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NordVPN vs. TorGuard – Comparison & Test Results 2024

NordVPN will prove to be an alluring choice for users who love movies, want to ensure their online privacy and are looking for reliable access to content from around the globe.

NordVPN logo

The provider is reliable and bargain-priced, although some may find the service’s app interface and slower download speeds off-putting.

Visit NordVPN


TorGuard is a valid VPN choice for users who are looking for comprehensive VPN protection at a reasonable price and also have a need for speed. BitTorrent users will appreciate the service’s attitude toward file sharing.

TorGuard Logo

Streaming fans will be disappointed to learn the provider charges an extra fee for reliable streaming access.

Visit TorGuard


How to Choose a VPN

This head-to-head battle will feature NordVPN and TorGuard.

In this article, I’ll explain the 10 most important categories to consider when you’re making a VPN-buying decision. I’ll tell you why the category is important, reveal how well both providers perform in the category and then declare a winner for each area.

After I’ve provided a look at all 10 service categories, I’ll tally the total score and declare an overall champ.

By the time you reach the end of this article, you should have more than enough information on hand to make an informed VPN-buying decision.

Connection Speed

It seems as if every device I own is connected to the internet. My Amazon Echo, my iPhone, my iPad, my MacBook, even my robot vacuum cleaner – all of them are connected. Connected devices require fast connections.

In this section, we’ll be measuring the performance of the encrypted connections of our two VPN providers. We use Speedtest.net to test each provider’s download speeds. The VPN speed tests are conducted as follows:

  1. We use a North America-based Windows virtual server with gigabit Ethernet connection.
  2. 3 users, each located in different areas of the world, connect to 3 different VPN locations – the United Kingdom, the United States and Hong Kong – at 3 different times of the day over the course of 3 days.
  3. We use the Windows version of each provider’s app, configured to connect to the VPN server via the OpenVPN protocol over UDP.
  4. Once all of the speed tests have been completed, the average speed is calculated for each provider for our rankings.

Average Connection Speed

TorGuard offers the fastest download speeds in this head-to-head runoff. The provider delivers plenty of speed, fast enough to provide fast downloads of large files, and more than up to streaming even 4K video.

NordVPN is only one-third as fast as its competitor, but still delivers enough horsepower for 1080p HD streaming, online gaming and most other online activities.

Average Connection Speed Winner: TorGuard

Provider

Avg. D/L Speed Link

TorGuard

53.5 Mbps Visit Site

NordVPN

17.90 Mbps Visit Site

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Pricing

Both providers ask a reasonable price for their services, ranking in the middle of the providers that I have tested.

TorGuard’s month-to-month going rate falls somewhere around the price of a good steak at your neighborhood butcher. (Or a pound of the new “Impossible Burger,” for the vegetarians among us.) The price drops down to the hamburger neighborhood each month when you commit to an annual deal.

NordVPN’s pricing is similar, also bringing steak numbers for a month-to-month subscription, and also falling to the hamburger range if you opt for the annual subscription. However, their hamburger has guacamole on it, so it’ll run you a few bucks per month more than TorGuard’s.

Pricing Winner: TorGuard

Provider

Money-Back Guarantee Period Link

TorGuard

7 Days Visit Site

NordVPN

30 Days Visit Site

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Privacy

If you’re connected to the internet, someone is interested in your online activities. Your ISP wants to track your online travels so they can sell that information to the highest bidder. Hackers are trying to monitor your connection to steal your banking and credit card information.

Always research any potential VPN provider’s privacy protection by looking at the following:

  • Is the provider based in a country that respects their citizens’ online privacy?
  • Does the provider save logs related to their customers’ online activities?
  • Does the firm accept Bitcoin or other types of private payments?

Panama respects their citizens’ online privacy and doesn’t require ISPs or VPNs to save logs containing records of their users’ online activities. NordVPN is located in Panama, and takes full advantage of that policy, keeping no logs whatsoever. They happily accept Bitcoin.

TorGuard is based in the United States, where (at this time) there are no laws requiring VPNs to keep user logs. The VPN provider keeps no logs of any type. TorGuard accepts Bitcoin and gift card balances in return for their services.

Privacy Winner: It’s a Tie!

Provider

Privacy Star Rating Link

NordVPN

5.0 Visit Site

Read Review

TorGuard

5.0 Visit Site

Features

When you’re shopping for a VPN provider, never concentrate on just one or two factors, like price or connection speed. A quality VPN provider offers a large number of features that should be considered before paying out your hard-earned money.

In this section of the article, I’ll provide a look at how well both providers perform in the service categories both offer. I’ll detail how well they perform in each arena and then declare a winner for that round of the competition.

At the end of this section, I’ll tally the score and declare an overall winner.

Security

The encryption that VPN providers use keeps their users’ online activities, and the accompanying personal and business-related information, away from interested third parties.

Additional security is provided by features designed to protect your security in case of accidental disconnect, and to keep your VPN usage from being detected.

NordVPN provides government-grade AES-256 encryption protection via the OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPSec protocols. The provider also offers kill switch and DNS leak protections, malicious website blocking, and Onion Over VPN options.

TorGuard also makes use of military-grade encryption and uses OpenVPN with TCP or UDP, PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, SSTP and IKEv2 protocols. Other protections include adware and malware blockers, as well as DNS leak and IPv6 leak protection.

Security Winner: It’s a Tie!

Provider

Security Score Star Rating Link

NordVPN

5.0 Visit Site

Read Review

TorGuard

5.0 Visit Site

Simultaneous Connections

Whether you’re the owner of a small business, the head of a large family or the leader of a small island nation, the ability for multiple users to all be able to access VPN protection at once is important.

NordVPN allows 6 connections at once.

TorGuard allows 8 simultaneous users on a single login.

Simultaneous Connections Winner: TorGuard

Provider

# of Simultaneous Connections Allowed Link

NordVPN

6 Visit Site

Read Review

TorGuard

8 Visit Site

Streaming Support

If you spend time outside of your home country, you likely get a bit homesick from time to time. Being able to access the same Netflix content that you watch back home helps relieve the homesickness (just a bit).

The same goes for fans of other streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Showtime and many others.

However, as you may have realized, some of those streaming services are only available in certain countries, and almost all of the services don’t offer the same content in every country they’re available in. This is where a VPN comes in handy.

NordVPN unblocks a large number of streaming services around the globe. Unblocked services include: Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Showtime, Hulu, Disney+ and others.

TorGuard provides access to various streaming services, but only when you spring for a $7.99-per-month “dedicated streaming IP” add-on.

Streaming Support Winner: NordVPN, because you don’t need to pay extra.

Provider

# of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks # of International Services VPN Unblocks Link

NordVPN

5+ 5+ Visit Site

Read Review

TorGuard

5+ 5+ Visit Site

BitTorrent Support

P2P/BitTorrent can be used to share files of all kinds. While many users make use of P2P to share business-related files with co-workers, many other users take advantage of the service to share movies, music and other copyrighted files. This has led to many ISPs blocking P2P activity on their networks.

TorGuard allows P2P activity on all of its servers (over 50 countries).

NordVPN allows P2P file sharing on servers in 46 of the countries they have servers located in.

BitTorrent Support Winner: TorGuard

Provider

# of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrent Access Link

TorGuard

50+ (all countries) Visit Site

NordVPN

46 Visit Site

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Global Server Coverage

Top-notch global server coverage opens access to websites and services that may be blocked from inside particularly restrictive countries.

And, if you’re a gamer or a movie lover, then you’ll appreciate a VPN’s ability to unblock streaming and gaming content that might normally be blocked to users in your area.

NordVPN has 5,600+ servers spread out among 60 countries.

TorGuard has placed 3,000+ servers in 50+ countries.

Global Server Coverage Winner: NordVPN

Provider

Server Count Countries Link

NordVPN

5,600+ 60 Visit Site

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TorGuard

3,000+ 50+ Visit Site

Multi-Platform Support

You work on emails on your laptop, answer text messages on your Android phone and play games on your iPad. Multi-platform support is an important feature to keep in mind if I just described your average day.

NordVPN app support covers the Windows, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux and macOS platforms. You can also use the service with numerous routers and NAS devices. Firefox and Chrome extensions are available.

TorGuard’s app support is limited to Windows, iOS, Android, macOS and Linux devices, as well as many brands of routers. Browser extensions for the Firefox and Safari platforms are also available.

Multi-Platform Support Winner: NordVPN

Provider

# of Platforms Supported Browser Extensions? Link

NordVPN

6 Yes (Chrome, Firefox) Visit Site

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TorGuard

5 Yes (Firefox, Safari) Visit Site

Customer Support

No one wants to talk to their VPN provider’s customer support personnel. Sadly, most of us can’t avoid it. Eventually, an issue may arise, or you may have a question about the service’s features.

TorGuard offers 24/7 live support chat, a trouble ticket system and a searchable knowledge base.

NordVPN customer support offers live support chat, email support and a searchable support library.

Customer Support Winner: Tied!

Provider

Customer Support Star Rating Link

TorGuard

5.0 Visit Site

NordVPN

5.0 Visit Site

Read Review

And the Winner Is…

Torguard took the overall title in this head-to-head faceoff, but it was a close call for the winning provider.

TorGuard Logo

TorGuard scored tops in the connection speed, pricing, simultaneous connections and BitTorrent categories.

NordVPN took top honors in the streaming support, global server coverage and multi-platform support categories.

The providers tied in the privacy, security and customer support arenas.

TorGuard scored an overall victory this time around thanks in part to its fast connections, low price, simultaneous connections allowance and BitTorrent support. The provider should prove to be a great fit for users who require excellent connection speeds and coverage for multiple platforms.

Visit TorGuard

Roundup - best VPNs for speed

Position Our Score Verdict
1.
4.5/5
Verdict: Our top rated VPN
Get NordVPN »
2.
4.5/5
Verdict: Best budget option
Get Surfshark »
3.
4.0/5
Verdict: Great privacy options
Get ExpressVPN »
4.
4.0/5
Verdict: Highly versatile
Get CyberGhost »
5.
3.0/5
Verdict: Up to 10 devices
Get PrivateVPN »

PRIVACY ALERT: Websites you visit can see these details about you:

The following information is available to any site you visit:

Your IP Address:

Your Location:

Your Internet Provider:

This information can be used to target ads and monitor your internet usage.

By using a VPN you can hide these details and protect your privacy.

I recommend NordVPN - the top provider in my testing. It offers outstanding privacy features and there is currently a discounted rate available through this link.

Visit NordVPN

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