NordVPN is the service that propelled VPNs to the mainstream, taking out ads across traditional media, YouTube, and TikTok. I tested NordVPN to see if there was more to it than a marketing spin and found some issues, especially regarding performance and pricing.
NordVPN
NordVPN is a well-known VPN thanks to its advertising efforts. However, there are some issues that may give you pause before subscribing.
- Tricky pricing scheme
- Speeds aren’t great
Using the NordVPN Interface
NordVPN has clients for every operating system you can imagine. Besides regular options like Windows and macOS for desktop and mobile systems like Android and iPhone/iPad, it also features extensions for all major browsers and several smart TVs. There’s even a command-line interface for Linux users, though I’m not a fan as, even by CLI standards, it was a bit clunky. No wonder NordVPN didn’t make it into my selection of the best Linux VPNs.
For this review, I mainly used NordVPN on a Windows machine, and I have to admit I felt a bit daunted when I first started it up. There is a lot going on in that first screen.
Besides switching your VPN on and off, you can also use the NordVPN client for a number of other functions, like monitoring the dark web for any mentions of your credentials, or even transferring files between linked computers. All of this is pretty cool, but I really just want to use a VPN and that’s it.
Thankfully, you can do so by clicking on the VPN screen, where you get the classic NordVPN interface of a large, interactive map, with a list of server locations on the left.
I feel a little ambiguous about this approach. While on the one hand I dig the map and I realize it makes navigation quite easy, I dislike how it pushes the server list to the side. Personally, I much prefer the app-style interface of a service like ExpressVPN—read my ExpressVPN review for more on this.
That said, I appreciate that the search bar is right in front of you and you can quickly connect to the location you want. I also see the appeal for customers that want a more visual experience when using software, but without being overwhelmed like I was when I wrote up my Proton VPN review.
NordVPN Pricing Issues
NordVPN is not a budget VPN by any means. While it has some interesting offers for those willing to sign up for a long time, once the initial period is up, the company will charge you extremely high rates. On top of that, it’s also the only VPN I’ve come across that charges sales tax on its customers. While this will feel normal to U.S. readers, for Europeans, the added 20% may come as a shock, so this is something to keep in mind.
At the time of writing, NordVPN has four plans, each of which adds more products from the Nord stable. You can sign up for one month, one year, or for two years for each plan. And if you’re signing up for the first time, you get the first three months for free on the one and two year plans.
For this review, I’m going to skip the one-month plans as these provide awful value regardless of provider. If you do need a VPN for just one month, check out my Mullvad review for the only exception to this rule.
If all you want from NordVPN is the VPN, the Basic plan is for you. It’s $70 plus tax for one year, or $80 plus tax for two, and offers no frills whatsoever. At two years, it’s a decent deal, though I think going with PIA, which costs $70 for three years, is a much smarter way to spend your money—read my Private Internet Access review for more on this provider.
The Plus plan adds a password manager and is $80 for one year and $105 for two years, plus tax. As you can read in my NordPass review, I’m not crazy about the password manager, so I’m not sure how great a deal this is. That said, if you do like NordPass, 10 bucks isn’t a lot for a password manager.
The Complete plan is $100 plus tax for one year or $130 plus for two years and adds 1TB of cloud storage to the mix. That’s a very generous amount, but I doubt most people will actually need that much storage. You could probably get a better deal with some of the best cloud storage providers.
Finally, we come to the Prime plan, which is $140 plus tax for one year and $210 plus tax for two years. This adds NordProtect to the mix, which is an ID theft protection service which offers ID monitoring services as well as insurance in case your identity gets stolen. This is only valid for U.S.-based customers.
As I’m not an expert in insurance, I can’t say if Nord’s service is any good. However, a quick glance at competing services gives me the impression that Nord is fairly cost-effective, assuming you make use of all their other services, as well.
Is NordVPN Worth It?
Even at the reduced rates for first-time signup, I find NordVPN to be a little pricey. Though it’s hard to compare bundles as every provider offers a slightly different package (something I discuss in my NordVPN vs Proton VPN article), I’m not quite convinced NordVPN offers the kind of value other services do.
For example, the Basic plan is pretty good, offering a good-ish VPN for $40 per year if you sign up for two years. The Plus plan, though, isn’t as great, since $105 for two years for that same VPN and a mediocre password manager can easily be beaten—and that’s without mentioning the added taxes.
Finally, I should emphasize that you really need to watch out before renewing your NordVPN plan. While the service will often try to re-up you on your old rates, it doesn’t always, so your VPN, which you subscribed to for $80 for two years, may suddenly cost you a staggering $300. No VPN in the world is worth that much, so make sure you turn off auto-renew.
Speed and Performance
I tested NordVPN to see how it would perform and the results were okay: NordVPN is by no means a powerhouse. Like I usually do, I first tested my unprotected speed from my home office in Prague, Czechia, and then connected to different locations around the globe. Check out my guide on how to check your VPN’s speed on how I perform these tests.
| Location | Ping (ms) | Upload (Mbps) | Download (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czechia (unprotected) | 9 | 47 | 10 |
| Czechia | 9 | 37 | 10 |
| United Kingdom | 38 | 41 | 9 |
| New York City | 100 | 37 | 9 |
| Japan | 289 | 34 | 6 |
Compared to middle-of-the-road services, these results are fine, NordVPN seems to lose about 20% to 30% of its speed usually, which is a decent result. I have to say that the ping was decent, so it may be a good VPN for gaming.
That said, compared to the top performers, these results aren’t great. Services like ExpressVPN or Proton VPN lose a lot less speed than NordVPN does, even on faraway connections like to Japan. Though it’s by no means a turtle, NordVPN is also no hare.
Privacy and Security
When it comes to privacy and security, NordVPN ticks all the right boxes. For security, it relies on the relatively standard OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN protocols, though it defaults to its own proprietary NordLynx protocol, which is based on WireGuard. These should keep you safe in most cases as they have, at the time of writing, never been compromised.
When it comes to privacy, NordVPN sets out its policy in great detail. On the one hand, I like the detail. On the other, I always worry if something is hidden amongst all the legalese. In this case, everything seems fine, at least as far as browsing is concerned. However, your account information is shared with third-party vendors, which could be problematic for some—and a great case for finding a VPN that allows anonymous signup.
In the end, though, the best way to figure out if a service is safe is to look at its history, and in the case of NordVPN, it’s all minor stuff. The last known issue of any consequence was back in 2018, and it didn’t really affect users, so as far as anybody can tell, you should be safe using NordVPN.
Should You Subscribe to NordVPN?
While I don’t think NordVPN is a bad VPN as such, I think you could do a lot better. While it doesn’t perform poorly, it doesn’t do as well as market leaders and I also feel the interface could be better. Couple this with its less-than-stellar pricing—I won’t even mention the renewal prices—and there are a lot of services that can do a lot more for a lot less. To get an idea of what else is out there, I suggest checking out my selection of the best VPNs.
NordVPN
NordVPN is a well-known VPN thanks to its advertising efforts. However, there are some issues that may give you pause before subscribing.
