NordVPN Review

Editor’s Note: Our first NordVPN review was published back in 2017, but after significant updates we’ve revisted the review.

NordVPN is arguably the best known VPN provider. Launched more than a decade ago, it has long had a reputation for its reliable unblocking of popular streaming services. Indeed, it recently made our list of the best VPNs for streaming and is also our best VPN for gaming. Despite its dominance, NordVPN still has some things to work on, not least the presentation of its apps.

NordVPN – Server Network and Coverage

With a NordVPN subscription, you’ll have access to more than 6,000 servers in 111 countries. This is a sizable server network and surpasses the vast majority of VPN services on the market. It’s only to be expected that NordVPN offers more servers than a provider like PrivateVPN because it caters to a significantly higher number of users.

Server quantity isn’t everything but it offers some advantages. In particular, it means that user load is more evenly distributed, allowing for more consistent connections. A greater number of server locations makes it likelier that you’ll find a server in close proximity to your location for faster speeds (because data doesn’t have to travel as far). Another benefit of having servers in so many countries is that you have increased flexibility in accessing geo-restricted websites.

If you’re in North America, NordVPN is a particularly good option because some 40 percent of its server network (roughly 2,500 servers) is spread across 19 cities in the US and Canada. There’s also more than 400 servers in the UK and 200 servers in Australia. NordVPN offers servers in countries that many VPNs don’t cover including Andorra, Belize, and Greenland. Naturally, NordVPN may prove to be an attractive option if you’re from one of these countries.

NordVPN – Speed and Performance

Not all VPNs are suitable for more bandwidth-heavy activities such as streaming, gaming, and video calling. While all VPNs encrypt your internet traffic – which can take a heavy toll on your connection speed – some services make up for this by offering fast VPN protocols, low-load servers near your physical location, and unlimited bandwidth.

So while some VPNs simply aren’t suitable for certain online activities, others are more than up to the task. Fortunately, NordVPN falls into the latter category. NordVPN has a proprietary protocol called NordLynx, which is based on the WireGuard protocol and has only 4,000 lines of code. The lightweight design allows for a high level of efficiency, which translates to better performance.

In order to find out the speeds NordVPN offers, I ran tests on three of its server locations: Barcelona, Spain (the closest NordVPN server location to where I live), New York, and Tokyo. I ran these tests over three days at different times of day: morning, afternoon, and evening. The idea being that I wanted to experience those servers during both peak and off-peak hours.

The speed tests were all run under the same conditions. I used the NordVPN MacOS app on a home Wi-Fi connection over NordVPN’s NordLynx protocol. It’s important to note that my base connection speed (when not connected to the VPN) averaged out at 252 Mbps. While this does have an impact on the speeds experienced when using a VPN, it’s far from the only factor.

As expected due to the encryption process, speeds were slower when connected to NordVPN. However, I was surprised how consistent they were across the three server locations despite the varying distances between those VPN servers and my actual location. I experienced the fastest speeds when connected to NordVPN’s Barcelona server as it’s by far the closest to home. Despite this, the average speed of 78 Mbps was only marginally ahead of New York (76 Mbps) and Tokyo (72 Mbps).

Overall, I have to say I was a little disappointed with NordVPN’s speeds. Its global average speed of 75 Mbps lagged behind all of my most recently tested VPNs, including IPVanish (84 Mbps), Surfshark (104 Mbps), and ExpressVPN (118 Mbps). That said, in NordVPN’s defense, my base connection speed was slightly slower than usual. Furthermore, there’s something to be said for just how consistent NordVPN’s connections are – even if they aren’t the fastest.

What I would recommend to anyone trying to get faster speeds with NordVPN is to make sure Threat Protection is switched off. It was only after I deactivated this feature that I noticed an uptick in performance – sometimes seeing speeds reaching anything from 80 to 90 Mbps, an increase of 10 to 20 percent.

NordVPN – Unblocking and Streaming Capabilities

If one of your main reasons for using a VPN is to access your favorite streaming services from abroad, NordVPN is certainly one of the safer bets. With one of the larger server networks of any VPN, it provides plenty of options, in terms of both countries and cities to which you can connect. There’s no shortage of IP addresses available, so you’ll rarely have trouble accessing a particular streaming platform.

I was able to access all of the Netflix regions I tried, including the US, Canada, and UK. NordVPN also made light work of the likes of Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and YouTube TV. Another reason for NordVPN’s high level of consistency is SmartPlay, its Smart DNS service. Built into NordVPN’s apps with no setup required, it switches your DNS servers when access is blocked, all while still encrypting your traffic.

Overall, NordVPN’s unblocking is impressive and extends beyond streaming sites to news sites, social media platforms, and more. As such, it’s highly suitable if you live in a country with a high level of internet censorship. Performance when streaming with this VPN was very impressive. NordVPN’s highly consistent connections meant that I very rarely encountered any lag or buffering. This is a VPN that’s capable of streaming content in 4K resolution without any trouble.

NordVPN – Security Features

Starting with the basics (which are nonetheless essential), NordVPN employs industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption. This ensures that all of the data traveling between your device and the internet is safeguarded from hackers and snoopers alike. NordVPN also provides DNS and IPv6 leak protection and this was reflected in the fact that its apps didn’t leak any DNS or IP traffic in testing.

Another security feature that many VPNs offer, NordVPN included, is a kill switch. This blocks your internet traffic in the event that the VPN connection drops (which would otherwise lead to the interception of your IP address and data). NordVPN’s kill switch is available via its Windows, Mac, iOS, and Linux apps. Through Android’s “Always-on VPN” feature, you can replicate the feature on Android devices as well.

NordVPN’s whole host of extra security features make it more of a security suite than just a VPN. Depending on the tier of plan you opt for, you can have access to an ad and tracker blocker, malware protection, password manager (NordPass), data breach scanner, encrypted cloud storage (NordLocker), and even cyber insurance.

The effectiveness of VPN ad blockers varies wildly so I put NordVPN’s ad blocker to the test. First, I used Brave browser with no VPN or ad blocker of any type. It blocked just 31 percent of ads thrown at it. With Brave’s ad blocker activated, some 97 percent of ads were stopped. The good news is that NordVPN’s ad blocker wasn’t far behind with a block rate of 91 percent. This was very impressive, particularly compared to the ad blockers of ExpressVPN (86%), IPVanish (30%), and Surfshark (40%).

You’ll also find specialty Double VPN and Onion Over VPN servers which provide you with an extra layer of security when connected. The former routes your internet traffic through two servers, providing two layers of encryption. The latter allows you to access the Tor browser which, again, sees your data encrypted twice (via NordVPN and then via the Tor network). You may want to use these for more sensitive online activities such as browsing on unsecured public Wi-Fi networks or online banking. However, they’re not ideal for streaming or online gaming due to the fact that the double encryption slows your connection.

NordVPN – Privacy and Logging Policies

NordVPN defines a “no-logs VPN” as a VPN that “doesn’t collect (or log) traffic that passes through its servers.” In that sense, NordVPN is a no-log service. However, it’s important to note that it does still keep some logs. This includes your username and a timestamp of your last session. NordVPN states that this is to prevent users exceeding the simultaneous connection limit and that the data is automatically deleted within 15 minutes after a session is terminated.

NordVPN also keeps device identifiers for marketing and analytics purposes. These identifiers are assigned by your device’s operating system and can be reset in your device’s settings. Needless to say, we’d prefer if NordVPN didn’t keep any of these logs although it’s far from the only VPN to do so.

Despite the above, NordVPN does have some advantages when it comes to privacy. For example, it’s headquartered in Panama which doesn’t legally require NordVPN to store logs of its users’ online activities. Furthermore, NordVPN has had its no-logs policy subjected to independent audits on four occasions, the most recent of which was by Deloitte in December 2023.

NordVPN does require you to provide an email address when signing up for an account. A small number of VPNs don’t have such a requirement which may make them more preferable for privacy enthusiasts. However, when it comes to payments, NordVPN does accept cryptocurrencies which, when mixed using a tumbling service, can provide a level of anonymity.

Better still, NordVPN sells a subscription box in the United States, Canada, and several countries across Europe. By purchasing this with cash in a physical store, you can sign up with NordVPN anonymously – just make sure you use a burner email address if anonymity is your aim.

NordVPN – Signup and Setup

My experience of signing up with NordVPN was simple enough, although it was somewhat confusing that I wasn’t prompted to create a password for the account. Later, I was asked to log in only to find that I had no password to do so. Fortunately, there was the option to receive a one-time verification code via email instead.
The number of subscription options offered by NordVPN (four different tiers) provides plenty of flexibility, but may be a little overwhelming to newcomers. An email address is required for signup and once payment has been made, downloading and installing the apps is quick and easy enough thanks to the automatic setup wizard.

NordVPN – Apps and Compatibility

You can secure all of your devices thanks to NordVPN’s generous offering of apps. These apps are available for all of the following:

WindowsMacLinuxAndroidiOSAmazon Fire TVtvOS (Apple TV)

NordVPN also has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Just keep in mind that if you do use an extension, it only secures your browser traffic and not that of any apps you may be using. All in all, it’s an impressive selection of apps and extensions.

If you don’t see your device listed above, be it your PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch, know that you still have options for getting your VPN set up on them. Your best bet is manually setting up a VPN connection on your router. This may be a little daunting for some, although NordVPN does provide step-by-step tutorials with screenshots to make things easier.

An advantage of installing NordVPN on your home Wi-Fi router is that devices that connect to the network don’t count against the VPN’s simultaneous connection limit (10 devices). Still, this is a fairly generous simultaneous connection allowance as some VPNs only allow up to five or six devices to be connected at once. Although the likes of IPVanish and Surfshark let users secure an unlimited number of devices simultaneously.

Having spent plenty of time with NordVPN’s apps, I can confidently say that I’m not a fan of them. My main issue is that they just feel too cluttered with extra features. Of course, the main view within the desktop and mobile apps isn’t helped by the server map, which I just don’t use. Removing the map and only having the simple dropdown list of server locations would make the NordVPN apps a lot easier on the eye.

When it comes to finding a server, NordVPN just isn’t as intuitive as the likes of ExpressVPN and IPVanish. There’s no option to favorite servers, search by server ping or load, or choose a specific server. However, its desktop apps do have a “Presets” section which act as one-click shortcuts to specific server configurations (server type, VPN protocol, location).

It’s quick and easy to access NordVPN’s specialty servers (Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, and P2P). There are various icons in the apps (the desktop app in particular) for features that many people simply won’t need. In particular, although useful, many users won’t need the Meshnet feature (the ability to link remote devices), while the statistics page which details your current connection streak and longest connection seems pretty pointless.

On the plus side, connecting to a NordVPN server is quick and straightforward to do. The settings pages are clearly laid out but would be improved with some short explanations for each feature, be it the kill switch or the different VPN protocols. I also noticed some outdated information within the Apps section of the desktop’s settings which says that you can use NordVPN on 6 devices at the same time (the limit has been 10 devices for a while now).

NordVPN – Customer Support

One of many reasons to opt for a quality paid VPN service over a free one is that you’ll have access to customer support. This makes things that much easier in the event that you run into any issues during setup or simply when using the VPN. In my case, I actually needed to contact NordVPN in order to find a copy of the most recent audit of their no-logs policy, because I couldn’t find it on their website.

Live chat support isn’t essential, but it’s nice to have because, at least for simpler queries, you can typically get an answer in a matter of minutes. My experience with NordVPN’s live chat support over the years has generally been very good. I rarely have to wait long and I usually end up with the information I was looking for. The live chat of NordVPN is available 24 hours a day although they don’t make it easy to find on their website (the chat bubble icon sometimes doesn’t pop up).

Email support is also available although replies obviously take a little longer. I decided to measure NordVPN’s response time to emails as well as the quality of their answers. To do this, I sent out three emails on three different days, all at different times of day (early morning, mid afternoon, and late evening). The idea was to catch them at different time periods when they’re busy as well as when things are likely to be quieter. Overall, I was happy with the quality of the responses I received.

NordVPN also has an impressive help section which is full of FAQs as well as step-by-step setup guides. These guides are easy to follow thanks to the inclusion of screenshots and, in some cases, video tutorials. In fact, NordVPN has a very active YouTube channel with nearly 900 videos.

To conclude my testing of NordVPN, I contacted its support to request a refund as per its 30-day money-back guarantee. Fortunately, this was trouble-free. Although I was asked why I was canceling and had to repeat my request, there wasn’t too much pushback (unlike when I canceled with Surfshark).

Purchasing Guide

Provided you go with a one or two year subscription plan, NordVPN is one of the best budget VPNs available. It offers three different tiers, the best value of which is arguably the middle (Plus) option, which includes the VPN, an ad blocker, password manager, and more. The biggest savings can be found in NordVPN’s two year subscriptions. The Plus plan over two years costs $126.63 ($4.69/month) while the same plan for one year is $82.35 ($5.49/month).

NordVPN’s one month subscription plans are on the more expensive side at $12.99 (Basic), $13.99 (Plus), and $15.99 (Ultimate). Regardless, all of NordVPN’s subscription plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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