free whether or not you use Mullvad VPN.

The only cost appears if you add a VPN to cover the IP gap. Mullvad VPN charges €5 a month at the same rate whether you pay monthly or prepay a year, with a 14-day money-back guarantee that excludes cash payments. Our NordVPN vs Mullvad vs ProtonVPN comparison covers providers with different account models. A VPN hides your IP from websites and your browsing from your ISP; it does not stop phishing, malware or browser fingerprinting.

FAQ

Is LibreWolf better than Mullvad Browser?

No for raw fingerprint resistance, yes for daily livability. Mullvad Browser is built so every copy looks alike, while LibreWolf permits extensions, cookie exceptions and Firefox Sync, all of which make your setup more individual. LibreWolf suits people who need persistent logins; Mullvad Browser suits sessions you want forgotten the moment the window closes.

Does Mullvad Browser work on Android or iPhone?

No. Mullvad Browser is available only for Linux, macOS and Windows, and Mullvad has not released a mobile version. On Android, Brave and Tor Browser for Android are the closest substitutes, depending on whether you need IP hiding. On iPhone, Brave or Safari with its default fingerprinting protection covers everyday tracking.

Do I need a VPN with a Mullvad Browser alternative?

Only if websites should not see your real IP address, or your ISP and the local Wi-Fi operator should not see which sites you visit. LibreWolf, Brave, Firefox and Safari connect directly by default, exactly as Mullvad Browser does. Tor Browser is the exception, because it routes traffic through Tor relays instead.

Is Brave as private as Mullvad Browser?

Not against fingerprinting by the same yardstick, though the gap matters less than it sounds for everyday browsing. Mullvad Browser makes every user look identical, while Brave makes each site and session see a different device. Brave keeps logins, syncs and runs on phones; Mullvad Browser’s crowd defense is stronger but breaks more pages.

Related across the network

• How to Use Tor Browser Safely: A Practical Setup Guide — anonguide.com
• The Minimal Privacy Stack for 2026 — anonguide.com