Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio
On Android and iPhone, you'll be automatically enrolled on the seven-day free trial when you sign up in the app. To get NordVPN for free elsewhere, sign up and get a refund using its 30-day money-back guarantee.
Sadly, free VPNs usually come with restrictions that limit their functionality, or they collect user data to sell onto advertisers.
That’s why it’s better to try out a premium VPN like NordVPN using a free trial or a money-back guarantee.
There is no way to get NordVPN totally for free. Instead, NordVPN offers a seven-day free trial to all new iOS and Android subscribers.
During the 30 days, you’ll have free access to one of the fastest VPNs available. You’ll also be able to unblock Netflix and other streaming services, without data caps or feature limitations.
Using the 30-day refund guarantee to get NordVPN for free is simple and doesn’t involve any risk.
How to Get a NordVPN Free Trial
The NordVPN free trial is only available when signing up on Android and iOS. But once set up, you can use the VPN on any platform.
As the VPN allows six simultaneous connections, you can therefore use NordVPN for free on Windows, Mac, Fire TV, and the rest of your internet-connected devices.
Once installed, open NordVPN and tap Start Subscription. Confirm the subscription using Face ID, Touch ID, or by entering your Apple ID password.
After following the prompts, enter your iOS device’s password to add the VPN configurations. You will then be able to connect to a server and use NordVPN.
Reopen the App Store and tap your account photo on the top-right of your screen. Then, tap Subscriptions. Select NordVPN from the list of options.
Tap Cancel Free Trial and Confirm the cancellation. You will still have access to NordVPN for 7 days and will not be charged.
EXPERT TIP:
To avoid accidental charges, make sure to cancel your NordVPN free trial immediately. You will still have access for the following seven days.
Once installed, open the NordVPN app and tap Sign Up. Enter your email address and a password when prompted.
Select the 1 Month payment option and tap Continue. Confirm your free trial by tapping Subscribe when the payment screen shows.
Press Accept on the VPN configuration notice. You will now have full access to NordVPN.
Open the Google Play Store app and tap the hamburger menu icon on the top left of the screen. Then tap Subscriptions.
Press NordVPN and tap Cancel Subscription. Confirm by tapping Cancel Subscription again in the follow-up notice. You will still have full access to NordVPN for seven days and will not be billed.
How to Use NordVPN’s Money-Back Guarantee
To hack NordVPN’s money-back guarantee and get 30-days for free, just follow the steps below. This method works on both Windows and MacOS devices.
Go to the NordVPN website and press the Get NordVPN button. This will take you to the subscription page.
Select a subscription length, create an account, and enter your payment details. You will be refunded at the end of your 30 day trial period. To reduce the upfront cost, we recommend you sign up for the 1-month plan.
Once you’ve set up your account, go to the download page of the NordVPN website. This page shows the apps available for various devices. Click Download for the relevant platform and follow the installation prompts.
Open the NordVPN app and log in with your new account details. Connect to a server location of your choice, or click Quick Connect for the fastest speeds.
For the next 30 days, you can use NordVPN without any restrictions. While connected, you’ll be concealing your IP address, your traffic will be secure, and you’ll have access to 14 international Netflix libraries.
How to Cancel NordVPN & Get a Full Refund
To cancel your NordVPN 30-day free trial and receive a full refund, follow the steps below.
Contact NordVPN’s live chat customer support, by clicking the chat bubble from the bottom-right corner of NordVPN’s support page.
Tell the NordVPN chatbot that you would like a refund and state the payment method you used when signing up. You will then be transferred to a NordVPN Customer Support Manager.
The chat agent will ask a series of questions regarding your cancellation. Once answered, you will be given confirmation that your NordVPN free trial has been canceled. You will receive your refund within 5-10 business days.
EXPERT TIP:
To take full advantage of NordVPN’s money-back guarantee, make sure to cancel as close to the 30 days as possible.
Why Choose NordVPN?
After reviewing 68 VPNs, we found that NordVPN is the second-best VPN available. It has extremely fast connection speeds, a secure no-logs policy, and it unblocks 14 Netflix libraries.
What’s more, all these features are available to use with the VPN’s seven-day free trial, and with its 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here is a quick summary of the pros and cons to using NordVPN’s free trial:
PROS
CONS
Unlimited access for up to 30 days
No data cap or bandwidth throttling
Works with Netflix, Hulu & Prime Video
Torrenting permitted on 85% of servers
Lightning-fast speeds
Credit card required on sign up
Mobile device required for ‘true’ free trial
PayPal payment not accepted
All of NordVPN’s apps are easy-to-use, so you’ll have no problem getting started with the VPN. It’s also backed by industry-leading security features including AES-256 encryption, a safe VPN kill switch, and DNS leak protection.
NordVPN also has the fastest version of the WireGuard protocol we’ve tested. Called NordLynx, the VPN has optimized the protocol for the best connection speeds. When connecting from London in our latest series of tests, our 100Mbps connection stayed at a speedy 98Mbps on a nearby server, and an impressive 93Mbps when connected to a US server.
In addition, we found that NordVPN unblocks US Netflix in 4K UHD, along with BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max. We were also able to torrent using 4,000 of NordVPN’s P2P-optimized servers, which are tuned to facilitate fast and private torrent downloads.
SUMMARY
NordVPN is a well-rounded VPN that includes more features than most other services. Although it doesn’t provide a true free trial on all platforms, its generous 30-day money-back guarantee allows you to use the VPN without paying a cent.
How Does NordVPN Compare to Other Free Trial VPNs?
NordVPN is one of the best VPN services on the market. It includes a seven-day free trial on mobile and a 30-day money-back guarantee on all platforms.
Taking advantage of the free trial and money-back guarantee will allow you to use NordVPN for free, but there are important differences that you should know about.
Here is the difference between a VPN free trial and a money-back guarantee:
Money-Back Guarantee
You have to pay for a NordVPN subscription upfront, but you’re then guaranteed a refund if you cancel within 30 days. You will receive your refund up to 10 business days after requesting it.
Free Trial
Only available when signing up on iOS and Android and lasts for just seven days. Although it requires a valid payment method, NordVPN’s free trial doesn’t take any payment until the trial period is over, so you never have to spend any money.
Generally speaking, we recommend you use NordVPN’s money-back guarantee and not its free trial. Although you will have to pay the $11.95 subscription fee upfront, you can use NordVPN for up to 30 days, compared with just seven days for the free trial.
Unlike many other VPNs, NordVPN’s money-back guarantee doesn’t come with any limits, either. This means that you can stream, torrent, and encrypt as much data as you want for free, so long as you remember to request your refund before the 30 days are up.
Yes. By taking advantage of the NordVPN free trial and money-back guarantee, you will be using the exact same product as paying subscribers.
This means you’ll benefit from NordVPN’s world-class security performance. The VPN service doesn’t log any user data, it encrypts traffic using AES-256 with perfect forward secrecy, and it doesn’t leak IP or DNS credentials.
NordVPN has further improved its security by introducing bug bounty programs and diskless RAM servers.
It’s the only free VPN that unblocks streaming platforms like US Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
However, its free plan comes with a 10GB monthly data allowance — allowing you to stream just four hours of HD video per month.
On the other hand, despite giving free users unlimited bandwidth, ProtonVPN comes with just three server locations. It also doesn’t unblock streaming services and it actively blocks torrenting traffic.
As a result, we recommend you stick to NordVPN’s free trial if you can’t afford a monthly VPN subscription. NordVPN doesn’t impose any restrictions on free trial users, so you can connect to servers in 59 countries and don’t have to worry about a monthly data allowance.
Can I Get NordVPN Free Trial Without a Credit Card?
No, NordVPN no longer allows you to sign up for a free trial without a credit card.
NordVPN previously offered a three-day free trial that didn’t require a credit card or other payment method, but it’s now been discontinued.
A NordVPN representative told us that it terminated the free trial plan due to “widespread abuse.” Users were apparently signing up for the free trial multiple times using fake email accounts. This was overloading the VPN’s server network and worsening the experience for paying subscribers.
Although we hope it reintroduces this in the future, you currently need a valid payment method to make use of NordVPN’s free trial.
How Much Does NordVPN Cost?
NordVPN is a superb VPN service, so it’s certainly worth paying for a full subscription if you want to use it for longer than 30 days.
NordVPN comes with three subscription plans, allowing you to pay monthly, yearly, or every two years. The monthly plan costs $11.95 and the yearly plan works out at $4.92 a month. The two-year plan comes with a 68% discount and costs just $3.30 a month.
The large discounts available on the longer-term plans make them a much better deal than paying monthly. The only drawback is that you have to pay the total subscription cost upfront, which is common practice.
When signing up on mobile, you can use your usual payment method on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
Disappointingly, NordVPN does not allow you to pay via PayPal. The VPN provider claims this is to reduce security risks, but we don’t find that claim very convincing. To simplify the signup process, we’d like NordVPN to reintroduce PayPal payments.
Can I Get a Discount on a Paid NordVPN Subscription?
Disappointingly, NordVPN does not allow you to save money through a referral scheme. Some other VPNs, like ExpressVPN, allow you to get 30 days free for every friend you refer to the service.
NordVPN does offer six months free to people “in extreme cases of censorship or online privacy violations.” However, this only applies to journalists, activists and politicians.
If you’re located in a country with aggressive online censorship, notify NordVPN by filling in the form on its emergency VPN assistance page.
Simon is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times, CNet and more. Read full bio
