VPN Like NordVPN + Alternatives + Competitors + Similar VPN

NordVPN occupy the top positions among the list of best VPN services. The NordVPN client is an easy to use app that can run on all major platforms. They are one of the very few remaining VPNs that allow you to access Netflix; they do not have bandwidth caps, and are excellent for torrenting even having special servers for this activity. There are many other VPN like NordVPN that offer similar and also your desired security and privacy features. These similar VPNs are known as the best NordVPN alternatives and competitors available. In this article, we shall explore all the NordVPN competitors and alternatives to help you choose the most suitable option.

In this review, I intend to lay bare the factors that scores point for NordVPN as well as the drawbacks of the NordVPN client.

If your online security and privacy consciousness is to the superlative degree, you will be hard pressed to find a better VPN. NordVPN is located in privacy friendly Panama; they use industry standard high level encryption that is virtually unhackable, they have special obfuscated servers, they provide double data protection with their double VPN servers, they have a TOR over VPN feature which combines the PVN near-unhackable encryption with the invisibility that TOR offers, they have a kill switch that ensures that you are always protected even during unfortunate drops of the VPN connection, they do not keep activity logs or connection logs, and you can buy the NordVPN without leaving a trail because they accept different anonymous payment options.

Apart from the almost unbeatable security that NordVPN offers, they are also one of the fastest VPNs in the market. 

In terms of cost, you cannot get a cheaper VPN that offers as much when you take up NordVPN three years subscription package. They enhance browsing experience with features that block annoying pop-up ads and web threats. They also have an excellent customer support that provides quality and instant assistance.

Their man disadvantage is that they are expensive on the short term; they seem to target perpetual VPN users, and not users with short term VPN needs. NordVPN is one of the top VPN services, but if you are not satisfied with privacy and security features, you may try out other alternatives that strongly compete with NordVPN. Below are other VPN like NordVPN:

Similar VPN LIke NordVPN & Alternatives:

• NordVPN
• Surfshark
• ExpressVPN
• Proton VPN
• CyberGhost VPN
• PureVPN
• Private Internet Access
• IPVanish
• TorGuard
• Hotspot Shield

Brief NordVPN Competitors Price Comparison

VPN service	Month-to-month price	Lowest advertised price	Initial payment	Brief comparison
NordVPN	$14.99/month	$3.49/month for 27 months	$94.23	Strong all-round option for speed – streaming and security; supports 10 simultaneous devices. (NordVPN)
Surfshark	$16.45/month	$2.49/month for 27 months	$67.23	Excellent value for families, since a single subscription covers unlimited devices. (Surfshark)
ExpressVPN	$12.99/month	$3.49/month for 28 months	$97.72	User-friendly premium VPN with easy-to-use apps and up to 10 connections on its Basic plan. (ExpressVPN)
Proton VPN	$9.99/month	$2.99/month for 24 months	$71.76	Privacy focused VPN with open-source applications & a limited free plan with unlimited data. (Proton VPN)
CyberGhost VPN	$12.99/month	$2.19/month for 26 months	$56.94	Affordable long-term option with streaming focused servers & a 45-day guarantee on longer plans. (CyberGhost VPN)
PureVPN	$12.95/month	$2.15/month for 27 months	$58.05	Low-cost long-term plan that includes the main VPN service & tracker or advertisement blocking. (PureVPN)
Private Internet Access	$11.95/month	$2.03/month for 39 months	$79.00	Suitable for experienced users who want advanced settings – port forwarding & unlimited device connections. (Private Internet Access)
IPVanish	$12.99/month	$2.19/month for 24 months	$52.56	Good household option with unlimited simultaneous connections & easy-to-use applications. (Security.org)
TorGuard	$9.99/month	About $2.50/month on the $29.99 annual offer	$29.99	Better suited to advanced users who need features such as port forwarding – static IP pools and detailed settings. (TorGuard)
Hotspot Shield	$12.99/month	About $2.42/month with the $29 introductory annual plan	$29.00	Offers a limited free version & fast – simple applications – but the annual plan renews at $95.99. (Hotspot Shield)

Review of NordVPN

Ease of Use:

NordVPN is easy to use; you can download and set up with little or no hitch. The client support all major operating systems including Android, Windows, Mac OS, iOS, iPhone/ iPad, Android TV, Chrome and Firefox

Simultaneous Connections:

NordVPN gives you the opportunity to connect 6 devices simultaneously under one license. This is a very big plus for NordVPN because most of the competing VPNs allow only 3 simultaneous connections; while the very generous ones allow 5 simultaneous connections. Securing up to 6 devices with one NordVPN license will be very appealing to users with multiple gadgets that they’ll need to secure or to users who have a circle of family and friends with whom they wish to share their VPN cover.

Ad blocking:

Do you know that the man who invented pop-up ads has apologized to the world for creating one of the most hated forms of advertising? Pop-up ads not only prevent you from enjoying contents in a site, they reduce the load speed of the website, and cost you mobile data. They are so annoying that the inventor had to make a statement to clarify his original intentions. Well, apology accepted, but I still feel like strangling someone whenever those unwanted ads pop-up and frustrate my browsing.

To enhance your browsing experience, a few VPNs have started providing services beyond VPN such as malware blocking and ad blocking, and NordVPN is one of the few. NordVPN CyberSec feature when enabled does two things: (i) it blocks dangerous websites so that no malware or other cyber threat can infect your device (ii) it hides the very annoying pop-ups ads and auto-play video ads the moment you enter a website 

Location Availability

NordVPN currently boasts of 4582 servers in 62 countries across the globe. I can confidently say that they have the highest number of servers among VPN providers. They have 2117 servers in the Americas (with 1786 servers in the US alone), 2062 servers in Europe (528 in the UK alone); 373 servers in Asia Pacific, and 54 servers in Africa, India and the Middle East.

While their server locations cover the whole world, it can be seen that the servers are concentrated in the US and the UK. In Africa, NordVPN have servers in only Egypt (3) and South Africa (17), and not a single server in the whole of West Africa and Central Africa. 

The large number of servers in the NordVPN network will cover all your needs in spoofing your location or accessing geo-restricted websites. However, they can do well to put servers in many more countries.

Server Features:

NordVPN offers many hard-to-beat server features such as dedicated IP servers, obfuscated servers, P2P servers, double VPN servers and onion over VPN.

The dedicated IP servers allow you to order and lock down an IP address, so that no other NordVPN user but you alone can use the particular IP address. The obfuscated servers are specially made to serve the needs of those in countries with heavy internet restrictions.

There are hundreds of servers optimized for P2P activities in different locations around the world.  This makes NordVPN a great VPN for torrenting; they even seem to encourage it on their website. They say they “are not like other VPN providers that try to discourage you from using VPN with P2P by throttling your bandwidth and intentionally slowing down your internet service”. Connecting to one of these NordVPN servers optimized for P2P sharing keeps your torrenting activities safe and private.

The double VPN servers allow you to relay your traffic through two different NordPVN servers for double encryption. By relaying your data through two servers you get double data protection. Those who are highly security conscious will find this feature invaluable; though they have to make speed compromises, as the double encryption comes with reduced speed.

The onion over VPN server feature is similar in operation to the double VPN server feature. First you relay your data through a NordVPN server, but instead of sending it through another server in the network you send it to the onion router (TOR). This allows you to combine the high level encryption of the NordVPN service and the anonymous cloak of the onion router (TOR), and gives you maximum online security and privacy. 

Speeds

NordVPN speeds are definitely among the very top; it is why they make a very good VPN for torrenting. Their download speeds and uploads speeds comes out as one of the best among VPNs, even when connecting to servers across very long distances. With NordVPN you will barely notice a drop in your speeds. Only ExpressVPN can be said to top NordVPN in speed. 

Security and Privacy

VPN protocol:

NordVPN has different high level protocols to ensure your online safety. They use the industry standard OpenVPN protocol that comes with an AES 256 bit encryption; other tunneling protocols used by the NordVPN client include the IKEv2/ IPsec protocol and a 3072 bit DH key.

Privacy features of NordVPN servers:

It has been discussed that the NordVPN network has certain server features which makes them a very good VPN such as double encryption servers, TOR over VPN and special obfuscated servers. These features are primarily to give you maximum online privacy and security.

Kill Switch:

I once saw a young woman in a crowd friendly street going about her business unaware that the button of her top was open and was revealing an eyeful boob-slip. I remember the embarrassment on her face when I called her attention to the unfortunate detail. Thinking you are covered, only to find out that you are not can be really embarrassing.

For many thinking they are protected online, only to find out that they are not would not only be embarrassing, but would be literally life threatening. Think of the activist, journalist and bloggers in oppressive and restrictive regimes.

When you are using a VPN, even with the best VPNs, there are times when the VPN connection would drop, leaving you with the connection of your ISP. At those times, all your online activities are exposed, and the purpose of the VPN is defeated. Thus, VPNs are starting to add features that ensure your safety even in such moments of unfortunate loss of VPN connection. 

NordVPN have a kill switch feature which protects your privacy by automatically disconnecting you from the internet, when their VPN connection drops. There can be no unfortunate boob-slip (your online activities and IP address being suddenly exposed) with the kill switch feature of NordVPN.

Logging:

Unlike some VPNs that keep logs, NordVPN does not keep logs – be it activity logs or connection logs. They state on their website: “NordVPN have a strict no logs policy when it comes to seeing user activity online”.

However, most VPN users no longer trust the no logs claims advertised by VPNs on their websites.  It is not unheard of that most VPNs claiming ‘no logs’ have gone ahead to keep logs and hand these to third parties (especially law enforcement agencies) when pressured.

Acknowledging these concerns, NordVPN adds on their privacy policy that “NordVPN is empowered to deny any third party requests. Period”

Personally, I like the choice of words. They did not say that they will deny third party requests; but that they are empowered to deny third party requests. It means that when law enforcement comes knocking, and waving the law, for user logs; NordVPN will push them away using the same law. Can NordVPN really withstand the pressure of law enforcement agencies and uphold my privacy and security when it comes to that? Their use of ‘period’ to finish off the sentence shows their confidence in the matter; and their confidence only serve to increase my confidence in them.

Jurisdiction:

NordVPN is headquartered in Panama which is a safe haven security-wise. VPNs are legal entities and like any other individuals are subject to the laws of the land they are located; thus, countries with good privacy laws will make good places to host VPNs. Panama is one of such countries with privacy friendly laws, and this make NordVPN appealing to most VPN users.

Pricing

NordPVN is not one of those PVNs that offer graded services. There is no NordVPN premium having special features no present in some other low grade plan. NordVPN offers consistent features across all their packages. NordVPN have been known to offer three packages which are different only in duration of access to the VPN service.

The three packages are: a single month package which is priced at $11.95; an annual package which is priced at $69 (standing at $5.75 per month) to give a 107.82% saving on the single month package; and a 2 years package priced at $39.50 (standing at $3.29 per month) to give a 263.22% saving on the single month package.

NordVPN are currently offering a 3 year package priced at $33; this equates to a monthly cost of $2.75, and gives a 334.54% saving on the single month package. 

Looking at the prices of NordVPN, it can be seen that: just like other VPNs, the longer term packages give the best value for money; the single month package does not come cheap, making NordVPN steeply priced for those with short time VPN needs; NordVPN best value deal, the $2.75 of the 3 year package, is one of the lowest given the features in the package.

Most VPNs offer short term subscriptions (3 months and 6 months), which would serve the needs of users who would want more than one month servicing but do not want the longer commitment of one or more years. NordVPN, though, seem to be out for perpetual users of VPNs by offering 2-years and 3-years packages that are relatively cheap, but a cost prohibitive single month plan.

Payment Option

NordVPN accept regular payment methods such as Paypal and credit cards. They go a step further in providing you complete privacy; they are one of the very few VPNs that accept anonymous payment options. You can buy the NordVPN client with bitcoin and other crypto currencies. 

Money-back Guarantee

NordVPN give a 30 days money guarantee which allows you to request a refund if you are not satisfied with the VPN client. This can be a way for you to test the service free of charge. Though, it has been said that it takes NordVPN a long time (about 30 days) to process the repayment; you will definitely get back your money. Getting back the payment would only be impossible if: (i) you requested the refund after 30 days from the time of purchase (ii) you did not buy the NordVPN client directly from the website, but through third parties such as iTunes/ App store (iii) you used anonymous payment methods when purchasing the client

Customer Support

NordVPN has an impressive help center, and they recommend that if you need help, you should first try the help center.

The ‘getting started’ resource will give you all you need to set up the NordVPN client on Windows PC, Mac Os, iPhone/ Pad, Android and router. The knowledge base has a wide array of support articles that includes how to securely watch Netflix with NordVPN and how to securely watch BBC with NordVPN. Their troubleshooting resource provides excellent help to common windows application issues and connection issues.

Then there is the billing information resource that provides solution to almost every issue about billing and subscription. NordVPN arguably has the most extensive knowledge base among VPN providers; you would find support articles that pretty much cover any issue you could have.

If you desire direct contact with NordVPN support personnel, you can be rest assured that you will get timely and quality assistance. It is for good reason that NordVPN won the 2018 Best Customer Service award given by BestVPN.com.

You can send them an email using support@nordvpn.com. Although their website states that e-mail response could take up to 48 hours, feedback generally comes within a day. Then there is the live chat support of NordVPN which you can use to get instant assistance.

FAQ:

1. Is NordVPN Reliable?

Yes, NordVPN is a reliable VPN service that helps secure your privacy

2. Is NordVPN Legit?

Yes, NordVPN is a legit and safe VPN services with good user feedback and ratings online.

3. What are the popular NordVPN competitors?

The popular NordVPN competitors are ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Ipvanish and CyberGhost. Other alternatives are also reliable.