Mozilla VPN Review

VPNs are welcome but not all are equal in the face of trouble. While some posture, they lack substance and ability. Others, although they are of top quality, are too costly to be practical. Thus, a balance is crucial when employing a VPN (a virtual private network). Mozilla is a well-known name in the tech industry and, in the case of the VPN we’ll review, is a true blend of performance and value for money.

However, it is too soon for users to adopt a blind trust policy regarding Mozilla VPN. It is the first time the company has ventured into the VPN arena. As such, it needs to prove its worth. Is Mozilla all name? An overpriced brand? Or is it a balance of quality and cost that can win over the VPN user base? You’ll find that out in our Mozilla VPN review.

Note — At the time of publication, the service is in its beta testing phase and unavailable globally. However, seeing increasing demand, we decided to cover it for a review. Only a select few countries have access to the VPN, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. If your country is not on the list, you’re best off waiting for an official release.

Overview of Mozilla VPN

As far as we’re aware, Mozilla needs no introduction. No matter whether a user has heard about a VPN or not, if they have an internet connection, they would have heard about Mozilla. That’s the influence this brand has over the internet. Imagine our excitement when the makers of Firefox—one of the top 3 in web browsers in the last 20 years—dedicated to coming out with their brand of VPN. However, it’s simply fanfare. Quite honestly, a VPN, a tool for anonymity and internet safety from the open advocates of privacy, will nonetheless be a thing to get excited about after all.

From what we have seen so far, Mozilla appears quite the vendor. Using Mullvad’s network as a benchmark and backbone, it succeeds in establishing a fast yet secure network. But it is not without its downfalls. Being relatively new, a user surely won’t bet his money on such a product, even if it has a significant name backing. Furthermore, the obfuscation and the ability to bypass geo-blocks are unacceptable. Although it fares very well on the privacy and security front, there isn’t much to offer, and that too at mid-tier pricing. The review will still try to look past its well-designed and easy-to-use apps.

Mozilla VPN key specs

Here are lots of crucial specifications of Mozilla VPN at a glance:

Features	Mozilla VPN
Bandwidth	Unlimited
VPN speed	Up to 92 Mbps
Logging policy	Zero-logs VPN
IP, DNS, WebRTC leaks	None
Jurisdiction	US (Five Eyes Alliance)
Number of servers	400+
Available IP addresses	400+
Server locations	38
Streaming	Unavailable
Torrenting	Supported
Number of simultaneous connections	5
Obfuscation	Unreliable
Customer Support	No live chat, Email/online resources only
Money-back guarantee	30-day money return warranty
Free version or trial	None
Cheapest price	$4.99 per month over 12 months

Features of Mozilla VPN

As a new vendor, there aren’t a lot of subscribers that can attest to the functionality of this VPN. However, Mozilla offers a slew of features, both basic and advanced, to attract users. Are these attributes worth the price tag? We’ll answer that.

Privacy

Although we can’t say a lot about other aspects, it is fairly safe to assume that the product backed by the world-famous Mozilla will be catered to privacy if nothing else. That is why, despite running on Mullvad’s servers, it maintains a high autonomy when it comes to the logging policy. However, we aren’t that concerned about Mullvad’s participation in all this, as the vendor also equally favors privacy.

After observing the logging policy, we can conclude that the service is a no-logs VPN. But, an independent audit is required to verify it. Although the logging policy is quite good, we are still concerned about the jurisdiction of the service. Mozilla VPN operates from within the United States, an active member of the Five Eyes Alliance.

Security

Since it is new, the number of features on its VPN client is rather limited, yet enough to ensure the stability and security of the service. The VPN employs the latest security protocol — WireGuard. But there are no other protocols available. Although having an advanced one is sufficient, a lack of protocol selection can still turn away many potential users. It also has a working kill switch and customer DNS as advanced features. Lastly, it employs an alternate method of encryption, namely ChaCha20 instead of AES-256.

VPN server network

The official number stated on the website is 400+ but remember that it also uses Mullvad’s VPN network. Alongside Mullvad’s infrastructure, the practical number may shoot up to nearly 800 VPN servers. Mozilla VPN also covers around 38 countries, or will, eventually.

VPN speed

Despite having a small VPN network, Mozilla manages to clock above-average speed, signifying it to be a high-speed VPN. Although some credit goes to WireGuard, the overall global structure of Mozilla plays a leading role. Thus, a speed of 95-100 Mbps is well received.

Streaming capabilities

Since it has a limited network and features, the VPN is terrible at bypassing geo-blocks. Thus, an unreliable service for streaming. The apparent lack of a Smart DNS only stands to further highlight this glaring shortcoming. Yes, the VPN can work well for privacy and security, but without streaming and other peripheral facilities, it can’t overtake other leading vendors.

Torrenting support

Our note about streaming applies to torrenting. Even with P2P (peer-to-peer) supported on every server, the network isn’t capable enough to handle this form of communication. That is why, despite having a decent kill switch and P2P optimized servers, the torrenting on this client isn’t recommended.

Obfuscation technology

Bypassing censorship is also an important aspect of a VPN. If the service can’t trump VPN blocks, using one won’t matter. Sadly, the all-new Mozilla VPN lacks obfuscation technology. Although it has a feature to divert traffic to lesser popular ports, it’s inadequate.

Customer Service

Customer care is non-existing at Mozilla VPN. Although you get the support team from Mozilla, the VPN doesn’t have an exclusive 24/7 live chat. The only mode of communication is via email and through reading the online resources they supplied.

Platform support for Mozilla VPN

The VPN isn’t versatile enough. Mozilla VPN supports all the popular platforms—Windows, iOS, macOS, Linux, and Android. Sadly, there is no mention of a VPN router, and it lacks apps for IoT (Internet of Things) devices and browser extensions.

Mozilla VPN pricing and subscription plans

In today’s market, where even the leading vendors have to offer quality services within a price bracket of $3 or below, Mozilla dares to charge a lump sum of $5 per month. Yes, we agree that the 1-month plan is quite competitive, at $10. However, with no free trial, many users will feel the yearly subscription is too costly compared with long-standing services. The provider offers a 30-day money-back assurance and concurrent connections on five (5) devices.

Verdict

As our Mozilla VPN review comes to an end, we can’t help but think the company didn’t do the best it can. They did, however, make their offer superb for beginners in terms of privacy, security, and comfort. It has a powerful security protocol and encryption coupled with a no-logging policy, great VPN speed, standard money return assurance, and supports the most used operating systems. However, the network could’ve been larger and owner rather than rented. Also, they should’ve worked on torrenting, obfuscation, and streaming abilities and provided more protocols and 24/7 live chat.