It’s about $8 CAD / month, which is noticeably more than Air vpn’s ~$5.25 CAD / month (if I signed up for two years). That being said I understand your point, assuming that they have that trust. As someone who isn’t familiar with them though I need to first know why they deserve it more than others. Other people do seem to speak highly of them though and have made some points that are in their favour.

What is it about Mullvad that makes it superior to all other options? I’m open to it, I just need something to justify the higher price.

How important is port forwarding? I’ve never really bothered with it. I’m definitely still in the shallow end of the pool when it comes to using vpns.