NordVPN vs TorGuard
In this day and age, the internet has grown to be one of the world’s most popular platforms. There are millions upon millions of people online who engage in all manner of activities.
But with this growth, several cybersecurity threats have developed. These are a huge problem for most people. That’s why people nowadays have resorted to using VPNs. But really which is the best VPN choice?
NordVPN is by far a better VPN service provider than TorGuard. It outmatches and outclasses TorGuard in terms of features, capabilities, and overall performance. It has better security, server infrastructure, speeds, and privacy policies.
In this article, we will endeavor to put these two VPNs in a head to head comparison. We will analyze their features and capabilities under several categories and see which one is better in said categories.
In the end, we will declare a winner. So buckle up, sit tight, and read on to get enlightened. This is sure to be an insightful read for you.
NordVPN
Even if you don’t know much about online security and VPNs, there’s a high chance that you’ve come across NordVPN.
If you’re reading this then you probably already know how much of a popular VPN service provider NordVPN is. It is a widely known VPN with some of the industry’s best infrastructure.
It was founded in 2012 and since then it has been providing people from all corners of the world with reliable online security solutions. It has grown to become one of the top VPNs in the world and is bound to grow even more in the coming years.
It has built quite a great name for itself in the VPN business. One of its most distinguishing factors from all other VPNs is its clean record and undeniable credibility.
NordVPN is a reliable and credible service and this has been proven. It has some of the best and most unique capabilities that a user could ever hope for. For this reason, most people prefer NordVPN to other services.
NordVPN has some of the best security features. It boasts of highly encrypted networks, claiming to have military-grade encryption protocols that are impossible to bypass.
Apart from encryption, it has other additional security features that ensure the safety and security of users whenever they are online. They are impregnable even by the very best of hackers.
It also has a strict zero-logs policy that has been verified. Most VPNs claim to have this feature but very few of them can back their claims up. NordVPN is one of the few services that has been audited and verified to be compliant with their no-logs policy.
It is located in Panama which is outside of the major alliance jurisdictions. Panama has zero logging laws and for this reason, NordVPN isn’t legally required to keep user logs.
NordVPN is an awesome VPN choice for all who are looking to get one. It offers amazing security and performance, as well as top performance for all online activities.
Some of its pros and cons are:
Pros of NordVPN
- It has amazing security features that are unmatched in the industry.
- It has fast and stable speeds no matter what time of day or location on earth.
- It has one of the largest server networks in the world.
- It has amazing customer support through text, email, and live chat.
- It supports numerous online activities like streaming, torrenting, browsing, etc.
- It is located in Panama and has a proven no-logs policy.
Cons of NordVPN
- Some of its servers don’t have stable speeds.
- Some of its servers don’t support torrenting.
- It’s a little bit costly.
TorGuard
When looking for a VPN service, TorGuard may not be the first thing that comes to your mind. This is understandable. It’s probably one of the most overlooked VPN services out there.
But the truth is that it’s a pretty solid VPN. It protects users’ web traffic and offers a whole other host of add-on features that provide an overall great user experience. It’s definitely worth your consideration.
It’s one of the most prominent VPN services. It was founded in 2012 and has been providing amazing online security solutions to millions of people all over the world.
Just like its counterpart NordVPN, it has some of the industry’s best security features and protocols. These ensure the safety and security of users whenever they are online.
It makes sure that the data of users don’t get into the hands of third parties such as hackers and government agencies. So if you need a VPN service with top-of-the-line security features, TorGuard is still a good choice.
TorGuard also has good server coverage all around the world and offers users excellent speeds for all manner of online activities. It’s great for streaming and just like the name suggests it supports torrenting.
In terms of pricing, TorGuard is affordable for the range of features it offers to users. It has efficient and effective customer support in case issues arise.
TorGuard also claims to have a no-logs policy. It claims that it doesn’t track, monitor, collect, or store users’ data. The only thing about this is that this claim has not been verified. So it’s a little hard to trust TorGuard.
One other thing that makes it hard to trust TorGuard is that it’s located in Nuremberg in Germany. Now for those who aren’t aware, several alliances in the world make it possible to share intelligence among countries. These are the 5, 9, and 14 Eyes Alliances.
VPNs in these countries are legally required to keep user logs and government agencies can get this information without requiring a warrant. Germany is a member of the 14 Eyes alliance.
So even though TorGuard claims it doesn’t keep logs, its jurisdiction requires it to do so.
Despite this, TorGuard is still an amazing VPN. Some of its pros and cons include:
Pros of TorGuard
- It has numerous servers and a great distribution all over the world.
- It has decent speeds.
- It has amazing security protocols.
- It’s affordable.
- It’s easy to use and set up.
Cons of TorGuard
- At times speeds and performance fluctuate.
- It has a few additional privacy and security features.
- It has a vague privacy policy.
NordVPN vs TorGuard: Which One Is Better?
To be clear, both of these VPNs offer great services. Each one of them has a particular set of features and capabilities that may be similar or different from each other. The bottom line is that one of them is a better choice than the other. Which one? That is what we’re going to answer.
We’ll put them against each other and analyze their features under several categories. In the end, we will come up with the overall best choice. So relax and read on.
1. Speed
One of the most important things for internet users is speed. It is an essential feature that cannot be ignored. Slow and unstable speeds are irritating and render most online activities impossible.
In all truth, we all desire to have excellent speeds at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world.
But while we all desire the best speeds. The reality is that it’s never that simple. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) throttle the internet speeds of users.
This creates a situation in which speeds are too slow and fluctuate from time to time. With such a connection. You can’t do anything worthwhile online.
So this is where VPNs come in handy. They encrypt your online traffic making it impossible for ISPs to throttle your speeds. A good VPN will always provide you with top and stable speeds at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world.
One of the things that determine the speed of a VPN is server count and distribution. A VPN with a large server network usually has faster speeds.
To determine which of the two VPNs I faster, we conducted speed tests. Our base speed without a VPN connection was about 170Mbps.
The first servers we connected to were in the UK. NordVPN recorded speeds of 150Mbps. TorGuard recorded speeds of 85Mbps. The next servers were in Seattle, U.S. NordVPN recorded speeds of 162Mbps while TorGuard recorded speeds of 98Mbps.
We proceeded to connect to servers in New York. NordVPN recorded speeds of 147Mbps while TorGuard recorded speeds of 75Mbps.
So as you can see, NordVPN is the clear winner here. This can be attributed to the fact that it has a larger server network and also because it has a WireGuard protocol (NordLynx) that gives tremendous speeds.
| Server location | NordVPN | TorGuard |
| UK | 150Mbps | 85Mbps |
| Seattle, U.S. | 162Mbps | 98Mbps |
| New York, U.S. | 147Mbps | 75Mbps |
2. Servers
When deciding on what VPN to pick, the server coverage is one of the most important things to look at. The performance of a VPN is usually determined by the number of servers and their distribution around the world.
It, therefore, follows that a VPN with a lot of servers spread out all over the earth is a good choice. One reason for this is that it’s less likely to have server crowding which is a common phenomenon among VPNs.
VPNs that are crowded have slow and unstable connections. An ideal VPN therefore should have a large server network.
A well-distributed server network is also essential because it gives users a whole bunch of options to choose from. In such a scenario they are likely to find a server suitable for their location and with top performance. They therefore can effectively spoof their location and obtain the fastest speeds.
Both NordVPN and TorGuard have a good server count and coverage. But there’s an undisputed champion in this category.
NordVPN is a VPN with one of the world’s largest server network. It boasts 5500+ servers in over 60 countries. Maintaining such a number is no easy feat and NordVPN does it effectively.
TorGuard on the other hand has 3000+ servers in over 50 countries. While this is less than NordVPN, it’s also one of the industry’s largest server networks.
In this case, therefore, NordVPN wins.
| NordVPN | TorGuard | |
| Server count | 5500+ | 3000+ |
| Server locations | 60+ | 50+ |
3. Security
Security is one of the most important things whenever one is online. Nowadays there are so many cybersecurity threats that using the internet unprotected could open you up to cyber-attacks. Security is one of the major reasons people have resorted to using VPNs.
VPNs encrypt all our online traffic and pass it through a secure tunnel that keeps out cyber threats. This creates a secure network.
The best VPN will have excellent security protocols and additional security features. It should have strong encryption standards to keep out online threats.
Both NordVPN and TorGuard are excellent services with top-notch security features. Both VPNs make use of the OpenVPN protocol with AES-256 encryption. They also have DNS/IP leak protection and Killswitch.
NordVPN however, pulls ahead because it offers additional security layers of DoubleVPN, Onion over VPN, CyberSec, and Obfuscated servers. TorGuard doesn’t have these features.
So in terms of security, NordVPN is the best choice.
| Security feature | NordVPN | TorGuard |
| OpenVPN | Yes | Yes |
| AES-256 bit encryption | Yes | Yes |
| DNS/IP leak protection | Yes | Yes |
| Killswitch | Yes | Yes |
| DoubleVPN | Yes | No |
| Onion over VPN | Yes | No |
| CyberSec | Yes | No |
| Obfuscated servers | Yes | No |
4. Logging policies, Jurisdictions, and Privacy
More and more people are becoming concerned with their online privacy and anonymity. They have become so much of a necessity and this is why people are using VPNs to mask their identities whenever online. VPNs are of key importance to maintain online privacy.
The logging policies of a VPN determine whether it tracks, collects, and stores users’ data. This means that the logging policies of a VPN of your choice also have an impact on your privacy.
The best VPN should have verified no-logging policies. Most VPNs claim to have a no-logs policy but can’t back this claim up.
Jurisdiction also plays a role because it determines whether a VPN is legally required to keep logs or not. A good VPN should have a favorable jurisdiction.
NordVPN has a proven no-logs policy after being audited by third-party audit firms. It’s located in Panama which has no logging laws and is outside the major security alliances (5, 9, 14 Eyes Alliances). This means that with this service your privacy is assured.
TorGuard on the other hand has a vague privacy policy. It does claim to keep no logs but its jurisdiction is under Germany which is a member of the 14 Eyes Alliance. So it’s legally required to keep user logs.
In this category, therefore, NordVPN is the clear winner.
| NordVPN | TorGuard | |
| Proven no-logs policy | Yes | No |
| Jurisdiction | Panama | Germany(14 Eyes Alliance) |
5. Streaming
Streaming has become quite a popular activity these days. With numerous streaming services to choose from more and more people are resorting to these services to watch their favorite content.
But while all this is good, the internet is quite an unsafe place for people. There are a lot of online threats lurking out there.
This is why VPNs are popular. When streaming they route all your traffic through a secure tunnel making it impossible for cybercriminals to intercept your data.
Most streaming services also geo-restrict their content making it available only in certain areas. VPNs help in this regard because they can unblock such content making it available to you no matter your location on earth.
The best VPN for streaming therefore will have fast speeds, great unblocking capabilities, and exceptional security measures.
NordVPN can unblock Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO, Disney+, Showtime, and others.
With TorGuard, the case is quite different. To get a good streaming performance, you need to pay for dedicated streaming IP addresses. Each of these streaming addresses costs an additional $7.99 per month. This makes it quite expensive for streaming. It can unblock Netflix, HBO, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and others.
So when it comes to streaming support, NordVPN is easily the winner. It has faster speeds, great unblocking capabilities, excellent security, and doesn’t ask for an additional cost for streaming.
| NordVPN | TorGuard | |
| Streaming services unblocked | 7+ | 4+ |
| Additional streaming price | No | Yes |
6. Torrenting
Torrenting and file-sharing have become popular with most people because they have made things so much easier. But while it’s widely used, torrenting has some weaknesses that are impossible to look past.
For starters, when using a torrenting service, your IP address is visible to anyone connected to the network. That’s just how it works. This can be used by hackers to launch an attack against you. Torrenting also involves downloading and sharing of large files. A good speed connection is therefore essential. But with ISPs throttling user speeds, this is a challenge. Copyright infringement is also another challenge.
An ideal VPN for torrenting should therefore have fast speeds, good security protocols, and also a favorable jurisdiction.
NordVPN is a great service for torrenting. It has dedicated P2P servers with excellent speeds and security protocols. It also has a Panama jurisdiction which doesn’t have so many strict copyright infringement laws.
TorGuard on the other hand has slower speeds and fewer security features than NordVPN. It also doesn’t have dedicated torrenting servers.
So in this category, NordVPN is the clear winner.
| NordVPN | TorGuard | |
| Dedicated P2P servers | Yes | No |
7. Pricing
NordVPN has 1-month, 6-month, and 2-year plans. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee for users who don’t like the service.
TorGuard on the other hand has 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year plans. With TorGuard you choose a billing cycle and then check to see if there are any additional costs e.g. for streaming IP addresses. TorGuard has a 7-day money-back guarantee.
In this category, TorGuard is the winner. See the table below for price comparison.
| Plan | NordVPN | TorGuard |
| 1-month | $11.95 | $9.99 |
| 3-month | – | $7 per month |
| 6-month | $9 per month | $5 per month |
| 1-year | – | $5 per month |
| 2-year | $3.71 per month | – |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 7-days |
All in all, NordVPN is the better VPN choice. It outperforms and outclasses TorGuard in every regard and is therefore the most recommended choice.
