- Excellent security and privacy
- Over 5,000 servers in 59 countries
- Up to 6 simultaneous device connections
- Reliable server speeds
- Easy to use software
- 7-day free trial, no credit card needed
- Affordable long-term subscriptions
- P2P and torrenting are allowed
I am not much of a picker.
However, when I invest in something, I want to get the best service instead of false marketing.
I believe you would too.
After extensive research and comparing a lot of VPN service providers, both free and premium, I narrowed my choice to two VPNs – NordVPN vs. Avast SecureLine VPN.
Key Differences Between NordVPN and Avast VPN
NordVPN makes use of high-level AES-256 bit encryption and OpenVPN to protect their connections. NordVPN is cheaper and costs $3.40/mo, while Avast VPN is $3.99/mo.
NordVPN is better for streaming due to SmartPlay DNS. Avast VPN offers split tunneling for WiFi protection.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Factors to Consider When Choosing Between NordVPN and Avast VPN
When I was searching for a provider, I had the main VPN features in mind.
That includes the privacy, security, and reliability of the service provider.
After all, a VPN has to excel in these criteria otherwise, it’s not worth neither your time nor your money.
Despite your unique preferences, when you are searching for a VPN provider, make sure to keep these few things in mind:
- Is the VPN secure enough to protect you online?
- Does it guarantee your privacy, and how?
- How does it rank in terms of prices?
- Will it improve the quality of your overall internet experience or decrease it?
I will provide an in depth explanation on these questions in the article below.
First, let’s see what are the most important aspects of a good virtual private network service provider.
Strong Security and Privacy
Two crucial things that should not be lacking in a VPN are security and privacy.
The VPN market changed over the years. What VPNs once considered secure, is now outdated technology.
Nowadays, you should opt for the most secure protocol and encryption – the OpenVPN security protocol with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit encryption.
You will often run into the term military-grade encryption, which refers precisely to this.
In terms of privacy, make sure to always check the VPN’s privacy policy to see what information the provider will store on you. A zero-logging policy is the best way to go, although some VPNs store minimal data for better user experience.
I have already mentioned in my previous PIA vs NordVPN comparison, transparent privacy policies, as well as the proper security features, determine the reliability of your VPN.
Speedy Servers
If you don’t want your internet speed to drastically decline once you connect to a VPN server, you should find a service provider that will enable you decent uploading and downloading speed.
For me, this was an issue. Most providers don’t offer a free trial that would allow me to test the speeds. However, it wasn’t an impossible mission to find such services and test the speed on their servers.
If speed is essential for you as well, a free trial might be your best way to test the VPN.
Budget-Friendly Prices
Finally, the price should also be a concern. My advice to you would be to avoid free VPN providers and search for affordable ones instead. Free VPNs are far from trustworthy, so it’s best to invest a few bucks per month on a reliable service provider.
I managed to narrow down my selection to NordVPN vs. Avast SecureLine VPN, as two cost-friendly solutions that offer excellent features.
Privacy & Jurisdiction
When you are looking for a VPN that values and respects your online privacy, make sure to keep an eye on the following things:
- The jurisdiction and data retention laws of the country where the VPN service provider is based.
- The amount of data that the company stores on you.
- If they have private means of payment, such as cryptocurrencies.
Avast SecureLine VPN and NordVPN are both located in countries that guarantee privacy for the users.
My initial concern with Avast SecureLine VPN, as a part of the security giant Avast, was the location. The company is based in the Czech Republic which is part of the EU.
However, the country itself does not have mandatory data retention laws.
The same rules apply for Panama, where NordVPN is located.
If your principal concern is privacy, and you are searching for a VPN that stores no logs on you, NordVPN is an excellent choice for you. When you browse through their comprehensive privacy policy, you will notice that they keep little to no data on their users.
On the other hand, AvastVPN logs certain information, and they are not very straightforward about them.
Although the amount of data that Avast VPN logs is not compromising, it took me too much time to find in their extensive privacy policy information on this matter.
When I did, however, I noticed that they keep things such as the timestamps of your VPN sessions, the IP address you were assigned to, as well as how much data you spent per session.
Avast VPN is not the only service provider that does it. Many VPNs use this data to improve their services for the customers.
For me, this wasn’t an issue, although it can be quite a setback for people who want maximum security and privacy.
Moreover, the fact that Avast’s VPN keeps logs makes it unfavorable in comparison to NordVPN, particularly when it comes to torrenting.
Read Also: Which One to Choose Surfshark or NordVPN?
Privacy Winner: NordVPN
Security & Encryption
In terms of VPN protocols and encryption strength, it’s safe to say that both AvastVPN and NordVPN are secure. They offer the market’s most acclaimed OpenVPN security protocol, backed up by military-grade AES 256-bit encryption.
NordVPN uses OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec as standard protocols for its desktop and mobile applications and TLS v1.2 for its encrypted browser extensions.
It also offers kill-switch, DNS leak protection, and a powerful CyberSec feature.
Avast VPN also uses AES-256 bit encryption, OpenVPN with UDP and OpenSSL libraries on IPSec. Kill-switch and DNS leak protections are included too.
What I liked in both providers is that they offer a kill switch.
That’s a feature that you should never overlook in a VPN, as it guarantees anonymity even in case of a sudden connection drop.
Moreover, to test the reliability of these two VPN providers, I put them through several leak tests. There are several types of leaks, including IPv6 and DNS leaks as some of the most common issues with VPNs.
The good news is that both of them tested negative for leaks. That means they won’t reveal your real identity on the Net.
Countries & Servers
A comprehensive server range is not necessarily a must-have feature for a VPN.
It often depends on your preferences and needs.
However, if your goal is to access specific content that you are currently unable to reach, then you’d want a VPN with servers all around the world. Plus, the more servers a provider has, the higher are your chances of preventing significant speed reductions.
NordVPN, currently, has 5579 servers in 59 countries, and the number is constantly fluctuating.
That is a wide server range and can be very helpful for people who want to access diverse content or who travel frequently.
Avast SecureLine on the other hand, has a significantly lower server count, with only 55 servers in 34 countries around the world.
I am a huge movie addict and know just how difficult streaming can sometimes be.
With so much locked content and streaming services around the world, I was looking for something that will provide me with the ultimate and most diverse streaming experience.
That being said, I find the lack of servers in Avast SecureLine to be a slight disadvantage.
Read Also: AVG VPN vs NordVPN
Affordability
NordVPN has very competitive rates, and it offers the standard price plans seen in other providers.
The monthly price plan can be quite expensive, but if you subscribe for the long term, you can save a lot of money.
NordVPN Subscribtion Plans
On the other hand, Avast SecureLine VPN is billed differently than most VPNs.
The company does not have standard subscriptions but offers yearly prices for separate devices.
They also have one that allows you up to five simultaneous connections.
Avast SecureLine VPN Subscription Plans
1-Year Plan
-
$47.88 now for the first year
2-Year Plan
-
$71.76 billed now for the first two years
3-Year Plan
-
$71.88 billed every 12 months
Avast SecureLine VPN subscriptions for smartphones can be very affordable if that’s what you are looking for.
However, even their most expensive one is still cheaper than NordVPN’s one-year plan.
On a side note, only Avast VPN offers a 7-day free trial.
They don’t require usernames or passwords, and you can start using their free trial immediately after downloading the VPN client.
NordVPN, on the other hand, used to offer a free trial, but they recently changed their policies and this feature is no longer available.
Popularity
Avast is an enormous company that enjoys trust from millions of users around the world.
But how high is their VPN ranked?
Unfortunately, in terms of popularity on the market NordVPN is in the lead, even though Avast VPN is backed up by a worldwide security company.
NordVPN is to go-to choice for millions of users, and its features make it the more attractive alternative of the two.
Media Streaming
Both Avast SecureLine and NordVPN allow torrenting, although not on all servers.
After you sign in, you will find the servers that are P2P optimized and enable you to torrent content safely.
With streaming, however, it’s a bit tricky.
Although VPNs are excellent for streaming content from all around the world, many popular streaming service providers have strong VPN bans.
These days it’s difficult to find a VPN that can bypass it.
NordVPN’s most praised feature, however, is its ability to circumvent VPN bans and access streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer.
Avast SecureLine, on the other hand, has trouble with this.
The VPN cannot go through stronger VPN bans.
If you want the optimum experience for streaming, from what I’ve seen in my previous CyberGhost vs NordVPN comparison too, I strongly advise you to consider NordVPN, as a more advanced alternative.
Customer Support
When I first opened the Avast website, it was difficult for me to find the customer support section.
It took some time before I discovered that they have a comprehensible knowledgebase, FAQ and forum. When I tried to contact the customer support, I kept getting redirected to their knowledge base.
I eventually found their contact form, and once I wrote an email, the response was somewhat slow.
For me, fast and reliable customer support should be an indispensable part of a good business.
NordVPN’s support was more extensive and faster. They offer a live chat and can be contacted via email. The response rate was fast, although not very straightforward.
Features
Both providers offer many features.
However, NordVPN has more, compared to Avast SecureLine VPN.
After thorough research on what they offer for the price, I noticed that some crucial things are lacking in Avast SecureLineVPN.
Namely, the VPN doesn’t offer split tunneling, a feature that can significantly reduce bottlenecks and save bandwidth while you are securely browsing the Net.
NordVPN, on the other hand, does.
In terms of supported devices, Avast Secure Line can be used on Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android devices. The service provider also supports Android TV, which is one of its features’ latest addition. NordVPN extends its support to Chrome and Firefox browser extensions as well.
Finally, if you want to use more devices simultaneously, with NordVPN you can do that with up to six simultaneous connections.
Avast SecureLine, as mentioned before, can either be connected to one device per price plan, or up to five devices.
User Experience & Usability
Avast is a company with a high reputation and has been in the industry for years.
They know what they are doing with their software solutions.
I was surprised to see how quickly you can install and set up their VPN.
Their VPN client is also very easy to use, and it’s ideal for first-time users.
NordVPN doesn’t fall much behind, although it does offer some additional features that might be confusing if you haven’t used a VPN before.
FAQ
Is Avast VPN Good?
Which VPN Is Faster?
Who Has More Servers NordVPN or Avast VPN?
Do I Need VPN?
The Overall Winner
It’s difficult to say which provider is better, as this widely depends on your unique preferences.
For me, personally, NordVPN is slightly in the lead thanks to its extra features that are lacking in Avast SecureLine, such as the ability to bypass stronger restrictions.
However, both providers rank highly in terms of security and privacy.
If this is your principal concern, and you want to choose a provider for an affordable price, Avast SecureLine can be the right fit. It’s also helpful when you want to protect one device individually, without having to overpay for the service.
Overall, they can both be an excellent choice, and it’s up to you to test them and decide which one is better.
Protect private web traffic from snooping, interference, and censorship. All plans are covered by a no-hassle 100% money-back guarantee for your first 30 days of service.
