NordVPN Review

Despite advertising itself as a “true no-logs VPN,” NordVPN retains a small amount of user data: your username and connection timestamps for 15 minutes after a session ends.

While I prefer a true no-logs policy, this data isn’t enough to link your online activity back to you.

To ensure no user data is permanently logged, the VPN uses a RAM-only server network. All of its servers run on volatile memory that wipes your data following a server reboot. This prevents any third-party from extracting your personal information, including the VPN service itself.

This was proven when NordVPN was ordered to surrender user data, as part of a criminal investigation. Thankfully, it was only able to disclose payment-related data and confirmation that a particular email address was also used by a NordVPN account.

Though this isn’t enough to compromise your privacy, I recommend signing up with an anonymous payment method and an email alias.

Private Jurisdiction, Despite Ownership’s EU Location

NordVPN is legally incorporated in Panama, a privacy-friendly jurisdiction with no affiliation to any international surveillance alliances. Panama has strong data privacy protection, allowing the VPN service to only retain minimal user data.

Cyberspace B.V. (Nord Security), the company behind NordVPN, is registered in the Netherlands. After contacting it, a representative confirmed this doesn’t affect NordVPN’s Panama jurisdiction.

NordVPN credits its excellent streaming performance to its branded SmartPlay feature, which switches between DNS servers to help you access geo-blocked content.

I’m never swayed by marketing buzz and, while SmartPlay is highly effective, I can tell you that it’s not unique to NordVPN at all: it’s actually used by many other streaming VPNs like Windscribe and PrivateVPN.

NordVPN’s superior performance is most evident with Netflix, where I was able to access 17 international libraries. What impressed me the most is how the VPN automatically connected me to a server that works with US Netflix, a feat I haven’t seen in any other VPN.

NordVPN works reliably with US Netflix.

I did notice that the VPN can’t stream Netflix’s India and Netherlands libraries. This needs to improve, especially given that rivals VPNs like Windscribe and ExpressVPN successfully unblock these regions.

India seems to be a problem country for NordVPN. In my tests, the VPN struggled to access the most popular Indian platforms, especially JioHotstar, and I ended up using ExpressVPN instead.

Thankfully, NordVPN excels in other international regions, and remains my definitive choice for watching BBC iPlayer. Over years of testing, the VPN has consistently bypassed the platform’s geo-blocks, allowing me to stream live and on-demand content in 1080p (Full HD).

NordVPN is my recommended choice for BBC iPlayer.

It’s an excellent option for US streaming services, too. I usually switch to the New York server to watch YouTube TV, Peacock, and many others, from abroad. It often worked first-time, but there are servers in 54 US cities in case you have any issues.

You can also use its generous spread of US servers to bypass local restrictions on NFL games. It works almost every time, as long as you select a location outside of the blackout zone.

Even in locations as far away as Australia, NordVPN maintained incredibly fast speeds — well above what I typically see from other VPNs.

Out of our top 10 highest rated VPNs, NordVPN went as far as recording the fastest download speeds when connecting to Japan and Canada.

NordVPN can sustain this excellent speed performance as it has one of the largest server networks on the market. It also automatically connects you to a less-congested server, preventing overloaded servers and throttled performance.

If you want an even faster VPN than NordVPN, I suggest using Hotspot Shield. Beware, though, as its close-to-zero speed loss comes with the drawback of an intrusive logging policy and a close-sourced VPN protocol.

The chart below shows how NordVPN’s average download speeds compare to other top-rated VPNs:

All of NordVPN’s apps use NordLynx by default, which is simply WireGuard with the addition of double NAT. Don’t be fooled by this marketing trick: its configuration is no different to any other VPN that uses WireGuard.

The reality is that NordVPN has chosen to brand its protocol to try and differentiate itself.

The VPN uses ChaCha20 to encrypt the traffic in its VPN tunnel and establishes the connection with a 2048-bit DH key.

To verify this worked, I analyzed the data packets passing through our company network using Wireshark. As you can see in the screenshot below, NordVPN’s encryption turned our internet traffic data to random text. This will prevent any third party from monitoring your online activity.

NordVPN secured our internet traffic.

And when I simulated a sudden VPN connection drop, NordVPN’s kill switch also successfully prevented my real IP address from leaking.

NordVPN actually provides two types of kill switch: an internet kill switch and an app kill switch. The former works as normal, cutting your internet if the VPN disconnects, whereas the app kill switch lets you designate specific apps for protection.

I personally like having the system-wide internet kill switch enabled for added security, especially if I’m torrenting files.

The VPN passed all of our data leak tests.

NordVPN’s security infrastructure has also been proven by multiple audits, including a Cure53 audit which reviewed the source code of all the apps and extensions.

You can use NordVPN to connect to almost anywhere in the world.

Using NordVPN, you can browse the internet as if you’re located in many popular countries, including the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.

But what really sets the VPN apart is the number of server locations in Africa and Asia, two continents regularly overlooked by most other VPNs (including ExpressVPN).

This represents an expansion of over 80% compared to 2023, when the VPN had servers in just 60 countries.

A country where NordVPN has really stepped up its presence is the United States. In the past it lagged ExpressVPN and PIA VPN, but now it covers every state with servers in 54 cities.

All of NordVPN’s apps use the simple, but effective, blue and white color palette. It makes the apps look crisp, stylish, and easy to read on all screen sizes.

There are some debatable design choices across apps that did affect my user experience at times.

You can find out how each app looks and feels below:

As shown in its transparency reports, NordVPN has never forwarded a DMCA request to a user. This proves that users’ downloads are kept private and untraceable.

With the recent UX refresh of its apps, NordVPN has finally enabled most of its server locations to support P2P traffic. This means the P2P Specialty servers tab no longer exists, significantly simplifying the search for a nearby P2P-friendly server.

Only these three server locations don’t allow P2P traffic: Albania, Moldova, and North Macedonia.

We suggest you use a P2P server for the fastest download bitrate.

In the table below, you can compare how fast NordVPN downloaded a 20GB torrent versus other VPNs:

As you can see, NordVPN downloaded files faster than most competing services. It’d be an even better VPN for torrenting if it added port forwarding support, but this isn’t essential.

If this is a sticking point for you, Proton VPN includes port forwarding and is an overall excellent product.

You can use NordVPN on multiple devices at once.

If you need to use NordVPN on more than 10 devices, you can install it on your home router, as long as it’s compatible. This only counts as one device toward your limit, but it protects every device connected to your WiFi router.

That said, NordVPN only supports manual router setup, which isn’t suitable for beginners. NordVPN should really develop its own router, with a dedicated web app (like ExpressVPN’s Aircove) to further improve its device compatibility.

If you simply need unlimited simultaneous connections, without needing extended device compatibility, then Surfshark could be a better choice for you.

NordVPN is one of only a few VPNs to include a multi-hop feature. Unlike a standard VPN connection, this routes your internet traffic through two separate VPN servers and encrypts the traffic twice.

This improves your network security by making it more difficult for an attacker to track your traffic and identify your real IP address.

To enable it, find the Specialty servers tab in the app’s server list and select Double VPN.

NordVPN’s multi-hop servers work perfectly.

NordVPN’s Double VPN is a good multi-hop tool, but it’s currently limited to just 10 countries, all in either Asia, North America, or Western Europe. In comparison, Surfshark’s and IPVanish’s dynamic multi-hop features offer a much wider choice of locations.

NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature is one of the best VPN ad and malware blockers I’ve used. Based on my tests, it blocked 100% of ads and 79% of analytic trackers.

An ad blocker improves security as malicious ads are sometimes used to infect your device with malware. By preventing most ads from loading, Threat Protection reduces the risk of your device being compromised.

Meshnet is a unique feature that no other VPN service offers. Available for free, it lets you route internet traffic through a regular internet-connected device, like a laptop, rather than a VPN server.

NordVPN primarily promotes Meshnet as a tool for file-sharing and LAN gaming, but those are both rather niche. Instead, I use Meshnet to connect to my home network while I’m traveling.

It’s also a completely free way to bypass geo-restrictions and even Netflix’s password sharing ban.

I got a residential IP address for free using Meshnet.

NordVPN provides dedicated VPN IPs for an additional $4.19 per month. I was slightly shocked to learn that these IP addresses are linked to your NordVPN account.

This means law enforcement has direct access to a user’s full details if they suspect the IP is tied to illicit activity.

NordVPN’s dedicated IP address is linked to user accounts.

Other VPNs, like CyberGhost and ExpressVPN, have addressed this issue by using a token-based system which keeps your identity anonymous. I hope that NordVPN eventually does the same.