NordVPN Review 2024: A Fast, Feature-Packed VPN

A virtual private network tunnels your web traffic through an encrypted server, granting you an extra layer of privacy from internet service providers, government agencies or your school’s network administration. The extra protection comes with a trade-off: Using a VPN slows down your internet speed. 

NordVPN boasts reliable and competitive speeds, according to CNET’s hands-on VPN testing, resulting in the least internet speed degradation of any provider we’ve analyzed. 

It’s not just fast. NordVPN brings a lot more to the table: It’s secure, competitively priced and loaded with user-friendly apps. That well-rounded performance makes Nord a solid VPN for everyone from privacy-concerned users to entertainment enthusiasts. In our 2024 hands-on assessment of NordVPN, we ran over 250 internet speed tests, streamed hours of videos and tested its apps on a smorgasbord of devices. We also analyzed its price and compared NordVPN’s value to competitors. 

While NordVPN tops every VPN we’ve tested in the speed category, it scored lower than some of its competitors on transparency (it has undergone fewer independent audits) and accessibility (there are cheaper options with more simultaneous connections). Overall, NordVPN is one of the top three best VPNs recommended by our expert reviewers. See here for more info on how we test VPNs.

Speed: Blazing fast

• Speed loss: 11.1% average
• Number of servers: 6,300-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 tests, CNET Labs clocked a best-in-class average speed loss of 11.1% when using NordVPN, earning it the accolade of CNET’s fastest VPN. For comparison, other top VPNs we’ve tested include Mullvad VPN with a 13% average speed loss, Surfshark which saw 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 can use to establish a connection. Using Nord’s proprietary WireGuard-based protocol, called NordLynx, CNET measured an average internet speed loss of just 3.19% on Windows and 12.56% on MacOS. Nord recommends that most people stick with NordLynx, and that’s my preferred VPN protocol when using NordVPN — especially for streaming videos in 4K ultra-high-definition on services like Netflix or Disney Plus. NordLynx uses double NAT to create a secure connection without storing potentially identifying information like IP addresses. If you’re a NordVPN user, its NordLynx protocol should maintain the fastest possible internet speeds without compromising on privacy and security. 

Using OpenVPN on Macs, our speed loss was an outstanding 10.08%, and it averaged 18.57% with Windows. Whether you choose NordLynx or OpenVPN, Nord ensures blazing-fast speeds that are great for bandwidth-intensive applications like 4K video streaming, Zoom calls or uploading YouTube videos.

NordVPN has a solid roster of global servers

NordVPN has over 6,300 servers — more overall than competitors including ExpressVPN (3,000-plus) and Surfshark (3,200-plus servers) but fewer than ProtonVPN (8,100-plus). With servers in 111 countries, Nord’s global reach is slightly more than Express (105), Surfshark (100) and PIA (90-plus), but just shy of Proton VPN (112). Regular globetrotters will find that Nord is one of the best VPNs for travel because it provides a generous server network.

Key takeaway: NordVPN is hands-down the fastest VPN we benchmarked, with minimal speed loss regardless of which VPN protocol you select. Its extensive server network should work for many folks, with servers in as many, if not more, countries than most rivals.

Cost: Sweet introductory pricing, but industry-standard price hikes

• $13 monthly, $60 annually (then $140 per year) or $83 total for two years (then $140 annually)
• Money-back guarantee: 30 days
• Payment options: Credit card/debit card, PayPal, AmazonPay, Google Pay, cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum and so on) and retail stores
• Apps available: Windows, 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 price aligns with most of its competitors. Its $60 annual plan starts cheaper than many other VPN providers, including its neck-and-neck rival, ExpressVPN, higher than Surfshark’s $45 annual introductory price and tied 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 stays at $100 annually, Proton renews at $80 and Surfshark renews at a cost-effective $60. Luckily, you can stack subscriptions — so if you buy a Nord VPN two-year subscription, then see a sweet sale around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can snag another two-year bundle to top up your account. Then, you won’t need to worry about a price hike for another few years.

Although its two-year tier (which sets you back $83 total) offers the cheapest annual cost, we don’t recommend signing up for more than a year at a time because of how quickly things change in the VPN space. Your initially fast VPN that’s great for unblocking Netflix might be slower, suffer a data breach or get acquired by a disreputable company over a year. 

Price hikes are the industry standard, with many VPN companies renewing at higher rates after your introductory period. While I understand price hikes, they’re disappointing for users who then need to babysit their subscriptions. To be fair, Nord includes fine print on its checkout page informing you about renewal prices and promises to email you before your new subscription starts. But actually finding the price of an automatic renewal requires digging around — I’d like to see it more clearly displayed on the Subscription Terms page that informs you of future price hikes.

Despite its higher upfront cost, I prefer ExpressVPN’s price transparency — you renew at the same rate as you signed up at. Private Internet Access follows suit with its $40 per year pricing. The value-packed Surfshark sets you back $48 for your first year, then $60 annually. Ultimately, NordVPN’s starting costs are great, but increases for subsequent 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 those are overkill for the average person. Thankfully, you can avoid raised prices by renewing early or buying another one- or two-years of service which stacks on top of your existing subscription. For instance, if you’ve got one year left on a two-year plan, you can buy another two-year bundle extending your subscription package to three years total.

If you’re unsatisfied with your service, Nord offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ve got plenty of payment options, as well. Aside from the usual suspects (credit or debit cards, PayPal, AmazonPay and Google Pay), Nord includes cryptocurrency and retail purchases. Paying with crypto delivers pseudo-anonymity, making it more difficult to trace that transaction back to you, a nice bonus for privacy-focused consumers. The ability to buy a NordVPN subscription online or boxed subscription codes in-store at brick-and-mortar retailers such as Best Buy or Walmart makes it one of the most accessible VPNs on the market.

App performance

NordVPN runs on almost any device you can think of, including Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android/Android TV, iOS/iPadOS, Apple TV and browsers. I appreciate that its apps remain uncomplicated without sacrificing usability. You can fire up Nord and connect to an optimal server using its Quick Connect feature. Alternatively, you can select any of its over 6,300 servers spread across 111 countries. Other competitors, including ExpressVPN and Surfshark, boast even more intuitive apps. Nord’s apps aren’t difficult, but I found ExpressVPN’s apps even easier with their minimalist design.

I liked Nord’s feature-packed apps. You can select from different VPN protocols, such as OpenVPN and NordLynx (a WireGuard-based proprietary protocol). There are plenty of advanced options, like split tunneling, which lets you use a VPN with some applications but not others. For example, I used split tunneling to stream an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Disney Plus in my Chrome browser while excluding my Steam games client from using my VPN. This let me install Halo: The Master Chief Collection without throttling my download speed in Steam, but stay entertained while waiting to play. Nord’s Apple client lacks split tunneling, although MacOS doesn’t play nicely with that feature anyway.

You can install NordVPN on as many devices as you like, but you’re limited to a still-generous 10 simultaneous connections. Essentially, you can only have a VPN actively running on 10 gadgets at once. Many of our favorite VPNs, like PIA, Surfshark and IPVanish, provide unlimited connections. ProtonVPN also gives you 10, while ExpressVPN limits you to eight, so NordVPN is among the most magnanimous VPN providers. Granted, most folks won’t need to use a VPN on 10 devices at the same time, and if you do, a VPN on your router offers whole-home coverage. Case in point: Even while testing Nord on a bevy of devices for this review, I never ran into a situation where I needed more than six simultaneous connections. Even families seeking to share a VPN account and power users should be fine with 10. 

I’d also have preferred a graphical user interface Linux app instead of Nord’s current command line interface option, although that’s admittedly a niche request and didn’t factor into my overall assessment.

NordVPN is excellent for unblocking geographically protected content

Streaming with NordVPN is generally solid. During my testing, I didn’t experience any buffering or stuttering, even when watching 4K videos. 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 unblocked US and UK Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus libraries on most devices. I encountered a few issues watching Prime Video on Windows and MacOS because Amazon detected a VPN running — however, Android/Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV worked swimmingly. But CNET reviewers had a few issues with Nord’s Apple TV app — its side-scrolling design was clunky to operate, and we experienced errors streaming foreign Netflix libraries and US Hulu. Thankfully, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video and US Netflix streamed fine. While other Nord apps work swimmingly, if you’re an Apple TV aficionado, you may want to look elsewhere. Currently, several other VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, Surfshark, PIA and IPVanish, have TVOS apps. Thankfully, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu were solid. Because of how recent Apple TV VPN support is, we’ve had issues with other VPN apps, so we expect and hope the streaming experience improves with virtual private networks on TVOS.

Meshnet and dedicated IPs are nice to have

NordVPN’s feature-rich apps include some useful options for power users. Meshnet lets you create your own personal VPN server in a more intuitive manner than going the do-it-yourself route (speaking from experience). You can establish your own local area network with devices located anywhere. For example, Meshnet allows you to host remote LAN parties or access files on a home server while abroad.

While Meshnet is free, Nord offers dedicated IP addresses as paid upgrades. When connecting to a VPN server, your traffic gets rerouted through a different IP address, so this works much the same way — except only you have access to this IP address. The benefits of a dedicated IP address include avoiding blocklists (which occasionally happen with public VPN servers) that may result in CAPTCHAs or restricted access to certain streaming services and websites.

Customer service is good… once you get to a person

Although NordVPN is pretty intuitive, you might have billing questions or need help troubleshooting. Thankfully, Nord has comprehensive help guides, including frequently asked questions and setup tutorials for installing a VPN on various devices. NordVPN doesn’t offer over-the-phone customer support, but you can contact Nord via email or 24/7 live chat. 

I spent a bit of time jumping through hoops with the live chat tool before reaching an actual representative. Initially, I asked whether there was an Apple TV client (there is) and got a canned response that there wasn’t one. From there, I politely typed “Hi, can I talk to a real person?” at which point the chatbot directed me to the correct support representative. The process for getting in touch with an actual human requires selecting the right department, then connecting to a NordVPN server and running a DNS leak test, screenshotting the results and uploading those. I suppose the bot-first interaction and screenshot proof of existing Nord subscription weeds out spammers, but the initial incorrect information I received wasn’t helpful. 

Once I got in touch with a human, the customer support representative was knowledgeable and helpful. They satisfactorily directed me to the information I needed, provided a coupon code (one of my questions was about paying with cryptocurrency) and even asked 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 offers polished apps, stellar streaming service unblocking and unique, useful features. Its introductory pricing on the annual and two-year plans makes Nord a terrific deal, although future price hikes diminish its value.

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

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

NordVPN is headquartered in Panama, which lies outside of the Five Eyes and Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing communities. Although the average person seeking to watch foreign Netflix libraries or hide torrenting activity from their ISP might not need to care about that, folks with serious privacy concerns — like investigative journalists or political activists — will appreciate Nord’s jurisdiction. 

Like most VPN providers, Nord touts a strict no-logs policy, meaning that it doesn’t store potentially identifying information about you, such as your IP address or online browsing activity. Although zero logging is tough to prove — you can and should be skeptical — Nord continues shoring up its transparency. A 2023 audit by Deloitte, its fourth independent audit overall, found no evidence of logging by NordVPN. Notably, Nord contracted Deloitte for audits in 2022 and 2023, a trend I hope continues. More transparency fosters additional peace of mind. 

In a February 2024 blog post, Nord announced a move away from a warrant canary method to publishing its transparency reports. I like this approach a lot. Differing from zero-log audits, transparency reports provide insight into legal requests a VPN provider receives from law enforcement or government agencies, and accordingly reveal how a VPN company handled those situations. Its transparency report details the number of requests from government institutions and DMCA requests, along with the number of orders that resulted in any user information disclosures (which is thankfully none).

Other VPN providers showcase more annual audits — ExpressVPN, for instance, has undergone 19 audits since 2018 — as opposed to Nord’s single annual audit. When we asked NordVPN representatives about the seemingly smaller scope of its annual 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, less audits with bigger scope better cover parts that interconnect different features and services. These parts otherwise might get overlooked.”

I understand Nord’s perspective. More comprehensive audits analyzing servers, apps and infrastructure can offer insight into the ecosystem as a whole. I agree with Nord’s comment about the interconnectedness of features, although such a massive audit in a short timespan — Nord’s Deloitte audit lasted a week — is just a snapshot of the 365-day calendar year. The VPN industry is moving toward more all-encompassing audits, which I like; Surfshark and PIA also partnered with Deloitte for annual audits, for example. As a compromise, I’d like to see these become more frequent than once a year.

You’ll find a robust slate of privacy and security amenities, including a kill switch (which cuts off your internet connection if your VPN disconnects), double-hop, obfuscated servers and Onion over VPN (Tor). Nord’s kill switch worked brilliantly. My IP address remained hidden even when my Wi-Fi went out and while switching VPN servers. I also didn’t detect any DNS leaks.

NordVPN provides beefed up privacy with advanced features

Onion Over VPN and Double VPN are neat inclusions for privacy-focused users — think investigative journalists or political activists. (If you just want to access foreign Netflix libraries or torrents, you probably don’t need either feature). Onion Over VPN uses Tor for bolstered privacy by encrypting your traffic even more than a standard VPN connection, making it more difficult to trace back traffic to its source (your IP address). A Double VPN similarly shores up your privacy by tunneling your web traffic through a second VPN server instead of the standard one. Both options offer additional privacy versus a typical out-of-the-box VPN connection, with the core difference being the underlying technology used to bolster encryption: A Double VPN uses a second VPN server, whereas Tor Over VPN relies on the Onion network.

In a Sept. 30, 2024, blog post, NordVPN announced that it rolled out post-quantum encryption to its Linux app. Post-quantum cryptography is a cutting-edge cybersecurity advancement that provides better protection against threats from quantum computers, which boast massive decryption capabilities. A Nord representative told me via email that the company aims to bring post-quantum protection to the rest of its app fleet by the first quarter of 2025. Currently, only a handful of VPN providers, including ExpressVPN and Mullvad, have post-quantum encryption.

NordVPN’s privacy policy is standard fare

As part of CNET’s VPN reviews, we read through every part of a company’s privacy policy to make sure there’s nothing sneaky waiting to surprise users. A few parts of NordVPN’s privacy policy made me uncertain about Nord’s dedication to protecting user data, so I reached out to Nord for more information. The responses from Nord put my mind at ease, signaling that much of my initial concern stemmed from the difficulty of creating legalese in a digestible way for consumers. While I think Nord has an opportunity to clarify some points in its privacy policy, its explanations essentially convey that it’s legally protecting itself as virtually all companies do. 

One section 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 said 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 simply do not monitor or have such information.”

I also had a few questions about this portion 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 which use our products as a tool for their business) with Nord group companies for marketing of their B2B products purposes (business users have a right to object to such transfer at any time).”

Nord told 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, act as sales points and similar and data has to be shared between them.”

Finally, about 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 situations, Nord will continue to ensure the confidentiality of your personal data.”

When asked for further clarification, Nord said, “This is a standard clause, used by the legal team to cover some theoretical possibilities in edge cases.”

I’m not sure I fully agree about its business transfers section being a standard fare. Yes, acquisitions are common in cross-industry, particularly in the VPN space. Case in point: Nord Security merged with Surfshark in 2022. To assuage users with more serious privacy concerns, I think a simple solution would be clarifying the general extent of what personal data is shared, why and under what circumstances (such as basic account information to continue service in the event of a merger). By making its privacy policy easier to understand for its customers, it still maintains legal protection without worrying its users. 

Overall, I was satisfied with Nord’s explanations, although I nevertheless think Nord could improve its privacy policy language to be even clearer for users. For instance, PIA’s privacy policy includes the legal jargon you’d expect but adds summaries synthesizing sections into more digestible information. ExpressVPN does a great job with its privacy policy, explicitly clarifying how it protects your personal data, even in the event of a sale or merger: 

“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 considerably clearer about its user data policy.

Key takeaway: NordVPN offers a slew of privacy amenities and published its first transparency report in February 2024. Its privacy policy isn’t as reader-friendly as those of some competitors though. Overall, Nord is taking steps in the right direction.

NordVPN is fast, private and feature-packed

NordVPN is a popular choice, because it strikes a nice balance between remaining user-friendly and full-featured, all without sacrificing speed on most platforms. Our CNET Labs tests clocked a class-leading 11.1% average internet download speed loss. The service’s focus on privacy means you’ll get niche but useful features like a Double VPN and Tor over VPN for enhanced encryption. In addition, regular no-logs audits foster transparency.

While Nord’s one- and two-year upfront pricing is cheaper than rivals including ExpressVPN, price hikes mean that after a year or two, Nord isn’t the best value. Additionally, Nord’s apps, while intuitive enough, could be even more streamlined and user-friendly. I’d also like even stronger transparency, notably improved clarity in its privacy policy.

Ultimately, NordVPN remains an excellent VPN for power users seeking fast internet speeds and cutting-edge features, catering to both casual VPN newcomers and folks with serious privacy concerns alike.