NordVPN introduces disappointing new pricing plans
Last week there was some unfortunate news from one of our favorite VPNs: the NordVPN pricing plans had been changed. For the longest time, we praised the VPN for being able to reconcile an amazing product and very favorable prices. The company had been known for their predisposition towards low cost and long-term commitment: besides the typical 1-month subscription, NordVPN pricing plans had included a 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year option (the latter usually only available through coupons). In a market where subscription lengths of over 1-year are not so popular, Nord‘s lengthy deals were refreshing.
Sadly, it seems we must revisit the old adage: “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” We were always wondering how it was possible to run such a quality service with such mind-boggling NordVPN pricing. Well, now the company has taken a step closer to the industry standard, lowering the length of their subscriptions to 1-month, 6-month, and 1-year plans. The 3-year plan also exists and is still a great deal, however, you will not find it directly – it’s only available through affiliates.
Perhaps the sadder part of this development is that NordVPN prices have also changed for the worse. This is objectively true when comparing the 1-year subscription price, which went from $5.75 a month billed annually to $6.99 a month billed annually. That’s a significant hike and a hard blow to the VPN as it competes for the top of the market. Competition is fierce as it is, so NordVPN certainly didn’t need any more fuel in that fire.
New NordVPN pricing plans – are they worth it?
The narrative has always been that NordVPN offers a top-notch service at an almost unreasonably cheap price. Now it’s not unreasonably cheap, but it’s still top-notch. In the end, it’s quality that sells this product, so it doesn’t have to be cheap: if you want the best of the best, you’ll still buy ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or, perhaps, TorGuard. It helps that ExpressVPN is still significantly more expensive and will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, TorGuard has some very nice deals, but it also has some negative aspects to it (e.g. it’s based in the US, and to stream Netflix, you’ll likely have to pay for a dedicated IP). Finally, neither of the two have that nice $2.75 a month 3-year deal.
We believe the security credentials, performance, and outstanding set of features still merit the increased cost, but it’s a question of whether the users will “buy” that logic. After all, NordVPN pricing has long been marketed as a huge bargain and this is a bit of a paradigm shift. More importantly, it remains to be seen how big the swing is towards other top products, especially where the feature differences are minimal.
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