NordVPN is a very popular VPN service with a large customer base. While it is highly recommended on many sites, it can be difficult to find honest information about this VPN provider.

In this updated and in-depth NordVPN review, I put their service through extensive testing and let the test results stand on their own. I wanted to find out once and for all:

• Is NordVPN too slow?
• Is NordVPN secure (no leaks)?
• Do all of the features work correctly?
• Is it actually worth the price?

As you can see with all of the screenshots below, NordVPN was extensively tested for this review to conclusively answer all of these questions. Now let’s examine the results.

NordVPN overview

NordVPN is currently among the top recommendations in the best VPN report. It has earned the #2 position, just behind ExpressVPN, and has improved significantly over the past year with faster speeds and updated VPN apps.

Although NordVPN offers pretty good speeds overall, I did find there to be some performance variability in the network. On a positive note, however, NordVPN speeds continue to improve as they add new servers to the network, which improves bandwidth for all users.

NordVPN also does well in the features category with advanced leak protection, obfuscation to defeat VPN blocks, and specialized servers to offer more anonymity (see the double-VPN servers and Tor-over-VPN servers). NordVPN also continues to work with Netflix and other major streaming services.

The “best value” VPN service

NordVPN is without a doubt the best value VPN on the market, coming in at only $2.99 per month with the 75% off discount coupon. This is an exceptional price for a fully-featured VPN with secure apps and good performance. Other top-rated VPN services are significantly more money:

• ExpressVPN ($6.67 per month)
• Perfect Privacy ($9.99 per month)

Overall NordVPN remains one of the top recommendations on Restore Privacy. It is a great all-around VPN for a variety of different users, and you certainly can’t beat the price or the 30 day money-back guarantee.

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NordVPN speed test results

Before running the NordVPN speed tests I verified my internet provider baseline speed without a VPN. My baseline speed was about 95 to 110 Mbps (varied throughout the day). My physical location for all speed tests was Germany. Now on to the results…

NordVPN servers in Europe (near my location)

As you can see in the test results below, NordVPN speed tests in Europe were all exceptionally fast.

With servers in Germany I could essentially max out my ISP (baseline) speed.

Germany VPN server: Download speed of 104.88 Mbps:

Here is another nearby server in Denmark that gave me speeds very close to my baseline test.

Download speed: 94.63 Mbps:

And the last speed test for Europe was with a server in the United Kingdom.

Once again, you can see that I am nearly maxing out my ISP baseline speed with a NordVPN server at 95 Mbps.

As you can see, these are very impressive speed test results with all of the nearby servers in my region. For those in Europe or anyone needing a VPN for the UK, NordVPN would be an excellent choice.

Long distance speed tests (North America)

I also tested out NordVPN with a few servers in the United States and Canada (from my location in Germany).

The first test I ran with a US server located near New York was rather slow.

Download speed: 3.87 Mbps

Fortunately, this slow test result was not the norm.

I decided to manually select a different VPN server in the US, rather than letting the app auto-select the best server. I chose a server with slightly more load, but the speed test results were much better.

Download speed: 65 Mbps

I also tested a few servers in Canada. Just like with US servers, I found that the speeds could be somewhat variable. However, by manually selecting different servers from the last, it was easy to get good speeds (30-60 Mbps for Canadian servers).

Conclusion on NordVPN speeds – These are the best speed test results I have recorded for NordVPN in the past three years (as both a personal user and also testing for NordVPN reviews). While the speeds can be a bit variable with some locations, I found it to be easy to find a fast serverthat will give you excellent speeds.

How much does NordVPN cost?

NordVPN is one of the cheapest VPN services you will find (that is still good quality). Right now NordVPN is extending a discounted three-year subscription price for Restore Privacy readers. While the duration is certainly long, the savings are indeed significant, at only $2.99 per month for the three-year plan (plus you get a 30 day refund window).

Below are the discounted NordVPN subscription prices:

• $2.99/month for the 3-year plan

You can pay with all major credit cards, Amazon Pay, Alipay, UnionPay, and even a variety of cryptocurrencies.

Also note, NordVPN provides a 30 day money-back guarantee, which is quite generous for VPN standards. This is one of the best VPN trial windows you will find – see the free trial VPN guide for comparison. I put their refund policy to the test and they were quick to issue me a refund, within a few hours of my request (explained further below).

If you are hesitant about the two or three-year subscription plans, NordVPN also offers shorter duration subscriptions, but they are more expensive. (I’m also maintaining a NordVPN coupon page to track the latest discounts and deals on NordVPN.)

NordVPN features

NordVPN offers some solid features to enhance user privacy and security. Let’s take a look at a few of these features.

NordVPN kill switch

NordVPN is one of the few VPNs that is now offering two different kinds of kill switches. A kill switch is important because it blocks traffic if the VPN connection drops, which protects you from de-anonymization and your regular traffic being exposed.

In the screenshot below you can see the two different kill switches:

• Internet Kill Switch – This will block all traffic if the VPN connection drops (recommended).
• App Kill Switch – This will close applications if the VPN connection drops, but will not block any traffic.

If you are concerned about IP address leaks it would probably be best to use the “Internet Kill Switch” as this will offer the most protection and block non-VPN traffic through the firewall.

I tested the Internet Kill Switch and found it to effectively block traffic when there was not an active connection to a VPN server.

Tor (Onion) Over VPN

Despite the drawbacks of the Tor network (namely slow speeds and the potential for IP address leaks), it can still be combined with a VPN for more privacy.

NordVPN offers three server locations that exit onto the Tor (onion) network:

• Netherlands
• Sweden
• Latvia

.

Double VPN (multi-hop)

Using a multi-hop VPN offers many advantages over a standard VPN setup (single server). If a server were to be targeted (monitored), a multi-hop VPN configuration would add further protection by helping to conceal incoming and/or outgoing traffic.

NordVPN currently offers 16 double-hop VPN configurations, which they list on their website. For those wanting a higher level of privacy and security, the double-encryption is worth the performance tradeoff.

You can learn more about the different features offered by NordVPN on their website here.

NordVPN servers

NordVPN boasts a huge server network, which currently includes about 4,400 servers in about 60 countries.

In the past year NordVPN has expanded and updated their server network to improve performance. This has resulted in less congestion and better speeds for all users. You can see real-time bandwidth stats for every server on the NordVPN website (see Servers in the navigation menu at the top).

Obfuscated servers – NordVPN also has a nice lineup of obfuscated servers, which will automatically obfuscate (hide) all VPN traffic to look like regular HTTPS traffic. This is useful wherever VPNs may be getting blocked, as explained further in the China VPN guide.

Does NordVPN work with Netflix?

Yes. NordVPN continues to work well with Netflix, even though most VPNs are getting blocked by the service.

With NordVPN you can get full access to American Netflix, UK Netflix, and some other regions as well. It is definitely a solid Netflix VPN considering the server selection and good performance.

In the Netflix VPN guide I ran NordVPN through a number of real-world tests to see how well it unblocks Netflix. Overall NordVPN did very well in these tests – both unblocking Netflix and also giving me great speeds for streaming.

Below I’m using a NordVPN server in New York to stream Netflix from my location in Europe:

You can check Netflix availability for the region you want to use on the NordVPN website.

Is NordVPN good for torrenting?

Yes. NordVPN is an excellent choice for torrenting because it is verified no logs VPN provider and there are zero restrictions on torrenting or P2P downloads.

When torrenting with NordVPN, be sure to enable the kill switch to protect you in case the connection drops. This will ensure your real IP address stays protected and secure. You can also find guides on the NordVPN website showing you how to setup NordVPN with uTorrent and BitTorrent clients.

See the VPN for torrenting guide for additional information.

So is NordVPN recommended?

Absolutely.

NordVPN earns a strong recommendation based on the latest test results for this NordVPN review. It has made huge improvements over the last year, which include:

• Hundreds of new servers added around the world
• Faster speeds throughout the server network
• Great security and privacy features (CyberSec, ad blocking, specialty servers)
• Better apps with more security (improved kill switch functionality)

NordVPN is also one of the best values in the VPN industry with the current 75% off discount pricesthat drop the rate down to only $2.99 per month. And with the 30 day money-back guarantee, you can test the VPN risk-free to see if it works well for you.

Exclusive NordVPN Coupon
Get 75% off NordVPN (drops the price down to only $2.99 per month)
Get 75% Off NordVPN Here
(Discount is applied automatically.)