However, one of my favorite new features isn’t on the desktop app. NordVPN recently introduced scam call protection on Android, with an iOS version planned for the future. I’ve been using it for months, and it has easily marked over a hundred spam calls on my phone. It works great, even if it’s not one of NordVPN’s big advertised features.
almost fastest vpn
NordVPN is fast. It’s not the fastest VPN I’ve tested – that’s ProtonVPN – but that’s more of a rounding error than a notable difference in speed. Across five US locations, NordVPN reduced my unsecured speeds by an average of 15.32 percent. For reference, Proton dropped 15.23 percent. Surfshark, which is owned by Nord Security, fell 18.84 percent, while Mullvad closed down 24 percent.
So, NordVPN is fast, but more importantly, it is consistent. It never recorded a slowdown of more than 20 percent in the locations I tested, and in one location (Chicago), it reduced my unsafe speed by only 6.6 percent. However, overall, that 15 percent decline is a good representation of the pace you can expect, at least in the US.
Speed testing is difficult with any VPN. There are many factors that affect speed beyond the server you’re connecting to. My speed test—and any VPN speed test, for that matter—is a snapshot in time. This provides information about what kind of speeds you can expect on average, not a concrete number you should expect from each server at each time of the day. To get the most accurate snapshot, I tested at five US locations at three different times of the day over the course of a week. Before each test, I ran three passes of my unsafe speed to get an accurate comparison, and I discarded any results that deviated more than 10 percent between passes.
The best way to avoid speed bottlenecks is to change servers, and NordVPN is solid on that front. It has approximately 7,400 servers, but the exact number constantly changes. It maintains a database of its servers and locations, which includes details of the features supported by those servers and whether they are virtual or physical servers.
NordVPN lives up to its monumental name. It still has a huge network, fast speeds, and tons of features, and despite its infamous data breach, it has continued to double down on security measures. The main issue with the Nord is the price. You can get a good deal on a two-year discount, but when it comes time to renew the price increases significantly. That’s why I rank it slightly below ProtonVPN, despite both services going head-to-head in terms of features and speed. Proton Unlimited is available at the same monthly price as NordVPN Basic, and it comes with Proton Pass, Proton Mail, and a few other apps.