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. Each measurement is the median of 10 consecutive Ookla Speedtest CLI runs. Server locations span Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
We report median values throughout, not peak results. The median is resistant to outliers – a single anomalously fast or slow measurement does not skew the figure – and better reflects the performance a user encounters in typical conditions.
A note on statistics. The arithmetic mean is sensitive to outliers: one unusually slow or fast test shifts the reported value. The median is not affected by this, and gives a more reliable picture of consistent service performance.
Security & Privacy Testing
- DNS leaks: dnsleaktest.com combined with a self-hosted DNS resolver to detect any queries routing outside the VPN tunnel
- WebRTC leaks: browser-based detection in Chrome and Firefox via BrowserLeaks
- IPv6 leaks: network interface inspection and ipv6leak.com
- Kill switch: 20 forced disconnections per platform, with timing from disconnect event to outbound traffic block
- Traffic analysis: Wireshark packet captures to confirm active encryption and the absence of any plaintext data transmission
- No-logs policy review: examination of the current Privacy Policy wording and published independent audit results (PwC, VerSprite)
Kill Switch Verification in Detail
Many reviews record only whether a kill switch exists. Our process goes further: we simulate network interruption in three ways – disabling the wireless interface, switching access points, and blocking the network interface via system firewall rules – and measure the interval between the event and the blocking of outbound traffic. On Windows and macOS, both the system-level and application-level kill switch modes are tested separately. A result is considered reliable only if the kill switch activated correctly across all 20 test iterations.
Usability Assessment
Usability scores are derived from structured walkthroughs with participants at different levels of technical expertise – from a first-time VPN user to a network engineer. We document where the interface creates ambiguity or requires prior knowledge to use 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 |
Scope of Results
Streaming unblocking is not tested systematically, as availability varies too much by region and time period. Torrenting speeds and support response times are similarly outside the scope of this study. Where these aspects are mentioned in the text, appropriate caveats are included.
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.
