NordVPN Review 2022: Top Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons, Alternatives

You should have a VPN in your cybersecurity toolbox as one of your most important tools.

With VPNs, you can remain anonymous and keep your browsing history private.

By keeping this in mind here, I’m going to review one of the industry’s leading VPN service providers, NordVPN.

It is known for its top-notch security, exceptional feature range, and affordable pricing.

In this NordVPN review, we examined its top features, pricing structure, pros and cons, and alternatives.

So let’s get started.

What is NordVPN

It is no secret that NordVPN is one of the biggest names in the VPN industry, and it is based out of Panama. Since its start-up in 2012, the company has grown quickly in a short period of time.

This platform boasts high speeds, online security tools, streaming, and torrenting capabilities, as well as web browsing tools.

It currently offers 5492 ultra-fast servers in 59 countries around the globe.

NordVPN has gained worldwide renown for its excellent military-grade encryption, fast speeds, reliable connectivity, and affordable pricing.

Our NordVPN review will cover all the essential points that you need to know.

NordVPN Review: Pricing Plans

Among the most affordable VPN services, NordVPN offers three plans: Standard, Plus, and Complete.

Each plan comes with three subscription options: monthly, annual, and biennial.

Let’s examine each plan in more detail.

NordVPN Standard Plan

The Standard plan offers all basic features, including secure and high-speed VPN, malware protection, tracker, and ad blocker.

A monthly subscription costs $11.99, but if you subscribe annually, you save 45%, bringing the monthly cost down to $4.49.

Getting a biennial subscription will save you more money. This deal saves you 63% and gives you a free subscription for another three months.

You will only be charged $2.99/month with a biennial subscription.

NordVPN Plus Plan

The Plus plan offers cross-platform password management and data breach detection in addition to the Standard plan’s features.

The monthly cost is $12.99/month, but an annual subscription saves you 48%, bringing the cost down to $5.49.

If you want a maximum discount, then go for a biennial subscription. It saves 62% and reduces the cost to $3.99.

Also, you will get an additional 3-month free subscription.

NordVPN Complete Plan

All the Plus plan features are included in the Complete plan. Additionally, it offers 1TB of encrypted cloud storage.

The monthly pricing is $14.29, but with a 59% discount on an annual subscription, it will cost you only $6.79/month.

The biennial subscription offers the maximum discount ever, which is 68%, bringing down the cost to $5.29/month.

Another good thing about NordVPN is that it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN Review: Top Features

1. Kill Switch 

As soon as your VPN connection drops on your PC, Mac, Android, or iOS device, NordVPN’s kill switch conceals your true IP address.

NordVPN has two versions of its Kill Switch: one for the internet and one for apps.

When your VPN connection drops suddenly, the internet kill switch blocks your device’s internet connection.

With the app kill switch, Windows or Mac versions allow you to select which apps stop communicating in the event of an error.

The purpose of all of this is to prevent data leakage.

2. NordVPN Meshnet

Meshnet allows you to create encrypted tunnels between two devices so you can access your home device from anywhere.

You can use NordVPN to connect remotely to any private device you want (with its owner’s consent).

It’s important to note that Meshnet doesn’t encrypt any outbound traffic; you still need a VPN connection to do that.

It’s especially useful for accessing files and software remotely or watching a country’s streaming library while abroad.

3. Split Tunneling

Using split tunneling, you can select which traffic from your device is tunneled through the VPN and which can access the internet directly.

Those in the first group benefit from the safety of a secure VPN tunnel, while those in the second group can access local services and benefit from faster speeds.

NordVPN offers three types of split tunneling.

Inverse Split

Using inverse split tunneling, all of your connections are encrypted by default, and only trusted programs are permitted to access the internet directly. It’s the safest way to split the tunnel.

App-based Split

App-based split tunneling protects only selected apps with VPN. Your rest of the internet traffic is not encrypted.

URL-based Split

Split tunneling based on URLs allows you to specify the URLs you wish to access with your real IP address.

NordVPN apps for Windows, Android, and Android TV support split tunneling.

4. Excellent Server Network

Using a VPN server, you can send encrypted data over the internet safely. NordVPN offers 5500+ ultra-fast servers in 59 countries all around the globe. 

There is a good distribution of servers as well.

The vast majority of NordVPN’s servers are located in Europe and North America, like many other VPN service providers.

One disappointment is that only South Africa has a server location in Africa.

5. Dark Web Monitor

This feature warns you of the vulnerabilities of your personal data.

Your email address is checked on dark web marketplaces and pastebins. You’re probably at risk of having your services breached if it ends up there.

If you use the same password on several platforms, hackers can easily compromise you on all of them. The NordVPN service notifies you if your email ever appears on the dark web.

6. Threat Protection

You can be sure that your device is safe with NordVPN’s threat protection feature. 

It hides your IP address, masks your virtual location, shields your data traffic, and protects you from various cyber threats. 

The feature eliminates cyber threats before they can harm your device.

A threat protection service makes your browsing more secure and smooth.

The program is able to help you identify malware-ridden files, prevent you from landing on malicious websites, and block trackers and intrusive ads on the spot as well.

Currently, all NordVPN applications support the feature.

Activating Threat Protection doesn’t require connecting to a VPN server since it always runs in the background once enabled.

7. NordVPN Customer Support

Having extensive customer support is essential for making a VPN user-friendly. NordVPN excels in this area as well.

With live chat, email tickets, knowledgebases, and FAQs, all of its help options are up-to-date, helpful, and responsive.

NordVPN offers two options for getting help: via the app or via the website. 

NordVPN Review: Pros & Cons

NordVPN Pros:

• Ultra-fast servers offer excellent performance and speed.
• Intuitive apps for most devices
• Top-notch security features include Military-grade encryption, No-log policy, Split tunneling, Double VPN, Threat Protection, Dedicated IP, and many more.
• Unblocks streaming websites
• Great customer support with 24/7 live chat 
• Affordable price
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Supports torrenting on most servers
• Good Firestick app and Smart DNS tool

NordVPN Cons:

Torrenting only supported on some servers

NordVPN Review: FAQs

NordVPN Review: Alternatives

NordVPN vs. IPVanish

IPVanish protects your anonymity by providing “disappearing” IP addresses that are shared among users.

It offers the privacy and security features you need at a low price compared to some of its competitors. 

If you work in dangerous situations or deal with highly sensitive data, NordVPN will be a better choice.

A no-log policy, kill switch, split tunneling, and leak protection are common features between the two services.

NordVPN only allows six devices to be connected, while IPVanish allows an unlimited number.

Streamers should consider NordVPN, which offers the fastest streaming speed and a mobile app to access streaming services.

NordVPN vs. AtlasVPN

AtlasVPN is one of the fastest-growing VPN services on the market.

Almost all of the security features that NordVPN offers are available in this VPN.

However, for accessing sensitive data and ensuring the highest privacy, NordVPN is a good choice.

AtlasVPN offers you an extensive range of features, including SafeSwap security, WireGuard protocol, Tracker blocker, Split tunneling, AES 256-bit encryption, and many more.

One lagging point of AtlasVPN is that it has only 750 servers in 44 locations. Compared to NordVPN, this number is much lower.

NordVPN only allows six devices to be connected to it, whereas AtlasVPN offers unlimited connections.

NordVPN vs ExpressVPN

Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are located offshore and claim to be unaffected by any potential “backdoors” that may be designed to gain access to user data.

With NordVPN, you can access sensitive data with the highest levels of privacy and security, including OpenVPN, a popular protocol for security.

Moreover, ExpressVPN has developed its own technology and protocols, which may make some users more comfortable.

There is no static IP address offered by ExpressVPN, which can be a convenient option, and the company claims that dynamic IP addresses are more secure.

The NordVPN service provides additional features such as a password manager and cloud storage as a convenience.

Streaming and file-sharing are both possible with both services, but NordVPN claims to be faster due to its 5,000+ servers around the world, which ensures you’ll be near one.

NordVPN Review: Conclusion

You may find this NordVPN review helpful since we covered all the essential points.

NordVPN offers one of the fastest VPN services at an affordable price.

The AES 256-bit encryption secures your internet traffic, while a strict no-log policy secures your data.

You enjoy blazing speed thanks to the ultrafast servers located across different countries.

Its other exceptional features, including threat protection, dark web monitor, split tunneling, dedicated IP, and multiple device connection, makes it one of the leading VPN service provider in the industry.

More VPN Software:

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• PureVPN Black Friday Cyber Monday Deals: 82% Off + 3 Months Free
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• NordVPN Black Friday Cyber Monday Deal: 68% Off + 3 Months Free