---
name: "Mullvad VPN"
slug: mullvad
tool-type: service
category: vpn-privacy
two-sided: "consume"
maintainer: "Mullvad VPN"
site: https://mullvad.net
x: @mullvadnet
payment: "Lightning (native, own node) + on-chain BTC (also cash-by-mail, Monero)"
kyc: "none"
status: "published"
---

# Mullvad VPN

> A privacy VPN that takes Lightning with no email and no account profile — just a random account number. The lowest-identity direct-merchant fit for an agent.

## What it is

Mullvad is a privacy-first VPN with the most agent-aligned payment model of any mainstream service: **no email, no account profile — just a random 16-digit account number** — and it accepts **Bitcoin over its own Lightning node** (with an on-chain option, and even cash by mail). An agent funds an account number with a Lightning invoice; there is no login or identity step at any point.

## When to use it

- Giving an agent — or the infrastructure it runs on — network privacy paid for without an identity trail.
- The cleanest **direct-merchant** Bitcoin payment on the consume side: no processor redirect, no KYC, Lightning-fast.
- A model example of what "a real-world service an agent can pay for *itself*" actually looks like.

## Dependencies & payment

**Dependencies:** a Lightning-capable wallet and a Mullvad account number (generated free, no details). **Payment:** native **Lightning** (paid against the account number, with a discount) or on-chain BTC. No email, no account profile, no KYC. There is no public payment *API*, but the invoice-against-account-number flow is low-friction enough to script.

## Quick start

Generate an account number at `mullvad.net`, choose a subscription length, pay the Lightning invoice tied to that number, and the time is credited — no login, no personal data.

## Gotchas

- **Not a full payment API** — it's an invoice-against-account-number flow: automatable, but not a programmatic product API like Bitrefill's Thor.
- The account-number model means **don't lose the number** — it is the only credential.
- This is infrastructure privacy for the agent/operator; it is not itself an agent-to-agent economy service.