NordVPN is probably the most widely-recognized VPN brand in the industry. It has risen in popularity over the years and continues to grow. In this updated NordVPN review for 2021, we set out to see if it is still performing above the rest.

As with all of our VPN reviews here on RestorePrivacy, we really get into the details with test results and analysis. Here’s what we looked at for this NordVPN review:

• Numerous speed tests conducted with NordVPN servers around the world
• Leak tests conducted on the desktop applications (checking for IPv4, IPv6, and DNS leaks)
• Testing the kill switch and all features
• Streaming compatibility checks with Netflix and other services
• Testing the specialty servers, including the Double-VPN and P2P servers

With cyber attacks and corporate surveillance on the rise, a good VPN is a crucial tool for everyone going online. And with the massive growth in streaming content online, a VPN is your ticket to watching content from anywhere in the world. So let’s begin this NordVPN review by examining the basic findings.

Pros of NordVPN

Here are the pros (advantages) of NordVPN.

1. Strong privacy and security features

NordVPN offers some solid features to enhance user privacy and security – above and beyond most other VPNs. Let’s take a look at NordVPN’s encryption and some of these enhanced features.

Strong encryption standards and VPN protocol selection

NordVPN’s OpenVPN clients use an AES-256-GCM cipher and HMAC SHA256 hash authentication. Additionally, NordVPN utilizes Perfect Forward Secrecy through a DHE-4096 key exchange. The AES-256-GCM cipher is also used to encrypt traffic with the IPSec/IKEv2 protocol.

In addition to OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2, NordVPN also supports the WireGuard VPN protocol directly in all VPN apps. NordVPN’s privacy-focused implementation of WireGuard is called NordLynx. You can easily switch between VPN protocols under Settings/Preferences.

NordLynx (WireGuard protocol) offers serious performance and security advantages, which we will see further below.

There are three distinct benefits of CyberSec for NordVPN users:

1. More privacy – In today’s world, ads are advanced tracking tools that record your online activities and match this up to your data profile. This is how ad networks come up with targeted advertising. Blocking ads via CyberSec is crucial for privacy reasons.
2. More security – The CyberSec feature is also critical for security. Online ads are usually fed in through third-party domains, which can be malicious (see malvertising). These malicious domains will use ads as an attack vector to infect your device – even if you don’t click them. CyberSec protects you against this by blocking domains based on a real-time threat list.
3. Faster page load speeds – Ads can eat up a lot of bandwidth and really slow down page load speeds, especially on mobile devices. Blocking ads can significantly improve performance, and help conserver your data plan.

NordVPN’s CyberSec feature is one of the best VPN ad blockers you will find. This feature is available on mobile and desktop devices.

Note: CyberSec uses real-time filter lists that are blocked via DNS requests. Therefore this feature is only active when connected to the VPN.

Double VPN (multi-hop)

NordVPN is one of a handful of VPN providers that offer multi-hop functionality – or in this case, double-VPN servers. With NordVPN’s double-VPN servers, your traffic is encrypted across two separate VPN servers before exiting onto the regular internet. This also offers some advantages.

• Double-VPN gives you an extra layer of encryption between your device and the regular internet.
• This could also protect you against a compromised data center. In a double-VPN setup, no single server can see both your IP address and sites you visit.
• Distributes trust across two different servers.

Onion-over-VPN servers

If you are looking for additional encryption and anonymity beyond a single-hop VPN server, another option is to use an Onion-over-VPN server. The Onion-over-VPN servers encrypt traffic with the Tor Network, in addition to the regular VPN server. NordVPN currently offers two locations for this: Netherlands and Switzerland.

2. Fast speeds, great reliability, and instant connections

For this NordVPN I ran dozens of speed tests using different VPN protocols and also various servers around the world. My baseline speed for testing was about 480 Mbps on a wired ethernet connection (no WiFi). Overall, the NordVPN speed test results were phenomenal.

To get the best performance, I selected the NordLynx protocol in the Settings, and then tested different server locations.

First, I tested a nearby NordVPN server in Seattle, which gave me 445 Mbps.

Reliability and connections

On the topic of performance, it’s also important to discuss reliability and connections:

• Reliability – I found NordVPN to be very reliable. The servers were consistently fast and I did not experience any dropped connections.
• Connections – When using the WireGuard VPN protocol, I found that NordVPN was extremely fast at establishing a connection — nearly instantly. While OpenVPN can take a few seconds (or longer), WireGuard offers near-instant connections. This makes switching VPN servers all the more quick and easy.

3. Secure apps with no leaks

NordVPN also offers a nice lineup of secure apps (clients) for all major operating systems and devices:

• Windows
• Mac OS
• Linux
• Android and iOS (mobile)
• Android TV

Here were my main takeaways from testing and reviewing the NordVPN clients on Windows and Mac OS:

• Fully-featured – The NordVPN apps are loaded with features, to include specialty servers, leak protection, and startup/connection settings.
• Easy to use – Whether you are new with VPNs or a seasoned pro, you should find the NordVPN clients user-friendly and intuitive. Adjusting settings and selecting features is simple.
• Secure – Aside from the strong encryption we discussed above, NordVPN also secures data with a kill switch. This blocks traffic (or closes applications) if the VPN connection drops for any reason. We’ll examine this more below.