“NymVPN takes privacy and security to a new level and while it's a bit slower, that extra anonymity could be essential to safeguard your identity.”
- Decentralized VPN improves privacy
- Five-hop mode increases security
- Encryption with noise obfuscates traffic
- Live chat support on weekdays
- Fast mode is a bit slow
- Lacks split-tunneling, advanced features
- Server selection is limited
“Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.“
If you’re concerned about hackers, scammers, and government spies intruding on your privacy, a distributed network can help keep your online activities anonymous. However, the fastest and most popular VPNs use server networks controlled by private companies.
NymVPN is different, using blockchain technology in a mixed network of independently operated servers with strong encryption to maintain security and multi-server connections to ensure privacy. It’s not the only decentralized VPN available, but it might be one of the easiest to use.
I was intrigued enough to research NymVPN and test this new service. I balanced subscription prices against features, ease of use, privacy, security, and support to help you decide if it’s the right VPN for you.
Specs
| NymVPN | |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Devices | 10 |
| Support | |
| Free version? | No |
Tiers and pricing
NymVPN offers three subscription terms, and you can save more if you pay for one or two years in advance. The average monthly price for a $132 two-year plan is $5, while an annual subscription is $84, which works out to $7 per month.
While you can find much better VPN deals, bargain pricing isn’t NymVPN’s primary focus. The company aims to put privacy and security first with some inevitable tradeoffs.
NymVPN doesn’t offer a free version or a trial. The least expensive way to test the service is with a $13 monthly subscription. Every plan supports up to 10 devices and works cross-platform.
You don’t have to pay to protect your privacy if you can accept a few restrictions. The best free VPNs offer unlimited use and don’t show ads.
Design
NymVPN installation was fast, and the Windows app was open and ready to use in less than a minute. It defaults to Fast mode, which uses WireGuard to speed up browsing and streaming. Anonymous mode provides the most privacy and is recommended only for email, messages, and payments.
If you haven’t used a multi-hop VPN before, you might be surprised that NymVPN has two location menus. The entry point is where you initially connect to the network. The exit point is the country and server that online services see as your location.
The big green Connect button starts the service, which takes several seconds. A message at the top lets me know when I’m connected to NymVPN. Like most other VPNs, the big green button turns red and becomes a Disconnect control.
A gear icon at the top left opens a settings panel with options to auto-start, language selection, and a choice of light or dark mode. The app window is resizable, but NymVPN’s simple design doesn’t require much space.
Features
NymVPN isn’t meant to be the fastest streaming VPN / and I found performance to be somewhat slow even in Fast mode. However, a speed tradeoff becomes acceptable when privacy and anonymity are my primary considerations. If I had no concerns about tracking, I could simply leave my VPN off to browse, stream, and download at full speed.
Fast mode creates an encrypted network tunnel within another tunnel, a two-hop VPN connection that makes tracking much harder. It uses AmneziaWG, an obfuscated WireGuard protocol variation.
Some other popular services like Proton VPN use single-hop with an optional two-hop mode, but with NymVPN, two is the minimum. The result of NymVPN’s privacy focus is a very secure, anonymous connection that’s a bit slow.
I get 900 Mbps downloads and uploads over Ethernet without a VPN. With NymVPN’s Fast mode, the best performance I could get was with an entry point at a nearby server in the U.S. and an exit point in the Netherlands. With SpeedTest, I measured 317 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up. Download speed was reduced by 65%.
To maximize uploads, staying within my own borders with a Canada-to-Canada connection proved best. I measured 94 Mbps down and 23 Mbps up. That’s still quite slow, making it clear I shouldn’t choose NymVPN for speed.
It’s all about keeping my online activity and my identity hidden. That’s why a kill switch is always on. If the connection ever drops unexpectedly, NymVPN blocks internet access to prevent leaking information over an insecure network.
While services like NordVPN include advanced features like split-tunneling, port forwarding, and malware blocking, NymVPN currently lacks those options. More features are coming with split-tunneling and blockers planned for the second quarter of 2025.
NymVPN’s Anonymous mode pushes security to the extreme with a five-hop connection that passes through a mixnet, obfuscating activity, and ensuring a single server breach can’t expose your data.
I couldn’t get Anonymous mode to work on my Windows PC since it has so much background network activity that I lacked enough bandwidth for browsing. I tried on my iPhone instead and found the speed was good enough for NymVPN’s recommended usage — messaging, email, and payment apps.
I managed to run the lightweight Netflix speed test at Fast.com and measured 45 Kbps in Anonymous mode. My native speed over a weak Wi-Fi connection was 82 Mbps. That means five-hops cut performance by 94%.
Still, if I were targeted by hackers or government spies and needed complete anonymity and privacy, Anonymous mode could be worth reverting to dial-up speeds.
Support
NymVPN has extensive documentation that I could browse to find answers without waiting. Still, I wanted to test response time for questions that require personal assistance.
NymVPN has a support chatbot that’s available 24/7, but I quickly stumped it by asking it to compare a mixnet to a standard VPN. The bot offered to connect me to an agent, and I agreed.
The response came within a few minutes, and I found the agent to be friendly and helpful. I got links, images, and plenty of data to help clarify the difference in NymVPN’s modes of operation.
Operating hours are Monday through Friday, 1:00 AM to 5:00 PM GMT. While that’s 16 hours daily on weekends, the hours might seem odd to U.S. customers, starting at 6:00 PM PT and running overnight until 10:00 AM the next morning.
When I reviewed Surfshark’s VPN, I enjoyed faster 24/7 support available even on the weekends. It’s also faster and costs less.
Privacy and security
It’s clear that NymVPN puts privacy first. No data is collected, and even payments are anonymous. The company passed an audit by Cure53, a well-known independent security research firm.
NymVPN is based in Switzerland, out of the jurisdiction of government intelligence-sharing alliances. The full-time use of multi-hop encrypted tunnels with obfuscation and added noise makes NymVPN one of the most secure and private VPNs available.
Is NymVPN right for you?
NymVPN won’t appeal to everyone, and if you can’t bear any slowdowns, it’s not the right choice. The best VPNs balance speed and privacy with a single-hop encrypted tunnel that will work better for most people.
If you’re on a tight budget or suffering from subscription fatigue, NymVPN might be too expensive. There are great VPN deals that could provide enough privacy, and even some good free VPNs that get the job done with no fees.
Still, I might choose NymVPN if I felt I was being spied on, targeted by hackers, or in danger from an oppressive government. The two-year subscription is affordable, and a monthly subscription lets you choose more security when it’s most needed.
That makes NymVPN a worthy choice when privacy and anonymity is essential.
