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Cybersecurity · head to head

Mullvad VPN vs Ory Kratos

Mullvad VPN logo

Mullvad VPN

Cybersecurity

Privacy-first VPN with one flat price and no email required to sign up

From
$5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory Kratos logo

Ory Kratos

Cybersecurity

Headless identity and user management API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ory Kratos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mullvad VPN offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.; Ory Kratos headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • They diverge on capability: Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing, Ory Kratos covers Headless API.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mullvad VPN and Ory Kratos actually diverge.

Attributes where Mullvad VPN and Ory Kratos differ
AttributeMullvad VPNOry Kratos
Starting price$5/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen-source self-hosted, with a paid managed network
Free tierNoYes
Platformswindows, mac, linux, ios, androidLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mullvad VPN

  • Flat single pricing
  • Account-number signup
  • Cash and crypto payments
  • WireGuard support
  • Independent audits

Only in Ory Kratos

  • Headless API
  • Self-service flows
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Pluggable identity schemas

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mullvad VPN

  • Paying for a VPN anonymously with cash or cryptocurrencynot Ory Kratos
  • Avoiding tiered upsells with a single flat-rate plannot Ory Kratos
  • Signing up without providing an email addressnot Ory Kratos
  • Verifying a provider's privacy claims via independent auditsnot Ory Kratos

Ory Kratos

  • Products needing complete control over the look and flow of authenticationnot Mullvad VPN
  • Applications that must not hand user identity data to a third partynot Mullvad VPN
  • Teams building identity as infrastructure across several servicesnot Mullvad VPN

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mullvad VPN

  • Offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.
  • Lacks a bundled tiered structure, so there is no cheaper limited plan for occasional users.
  • Server network and streaming-unblocking performance is smaller than large mainstream VPN providers.
  • No annual discount, meaning long-term subscribers pay the same monthly rate as short-term users.

Ory Kratos

  • Headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • More moving parts than a monolithic IAM: Kratos handles identity, and OAuth2 needs Ory Hydra alongside
  • Documentation assumes real familiarity with identity concepts and is not a gentle introduction
  • Self-hosting identity carries the security and availability burden that hosted providers absorb

Pricing, plan by plan

Mullvad VPN

$5/month
  • Mullvad VPN$5/month
    • Flat rate regardless of subscription length
    • 5 simultaneous devices
    • No email required

Ory Kratos

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full identity server
    • All flows
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Mullvad VPN if

  • You need flat single pricing.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want account-number signup.
Mullvad VPN review

Choose Ory Kratos if

  • You need headless api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want self-service flows.
Ory Kratos review

Questions people ask

Is Mullvad VPN or Ory Kratos better?
Neither clearly leads. Mullvad VPN starts at $5/month and Ory Kratos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mullvad VPN or Ory Kratos?
Ory Kratos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/month for Mullvad VPN and Free for Ory Kratos.
Does Mullvad VPN or Ory Kratos run on more platforms?
Mullvad VPN runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android. Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
Can I use Ory Kratos for free?
Yes. Ory Kratos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mullvad VPN starts at $5/month.
What is Mullvad VPN best used for?
Mullvad VPN is most often used for paying for a vpn anonymously with cash or cryptocurrency, avoiding tiered upsells with a single flat-rate plan, signing up without providing an email address, verifying a provider's privacy claims via independent audits. Of those, paying for a vpn anonymously with cash or cryptocurrency and avoiding tiered upsells with a single flat-rate plan are not what Ory Kratos is typically brought in for.
What can Mullvad VPN do that Ory Kratos cannot?
Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing, Account-number signup, Cash and crypto payments, WireGuard support. Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ory Kratos: Is Ory Kratos free?

Yes, open source and free to self-host. Ory Network is a paid managed service.

Ory Kratos: What does headless mean here?

Kratos provides identity flows as APIs and no user interface. You build the login, registration and recovery screens yourself.

Ory Kratos: Does Kratos do OAuth2?

No. Kratos handles user identity; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider functionality is Ory Hydra, a separate component.

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