NordVPN Evaluate (2025): Residing As much as Its Identify

One in all my favourite new additions isn’t on the desktop app, although. NordVPN not too long ago launched rip-off name safety on Android, with an iOS model deliberate for the long run. I’ve been utilizing it for months, and it has simply flagged greater than 100 spam calls to my telephone. It really works a deal with, even when it’s not considered one of NordVPN’s huge marketed options.

Virtually the Quickest VPN

NordVPN is quick. It’s not the quickest VPN I’ve examined—that’s Proton VPN—however that’s extra of a rounding error than a notable distinction in velocity. Throughout 5 US areas, NordVPN dropped 15.32 p.c of my unprotected velocity on common. For context, Proton dropped 15.23 p.c. Surfshark, which can be owned by Nord Safety, dropped 18.84 p.c, whereas Mullvad closed in on 24 p.c.

So, NordVPN is quick, however extra importantly, it’s constant. Throughout the areas I examined, it by no means posted a slowdown of greater than 20 p.c, and in a single location (Chicago), it solely dropped a meager 6.6 p.c of my unprotected velocity. Total, although, that 15 p.c drop is an efficient illustration of the speeds you may anticipate, not less than within the US.

Velocity testing with any VPN is hard. There are a ton of things that affect speeds past the server you’re connecting to. My velocity testing—and any VPN velocity testing, for that matter—is a snapshot in time. It gives perception into the type of speeds you may anticipate on common, not a concrete quantity you need to anticipate from each server at each time of day. To get probably the most correct snapshot attainable, I examined throughout 5 US areas at three completely different occasions of day over the course of per week. Earlier than every check, I ran three passes of my unprotected velocity to get an correct comparability, and I threw out any outcomes with a larger than 10 p.c deviation between passes.

One of the simplest ways to get round velocity hurdles is to alter servers, and NordVPN is stable on that entrance. It has round 7,400 servers, however the precise quantity is consistently altering. It maintains a database of its servers and areas, full with particulars on the options these servers assist and whether or not they’re digital or bodily servers.

NordVPN lives as much as its monumental identify. It nonetheless has a large community, quick speeds, and a ton of options, and regardless of its notorious knowledge breach, it has continued to double down on safety measures. The primary challenge with Nord is the value. You’ll be able to rating a very good deal on a two-year low cost, however that worth jumps up considerably when it comes time to resume. Because of this I rank it barely under Proton VPN, regardless of the 2 providers going toe-to-toe on options and speeds. Proton Limitless clocks in on the similar month-to-month worth as NordVPN Primary, and it comes with Proton Go, Proton Mail, and a handful of different apps.