TorGuard vs NordVPN: A Full 2024 Comparison

Whether you’re using a mobile or desktop device, you’ll find a NordVPN or TorGuard app that works. Both VPNs have native clients for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. They also offer command-line interfaces for Linux, but these can be hard to set up. For a graphical user interface (GUI) for Linux, opt for PIA, the best VPN for Linux; you can read more about it in our PIA review

If you want to use a VPN on a browser, both NordVPN and TorGuard have dedicated Chrome and Firefox extensions. NordVPN goes further than TorGuard by supporting Android TV and Apple tvOS, which is why it’s one of the best VPNs for smart TVs. 

If you’re using a device that doesn’t natively support VPN installation, you can still enjoy VPN protection through a router. Simply connect your router to a VPN and all devices using the router will automatically be protected. NordVPN and TorGuard support many types of router firmware, including OpenWRT, DD-WRT and Tomato.

You can browse safely with secure combinations of encryption and protocols on either NordVPN or TorGuard. Both VPN services encrypt user traffic with AES encryption by default, which would take millions of years for a hacker to crack. This encryption works when you route your traffic through the OpenVPN and IKEv2 VPN protocols, which both VPNs have.

TorGuard also offers the OpenConnect protocol, an obfuscated protocol that hides your VPN use from prying eyes. It works with the AES encryption cipher as well. 

OpenVPN is the standard among VPN protocols and offers a fine mix of speed and security. IKEv2 is better suited for mobile devices because of its reconnection capabilities. TorGuard offers the lightweight and fast WireGuard, while NordVPN offers NordLynx, which is built on WireGuard. WireGuard uses ChaCha20 encryption, which is just as secure as AES. 

TorGuard and NordVPN offer a kill switch, which ensures your internet activity doesn’t leak if your VPN connection drops. Both come with two types of kill switches: app-level and system-wide. 

An app-level kill switch prevents specific apps from accessing the internet if the VPN accidentally disconnects. A system-wide kill switch prevents your entire device from connecting to the internet altogether unless your VPN connection is active. We tested NordVPN and TorGuard’s kill switches and can confirm that they work as expected. 

Another feature NordVPN and TorGuard have in common is the availability of dedicated IP addresses. When you connect to a VPN server, it gives you an IP that is shared with other users. The problem with these shared IPs is that if someone uses them for shady activity, the whole IP address is blamed and often blocked. 

A dedicated IP is an IP assigned to only you, which is great for accessing sensitive sites like online banks and reducing the occurrence of CAPTCHAs. TorGuard offers three kinds of dedicated IPs, starting at $7.99 per month: dedicated regular IPs, dedicated streaming IPs and dedicated residential IPs. NordVPN’s dedicated IP servers start at $5.89 per month. 

TorGuard and NordVPN have dedicated IP addresses in multiple countries, but TorGuard covers a lot more locations, with 43 dedicated IP options compared to NordVPN’s 18 country options. If you want a private IP address in a country NordVPN doesn’t cover, it’s worth checking TorGuard to see if it reaches that location.

TorGuard and NordVPN offer obfuscation, which hides the fact that you’re using a VPN. It works by making VPN packets seem like regular traffic so third parties can’t differentiate between them. Obfuscation is vital in countries with heavy internet censorship that frown on VPN use, especially China. 

NordVPN and TorGuard offer obfuscation in different ways. NordVPN has obfuscated servers as part of its collection of specialty servers. TorGuard, on the other hand, provides obfuscation through its OpenConnect stealth VPN protocol. You can also obfuscate by activating the “stunnel” feature under “protocols,” which can be used on its own or with OpenConnect.

Just like with any software, you might hit a snag or have questions while using a VPN. In such instances, a VPN with good customer support is crucial. NordVPN and TorGuard have useful self-service knowledgebases where you can find articles, FAQs, setup guides and troubleshooting guides. 

We found both help centers to be well written and insightful. We were particularly impressed by the annotated setup guides and video tutorials, which are easy to follow and perfect for first-time VPN users. If you need to talk to a person, you can reach out to NordVPN and TorGuard agents through email tickets or live chat. 

In our experience, TorGuard’s live chat support is more complicated to reach. You’ll have to log in to your TorGuard account, and it might take several minutes before a live agent gets to you. In contrast, NordVPN doesn’t require you to make an account or log in before you can access its live chat. 

If you want fast internet and VPN connection speeds, choose NordVPN over TorGuard. In our speed tests, NordVPN outperformed TorGuard in the three main speed indicators: download speeds, upload speeds and latency. In fact, NordVPN is currently the best fast VPN on the market — generally faster than ExpressVPN, Surfshark and CyberGhost.

Location:	Download	Upload	Latency
Ghana*	26.53	30.75	143
U.S.	18.22	20.34	178
U.K.	13.45	15.66	213
Japan	11.13	7.23	222
Australia	4.87	6.98	289
Brazil	3.85	2.30	364
South Africa	15.21	11.58	199
Averages:	13.32 (50.21% of unprotected speed)	17.83 (57.98% of unprotected speed)	229 (160% of unprotected speed)

As you can see from the tables above, NordVPN kept at least 68% of our initial download speeds regardless of the location. TorGuard, on the other hand, reduced our starting speeds by half. We recommend NordVPN for download-related activities like streaming, browsing social media and downloading large files. 

Similarly, NordVPN kept at least 90% of our initial upload speeds, while TorGuard dropped them to an average of 57%. This makes NordVPN the better pick for uploading files, posting content on social media and video conferencing. NordVPN also offers more consistent latency, making it the better choice for online gaming. 

NordVPN is cheaper than TorGuard and offers a simpler pricing structure. NordVPN has three subscriptions: a monthly plan, a one-year plan and a two-year plan. TorGuard offers six subscription options: monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, biennial and triennial plans. You would think TorGuard’s collection of plans would translate into affordable pricing, but that’s not necessarily the case. 

30-days money-back guarantee

Basic

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• Unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$12.99/month

1-year plan

$4.99/month

$59.88 billed every year

Save 61%

2-year plan + 3 months

$3.09/month

$83.43 billed every 2 years

Save 76%

Plus

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• Unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$13.99/month

1-year plan

$5.99/month

$71.88 billed every year

Save 57%

2-year plan + 3 months

$3.99/month

$107.73 billed every 2 years

Save 71%

Ultimate

• *The prices are charged in the first billing cycle only. Renewal prices vary.
• Unlimited GB
• 10
• Yes

1-month plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$15.99/month

1-year plan

$7.99/month

$95.88 billed every year

Save 50%

2-year plan + 3 months

$5.99/month

$161.73 billed every 2 years

Save 62%

NordVPN’s cheapest plan is the two-year plan, priced at $3.09 per month. TorGuard’s two-year plan costs $99.99 per year, which works out to around $4.17 per month. NordVPN’s one-year plan costs $59.88 ($4.99 per month), which is about the same as TorGuard. At $9.99 per month, TorGuard’s monthly plan is cheaper than NordVPN’s $12.99 monthly plan. 

7-days money-back guarantee

Anonymous VPN

• Up to 8 devices
• Unlimited GB
• 8
• Yes

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan, 1-year plan, 2-year plan

1-month plan

$9.99/month

3-months plan

$6.66/month

$19.99 billed every 3 month

Save 33%

6-months plan

$5/month

$29.99 billed every 6 month

Save 49%

1-year plan

$2.50/month

$29.99 billed every year

Save 74%

2-year plan

$4.17/month

$99.99 billed every 2 years

Save 58%

3-year plan

$3.89/month

$139.99 billed every 3 years

Save 61%

Anonymous VPN + PrivateMail Standard

• Up to 8 devices.
• 8

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan, 1-year plan, 2-year plan

1-month plan

$12.99/month

3-months plan

$11.66/month

$34.99 billed every 3 month

Save 10%

6-months plan

$11.67/month

$69.99 billed every 6 month

Save 10%

1-year plan

$9.92/month

$119 billed every year

Save 23%

2-year plan

$7.50/month

$179.98 billed every 2 years

Save 42%

3-year plan

$6.94/month

$249.99 billed every 3 years

Save 46%

Anonymous VPN Pro + PrivateMail Pro

• Up to 12 devices
• 12

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$16.98/month

3-months plan

$13.33/month

$39.98 billed every 3 month

Save 21%

6-months plan

$13/month

$77.98 billed every 6 month

Save 23%

1-year plan

$11.67/month

$139.99 billed every year

Save 31%

2-year plan

$9.17/month

$219.99 billed every 2 years

Save 45%

More plans

Anonymous VPN Pro

• Up to 12 devices
• Unlimited GB
• 12
• Yes

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan, 1-year plan, 2-year plan

1-month plan

$12.99/month

3-months plan

$11.66/month

$34.99 billed every 3 month

Save 10%

6-months plan

$11.67/month

$69.99 billed every 6 month

Save 10%

1-year plan

$9.92/month

$119 billed every year

Save 23%

2-year plan

$7.50/month

$179.98 billed every 2 years

Save 42%

3-year plan

$6.94/month

$249.99 billed every 3 years

Save 46%

Anonymous VPN Streaming Bundle

• Unlimited GB
• 8
• Yes

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan, 1-year plan

1-month plan

$21.98/month

3-months plan

$13.99/month

$41.98 billed every 3 month

Save 36%

6-months plan

$10.33/month

$61.98 billed every 6 month

Save 53%

1-year plan

$10.17/month

$121.98 billed every year

Save 53%

2-year plan

$8.42/month

$201.98 billed every 2 years

Save 61%

Business VPN 5

• 5 User package, 5 E-mail accounts, 1 Dedicated IP, HIPAA Compliant
• Unlimited GB
• 5
• Yes

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan

1-month plan

$32.99/month

3-months plan

$22/month

$65.99 billed every 3 month

Save 33%

6-months plan

$22/month

$131.99 billed every 6 month

Save 33%

1-year plan

$22/month

$263.99 billed every year

Save 33%

Business VPN 10

• 10 User package, 10 E-mail accounts, 3 Dedicated IP, HIPAA Compliant
• Unlimited GB
• 10

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan

1-month plan

$69/month

3-months plan

$46/month

$138 billed every 3 month

Save 33%

6-months plan

$46/month

$276 billed every 6 month

Save 33%

1-year plan

$46/month

$552 billed every year

Save 33%

Business VPN 15

• 15 User package. 15 E-mail accounts, 5 Dedicated IP, HIPAA Compliant
• Unlimited GB
• 15

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan

1-month plan

$110/month

3-months plan

$73.33/month

$220 billed every 3 month

Save 33%

6-months plan

$73.33/month

$440 billed every 6 month

Save 33%

1-year plan

$73.33/month

$880 billed every year

Save 33%

Business VPN 20

• 20 User package, 20 E-mail accounts, 10 Dedicated IP. HIPAA Compliant
• Unlimited GB
• 20

1-month plan, 3-months plan, 6-months plan

1-month plan

$169/month

3-months plan

$112.67/month

$338 billed every 3 month

Save 33%

6-months plan

$112.67/month

$676 billed every 6 month

Save 33%

1-year plan

$112.67/month

$1352 billed every year

Save 33%

TorGuard and NordVPN also have bundled pricing packages. TorGuard offers an Anonymous VPN + PrivateMail Bundle, which includes email aliases and encrypted storage, and an Anonymous + Streaming Bundle, which includes IPs optimized for streaming.

Aside from the Basic plan, NordVPN has two additional plans. The Plus plan adds extra malware protection, a password manager and a data breach scanner. Its Ultimate plan includes 1TB of encrypted cloud storage and cyber extortion coverage.

You can try any NordVPN plan (even the monthly plan) and get a refund within 30 days of your subscription. You can also try TorGuard with its money-back guarantee, but it offers a much shorter refund window of seven days. 

Money-back guarantees are important to help you test the VPN firsthand before parting with your money. The longer refund period makes NordVPN better to test out. 

NordVPN allows you to use one subscription on up to 10 devices, while TorGuard allows eight device connections. This puts NordVPN on our list of the best VPNs for multiple devices. You can upgrade to TorGuard’s Pro VPN plan ($12.99 per month) to get 12 simultaneous connections. 

A smart way to overcome device restrictions is to set up a VPN on a router so all connected devices are protected. If you want a VPN with unlimited device connections, consider Surfshark, which we discuss more in the alternatives section.

If you need a large server network, opt for NordVPN over TorGuard. NordVPN has about 6,000 servers in around 110 countries, more than double TorGuard’s server network of 3,000 servers in 50 countries. Unfortunately, TorGuard doesn’t have many server options in underserved regions — it has one server location in Africa and two in South America. 

Regardless of the continent you’re considering, from North America or Europe to Asia Pacific, NordVPN has more locations to choose from. 

NordVPN’s larger server network has many benefits. First, the more servers you have to choose from, the less server congestion you’ll face. In addition, a larger server network provides more IP addresses you can use to spoof your location and access local content worldwide.

If you’re a privacy-focused user, choose NordVPN over TorGuard. Both VPNs claim to abide by a strict no-logs policy, which simply means they don’t collect sensitive information that can be traced back to users.

However, we have a little more faith in NordVPN’s claim, because it has RAM-only servers that erase any user information upon every reboot. There’s no information on how often TorGuard erases its server memory.

In addition, several independent firms have audited NordVPN’s server network and given it a thumbs-up. In 2024, Deloitte Lithuania audited NordVPN’s servers and found no evidence of unusual logging. Unfortunately, TorGuard hasn’t undergone any independent security audits, which means we have to take its logging policy at face value. 

Furthermore, NordVPN is in Panama, a more privacy-friendly jurisdiction than TorGuard’s base in the U.S. Typically, a VPN’s headquarters won’t be an issue as long as it sticks to a no-logs policy. However, because we’re unsure about TorGuard’s logging policy, its U.S. base is a concern. The U.S. is part of the Five-Eyes Alliance of countries that collect and share data. 

NordVPN is the better pick if you want a VPN to unblock streaming services. While connected to NordVPN servers, we were able to unblock popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney Plus and Max. We didn’t need to sift through multiple servers before accessing the streaming platforms — the first one worked every time.

In contrast, TorGuard struggled to unblock streaming services. It was able to get into Hulu and Max, but we didn’t have any luck with BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus or Netflix. In the case of Amazon Prime Video, we had to try several servers before getting in. We recommend using one of the best VPNs for streaming over TorGuard.

Both TorGuard or NordVPN work with popular torrenting apps like BitTorrent, qBittorrent and uTorrent. NordVPN can provide faster torrenting speeds because of its download and upload speeds — one of the main reasons it’s on our list of the best VPNs for torrenting. 

However, TorGuard offers port forwarding, which can make torrenting faster. The trade-off is that you sacrifice a bit of security. Port forwarding opens channels onto your computer that hackers can exploit. It’s not easy, and would require a combination of factors all going wrong at once, but the vulnerability is there — so use port forwarding at your own risk.

NordVPN offers double VPN servers, but TorGuard does not. A double VPN is an advanced security feature that routes your traffic through two servers instead of one, a practice known as server chaining. This adds an extra layer of encryption to your traffic and provides a fallback in case of a server failure. 

A double VPN hides your IP address behind two servers, making your traffic harder to track. We recommend a double VPN if you’re a journalist, activist or anyone with a life-or-death need to avoid surveillance. Note that NordVPN’s double VPN doesn’t work on all protocols. Switch to OpenVPN TCP/UDP if you can’t find the double VPN on your NordVPN app. 

If you want a VPN with a malware, tracker or ad blocker, opt for NordVPN. It offers “threat protection,” a built-in feature that flags malware-riddled and phishing-related websites or URLs. It also stops ads and prevents trackers from keeping tabs on you. TorGuard doesn’t have any comparable features.

NordVPN allows users to share files and access devices remotely through Meshnet — a feature TorGuard lacks. NordVPN Meshnet works like a local area network (LAN) that you can apply to remote devices, allowing you to connect up to 60. You can access files from any of these devices, collaborate on projects and organize multi-player game sessions. 

We recommend Surfshark over TorGuard because it’s more affordable and offers faster speeds, better unblocking ability, superior security features and a larger server network. Unlike TorGuard, Surfshark allows you to connect unlimited devices. It also has CleanWeb, which wards off ads, malware and trackers. 

surfshark.com

$2.19 / month

(save 85%) (All Plans)

Visit SurfsharkReview

ExpressVPN is far better than TorGuard. It has a larger server network, faster speeds, more reliable streaming capabilities and superior gaming performance.

One standout aspect of ExpressVPN is that most of its features are baked into all its servers. For example, it has built-in obfuscation on all servers, unlike TorGuard, which requires users to switch protocols, and NordVPN, which has special servers for different functions. 

www.expressvpn.com

$6.66 / month

(save 48%) (All Plans)

Visit ExpressVPNReview

Private Internet Access (PIA) has better features and performance than TorGuard. As we highlighted in our PIA vs TorGuard review, PIA is faster, boasts a larger server network and has better security and privacy features. Moreover, PIA’s plans are cheaper across the board than TorGuard’s. 

www.privateinternetaccess.com

$2.19 / month

(save 81%) (All Plans)

Visit Private Internet AccessReview