NordVPN vs TorGuard: which VPN is best for you?

These days, online privacy is a big deal, and you should put a lot of thought into picking the most secure VPN service. Luckily, there are a lot of good ones out there: just like NordVPN and TorGuard.

In this NordVPN vs TorGuard comparison, I’ll help you decide which software deserves your hard-earned money. I’ll comapare at their speed, streaming capabilities, selection of features, and price.

NordVPN vs TorGuard

While both use the industry-standard AES-256 encryption, NordVPN regularly updates all of its apps, patching bugs and removing vulnerabilities, making it an overall more secure option. NordVPN also supports more VPN protocols and is one of the fastest VPNs that we have tested. Most importantly, NordVPN has more than double servers than TorGuard, ensuring that you can acess geo-restricted content from any corner of the world.

	NordVPN	TorGuard
⭐ Rating:	4.9 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★	3.6 ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
🥇 Overall rank:	#1 out of #41	#21 out of #41
🖥️ Servers:	7,600 + servers in 118 countries	3,000 + servers in 50 countries
📖 No logs policy:	No logs	No logs
💵 Price:	From $3.39/month	from $4.00/month
🔥 Coupons:	NordVPN coupon 76% OFF	TorGuard coupon 50% OFF
🔒 VPN protocols:	OpenVPN, WireGuard (NordLynx), NordWhisper	WireGuard, OpenVPN, OpenConnect
🍿 Streaming services:	Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and more	Youtube
🖥️ Platforms:	Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
📥 Simultaneous connections:	10	8
💁🏻 Support:	Knowledge base, FAQs, email, 24/7 live chat	Ticket, email, support center

Speed comparison: NordVPN vs TorGuard

Here’s what you need to know before getting any VPN service: when a VPN is in use, your internet speed is bound to decrease, no matter what kind of “blazing fast speeds” the service advertises on its official page.

It happens because a VPN encrypts your internet traffic and reroutes it through a remote server. This extra step is what makes your speed slow down.

Luckily, there exist a few tunneling protocols that make this decrease barely noticeable. One of them is NordLynx, the in-house protocol of NordVPN. Another one is WireGuard used by TorGuard.

So, I ran a few speed tests on various servers (US, UK, Switzerland, India, etc.) and compared the average download and upload speeds of both VPNs.

• Baseline: 1 ms/300 Mbps download/300 Mbps upload

NordLynx/WireGuard	NordVPN	TorGuardVPN
Download average	235.5 Mbps	221.1 Mbps
Upload average	124.2 Mbps	181.2 Mbps

As you can see, the speeds are pretty comparable. With NordVPN, my download speed decreased by 21.5% on average, while some servers let me retain up to 97% of my speed. There were some slow-downs, too: when connected to the Japanese server, I was left with only 13% of my original download speed.

Now, TorGuard VPN decreased my download speed by 26.3% on average, however, some servers were able to keep my download speed at 97.4%. I had the least success with the New York server, as the VPN failed to connect to it at all.

Netflix and streaming performance

When it comes to streaming, the winner is clear - and it’s NordVPN. This service is perfect for those who can’t live without watching movies and shows that are geo-blocked in their own country.

So, with NordVPN, you have a high chance of unblocking Netflix (US and UK included) as well as BBC iPlayer. The VPN will also let you watch Youtube videos unavailable in your region.

What’s also cool about NordVPN is that it offers the SmartDNS technology (SmartPlay) that allows you to watch the geo-blocked libraries of Netflix and other streaming platforms on a myriad of devices that don’t support VPN connections.

On a different note, TorGuard VPN doesn’t perform nearly as well. It didn’t manage to unblock Netflix or even BBC iPlayer. All it did was allow me to watch blocked Youtube videos - but that’s expected from any VPN service.

However, TorGuard offers a subscription option called Streaming Bundle that gives you two streaming IPs (you can choose between the US, UK, and Japan). However, it’s quite expensive ($21.98/month) and we haven’t tested it yet.

Torrenting and P2P

If your main reason for using a VPN is torrenting, then you won’t make a mistake by choosing either NordVPN or TorGuard, as both VPN services support P2P file sharing and torrenting.

However, there are some differences between the VPNs. NordVPN, for example, has specialized servers for torrenting. It’s also worth mentioning that both VPNs have the SOCKS5 proxy. You can set it up with your preferred torrenting application.

Features overview

Both NordVPN and TorGuard are tightly packed with useful features that might come in handy for beginners and advanced users alike. However, TorGuard caters to the latter category, while NordVPN is much more approachable to those who’ve never used a VPN before.

SmartDNS

So, you unblocked the US Netflix library, found a movie you’ve been looking for so long, and want to comfortably watch it on your smart TV. However, there’s a problem - your device doesn’t support VPN connection. Luckily, both NordVPN and TorGuard has a solution to this probelm – SmartDNS. This feature allows you to watch geo-blocked content on all kinds of devices incompatible with VPNs, however, it won’t encrypt your connection.

Split tunneling

Sometimes, you might not want all your applications to use VPN traffic. In this case, split tunneling is the very thing you need. This feature lets you select the apps (and sometimes websites) that use or don’t use the VPN connection.

Split tunneling is available on NordVPN’s Windows and Android apps, while TorGuard has implemented it only on its Android application.

Specialty servers

Unlike TorGuard VPN, NordVPN offers a bunch of specialized servers that are useful in particular situations. For example, if you need an extra layer of anonymity, you might like to use either a Double VPN server or Onion over VPN server. You can also make use of obfuscated servers that mask your VPN connection. NordVPN also has P2P servers that are especially useful for torrenting.

Scripts

Scripts are quite an advanced feature offered by TorGuard. It makes your VPN connection highly customizable by allowing you to run various scripts in the following scenarios: before connecting, after connecting, and after disconnecting. For example, you can make the VPN close a particular website each time you disconnect from a server. You can look at our TorGuard VPN review to read more about this feature.

NordVPN can be used through the command line, allowing you to write custom scripts that can make the NordVPN connect or disconnect based on the rules in your script. This allows for the same functionality as the TorGuard app if you know how to use it.

DNS options

Yet another advanced configuration feature of TorGuard VPN, the DNS options tab helps you in such cases when a website blocks the DNS of your VPN. It lets you select an alternative DNS from a wide selection of options including OpenDNS, Level3, and Cloudflare.

NordVPN also lets you tweak the DNS options. The only difference is that TorGuard allows you to choose a provider from a list, and NordVPN requires you to enter the address of the DNS server.

NordVPN vs TorGuard: which is more secure?

Security-wise, both NordVPN and TorGuard do their best to protect your privacy online. Each service offers advanced encryption, a variety of tunneling protocols, and an integrated kill switch that will protect your real IP address.

However, NordVPN has the upper hand thanks to its independent security audits, bonus security features, and a better choice of jurisdiction.

Encryption and tunneling protocols

Both NordVPN and TorGuard use the industry-standard AES-256 encryption. TorGuard also lets you pick AES-128.

When it comes to the selection of tunneling protocols, TorGuard is the clear leader. It not only offers the fast and secure WireGuard, but also a number of other protocols like OpenVPN UDP/TCP, OpenConnect, and even Stealth VPN. You can also manually set it up to use PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, or IKEv2/IPSec.

NordVPN’s collection of tunneling protocols is a bit more humble. The service lets you pick between NordLynx (which is a custom variation of WireGuard), OpenVPN UDP/TCP, and IKEv2/IPSec. It has also recently launched NordWhisper, which is ideal for highly restrictive networks.

Jurisdiction

It’s important to pick the right country for your VPN business, and it’s clear that the people behind NordVPN made the better choice. That’s because the service is based in Panama, a country with user-friendly privacy laws. It’s also reassuring that Panama doesn’t belong to the infamous 14-Eyes Alliance.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for TorGuard VPN, which is based in the US, one of the founding members of the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance. This country is also known for its powerful law enforcement and intelligence agencies, which often have the means to get user data from businesses.

Logging

When it comes to privacy policy, NordVPN totally destroys TorGuard VPN. NordVPN has already been independently audited 5 times, while TorGuard doesn’t have a single audit to prove its integrity.

In terms of logging, both TorGuard and NordVPN claim not to log your browsing activity, but TorGuard's claims aren't verified by a security audit. It’s also worth noting that NordVPN uses RAM-only servers that get wiped out with every single reboot.

Kill switch

Without an effective kill switch, your online privacy is at risk. One accidental VPN connection issue and your real IP address can get instantly leaked.

So, it’s good to know that both NordVPN and TorGuard offer an integrated kill switch that will reliably shut down your internet connection as soon as you get disconnected from a VPN server on accident. You can also set it up to automatically close particular applications.

Server locations

No matter if you pick NordVPN or TorGuard VPN, you won’t experience a lack of servers or countries to choose from. While NordVPN offers you the staggering number of 7600+ servers in 118 countries, TorGuard is trying its best to keep up with its 3000+ servers in 50 different countries.

Of course, as of now, NordVPN’s coverage is significantly broader, offering more countries in every region of the world. Also, some of TorGuard’s servers are virtual, which means that they are not based in the country whose IP address you’ll be getting.

	NordVPN	TorGuard VPN
Servers	7600+	3000+
Countries	118	50

Platforms, interface, and ease of use

While I can recommend NordVPN as the perfect beginner’s VPN, TorGuard is the one that advanced users might appreciate more. Nonetheless, NordVPN's apps are more intuitive and pleasing to look at.

	NordVPN	TorGuard VPN
Supported OS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Other software and devices	Kodi, Android TV, Amazon Fire devices	Kodi, Android TV,Amazon Fire devices
Browser extensions	Chrome, Firefox, Edge	Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Simultaneous connections	10	8

Desktop apps

All it takes is a quick glance to understand that NordVPN and TorGuard were created with very different audiences in mind, and it’s the most apparent with their desktop apps.

So, NordVPN’s clean and simplistic design seems really friendly and inviting even to a total beginner. The map is interactive, letting you choose the desired location more easily. However, keep in mind that only the Windows and macOS applications can be proud of this slick design - the Linux app has no graphic interface.

On the other hand, TorGuard VPN is geared toward the tech-savvy crowd. You can instantly see that it has more advanced customization options and no map. Also, its applications feel a bit outdated in general - it seems that functionality was the creators’ main concern. But, unlike NordVPN, TorGuard offers a fully developed app for Linux, which is a rare find these days.

Mobile apps

As it usually goes, the mobile apps of NordVPN and TorGuard are very similar to their desktop counterparts. However, there are a few differences between the Android and iOS versions themselves.

For example, the Android app of TorGuard is the only one that offers split tunneling. It’s also worth mentioning that the selection of protocols is a bit different: while TorGuard’s Android application offers WireGuard and OpenVPN, its iOS version has IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN.

Meanwhile, NordVPN’s Android app uses OpenVPN and NordLynx, while the iOS application includes IKEv2. Also, the Android app is a bit more feature-rich, offering split tunneling, auto-connect, and pausing. On the other hand, the iOS version has dark web monitoring.

Plans and pricing

If you’re torn between NordVPN and TorGuard VPN and hope that the price will finally help you decide, then you might be a bit disappointed. That’s because both services offer a wide range of prices and subscription periods, catering to all kinds of users.

Plan	NordVPN	TorGuard VPN
Monthly	$12.99/month	$4.00/month
One year	$4.99/month	$2.74/month
Two years	$3.39/month	$2.29/month

TorGuard is cheaper than NordVPN and is great if you don't want to commit for a long time – it's monthly cost is just $4.00/month. NordVPN is more expensive, and you have to commit to a 1-year or 2-year subscription to get a lower price. However, it's more secure, is easier to use, and has more features, so it depends on what you're looking for.

TorGuard has a trial version, which is a big plus. NordVPN also has a 7-day trial, though you can only get it on mobile devices (once you get it, it will work on desktop devices as well).

Customer support

While both NordVPN and TorGuard offer efficient customer support, NordVPN has the higher ground thanks to the 24/7 live chat option. Aside from that, you can contact a support agent of both VPN services via email. Depending on the agent availability, the reply time may vary from a day to a couple of minutes.

Whether you use NordVPN or TorGuard, you can also get the information you need by digging through the knowledge base and FAQ section of the services.

NordVPN vs TorGuard: which is better?

In the NordVPN vs TorGuard comparison, NordVPN stands out as a better and more well-rounded VPN. NordVPN has a larger network of 7600 servers against 3000 TorGuard's servers, NordVPN covers 118 countries meanwhile TorGuard covers 50 countries, and NordVPN has better features overall (SmartPlay, specialized servers). In terms of connection speeds and security, NordVPN comes out as better too.

There aren't that many things that TorGuard would have over NordVPN. The only things that could be highlighted are more simultaneous connections. Yet even this feature is undercut by their shorter money-back guarantee. In conclusion, most users will likely have a better experience with NordVPN.

Category	NordVPN	TorGuard
Speed	✅	❌
Features	✅	❌
Privacy	✅	❌
Streaming	✅	❌
Torrenting	✅	✅
Price	✅	✅
Server locations	✅	❌
Applications	✅	✅
Customer support	✅	❌

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