NordVPN Review

You will be amazed going through any review of this VPN. It seems like this service doesn’t have any downsides at all. But perfectly good reviews are usually a nice reason to doubt their objectiveness, especially when it concerns the #1 rated VPN in the industry.

In the age of social media and Internet addiction, one can’t help but feel anxious about being so tightly connected digitally to millions of people (and programs) that it’s easy to get paranoid about one’s privacy. Daily news about people’s personal digital data getting hacked and leaked into the world only add fuel to the fire.

Though feeling anxious about privacy, we still want to enjoy the information freedom that the Internet gives us. Governments or companies are free to make decisions about shrouding their content from others without them having a say. It is when VPN comes in handy – to see the truth while staying secretive.

Nord VPN is your best friend in ensuring that your browsing experience is completely unique and evades the endless list of prying eyes, filters, and radars that constantly track, dissect, and invade your Internet surfing without you even knowing about it. There are 5,700+ servers that it uses to conceal and individualize your browsing while using AES-256 encryption – the highest security standard within the industry.

You and us will both agree that it sounds almost too good to be true. That’s why we have decided to test it out by ourselves. And we are willing to share the results with you. So, it NordVPN as great as it pictured? Let’s find out.

• Is NordVPN good, secure and speed?
• What is NordVPN and where is it based?
• How to useNordVPN?
• How does NordVPN work?
• What about features?
• NordVPN and Torrenting, Netflix and other services

NordVPN Price & Plans

Industry-leading features and several competitive advantages will cost you quite a lot with a monthly plan. We’ll talk about NordVPN prices in details. Let us also state that if you go long-term, the service will cost you no more than an entry-level VPN with a limited set of features and questionable reliability.

This provider has pretty high prices but offers impressive discounts for yearly plans. All the features are the same for each package. You get your ultimate ‘cloak’ that will protect you from unwanted ads, geographical tracking, censorship, speed limitations, standard malware routes and spying on your browsing.

This provider has pretty high prices, but offers impressive discounts for yearly plans. The pricing is pretty fair – you get a lot of benefits with NordVPN. So, pricing plans are as follows:

• Monthly – $11.95/mo.
• 1 year – $6.99/mo.
• 2 years – $4.99/mo.
• 3 years – $3.49/mo.

SPECIAL DEAL FOR BLACK FRIDAY: 

• NordVPN Black Friday deal: grab the 3-year plan with 83% off and get two amazing gifts: 3 extra months + NordLocker file encryption app (worth $312)

The 3-years plan NordVPN tends to show off as a limited offer but it is also the most lucrative.

There are a lot of payment options. NordVPN accepts even AliPay and bitcoins. The last one is great if you want to stay completely anonymous. When you pay for your subscription, you get access to the software immediately. You can download and install it right away.

30-days money-back guarantee is available, but refunds are not a simple thing with this provider. First of all, you will have to wait for up to 30 days to get your money back. Moreover, if you buy the software via iTunes or App Store, NordVPN can’t grant you a refund. If you used pre-paid or gift card, you can’t get a refund as well. All the features are the same for each package. You get your ultimate ‘cloak’ that will protect you from unwanted ads, geographical tracking, censorship, speed limitations, standard malware routes and spying on your browsing.

On the plus side, the provider offers a 30-day money back gurarantee that will allow you to test the VPN service out thoroughly. And if you won’t be happy with what you get – the company will refund the full price.

NordVPN Trial Version & Refund

NordVPN cannot provide you with the free version of the software. But you can use 30-day money-back as a kind of a free trial. Also, limited free trials and NordVPN coupon policies are periodic and subject to change, so you’ll have to be on the lookout for them. They grant you instant access to the tool but for quite a limited period, outlined by the terms of use.

The provider constantly changes its free trial policy, so be sure to check the details and options out on their official website. 

30-days money-back guarantee is available too, but refunds are not a simple thing with this provider. First of all, you will have to wait for up to 30 days to get your money back. Moreover, if you buy the software via iTunes or App Store, NordVPN can’t grant you a refund. You’ll have to contact the stores for that which is not difficult – App Store reacts to refund requests withing 24 hours.

If you used prepaid or gift card, you can’t get a refund as well. If you buy NordVPN from resellers (Amazon, BestBuy, etc.), then you’ll have to contact the reseller regarding their refunding policy. In case of buying it with cryptocurrency, the equivalent amount in USD in your cryptocurrency will be refunded.

Acquiring the refund will be quite a hassle. You will have to contact their live chat, express the desire to get a refund and explain your situation. The support team will troubleshoot just in case. You can get a refund anyway, but be sure to check the terms of use before you decide to buy the tool.

Nord VPN Discount & Coupons

Of course, paying money for any service means investing in it, enhancing its qualities and being ethical. Well, investing in a VPN is bordering on the gray area of one’s personal interests and the host’s public policies. Plus, having paid less than $3 to NordVPN, you gain access to a whole new world of Internet content.

NordVPN teams up with various re-sellers and stores to offer coupons for its services to let you have a taste of its features. NordVPN discount code policies are very generous (up to 75% off), but they are not constantly available, so be sure to look out for them and snatch the plan while it’s hot!

Pros of NordVPN

1. Over 5,700 dedicated and specialized servers around the world

All NordVPNservers are dedicated, the provider doesn’t own virtual ones. Sure, we don’t say that virtual servers are a bad thing, but they can be located somewhere else than in the place they appear to be. So it’s nice to know that the server is placed exactly where it claims to be placed.

Also, don’t forget about servers that are wired for torrenting. They give the user better protection and higher speeds. NordVPN made a great move creating specialized servers for different needs. That’s what listening to your audience means.

2. Highest encryption standard

Another advantage this provider has is that a lot of its servers are specialized for certain activities. For example, NordVPN has servers for torrenting. Some servers have double encryption, some offer the TOR connection, some are enforced with anti-DDoS. It seems like this NordVPN has everything covered.

NordVPN supports PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, OpenVPN. The OpenVPN protocol has 256-AES-CBC encryption with a 2048bit DH key. MacOS and iOS users will be protected by IKEv2/IPsec protocol and AES-256-GCM encryption with a 3072bit Diffie-Hellman key. This provider has pretty good protection – one of those you can trust without any doubt.

It is vital for a VPN tool to possess such sophisticated encryption quality. Streaming services, torrents, and other entertainment and media content is often blocked for certain geographical areas or by other criteria. Their hosts’ programs act to block you out, scanning your digital prints. NordVPN’s encryption and features bypass these triggers in a complex, safe way, offering you only the simple interface and a few buttons to achieve such stellar results.

3. No logging policy

Any open connection with the Internet opens your device to a huge amount of filters, scanners, and trackers that gather info about you and can even invade your device through these ‘routes’. These interconnections are stored in logs, offering much knowledge about you and give way to additional speculation.

As well as most VPN services, NordVPN has no-logging policy. The provider would monitor only the data related to the app crashes and the performance of the program if the user agreed to provide the service with this information. So you can be sure none of your activities online will be recorded. Add the Panama location, and you can rest assured there is nothing to worry about.

NordVPN has a very strict no logging policy. User bandwidth, connection timestamps, traffic logs, IP, session information, and other data are all a part of the digital print you leave on the Web, which allows identifying you. NordVPN does not store any logs, except for crashes and malperformance, and the whole experience is automated, meaning that no one watches what you’re up to there.

4. 6 simultaneous connections

Another thing that influences performance is the number of people connected to one server. So if the provider has more servers, users can spread among them, and every one of them gets a decent piece of the bandwidth.

NordVPN offers 6 simultaneous connections and it is quite enough for a small family or a professional with many devices used regularly. The provider has applications for all popular operating systems and can be installed even on RaspberryPi and a router. For those who struggle with the protocol connectivity, the service offers extensive tutorials.

5. Built-in adblock

NordVPN offers a collection of additional features called CyberSec. It can block ads and malicious software. Also, it protects the device from DDoS-attacks at the network level. We can’t say that it blocks all ads, but the number of banners decreased significantly. It is a nice addition to the VPN service itself since ads can track the movement of the user between sites.

6. Protects from web threats

To block malware, the provider simply uses the list of sites that spread the malicious software. So it’s not really the best protection, because the blacklist is not something steady. New sites with malware appear all the time. So it’s better to use a proper antivirus.

We are not trying to belittle the efforts of NordVPN. Additional protection never hurts. We just don’t want you to believe that you can skip the antivirus and just rely on the VPN service. The anti-DDoS feature also seems to work fine. But again – as an additional layer of protection.

7. Wide amount of features for streaming, etc.

That being said, the main purposes of why people use VPNs are torrenting and streaming. Free content is nice, isn’t it? Although, you can get into trouble downloading and uploading any files illegally. The good VPN will protect you from authorities keeping your IP address hidden. But not all providers allow torrenting.

Same story with streaming services. How annoying is the fact that you pay for, say, Netflix, but you still can’t watch your favorite show because it is blocked for your country. Some VPN providers manage to work with Netflix and the like unlocking the content for users.

NordVPN seems to work with Netflix. Of course, not all servers will work – Netflix does a pretty decent job detecting and blocking IP addresses that belong to VPN providers. But some of them did work. We’ve discovered 3 servers that worked in the US, one in the UK and one in the Netherlands. Canadian servers were blocked.

You can always contact the NordVPN’s support team and ask them to help you with choosing the right server for streaming in your location. Also, don’t forget the SmartPlay feature that allows access to the geo-blocked content.

NordVPN works with more than 400 different streaming services. So, the service you use will most likely be accessible with this VPN provider. Again, if you have any difficulties, you can get help from the support team. Also, you can ask them if NordVPN works with the particular service in advance, so you know if this provider suits your needs.

NordVPN works well with torrent clients. Moreover, it is a perfect VPN for torrenting. Why? First of all, the fast connection this service has allows downloading and uploading files without any struggle (P2P). Your speed will be almost as high as it is without the VPN being turned on.

8. No leaks detected

One of the most important things – to make sure that IP and DNS are not leaking. DNS is the Internet’s ‘phonebook’. Browsers engage with domain names through IPs and DNS helps bridge the experience. These interconnections have stable and identifiable names and patterns that are blocked upon hitting the red flags.

NordVPN has a flawless reputation of concealing and warping DNS and IPs so ingeniously that the standard, generalized protection protocols that are supposed to seek them out, can’t do that with this tool. Browse from whenever with NordVPN, toggle between its servers and rest assured: you are invisible.

We’ve run tests using different sites that detect if there is a DNS leak having NordVPN turned on. All 5 sites we used have shown no DNS leakage. You may try IPLeak.net, Perfect-Privacy.com, IPC.ax, or other websites to test this tool’s ‘no leaks’ feature. With this VPN service, you can be sure your private data is perfectly safe.

9. Efficient Customer Support

No matter how advanced you are with technologies, you may always have an issue you will need some help with. This is especially true if we talk about VPN services. Say, you need to check the encryption that the provider offers for your particular router. Or you have some troubles with setting everything up.

And if you are quite new to this technology, you will most definitely face some issues at a certain point. So having good support is crucial. Just imagine waiting for hours for an answer when you need help right here right now.

Most providers don’t offer extensive support, which is bad. But that’s not our case. NordVPN has pretty much perfect support for its customers. You can get in touch with the support team by writing them at [email protected]. Also, there is a live chat which is simply amazing.

The support system is available via live chat 24/7/365. So you can just drop the line and helpful agents will answer you quite quickly.

Another story is going on with emails. The support team answers quite quickly. Assistants will help you out both with information regarded questions and technical issues. So if you have some bigger problems with your VPN, we’d advise you to try the email.

NordVPN has a pretty vast knowledge base with a lot of detailed articles. We looked there for solutions for various issues, and every time we found a relevant article. So there is a great chance that you can just read a tutorial and figure the solution by yourself without talking to the support team.

Cons of NordVPN

1. Expensive monthly plan and questionable pricing packages

The regular payment packages are quite expensive for this tool. They may range from $11.95 to $430 during no-discount periods and depending on the plan. We advise to wait for discounts or NordVPN coupons and then get the full feature arsenal for an embarrassingly low price.

2. Support team answers in live chat may be not quite informative

You may be not quite satisfied with the answers of Support team, though. We contacted the support via the live chat three times on different matters, and every time we got a copy pasted text as an answer. So we’ve figured that chat is working more like some kind of search instrument that helps you finding the right article in the knowledgebase.

3. Not the most transparent business

You’ll have to pick your battles here, dear reader. We’ve mentioned that the business operates in Panama, which is under no one’s jurisdiction and does not interfere with the company’s actions there. Servers are stationary, located throughout the planet. Finances are handled, most likely, in schemes.

Considering the fact that NordVPN is a tool to bypass official blockades and censorship of content for a set of users, you can hardly expect the business to act 100% transparently and socially responsible on all levels. You’ll have to turn a blind eye on the company’s not quite transparent business policy, just as it ignores whatever it is you do secretly in the Web via their tool. A win-win, no?

NordVPN Additional Features

The provider offers some additional features that can improve the protection:

• Kill Switch – if turned on the system will interrupt the connection once the VPN goes down. Quite a useful feature that can save your privacy.
• DNS Leak Protection. When the VPN connection is set manually, the device is exposed to the potential DNS leak. Turn on this tool to not let the leak happen.
• Onion over VPN. If you want some more protection visiting the TOR network, you can use NordVPN to stream the traffic through provider’s servers and just then let it reach the Onion Router.
• It is a vital feature for those who use a VPN for streaming. With its help you can access more than 400 geo-restricted services.
• Double Data Protection. This is a truly unique feature that will run your traffic through two double vpn servers and only then route it to the destination point. Thus, your data is encrypted two times and can’t be tracked anyhow. Although, this feature cuts the connection speed significantly.
• Obfuscated Servers. Users who need to overcome advanced censorship systems of their countries (like in China or Russia) may use obfuscated servers specially developed for this purpose.

About NordVPN

NordVPN is based in Panama, according to the website of the provider. It is great because this country doesn’t obey any jurisdiction. Therefore, authorities cannot demand any user data from the provider. Although, when we bought the account to write this review of NordVPN, the banking system has displayed that the payment went to the US-based company – CloudVPN Inc.

It made us question if the service is indeed located in Panama. So we contacted the support team addressing this question to them. The thing is that CloudVPN is used only to collect payments to be able to accept more transactions since banks don’t trust payment requests from Panama. NordVPN itself is truly operating in Panama.

It makes a lot of sense, and such an answer has totally satisfied us. So we moved on to the next step of our NordVPN review – servers. Currently, this service has over 5,700 operating servers, that are located in 62 countries. It is really impressive – you can meet the VPN provider with so many servers quite rarely.

Being a tool to conceal your digital identity and prints, little is publicly known about NordVPN’s conception and true story. It was founded in 2012, all the official data on it, like payment destinations, server locations, and offices are genuine, and you can receive commentary on any info about the company from its live chat. Otherwise, no juicy details are available on the open Net, except NordVPN having the mission to liberate the Internet from and for everybody.

But one thing confused us – a lot of servers are located in the UK and the US. Usually, providers prefer to choose other countries that are not included in the Five Eyes jurisdiction. It is worth mentioning, though, that NordVPN has servers all over the world, providing users with locations in Asia, Europe, South, and Central America. Even the Middle East and India are covered.

As you can see, the locations of servers are diverse, which is a significant advantage for the VPN service. Since a lot of customers use it while traveling to protect their devices from malefactors or to access the content that is censored in certain countries, they will appreciate servers that are located not far away from them. The shorter the distance is, the higher is the connection speed user gets.

How to Install NordVPN on Windows

The app is easy to install, and you won’t require any skills beyond your usual installation of any regular programs on Windows. In a matter of a few short steps, you will have the app installed and at your disposal without any obstacles or unclarities.

Firstly, you’ll have to access the website and download the app on your computer. Secondly, open the downloaded file. In the pop-up window, ‘yes’ to install the app, ‘install’ to commence it, and see it open itself in a new window. After that, the app’s straightforward interface will guide you through setting up your account and starting NordVPN based on the type of content you’d like to access.

You can check out an in-depth walkthrough of all the necessary steps and a tutorial on the installation and registration process in here.

Install NordVPN on Mac

NordVPN is also available for Mac users. They couldn’t just pull you out on such a good product! The installation procedure is slightly different, but everything is smooth and understandable, no extra IT-muscle will be needed during this process.

Using the download link, download the installation package to your macOS. Then, find the corresponding file in your “Downloads” folder, click on it. An “Install” window will pop up, where you’ll have to click “Continue,” which will guide you through the automated installation process. You’ll find the shortcut to NordVPN in the “Applications” folder. After you open it, NordVPN will lead you through an easy procedure of setting up your account and launching the tool.

NordVPN Compared to Other VPNs

All those praises sung above to NordVPN are what it does deserve, indeed. But how does it fare in comparison to other VPN tools? As they say, “The devil is in the details,” so comparing NordVPN to other VPN tools will mostly reveal that it is the little things that matter and create the overall, greater impression.

NordVPN vs. CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost VPN is a great VPN tool to use, offering really great speed, relative shrouding and ease of use. It’s a simple, fairly good VPN tool. But it’s more of a marine while NordVPN is an artillery. To know more, check our full comparison of these two VPN’s.

NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN

Another relatively nice tool, ExpressVPN, has servers in 140+ locations and offers access to streaming and torrenting. However, compared to NordVPN, its security, stealth, and servers are definitely way less.

More details about comparison are available here.

NordVPN vs. Hide.me

Hide.me has better VPN protocols and algorithms compared to the previous two, as well as it is fairly secure. But it does have way less servers, is not good with outsmarting Netflix and is more expensive.

Check our more detailed comparison to know more features of these two VPNs.

NordVPN vs. IPVanish

IPVanish is another good VPN tool, but due to its lower sophistication in server count, mostly, and protocols, it’s not able to beat the Netflix and HBO filters. It’s more expensive but it does offer a key for 10 devices.

Here you can look through our comparison and know more about the features your are interested in.

NordVPN vs. ProtonVPN

Finally, the closest match in terms of security and protocols – ProtonVPN. It has the AES-256 encryption, provides access to streaming and torrenting, is a bit more expensive but offers up to 10 keys and all that, but it has very few servers and server locations, which means you will get caught and blocked more often. More detailed comparison is available here.

Now, you’ve seen them all. Not only NordVPN is outstanding in offering the maximum a VPN can provide, it also boosts that performance thanks to its 5,000+ servers all over the world. Just for $2.99/3 years, you’ll get the best encryption, safety, shrouding, speed, and access. Check those review links above for full comparison tables to make an educated decision.

Our Verdict

We definitely recommend this provider. It is a reliable and pretty fast VPN that has a lot of useful features. It is easy to use, and the interface is very simple and intuitive. With as many servers as NordVPN has, it is quite unlikely that you won’t find the location that will let you access content and won’t cut your connection speed.

Remember that NordVPN is not just a VPN. It will provide you with military-class encryption, hide you from the predominant majority of trackers and scanners, conceal your print, protect your from malware and fill your gas tank! – Just kidding.

But, seriously: NordVPN is an ultimate VPN tool to let you browse safely and anonymously, accessing the content you otherwise wouldn’t get, and all that firepower and content for only $2.99 during sales.If you’ve already landed on this blog post, being interested in VPNs, there is no reason at this point why you shouldn’t get this particular one.

Some will say that this VPN service is too expensive. But if you’re planning to use it for a long time, you can go for long-term plans. Then it won’t cost you much more than any other provider. And you will get really high-quality software.

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