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NordVPN is one of the most recognizable virtual private network (VPN) providers on the market and among only a few to offer plans specifically for teams as well as individuals. Small businesses may find it handy to combine a VPN with NordPass, the company’s password manager, and encrypted file storage known as NordLocker. All of these products’ prices can add up, so we’ll help you decide if it’s worth it in this NordVPN review.
In this article:
- How we evaluated NordVPN
- What is a VPN?
- NordVPN pricing
- NordVPN reputation
- NordVPN stability and privacy
- NordVPN features and functionality
- NordVPN customer experience
- NordVPN review: Is it right for you?
How we evaluated NordVPN
| What We Graded For | Our Scoring |
| Reputation | 8.1/10 |
| Stability and privacy | 10/10 |
| Features and functionality | 8.2/10 |
| Plans and pricing | 6/10 |
| Customer experience | 10/10 |
| Final overall score | 8.7/10 |
What is a VPN?
A virtual private network (VPN) is software that helps obscure your personal information when connecting to the internet. Without a VPN, internet service providers or hackers on a public network can associate your IP address with your browsing history. A VPN provides a private “tunnel” that hides your IP address, browsing data and information flowing in between, including passwords, account numbers and credit card information.
Though many users invest in a VPN to keep their personal or business data safe, you can also use a VPN for “geo-spoofing” to hide your true location in favor of a location or country of your choosing. For example, if you want to watch a music video on YouTube that’s only available in Japan, you could use your VPN to tunnel through a Japanese server. YouTube would then automatically recognize your IP address as being located in Japan and provide the content.
NordVPN pricing
Like most VPN providers, NordVPN offers three plan pricing tiers: monthly, annual and two-year. You’ll save the most money with a two-year subscription, as NordVPN wants to encourage users to pay for longer subscriptions upfront. You can view NordVPN pricing information using the breakdown below:
NordVPN Cost: Personal Plans
| Introductory price | Money-back guarantee | Renewal price | |
| One month | $11.95 | 30 days | Renews at $11.95 every month |
| One year | $49 | 30 days | Renews at $99 annually after initial one-year subscription |
| Two years | $79 | 30 days | Renews at $99 yearly after two years |
Though NordVPN’s annual and biennial subscription options are comparable in price to competing providers, its monthly plan is significantly more expensive than other VPN providers like Norton Secure VPN (starting at $4.99 a month) or Windscribe (starting at $9 a month). NordVPN doesn’t offer a free trial for anyone but Google Play users even though free trials are a common practice with many other VPN providers. NordVPN does provide a 30-day moneyback guarantee.
On the flip side, for roughly $5 more a month you can bundle NordVPN with a password manager and/or encrypted file storage. Prices below are for bundling Premium plans but there are free versions of NordPass and NordLocker as well.
NordVPN Bundles
| NordVPN + NordPass Premium | NordVPN + NordLocker Premium | NordVPn + NordPass Premium + NordLocker Premium |
| $16.94 for one month, $134.88 for one year | $16.94 for one month, $122.88 for one year | $21.93 for one month, $158.76 for one year |
NordVPN Teams
Monthly and annual pricing is lower for businesses, albeit on a per-user basis. There is no two-year plan for NordVPN Teams. You’ll have the option to bundle Teams with NordPass or NordLocker business plans at checkout. Separate pricing information for all three services is below:
Nord Security Business Pricing
| NordVPN Teams | NordPass Business | NordLocker Business | |
| Monthly | Basic: $9/user Advanced: $11/user | $6.39/user | Contact NordLocker for business prices |
| Yearly | Basic: $84/user Advanced: $108/user | $239.40/user | Contact NordLocker for business prices |
| Two years | N/A | $430.80/user | Contact NordLocker for business prices |
The biggest difference between a Basic and Advanced VPN plan is the ability to add dedicated servers for Advanced subscribers.
NordVPN reputation
With nine years in business, NordVPN has an established history. Users on consumer review site Trustpilot awarded NordVPN with an average score of 4.0 out of a total of 5.0 possible stars. About 70% of users rated NordVPN five out of five stars. Some features that users particularly loved from the VPN provider include:
- Great tech support: Multiple reviews praise NordVPN for its advanced technical support, which users described as “very knowledgeable” with “little” or “no waiting periods.” Users also reported that customer service representatives stuck with them on the line until each problem was resolved, even if issues persisted for multiple hours. Many users praised the company’s live chat feature as well, which allows you to instantly connect with a representative. One user said they had a major problem solved in just five minutes thanks to the help of an experienced customer service representative.
- Quick connectivity: User reviews also frequently praise NordVPN’s speed, saying that the VPN doesn’t slow down their ability to stream content or cause buffering like competing VPNs do. This can be an especially important consideration for users looking to access their VPN on multiple devices, as multi-device usage often throttles speed through a single VPN tunnel.
- Easy refunds: Users who weren’t satisfied with their NordVPN subscription reported that claiming a refund from the VPN provider was easy and hassle-free. If you’re interested in testing out multiple VPNs before committing to one, simple refunds might put NordVPN at the top of your list.
We found similar experiences in our own testing. NordVPN had the fastest speeds of our best VPN services along with some of the top security protocols. Those protocols include:
- NordLynx (WireGuard)
- Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2), part of the internet protocol security (IPSec) suite
- OpenVPN
NordVPN stability and privacy
NordVPN provides several privacy and security features that make the VPN an excellent choice for those concerned with data security. Some of the top protections offered by NordVPN include:
- Industry-standard encryption: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit keys is the same level of encryption used by governments and military bases. There is currently no feasible way for hackers to decrypt information at this level, which means that even if your data is compromised, it will be rendered unusable.
- Automatic kill switch: If your VPN lapses, the kill switch will disconnect your device from the internet. This ensures that your data isn’t leaked in the time it takes for your VPN to reconnect.
- No logging : Some VPNs track and log your online browsing activity and sell it to third parties. This is a particularly large concern for free VPNs, as most free VPNs earn money through a combination of ad and data sales. NordVPN doesn’t track any of your data beyond basic e-mail addresses and other data you use to log in to your account. NordVPN is based in Panama, which lacks mandatory data retention laws found in other countries, including the United States.
- More than 5,000 servers: NordVPN has more than 5,000 servers across nearly 60 countries. If you’re a business traveler or you want to use your VPN primarily for geo-spoofing purposes, keep in mind that some rivals like ExpressVPN offer access to a greater number of countries.
With a strong network of servers to ensure constant connection to no logging policies that free NordVPN from the obligation to provide your browsing data to authorities, NordVPN is a top-ranked choice when it comes to browsing the web securely and anonymously.
NordVPN features and functionality
NordVPN offers features that make it equally as appealing to users on work computers as it is to those who use their VPN for gaming and entertainment. Let’s take a look at a few of our favorite features offered by NordVPN:
- Split tunneling: Split tunneling allows you to use your VPN on specific apps and websites while using your local network for others. This can be especially useful if you do a lot of mobile banking or online credit card management, as financial service providers tend to block traffic from unknown IP addresses to prevent fraud.
- Multihop: Routing your traffic through multiple servers adds another layer of protection. It’s not necessary for everyone in every situation, but it’s a feature you can enable by turning on NordVPN’s Double VPN.
- Onion Over VPN: Other VPN providers offer access to the Onion router (Tor) but NordVPN provides a direct connection so you don’t have to download a Tor browser. These browsers are intended for ultimate privacy and anonymity while browsing the internet.
What we don’t like: NordVPN lost points in our tests for its device limitations. Users can only have six simultaneous connections on a single NordVPN account, which is lower than many competitors. Rivals like Surfshark even allow unlimited simultaneous connections. Beyond this drawback, NordVPN offers broad functionality that makes it suitable for most everyday uses.
NordVPN customer experience
While NordVPN’s customer reviews signified that its customer support is responsive and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by chat or email, you won’t be able to reach the VPN provider by phone. We’d also love to see the provider offer a free trial to all users so customers can more easily try out NordVPN’s offerings. A NordVPN spokesperson said the 30-day moneyback guarantee is sufficient time for users to see if they like the product. The spokesperson also said NordVPN’s prices and number of simultaneous connections were in line with competitors.
NordVPN review: Is it right for you?
NordVPN is a solid choice for both new and experienced VPN users. The well-known provider offers a range of features and functions to make browsing more secure. In particular, NordVPN’s wide range of servers and locations impressed us, and its security protocols and instant kill switch ensure you’ll be protected at all times. We also appreciate NordVPN’s compatibility with streaming sites like Netflix, which allows the service to be just as useful for casual use as it is for professional use.
NordVPN isn’t the perfect VPN, though. You can only have six connections open on a single NordVPN account, which is lower than other providers. NordVPN is also more expensive than many competitors’ personal plans, especially if you’re paying monthly. NordVPN offers business owners competitive rates, but we’d like to see greater transparency on prices for bundled services.
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