Our take

Mozilla is a well-known name on the internet. If you’re a fan of its popular Firefox web browser, you may also be interested in its VPN although many competitors have VPN offerings that supersede Mozilla VPN.

Mozilla VPN

Pros

Cons

Mozilla VPN review

When most people hear “Mozilla,” they first think of Firefox, a popular open-source web browser launched in 2004. But Mozilla is a lot more than a browser company. One of Mozilla Corporation’s products is a virtual private network (VPN) that enables secure, private internet connections.

Mozilla VPN is a good choice for socially conscious companies that support the Mozilla Foundation’s mission. However, if you’re looking for the fastest VPN speeds and best value pricing, you may want to keep shopping our list of the Best Business VPNs of 2023. 

Mozilla VPN is a product from the Mozilla Corporation, a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation. The corporation is best known for the Firefox browser and creates other open-source software, such as the Thunderbird email application.

Mozilla VPN launched in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In its short history, it’s grown to more than 500 servers in 30 countries. However, the new fish in the pond is still growing and its offering isn’t as comprehensive as many of its competitors. 

When it comes to VPN speeds, its performance lags behind almost all other VPNs on our Best Business VPNs of 2023 list. Mozilla VPN also doesn’t maintain its own independent server infrastructure. Instead, Mozilla VPN runs using the same network of servers as Mullvad VPN.

It’s also important to note that while Mozilla VPN has a no-log policy, its United States headquarters falls under the five eyes alliance jurisdiction. The five eyes is an international intelligence-sharing agreement between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. If you work with private client information and are concerned about the government snooping on your data, you may want to find a VPN that isn’t based in a five eyes country.

Mozilla VPN pricing falls roughly in line with the average VPN service on our Best Business VPNs of 2023 list. It’s not the most expensive, nor is it the cheapest. Mozilla only offers one VPN plan, but you can choose between a monthly commitment of $9.99 per month or an annual subscription for $4.99 per month. If you’re going to use the VPN for six months or more, the annual commitment is the better deal, saving you 50% of the monthly cost.

With a 12-month plan, you can also upgrade your service to a bundle that includes Firefox Relay, an email and phone masking service, for an extra $2 per month.

Mozilla VPN doesn’t offer a free VPN plan like some competitors, but iOS devices are eligible for a seven-day free trial. If you’re unhappy with the VPN service, you can get a refund within the first 30 days. 

Mozilla VPN offers a single plan that includes unlimited bandwidth and access to all 500 servers and 30 countries in the Mozilla VPN network (operated and maintained by Mullvad VPN). All of the typical VPN features most users want are available, including tools for anonymous browsing, DNS protection, split tunneling and a kill switch. However, Mozilla VPN does not offer dedicated IP addresses to its users.

Mozilla VPN is fast enough for typical web browsing, email, and video streaming. However, the average download speed is less than half of that offered by the fastest VPNs on our Best Business VPNs of 2023 list, and the average upload speed is the slowest.

Mozilla doesn’t offer a plugin for the Chrome browser, which isn’t a huge shock considering it makes Firefox, the main browser competitor of Chrome. Versions of the Mozilla VPN app are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. Mozilla also only uses the Wireguard VPN protocol, which is the industry standard but doesn’t give you much flexibility or operability with connecting the VPN to routers, smart TVs or gaming systems.

Mozilla Corporation offers most of its software products for free. You can get Firefox, Thunderbird and Pocket without paying a cent. Outside of Mozilla VPN, the company’s other main paid privacy product is Relay, which you can bundle with your VPN service for an additional $2 per month.

Mozilla VPN is offered as a bundle with Mozilla Relay Premium for $6.99 per month. You’re only able to get the bundle with a one-year subscription, not a month-to-month plan.

Relay gives you unlimited private email forwarding addresses so you can email companies with a dedicated, private address or use a throwaway email address when you’re worried about your contact information being sold or leaked. It works for phone calls and text messages too.

Installing and getting started with Mozilla VPN is a quick and simple experience for any tech-savvy computer user. If you have a subscription, it takes less than five minutes to download, install and get logged in for the first time.

If you need help, the only option to reach an agent is by using an email support form. Mozilla VPN doesn’t provide live chat or phone support. However, like most VPNs, you can handle most problems using self-help resources provided on Mozilla’s website knowledge base.

Compared to Mozilla VPN, NordVPN’s offerings are much more robust and generally more impressive. Average download speeds are more than double what you would get from Mozilla VPN. 

Note: The speed limits of your internet service provider (ISP) may restrict you from accessing the fastest VPN speeds available.

Mozilla VPN is a little cheaper for a one-month plan, but NordVPN becomes cheaper when you look at longer terms. NordVPN also supports more features, device types, VPN protocols and provides easier-to-reach customer service representatives.

The only drawback of NordVPN is a security blotch on its record when hackers breached a single NordVPN server in 2018. This event may give the most privacy-focused users pause. But at the end of the day, NordVPN is a better choice for most users.

ExpressVPN is one of the biggest VPN providers in the industry. It features a huge network of servers and locations and provides very fast VPN speeds. ExpressVPN’s average download speeds are about twice as fast as Mozilla VPN, and for many users, satisfaction with their VPN provider has a direct relationship with provided VPN speeds.

However, ExpressVPN is also more expensive. For month-to-month plans, ExpressVPN costs about 30% more. And annual plans are noticeably more expensive with ExpressVPN charging $8.32 per month compared to $4.99 with Mozilla VPN.

If you’re willing to pay for more speed, more devices and better customer support, ExpressVPN is the winner. If you prefer to support a nonprofit organization and want to save a little money, Mozilla VPN is the better choice.

Read our full ExpressVPN review.

Overall, Mozilla VPN is a reasonably good VPN. However, it’s much slower than most of the competitors we reviewed. Its speeds are plenty fast for most video streaming, web browsing, and email, though they’re not very impressive compared to other members of our Best Business VPNs of 2023 list. VPN providers like NordVPN and Surfshark provide you with much faster speeds at a lower cost on long-term plans. And they work with more devices and have many more options.

Another big drawback for some users is Mozilla’s U.S. headquarters location, which could force it to cooperate with law enforcement and intelligence agencies. While some may argue that if you’re not breaking the law, you don’t have anything to worry about, privacy is the purpose of a VPN — even for law-abiding citizens and small business owners.

We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses. 

We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the Best Business VPNs of 2023.

Mozilla VPN offers iOS users a seven-day free trial. Users of other operating systems will need to sign up for paid plans, however, all paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Mozilla VPN is based in San Francisco, California. Some VPN users may find a VPN headquarters within the United States concerning because the U.S. is part of the five eyes, five major countries that signed an international data-sharing agreement. Ultra-privacy-focused users should find a VPN that’s located outside of intelligence-sharing nations to avoid any possible jurisdiction issues.

As of 2021, Mozilla VPN operates using shared servers with Mullvad VPN. Mozilla VPN’s server network includes a total of 500 servers in 30 countries worldwide.

Mozilla VPN is generally secure and doesn’t have a history of security breaches or hacks. Technology partner Mullvad VPN also maintains a strong security history including independent audits.

Mozilla VPN only offers the WireGuard protocol. WireGuard is currently regarded as the industry standard and known as the fastest and most secure protocol.

To connect to Mozilla VPN, you’ll first have to download the app for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android or iOS. Once installed, enter your Mozilla username and password to connect.

You can also download a browser extension for Firefox, however, there’s no extension for Chrome or other browsers. If you use a browser other than Firefox, you’ll need to download the VPN app on your desktop and/or mobile device to keep your internet activity private.

No. Mozilla follows a strict no-log policy for its VPN. By default, Mozilla VPN collects certain technical data from users to identify and address any bugs with the software. You have to opt out of this tracking if you want a completely private experience.

Mozilla VPN provides average download speeds of 92 Mbps and average upload speeds of 2 Mbps. Download speeds are sufficient for most internet use but are much slower than most of the competitors we reviewed. However, Mozilla’s upload speeds are very poor.

Mozilla VPN works with Windows, Max, Linux, Android and iOS devices. For routers, smart TVs, or gaming consoles, you’ll likely need to look for another VPN provider.