NordVPN is a well-known name in the virtual private network (VPN) market, and its popularity continues to grow. With a crowded field of competitors, it’s crucial to thoroughly examine NordVPN’s features, limitations, and value proposition. This review delves into NordVPN’s various plans, including the NordVPN Plus bundle, comparing its features and pricing to other leading VPN solutions.
NordVPN Plans and Pricing: Decoding the Options
alt text: A table summarizing the features and pricing of NordVPN's different plans.
NordVPN offers four tiers, bundling various cybersecurity services with monthly, annual, and biennial subscription options.
The core offering, NordVPN Basic, provides a comprehensive VPN experience with unlimited data, high-speed connections, and simultaneous protection for up to 10 devices. The initial two-year subscription offers an attractive price, including 27 months of service. However, the renewal cost is significantly higher, exceeding even the monthly plan’s annual cost. The annual plan presents a more balanced approach, with a reasonable price increase upon renewal. The monthly plan caters to occasional VPN users but becomes expensive for long-term use.
Beyond the Basic plan, NordVPN offers bundled packages:
- NordVPN Plus: Integrates anti-malware, the NordPass password manager, and tracker blocking.
- NordVPN Complete: Adds 1TB of encrypted cloud storage to the Plus package.
- NordVPN Ultra: Further enhances the Complete plan with a personal data removal tool that automatically submits removal requests to data brokers.
This review focuses on NordVPN Plus, evaluating its Threat Protection feature and briefly touching upon the highly-rated NordPass password manager.
NordVPN Design and User Experience: Simplicity Meets Advanced Features
alt text: Screenshot of the NordVPN Windows app installer showing the option to add a browser extension.
Installing the NordVPN Windows app offers a seamless experience, including the option to install a browser extension. The app provides comprehensive privacy protection across all applications, while the extension confines VPN usage to the browser. Using both simultaneously is generally redundant.
The app offers robust protection for online browsing, safeguarding location and identity even within private browsing windows, while allowing other applications to connect through regular network connections. The extension’s functionality within incognito windows is less intuitive, potentially bypassing the VPN connection. For comprehensive protection, the app is recommended.
Advanced users can leverage split-tunneling, both within the app and extension, to selectively exclude specific applications or websites from VPN usage.
alt text: Screenshot of the NordVPN Windows app interface highlighting its user-friendly design and advanced options.
Despite its advanced capabilities, NordVPN remains user-friendly. Connecting to a quick connect server location is straightforward and hassle-free. The Threat Protection tab, available in NordVPN Plus, offers granular control over web, file, and vulnerability protection.
NordVPN Performance and Features: Speed and Security Tested
alt text: Graph showing download speeds achieved with NordVPN connected to different server locations.
NordVPN demonstrated consistent reliability and fast connection speeds across various server locations. While comprehensive testing of all 6,400 servers is impractical, tests across several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Australia, and Malta, yielded positive results.
Download speeds remained impressively high even for geographically distant servers. However, upload speeds, while generally acceptable for browsing, could be a limiting factor for activities like gaming, live streaming, and social media uploads.
alt text: Screenshot of NordVPN's Threat Protection feature blocking malware downloads.
NordVPN supports simultaneous connections on up to 10 devices, offering cross-platform compatibility. The Threat Protection feature, however, is limited to desktop computers. Tests using the Wicar website demonstrated effective blocking of malware downloads, though its long-term effectiveness compared to established antivirus software remains to be seen.
NordVPN Support: Responsive and Helpful
alt text: Screenshot of a live chat conversation with NordVPN customer support.
NordVPN provides 24/7 live support. Interactions with their customer service were positive, with quick responses and helpful information. While initial contact is handled by a chatbot, escalating to a live agent is seamless.
NordVPN Privacy and Security: A Strong Foundation with a Minor Blemish
NordVPN prioritizes privacy, with a no-logs policy and no sharing of user data with third-party advertisers. Its Panama jurisdiction further enhances privacy protection, exempting its minimal data collection from intelligence alliances.
NordVPN utilizes its proprietary NordLynx protocol, enhancing security and speed while masking IP addresses and locations. While NordVPN has a generally strong security track record, a 2018 server breach, though without user credential compromise, is a noteworthy incident.
Is NordVPN the Right Choice?
NordVPN is a top contender in the VPN arena, offering compelling bundles for users seeking integrated password management, encrypted cloud storage, and enhanced malware protection. Its speed is a significant advantage. However, other top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Surfshark provide comparable performance, security, and features.
While NordVPN’s initial subscription deals offer significant savings, the renewal costs are considerably higher. Users seeking long-term value should explore alternative VPNs with more consistent pricing.
Overall, NordVPN is a highly recommended privacy solution, though its pricing structure could be improved.
