NordVPN Review

Let’s dive right into my review of NordVPN. NordVPN has to be considered in the list of best VPNs because of its mind-blowing features. You can’t find a VPN anywhere in the market that can do more than NordVPN. NordVPN is considered one of the best VPNs because it unblocks all of the streaming sites like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

In this detailed review, I’ll be reviewing its pros and cons, also its features, how fast it is, and many more. I’ll also show you the subscriptions available for this VPN, its apps, and also how it competes with popular VPNs. At the end of this review, I’ll also share my opinion regarding NordVPN.
Let’s jump right into it….

Pros And Cons

Before we get deeper into it, let’s go over the best and worst features of NordVPN.

Pros

• Unblocks streaming sites.
• NordVPN headquarters are located in Panama which falls outside of surveillance alliances.
• You can connect up to six devices with a NordVPN subscription.
• Have strong encryption protocols.
• Have an effective kill switch
• Easy to use.

Cons

• Our IP address stays the same whenever we connect to NordVPN.
• NordVPN is equipped with basic browser extensions.

Features Of NordVPN

NordVPN is considered to be the best VPN of 2022 because of its extraordinary features. Here we will be reviewing each of the NordVPN features in detail and let you know why we considered it the best VPN of 2022.

Located In Panama

All of the NordVPN headquarters are located in Panama. That’s a huge benefit for us because Panama lies outside of the surveillance alliances. For those VPN companies which lie under surveillance alliances, a government could force a company to give up the data that are gathered while using their VPN. In our notes, this is like a red flag, so we love NordVPN because it falls outside of surveillance alliances.

Servers All Around The World

NordVPN has more than 5000 servers in 59 countries. This is a huge plus for us because the more there are servers the faster will be the internet speed. You may notice that if we are closer to a server we’ve faster speeds. That’s why NordVPN has faster internet speeds.

Effective Kill Switch

NordVPN also has an effective kill switch. A kill switch is very useful especially when we are downloading a file during rain and storm and our VPN connection went out for a second. The kill switch itself automatically pauses our download and shuts down all the apps, so that our activity wasn’t exposed

NordVPN logging

When we’re not using VPN, our web traffic goes to our internet service provider (ISP). They can access our data and can give or sell our data to government agencies, advertisers, and other kinds of parties. When we use a VPN, our internet service provider will no longer see our data while VPN can see.

A representative of NordVPN says that they didn’t log our websites visited, files downloaded, IP address, etc. However, NordVPN logs some basic data, like our emails, timestamps of the last session, and payment data but it requires such data to maintain your account.

Static IP Address Feature

I loved all of the NordVPN features except the static IP address feature. We got the same IP address every time whenever we use VPN, which isn’t perfect. The static IP address feature also affects the security of NordVPN. We would like to have an IP address that changes every time whenever we use VPN.

How fast is NordVPN

When you use a VPN it may affect your browsing experience, as your traffic travels through encryption protocols. Instead of all these we still want to see faster speeds. So we tried to test NordVPN ourselves. In 2020 NordVPN performed very well and is considered one of the fastest VPNs. In March 2022 I tested NordVPN, and it performed well. We observed that NordVPN’s download speed reduces by 28 percent while the upload speed reduces by 24 percent.

Overall NordVPN performs very well on Windows and repeats the same on Mac.

NordVPN Plans And How Much Does It Cost?

There are three subscription options available which cost 11 USD per month, 59 USD annually, or 89 USD for 2 years. There are several payment methods available through which you can purchase the subscription. You can purchase subscriptions through credit cards, PayPal, as well as other online payment methods. VPN service providers are regularly offering promotions, so you may see different prices. You can save a little bit of your money by purchasing their long-term subscriptions. All subscription plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can do it without any risk and cancel out anytime (within 30 days) if you are dissatisfied or anything else.

Should I Purchase NordVPN Or Not?

I’ve used NordVPN for several weeks. Would I recommend it to others and why?

Besides its low price, NordVPN offers quality service to its customers. I strongly recommend this VPN for unblocking streaming websites like Netflix, for hiding your torrenting activity. The apps are easy to understand if you’re new to VPNs.

Their desktop apps are a little bit slow while mobile apps greatly need a kill switch. I’ve found a leak that could expose your IP address. I hope this will get fixed soon.

Did NordVPN Works In China?

My short answer is “Yes”
The representative of NordVPN announced in June 2017 that it can be used to unblock content and websites that are banned in China. Many users in China can simply connect to a server that can bypass the great firewall and restrictions.

NordVPN Apps

NordVPN apps are available for Windows, macOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, and Linux. It provides you with six licenses to spread your subscription across all of your devices. This is a great option if you won’t share it with your family or friends.

Besides all these NordVPN also offers encrypted proxy extensions for firefox and chrome browsers. It only encrypts and reroutes your web traffic from the browser not from the whole device.
Features that are available on desktop apps are not available on mobile apps and vice versa. For example, the Kill switch is available on desktop apps but not mobile apps. While split tunneling feature is available for mobile apps but isn’t available for desktops. This feature allows you to disable VPN for specific apps.

A new feature is introduced for the apps which allows users to pause their connection instead of switching it as a whole. This is a very useful feature because switching off the VPN would disable the auto-connect feature, which could expose me to ISP so the pause feature helps me turn off the VPN without resetting the auto-connect.

Did NordVPN Unblocks Netflix?

Yes, NordVPN can unblock Netflix.

NordVPN can unblock a huge number of streaming websites including Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iplayer, ABC iView, and Netflix. NordVPN achieves this goal through its Smart Play feature, which is turned on by default. A quick test attempted by us proves that NordVPN unblocks Netflix libraries. NordVPN unblocks several Netflix libraries like Netflix Canada, USA, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

NordVPN can unblock any Netflix library no matter to which country you’re connected. However, if you’re not located in one of the countries mentioned above, don’t worry NordVPN operates a DNS proxy that helps to redirect you to the US version of Netflix. For example, if you’re located in India and try to watch Netflix while connected to the Indian NordVPN server, you’ll be redirected to the Netflix US library.

Did NordVPN Allow Torrenting?

My short answer is “Yes”. NordVPN is considered to be the “Best VPN for P2P file sharing”. However, the front page of their official website didn’t mention its P2P status.

Not all of the servers support torrenting, but the service provider doesn’t limit you to a few server options. NordVPN serves you with hundreds of P2P servers in the UK, the US, and many other regions around the world.

It provides you with direct P2P support, NordVPN also offers several other features which make it a solid choice for those using torrents. Besides all these, there is a strict no-log policy, several layers of DNS, traffic leak protection, payment through a bitcoin account, and extras including Onion Over VPN and Double VPN.

Security

NordVPN has something special in its armory which further boosts your security and that is a kill switch. A kill switch is a switch that prevents data leaks in case the VPN connection drops.

NordVPN provides you with two kill switches. An app kill switch closes all the apps running in the background. While a general internet kill switch blocks all internet access.

NordVPN can also be called RAM-only servers or diskless servers because it runs only on RAM. This means that the whole server operating system exists only on temporary memory RAM. This implies that no data is permanently stored on the server. RAM-only server is a rising trend adopted from ExpressVPN.

NordVPN recently introduced a new feature called WifiSec. This feature automatically launches a VPN connection whenever you connect to a Wifi network. This feature greatly improves the security of NordVPN.

Most VPNs companies rent out servers in data centers around the world. But NordVPN claims that its servers are fully owned, managed, and maintained by NordVPN. This authorizes NordVPN to fully control the security and configuration of individual servers.

Customer Support

NordVPN allows their users several options to access customer support like 24/7 chat, in detail user-submitted questions, and email support. If you want to know more about a specific topic, you’ll be redirected to their privacy policy page to read their blogs. Overall NordVPN customer support is outstanding.

My Recommendation

NordVPN can also be operated in China and it’s easy for beginners to understand its interface just in a few minutes. It is considered the best VPN available in the market. This VPN is best for those who value both speed & privacy, want something cheaper, and want something that can unblock streaming sites and apps.

NordVPN uses more than 5200 servers in 59 countries, and the numbers will increase over time. It also equips high-end encryption protocols which improve its security. The service has a strict zero log policy, also torrenting is allowed with this VPN.

NordVPN Alternatives

NordVPN is a solid choice VPN, but it also has some strong competitors available in the market.

ExpressVPN is a little more expensive than NordVPN, but paying extra brings you a truly premium experience. It’s almost the same as NordVPN when it comes to speed, security, and unblocking streaming and sites. But it offers something special which can’t be provided by NordVPN like it offers router support which includes DNS proxy service which can unblock streaming video on those devices which can’t support a VPN. It also provides you with a split tunneling feature.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly alternative other than ExpressVPN then, you can try CyberGhost. It is also considered in the list of best fastest VPNs. Its pricing is almost the same as NordVPN. It failed to work well in China and also failed to unblock all of the streaming sites.

Comparison Of NordVPN

Here we’ve compared NordVPN with the best VPN service providers, Private Internet Access (PIA), and ExpressVPN.

Final Thoughts

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs providing such a great service. NordVPN offers a lot of features at cheaper rates. It’s worth unblocking streaming sites like Netflix. It’s the most liked VPN in the market because it is located in Panama which falls outside surveillance alliances. However, It has some features which are available on desktop apps but not available on mobile apps and vice versa. For example, a kill switch feature is available on desktop apps but not available on mobile apps. I hope NordVPN will add a kill switch feature to their mobile apps in upcoming updates.

Hope you enjoyed the post!