NordVPN review

NordVPN is the VPN most people end up with, and for good reasons: it is one of the fastest services in independent tests, its no-logs policy has been audited six times, and it handles torrenting and streaming without fuss. It hides your IP from the sites you visit and from other peers in a swarm, and encrypts your traffic so your internet provider cannot see what you do.

What is NordVPN?

NordVPN is run by Nord Security and has been around since 2012. It is legally based in Panama, outside the Five, Nine and Fourteen Eyes alliances. It runs around 9,000 servers in well over 100 countries, all in RAM only, so nothing is written to disk.

Is NordVPN safe?

Yes. Its no-logs policy has been audited six times: by PwC in 2018 and 2020, then by Deloitte every year since 2022, most recently in early 2026. Traffic is protected with AES-256 or ChaCha20, NordLynx now includes post-quantum encryption, and every app has a kill switch. On the trust side, a single Finnish server was breached in 2018 (no user data exposed) and the incident was disclosed late; a 2026 claim of a leaked development server was denied by NordVPN, and reports found no evidence of customer impact.

Is NordVPN good for torrenting?

Yes. Torrenting is allowed on the regular server network, and the app routes you to suitable servers automatically. The kill switch keeps your real IP away from the swarm if the VPN drops, split tunneling lets you send only your torrent client through the VPN (not on iOS), and Threat Protection blocks ads, trackers and malicious sites. There is no port forwarding, which can slow down seeding on some private trackers.

NordVPN speed and protocols

The default protocol is NordLynx, Nord’s version of WireGuard. It is the reason NordVPN tops many independent speed tests: on a good connection the speed loss is small, so 4K streaming and large downloads work as they do without a VPN. OpenVPN and IKEv2 are still available, and NordWhisper disguises VPN traffic on networks that block VPNs.

Does NordVPN work with Netflix and streaming?

It is one of the most reliable VPNs for other Netflix libraries, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and similar services, according to most reviews. Apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Fire TV and Apple TV, plus browser extensions and routers, with up to 10 devices at once. Meshnet links your own devices for file sharing or LAN gaming.

NordVPN price and plans

NordVPN is cheap only on long plans: around $3.49 per month on the 2-year Basic plan, against $13–15 on a monthly plan; prices vary by country and promotion. Higher plans add Threat Protection Pro, a password manager and cloud storage. After the first term it renews automatically at a much higher price, so turn off auto-renew in your Nord Account if you want to shop around later. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN vs Surfshark and ExpressVPN

NordVPN is usually the fastest of the three and has the most servers. Surfshark is cheaper and allows unlimited devices, while ExpressVPN has very polished apps and is based in the British Virgin Islands. For the best all-round mix of speed, privacy and features, NordVPN is hard to beat. See all our picks in the VPN category.

NordVPN FAQ

Is NordVPN free?

No, but every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Does NordVPN keep logs?

NordVPN says it keeps no activity logs, and the policy has been audited six times by PwC and Deloitte.

Can I use NordVPN for torrenting?

Yes. Torrenting is allowed, with a kill switch and split tunneling. There is no port forwarding.

How many devices can I use with NordVPN?

Up to 10 at the same time.

Verdict

For anyone using the torrent, streaming or DDL sites on this map, NordVPN is one of the best all-rounders: very fast, audited no-logs, a real kill switch and ad and malware blocking in one app. Take a long plan during a sale and disable auto-renew.