NordVPN Review
An in-depth look at NordVPN with data from various tests. Is it a good VPN?
Introduction
Overview
NordVPN is a great VPN service considering the speeds offered, privacy, functionality, ease of use, price, and customer support.
NordVPN was thoroughly reviewed from 5 September 2020 to 3 November 2020. Our review includes test results such as 25 speed and 6 torrent tests.
This document is continuously being updated with data each month in order to give you an accurate review.
Is NordVPN a good VPN? Is it worth getting?
Privacy & Anonymity Summary
NordVPN is a no-logs VPN, and the privacy policy is pretty straightforward.
Speed & Performance Summary
The servers are very fast compared to other VPN services and are suitable for downloading large files.
Functionality & Application Summary
The Windows client is intuitive and very easy to use and configure. Even older people will not have much trouble getting used to the app.
Reputation & Support Summary
They don’t have a good reputation when it comes to security and transparency. There was a security breach in one of their servers in 2018. Although they were very quick to fix this, they didn’t inform the customers about it until a security researcher disclosed it on Twitter. Their customer support is one of the best in the industry. Even those who chose to unsubscribe from their service praised their customer support team for being responsive and helpful.
Price & Value Summary
At a price of $83.76 for two years, NordVPN is fairly priced and it is well justified by the speeds and the quality of service provided.
How Was NordVPN Rated?
Review Criteria
I've rated NordVPN on multiple elements across five categories, and analysed the results to give you a good understanding of the service.
Privacy & Anonymity
Does NordVPN leak any data while in use? Do they collect or store logs? Do they allow you to anonymously purchase the service? Do they employ a variety of security protocols to keep you anonymous online?
Speed & Performance
Does NordVPN offer fast speeds (on par with browsing without a VPN connection)? Are these speeds consistent? Or do they drop off or fluctuate too much?
Functionality & Application
Does NordVPN work well? Is it easy to install and use? Does it unblock geo-restricted content? Can it unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer?
Reputation & Support
Is NordVPN a reputable seller with a strong track record of happy customers and good reviews? Does it provide outstanding customer and tech support? Does NordVPN and their parent company have a track record of honesty, transparency, and its customers' best interests at heart?
Price & Value
Does the price of the service match (or exceed) the quality of experience? Does NordVPN represent value for money?
Privacy & Anonymity
Does NordVPN have a logging policy?
NordVPN is a no-logs VPN, and there are no controversies or scandals regarding their no-log policy as yet. However, they do collect logs such as the connectivity information and the username and timestamp of the last session status.
Does NordVPN have a kill switch?
NordVPN’s Windows client has an app kill switch and an internet kill switch, but the Android version has only an internet kill switch.
What security protocols does NordVPN use?
On Windows, NordVPN uses OpenVPN and NordLynx, a protocol built around WireGuard. On browser extensions, it uses TLS v1.2 and supports iKEv2 on Mac.
Speed & Performance
Is NordVPN fast?
Yes, NordVPN is fast, but it depends on the protocol. NordLynx, a protocol built around WireGuard, provides great speeds whereas the iKEv2 protocol is often slow and takes time to connect.
Does NordVPN provide consistent speeds?
Yes, NordVPN provides consistent, reliable speeds.
Functionality & Application
Is NordVPN easy to use?
The installation was fast and very easy on my Windows. There were only a couple of checkboxes, and it was ready to use in less than 40 seconds.
The Windows client is intuitive and easy to use, although a little slow to respond at times. There are dedicated servers for torrenting, streaming, downloading, etc. and NordVPN gives complete freedom to choose the server we prefer.
NordVPN allows us to connect to specific servers.
The auto-connect settings on Windows.
The advanced settings include custom DNS and invisibility on LAN.
Does NordVPN support split tunneling?
NordVPN supports split tunneling on Android but not on Windows.
Is NordVPN good for torrenting? Do they approve of using P2P technology?
Yes, NordVPN has specialty servers designated for P2P uses.
In one test, I downloaded a 2.5GB version of the operating system Ubuntu. Using the specialty servers the download completed in 4-5 minutes at approximately 9-10MB/s, whereas using the normal servers, the average download time was 9-10 minutes at 4-5MB/s.
I did have some trouble connecting to torrents initially using Transmission (a torrenting application), but once I switched to another program, qBittorrent, I had no trouble with establishing a connection, and the download speeds were very impressive.
Is NordVPN good for Netflix?
NordVPN was able to successfully unblocked geo-restricted Netflix content in 10 out of 15 countries. I could watch Netflix content exclusive to Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom and USA.
Is NordVPN good for BBC iPlayer?
Is NordVPN good for streaming?
What are some good features of NordVPN?
- 5100+ servers
- Supports split-tunneling on Android
- Good torrenting speeds
- Great customer support
- Trustable money-back guarantee
Reputation & Support
Is NordVPN trustworthy?
In terms of the money-back guarantee and customer support, NordVPN is completely trustable. Even those who chose to cancel the subscription praised their refund policy and customer support.
Does NordVPN have live chat support? Are they responsive?
Where are they based? What jurisdiction are they under?
NordVPN is based in Panama for its favourable data retention laws.
Who is the parent company?
The parent company is Tefincom & Co., S.A, and the mailing address is 15th Floor Tower A, Torre de Las Americas, Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Republic of Panama.
Have NordVPN or their parent company been involved in any controversies or scandals?
One of NordVPN’s Finland servers was breached in March 2018, but the incident came to light only when a security researcher disclosed it on October 21, 2019, on Twitter. NordVPN quickly released a statement on the same day and admitted that they knew about the security breach, but they were widely criticized for not informing the customers about it on time.
Also in 2018, there was a serious allegation against NordVPN that it is operated by a data-mining firm called Tesonet. You can read NordVPN’s statement and explanation here.
In a separate incident, NordVPN faced a credential stuffing attack, and the usernames and passwords of around 2000 NordVPN users were exposed online. NordVPN explained about this incident through a blog post on their website.
What do most customers say they like about the service?
Most customers appreciate their customer service and the refund policy. Not many VPN providers have a good reputation when it comes to the money-back guarantee and refunds.
What do customers most dislike about the service?
Some customers complain that streaming websites like Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer do not work anymore. However, NordVPN showed an impressive performance in our streaming compatibility tests.
Price & Value
How much does NordVPN cost per month?
There are four different plans, a per month plan costing $11.95/month, a yearly plan costing $83.88 at $6.99/month, and two-year and three-year plans costing $83.76 and $125.64 respectively at $3.49/month. The pricing is tricky since the 2-year plan costs slightly less than the yearly plan.
NordVPN pricing options in USD.
Is NordVPN worth the money?
Even though NordVPN provides great speeds and customer support, the yearly and monthly plans are comparatively expensive. But the two-year and three-year plans are priced ideally and NordVPN is worth the money at that price.
What payment forms do they accept?
NordVPN accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards, payment gateways like PayPal and Google Pay, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Litecoin, etc. through Coin Payments.
Do they have a trial or a money-back guarantee? What is their refund policy?
NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and they do refund the money without asking many questions. However, they do not approve any refund requests after the 30-day period. Also, they do not issue a refund for the purchases made on Apple’s App Store.
Conclusion
Who is NordVPN good for?
NordVPN is a great choice for those who are looking for a solid VPN for daily use, those who download large files, and for those who watch high-quality videos on YouTube and other video sharing websites. It is great for torrenting also, but it takes time to start downloading.
Who is it not suitable for?
It’s not a great option for those who are looking for a VPN that logs no information at all.
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