NordVPN Price and Monthly Cost

Very few people realize just how vulnerable they are online. Even with strong passwords and the best security practices, you could be at risk.  With a growing number of identity theft cases (targeting adults and children) and increasing instances of cyberattacks, it’s no wonder people are turning to virtual private networks in droves.1

You can learn more about VPNs on our VPN resource page, but today we’re going to be talking about one of the biggest names in the VPN game, NordVPN. After testing NordVPN for several days, I discovered that they have a wide range of features that I didn’t even realize I needed. By that, I mean Nord is ahead of the game and offers some great value to its customers.

One of those surprises is the recently added feature called Threat Protection, which steers users clear of malicious websites, blocks trackers, and hides intrusive ads. Pricing is affordable, and recently NordVPN restructured its plans to offer even more value. Straight ahead, we are going to walk you through how it all works.

NordVPN Overview

Founded by childhood friends over 10 years ago, NordVPN offers an innovative VPN that works across different platforms, includes protections that are comprehensive, and uses a server network that is nearly impregnable. Plus, for what you get, the monthly subscription fees are reasonable, even affordable. Just take a look at NordVPN’s key features.

NordVPN Map

Key Features

NordVPN Subscription Costs

Nord isn’t the cheapest VPN I’ve seen on the market — that honor goes to Surfshark’s plans — but they sit squarely in the “reasonable” category when you consider their features and functionality.

Nord spells out their pricing plans clearly on their website. They offer three subscriptions: Standard, Plus, and Complete. You choose the plan based on the number of features that you need.

NordVPN Price Breakdown

Similar to most VPNs, the longer the subscription, the greater the savings on month-to-month costs.

In NordVPN’s case, if you sign up for their Standard Plan with a two-year subscription, you’re going to be saving a whopping 63 percent over their regular $11.99 month-to-month plan. Plus, you get three months for free. For 27 months, you’ll get access to their full suite of protections for $3.09 per month. Think of it this way — you can poke Big Brother in his all-seeing eye for less than the cost of a Starbucks latte.

NordVPN’s Plus and Complete Plans

Nord also has two additional plans that offer some bonus features.

The Plus Plan comes with a cross-platform password manager. This is basically a password manager, but because you’re using it through the VPN, it works across all your devices. You don’t have to worry about keeping up with all your various passwords. In addition, Plus includes a data breach scanner that lets you make sure your passwords, email addresses, and credit card details aren’t floating around loose on the internet.

The Complete Plan includes both the password manager and data breach scanner but, in addition, features one terabyte of encrypted cloud storage. This is an unusual perk for a VPN, but it means you can access your files at any time no matter where you might be in the world and easily sync files across your devices.

The Plus Plan runs $12.99 per month if you’re paying a month at a time, but one year is just $5.49 per month, and two years plus a free three months costs $3.99.

Meanwhile, the Complete Plan is $14.29 per month with no contract, $6.79 per month with a one-year subscription, and $5.29 with a two-year subscription.

NordVPN Password Tool

NordVPN Payment Options

Another really interesting thing about NordVPN is the numerous different ways you can pay. It might seem a little counterintuitive to give your name and credit card information to a service that’s main purpose is to keep you anonymous, and that irony is not lost on NordVPN. That’s why they allow you to pay for your subscription using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. The advantage of paying in this way is that it’s more anonymous — it can still be tracked back to you, but not as easily as, let’s say, if you paid with a credit card. This is really helpful for folks who take their privacy seriously.

NordVPN Deals and Discounts

Occasionally, Nord has been known to sweeten the deal by offering discounts. At the time I wrote this, Nord was offering up to 63 percent off of their one-year and two-year plans. Two years (or even one) is a long time to commit to, but on the other hand, it could be worth the savings. If you are not sure if you want to dive into this commitment until you have tested the product, Nord does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. For more on the best Nord deal, check out our NordVPN discounts page.

If that’s still too much of a commitment for you, though, read our review of ProtonVPN. They’re a great service — almost on par with Nord — but they offer a free version of their product for you to try out. For more information on that, check out our guide to ProtonVPN’s pricing and packages.

NordVPN Advanced Features

One of the reasons Nord is so well-liked is their feature-to-cost ratio. Simply put, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck. You’re going to have access to all of these features no matter the subscription package you purchase.

VPN into Tor

Tor, a global network that offers the functionality to access the internet anonymously, is a favorite among privacy buffs. Not only does Tor give you anonymity, it also makes it possible to access the deep web. However, due to its complex networking, not all VPNs work with Tor. NordVPN is one of the few exceptions. With its VPN into Tor feature, you can use NordVPN while connected to the Tor network to enjoy much more privacy while staying anonymous online.

Dedicated IP

Dedicated IP addresses are those that no one else has access to. These can help make online shopping and browsing more seamless and can help make telecommunications technology — especially video conferencing platforms — more stable. Unlike shared IP addresses, which you share with thousands of other Nord users, only you can use a dedicated IP. It’s like having your own VPN server.

Double VPN

What’s safer than a VPN? Double VPN. A VPN routes you through an encrypted tunnel to a secure remote server. A double VPN repeats this process. You jump twice, which makes you harder to follow, and both jumps are separately encrypted, making it twice as hard for anyone to intercept your data. Activists and journalists have been utilizing this technology for years, but these days, it’s becoming standard equipment for anyone who spends much time online.

P2P Optimization

NordVPN’s P2P optimization works in two ways. First, when you use BitTorrent or a similar service to share or access media, NordVPN routes your traffic through servers in countries that don’t scrutinize torrenters as heavily. Second, the optimized servers are configured in a way that they can still provide you fast internet speeds for downloading and sharing files over P2P connections.

Obfuscated Servers

This allows users to bypass VPN blocks set in place by restrictive governments by either scrambling data or adding additional layers of encryption. As a result, no one will know you’re using a VPN. Like what I saw when I reviewed Surfshark, this is great for world travelers.

Kill Switch

If your VPN connection is interrupted for any reason, your internet connection will also terminate, ensuring that your actual IP address is never exposed. I always like to see kill-switch functionality with VPNs.

Threat Protection Feature

This cybersecurity feature will make your browsing safe and fast. It will protect you against malware, ads, trackers, and URLs up to no good.

NordVPN’s Value — A Comprehensive Look

Like I mentioned — NordVPN isn’t the cheapest service out there, but when you weigh the costs against the functionality, they’re certainly one of the best values on the market today. Their suite of protections are professional-grade, and honestly, they’re more than enough for the average person who’s just using a VPN to stay a little safer online.

NordVPN’s subscription packages are reasonable, and affordably priced — they could easily be charging double for the protections they’re offering — and it’s great that they provide a 30-day trial period for each tier. In my experience, 30 days is plenty of time to get a feel for a VPN and decide if it’s right for you.

Overall NordVPN’s price, features, and generous trial period make them one of the best values in the industry, and because of this, they get one of our highest recommendations.

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