Mar 21, 2021 Mozilla VPN software is a VPN to manage your internet privacy. The software offers advanced protocol and WireGuard to encrypt your network activity and hide your IP address. Surf with fast network speed using our WireGuard powered servers and online activity logs on servers are not stored. It supports Windows, Mobile Android and iOS. Individuals, Small and Medium companies make use of the. The VPN service from Mozilla costs $4.99 per month and is available for Windows and Android devices as of now. We can expect it to expand its services for macOS and Linux devices soon. The iOS version is currently in beta, according to Mozilla.
Mozilla, the open source company best known for the Firefox Web browser, made its VPN service generally available in the United States this month. The cross-platform VPN is based on Wireguard and delivered in partnership with well-known and especially techie-friendly VPN provider Mullvad. Mullvad itself was, to the best of our knowledge, the first publicly available VPN provider to offer Wireguard support back in 2017.The Mozilla VPN service costs $4.95 per month and offers server endpoints in 30-plus countries. It currently has VPN clients available for Windows 10, Android, and iOS—but users of other operating systems, such as MacOS and Linux, are going to have to wait. Mozilla says that support for MacOS and Linux is coming soon—but unfortunately, even if you're an advanced user who understands Wireguard configs, you can't just roll your own connection now.
The service authenticates via Firefox cloud account. When you sign up for a Mozilla VPN subscription, you'll be asked to create a Firefox account if you don't already have one. The Firefox account is an SSO (Single Sign On) service that uses oauth2, much like a Google account—but it's not tied to a Google account, so even if you sign up using a Gmail address tied to an Android device, that device won't be automatically logged in.
Aside from the Firefox-based oauth2 integration, Mozilla's VPN appears to effectively be a Mullvad VPN, with a different client application and different billing entity. It is a bit less expensive through Mozilla, though—Mullvad costs €5 per month. This makes Mozilla's offering about $0.80 per month cheaper, at current exchange rates.
Before we go any further, we need to make something clear—we've repeatedly said that Ars Technica, as editorial policy, does not and cannot specifically recommend any public VPN service provider. While Mozilla does put its own stamp of approval on Mullvad's policies, we have neither sufficient access nor resources to audit those claims ourselves. Readers will need to decide for themselves whether Mozilla's endorsement and partnership constitutes sufficient assurances for their own level of privacy and security needs.
Readers who want a publicly available VPN service and a somewhat higher level of potential privacy might consider bypassing Mozilla and going directly to Mullvad. The Mozilla VPN service must be tied to a working email address and paid for with a credit card. By contrast, Mullvad accounts have no identifying information besides the account number itself, and they can be paid for with bitcoin—or even literal cash in a mailed-in envelope.
AdvertisementWe don't have any better way to guarantee Mullvad's internal policies and handling than Mozilla's, of course—but never collecting a user's real-world information in the first place is a pretty solid start on the privacy game.
Testing Mozilla VPN—Android (Google Pixel 2XL)
On Android devices, the Mozilla VPN client is available directly from the Play Store. It's a fairly small download (20MiB) and quick install. Once installed, bringing up the application directs the user to log in with a Firefox single sign-on account; assuming that account also has a paid subscription to the Mozilla VPN service, you're ready to go immediately—no additional configuration is necessary.
The application itself is about as simple as it could possibly be. By default on first login, a fairly nearby VPN endpoint is automatically selected by geolocation; the VPN itself is off until toggled on using a small slider. After toggling the slider on, the VPN itself connects in two seconds or less... and that's it. By default, all traffic from the phone is routed through the Mozilla VPN.
Diving into the Settings tab reveals a little more functionality. You can manage your Mozilla VPN account, change your VPN endpoint, or opt to pass individual apps on your phone or tablet directly through to the raw network connection.
The Mozilla VPN account management just opens a webpage in your default browser; logging in with your Firefox SSO once more gives you access to your payment and profile information. Selecting a VPN endpoint lets you first choose an endpoint country, and then you choose from one or more city locations in that country. The nice thing here is that changing your endpoint automatically breaks and reconnects your VPN connection as well—there aren't any additional clicks necessary.
Finally, the 'Protect specific apps' setting does just what you'd expect, providing you with two lists—protected apps (those routed through the VPN) and unprotected apps (given direct network access). You don't see these lists at all unless you toggle the slider on; once you do, all apps by default are protected. If you prefer your defaults the other way around, you get a button to 'unprotect all apps' as well as individual checkboxes for the apps themselves. So getting things just the way you like them is easy.
There is no option to pass LAN traffic directly through—so if you use apps that depend on local traffic, you'll unfortunately need to pass those entire apps through.
AdvertisementTesting Mozilla VPN—Windows 10 (build 2004)
If you read through the Android section above, you know just about everything you need to know about the Windows client as well. The interfaces are almost pixel for pixel identical, although you can resize the Windows client, since it's running on a full multiple-window desktop interface.
The one real difference we found between Android and Windows is the ability to pass local network traffic directly to the local network, bypassing the VPN. This allows connections to devices such as printers, local file servers, Plex media servers, and so forth to continue unmolested. It would be nice if Android offered the same option—one of the biggest complaints we saw in user reviews on the Play Store was from people frustrated that enabling the VPN on their phones broke exactly those sorts of connections.
On the other hand, the Windows client is missing the ability to route individual apps' traffic through the VPN or directly to the local interface. You win some, you lose some.
Performance testing with Mozilla VPN
The TL;DR here is simple—Mozilla VPN's performance is perfectly fine. We found very little difference between a raw, direct connection and one routed through a relatively nearby Mozilla/Mullvad endpoint, whether testing using a Pixel 2XL phone connected over Wi-Fi, or a Windows 10 build 2004 VM connected via Ethernet.
The nearest endpoint to our test location is in Atlanta, Georgia—where we also maintain a self-hosted Wireguard instance. Our self-hosted Wireguard instance in Atlanta was not meaningfully faster or slower than Mozilla's in the same city. We saw slightly better latency to our self-hosted endpoint (accessed via the vanilla Wireguard client on each platform) and slightly better throughput to the Mozilla endpoint.
The farther away your endpoint, the more difference you'll see in both latency and throughput. Routing from the US East Coast through London added about 80ms latency and lost about 15-20 percent of the possible throughput, on either Android/Wi-Fi or Windows/Ethernet.
Mozilla Firefox Vpn Cost
Conclusions
Did we mention that we cannot specifically recommend any commercial VPN provider? Well, we're not going to stop mentioning it. Although Mozilla has earned many people's trust for its own advocacy for Internet privacy through both policy and code, we cannot verify how either it or its partner Mullvad actually handle its internal networks.
With that said, the stated policies of both Mozilla and Mullvad are on point, the Mozilla-provided Android and Windows clients are easy and intuitive to use, and the network performance was very good indeed. If you're in the market for a commercial VPN provider and you like Mozilla, this service is well worth a look.
- $4.99 per month
- Offered in the U.S, U.K, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Canada
- Works with Windows 10, iOS and Android devices with macOS and Linux compatibility on the way
Mozilla is more than just a browser. They’ve come out with a bunch of other products to up our digital security, and here, we’re checking out their VPN, aptly named Mozilla VPN. It’s a very new product just launched in July 2020, so we’re curious to see the pricing behind the VPN. For a product that’s only been out for about 60 days, is it worth its prices, and what are its prices in the first place? We’ve got it covered.
Why It’s Worth It
Before we throw the price at you, we want to tell you what we liked about the VPN itself, and why we think it’s a good investment.
- Kill switch: If Mozilla failed for us, it automatically shut down our web browsers on iOS and Windows, while we turned on the kill switch manually on our Android phone.
- Split tunneling on Android: Also only on Android was split tunneling, which let us divert some traffic to the public network and some, more private traffic to the VPN.
- Low Price: Mozilla kept their pricing very simple, with only one option for $4.99 a month.
- Flexible contract: We didn’t have to sign up for a long term to use Mozilla VPN; their only subscription option is month-to-month.
- Five devices: One subscription covered five devices, which we thought was a decent deal for the price.
- Money-back guarantee: If we didn’t like Mozilla VPN, we had 30 days from our purchasing date to cancel for a full refund.
If you want to dive more into our experience testing out the VPN, read our Mozilla VPN review.
Tip: Using an Android device? Turn on your kill switch manually so that if the VPN fails for any reason, Firefox will quit so your activity stays secret.
Subscription Cost
Mozilla made pricing really simple for us; they only had one subscription option, coverage of up to five devices for only $4.99 a month. This is a bargain compared to competitors; while it’s not free like the best free VPNs we’ve tested, it’s a fraction of the cost of better-known options like ExpressVPN, which goes up to around $15 a month (to learn more, read our ExpressVPN pricing page). While we wish Mozilla gave us discounts if we signed up for longer time periods, we can’t complain at spending about $5 a month for five devices, about a dollar per device per month.
Other Services
Aside from their VPN and the popular web browser Firefox, which the typical user works on for around five hours per day,1 Mozilla offers three free services: Firefox Lockwise, a password manager that’s completely free, Pocket, an app where you can save web articles, videos, and the like for free or for a paid premium service, and Firefox Monitor, another free service that scans data breaches for your credentials. Note that we couldn’t buy these products in a bundle; rather, they were all available separately, for separate prices (or not, for the free services). Let’s take a closer look at each.
Firefox Lockwise
Anyone who uses Firefox desktop has probably already taken advantage of the browser’s built-in password manager, but what about when you’re using Firefox on your phone or tablet? For these instances, Firefox Lockwise lets you take these stored credentials and apply them to any iOS or Android device with some simple apps. Instead of typing in each password every time you log onto accounts, you can use Face or Touch ID to gain access. Your data will be encrypted using AES-256, the current industry standard, so you never have to worry about unauthorized access. Again, this service is completely free of charge and there is no paid option available.
Have you ever spotted an online article that looks interesting, but you don’t have time to read it at the moment? Meet Pocket, a digital, well, pocket where you can store all those things you wanted to read and view at a later time. Unlike Lockwise, Pocket does have a paid option with Pocket Premium.
| Free | Pocket Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Save, watch, listen and read | ✓ | ✓ |
| Permanent library | X | ✓ |
| Suggested tags | X | ✓ |
| Full-text search | X | ✓ |
| Unlimited Highlights | X | ✓ |
| Premium fonts | X | ✓ |
| Monthly Price | $0.00 | $4.99 |
| Monthly Price with Yearly Plan | $0.00 | $3.75 |
| Yearly Price Total Amount Billed | $0.00 | $44.99 |
| Amount Saved with Yearly Plan | n/a | $14.89 |
With Pocket Premium, you can save things forever as well as add suggested tags, search the entire text, highlight to your heart’s content and enjoy some premium fonts. The cost is either $4.99 a month, like the VPN, or if you sign up for a year, $3.75 a month; the total amount billed is $44.99, saving you $14.89 over the monthly plan. If you’re a voracious reader or TV-watcher, Pocket is for you either on a free or paid level.
Firefox Monitor
Turn on the news and you’re bound to see a story about a security breach; everything from Facebook to the Democratic National Committee has been targeted, so it’s important to keep your credentials safe from would-be identity thieves. Data breaches are so common, in fact, that as of 2017, 64 percent of Americans have experienced one personally.2 Well, here at Security.org, we think that the best defense is a good offense, and Firefox Monitor is just that. Simply by entering our email addresses, we checked for breaches with our credentials in less than a second; we also could have signed up for email alerts if our credentials were found on an ongoing basis. This service is free and an excellent way to protect against identity theft. Did we mention it’s free?
Did You Know: Adults aren’t the only ones who can have their identities stolen. According to our study on child identity theft, 14 percent of parents said their children’s identities had been stolen. While Firefox Monitor is a good start, your best bet is to pay for identity theft protection for families.
Free Trial and Refund Policies
Getting back to the original topic at hand, no, you won’t be able to try out Mozilla VPN for free. However, they do have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you cancel within 30 days of the day you signed up for Mozilla VPN, you’ll get your payment method refunded. Sure, it’s not technically a free trial, but you could end up paying nothing for Mozilla VPN if you time it right.
Compatible Devices
Since Mozilla VPN is so new, it only works on a few different types of devices, as of writing:
- Windows 10
- Android
- iOS.
This is pretty minimal, so we’re looking forward to Mozilla VPN adding on compatibility for Mac and Linux soon.
Available Countries
Another limitation of Mozilla VPN is that it’s only available for users located in a few countries, including:
- Canada
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- United States
Since we’re based in the United States, this was all well and good, but we look forward to Mozilla VPN being available in more countries. After all, we’ve got friends all over the world, and they need data privacy, as well!
Mozilla: Behind the Curtain
We’ve all heard of Mozilla, as their browser Firefox is one of the most popular browsers of all time, but how much do you really know about the company itself? The first thing you should know is that Mozilla is based in Mountain View, California, the same area of Silicon Valley where Google is based. That’s not ideal for a VPN company, as it means that the U.S government could force them to hand over customer data. See, the U.S is a member of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, global surveillance alliances that legalize this practice. So what data does the Mozilla VPN keep?
Privacy Policy
To find out, we scoured Mozilla’s privacy policy, and what we found was a bit less than pleasing. Without getting too deep into the weeds (we save that for our full review), we weren’t happy that Mozilla kept our IP address every time we connected as well as the timestamps of our connections and the servers we used. They also kept our device types, operating systems and hardware configurations. So while we were happy they didn’t log our actual web activity, this is clearly more information needed than the minimum to uphold our account, especially in regards to our private IP addresses. If you want to keep your devices’ IP addresses truly private then Mozilla VPN is not for you.
Some more uplifting news is that Mozilla doesn’t share this data with advertisers or marketers, only Mullvad, who actually provides the VPN service, and Stripe, which processed our payment information. So it’s up to you to decide if Mozilla VPN is worth its privacy policy, which, in our opinion, was definitely a bit subpar.
Company Background
Mozilla
Here’s a little bit more about Mozilla in general. With a mission of providing a free and open Internet for everybody, Mozilla was founded in 2005, springing from the non-profit Mozilla Foundation that began a couple of years prior. While Google is its physical neighbor, the company isn’t such a big fish in a small pond; their revenue was only $450.9 million in 2018, and while that may sound like a large number, it’s a fraction of Google’s revenue the same year, which came in at 136.36 billion. So if supporting the little guy is your thing, Firefox may be a decent choice for your browser, VPN, password manager and the like.
How Much Does Mozilla Vpn Cost Uk
Conclusion
Sure, the Mozilla VPN could use a bit of work, namely adding more locations, compatible devices, and split tunneling across all of the apps. We also aren’t thrilled with Mozilla’s privacy policy or U.S headquarters, but if you’re less concerned with privacy, then their VPN is definitely worth it. For only $4.99 a month, their prices are more than reasonable, and if you don’t like it, you can get a full refund within 30 days, making the risk virtually zero.
Mozilla Firefox Vpn Reviews
Mozilla VPN FAQs
- Does Firefox offer a VPN?
Yes, Firefox offers a VPN called Mozilla VPN as of July 2020.
- How do I get a VPN on Firefox?
To get a VPN on Firefox, go to the Mozilla VPN website and purchase a subscription after creating a username and password. Then, download the app onto your device, sign in and connect.
- Is Mozilla VPN any good?
Mozilla VPN is fine for basic VPN usage, but it lost points for its Five Eyes membership, logging of IP addresses, and lack of split tunneling on iOS and Windows devices. However, if you use Androids, you’ll enjoy the VPN’s split tunneling and kill switch, which can be turned on and off. Plus, the VPN is only $4.99 a month, one of the lower-priced options on the market.
Firefox. (2020). User Activity.
data.firefox.com/dashboard/user-activityPew Research Center. (2017). Americans and Cybersecurity.
pewresearch.org/internet/2017/01/26/americans-and-cybersecurity/