This guide compares two of the most popular providers, NordVPN and VyprVPN. We have considered subscription prices, streaming performance, security features, and more to help make your decision easier.
NordVPN is one of the best VPN providers on the market and offers excellent streaming performance, an impressive number of servers, torrenting support, 6 simultaneous connections, anonymous payment support, and a range of first-rate privacy features.
If you are looking for a VPN service, you have likely heard of NordVPN as it is one of the best and most popular providers on the market in 2021. It is relatively cost-effective, too, as long as you commit to a longer-term plan with prices starting at just $3.71 a month if you opt for a 2-year payment option. However, if you do want the freedom of a monthly rolling contract, you will be paying a premium price of $11.95 a month.
NordVPN offers a range of useful payment options with support for PayPal, credit card, and anonymous payments with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, making it a great choice for torrenters or any customers that want to keep their online activities completely private and anonymous.
Customers are protected with NordVPN thanks to industry-standard AES-256 bit encryption. There is a range of advanced security features, including the option to use Onion over VPN to reroute your connection through the anonymous encrypted Tor network for an additional layer of internet security and access to Onion services. NordVPN also offers Double VPN encryption technology that serves to pass your internet traffic through two different VPN servers rather than just one.
However, it is necessary to note that both Onion over Tor and Double VPN encryption will result in significantly reduced server speeds as your connection will be routed through more than one server.
Reassuringly, NordVPN has completed recent independent security audits of its software and policies to provide solid evidence for its no-logging statements and privacy policy, which is a real benefit for security-conscious users.
Server speeds are excellent with NordVPN, especially if you utilize its proprietary NordLynx protocol. On UK server connections, the service reached average speeds of up to 350Mbps, which is extremely impressive. This means that NordVPN is an excellent choice for streaming content and gaming in high definition or even 4K. There is torrenting support too on most, although not all, of the provider’s servers, making it useful for torrenters.
The NordVPN desktop clients are well-designed and easy to use, even for novice VPN users. However, the map-interface can be somewhat difficult to use on smaller, mobile screens. There is decent device compatibility; however, the security provider does only offer 6 simultaneous connections. This is likely sufficient for most VPN users, but it is disappointing considering the higher subscription price.
Customer service is excellent with NordVPN, and there is a 24/7 live chat option to ensure help is always on hand if you run into any issues while setting up or using the virtual private network. There is a large knowledge base on the website, and while it may take some time to find the relevant article, there is a wealth of information there.
VyprVPN is another excellent VPN service. However, it is not quite as popular or well-known as NordVPN. VyprVPN is based in Switzerland, a country that is free from data retention laws. VyprVPN also owns all of its servers, which is reassuring for users concerned about their privacy online.
If you sign up for a monthly rolling contract, VyprVPN is relatively expensive, at $12.95. However, as with any VPN service, the monthly prices fall significantly if you commit to a longer-term subscription plan. If you sign up for the 3-year subscription plan with Vypr, you will get the service for just $1.66, which is excellent value and makes VyprVPN one of the cheapest VPN products on the market in 2021.
VyprVPN is an excellent choice when it comes to internet privacy and security. It operates on zero-knowledge DNS servers and owns all of its servers, which removes the need for third-party intervention. However, server speeds are somewhat slow, which is disappointing. Average speeds reach just 160Mbps on the OpenVPN protocol.
VyprVPN is relatively good when it comes to accessing geo-restricted content on streaming services such as Netflix. The VPN provider is successful at accessing Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, Hulu, and more. However, it is disappointingly unable to overcome firewalls and restrictions on Amazon Prime Video, and some Netflix libraries were unavailable. There is complete support for P2P sharing, making it an excellent choice for torrenters.
VyprVPN comes with 5 simultaneous connections. The VyprVPN desktop clients are powerful and well-designed. There is a range of advanced privacy features and configurable settings such as server sorting tools, Favorites, and ping time indicators. However, the kill-switch is not completely reliable, which is somewhat concerning.
The provider’s mobile apps are impressively powerful and operate in a similar way to the desktop versions. VyprVPN supports a wide range of platforms and operating systems, including routers and streaming devices.
There is a 24/7 live chat option, email support, and an extensive array of written support guides when it comes to customer support. This means that there will always be assistance available if you run into difficulties when using VyprVPN.
For many users, price is one of the most important factors when choosing a VPN provider. Therefore, we have compared VyprVPN vs NordVPN in terms of their pricing options, subscription options, and refund guarantees.
NordVPN is relatively good value, as long as you are happy to commit to one of the longer-term subscription options. However, if you want the freedom of a monthly rolling contract, you will be paying a premium price of $11.95 per month. However, as with every VPN provider, you will receive a significant discount if you sign up for longer.
On the NordVPN 6 month plan, you will get the VPN for $9 a month. However, it is necessary to pay the $54 upfront. If you sign up to NordVPN for a year, the monthly price will drop further, to $6.58 a month. However, the most cost-effective option comes with the 2-year subscription plan, at just $3.71 a month. This is a significant discount of almost 70% when compared to the monthly option.
We would be inclined to recommend opting for the longest-term 2-year subscription plan. There is no free trial, but there is a 30-day refund guarantee for additional peace of mind. This means that you can test the product fully for a month before committing to a paid plan. If you are not completely happy with the service on offer, you can request a full refund, no questions asked.
However, if you are not happy to commit to such a long-term plan, it may be advisable to sign up for a month to avoid the high initial cost and then either request a refund within the first 30 days or sign up for a longer-term subscription plan once you know that you are satisfied with the service on offer.
In terms of pricing, NordVPN is not the cheapest option on the market, and VyprVPN is slightly cheaper. However, there is a range of advanced security features available with NordVPN that are rarely seen elsewhere, so it is worth the extra investment for many users.
Regarding payment options, NordVPN supports a range of methods, including credit card, PayPal, AmazonPay, GooglePay, UnionPay, and iTunes. If you are concerned about your privacy and anonymity, the VPN provider allows payment via Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, and more cryptocurrencies.
If you want to avail of a free NordVPN trial, you can get 7 days free on the Android and iOS clients. However, if you want to fully test the service before committing to a paid subscription plan, we would recommend signing up first and then utilizing the guarantee if you are not happy. You will not lose money, and you will have 30 days to fully test the service and features on offer.
VyprVPN offers a range of pricing options that start with a relatively expensive monthly plan at $12.95. However, if you sign up for a year with VyprVPN, this price drops significantly to an extremely affordable $3.75 a month. This price does not increase after the first year either.
Previously, VyprVPN also offered a 2-year subscription plan. However, this no longer appears to be available. There is now a 3-year plan on offer, which comes in at one of the most affordable VPN provider prices, at just $1.66 a month. If you are happy to commit to a longer-term plan and can afford to pay $60 upfront, we recommend choosing this option.
With VyprVPN, payments can be made by PayPal, UnionPay, or credit card. Unfortunately, there is no support for cryptocurrencies, which is disappointing for users who want to keep complete anonymity. It is necessary to enter your payment details when you sign up with VyprVPN. However, you will not be charged for 3 days, so it works as a form of a free trial. Even after the 3 days have elapsed, there is a 30-day refund guarantee for additional peace of mind.
It is necessary to note that the subscription price varies depending on your location. If you sign up for the 1-month with VyprVPN in the United States, it will cost you $12.95. However, in the United Kingdom, the same subscription plan costs £12.95, which is a significant disparity.
Another important factor to consider when looking at virtual private network providers is user privacy and security. Both NordVPN and VyprVPN offer a range of first-rate features, making them a great choice for protecting your identity and private data online.
NordVPN is committed to protecting its users’ privacy and anonymity on the internet and boasts a wide range of advanced security features. There is AES-256 bit encryption combined with 4096-bit Diffie-Hellman keys as standard. Users also have access to Perfect Forward Secrecy technology, which ensures new encryption keys are used at the start of every online session and every hour after that. This ensures that even if a NordVPN session became compromised, the attacker would only gain access for a maximum of an hour.
There is the option to utilize Onion over VPN too, which will reroute your internet traffic through the anonymous encrypted Tor network for an additional security layer and access to Onion services. However, this will significantly reduce your connection speeds as your data is being passed through multiple remote servers rather than just one.
NordVPN also offers the option to activate Double VPN encryption technology for absolute online anonymity and privacy. However, this will also result in reduced speeds. If you need to use the VPN in a place where VPN use is restricted, such as in an office or university, NordVPN also comes with a range of obfuscated servers, which will mask the fact that you are using a VPN connection. This can also help access geo-restricted content on streaming services that employ VPN blocking technology and firewalls.
There is a kill switch to ensure you are always protected when using NordVPN. Even if the VPN connection drops or fails for any reason, the kill switch will automatically cut your internet connection and prevent the transfer of unencrypted information. This is useful for any online activity that demands complete security and privacy, such as torrenting. There is complete DNS and WebRTC leak protection too, which is reassuring.
It is necessary to note that NordVPN experienced a server hack in 2018, which the provider blamed on a third-party data center. One NordVPN server in Finland was compromised; however, it is not clear what data was affected. Following the incident, NordVPN took multiple steps to secure its software and upgraded its servers to RAM-only memory, which is much safer than traditional hard-drive storage.
NordVPN has also completed multiple independent security audits that were carried out by renowned security company PricewaterhouseCooper. The audits found no evidence suggesting that NordVPN violates its no-logging claims or privacy policy in any way. Therefore, we are happy to recommend NordVPN as an excellent VPN choice for privacy-conscious users.
Like NordVPN, VyprVPN utilizes strong military-grade AES-256 bit encryption as well as SHA384 HMAC encryption and TLS-ECDHE-RSA-2048 on its OpenVPN connections. This means that even if a cybercriminal gained access to the private key of a previous VyprVPN session, they could not access future sessions.
VyprVPN now also supports first-rate VPN protocols WireGuard and IKEv2 on all of its clients. It no longer offers support for older, less secure L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols. VyprVPN even offers its own Chameleon 2.0 protocol, which serves to overcome strong VPN blocking technology, which may help access geo-restricted content on streaming services that employ VPN blocking software.
To prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, VyprVPN utilizes its own encrypted, zero-knowledge DNS servers. This ensures that there are no security holes in any VyprVPN connections. All of the VyprVPN apps come with reliable kill switches to ensure your real IP address and unencrypted information do not become compromised even if the VPN connection fails for any reason.
When comparing NordVPN and VyprVPN, we considered the no-logging and privacy policies offered by both providers. NordVPN claims to no store any information regarding its users’ internet activities, which is reassuring.
NordVPN offers a transparent privacy policy that states the provider does not monitor, record, log, store, or share private user information. This includes VPN session timestamps, bandwidth utilized, data traffic logs, accessed or original IP addresses, or online browsing information. NordVPN also claims that it does not collect VPN session logs, which many VPN providers do despite being ‘no-logging’ providers.
VyprVPN is open about its logging procedures and offers an excellent privacy policy. The VPN provider does not store user data traffic, VPN connection logs, accessed IP addresses, or DNS requests to make sure its users remain anonymous. Many providers claim to be no-logging providers but do not offer solid evidence to back up such claims. Fortunately, VyprVPN has taken steps to reinforce its policy and has had its systems and software audited by security company Leviathan Security Group.
The in-depth audit reveals that VyprVPN does not log any user activity, which means that a particular user cannot be linked to their online activities while using the VPN. However, we would like to see VyprVPN complete an up-to-date audit soon.
Overall, both NordVPN and VyprVPN are excellent VPN services for protecting user privacy and security on the internet. Neither provider logs any data that could potentially link a single user to a particular online activity, which is reassuring for any users who want to remain completely private and anonymous online.
We completed speed tests on a range of NordVPN and VyprVPN servers to determine the best provider in terms of connection time, speed, and latency. Both VPN services offer relatively fast connection speeds that are sufficient for streaming and gaming in high definition or even 4K without lag or buffering.
Although privacy protections should be your main priority when choosing a VPN provider, connection speed is another important factor to consider, especially if you are a fan of streaming, torrenting, or gaming. If your chosen VPN does not offer sufficient connection speeds and latency, you will be met with buffering and slow browsing times.
We tested NordVPN on its United States and the United Kingdom servers. Connection times averaged about 6 seconds, which is not the absolute fastest but still acceptable. When using OpenVPN to access a United Kingdom NordVPN server, connection speeds averaged up to 160Mbps, which is more than sufficient for streaming and gaming.
On the United States OpenVPN connection, speeds averaged up to 100Mbps, slightly slower than the United Kingdom connection. However, when we used the NordLynx protocol, average speeds rose to 350Mbps, which is extremely impressive and makes NordVPN one of the fastest VPN services currently available. Therefore, NordVPN is an excellent choice for streamers, gamers, or torrenters.
While testing VyprVPN’s servers, we experienced numerous connection failures, which is somewhat disappointing. Connection times averaged about 5 seconds, which is slightly faster than NordVPN. Connection speeds with OpenVPN on both United States and United Kingdom VyprVPN servers were relatively disappointing and only average 55Mbps.
However, VyprVPN does not support WireGuard, which improves connection speeds significantly. On a UK server connection with WireGuard, VyprVPN reached speeds of up to 160Mbps. This speed is averaged when compared to other VPN services on the market, although much lower than the speeds that NordVPN offers on its NordLynx protocol. Despite this, even on VyprVPN’s slowest server connections, it is fast enough for streaming and gaming in high-definition.
NordVPN provides servers in 15 United States cities, 3 Canadian cities, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, 5 Australian cities, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, South Africa, 2 Indian cities, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Turkey, and European servers in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Ireland, Czechia, Italy, Spain, Finland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Portugal, Luxemburg, Ukraine, Greece, Estonia, Iceland, Albania, Cyprus, Croatia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and North Macedonia.
VyprVPN offers an extensive server network with locations in Canada, Mexico, United States (Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.), Australia (Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Auckland, and Majuro), Algeria, Egypt, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Bahrain, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
For many users, the streaming performance of a VPN provider is another essential factor. Therefore, we have compared NordVPN and VyprVPN in terms of their streaming performance.
NordVPN is committed to ensuring its users can access a host of geo-restricted streaming services around the world. Although NordVPN doesn’t offer guarantees of accessing specific services as other providers do, you will likely gain access to your favorite sites. Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services, and NordVPN reliably enables access to a range of Netflix libraries on almost every server. This is impressive considering the strong VPN blocks that Netflix employs in an attempt to prevent VPN use.
Most VPN services typically have no issue accessing YouTube, and NordVPN unblocked it with ease during our testing. Even Disney+, which is often more difficult to access using a VPN, proved no problem for NordVPN. Disney+ was accessible via several servers in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. It was successful at overcoming geo-restrictions on Amazon Prime Video too, which is impressive.
NordVPN struggled when it came to unblocking the BBC iPlayer, a notoriously difficult streaming service to access through a VPN server. BBC iPlayer was unavailable on NordVPN’s desktop client. However, the BBC iPlayer troubleshooting guide available on the VPN site suggested utilizing the browser extension to access the service. Fortunately, the browser extension did enable easy access to iPlayer.
Even though NordVPN may experience slight issues when it comes to BBC iPlayer, it is still an excellent, reliable streaming VPN.
VyprVPN is another decent choice when it comes to accessing geo-restricted streaming services. The provider is successful at accessing a range of Netflix libraries around the world in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Germany. However, it disappointingly was unable to unblock content in Japan or France during our testing.
We tried VyprVPN on a range of other streaming sites around the world too. It successfully accessed YouTube, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ libraries in the United States, which is impressive. However, the provider, unfortunately, was not able to unblock Amazon Prime Video. VyprVPN’s website does offer a helpful streaming status page that informs users on which sites it can currently access and those that it can’t. There is advice regarding the best VPN servers for different streaming services too.
NordVPN claims that it is the best VPN service on the market for P2P sharing and torrenting. Users will gain access to hundreds of P2P-friendly servers worldwide, and despite that, not every server is optimized for torrenting VPN protection; it is still a relatively good option.
Typically, if a VPN does not offer complete P2P support across all of its servers, it may simply not work when you connect to a non-P2P VPN server while torrenting. However, NordVPN has made it easier by automatically rerouting your connection to a P2P-friendly server if it detects torrenting activity.
NordVPN has a lot to offer torrenting fans, including a watertight privacy policy, impressive connection rates on its NordLynx protocol, Double VPN encryption technology, Onion over VPN, and strong DNS leak protection.
VyprVPN offers torrenting support across all of its VPN servers, which is impressive. The provider also offers an excellent privacy policy, decent server speeds, and first-rate encryption. This means that VyprVPN is a great choice for torrenters.
Installing NordVPN is quick and simple no matter what device or operating system you are using. The provider offers an extensive range of setup guides and tutorials on its website if you run into any difficulties. There are even detailed setup guides for niche uses, such as the SOCKS5 proxy, which may help more advanced users.
Once you have installed the NordVPN desktop app, the interface is clean and well-designed. A large map enables you to select your chosen server by simply clicking on a location. However, the map-based interface is not overly functional, and it may take some time to find your desired server. NordVPN does also offer a server location list, which is much easier to use.
All of the client’s advanced features are available in a few clicks. There is a handy search feature to help you find a specific VPN server. However, we are disappointed to see that the provider has replaced its Favorites list with a Recents system, which is slightly less useful. We would like to see NordVPN reintroduce the helpful Favorites option to enable easy access to your most-used VPN servers.
Connections are fast with Nord, and switching between servers is simple and easy. A menu bar icon that allows you to access your most recent servers without having to actually open the desktop client. Switching between VPN protocols, accessing the kill-switch, or using any additional feature is easy in the Setting section. Overall, we consider the Nord desktop clients extremely well-designed and easy to use, despite a few minor weaknesses.
VyprVPN offers wide device support with dedicated apps for Windows 10, macOS, Android, and iOS. There are even apps for Smart TVs, QNAP, Anonabox, routers, Chromebooks, and Blackphone. The VyprVPN website even offers setup guides for Apple TV, OpenELEC to DD-WRT, or OpenWRT. VyprVPN, unfortunately, does not offer browser extensions. However, there is a range of third-party browser extensions available on app stores.
Signing up for an account with VyprVPN will redirect you to a download page for the main desktop client. There is an extensive amount of information here regarding protocol support and recent client updates. If you prefer to use your own VPN client, VyprVPN also offers OpenVPN configuration files for all servers.
Installing the client is simple, run the file, then enter your username and password when asked. The VyprVPN desktop client is simple in design. VyprVPN server locations are usefully sorted by cities and countries by default, but there is also the option to sort by ping times. There is a simple Favorites system that allows you to save your most used servers at the top of the list for easy access.
VyprVPN offers support for 4 different protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec, WireGuard, and VyprVPN’s proprietary chameleon protocol. The client offers an integrated kill switch to protect your connection even if the VPN drops for any reason. The kill switch will cut your internet connection until the VPN is re-established so that no unencrypted information or your real IP address becomes exposed.
There are some additional features available in the VyprVPN client’s settings, including the option to utilize your own DNS server or automatically connect to the VPN when you access or connect to untrusted networks.
NordVPN offers user-friendly clients for iOS and Android devices, both of which feature a map-based interface that is similar to the desktop version. However, the map feature is somewhat difficult to use on a smaller, handheld mobile screen. Fortunately, the NordVPN mobile clients also offer a server location list, which is easier to use.
Installing and setting up the Nord mobile clients is like any other app on iOS or Android. Once you have signed up for a NordVPN account, you will be redirected to the relevant app store. Download the app, accept some terms and conditions, and then connect. Connecting and disconnecting from the VPN is simple and takes less than a few seconds. All of the VPN settings are easy to access too.
NordVPN offers an auto-connection feature on both mobile clients that allows Nord to automatically connect when you access an unknown or untrusted Wi-Fi network and stay de-activated when using whitelisted networks. There is CyberSec too to block ads, malware, and phishing.
There are a few minor differences between the iOS and Android apps. The Nord Android app does not feature an actual kill switch. However, you can create a similar feature by enabling “Always-on VPN” and “Block connections without a VPN.” The Nord iOS app does come with a kill switch, but it is always on by default.
The Android app comes with split tunneling, protection from malicious pop-up ads, and offers the option to set up your own custom DNS server. The iOS app does not offer such features, but it is still a mighty iOS client. There is support for Siri, a decent protocol selection, and dark mode.
VyprVPN’s Android version is similar to the desktop version in design and offers most of the same features. There is complete DNS leak protection, a reliable kill-switch, custom DNS, and automatic startup options. There is also a wide range of protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and VyprVPN’s Chameleon protocol. You can also choose to bypass the VPN protection when using certain clients or services.
The VyprVPN iPhone app offers fewer features and does not offer a kill-switch, but there is support for WireGuard. Overall, the VyprVPN mobile apps are powerful and impressive.
If you run into issues while using while setting up or using the service, both NordVPN and VyprVPN offer a range of customer support options. The NordVPN site offers a range of support guides and articles that are comprehensive and easy to read. There is 24/7 live chat support to ensure help is on hand no matter the time of day. NordVPN support guides are typically friendly and helpful and will guide you in the right direction.
VyprVPN offers a good range of setup, support, and troubleshooting guides on its site. However, they are not as comprehensive as those offered by NordVPN. There is a live chat support option and email support for a quick response to your queries, which is reassuring.
Hi, I'm Cliff. I'm based in Cleveland, Ohio, with my wife and two kids.
I have a keen interest in cybersecurity and have been writing about it for around a decade now. Due to my background in computer science, I am familiar ...
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