Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Is NordVPN free? A detailed look at how much the service costs

NordVPN

NordVPN isn’t exactly free, but you can get free months of the service if you plan your purchase right. If you want to know all about the NordVPN price structure and learn a little bit about the best VPN out there, we have all the details on the NordVPN price along with whether there’s a free trial out there. Read on while we guide you through it.

Today’s best NordVPN deals

How much does NordVPN cost?

Currently, NordVPN comes in three tiers:

  • Basic — Supplies a high-speed VPN on up to 10 devices.
  • Plus — Includes everything in Basic plus malware protection, tracker and ad blocking, a cross-platform password manager, and a data breach scanner.
  • Ultimate — Includes everything in Plus plus a terabyte of encrypted cloud storage, identity theft recovery, and cyber extortion protection.

Your price will be based on how much of the service you buy at one time. Here’s how it works:

NordVPN Price Guide
Monthly 1-year plan + 3 months FREE 2-year plan + 3 months FREE
Basic Plan $12.99 $68.85 ($4.59 per month) $83.43 ($3.09 per month)
Plus Plan $13.99 $82.35 ($5.49 per month) $107.73 ($3.99 per month)
Ultimate Plan $15.99 $112.35 ($7.49 per month) $161.73 ($5.99 per month)

As you can see, you can get some NordVPN for “free” when you buy a longer plan. The average monthly price also goes down by quite a bit with the longer plans. Note that there are more savings involved in the calculations above for your first term with the service. After your 1 year and 3 months or 2 years and 3 months, your price may increase if you continue to use the service.

Is there a NordVPN free trial?

NordVPN doesn’t exactly have a free trial. That’s because it’s so well-priced to begin with. There are other ‘proper’ VPN free trials out there but we’d still recommend giving NordVPN a try.

That’s because while the NordVPN cost doesn’t factor in for a truly free trial, it does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee that serves as a form of VPN free trial period. While it’s not quite the same as you’ll need to hand over your card details to sign up for it, there’s truly no risk here with it being entirely down to you to choose to cancel your NordVPN subscription before the 30 days are over. All you need to do is get in touch with customer support to cancel and you’re out of there.

Will you? We’re not convinced. NordVPN is a great option. With support for up to six devices and compatibility with pretty much every device imaginable, right down to your Wi-Fi router, it’s super convenient. It’s one of the fastest VPNs out there too, thanks to the NordLynx protocol and the lack of any bandwidth limits. With over 5,000 servers to choose from, you can easily globetrot around the world virtually, plus there’s a no logs policy so NordVPN never knows what you’re doing.

When you factor all these things in, NordVPN is a pretty sweet deal indeed. Well priced and with some great features, while NordVPN might not be free, it’s a high-quality VPN for a low, low price.

Editors' Recommendations

Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen is a technology writer with over 10 years of experience. She primarily writes about the best deals coverage…
NordVPN Split Tunneling: What is it, and what does it do?
NordVPN running on a MacBook Pro.

Split tunneling is one of the features that help ensure NordVPN tops the best VPN list. A feature that you can't get from other VPNs, it's a fantastically useful tool for many users. Any VPN is better than no VPN but it makes sense to have as many useful tools at your disposal as possible. If you have no idea what split tunneling means or you're concerned that it's just a gimmick, read on while we break down exactly what it is and how it can help.

What is split tunneling?
A basic VPN means that you can browse online in an encrypted and secure manner, effectively navigating the internet through a tunnel so other users can't see what you're doing. Split tunneling gives you the benefit of two tunnels. By using it, you are able to browse the internet from your regular local location while simultaneously browsing other content via a VPN-protected split tunnel. Think of it as like dividing up the streams in a river or similar, taking you down alternate paths.

Read more
Don’t use a free VPN — you’ll be putting your data at risk
A close-up of a computer monitor displaying a generic VPN.

With money tight, it's super tempting to go with a free VPN, right? You really shouldn't. At least not for long-term use. Sure, some of the best free VPNs could be worth checking out if you're desperate but for the most part, you really need to sign up to the best VPN that costs money. Once you've delved into knowing exactly what a VPN is, it should make a lot of sense why going a paid route is a better option. If you're still not sure, read on while we break it down for you.
A free VPN is rarely truly free
Okay, we're not saying that signing up for a free VPN will cost you money but have you ever thought about how such a service can be free? Simply put, there's always a catch.

Many free VPNs make money from two potential sources and neither is good for you. Some earn money by inundating you with advertisements, meaning you'll see more ads while you browse online. That soon gets incredibly irritating and against the spirit of using a VPN in many cases.

Read more
VPN Test: How to see if your VPN is working
The best VPN for Mac is NordVPN.

Once you've picked up the best VPN for your home, it's likely you also want to check that it's working well for your needs. It's a sensible idea to check whether VPN is working correctly. No one wants to pay for something that they're not actually using, plus if it turns out it's not working, your data and browsing activity isn't as safe as you thought it was. Fortunately, there are a few different ways of doing this. With different methods available, read on while we guide you through how to see if your VPN is working and what to look for. Don't worry -- it's fairly simple stuff once you know how.

What is a VPN meant to do?
Knowing what a VPN is used for is always a good starting point when it comes to understanding why you need it to be working properly. To cut to the chase, you really need one to stay secure online, especially if you travel frequently and use public Wi-Fi.

Read more