Why the Plus plan, not the cheapest one
The Basic plan at $3.39 a month gives you the VPN and nothing else. That’s a legitimate option if all you need is to encrypt your connection and change your IP. But for $0.50 a month more, the Plus plan adds anti-malware and browsing protection, an ad and tracker blocker, and a full password manager. That’s a $0.50 premium over Basic for tools that would cost you $30 to $50 a year as standalone subscriptions.
We ran the Plus plan for two weeks before writing this. The ad blocker caught trackers on news sites and stopped pre-roll ads on several video platforms — not every one, but a consistent majority. The malware protection flagged two files during routine downloads that Windows Defender missed. The password manager works across devices and handles autofill cleanly, though it’s not as polished as Bitwarden or 1Password if you’re already used to either of those.
The VPN side performed as expected: fast connections on servers across Europe and North America, solid performance on streaming platforms, and a Kill Switch that held during a deliberate network drop test. NordVPN’s no-log policy has been independently audited six times. That matters if privacy is part of why you’re looking at this — and given that several countries, including Australia, have recently made Pornhub and YouPorn inaccessible without age verification, it’s become more of a practical question than a theoretical one.
What the deal actually costs
The two-year plan bills $93.36 upfront for the Plus plan — down from the standard $359.76. At that rate, you’re paying $3.89 a month for 24 months. The plan renews at $179.88 per year after the initial period, so set a reminder if you want to reassess before the renewal hits.
All four plans — Basic, Plus, Complete, and Prime — come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. No conditions attached. If something doesn’t work for you in the first month, a full refund is straightforward to request.
The Complete and Prime plans add email, credit card, and ID monitoring, scam call protection, 1TB of cloud storage, and in Prime’s case, advanced identity protection through NordProtect. Those features are useful, but most people looking at a VPN deal don’t need all of that. The Plus plan covers the practical bases — protection while browsing, ad blocking, and password management — without pushing the price into subscription fatigue territory.