If you like browsing privately or having heard of a VPN, then NordVPN is not a new thing to you. You must have come across it in advertising campaigns, google ads, on prime-TV, or you have seen it on sports teams. NordVPN is almost a household name when it comes to CyberSec. However, is it all about marketing and bluster? Or NordVPN is genuinely among the high-end VPN service provider in the market?
In this detailed review, we will discuss and analyze in-depth the NordVPN software basing on customer feedback and the thorough testing that has been carried on it. We will look at security, privacy, performance, torrenting, just to mention a few. After this review, I hope you will make an informed judgment as to whether NordVPN is right for you. Let’s go!
NordVPN in Summary
NordVPN is not a bad value for your money. Subscription prices range from at $3.71 a month if you opt for a two-year plan, but if it is a 1-year plan, you will have to pay $4.92 per month, and finally, the monthly subscription is $11.95. Not bad right? It is kind of the best monthly VPN service subscription offer. NordVPN also allows you to pay by credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin, and any other cryptocurrency payment option.
With NordVPN, you are assured of standard encryption of AES-256, plus amazing features like double VPN and Onion over VPN. Its obscured servers offer fantastic performance in states that don’t allow VPN use, like China. It additionally has reliable DNS leak protection, and in case your connection drops, it has a kill switch.
NordVPN connection of 350Mbps is excellent, particularly if you are using the NordLynx protocol. This good speed is combined with a good streaming service unblocking. This implies that this VPN is the best option when it comes to streaming. It has torrent support in many. However, not all.
The PC applications are powerful, smart, and simple to use, but phone applications sometimes are a bit awkward. However, the map-based interface comes to the rescue. It does well on big screens than small ones. Even though the device support is excellent, you can use it on six devices at only at a time.
Nord’s 24/7 customer care support is good, and there are plenty of articles in their knowledgebase. Overall, Nord is a great VPN on the market; however, keep reading this fantastic review to understand it better.
Latest NordVPN updates
NordVPN’s new WireGuard-based NordLynx has changed the game and has boosted the connection speed across the board. This will soon become the norm, with giant providers embracing WireGuard or inventing their alternatives; for instance, ExpressVPN has adopted its LightWay.
Carrying out a second audit of its servers is another good news from NordVPN. This is excellent as many VPNs look forward to becoming zero-logging.
NordVPN Specific Features at a Glance
- Number of countries: 59
- Number of servers: 5,400 plus
- Split tunneling: Works only with Android and browser extensions
- Connections at a time: 6
- Platforms that Nord supports: iOS, Windows, Firefox, Mac, PlayStation and Xbox, Chrome, Android TV, Android, Fire TV, and finally Linux.
- Protocols supported: SSTP, OpenVPN, WireGuard (NordLynx) and IPSec/IKEv2,
- State of registration: Panama
- Kill switch: Yes
- Client Support: email, live chat, knowledgebase all are available 24/7
NordVPN Review in Detail
NordVPN price: how much is it, and is there a NordVPN free trial?
Price is among the things that most strike many potential clients when it comes to any service or product, so let us kick off from there.
The NordVPN subscription plans start with $11.95 a month, but like most VPN, you will have to opt for more extended plans when you want to save some bucks. For instance, if you go for a two-year plan, you will pay $3.71 a month. If it is a one-year plan, you will pay $6.58, and on a six-month plan, you will pay $9.
If you want to save, go for the longest plan. Remember, you are not tied forever because you have a 30-day money-back assurance in case you are not satisfied with the service. However, in case you are cautious, paying for one month is best to avoid the initial outlay. After one month, you have the option of either signing up for a longer-term or claim back your money if you are not contented.
Compared to the likes of CyberGhost, which charges $2.25 per month, and Surfshark charges $2.49 per month, NordVPN is a bit expensive.
NordVPN payment options include the following; Google pay, iTunes, AmazonPay, and UnionPay. However, the guys who adore privacy will be happy when they discover that NordVPN also accepts Bitcoin cash, PayPal, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and other crypto payments.
Nord allows a free trial of seven days on iOS and Android. However, it is right for you to sign up for a paid plan and enjoy the 30-day money-back assurance in case it doesn’t work as expected. A month is enough for you to make a decision.
How private is NordVPN?
NordVPN brags as the best bit of a security kit, and according to many client feedbacks, it certainly delivers. For one, Nord utilizes industry-standard encryption (AES-256-GCM) beefed up with 4096-bit Diffie-Hellman keys.
Nord also provides its clients with excellent forward secrecy. This makes sure that after every one hour, new keys are used on login. This implies that in case of any compromise, the longest the intruder will have is 60 minutes. You can likewise opt to use Double VPN, which uses two different servers to route your traffic. You can also use Onion over VPN, which ensures maximum privacy but sacrifices speed because it routes your connection over an encrypted Tor network.
In countries that restrict VPN use, Nord’s obscured servers prove to be very useful. Despite being VPN connections, they are very efficient at hiding and allow you to access regions and sites that do not allow VPN connections. This is what makes NordVPN among the best China VPN service.
How secure is NordVPN?
NordVPN guarantees its clients excellent security. If your VPN drops, you will automatically get a kill switch that will cut your connection instantly and another that will shut down certain programs. All these features are compulsory for those who want a torrenting VPN. However, we will discuss this later.
Nord additionally blocks WebRTC and DNS leakages. Clients who have carried out these tests say that Nord is effective in blocking leaks. However, there are reports that in 2018 NordVPN servers were compromised even though there is no data on what and who was affected.
Considering the latest independent audit and the following upgrades on Nord, there are a couple of things that Nord has brought on board that other VPN providers have not done. Nord has truly proved to be security conscious. While what started the changes indeed wasn’t positive, it appears to have prodded NordVPN to convey the most security-cognizant VPN administration available.
Does NordVPN keep logs?
As stated in its no-logging policy, Nord confesses that it does not collect its user’s logs. This means that Nord does not monitor, record, log, store, and pass your internet activity to third parties.
Can Nord be trusted?
Good, this takes us back to the customer reviews once more. The audits available on Nord servers and when compared to its stated policies, so far, no evidence found about Nord violating its policies, including a no-logs promise. Its record online is clean, and so far, no complaints have been raised about it.
Checkout The Best NordVPN Deal
How fast is NordVPN?
Although security and privacy ought to be the first thing to consider, the speed of connection is also essential– if not, you are likely to browse at a very slow speed, with videos not playing properly as expected. Both test lines have an average connection speed of 600Mbps. This test was done on US and UK internet connections. Nord takes around six seconds to connect to a server. This speed is perfectly acceptable, but it is not the fastest because other VPNs like ExpressVPN take roughly four seconds to connect.
When using OpenVPN to connect to a server in the UK, TestMy.net and Ookla speed test showed that one line’s average connection speed is around 140-160Mbps. This may not be the best speed, but it can serve you pretty well.
When you try NordVPN with its NordLynx WireGuard accessible in all applications, the connection speed is impressive. With this, WireGuard expects a connection speed of around 340-350Mbps. This is pretty reliable, and it is so far the fastest as well best VPN for speed in the market. It is only Hotspot Shield that can go beyond this connection speed.
At the moment, NordVPN is an astounding option in case you need a quick VPN. Be that as it may, as increasingly more VPNs begin grasping WireGuard or building up their conventions, these unfathomable paces appear to be set to turn into the new norm – and in the future, we will have significantly more features to desire.
How good is NordVPN for streaming?
The ability to stream any VPN is getting increasingly significant. It’s clear that NordVPN has put forth an incredible attempt to guarantee its clients access to homegrown titles and geo-obstructed shows and services. While assurances of getting to specific sites are not made clear on their website (in contrast to Surfshark, for instance), there is an assurance that a good number of your favorite sites will be accessed.
Beginning with the most giant one, NordVPN’s ability to unblock Netflix is outstanding. Customers have reported that accessing Netflix using Nord works excellent. Every server they tried was able to unblock the service effectively. That is great, taking into account the measure of work Netflix places into attempting to stop being accessed via a VPN.
It is a walk in the park when it comes to accessing YouTube. The VPN works incredibly okay even with the Disney+ VPN detection cannot stop you from unblocking the site from Australia, UK, and US servers. Nord has issues unblocking the BBC iPlayer. BBC iPlayer is tricky and even hard to crack than Netflix. It is hard to watch if you are using Nord’s desktop client. However, when you use a browser extension, it works pretty well. Browser extensions work even for Amazon Prime.
Even though the BBC iPlayer issues present a little smudge on Nord’s copybook, Nord’s streaming unblocking ability is extremely significant. And if you doubt it’s streaming performance, head to the market and compare a couple of VPN service providers before you make a decision. NordVPN is being considered as one of the best VPN for streaming Netflix in the market.
How good is NordVPN for torrenting?
NordVPN claims that it is the best when it comes to P2P’. While this may look like an advertising technique, it’s undoubtedly promising that it publicizes the reality – even though it’s not the fundamental element of the landing page. With Nord, you will have the freedom to access hundreds of torrenting servers around the globe.
However, there are always issues with VPNs that are not completely P2P upgraded. The problem with these VPNs is that they don’t work when connected to a non-torrenting server, especially when you launch your torrenting client. In any case, NordVPN has removed the agony from that via, consequently rerouting you to a server that is ideal in case it recognizes P2P traffic.
Generally, when combined with the VPN’s good connection speeds, no-log policy, Onion over VPN, Double VPN, and excellent protection from DNS, Nord is a good choice for torrenting. The features are amazing. If one does not work, you can try the other. However, Nord is not the best VPN for torrenting in the market.
How easy is it to install NordVPN?
The way toward introducing NordVPN is very basic in any operating system. Clients have a tremendous scope of guides and tutorials to refer to. Guides on how to download and install are all over the internet.
Apart from the many guides on installing on each operating system, you also have comprehensive guides on how to set up various niches. For instance, there are guides on setting up stuff like SOCKS 5 proxy and how to make it work with tons of various browsers available.
How good are NordVPN’s desktop apps?
NordVPN PC applications are attractive and clean once installed. After installation, you will have a large map-based interface. It is from this interface you select the server you want by just a click on a location on the map.
Even though it looks nice, in practice, it is not that incredible. For example, in places such as Europe, with many servers clumped together, you will have to do a lot of dragging and scrolling to locate the server you want. In case you don’t know where Wales or Turkey is, for instance, you may feel a little lost, and if you reboot your device, your zoom and map location will be gone.
In this case, Nord’s redeeming quality is the fact that you have the option of opening up a regular server list much the same as some other VPN. Even though we all know that the map is, to some extent, the defining feature of a VPN, it could be better if it was to be implemented more effectively.
As far as the client’s power is concerned regarding the best VPN subscription, Nord allows you to quickly access every feature it offers. With just a few clicks, you will locate the exact feature or server you are looking for.
When it comes to Nord’s stability in use, it is excellent. Switching between servers is easy and quick, and connections are faster. This something many VPN service providers are struggling to achieve. With Nord, you will even be provided with a menu bar icon that allows you to get into your favorite servers without necessarily opening the whole application.
Activating kill switches in case of compromise, switching between protocols, and using other features in the stings dialog is pretty simple. Overall, the Nord VPN’s desktop applications are useful and relatively simple to navigate through. Nord, the best VPN for desktop, is an attractive, functional package. Only the map interface can be compromised.
How good is NordVPN’s browser extension?
As referenced earlier in this article, Nord’s browser extension is the only way you can unblock Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer. This bit will work best for you, particularly if you are an Anglophile or a Brit.
NordVPN’s extensions(Chrome and Firefox) are proxy extensions. This simply means that it doesn’t provide any encryption even if the client desktop is not installed. Instead, it gives you an option of changing location quickly and, if settings are activated, block ads, malware, and WebRTC leaks. However, extensions have their disadvantages. With browser extensions, you only have the option of selecting countries; there is no option for cities, and in this case, only browser speed is affected.
When contrasted with competitor VPN service providers, Nord extension is the best. Even though ExpressVPN extensions are the best, they are essentially another interface for the full application. Still, it is a standalone app with Nord that performs a different task though it is not powerful.
What customer support does NordVPN offer?
In case something is not working as expected, and you need some help, you have a couple of options. Your first help is found on their knowledgebase. It has tons of articles on various topics. While it is a bit disorganized, once you get your topic, the information is helpful.
However, most individuals opt for their 24/7 live chat. Their chatbox acts as a Chabot. It can offer you some info, and if you insist, you have the option of talking to a real person. Additionally, even though you will have to wait a bit longer, their email support is also available.
How good are NordVPN’s mobile apps?
Once more, Nord’s mobile applications on Android and iOS have a map-based interface, which does not seem to work perfectly. There is limited room for dragging and scrolling on handheld screens; sometimes, you can forget it entirely and only utilize the server list. However, on iOS, it is a bit usable when compared to Android.
Setting up and installation is quite simple, like any other application on any operating system. After sign up, there are guidelines for the app store. After successful installation, connection and disconnection are pretty simple, and it takes around six seconds on average. The other essential settings are simple to access. In a word, you can consider Nord VPN is the best VPN for mobile.
NordVPN Review: Final verdict
NordVPN definitely keeps its reputation as one of the high-end VPN providers on the market. It truly keeps your connection private and security credentials, no-logs, kill switch all are amazing. However, the applications are a little bit compromising, but we appreciate the other features that come with this VPN. Overall, Nord is an excellent package that will keep your privacy and help you access even the most VPN-sensitive sites like Netflix and BBC iPlayer. So keep an eye on NordVPN for the best VPN deals.
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