NordVPN Review 2025: A Feature-Rich, Quick VPN

NordVPN Price: $13 per month, $60 for the first year, or $84 for the first two years (one- and two-year plans renew at $140 per year)

• Latest testing No leaks discovered, 11% speed decrease in 2024 tests
• Network 6,300-plus servers across 111 countries
• Jurisdiction Panama

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Score Breakdown

Usability 8/10 Value 8/10 Speed 9/10 Privacy 9/10 Features 9/10

Pros NordVPN

• Minimal speed loss
• Feature-rich
• User-friendly applications
• Strong emphasis on privacy and openness
• RAM-only servers, double VPN, and Onion VPN options
• Great for streaming service geo-unblocking
• Lots of payment alternatives include cryptocurrency and in-store purchases.

Cons NordVPN

• High renewal price

A virtual private network tunnels your online traffic via an encrypted server, offering you an additional layer of anonymity from internet service providers, government authorities, or your school’s network management. The added safety comes with a trade-off: Using a VPN slows down your internet connection. 

NordVPN provides stable and competitive speeds, according to CNET’s hands-on VPN testing, resulting in the least internet speed decrease of any service we’ve evaluated. 

It’s not simply fast. NordVPN adds a lot more to the table: It’s secure, reasonably priced, and stocked with user-friendly programs. That well-rounded performance makes Nord an excellent VPN for everyone from privacy-concerned users to entertainment fans. In our 2024 hands-on study of NordVPN, we did over 250 internet speed tests, watched hours of films, and examined its applications on a buffet of devices. We also assessed its pricing and compared NordVPN’s value to rivals. 

NordVPN leads every VPN we’ve tested in the speed category, but it scored worse than some of its rivals on transparency (it’s undergone fewer independent audits) and accessibility (there are cheaper solutions with more simultaneous connections). Overall, NordVPN is one of the top three best VPNs suggested by our professional reviewers. See here for additional details on how we test VPNs.

Speed: Blazing fast

• Speed loss: 11.1% average
• Number of servers: 6,700-plus 
• Number of countries: 111

All VPNs slow down your internet upload and download speeds to some degree, but anything under 20% impresses us. 

In our 2024 testing, CNET Labs reported a best-in-class average speed loss of 11.1% while using NordVPN, giving it the honor of CNET’s fastest VPN. For contrast, other top VPNs we’ve tested include Mullvad VPN, with a 13% average speed loss; Surfshark, which witnessed a 17% average speed loss; and ExpressVPN, with a 24.8% average speed loss.

With NordVPN, you have two sets of rules, called VPN protocols, which you may employ to create a connection. Using Nord’s proprietary WireGuard-based protocol, dubbed NordLynx, CNET reported an average internet speed reduction of only 3.19% on Windows and 12.56% on MacOS. Nord advises that most users stay with NordLynx, and it’s my preferred VPN protocol while using NordVPN—particularly when viewing media in 4K ultra-high-definition on services like Netflix or Disney Plus. NordLynx employs double NAT to ensure a secure connection without retaining potentially identifiable information like IP addresses. If you’re a NordVPN customer, its NordLynx protocol should ensure the highest possible internet connections without sacrificing privacy and security. 

Using OpenVPN on Macs, our performance loss was an astounding 10.08%, whereas it averaged 18.57% with Windows. Whether you use NordLynx or OpenVPN, Nord assures blazing-fast connections that are perfect for bandwidth-intensive apps like 4K video streaming, Zoom calls, or uploading YouTube movies.

NordVPN has a robust roster of worldwide servers.

NordVPN offers over 6,700 servers—more overall than rivals like ExpressVPN (3,000-plus) and Surfshark (3,200-plus servers) but less than ProtonVPN (9,100-plus). With servers in 111 locations, Nord’s worldwide coverage is somewhat larger than Express (105), Surfshark (100), and PIA (90-plus), but just short of Proton VPN (112). Regular globetrotters will discover that Nord is one of the finest VPNs for travel since it has a vast server network.

Key takeaway: NordVPN is hands down the fastest VPN we benchmarked, with negligible performance loss regardless of the VPN protocol you use. Its vast server network should work for many persons, with servers in as many, if not more, countries than most competitors.

Cost: Sweet starting pricing, but industry-standard price rises

• $13 monthly, $60 yearly (then $140 a year) or $83 total for two years (then $140 annually)
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Payment options: credit card/debit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and so on), and retail outlets
• Apps available: Windows (x86 and ARM), MacOS, Linux (command line), Android/Android TV, iOS/iPadOS, TVOS, Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire, Meta Quest, and browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)

At $13, NordVPN’s monthly pricing coincides with most of its rivals. Its $60 annual plan begins lower than many other VPN services, including its neck-and-neck competition, ExpressVPN, more than Surfshark’s $48 annual beginning pricing, and is matched with Proton VPN’s initial one-year cost. But that attractively priced $60 plan is just the introductory cost; Nord’s one- and two-year plans renew at $140 per year, which is significantly more than most VPN provider renewals; Express renews at $150 annually for its one-year plan and a whopping $250 annually for its two-year plans, Proton renews at $80, and Surfshark renews at a cost-effective $60. Luckily, you can stack subscriptions, so if you purchase a NordVPN two-year subscription and then spot a good offer around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can get another two-year package to top up your account. Then, you won’t need to worry about a price spike for another several years.

Although its two-year tier (which puts you back $83 total) provides the lowest yearly pricing, we don’t advocate signing up for more than a year at a time because of how rapidly things change in the VPN sector. Your originally fast VPN that’s perfect for unblocking Netflix could be slower, suffer a data breach, or be purchased by a disreputable firm over a year. 

Price spikes are the industry usual, with many VPN businesses renewing at increased prices after your initial time. I understand price spikes, but they’re upsetting for consumers who then need to monitor their subscriptions. To be fair, Nord offers fine language on their checkout page notifying you about renewal fees and pledges to contact you before your new subscription begins. Actually discovering the price of an automatic renewal involves searching around—I’d like to see it more clearly stated on the Subscription Terms page that warns you of potential price spikes.

Despite its greater upfront cost, I like ExpressVPN’s pricing clarity—you renew at the same rate that you signed up at. Private Internet Access follows suit with its $40 per year cost. The value-packed Surfshark puts you back $48 for your first year, then $60 yearly. Ultimately, NordVPN’s beginning pricing is wonderful, but hikes for additional subscriptions aren’t ideal. Eventually, it’s less value-packed because of the bottom line—you do get a lot of features, but many of them are overkill for the ordinary individual. Thankfully, you may avoid rising rates by renewing early or purchasing another one or two years of service, which stacks on top of your current membership. For instance, if you’ve got one year remaining on a two-year plan, you may purchase another two-year bundle, extending your membership package to three years altogether.

If you’re displeased with your service, Nord provides a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ve got lots of payment alternatives, as well. Aside from the obvious suspects (credit or debit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Google Pay), Nord supports cryptocurrencies and retail transactions. Paying with crypto gives pseudo-anonymity, making it more difficult to trace that transaction back to you, a good advantage for privacy-focused customers. The option to purchase a NordVPN membership online or packaged subscription vouchers in-store at brick-and-mortar shops such as Best Buy or Walmart makes it one of the most accessible VPNs on the market.

App performance

NordVPN operates on practically every platform you can think of, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android/Android TV, iOS/iPadOS, Apple TV, and browsers. In October of 2024, Nord introduced an app for ARM-based Windows devices, ushering in compatibility for PCs like the Surface Pro. I admire that its programs stay straightforward without losing usefulness. You may load up Nord and connect to an optimum server utilizing its Quick Connect function. Alternatively, you may pick any of its over 6,700 servers scattered throughout 111 countries. Other rivals, like ExpressVPN and Surfshark, promise even more straightforward applications. Nord’s applications aren’t tough, but I found ExpressVPN’s apps significantly simpler with their clean style.

I enjoyed Nord’s feature-packed applications. You may pick from numerous VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN and NordLynx (a WireGuard-based proprietary protocol). There are many complex settings, such as split tunneling, which allows you to utilize a VPN with certain programs but not others. For example, I utilized split tunneling to watch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Disney Plus in my Chrome browser while preventing my Steam gaming client from accessing my VPN. This enabled me to install Halo: The Master Chief Collection without restricting my download pace via Steam, yet keep occupied while waiting to play. Nord’s Apple client lacks split tunneling; however, macOS doesn’t play well with that capability anyhow.

You can install NordVPN on as many devices as you wish, but you’re restricted to a still-generous 10 simultaneous connections. Essentially, you can only have a VPN actively operating on 10 devices at once. Many of our top VPNs, including PIA, Surfshark, and IPVanish, give limitless connections (IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis). ProtonVPN also provides you 10, but ExpressVPN restricts you to eight; thus, NordVPN is among the most generous VPN companies. Granted, most consumers won’t need to use a VPN on 10 devices at the same time, and if you do, a VPN on your router gives whole-home coverage. Case in point: Even when testing Nord on a variety of devices for this review, I never fell across a circumstance where I required more than six simultaneous connections. Even families wishing to share a VPN subscription and heavy users should be good with 10. 

I’d also have liked a graphical user interface Linux program instead of Nord’s existing command line interface option, but that’s clearly a niche request and didn’t weigh into my final rating.

NordVPN is fantastic for unblocking geographically blocked material.

Streaming using NordVPN is typically good. During my tests, I didn’t observe any buffering or stuttering, even while viewing 4K movies. NordVPN runs on a slew of streaming devices, including Android TV, Fire TV, and Apple TV, although you can also use Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Chrome OS. I streamed Murdoch Mysteries on the CBC website using a Canadian server, Terminator Zero on Netflix, Grotesque on Hulu, and Treasure Planet on Disney Plus.

NordVPN unlocked U.S. and UK Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus libraries on most devices. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to unblock Netflix Egypt libraries, but just a few of the VPNs I tried (including Proton VPN and ExpressVPN) were able to achieve this feat—Surfshark likewise couldn’t display Netflix Egypt libraries. I found a few troubles streaming Prime Video on Windows and MacOS since Amazon identified a VPN as active; however, Android/Android TV, Fire TV, and Apple TV performed swimmingly.

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CNET testers noticed a few concerns with Nord’s Apple TV app; its side-scrolling interface was awkward to navigate, and we had difficulty streaming international Netflix libraries and U.S. Hulu. Thankfully, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video, and U.S. Netflix streamed nicely. Other Nord applications operate swimmingly; if you’re an Apple TV lover, you may want to explore elsewhere. Currently, numerous additional VPN companies, like ExpressVPN, Surfshark, PIA, and IPVanish, offer TVOS applications. Thankfully, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu were stable. Because of how young Apple TV VPN functionality is, we’ve experienced troubles with other VPN applications, so we anticipate and hope the streaming experience improves with virtual private networks on TVOS.

Meshnet and dedicated IPs are excellent to have.

NordVPN’s feature-rich applications contain several essential choices for power users. Meshnet helps you construct your own personal VPN server in a more natural way than pursuing the do-it-yourself approach (speaking from experience). You may construct your own local area network with devices situated anywhere. For example, Meshnet enables you to hold remote LAN parties or access data on a home server while overseas.

Meshnet is free; however, Nord provides dedicated IP addresses as paid upgrades. When connecting to a VPN server, your traffic is diverted via a new IP address, so this works in the same way—but only you have access to this IP address. The advantages of a dedicated IP address include avoiding blocklists (which sometimes occurs with public VPN servers) that may result in CAPTCHAs or limited access to certain streaming services and websites.

Customer service is good… once you get to a person

Although NordVPN is very straightforward, you could have billing questions or need assistance troubleshooting. Thankfully, Nord includes extensive support guides, including commonly asked questions and setup instructions for installing a VPN on numerous devices. NordVPN doesn’t provide over-the-phone customer care, but you may contact Nord by email or 24/7 live chat. 

I spent a bit of time jumping through hoops with the live chat function before contacting a real agent. Initially, I inquired if there was an Apple TV client (there is) and received a prepared answer stating there wasn’t one. From there, I respectfully wrote, “Hi, can I talk to a real person?” At which point the chatbot directed me to the correct support representative. The method for getting in contact with a real person entails choosing the proper department, then connecting to a NordVPN server and conducting a DNS leak test, screenshotting the findings, and submitting them. I believe the bot-first contact and screenshot evidence of current Nord membership pulls out spammers, but the first wrong information I got wasn’t helpful. 

Once I got in contact with a person, the customer service agent was knowledgeable and helpful. They adequately pointed me to the information I wanted, supplied a promo code (one of my inquiries was about purchasing with cryptocurrencies), and even inquired how I was doing. Pro tip: If you live chat with Nord, start with “Can I talk to a real person?” to expedite the process of reaching a human.

Key takeaway: Nord delivers sophisticated applications, great streaming service unblocking, and unique, helpful features. Its initial rate on the yearly and two-year plans makes Nord a good offer, while future price rises lessen its value.

Privacy and transparency: Nord gets a lot right while continuing to make changes. 

• Jurisdiction: Panama (Not in the Five Eyes or Fourteen Eyes)
• Encryption: AES-256-GCM (OpenVPN), ChaCha20 (NordLynx)
• RAM-only server infrastructure
• No DNS leaks discovered
• Independently audited
• VPN protocols available: NordLynx, OpenVPN

NordVPN is based in Panama, which sits outside of the Five Eyes and Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing communities. Although the ordinary individual trying to browse international Netflix libraries or conceal torrenting behavior from their ISP would not need to bother about that, those with significant privacy concerns—like investigative journalists or political activists—will enjoy Nord’s authority. 

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Like other VPN companies, Nord advertises a rigorous no-logs policy, meaning that it doesn’t record potentially identifiable information about you, such as your IP address or internet browsing activities. Although zero logging is challenging to verify—you may and should be dubious—Nord keeps building up its openness. A 2023 audit by Deloitte, its fourth independent audit overall, revealed no evidence of logging by NordVPN. Notably, Nord retained Deloitte for audits in 2022 and 2023, a pattern I hope continues. More transparency provides more peace of mind. 

In a February 2024 blog post, Nord declared a transition away from a warrant canary strategy to providing its transparency reports. I like this approach a lot. Differing from zero-log audits, transparency reports give insight into legal demands a VPN service gets from law enforcement or government agencies and correspondingly indicate how a VPN firm handled certain instances. Its transparency report lists the number of requests from government entities and DMCA demands, along with the number of orders that resulted in any user information disclosures (which is happily none).

Other VPN companies boast more yearly audits—ExpressVPN, for instance, having completed 19 audits since 2018—as compared to Nord’s one annual audit. When we queried NordVPN officials about the apparently reduced scope of its yearly audits, Nord commented: “Outside partners have audited NordVPN servers, infrastructure, and NordVPN desktop applications for Windows, Linux, and macOS, as well as the mobile applications for Android and iOS. … From our experience, fewer audits with greater scope better cover sections that link multiple features and services. These sections could also go overlooked.”

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I understand Nord’s position. More extensive audits investigating servers, applications, and infrastructure may reveal information about the ecosystem as a whole. I agree with Nord’s observation regarding the interconnection of features; however, such a huge audit in a short timespan—Nord’s Deloitte audit lasted a week—is simply a glimpse of the 365-day calendar year. The VPN market is going toward more all-encompassing audits, which I enjoy; Surfshark and PIA both teamed with Deloitte for yearly audits, for example. As a compromise, I’d want to see them grow more regularly than once a year.

You’ll discover a full slate of privacy and security conveniences, like a kill switch (which turns off your internet connection if your VPN disconnects), double-hop, obfuscated servers, and Onion over VPN (Tor). Nord’s kill switch worked well. My IP address stayed concealed even when my Wi-Fi went out and when switching VPN servers. I also didn’t notice any DNS leaks.

NordVPN gives beefed-up privacy with various features.

Onion Over VPN and Double VPN are nice features for privacy-focused users—imagine investigative journalists or political activists. (If you merely want to browse international Netflix libraries or torrents, you generally don’t need either function.) Onion Over VPN employs Tor for reinforced anonymity by encrypting your communication even more than a conventional VPN connection, making it more difficult to trace back traffic to its source (your IP address). A double VPN similarly shores up your anonymity by routing your online traffic via a second VPN server instead of the normal one. Both solutions provide more anonymity than a regular out-of-the-box VPN connection, with the primary distinction being the underlying technology utilized to reinforce encryption: A double VPN employs a second VPN server, while Tor over VPN depends on the Onion network.

In a Sept. 30, 2024, blog post, NordVPN stated that it pushed implemented post-quantum encryption to its Linux software. Post-quantum cryptography is a cutting-edge cybersecurity development that offers improved protection against attacks from quantum computers, which have huge decoding capabilities. A Nord official informed me via email that the business expects to offer post-quantum protection to the remainder of its app fleet by the first quarter of 2025. Currently, just a few VPN companies, like ExpressVPN and Mullvad, feature post-quantum encryption.

NordVPN’s privacy policy is regular stuff.

As part of CNET’s VPN evaluations, we comb through every element of a company’s privacy policy to make sure there’s nothing devious waiting to surprise consumers. A few elements of NordVPN’s privacy policy left me concerned about Nord’s approach to preserving user data, so I reached out to Nord for further information. The comments from Nord set my mind at rest, showing that much of my original anxiety originated from the difficulties of writing legalese in a palatable fashion for users. I believe Nord has a chance to explain several aspects in its privacy policy, but its justifications effectively communicate that it’s lawfully protecting itself like practically all corporations do. 

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One portion reads:

“We sometimes may process your personal data under the legal basis of our or third parties’ legitimate interest. Such cases include: i) to properly administer business communication with you; ii) to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, abuse, security, or technical issues with our Services and Websites; iii) to protect against harm to the rights, property, and safety of Nord, our users, or third parties; iv) to improve or maintain our Services and provide new products and features; v) to receive knowledge of how our Websites and applications are being used (crash reports, app store reviews, information about the channel from which our app was downloaded, etc.).”

As Nord replied via email, “For [our] privacy-focused customers—not only is the collection of personal information very limited, it is also not linked with any of their Internet activities while connected to VPN. We just do not monitor or have such information.”

I also had a few issues regarding this piece of Nord’s privacy policy:

“We share your personal data with other Nord group companies to carry out our daily business operations and to enable us to maintain and provide our services to you. We may also share the contact information of Nord business customers (i.e., our customers who use our products as a tool for their company) with Nord group businesses for marketing of their B2B goods purposes (business users have a right to object to such transfer at any time).”

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Nord informed us via email, “This provision is necessary because, as in (probably) all global companies, there are multiple legal entities within the group built for different purposes, e.g., payment processing, development, acting as sales points, and similar, and data has to be shared between them.”

Finally, concerning business transfers, the privacy policy states:

“We may share your personal data in those cases where we sell or negotiate to sell our business or go through a corporate merger, acquisition, consolidation, asset sale, reorganization, or similar event. In these cases, Nord will continue to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal data.”

When pushed for additional clarity, Nord stated, “This is a standard clause, used by the legal team to cover some theoretical possibilities in edge cases.”

I’m not sure I totally agree with its business transfers part being a usual fare. Yes, acquisitions are typical in cross-industry, especially in the VPN market. Case in point: Nord Security merged with Surfshark in 2022. To appease individuals with more significant privacy concerns, I believe a simple answer would be defining the overall range of what personal data is exchanged, why, and under what conditions (such as basic account information to maintain service in the case of a merger). By making its privacy policy easy to comprehend for its consumers, it still maintains legal protection without disturbing its users. 

Overall, I was impressed with Nord’s answers; however, I nonetheless believe Nord might update its privacy policy wording to be even clearer for consumers. For instance, PIA’s privacy policy has the legal language you’d anticipate but offers summaries summarizing parts into more digestible information. ExpressVPN performs a wonderful job with its privacy policy, precisely outlining how the company secures your personal data, even in the case of a sale or merger. 

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“Any personal information associated with ExpressVPN accounts is controlled only by ExpressVPN, including being stored on systems, servers, and services owned or leased by ExpressVPN and its subsidiaries. In the limited circumstances where this data may need to be processed by other related entities, it may be shared only when required and for the duration required for processing solely related to the purposes and legitimate interests outlined in this Privacy Policy, while ensuring at all times the same data protection standards. For avoidance of doubt, these circumstances do not include any situations where control of personal information of ExpressVPN users will be transferred to any other related entities, including but not limited to our ultimate holding company, Kape Technologies PLC, for any duration of time.”

ExpressVPN’s privacy policy is substantially clearer regarding its user data policy.

Key takeaway: NordVPN provides a bevy of privacy features and issued its first transparency report in February 2024. Its privacy policy isn’t as reader-friendly as that of its rivacompetitors, Overall, Nord is taking steps in the right way.

NordVPN is fast, private, and feature-packed.

NordVPN is a popular option since it finds a wonderful mix between staying user-friendly and full-featured, all without losing performance on most devices. Our CNET Labs testing registered a class-leading 11.1% average internet download speed drop. The service’s emphasis on privacy means you’ll receive unusual but important features like a Double VPN and Tor over VPN for better encryption. In addition, monthly no-logs checks enhance transparency.

Nord’s one- and two-year upfront pricing is less than competitors like ExpressVPN, but price spikes mean that after a year or two, Nord isn’t the greatest value. Additionally, Nord’s applications are straightforward enough, but they might be even more streamlined and user-friendly. I’d also prefer even greater openness, especially increased clarity in its privacy policy.

Ultimately, NordVPN remains a superb VPN for power users wanting fast internet connections and cutting-edge capabilities, appealing to both casual VPN novices and individuals with severe privacy concerns alike.

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