There has been a lot to talk about the Panama-based VPN that has been in the industry for more than ten years. The VPN has made a name by showcasing many powerful, intuitive, and convenient features in exclusive packages; we are discussing everything in this NordVPN review.
Unlike other VPNs, NordVPN doesn’t only allow its users to hide their location behind 5000+ servers but also gives them the freedom to choose a particular server based on the kind of activity they require.
Every VPN has unique features which make it stand out and let readers read their incredibly detailed and unbiased reviews; this review has been compiled so that you will not regret clicking this web page.
How Much Does NordVPN Cost? Affordable and Cheap
NordVPN offers four different pricing plans that are as follows:
- $11.95/month
- $6.99/year
- $3.99/2-years
- $2.99/3-years
While reviewing NordVPN, we find the monthly pricing plan is blowing out of proportion compared to competitors offering more features at a lesser price. If you are out of budget, we suggest and recommend you to go with the 3-year plan, the cheapest and the most catchy.
NOTE: The cost of the 3-year plan is $107.55, which must be paid upfront beforehand.
The signup process is pretty straightforward as an email address; we prefer you to use a disposable one to maintain your anonymity. Once you have signed up, you can download the VPN immediately. You will receive a confirmation email later with some useful links.
NordVPN Payment Method – Convenience at its best!
The feature-rich NordVPN gives a good list of payment options that include;
- PayPal
- Credit Cards
- Cryptocurrency (Bitcoins)
These payment methods are compulsory in every VPN provider as payment flexibility is crucial. A prospective customer may not download NordVPN or enjoy the NordVPN trial if they cannot pay conveniently.
30-Days Refund Policy
A 30-day policy is excellent, but what if it takes 30 more days to process and finalize the refund? It won’t be great. The VPN provider takes up to 30 days to process and refund the money; shouldn’t the refund be as quick as signup? Unfortunately, with NordVPN, this is not the case.
Nord VPN Performance Levels (Speed Test)
This is the tricky part of this review. Features may tell a particular story. However, the performance scores ultimately decide whether a VPN is worth your dime by being the best VPN in the market or just a ladder step while you skip to the top. Let’s crackdown on it, shall we?
In the past, NordVPN was beaten by its main competitor in the market, ExpressVPN. However, in 2018 alone, the performance results of NordVPN scored through the roof.
Here we will be showing you the results of several speed tests conducted to see how efficiently NordVPN handles the security of your data traffic.
For this particular speed test, a 100 Mbps cable internet connection was used, and the results without the VPN were as follows.
And even though the best VPNs in the market scored more than the speed level of 70 Mbps, NordVPN came out victorious by reaching 71.11 Mbps.
Overall, we gained from running these speed tests that NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs in the market, beating its competitors by 4 points, to be exact.
Apps and Supported Devices
Device support of NordVPN gets full stars in our review because it provides apps compatible with all platforms, operating systems OS, and devices. Each device has its designated page where the configuration and NordVPN download setup are available.
The friendly OS includes:
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- Android
- Linux
- Blackberry 10
- Chromium
- Routers
- NAS Systems
- Firefox extensions
- Chrome extensions
NordVPN has apps for both Windows and iOS, Mac, and Android phones. These come with their very own detailed tutorials, making protocol connectivity easy for users using these particular apps along with 40 different mobile OS, Raspberry Pi, and routers.
You can avail of it through the NordVPN chrome extension, easily downloadable through App Store, after which you need to use the NordVPN login page.
That’s not it; 6 simultaneous device connections are also provided by NordVPN, which is a plus for those who want a single connection for a family or a small team.
Features and Add-ons
NordVPN may be a cheaper VPN than most, but that doesn’t mean users miss out on essential features. NordVPN does offer users some pretty great features that include:
- IP hiding
- Kill switch options
- Simultaneous connections for your whole family
- DoubleVPN access, so your data is encrypted twice for security
Kill Switch
Most VPNs‘ problems are that users aren’t always notified when the connection is lost. However, when the connection is lost while using NordVPN, the software automatically pulls the kill switch on your relationship, thereby terminating any programs that may reveal your identity to connect to the internet you are using.
DNS Leak Protection
The problem with manually setting up a VPN connection is that you as a user become prone to DNS leaks. NordVPN has measures will automatically counter such leaks and protect you against harm.
We set our location to NordVPN’s US server and used about four websites to find out whether or not there were any DNS leaks following these websites;
- net
- com for WebRTC leak test
- Perfect-Privacy.com for IP and DNS leak test
- ax
Overall, NordVPN did not result in any IP or DNS leaks.
Another test we ran was a Chrome extension leak test which revealed that NordVPN is one of the few VPNs that did not leak out.
Onion Over VPN
For users who wish to visit the TOR network, which is also widely known as the dark web. NordVPN allows you to reroute your traffic through its VPN before sending it off to the Onion Router, which conceals your messages in layers of encryption for added protection against data leaks.
SmartPay
If you wish to access geographically restricted streaming services such as Amazon Prime, BBC, and others, NordVPN’s SmartPay feature will entertain adequately; now, access more than 400 such services, taking binge nights to a new level.
Multiple Servers Available
NordVPN offers a good number of servers spread globally – 5225 servers in 60 countries. We have checked some of the servers, and the speeds were above average. The servers are ever-expanding; the regional distribution of servers is as follows;
- Asia Pacific – 490 servers
- Africa, the Middle East, and India – 68 servers
- The United States -2221 servers
- Europe – 2435 servers
All the servers present are P2P supported with no bandwidth limits.
However, note that the number of servers may fluctuate as servers increase or decrease depending on the IPs.
Fast and Accessible Customer Support
An around-the-clock support system is available to NordVPN users with the help of a web-based ticket system that is also available on Facebook, Twitter, and via email. Users can take advantage of the live chat options in the case of emergencies.
Live Chat and Email
While NordVPN’s support has wavered somewhat in the past, in recent days, it has picked up where it was lacking. In the year 2018 alone, NordVPN won the Best Customer Service award by being not only the fastest and most detailed VPN service out there but also the most knowledgeable one.
Knowledge Base
Sometimes live chat with someone could be an irritation, so to help themselves, NordVPN offers a vast directly like the one provided support articles to fix all the potential problems an individual could face.
Shady Jurisdiction laws
While conducting this review, we learned that NordVPN uses a payment processor company known as CloudVPN, which is based in the US. It is an entity based outside Panama in the US.
Working under the US constitution and law means the Panama laws do not apply to the payment processor company, and it is not answerable to any direction outside the US. This is a big contradiction as CloudVPN can hypothetically keep the record of users and payment details such as credit cards.
Transparent No-Log Policy
The No-Log policy of NordVPN claims that the service provider does not keep and retain any user information, and they guarantee this through their transparency report. So far, there have been no incidents regarding user data loss, and reviews on the internet have found no evidence relating to it as well.
While there may be VPNs out there that keep logs of what their users are doing online, NordVPN does not. On their official website, it can be seen that NordVPN does monitor some data but it has very little to do with the privacy of the users. Take a look at the following that they monitor:
- Service performance data for recommending suitable servers
- Payment data
- E-mail addresses
However, that is just the regular stuff that should not be too problematic for clients looking for anonymity. Another reason to join hands with this VPN service is its payment processor, which is in no way connected to the leading company.
Good for browsing US Netflix
Yes, NordVPN is a reliable VPN provider that works with Netflix while most VPNs get blocked. With NordVPN download, you can fully access US Netflix and the UK Netflix library.
Also, they provide dedicated server regions through which you can select which server to connect.
Torrenting with P2P servers
In this NordVPN review, we are pretty satisfied as the feature-rich NordVPN supports P2P servers, and a tab has been provided on the server list that claims all servers are P2P supported. We tested a few servers, and average speeds were recorded. It was not the best speed tested on a P2P server but not the worst.
Final Thoughts
Hands down, we do have to say that we put our full support to NordVPN. It may have some flaws but compared to the other big fish in the pond; it offers the best services to its value. It is not only secure but also fast.
The service caters to customer complaints and queries in time, but considering the pricing plan, our judgment gets shaky as only the 3-year pricing plan is worth giving a shot. It’s not sure whether the payment processor CloudVPN stores client data or not, but the reality is they can!
However, we will see if NordVPN continues the excellent work by being good to its users. If you are looking for a VPN service on a limited budget, NordVPN is the right choice for you. This NordVPN review will help you make the right VPN decision.
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