Our Review Methodology
Transparency about how we test is as important as the tests themselves. Here is exactly how we evaluate NordVPN – and any other VPN we assess.
Our Principles
This site exists to provide an honest, evidence-based assessment of NordVPN. We do not accept payment from NordVPN or any VPN provider to influence our editorial content. Where we earn a commission through affiliate links, we disclose this clearly in the footer.
We try to hold ourselves to the same standard we would want from a review we read before making a purchasing decision: factual, specific, and honest about limitations.
Testing Environment
- Windows 11 (23H2), Windows 10 (22H2)
- macOS Sonoma 14.x (Apple M2 and Intel)
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (x86_64)
- Android 14 (Pixel 8) and Android 13 (Samsung Galaxy S22)
- iOS 17 (iPhone 15)
- Base connection: 500 Mbps symmetric fiber (UK)
- Secondary location: 200 Mbps cable (US East Coast)
Speed Testing
We run speed tests at three times of day (morning, midday, evening) over four weeks, connecting to five server locations per protocol per platform. We report median values, not cherry-picked peaks. All tests use the same Ookla Speedtest CLI and a custom script to average 10 consecutive runs per measurement.
Security & Privacy Testing
- DNS leak tests: dnsleaktest.com and a self-hosted DNS resolver to detect any out-of-tunnel DNS queries
- WebRTC leak tests: browser-based WebRTC leak detection (browserleaks.com)
- IPv6 leak tests: ipv6leak.com and manual inspection of network interfaces
- Kill switch verification: 20 forced disconnections per platform, measuring time to block outbound traffic
- Protocol analysis: Wireshark packet captures to verify encryption is active and no plaintext leaks occur
Usability Assessment
Our usability scores are based on structured walkthroughs by team members with different levels of technical expertise – from a casual user who has never used a VPN to a network engineer. We note where the UI creates confusion or requires prior knowledge to navigate safely.
Scoring Criteria
| Category | Weight | Key Factors |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Security | 25% | No-logs policy, audits, jurisdiction, kill switch reliability, leak protection |
| Speed & Performance | 20% | Median speed, latency, protocol overhead, server load consistency |
| Ease of Use | 20% | Interface clarity, setup time, documentation quality |
| Server Network | 15% | Server count, country coverage, specialty server availability |
| Features | 10% | Extra security tools, split tunneling, kill switch modes |
| Value for Money | 10% | Pricing relative to features and performance |
What We Do Not Test
We do not test streaming unblocking (too variable by region and time), torrenting speed in detail, or customer support response times systematically. Where we reference these, we note that results may differ.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
This review site uses affiliate links. If you click through and purchase NordVPN, we may earn a commission. This does not affect our editorial assessment – our scoring methodology is applied consistently regardless of commercial arrangements. We would give the same score whether or not an affiliate link was in place.
