NordVPN Pricing (2026): Every Plan Compared & Explained

NordVPN’s pricing page promises you’ll save 75%.

That’s true. It’s also a riddle. Save 75% compared with what?

The answer sits in small grey text under the price, and it’s the key to NordVPN pricing. It tells you exactly what your second bill will be. Most buyers skip it, then meet the answer on a bank statement two years later.

This guide walks through every NordVPN plan and term, plus the renewal math and the add-ons. It also covers the free trial’s surprisingly narrow rules and how Nord compares with cheaper rivals.

And one plan costs only $1 a month more than the cheapest. We’ll show why that dollar is the best deal on the page.

NordVPN’s Three Plans and What They Cost in 2026

NordVPN sells three plans: Basic, Complete and Prime. Each comes on a 2-year, 1-year or monthly term.

These are US prices from NordVPN’s pricing page on September 27, 2026, before sales tax.

The 2-year plan includes 3 bonus months, so it runs for 27. The 1-year plan is a plain 12. Extra time goes only to the people who commit hardest, which is peak gym-membership energy.

Every plan covers 10 devices at once and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The 1-year and 2-year prices are averages, though: you pay the whole term upfront.

NordVPN

4.6/ 5

Write a ReviewVisit Site

Countries:111+

Servers:6,400+

No-Logs:Yes

Devices:10 devices dev

Hide details

Industry-leading speed with NordLynx protocol

Excellent security with audited no-logs policy

Massive server network across 111 countries

Advanced features like Threat Protection and Meshnet

Supports 10 simultaneous connections

Consistent unblocking of streaming services

How we checked: every number here comes from NordVPN’s pricing page, its help center and its official renewal price list. We didn’t run speed tests for this guide, because it’s about money. The NordVPN links on this page are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you buy. Nobody paid for placement in this post.

What Basic, Complete and Prime Include

All three plans run the same VPN. If you want a refresher on what that part does, here’s how a VPN works. The plans differ in how much security furniture Nord moves in around it.

1Basic: The Black Coffee Plan

Basic is the VPN, a DNS-level filter that blocks scam and phishing sites while you’re connected, and dark web alerts for your email. No milk, no sugar.

It’s the right pick if you already pay for antivirus and a password manager and only want the tunnel.

2Complete: Where Nord Hides the Value

Complete adds antivirus, an ad and tracker blocker, a password manager, 1 TB of encrypted cloud storage, and scam warnings for calls and texts. The antivirus and ad blocker work on desktop only, and text protection is Android-only for now.

It also watches for your phone, card and ID numbers in data leaks, and flags odd charges on US bank accounts.

3Prime: A VPN With an Insurance Policy

Prime adds US-focused identity protection. That means up to $1M in identity theft insurance and up to $100K in cyber extortion insurance. It also includes credit monitoring and a monthly credit score from TransUnion. The insurance covers US residents, except in New York.

That’s a lot of paperwork for a VPN plan. It’s also a fair answer to a real gap, because a VPN hides your IP address, not your identity. Our guide to how you can still be tracked with a VPN explains why.

What “Save 75%” Really Means

Nord’s discount badges don’t compare the deal with the monthly price. They compare it with the renewal price, and Nord says so in its offer terms.

Take Complete on the 2-year plan. Nord crosses out $493.83 and shows $121.23 as the deal. That crossed-out number is 27 months at the renewal rate of $219.48 a year.

So it isn’t an old price. It’s a trailer for the sequel.

That’s useful once you know it. Every crossed-out price on the page quietly tells you what the plan costs after the intro term.

Our take: read the crossed-out price as your future price, not your savings. Then ask if you’d still buy at that rate.

The Renewal Bill: Where the Real Price Lives

When the first term ends, every plan renews for one year at a time at Nord’s standard rate. Here’s the US price list.

Complete has the steepest jump. After renewal, it works out to $18.29 a month, while a brand-new customer on the monthly plan pays $19.99. Two years of loyalty earns you $1.70 off the stranger price. Loyalty, as they say, is its own reward.

Nord bills yearly renewals up to 14 days early and emails you before it charges. Sales tax goes on top, at the rate on the day of the charge.

Two more details hide in Nord’s renewal price list. It still includes four plans the pricing page no longer sells: Standard, Plus, Ultimate and Ultra. Signed up years ago? You may renew on one of those, at $149.88 to $269.88 a year.

The list also reserves Nord’s right to A/B test renewal prices, so yours could differ. Nord’s retired plans outnumber its current ones, like a band that plays three songs but still sells merch for seven.

Is Complete Worth It Over Basic?

Yes, for most people, and it isn’t close. On the 2-year plan, Complete costs $121.23 and Basic costs $94.23. That’s $27 more for 27 months: exactly $1 a month.

A dollar a month buys antivirus, a password manager and a terabyte of encrypted storage. Nord’s own price list charges $35.88 a year for NordPass Premium and $71.88 for 1 TB of NordLocker when you buy them separately. That’s $107.76 a year for only two of the pieces.

The gap widens at renewal, to $80.40 a year. That’s still less than those two tools cost on their own.

Not worth it if: you already pay for a password manager and cloud storage you like. Migrating 300 passwords to save money you aren’t spending is nobody’s idea of a fun weekend.

Is Prime Worth It? Mostly If You Live in the US

Prime costs $81 more than Complete over 27 months, about $3 a month. At renewal, the gap is $76.80 a year.

What you get is identity protection: insurance, credit monitoring and access to an identity recovery case manager. Coveron, the identity service inside Prime, is only for US residents, and the insurance excludes New York.

For a US resident who has already had a data breach or two, that’s a reasonable spend. Everyone else is buying travel insurance for a trip they aren’t taking.

There’s one twist. The 7-day free trial on Nord’s website only covers Prime. More on that below.

Add-Ons: Dedicated IP and Incogni

You can add two extras at checkout, on any plan.

Dedicated IP. Your own static IP address, available in 30 countries. Nord shows the intro price at checkout, and it renews at $81.48 a year, about $6.79 a month. You can buy more than one, but your account still tops out at 10 connections.

It’s worth it if your bank, work tools or streaming logins keep flagging shared VPN addresses. Otherwise, it’s a vanity plate for your connection.

Incogni. This service asks data brokers to delete your details, and it’s the same one Surfshark bundles into its top plan. On NordVPN, it’s an add-on that renews at $89.88 a year.

The Free Trial and Refund Fine Print

1The 7-Day Trial Is for Prime Only

NordVPN does have a 7-day free trial, with conditions. According to Nord’s help center, it covers only 1-year and 2-year Prime plans, for new users in 15 countries, paid by card or PayPal.

Think of it as the free sample at the expensive cheese counter. Generous, tasty, and placed exactly where Nord wants you standing.

Android users get a separate trial through Google Play. It lasts 3 days, not the 7 you’ll read on half the internet.

2The 30-Day Refund

First-time customers can get a full refund within 30 days by contacting support. Bought through Apple’s App Store? Then the refund has to come from Apple instead.

3Upgrades Wait Until Your Plan Ends

Nord’s FAQ says a plan upgrade takes effect when your current subscription expires. Upgrade from Basic three months into a 2-year plan, and Complete arrives about two years later. Patience, it turns out, is a feature.

So pick the plan you want on day one.

NordVPN vs Rivals: What You Pay Over 3+ Years

Of the four big names we priced, NordVPN is the most expensive to keep. To compare fairly, we averaged each plan’s first bill plus one yearly renewal.

These are US prices from each provider’s pricing page on September 27, 2026, before tax. Terms run 24 to 28 months, which is why we averaged them.

NordVPN Basic averages $5.98 a month, while Surfshark Starter averages $3.75. At the bundle level, Nord Complete averages $8.74 against $4.47 for Surfshark One.

It’s also a family feud. Surfshark and Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN, merged in 2022 and still run as separate brands. When Nord loses on price here, it loses to a relative.

Our take: the premium mostly buys Nord’s bundle, with a password manager, storage and identity tools that rivals skip. If price matters most, Surfshark or Proton VPN will cost less every single year. Our Surfshark pricing guide runs the same math from the other side.

Three Cheaper Alternatives Worth Pricing

If the renewal numbers made you wince, these three cost less to keep.

1Surfshark

Surfshark

4.5/ 5

Write a ReviewVisit Site

Countries:100+

Servers:3,200+

No-Logs:Yes

Devices:Unlimited dev

Hide details

Unlimited simultaneous connections

Extremely affordable long-term pricing

Feature-rich with CleanWeb, MultiHop, and more

RAM-only server infrastructure

Great streaming and torrenting performance

Independently audited no-logs policy

Surfshark is the cheapest to keep: $2.49 a month on its 2-year Starter plan, then $79 a year. It also allows unlimited devices, where NordVPN stops at 10.

Its One plan adds antivirus and leak alerts for about 30 cents a month more. There’s no password manager or cloud storage, though, so Nord Complete still wins on bundle size. Our NordVPN vs Surfshark comparison covers the rest.

2Proton VPN

Proton VPN

4.7/ 5

Write a ReviewVisit Site

Countries:91+

Servers:4,800+

No-Logs:Yes

Devices:10 devices dev

Hide details

Best free VPN plan available (no data limits)

Fully open-source and independently audited

Swiss-based with strong legal privacy protection

Excellent security with Secure Core routing

No ads or tracking even on free plan

Built-in Tor support for maximum anonymity

Proton VPN Plus costs $3.49 a month for 24 months, then renews at $83.88 a year, the gentlest jump on this list. It covers 10 devices, and Proton offers a free plan if you want to try the apps first.

It suits privacy-first buyers who hate surprise bills. Our guide to the best VPNs for privacy explains where it fits.

3ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

4.5/ 5

Write a ReviewVisit Site

Countries:105+

Servers:3,000+

No-Logs:Yes

Devices:8 devices dev

Hide details

Exceptional speed with Lightway protocol

TrustedServer technology for maximum privacy

Best-in-class streaming unblocking

Intuitive and polished apps on all platforms

Based in privacy-friendly British Virgin Islands

Regular independent security audits

ExpressVPN Basic costs $2.99 a month for 28 months, then $99.95 a year. Its Express Pro tier covers 14 devices and includes a dedicated IP, which NordVPN sells separately.

Pick it if you want a dedicated IP bundled in. For streaming picks, see our list of the best VPNs for Netflix.

How to Pay Less for NordVPN

A few habits keep the bill closer to the headline.

• Buy the 2-year plan if you’re staying. It costs $28.35 more than the 1-year plan’s first bill but covers 15 more months, about $1.89 a month for the extra time.
• Pick Complete over Basic if you’d use a password manager. It’s $1 a month more on the 2-year plan.
• Set a reminder two weeks before renewal. Nord can bill up to 14 days early, so the real deadline comes sooner than you think.
• Skip Prime outside the US. Its best extras don’t apply to you.
• Pay the way you like. Nord takes cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and crypto, and sells prepaid cards for cash at stores like Best Buy and Target. It’s the most analog way to buy online privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Verdict: Complete on the 2-Year Plan

NordVPN isn’t the cheapest VPN, and its pricing page doesn’t pretend otherwise once you read the grey text.

For most buyers, Complete on the 2-year plan is the smart pick. It costs $1 a month more than Basic and bundles tools that cost more than that on their own. Choose Basic if you only want the VPN, and Prime only if you live in the US and want the insurance.

Your next step: find the crossed-out price on the plan you like, because that’s your renewal. If it still looks fair, buy with confidence. If it doesn’t, compare VPNs side by side before you commit.