Reddit is the place to find honest reviews about services and products.
Since NordVPN is so popular, thanks to its relentless marketing, what do regular and hardcore Reddit users think about it? And is NordVPN trustworthy, according to them?
I’ve spent hours scouring multiple Reddit threads, comments, and complaints about this provider. Find out how this VPN service provider fares, according to Redditors.
Here’s What Reddit Thinks About NordVPN
After combing through multiple Reddit threads on NordVPN, some themes stood out.
So, in this section, we dissect NordVPN into its six most important parts for Redditors. They’re:
- Connection speeds
- Security and encryption
- Torrenting
- Accessing geo-restricted content, and
- Gaming
- Customer Support
Let’s dive in!
Connection Speeds
Redditors are quite happy with NordVPN’s speeds, with the VPN getting praise for being fast and stable.
I wanted to check the claims myself, so I put them to the test.
I have a 1 Gbps fiber connection, but my download speeds only reach a maximum of 800 Mbps on my Wi-Fi router without an active VPN connection.
So, I connected to a NordVPN server, ran the speed tests, and easily averaged between 400 and 550 Mbps.
I got the best speeds on NordVPN’s NordLynx and IKEv2 protocols, with OpenVPN (UDP) being the slowest of the fast options.
The only time I experienced a massive drop in download and upload speeds was on the OpenVPN (TCP) protocol since it’s a major obfuscation protocol.
Thus, you can still use the OpenVPN (UDP) protocol on some networks for relatively faster speeds than its TCP counterpart.
One thing stood out, which can be a problem for a few: NordVPN’s ping was slightly higher.
My ping was 3 ms without a VPN connection but between 120 and 250 ms on NordVPN, depending on the server location connected to.
Security and Encryption
Many Redditors aren’t happy with NordVPN’s approach to security and encryption, especially because of the 2018 hacking of one of its Finnish servers.
So, it’s understandable that users are miffed at how a VPN provider that brands itself as protecting others’ privacy can get hacked.
The good news is that NordVPN later updated all of its servers to RAM-only servers, ensuring that all data is erased as soon as the VPN session is turned off.
Likewise, the hackers couldn’t retrieve any user information when they hacked NordVPN since it follows a strict no-logs policy. Thus, there wasn’t any logged user data on the servers.
That said, a few users pointed out NordVPN randomly disconnects in the background while browsing on iOS and Mac.
This can be a serious problem when accessing a banned/blocked website and the VPN disconnects to expose your IP address. However, the Redditor mentioned this problem a few years ago, and I’m sure NordVPN would have fixed the issue by now.
Torrenting With NordVPN
Some Redditors are unhappy with torrenting using NordVPN.
They complain that its download speeds are way lower than TorGuard, IPVanish, and Surfshark.
According to another user, NordVPN may be purposefully throttling down the internet speeds when connecting to well-known torrent websites. But those same users also mentioned that the speeds are much better when torrenting with NordVPN’s P2P servers.
Apart from the downloading speeds, NordVPN is also much safer for torrenting.
If your ISP detects that you’re torrenting, you could receive a DMCA notice, be fined heavily, or be jailed in some countries. With NordVPN, you can avoid this.
Unblocking Geo-Restricted Content
NordVPN was good at unblocking geo-restricted content, another big reason it quickly became popular among the masses. But according to Reddit, that may not be the case anymore.
Many Redditors have mentioned that streaming websites like Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and others are viciously blocking NordVPN’s access. Sometimes, the VPN unblocks foreign libraries; sometimes, it doesn’t.
In my testing, I could unblock Netflix in the USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Japan. But it doesn’t mean that Netflix isn’t blocking NordVPN servers.
However, this isn’t a NordVPN-exclusive issue, as other VPNs also get their IPs blocked by streaming platforms.
So yes, you can play geo-restricted content without issues most of the time.
But if your connection is ever blocked by streaming services, switching servers solves the problem.
Gaming With NordVPN
Just like streaming services that geo-restrict movies and shows to particular locations, gaming platforms are no different. Heck! When PUBG was banned in India, it was still playable, thanks to VPNs.
I only got positive comments from my exhaustive research about gaming with NordVPN on Reddit.
Most users were happy with the live online gaming speeds, and some Redditors commented that they could play battle royale games without lag.
Customer Support
The NordVPN customer support team is extremely helpful and quick to solve an issue. But during my research for this article, I’ve also read how a few users struggled to find a resolution from the customer support team.
In such cases, you can ask to be transferred to a supervisor or another customer support agent, or simply disconnect and reconnect to the live chat to get a customer care rep.
FAQs
Is There a Better VPN Than NordVPN, According to Reddit?
Many Reddit users recommended TorGuard and IPVanish for torrenting, but for the most part, many Redditors said Surfshark is a much better choice than NordVPN.
Should I Trust Reddit?
NordVPN is an affordable, feature-rich, and well-known VPN provider for its incredible service all these years. However, Redditors are usually brutally honest about a product or a service, and they’ve done the same for NordVPN.
However, I didn’t experience most of the problems that Redditors complained about.
So, Reddit isn’t a place where you can find completely honest reviews or feedback.
The best person to review NordVPN for you is you! Try NordVPN risk-free today and test if the VPN provider meets your expectations across a 30-day window!
