NordVPN Review, Pricing & Features

What is NordVPN?

NordVPN is a VPN software used by a wide range of businesses and individuals to access blocked content and gain a dedicated IP.

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Table of Contents

NordVPN Review Summary

NordVPN was founded in 2012 by the Panamanian-based company Nord Security. Today, the service has been used by over 14 million users worldwide.

NordVPN’s features are built for small businesses and individuals. Its strongest features are its usability, split tunneling, and dedicated IP support.

NordVPN is less affordable than competitors. Its pricing starts at $11.95 per month, and it does not offer a free plan.

Overall, NordVPN is a robust, albeit less affordable, solution built for customers in need of secure VPN software. NordVPN comes with very transparent security features as well as split tunneling. We highly recommend NordVPN if you’re in need of these advanced features.

NordVPN Pricing & Cost

NordVPN is less affordable than competitors. You have three pricing options. Users can pay $11.95 for one month, $143.40 for a year, or $286.80 for two years.

As of December 2021, NordVPN offers discounts for their yearly and two year plans, charging $59.00 and $79.00 respectively. NordVPN does not offer a free plan.

NordVPN Features

Let’s discuss the major features that NordVPN offers and how they can help your VPN needs. Product screenshots are included to add context and demonstrate the user interface.

Location & Device Coverage

NordVPN offers location coverage for up to 60 countries. You can choose from over 5,000 servers. Compare this with ExpressVPN, which offers fewer servers in 94 countries.

NordVPN offers support for a wide range of devices and operating systems:

  • Windows
  • MacOS
  • Linux
  • Chromebook
  • Android
  • Apple TV
  • Fire TV
  • Kindle Fire
  • iOS/iPadOS
  • Playstation
  • Xbox
  • Nintendo Switch

You can use NordVPN for up to six devices at once.

NordVPN Coverage

Security

NordVPN has standard security measures that many other VPN software solutions offer. Customers might feel more at ease with ProtonVPN or ExpressVPN, given those companies are very transparent about how their security operates on a high level. Still, NordVPN offers top-level security for its customers.

Like many other solutions, NordVPN secures network connections through AES-256. This is one of the most advanced and standard encryption types. NordVPN also employs IKEv2/IPsec and OpenVPN encryption protocols.

NordVPN utilizes OpenVPN due to its open-source security protocol. This essentially means it is regularly tested by cybersecurity testers and professionals.

NordVPN’s most unique security feature is its NordLynx technology. NordLynx is built around the WireGuard VPN protocol, which is essentially a standard protocol known for its speed. WireGuard, however, can potentially compromise privacy. NordLynx works to essentially make this protocol rely on a no-logs privacy model.

Finally, NordVPN offers a kill switch like many other VPN software solutions do. This can be automatically set up in the application’s preferences.

NordVPN Kill Switch

Advanced Features

NordVPN comes with two advanced features: Split tunneling and dedicated IPs.

NordVPN Split Tunnel
With split tunneling, you can route select devices and applications through NordVPN’s encrypted servers and allow others to use your local IP. This has several use cases:
  • Stream foreign films while using web services from local IP addresses
  • Download applications without slowing down general web activity
  • Access network printers while surfing the internet through VPN

NordVPN also allows you to attain a dedicated IP address. Do note, however, that this costs $70.

By default, VPN software solutions provide you static shared IP addresses. This means that everytime you connect to the same server, you are assigned the same IP, which is shared with others. Dedicated IPs are less likely to be blacklisted, can enable users to avoid CAPTCHAs, and protect your IoT devices as well.

NordVPN Customer Service

NordVPN’s customer support team is very responsive. Customer support is available through both email and live chat.

Customer Support ChannelsLive chat, email
Other Support ResourcesVideo tutorials, troubleshooting guides
Application Status PageNo

NordVPN Alternatives & Competitors

NordVPN has a number of competitors. Its most comparable alternatives are ExpressVPN and ProtonVPN.

Here’s a full list of NordVPN competitors:

  • ExpressVPN
  • ProtonVPN
  • Surfshark
  • Private Internet Access
  • ZenMate VPN

Is NordVPN Right for You?

Overall, NordVPN is a robust, yet less affordable, solution built for customers in need of secure VPN software and dedicated IP addresses. NordVPN also comes with advanced features such as split tunneling.

If you're interested, you can try NordVPN today.

Yousef Fatehpour

Yousef Fatehpour is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit. He graduated from University of California, San Diego, where he studied Human Centered Design and Communications. His work at UCSD's Design Lab emphasized UX research and product management.

Yousef's primary areas of interest are software design, user journeys, and how user experience is handled across software markets. Yousef also has experience in product design and multimedia content production. You can connect with Yousef on LinkedIn.

Yousef is an expert in several software categories including:

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