We decided to take NordVPN under the microscope with our honest, comprehensive, and in-depth review. We’ve put NordVPN’s service through numerous extensive speed, performance, and security tests tested it on all popular devices, systems, and all our favorite services, and checked out all its extra features and tools. And now we feel we have the definitive answer to that question.

NordVPN was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Panama – the perfect Internet privacy haven for a leading VPN provider‘s headquarters. As the country has no censorship or data retention laws and is not a member of any international surveillance alliances, you can rest assured that all your data is well protected and will not be given to a third party.

NordVPN Servers and Server Locations

Local laws aside, a VPN provider is only as good as its server network. And, NordVPN has your back. As of June 2021, NordVPN had a network of over 5500 servers in 59 countries around the world.

This isn’t great for speed, which is affected by how far you are from the nearest server. With hundreds of servers in Europe, North and South America, Australia, and a rapidly expanding network in the Pacific, Middle East, and even Africa, NordVPN basically ensures that you won’t miss your favorite Netflix shows wherever you are.

NordVPN also claims to be one of the few providers that don’t use virtual servers. And while there is some debate as to whether this is entirely true, the information is mostly checked and it can be comforting to know that some pay for an actual physical server.

NordVPN Speed ​​Test

NordVPN takes care of servers and near-user locations, but what about speed?

If you spend most of your time waiting for the video to buffer, it doesn’t really matter whether you can connect to an American, Canadian, or Australian server.

The provider proudly calls itself “the fastest VPN experience,” but is that true? It really depends on the server you choose to connect to, how far away it is, what you’re using it for, and how much traffic it receives.

During our testing, we encountered an average speed drop of 32%, which is still pretty impressive and shouldn’t affect your streaming or gaming experience. During our testing, we observed an increase in Internet speed when connecting to some European and American servers. This means that NordVPN can really improve your online experience if your internet is slow and you connect to the right server.

Nord VPN generally provides consistent speeds and a strong connection without any game-breaking issues. We didn’t encounter any issues with streaming content on any of the popular services, browsing was smooth, torrenting was easy to download and most of the servers looked very reliable and stable. However, your personal experience with NordVPN can be very different and depend on tons of factors.

Is NordVPN Safe?

Privacy is everything in this age. While governments and hackers who want to know everything you do get you in trouble for stealing your personal information, reliable protection should be at the top of everyone’s list when choosing a VPN.

Nord VPN uses cutting-edge AES 256-bit encryption, which is the best possible option available today.

This pairs well with “Perfect Forward Secrecy” (PFC) technology that assigns you a new key every time you log in, so you appear as a new user every time. This not only means that all data of your previous sessions is completely deleted and has nothing to do with the following but also means that if you get hacked, there will be no personal information or history to be stolen.

Nord VPN uses two of the most popular and secure encryption protocols today: the ever-popular and highly secure default OpenVPN TCP/UDP and IKEv2/IPSec (immediately available for Mac OS, but can be manually installed in the Windows client).

On top of that, Nord VPN is currently developing its own NordLynx protocol built around the revolutionary WireGuard. This protocol has a serious impact on security, speed, and flexibility and is available with some servers.

Does NordVPN work with Netflix and Other Streaming Services?

Streaming platforms are the #1 reason people look to buy a VPN subscription. Why settle for shows available on your local Netflix or limit yourself to streaming platforms available in your country?

And while streaming services throttle VPNs, it’s also fair to ask if Nord VPN is good at bypassing geoblocks and unblocking streaming services.

Nord VPN has a SmartPlay-Smart Play function specially designed to bypass geo-blocks and other restrictions, providing easy access to inaccessible content.