Nord VPN is acclaimed as one of the best VPNs, and it’s
hard to see without testing it. Situated in Panama with diverse servers, a
strict zero log policy and jam-packed with features, it appears an excellent
deal. But is it really what it claims to be? See what we got on putting it to
the test:
PROS
• Record server
numbers
• Allows 6
connections at once
• Two kill
switches
• Expert Servers
• Highly
economical price
CONS
• Moderately
fast speed
• 94 countries
• Record Netflix
access
• Strongly
supports torrenting
• User-friendly
app
Speed &
Expectations
While considering a VPN, speed is the primary aspect that
most users look for, especially if you want a VPN for things such as streaming
or torrenting.
But your VPN has to go through – another server and the
VPN’s encryption, protocols, etc. which makes your speed go down usually when
you connect via VPN.
There is no doubt in it that most VPNs try to minimize
this lag to their possible levels.
You don’t have to bother about this fact if you’re using Nord as Nord comes under the category of the few VPNs to boast ‘the fastest VPN experience.’
We wanted to make sure that the software is worthy of this bold claim, so we looked at three different speed standards:
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Download speed: It’s the data transferring rate from the server to your device. This is evaluated in megabytes per second (Mbps), and the higher number is better.
Upload speed: The data transferring rate from your device to the server. This is also calculated in megabytes per second (Mbps) and again, the higher the number, the better it is.
Ping (or latency): Tested by “pinging” the server, it’s the amount of time it takes for it to receive and process your request. This is measured in milliseconds (ms), and a lower number is better.
First, we conducted a baseline test without a VPN, using a 100 Mbps internet connection in Mumbai, India. Then we conducted speed tests with the VPN on connecting to its different server locations and calculated the decrease in speed.
We also conducted 5 tests each time to shun possibilities of blips and raise credibility.
Speed results
The results of our baseline tests were as follows:
So the average baseline score was:
Download: 79.2mbps
Upload: 12.0mbps
Ping: 10ms
Next we connected to a NordVPN United States server:
US averages of the 5 different speed tests
were:
Download: 47.4mbps (40.2% slower)
Upload: 10.5mbps (12.6% slower)
Ping: 13.4ms (34% longer)
After that we tested Europe:
Europe’s averages were:
Download: 0.8mbps (99% slower)
Upload: 6.5mbps (46.4% slower)
Ping: 137.8ms (1278% longer)
Here’s Singapore:
Singapore’s averages were:
Download: 24.5mbps (69.1% slower)
Upload: 8.9mbps (26.2% slower)
Ping: 242.8ms (2328% longer)
Yes, we know all these numbers are amazing, so we tested these against some other VPNs to be sure of how Nord VPN beats them.
Speed (Summary)
Nord VPNs ran well in our speed tests for the US,
India, Singapore, but performed below average for Europe. But Nord’s ‘fastest
VPN experience’ claim is bit shattered for us in this instance.
Performance & Features
Nord VPN’s site promotes its features heavily, and
there is no doubt in the fact that there’re many.
Number of servers: 5,287 servers
It’s the number of active servers available to
connect over all countries, despite their physical locations.
If you think that it’s – a lot, well, it is. There
no other VPN that beats Nord in this case or even come this close. The next
highest number is about 3,100.
Nord offers many specialized servers too, which
include Onion over VPN, Double VPN, andObfuscated servers.
Number of countries:
62 countries
How many countries does the total number of servers
cover, despite how many situated in a single country.
With
server numbers like this, it’s quite weird that Nord VPN doesn’t stand out its
competitors. There are a couple of VPN providers offering 159 countries. Yes,
you read that, right! However, 62 countries are not a small spread.
Number of connections allowed: 6
How
many connections to a server are provided (devices connected to a server)
depended on a single VPN account or subscription.
This
is a little above average, as many VPNs provide 5 connections, and fairly
enough to connect all your devices at once.
However there’s a sneaky clause that states
you can’t connect devices to the same server at once, unless you choose
different protocols.
Torrenting allowed: Yes (nearly every server)
Whether
the software allows you to download and share files on a peer-to-peer or P2P
network as contrary to a solo server.
Enables
torrenting in 45 countries
Additionally,
Nord will directly reroute your connection to a P2P friendly server if you
operate a torrent client on a non-P2P server.
Yes,
we know it’s fantastic but not as impressive as the availability of P2P
connections on all servers. To have complete P2P access, you can switch to
Express VPN, PIA or IP Vanish.
Nord is super careful with how they mention torrenting: they use the more polite term – P2P and have an article defining its valid uses, otherwise, they seem quite torrent-friendly.
Kill switch available: Yes!
It means – the VPN software can disable your
connection to the network when you disconnect from the VPN server. This
prohibits your IP address from getting exposed.
You would be surprised to know, but there is a
myriad of VPNs who don’t provide kill switch feature, luckily Nord VPN provides
two.
It has the basic kill-switch and also an app kill
switch. Here, you get the liberty to choose the app you want to kill if the VPN
drops, making your overall connection integral, which is a small but useful
feature.
Performance and Features (Summary)
Nord VPN is jam-packed with features that slay. It
has a vast list of servers across the countries; two kill switch options
surprisingly, and supports torrenting on almost all servers with an average of
6 connections.
Privacy & Security
All VPNs are different, and created on various
factors; some might be more strong than others.
We looked at the following potential
vulnerabilities:
Protocols/Encryption: OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec protocols with
AES-256 encryption
A VPN conceals your information by using multiple
encryption processes and protocols. Nord VPN is the best and reliable, so you
and your data will stay protected.
Not only this, Nord VPN cross this line and offers
unique ‘Double VPN’ servers encrypting your data twice, which means you provide
an additional protective layer to your confidential data. But it would overkill
and slow your connection down though it’s there for your use.
Leak
DNS, IP, Web RTC and Chrome extensions leaks were
also checked along with viruses:
DNS leaks: None found.
IP leaks: None found.
WebRTC leaks: None found.
Chrome extension leaks: None found.
Viruses/Malware: None found.
As expected the Nord VPN stand out completely clean, providing flawless protection against leaks and no virus/malware.
Legal issues
Authority: Panama. No
matter how secure a VPN be technically, it has to stick to its country’s law.
Luckily, Nord VPN is located in Panama, which isn’t conditional to any
collective authority like Five Eyes. This means Nord VPN doesn’t need to follow
the obligations of the store or share data with any other country under any
circumstances.
Logging policy: Strict ‘no logs’ policy
You might need to keep an eye on how much data the VPN itself feeds. Make sure it’s not saving your browsing history and if it does – the less is considered the better!
We screened their privacy policy with an argus-eye and got these points out:
Email address
Payment info
Server load information
Customer service information
(basically any communication you have with them via live chat, emails etc)
Cookies for Google Analytics
etc
This is bare-minimum stuff that every VPNs collects, so there is nothing fishy here.
Good news is this that they don’t track
anything got to do with your browsing history which includes: the time or
duration of any online session, logs of IP addresses or servers used, website
visited or files download.
Lesser than most VPNs. Actually, Nord records the least information.
Privacy and Security Summary
Nord VPN is perfect in terms of security, with
splendid protocols and encryption, no leaks or viruses, the strictest no
logging policy ever, and as a cherry on the top it’s based in Panama, a
location where there is no data-retention laws.
Usability
We’ve checked speed, features, and security.
However, what does it feel like to use Nord software?
Let’s have a look at this section:
•
Streaming/Geo-spoofing
• Compatibility
• Overall
UI/UX
Streaming/Geo-spoofing
The primary perk of using a VPN is
that you can use Netflix and chill wherever you want. Geo-spoofing misleads
Netflix or Hulu, Youtube, etc., and shows your IP address from a different
location.
Though it’s extremely tough to trick
some streaming services than others and Netflix tops the list!
That’s why we tested Netflix and all
primary streaming services using servers from the US, Europe, Asia, South
America, and Africa to analyze how Nord VPN overcomes it.
Netflix: Unidentified. Nord states
that Netflix at present works in only 5 countries: the US, UK, Canada,
Netherlands, and Japan. So, we assessed these servers, and to our surprise,
they all performed well.
Incredibly, Netflix works in 5 countries. Most of the VPNs work in the US, UK, and other countries.
They’ve got a smart play feature
that disguises your real IP address and shows that you’ve accessed on the US
version.
The company says, “We test the
content from other regions too, and we update the list if we find a workaround
or a server that works with them.”
Hulu: Partly
unidentified. Hulu performed just fine on US and Africa servers, but got
identified in Europe and just broke in Asia.
YouTube: Unidentified.
Well, YouTube is the easiest to beat and it proved the same in this case.
Kodi: Unidentified. It didn’t surprise us that Kodi also performed well in all server locations but Europe, which gave us a blurred image.
Compatibility
Almost
all the VPNs vary on the issue of compatibility. So, we tested Nord with Tor,
iOS devices, Android devices, Smart TV’s, Amazon Fire-stick, Mac, Windows, and
routers.
And we got this:
Tor
browser: The software easily supports
Tor on Nord VPN for advanced protection. Nord makes it easy with ‘Onion
over VPN’ servers which itself uses the Onion network. Though you will
experience a slower speed, it compensates by providing that extra layer of
security.
iOS
(iPad, iPhone): As expected, Nord VPN is
entirely compatible with Apple devices and iOS like the latest versions of
iPad and iPhone.
Android: Nord
also supports Google’s Android operating system, which includes everything
from smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even TV media sticks.
Smart TV’s: Partly
Supported.
Amazon Firestick: Dang!
Here we caught the weak nerve of this software. Well, Nord doesn’t support
firestick but to be honest, it’s a common problem with most VPNs.
Windows: Supported.
Mac: Supported.
Routers: Partly
Supports Nord VPN and only supports routers with Open VPN connections
L2TP/IPSec and PPTP were suspended in December 2018.
Overall UX/UI
Finally,
we came to one of the main selling points of most VPN software – the user
experience.
While
the biggest characteristics of Nord VPN are the 5,000 servers but still it can
pose a major problem interface-wise.
Nord
blends both a map and list-oriented interface. Though, the map looks appealing
but still there is not point for it being in the software. There’s just one pin
on every country (for obvious purpose with 5,000+ servers), and it’s smart to
use the list rather than struggling in dragging the map.
