NordVPN Canada Review 2023- Recommended it for Canada?

NordVPN, another strong contender out in the market, is competing for the Best VPNs of 2021 in Canada and worldwide. NordVPN claims to be the fastest VPN in-store with a vast network of servers globally, unblocks all the popular streaming platforms, and provides excellent security and privacy features. NordVPN Canada falls in category of a quality VPN service offered at a price that most people in Canada and around the globe can afford.

Its lightning-fast speeds are incredible for buffer-less streaming, torrenting with minimal wait time, and lag-free gameplay even with heavy loads. With its military-grade encryption, your data would always be safe. NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so a user can get a full refund within 30 days if the services do not satisfy them.

In this guide, we put the service to the test by this comprehensive NordVPN Canada review.

NordVPN Canada- Key Features To Go Through

If you are short on time, here is a quick review of the essential findings and features that come with NordVPN Canada:

Pros

NordVPN offers a variety of features which is one of its most vital advantages.  Here are some pros worth the mention:

• • Servers – With NordVPN, you can select the best server based on its 5400+ servers in 59 countries based on your location and needs.

• • Speed – Speed, along with stability and consistency, is necessary when comparing VPNs. NordVPN ensures that loss of speed is not significant and provides a positive experience.

• • Usability – The 3-step process for signing up and installing NordVPN is simply effortless, and the apps are user-friendly and simple to use. NordVPN is also considered as one of the most reliable VPNs for Instagram.

• • CyberSec – With CyberSec, NordVPN enhances protection against intrusive ads, malware, phishing attempts, and other threats. CyberSec will safeguard from any DDoS attacks and hide any pesky pop-ups, auto play ads, and other distracting advertisements.

• • Encryption – NordVPN military-grade encryption protects your connection to the internet and ensures your privacy. With this grade of encryption, the data, IP address, and location are entirely classified. NordVPN uses AES with 256-bit keys, which the NSA recommends for securing any classified information.

• • Two in One – Just when you think one is enough, it is not! With NordVPN, you can use the Double VPN feature, which means as your traffic goes through the first remote VPN server to be encrypted, it passes through another VPN server to be encrypted a second time before reaching the online destination securely. Double VPN allows for double encryption, increased security, and IP address protection.

• • No-Logs Policy – NordVPN’s no-log policy ensures that no logs of connections or usage are maintained, which means no traffic information, no IP addresses, and no connection timestamps. NordVPN goes beyond user expectations to accept multiple cryptocurrencies for payment to ensure no traces of a user are left behind.

• • Kill Switch – NordVPN ensures your most significant protection with their Kill switch feature. A kill switch is a measure that instantly blocks the device from accessing the internet if VPN disconnects. Until a user manually disables the Kill switch or the VPN tunnel is restored, NordVPN keeps you blocked.

• • Streaming – There are around 25% of servers that work perfectly for torrenting and bypassing the geo-blocks to access Netflix, etc., and stream content using Nordvpn Canada.

• • DNS – NordVPN also offers protection from DNS leaks. DNS requests will be unprotected if you set up a VPN connection manually or if you reset Windows. NordVPN has gone through trade links to implement measures to protect you from these leaks.

• • Devices – NordVPN supports simultaneous connections and allows you to secure up to six devices with one account, no matter what operating system you use.

• • Added Features – NordVPN allows peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic on specific servers. This option gives a suggestion for the best server. For added security, if you connect to other NordVPN servers using P2P, the app will automatically reroute you to servers in Canada. With NordVPN’s Onion Over VPN feature, Tor combines with the VPN tunnel. The entry node can not see the IP address when a user resorts to Onion Over VPN feature.
  • Customer Support – NordVPN offers 24/7 live chat to assist its users. For a technical subject like networking, its accessibility to your everyday layman is no small task.

Cons

NordVPN’s service has its share of cons too. Besides, there is always good after bad and bad after good. However, it is always worth knowing what drawbacks to expect when using NordVPN. Given below are some of the flaws found with NordVPN:

• Pricing – NordVPN offers tiered pricing depending on a user’s commitment. Starting off with the one-month plan at $11.95 per month and going all the way to $3.71 per month if committing to two years is billed yearly.
• Apple Store – Unfortunately, NordVPN notes that if you purchase NordVPN through the Apple iTunes/App Store, refunds must be requested with iTunes/App store support and cannot be processed directly with NordVPN. Also, there is no refund for payments made using any prepaid or gift cards. NordVPN cannot process payments made through resellers.
• Free Trial – NordVPN doesn’t offer a free trial, but they offer a 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee period, which works as a trial somehow. A user will have to enter their credit card credentials, though, so be sure to cancel it if you’re not satisfied with the service.

NordVPN Canada Servers

NordVPN provides a good geographic spread with its 5400+ servers in 59 countries.  NordVPN Canada owns 480+ servers in 3 major states, namely Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

The majority of NordVPN’s servers are located in the US and the UK, which is usual for VPN services. However, NordVPN also has a sizable mixture of servers worldwide, with many in South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and a handful in India. While Africa is a continent ignored by most other VPN services, NordVPN has one server located in South Africa in addition to servers in Turkey, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, all of which have strict web policies.

More servers do not necessarily mean better service, but having numerous options is generally beneficial. NordVPN has several 10Gbps servers aboard its fleet, replacing some 1Gbps servers. This effort will help in handling the increase in data that will come as the 5G service rolls out worldwide.

Virtual Locations

Virtual servers are basically software-defined servers. A virtual server appears from a location where the user might not even be present physically. According to a NordVPN representative, NordVPN has dedicated servers and not virtual location servers. This implies that the servers are physically located where they claim to be, which is exactly what we want to see.

NordVPN is planning to move all its servers to co-located facilities, meaning it will eventually own its physical infrastructure. Other companies can already boast about owning their servers, but none are as significant as NordVPN.

Special Servers

Not all servers of NordVPN support torrenting, but it has an optimized server network for Peer to Peer sharing. These servers offer blazing speeds, which allows access to uTorrent, BitTorrent, Popcorn Time, and others without issues. A unique IP address can be selected by using dedicated servers, creating an even more secure experience. NordVPN offers double encryption while sending user information through two secure VPN servers.

With NordVPN, a user can browse using one of their obfuscated servers that allows full access to the information needed right away. For example, a user looking for even better security in protecting data and behaviors online can pair NordVPN with The Onion Router or Tor, which enables anonymous communication and protects from traffic analysis.

Static/Dedicated IP Address

NordVPN also offers a dedicated IP address. This implies that a subscriber gets an IP that no one else can use except that very subscriber. This is great for online banking, and if a subscriber’s location changes too often when accessing accounts, the bank could block him.

It’s also beneficial for businesses. Shared IP addresses can also land in blacklists of many websites. So, a user can get blocked by a web address without even knowing or doing anything wrong. Having a dedicated IP prevents this.

Obfuscated Servers

Some firewalls are incredible when it comes to detecting VPN traffic, so they’re difficult to get through. Obfuscated servers are specialized VPN servers that allow users to connect to a VPN even in heavily restrictive environments. Obfuscated servers help hide your VPN traffic, and make it look like you are browsing without a VPN. This enables you to get around more substantial firewalls easily.

To set up Obfuscated servers, see the following:

 Streaming- Netflix and NordVPN

Many VPNs find it difficult to unblock Netflix because of its robust VPN detection. But NordVPN gives easy access to Netflix. It’s good to know that even if one server fails, there are more than 1800 others that you can switch to.

NordVPN makes it easy to unblock Netflix in Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Egypt, Mexico, and India. This is great because you enjoy more shows, especially ones that are no longer streaming in Canada and can only be found in other American/European/Asian libraries.

NordVPN has been getting through streaming services a lot longer than most providers, which makes me optimistic that it will continue to do so. When you connect to a server closer to your physical location, you will get lightning speeds. An American server closer than a European server could access US Netflix at faster speeds in Canada. Hence, not only can you get access to the most extensive Netflix library, but you could also get a boost in speed. NordVPN is not only suitable to use with Netflix regional libraries, it can unblock and get you easy access in Canada, to many streaming services around the globe.

More than 400 VODs and streaming channels can be unblocked with the help of NordVPN servers. If you want to access Hulu in Canada or unblock American Amazon prime video it is not at all difficult, just subscribe to NordVPN. There are many other services like BBC iplayer, US HBO max in Canada, Hotstar in Canada, VH1 channel, YouTube TV Live, Vudu US library, Peacock TV in Canada streaming, sling tv, etc. that you can access in Canada by logging into their regional servers and masking your location.

NordVPN for Torrenting & P2P Support

NordVPN is a great torrenting VPN option because:

Another incredible feature is the SOCKS5 protocol which can help boost torrenting speeds. All of this depicts how NordVPN can protect its users and keep their information safe.

Speed Tests with NordVPN Canada

It is natural for any VPN to affect your web browsing performance while connected. It depends on how good of a VPN is to minimize the effects of mitigated speed and still provide buffer less streaming and surfing. To get a sense of how great an impact NordVPN had, we did a series of speed tests using speedtest.net with NordVPN multiple servers at various locations.

After checking the results in Canada with NordVPN local servers, we moved on to other servers in the US, Europe, and Asia. We could thus safely conclude that the speeds, on the whole, were excellent.

Security, Safety & Privacy with NordVPN in Canada

Perhaps the best thing about NordVPN is its safety and security features. The VPN comes with an optional ad-blocker, and one can always choose between various protocols like TCP and UDP. More advanced users will appreciate the custom DNS that can be used alongside an obfuscated server and kill switch, which is perfect for locations where VPNs are inaccessible.

Split-Tunneling with NordVPN

Split tunneling allows a user to have a specific part of the internet connection be rerouted outside of the VPN. This comes in handy when accessing certain websites with your actual IP address.

If a user turns this setting off, all of the traffic will be directed through NordVPN. The same thing happens if you get a NordVPN extension ensuring only your browser’s protection but not all of the traffic traveling from the user’s device. A user may also select certain websites to allow bypassing the VPN connection.

This Nord feature is currently only available on Windows, Android, and Android TV. To access the split-tunnel feature On windows, follow these simple steps:

• Open the settings

• Hover to the Split tunneling section, turn it ON, and then press Add apps.

NordVPN Kill Switch

NordVPN ensures your most excellent protection with the Kill switch. The kill switch immediately blocks the user’s device from accessing the internet if there’s a disconnection to the VPN server. NordVPN will keep a user blocked until the VPN tunnel is restored or the Kill Switch is manually disabled.

NordVPN comes with two options for a Kill switch, one is an App kill switch and the other is an Internet kill switch. App kill switch only shuts down particular apps if the VPN connection drops, normally it is used for streaming platforms. While the internet kill switch disconnects the internet once the VPN connection drops to save its users from getting exposed especially during torrenting.

This Nord feature is currently available on Windows, Android, iOS, and Linux. It has to be set manually from settings by selecting a particular app for an App kill switch. But once you are through, this feature is great for the rest of the online activities, as well. For example, if you are looking to buy some cryptocurrency online, NordVPN makes it easier for you to keep your trading activity anonymous. Therefore it’s not just recommended but can safely be a reliable VPN for Crypto Trading and one of the best VPNs for Binance.

NordVPN DNS Leak Test

DNS servers operated by NordVPN are used when connected to NordVPN. All the DNS queries travel over the encrypted tunnel and are resolved on the same VPN server you are connected to. This way, you never have to worry about your confidential information leaking and third-parties spying on it. NordVPN provides protection against three types of leaks i.e. IP address leak, DNS leaks, and WebRTC

I checked my NordVPN server for any DNS leak via DNS leak test.com and found no leaks.

Double VPN

 Double VPN means double privacy. With this unique feature of NordVPN, you can encrypt twice and shield yourself from online tracking and cyber threats. This directs your connection through another VPN server instead of only one. So, if one part of the connection is somehow compromised, your connection is still secure. These are also called multi-hop servers.

Military Grade Encryption

NordVPN’s military-class encryption ensures your safe connection to the internet along with privacy.  Whenever a user goes online, logs and activities are tracked unless a VPN is used. With this encryption, everything is classified.

Many users might think they have nothing to hide, but so much of their data can be used against them without their knowledge. The banking information, medical history, work emails, etc., can all be at risk of exposure. NordVPN has an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with 256-bit keys.

Nord VPN uses two different VPN protocols. However, you need to determine which is best for you since NordVPN aims to make using their VPN user-friendly. The IKEv2/IPsec protocol is the default for iOS and macOS apps, while the OpenVPN defaults on macOS, Windows, and Android applications. This implies that macOS users can choose between the two, but both are dependable and recommended by NordVPN.

NordLocker

Numerous VPN companies have begun to expand services beyond just speed, privacy, and protection, and NordVPN is not going to lag behind. NordLocker is an encryption tool that adds a security layer to your data. It never stores your files anywhere. Instead, it lets you keep them wherever you find convenient – cloud, your computer, external hard drive, or flash drive but only securely. For an extra amount, a user can secure passwords using the NordPass password manager. NordLocker can be used to encrypt all kinds of files.

No-Logs Policy

NordVPN’s claim of having a strict ‘no logging’ policy is pretty much similar across the industry. As per its official website, NordVPN has no logs of online activity. So, they don’t track the session activity and do not have records of users’ IP addresses.

NordVPN conveys zero-maintenance of logs for general internet activities and sessions such as incoming IP addresses when connected to the VPN service.

CyberSec Ad-Blocker

CyberSec is a security tool that blocks ads and malware domains. CyberSec can be enabled directly from within the NordVPN client. CyberSec is a great feature if a user spends time reading content but does not expect to get rid of ads on YouTube or similar websites that offer a free plan with ads.

Onion Over VPN Server

Onion over VPN is a privacy solution where your internet traffic goes through one of NordVPN’s servers, passes through the Onion network, and only then reaches the internet. To access the dark web, an extra layer of protection is required. If the ISP knows about a user accessing the dark web, it might as well alert the authorities. Things could go worse if something terrible occurred. Onion Over VPN servers ensures protection by showing the ISP that you’re using a VPN but not what you are accessing.

Onion over VPN allows access to .onion websites from any browser (which saves you the trouble of downloading and using Tor or another onion browser).

NordVPN had recently launched a tool to monitor your data breach on dark websites. NordVPN Dark web monitor gives you an alert of a hit if it matches your credentials in the dark web directory. You can change your credentials beforehand and avoid any information leak. This tool works on NordVPN Android apps and iOS apps.

NordVPN Device Compatibility

A user can download NordVPN on a wide variety of devices and operating systems, including Android, Linux, and Windows 10. The applications have a pretty similar interface with the standard map feature and a sidebar with the listicle of servers.

This means convenience since there wasn’t a learning curve for every OS and especially the fact that NordVPN has similar features on any device. This is refreshing, knowing VPNs sometimes get rid of some aspects of their service in mobile versions. NordVPN can support up to 6 devices simultaneously with a single license.

NordVPN on iOS

The only noticeable difference from other Operating Systems is that you get access to IKEv2/IPSec protocol on macOS, and you won’t get split tunneling on either Mac or Windows. The good thing is that you can download NordVPN on any macOS version as early as Sierra 10.12 and any iOS device starting with OS 11.0.

NordVPN on Android

For Android and iOS clients, NordVPN offers full support for the following features:

NordVPN Browser Extensions

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have NordVPN extensions. Although they aren’t as great as their applications, the extensions are worth using. Browser extensions do not have some useful features and only protect the browser, while a VPN application protects the entire device. Still, they’re handy if you want protection as soon as you fire up your browser.

NordVPN Router App

Finally, if a  user wants to protect all devices simultaneously with NordVPN at no extra charge, install it on the router. All routers are not compatible with NordVPN, so it is always handy to exercise carefulness.

A user should only get routers with  DrayTek, Portal, Tomato, Mikrotik, ASUSWRT, DD-WRT, ASUS Merlin, Gl.iNET, EdgeRouter, NetDUMA, OpenWRT, Sabai, OPNsense, pfSense, and Padavan. You can also buy one of the NordVPN routers with a built-in VPN.

NordVPN Pricing, Payment & Money-Back Guarantee

NordVPN is still a good quality service in addition to being the cheapest. NordVPN offers a discounted two-year subscription rate. It further drops the price down to only $3.71 per month. With its latest sale offer going on, you can avail a 2-year plan with a discount as good as 59% less!

A user might have to spend a bit more money upfront, but NordVPN’s most valuable plans are its long-term ones. A 1-month plan costs $11.95 per month, a 1-year plan costs $4.92 per month, and a 2-year plan is $3.71 per month.

A user can make payments with all major credit cards. Alternative payment methods include Adyen and cryptocurrencies like Dash, zCash, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Stores like BestBuy and Target are also where you could get it. PayPal is only accepted in certain countries like France, Germany, Japan, etc.

Try NordVPN out for free with its 30-day money-back guarantee before you finally make a decision.

NordVPN 24/7 Customer Support

NordVPN offers 24/7 live chat support, and the representatives are pretty helpful.

Chat support is always available through the NordVPN website in the bottom-right corner. You don’t have to log in; click on the chat icon, and you’ll be connected with a representative. NordVPN handles all support in-house with trained technicians (no external third parties).

If you need any help, NordVPN has different measures of support in place. For one, you can go straight to the chatbot on its website. It’s super helpful and friendly. When a user hits the button, the chatbot will offer a few common subjects and answers.

A user can also reach out to the support team through email. The responses are, as expected, slower than what you would get with live chat support, but they are also more detailed.

NordVPN Usability

The 3-step process for installing and signing up for NordVPN is easy. First, go to NordVPN.com to choose the desired payment package. A user can choose between 1-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year plans/packages. Once the user selects and creates an account with the billing information, the system will be directed to the setup process.

Offering all the best features of the competition in one package has always been NordVPN’s strength. It owns an enormous fleet of servers worldwide, and it does so while still delivering the best possible user experience. The company is also inheriting the benefits of incorporating new technology like WireGuard into its core products.

Setting up NordVPN is a very easy task. After logging into NordVPN with your credentials, you can connect to the best server in your country recommended by NordVPN using its Quick Connect button. You can also manually select servers from other countries. Onion over servers and Peer to peer servers are set automatically.

In order to set up the obfuscated servers, go to the NordVPN settings page. Turn off “Choose a VPN protocol and server automatically”. Then select OpenVPN (TCP) from the dropdown menu.  Click Advanced and set obfuscated servers on. Go to the main page and select a specific country and its obfuscated server.

Similarly, you can set up a Double VPN and a dedicated IP on NordVPN. After turning off ‘Choose a VPN protocol and server automatically’ in Auto-connect settings. Choose OpenVPN (UDP). Then on the main page go to the sidebar and select a dedicated IP or Double VPN server in a specific region.

4 streaming Platforms you can access in Canada using NordVPN

Top 4 streaming services that you can access in Canada using NordVPN.

FAQs

Conclusion

NordVPN is one of the leading VPN services in the industry. The security features, speed, ease of use, data protection, etc., are only a few of the long list of features provided by NordVPN. With 24/7 customer support at hand, NordVPN is surely number one in the business. NordVPN has shown consistency in its performance in Canada and the rest of the world. Keeping in view the up-gradation of servers and constant effort to improve services, the slightly high prices can be ignored to keep NordVPN in forever! Therefore, the VPN service is definitely recommended for use.

You can also check our ExpressVPN,  Surfshark, CyberGhost VPNs reviews to read our detailed analysis on what these VPNs have to offer!