NordVPN vs Avast VPN

Overall winner

NordVPN

It’s a pretty straightforward choice between Avast VPN vs NordVPN. Both providers offer the core features to protect you online, but NordVPN outshines Avast in every important area, except for the price. NordVPN offers more server locations, better privacy tools, unblocks a wider range of networks, and more.

However, if you’re not completely convinced, both VPN services offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can always test out the service and request a refund from customer support if it doesn’t meet your expectations.

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Pricing

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
1-month plan	$11.95 per month	$8.99 per month
1-year plan	$4.92 per month	$3.99 per month
2-year plan	$3.71 per month	No

When trying to find the best price, there are a lot of different factors to keep in mind. For example, if you’re solely looking for the cheapest price, then you’ll have to sacrifice certain features. 

Other things to keep in mind are the flexibility and total cost you’re paying. Some providers have cheap introductory rates, which will increase after the first year.

The pricing structure offered by each provider is pretty flexible, so you can find the best plan for your needs. 

NordVPN has one-month, one-year, two-year, and three-year plans. While Avast offers one-year, two-year, and three-year plans. 

Currently, the 1-year plan for Avast costs $4.99/mo, while the two and three-year plans cost $3.99/mo. No matter which plan you choose you can connect to the VPN with 5 different devices simultaneously.

NordVPN has affordable pricing options, but it’s still not as affordable as Avast. The one-year plan costs $11.95/mo, the six-month plan costs $9.99/mo, and the two-year plan costs $3.71 per month.

Winner: Avast

Avast VPN wins this round with its cheaper plans. However, keep in mind that you won’t have access to the same level of features for a cheaper price.

Features

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
Windows	Yes	Yes
macOS	Yes	Yes
Linux	Yes	No
Connections	6	5

NordVPN and Avast VPN both offer support for a wide variety of platforms and operating systems, including macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. 

However, Avast VPN doesn’t support the same number of platforms. For example, Linux isn’t supported, same with Chrome and Firefox browsers. NordVPN also supports Android TV.

NordVPN and Avast VPN both support simultaneous streaming. NordVPN supports 6 connections at once, while Avast supports 5 simultaneous connections.

NordVPN also supports split tunneling, while Avast does not. With NordVPN split tunneling isn’t available on every platform, but it is available on the Chrome and Firefox browser extensions. 

NordVPN also has features that block ads and prevent malware. This not only enhances the browsing experience but can speed up your connection as well since you don’t have to wait for ads to be downloaded.

Winner: NordVPN

NordVPN supports a wider variety of platforms, offers more connections, plus it allows for split tunneling. NordVPN wins this round. 

Security

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
OpenVPN	Yes	Yes
IKEv2	Yes	Yes
Kill switch	Yes	Yes

Both VPN providers offer AES-256-bit encryption, which is one of the most secure forms of encryption available today and is the industry standard across VPN providers.

Aside from an encrypted connection, Avast isn’t equipped with a wide range of additional features. You do get access to valuable tools like DNS leak protection and a kill switch, but not much else. The Avast VPN dashboard is quite simple and only offers a few customization options.

DNS leak protection will ensure that when you connect to the VPN, you’re using the DNS servers of that provider. That stops your online activity from being “leaked” or spied on by third parties. While a kill switch will drop the wi-fi connection if your VPN connection drops. This ensures that you’re always routing your traffic through the VPN instead of the ISP, and you’re not using an unprotected internet connection.

NordVPN offers both OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols. While Avast VPN supports the same protocols.

However, NordVPN offers additional security features as well:

• The ability to use Onion over VPN
• DNS leak protection
• CyberSec support
• A double VPN offers twice as much security as a traditional VPN

Keep in mind that NordVPN did have a security breach back in 2018 in which one of its servers was compromised. They’ve since taken massive steps to ensure that will never happen again, but it has ruined the trust of the VPN in the eyes of some people.

Winner: NordVPN

Even with an imperfect security record, NordVPN wins the security round. Although Avast has pretty solid security standards, they don’t offer the same range of features as Nord.

Speed & servers

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
Servers	5500+	55
Countries	59	34

Does NordVPN or Avast VPN provide faster connection speeds? Overall, this can be a difficult question to answer, since there are a lot of variables that contribute to the average speed of the VPN.

For example, the following factors can influence your download speed and bandwidth on any given day:

• Where in the world you’re connecting to the VPN
• The location of the VPN server you’re connecting to
• The current speed of your broadband connection
• What kind of router you’re using
• The number of devices currently using the network/VPN connection
• And more

Still, speed is a very important factor, without solid speeds, you’ll have a difficult time streaming anything or even downloading a torrent. 

Most speed tests show that Avast SecureLine VPN offers speeds that are slightly above average. It’s not great, but not horrible. However, this does depend upon your location since its main servers are based in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. 

NordVPN is known for its super-fast loading speeds. NordVPN has servers in the same locations as Avast VPN but is still able to clock faster loading speeds.

In terms of server networks, Avast VPN has a pretty small network of only 100 servers spread out across 34 different countries. While NordVPN has a massive network of over 5000+ servers and server locations in 59 different countries. 

Winner: NordVPN

NordVPN wins this round with it’s larger number of servers and faster loading speeds across the board.

Privacy

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
Location	Panama	Czech Republic
Zero-logs policy?	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency	Yes	No

One of the main considerations in regards to online privacy is choosing a VPN provider that’s based out of a privacy-friendly country. Ideally, you’ll look for a provider that has a no-logs policy, along with offering anonymous payment options, like cryptocurrency.

To start, both NordVPN and Avast VPN are based outside of the 5, 9, and 14 Eyes countries, with NordVPN based in Panama and Avast VPN based in the Czech Republic. Countries that do fall under these intelligence-sharing agreements can be a risk to your privacy online. 

However, even though the Czech Republic isn’t part of this alliance, it is speculated that they do cooperate with the alliance. So, there is a chance your privacy could be compromised. 

NordVPN also has a zero-logs policy that’s regularly audited by an independent third party.

Avast, on the other hand, does keep a record of connection logs which include your IP address, timestamps, and the IP addresses of the VPN servers you connected to.

NordVPN also offers users anonymous payment options via cryptocurrency and supports Bitcoin via Bitpay, as well as a few other altcoins. Avast VPN doesn’t offer any anonymous payment options for its users.

Both VPN providers allow for torrenting. However, NordVPN has server obfuscation technology that provides superior levels of privacy.

Winner: NordVPN

NordVPN is based out of a country with safer privacy protocols, plus allows for anonymous payment options, so it comes out ahead in this round. 

Content unblocking

	NordVPN	Avast VPN
Netflix	Yes	No
BBC iPlayer	Yes	Yes
Hulu	Yes	No
Amazon Prime	Yes	Yes
Torrenting	Yes	Yes
China	Yes	No

One of the most common reasons to use a VPN is to get around streaming content restrictions. Depending on the region you’re in, you’ll have access to different streaming networks and different content. 

The availability of certain shows will be restricted to certain regions of the world. In some areas, streaming networks will be blocked entirely, like Hulu, which is only available in a few countries. 

Avast VPN has server locations that are spread out across the United States, the UK, and Germany, which are designated for streaming purposes. If you’re trying to stream Netflix outside of those countries, then you’ll want to use a different VPN. However, the VPN didn’t have difficulty streaming other services like BBC iPlayer. 

NordVPN has superior unblocking features. The VPN not only excels at unblocking Netflix, but it also can unblock most other streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, and much more.

Finally, NordVPN is one of the few VPNs that can get around the Great Chinese Firewall. The setup time will take a little longer, and you’ll need to configure the VPN before entering the country, as VPN websites are blocked by China.

Since Avast just uses OpenVPN, it can be easily blocked by the firewall and doesn’t work in China.

Winner: NordVPN

NordVPN wins this round with its ability to get around the Chinese firewall and its selection of streaming networks and geo-restrictions it can get around.