NordVPN Review – In-Depth Breakdown (2025 Edition)

As a digital nomad, you will probably find yourself working from different places around the world. These places might have amazing cuisine, culture and/or history – but really bad data security.

That’s where a VPN comes in. It’s basically a way to keep your information and browsing habits safe from prying eyes, while also circumventing governmental restrictions that impinge on your internet freedoms.

In China, for example, certain search engines and search terms are completely blocked by the Great Firewall, which can throw up barriers to completing work assignments, let alone general browsing.

NordVPN is one of the most popular products on the market, employed by more than a quarter of VPN users in America, according to one study. It also has one of the largest server networks out there, as well as boasting plenty of features designed for smooth gaming.

In this review, we’re going to break down the security, speed and streaming features of NordVPN, along with a whole bunch of other factors to help you decide if it’s the right VPN for you.

Company Background

NordVPN was founded in 2012 by a pair of childhood friends. Despite its name, it wasn’t created in one of the Nordic countries but in Lithuania – the name is apparently inspired by the reputation that Scandi countries have for transparent business practices and pragmatic innovation.

It currently operates out of Panama for customer privacy reasons, although its parent company, Nord Security, is incorporated in the Netherlands. Neither Panama nor the Netherlands require companies to keep logs, which is always a bonus for anybody who wants to keep their data safe.

They currently have apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, as well as browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

Back in 2022, NordVPN merged with Surfshark, bringing two of the world’s most popular proxy networks under one roof, although they continue to operate independently.

Core Features

NordVPN has a wide range of handy features, which can be utilized on up to 10 devices. That’s a good number, although not as good as Surfshark (unlimited devices). However, if you install NordVPN on your router, all devices on that network will be covered by one usage slot.

Security & Privacy

NordVPN offers OpenVPN and IKEv2 VPN protocols, both encrypted using AES-256, which is considered unbreakable by modern computer standards.

The cherry on their proxy network cake though is NordLynx. This proprietary system is based on the speed of WireGuard but has enhanced security features, which we’ll talk about more in a bit.

Since they are not required to retain data by Panamanian law, NordVPN is able to offer a strict no-logs policy, which means no information about how you used your VPN for is stored by the company. This has been independently audited by Deloitte every year for the past three years.

Other security tools include:

• Kill switch. If your VPN connection drops, it will automatically block internet access until the connection is reestablished, preventing data loss.
• DNS leak test. This lets you check whether your VPN is successfully preventing your internet service provider (ISP) from tracking your browsing history.
• Double VPN. Data is routed through two VPN servers rather than one, adding another layer of encryption.
• Obfuscated servers. These conceal the fact that you’re using a VPN, so that you can bypass any firewall restrictions that block VPNs. (This is only available through the OpenVPN protocol.)
• Onion over VPN. The Onion network gives you even more encryption by routing your traffic through multiple server layers. Nord has combined this with their VPN, so that your entry node is also masked and your ISP cannot see that you’re using the Onion network.
• Threat Protection Pro. This software prevents malware and blocks ads while you’re surfing the web.
• Multifactor authentication (MFA). This helps protect your account from being hacked.

Performance & Server Network

With 7,425 servers spread across 118 countries, NordVPN has one of the largest networks of any VPN provider. Each one can reach up to 10 Gbps, which is the same as Surfshark.

Almost all their servers can handle regular and P2P traffic, but only a handful offer obfuscated browsing, double VPN and/or a dedicated IP.

Using a connection that averages about 100 Mbps without a VPN, NordVPN still allows you to download at about 93.66 Mbps and upload at about 81.86 Mbps, with a latency of 51.65 m/s.

Their system has built-in round-robin DNS and load-balancing algorithms to spread user traffic across their servers, allowing you to take full advantage of the unlimited bandwidth on offer.

Special Features

Like many top proxy networks, NordVPN offers split tunneling, so that you can route part of your traffic through the encrypted connection and part directly through your ISP. This means that you can allow some trusted apps or websites that are having trouble loading to connect normally, while data that you want to keep more secure flows through the VPN. However, this is only available for Windows and Android devices.

Another way NordVPN helps customers speed up their connection is via their Meshnet feature. This lets you create a private network (like a LAN) with up to 60 remote devices, including office servers and gaming servers.

In addition to the security features we’ve already mentioned, NordVPN comes with a Dark Web Monitor, which continuously scans dark web pages to locate any data associated with your email address that has been compromised.

You can also configure a Private DNS that will prevent ISPs from tracking your browsing history.

For the ultimate in personalized VPN security, it’s possible to purchase a dedicated IP, with server locations in 27 countries. This helps you to avoid blocklists, CATPCHAs and other annoyances that are caused by bad actors using a shared IP.

Speed, Streaming & Torrenting Performance

NordVPN regularly tests well in the speed stakes, beating out almost all the competition. That’s at least partly down to its globe-spanning network, which means you’re never very far from a server.

Speed Test Results

NordLynx, which utilizes the WireGuard protocol, is the fastest way to connect using NordVPN, so that’s what we used to conduct our tests.

Using a VPN will always slow down the transfer of data, the key is, how much?

Since digital nomads sometimes must make do with slower connections while overseas, recording absolute speeds isn’t overly useful. For us, the most important metric is the percentage difference in speed between a connection without a VPN and a connection with a VPN.

Testing across different parts of the day and connecting to a local server in Europe, we measured three main metrics: download speed, upload speed and latency.

Downloading: 5.34%

Uploading: 3.39%

Latency: 1,318.64%

NordVPN is a beast when it comes to speed, easily beating out most of the competition, including Surfshark and ExpressVPN. It has a particularly good upload speed, while also scoring better than most other VPNs we tested on latency.

Streaming & P2P Support

NordVPN has a feature called SmartPlay that is designed to improve streaming performance. It’s automatically enabled and utilizes the VPN’s ability to hide your IP address, change your virtual location and switch the DNS server to ensure you can access TV shows from all kinds of services.

We were consistently able to view content from Netflix, Disney+ Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and BBC iPlayer using NordVPN. As long as your internet connection is strong enough, you should have no trouble streaming in 4K resolution.

On the torrenting side, all NordVPN’s servers are P2P optimized. Like their sister company Surfshark, they don’t support port forwarding due to security concerns, but we didn’t have any issues using BitTorrent or uTorrent. There may just be some additional configuration involved though, depending on the device you are using.

Security and Data Protection

NordVPN had an independent security audit conducted by Cure53 last year to check for any vulnerabilities in its system. It also operates a bug bounty that pays ethical hackers to uncover any potential issues, as well as employing RAM-based servers to ensure any data that is stored is only kept short term.

Encryption & VPN Protocols

NordVPN has 3 tunneling protocols. Its signature one is NordLynx, which is built on the lightweight WireGuard system but includes additional security features. This is the fastest protocol, using ChaCha20 encryption to protect browsing.

The second most popular protocol on NordVPN is OpenVPN, which uses AES-256-GCM encryption with a 4096-bit DH key. While that’s the gold standard for VPN encryption, the main benefit of OpenVPN is its versatility, which allows users to customize configuration. Built using open-source code, it’s also arguably the most transparent protocol, making it ideal for people who like to know exactly what’s going on under the hood.

Finally, you’ve got IKEv2, which is the best option for ensuring stable connections when your network is spotty. This can be particularly useful when you want to use your VPN on your mobile.

No-Logs Policy & Audit History

NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy, which is now audited on an annual basis. Most recently, this audit was conducted by Deloitte, but previously it was undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers – both are among the Big 4 accountancy firms.

In total, the company has been audited 5 times, stretching back to 2018. In that period, there have not been any major issues flagged and no legals cases that have brought into question their data security.

The company claims not to store connection logs, which means that you have to run diagnostics through the NordVPN app and then send the resulting data to the customer service team to resolve any connectivity issues.

Jurisdiction & Privacy Implications

NordVPN is based out of Panama, a country with no data retention laws and no connection to international intelligence alliances. That means the company is not obligated to keep any information about user browsing history.

Their parent company, Nord Security, is incorporated in the Netherlands, which has similarly privacy-friendly laws around data retention, although they are a member of Nine Eyes.

While NordVPN have said they would hand over user data if it was properly requested through legal channels, the reality is that their no-logs policy means that they have very little information that they would be able to supply in response to a government subpoena.

Pricing and Subscription Plans

NordVPN has three plan levels: Basic, Plus and Ultimate. As with competitors like ExpressVPN, they offer aggressively discounted prices if you lock yourself into 1-year or 2-year contracts. However, the renewal price after the initial period is significantly higher ($139.08 vs $81.36 for a 1-year Basic plan).

Signup fees are paid upfront and are subject to VAT.

Plan Breakdown

Basic includes all the VPN features, including the kill switch, double VPN and Onion over VPN.

Single-month subscription: $12.99 plus VAT.

12-month subscription: $4.99 per month ($59.88 plus VAT total).

24-month subscription: $3.99 per month ($81.36 plus VAT total).

Plus adds on NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro software, as well as password management.

Single-month subscription: $13.99 plus VAT.

12-month subscription: $5.99 per month ($71.88 plus VAT total).

24-month subscription: $4.39 per month ($105.36 plus VAT total).

Ultimate throws in 1 terabyte of encrypted cloud storage on the NordVPN servers, as well as a limited amount of cyber insurance for scam loss and ID theft.

Single-month subscription: $14.99 plus VAT.

12-month subscription: $6.99 per month ($83.88 plus VAT total).

24-month subscription: $6.39 per month ($153.36 plus VAT total).

A dedicated IP will cost you between $3.69 and $8.99 (depending on the length of subscription) per month.

It’s possible for Android users to get a free trial through the Google Play Store. This is available for 7 days.

Payment Options & Refunds

NordVPN can be purchased using a credit card, PayPal and Google Pay. Other options, such as cryptocurrency or direct debit, are available depending on your location.

They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the VPN. This covers purchases made through Google Play Store, but not for purchases made through Apple, Amazon or other resellers. You can request a full refund for any reason – but only once.

NordVPN previously fielded a lot of complaints about their refund process, which they’ve responded to by automating everything. Instead of speaking to a customer service rep, you can now request a refund through the AI live chat service, then follow the instructions through the NordVPN dashboard. It’s better, but not the fastest process in the world.

Customer Support Experience

NordVPN offers 24/7 live chat, although you must have functionality cookies enabled for this to work correctly.

We tried this out to ask some basic setup questions and clarify some concerns around functionality. The default is to speak with an AI bot, which redirects you to relevant articles in the help center, which solved most of our queries. We were also able to speak to a real human being once we’d exhausted the automated options.

There’s the possibility to speak to a rep through email, although we didn’t bother to try this out since the immediacy of the chat was handier.

The help center has a good range of topics, including step-by-step guides to installing NordVPN on all possible devices. It also supplies guides on how to activate the various special features, including ways to view content from Netflix, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and other supported streaming services.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

✅ Available across most operating systems

✅ No-logs policy

✅ 24/7 live chat

✅ VPN is bundled with threat protection software

Cons:

❌ Massive price hike on renewal

❌ Time-consuming cancellation process

Comparison With Other VPNs

*We’ve selected the midrange option for each service listed above, rather than the basic or premium plan. Speeds and prices will vary according to geography.

NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs on the market, beating out most of their competitors in terms of upload speed, download speed and latency. While it doesn’t have a full antivirus program like Surfshark, it does have quite an effective ad blocker.

For some people, these benefits make NordVPN worth the subscription price, which is higher than most of its competitor – although it’s still cheaper than Express VPN.

It’s also got a strong record of audits, which are available for all users to peruse. Plus, the strict no-logs policy is very reassuring.

User Reviews and Ratings

NordVPN has won itself a lot of love from users, scoring 4.1/5 on Trustpilot, 4.7/5 on the App Store and 4.6/5 on the Google Play Store. It has slightly lower ratings than Surfshark, but better feedback than Proton.

What people like:

The chat support. Most people are highly complementary about the online customer service.

The speed. Compared to the competition, users are satisfied that they are getting faster download and upload speeds.

Good for gaming. People hunting for VPNs to use for gaming rate NordVPN as one of the best.

What people don’t like:

The refund process. Several users have complained that, while they can eventually get a refund, it’s unnecessarily complicated.

Issues in certain geographies. Customers have noted that it doesn’t work well in countries like China and Turkey.

Final Verdict & Recommendation

NordVPN’s fast speeds and low latency mean it’s one of the best options for streaming and gaming. These high speeds don’t come at a security cost either, which is great news for people who prioritize their anonymity.

Comparing it to the other VPNs on the market, it definitely makes the list of our top 3 best VPNs overall, as it scores highly on every criterion. The only niggle is the price, but you could argue that you get what you pay for!

We also really like how easy it is to use and configure, with an interface that makes it easy to toggle on unique features or find specialist servers.