How to Get NordVPN for Free in January 2021

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 NordVPN allows six simultaneous connections, this allows you to encrypt traffic on Windows, MacOS, Fire TV, and the rest of your internet-connected devices.

iOS Free Trial Setup Guide

1. Go to the App Store and download the NordVPN app onto your iPhone or iPad.
2. Once installed, open NordVPN and tap Start Subscription. Confirm the subscription using Face ID, Touch ID, or by entering your Apple ID password.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Tap Cancel Free Trial and Confirm the cancellation. You will still have access to NordVPN for 7 days and will not be charged.

Android Free Trial Setup Guide

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Store app. Search for NordVPN and download the app.
2. Once installed, open the NordVPN app and tap Sign Up. Enter your email address and a password when prompted.
3. Select the 1 Month payment option and tap Continue. Confirm your free trial by tapping Subscribe when the payment screen shows.
4. Press Accept on the VPN configuration notice. You will now have full access to NordVPN.
5. Open the Google Play Store app and tap the hamburger menu icon on the top left of the screen. Then tap Subscriptions.
6. 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.

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.

1. Go to the NordVPN website and click Start Now. This will take you to the account creation page.
2. 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 to the 1-month plan.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. Contact NordVPN’s live chat customer support. This can be done by clicking the chat bubble from the bottom-right corner of NordVPN’s support page.
2. 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.
3. 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 cancelled. You will receive your refund within 5-10 business days.

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.

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.

• Is a NordVPN Free Trial Safe?
• Should I Use a Free VPN Instead?
• Can I Get a Free Trial Without a Credit Card?
• How Much Does NordVPN Cost?
• What Payment Methods Does NordVPN Accept?
• Can I Get a Discount on a Paid Subscription?

Is a NordVPN Free Trial Safe?

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 unmatched safety and security performance. NordVPN’s free trial doesn’t log any user data, it encrypts traffic using AES-256 with perfect forward secrecy, and it uses the VPN’s private colocated servers.

The one safety issue to note is that NordVPN was subject to a server breach in 2018. However, this only served to prove how safe NordVPN is. Although a server was accessed, the VPN tunnel was not compromised and no traffic was monitored. NordVPN has also improved its security since, introducing bug bounty programs and diskless RAM servers. You can read more about the NordVPN server breach here.

Should I Just Use a Free VPN Instead?

Sadly, the vast majority of free VPNs are not safe to use. Our independent investigation found that 10 of the most popular free mobile VPNs in the US are secretly Chinese-owned, with many collecting an invasive amount of user data.

There are few safe free VPNs, though, but these do come with limitations. We currently rank Windscribe as the best free VPN, as it’s the only one that unblocks streaming sites 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.

After we contacted it, a NordVPN representative told us that it terminated this plan due to “widespread abuse.” The representative stated that users were signing up for the free trial multiple times by using fake email accounts, thereby 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 $3.71 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.

What Payment Methods Does NordVPN Accept?

NordVPN accepts the following payment methods:

• Credit and debit cards
• Direct debit
• Amazon Pay
• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Ripple
• Alipay
• UnionPay

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 NordVPN’s emergency VPN assistance page.