Norton Safe VPN and NordVPN are mid-priced digital non-public community companies that disguise your IP deal with and web shopping exercise from exterior observers. Each merchandise goal people, households and small companies with 10 customers or fewer. Whereas they appear related, their differing capabilities and logging insurance policies make NordVPN the clear selection for any privacy-conscious person.
Under, I examine Norton Safe VPN and NordVPN primarily based on necessary elements like connection pace, server choices, privateness insurance policies and buyer help. I additionally clarify why I belief NordVPN over Norton relating to web privateness.
- Norton Safe VPN: Finest for present Norton 360 customers who aren’t notably involved about torrenting or privateness.
- NordVPN: Finest for any privacy-conscious customers who want a quick, safe connection for torrenting and streaming.
Norton Safe VPN vs NordVPN: Comparability desk
| Beginning value | ||
| Server pool | ||
| Supported gadgets | ||
| Streaming companies | ||
| Simultaneous connections | ||
| VPN options | ||
| Further safety features | Plus and Final plans, password supervisor, knowledge breach scanner, encrypted cloud storage and cyber safety insurance coverage |
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| Privateness insurance policies | ||
| Buyer help | ||
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Norton Safe VPN vs NordVPN: Pricing
Norton Safe VPN pricing
Norton doesn’t provide a free trial of its standalone VPN product, however you may get a seven-day free trial of its Norton 360 safety platform that features the VPN service.
Pricing for Norton Safe VPN is damaged down into three plans relying on the variety of gadgets you need to defend. There is no such thing as a month-to-month subscription possibility — you need to decide to no less than one yr. In order for you extra safety features, you should purchase one among two Norton 360 plans. Norton 360 Normal contains menace safety, 2GB cloud backup storage (for Home windows solely), darkish internet monitoring and a password supervisor for as much as three gadgets. Norton 360 Deluxe will increase the quantity of cloud backup storage to 50GB and provides parental controls (not obtainable for Mac) and privateness monitoring for as much as 5 gadgets.
SEE: NordVPN vs ExpressVPN: Which VPN Is Finest? (TechRepublic)
Norton is at present providing promotional pricing for the primary yr of service, however then the worth jumps considerably even for a standalone VPN plan.
- Norton Safe VPN (standalone) for 1 system: $29.99 for the primary yr, then $49.99 per yr.
- Norton Safe VPN (standalone) for five gadgets: $39.99 for the primary yr, then $79.99 per yr.
- Norton Safe VPN (standalone) for 10 gadgets: $59.99 for the primary yr, then $99.99 per yr.
- Norton 360 Normal + VPN for 3 gadgets: $39.99 for the primary yr, then $94.99 per yr.
- Norton 360 Deluxe + VPN for five gadgets: $49.99 for the primary yr, then $119.99 per yr.
NordVPN pricing
NordVPN presents a free trial (with a bank card) if you happen to enroll on an Android system. Its service is damaged down into three plans, with pricing reductions if you happen to decide to a yr or extra. The Primary plan contains the complete VPN service. Plus contains every part within the Primary plan in addition to menace safety, a password supervisor and a knowledge breach scanner. Final contains every part in Plus and 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage. The Plus plan presents the most effective worth to your buck, particularly if you happen to’re going to decide to a two-year subscription.
- NordVPN Primary: $3.39 per 30 days for two years, $4.99 per 30 days for 1 yr, $12.99 per 30 days for month-to-month.
- NordVPN Plus: $4.39 per 30 days for two years, $5.99 per 30 days for 1 yr, $13.99 per 30 days for month-to-month.
- NordVPN Final: $6.39 per 30 days for two years, $7.99 per 30 days for 1 yr, $15.99 per 30 days for month-to-month.
Norton Safe VPN vs NordVPN: Characteristic comparability
Pace
Winner: Tie
Regardless of a smaller server pool, Norton Safe VPN supplied a surprisingly seamless shopping and streaming expertise with none noticeable drops in pace or efficiency in comparison with my baseline web connection. NordVPN is thought for having a few of the greatest VPN speeds in its value vary, so I wasn’t anticipating Norton to be a critical contender on this class.
With that stated, I dwell close to a serious regional hub with an optimum server close by. Since Norton’s international unfold is proscribed in comparison with NordVPN, I might anticipate customers in some areas won’t have the identical expertise.
SEE: Is a VPN Actually Value It in 2024? (TechRepublic)
I’ve used NordVPN a number of occasions in recent times, and irrespective of the place I’m, I’ve discovered an optimum server that delivers speeds corresponding to my baseline web connection.
Server pool
Winner: NordVPN
Norton Safe VPN presents servers in 29 nations (28 on cellular). Norton doesn’t disclose the precise variety of servers in its server pool, and you may’t see a full listing of servers — or select a selected metropolis to hook up with — from inside the VPN app. Norton’s lack of disclosure makes it troublesome to make sure you’ll have a close-by server to hook up with before you purchase or that you just’ll have entry to servers in a selected area to unlock streaming content material.
SEE: Surfshark vs NordVPN: Which VPN Is Higher in 2024? (TechRepublic)
NordVPN proudly advertises a big pool of over 5,800 in additional than 110 nations. There are devoted P2P servers optimized for torrenting and file sharing, double VPN servers that route your visitors by means of two places, and “obfuscated” servers to assist bypass content material filters and community firewalls. It’s also possible to select particular cities to hook up with and consider an entire listing of servers on NordVPN’s web site earlier than signing up.
Determine A
Supported gadgets
Winner: NordVPN
Norton Safe VPN has apps for Home windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Nonetheless, it’s value noting that not all options are supported on all platforms — the VPN kill swap and P2P optimization aren’t obtainable on iOS, and cut up tunneling isn’t obtainable on iOS or Mac.
SEE: Surfshark vs Norton Safe VPN (2024): Which VPN Is Higher? (TechRepublic)
NordVPN helps mainly any sort of system, together with gaming programs, media streaming sticks, Raspberry Pi and Oculus Quest. So far as I may inform, each NordVPN characteristic is out there in each model of the app.
Privateness insurance policies
Winner: NordVPN
Norton claims to have a no-logs coverage for its VPN service, however that appears solely to use to shopping historical past, particular visitors data and IP addresses. Digging into Norton’s International Privateness Assertion for Safe VPN, I discovered the corporate collects and shops details about customers’ gadgets, bandwidth utilization and connection occasions. Much more crucially, Norton displays and shops visitors knowledge to detect and block torrenting, which it considers an abuse of service. These insurance policies make me critically query how non-public my web exercise actually is whereas utilizing Norton Safe VPN.
Determine B
In the meantime, NordVPN has a strict no-logs coverage that’s been verified by 4 impartial audits. The corporate is clear about its authorized obligations to show over knowledge in a legal investigation, however it’s by no means been required to take action earlier than. I really feel very assured that each one my community visitors is totally non-public whereas linked to NordVPN, even when I have been torrenting recordsdata or shopping from a rustic with heavy censorship.
Buyer help
Winner: Norton Safe VPN
Norton’s assist middle gives a strong collection of help choices, together with guided self-troubleshooting, neighborhood boards and information base articles. Prospects may also attain Norton’s help workforce by means of social media, a dwell chat or over the cellphone. General, connecting to an actual human for help was a lot simpler with Norton than with different equally priced VPN distributors.
Determine C
NordVPN’s buyer help expertise is kind of commonplace within the business, providing on-line tutorials, an e-mail ticketing system and a chatbot.
Further options
Winner: NordVPN
Each Norton and NordVPN provide quite a lot of further safety features if you happen to select an upgraded plan, however for the needs of this comparability, I solely regarded on the capabilities included in Norton’s standalone Safe VPN product and NordVPN’s Primary subscription.
SEE: 4 Finest Free VPNs for 2024 (TechRepublic)
Norton Safe VPN contains cut up tunneling for Home windows and Android gadgets, so you may permit sure secure apps to bypass the VPN connection. It additionally features a kill swap (for Home windows, Android and Mac) that mechanically disconnects your system from the web if the VPN connection drops, so that you by no means unintentionally browse unprotected. One other characteristic obtainable to everybody besides iOS customers is one-click P2P entry, although, as I discussed above, Norton doesn’t permit any torrenting visitors. General, Norton presents a reasonably fundamental VPN characteristic set, and it’s restricted primarily to Home windows and Android customers.
SEE: Learn how to Begin a Profession in Cybersecurity (TechRepublic Premium)
NordVPN presents each kill swap and cut up tunneling for all app variations, in addition to double VPN and personal DNS. An extra safety functionality included in all plans is Meshnet, which lets you create an encrypted native space community with as much as 60 gadgets.
Determine D
NordVPN additionally has an Onion Over VPN characteristic, which lets you browse .onion web sites with out utilizing a Tor browser.
Norton Safe VPN execs and cons
Execs of Norton Safe VPN
- Extremely aggressive VPN speeds and efficiency.
- Quite a few dwell help choices.
- Contains VPN service free with Norton 360 plans.
Cons of Norton Safe VPN
- Displays connection visitors for torrenting exercise and blocks it.
- Unverified no-logs coverage that contradicts its International Privateness Assertion.
- Excessive yearly value after the promotional interval ends.
- Undisclosed quantity and placement of servers.
- Comparatively fundamental set of VPN options.
- Most options are solely obtainable on Home windows and Android.
NordVPN execs and cons
Execs of NordVPN
- Persistently excessive speeds and efficiency.
- Massive server pool with a powerful geographic unfold.
- Works on almost any system with out characteristic limitations.
- Strict no-logs coverage has been independently verified 4 occasions.
- Contains further options like Meshnet and Onion Over VPN.
Cons of NordVPN
- Solely presents a 7-day free trial for Android customers.
- Will be troublesome to succeed in a human for help.
Norton Safe VPN vs NordVPN on Reddit
The overall opinion of Norton merchandise on Reddit (and elsewhere) is overwhelmingly unfavourable because of elements like how notoriously troublesome it’s to take away its software program out of your laptop and the controversy over together with cryptominers in its antivirus. Its torrenting coverage, specifically, had a few Reddit customers particularly suggest NordVPN as a substitute.
Within the r/Roms subreddit, person TheIronRed requested, “Is Norton VPN going to maintain my ISP from realizing I torrent and sending me a letter?”
Whole_Temperature104 replied, “You gained’t be caught by your ISP, however Norton will certainly cancel your subscription in the event that they get a discover.”
SonofaSlumlord stated, “My former ISP ‘grounded’ me for twenty-four hours after they have been notified I used to be torrenting motion pictures. I switched suppliers and received a deal for 3 years of NordVPN for $100 from microcenter and haven’t had any points since.”
Salava91 summed it up with “NordVPN is prime notch. Use that one.”
Ought to your small business use Norton Safe VPN or NordVPN?
Select Norton Safe VPN if:
- You’re solely barely involved about privateness and don’t intend on torrenting or conducting some other probably unlawful (or surveilled) actions.
- You have already got Norton 360 and need to check out a VPN with out paying further.
Select NordVPN if:
- You need to torrent with out risking service termination.
- You’re a political activist, journalist or in any other case want full privateness.
- You need to go to .onion web sites on the Tor community and not using a separate browser.
- It’s essential to hook up with servers in a selected location the place you reside, journey or need to unblock localized streaming content material.
Methodology
I used a pal’s account to strive Norton Safe VPN on a Home windows laptop computer and signed up for a free trial copy of NordVPN on my Android cellphone. I evaluated each merchandise primarily based on their pricing, core options, usability, pace and buyer help. I additionally totally reviewed the characteristic descriptions and privateness insurance policies revealed on the supplier web sites and in contrast these with actual buyer experiences as described on Reddit and public evaluate websites.
Study extra about TechRepublic’s evaluate methodology for VPNs.