NordVPN vs TorGuard: Setting Up A Fight in 2021

Winner: NordVPN

NordVPN vs TorGuard – Which is the better option for streaming and privacy? Whether a person should go for NordVPN or TorGuard?

To make the right decision between these reputed services, it is advisable to see a head-to-head comparison between the two. This article aims to educate you about the differences between NordVPN and TorGuard. Above all, to help you in picking the better VPN.

NordVPN vs TorGuard: Head-to-head

In order to determine the winner, we have compared both NordVPN and TorGuard on the following factors:

After performing a head-to-head comparison between TorGuard and NordVPN, I found NordVPN to be the winner because of these reasons:

NordVPN is the winner!

• Jurisdiction: Panama is the safer jurisdiction
• Logging: NordVPN has a clear ‘no logs‘ policy
• Speed: Having 24.91 Mbps, NordVPN is much faster than TorGuard
• Server Network: Larger server network of more than 5,500+ servers
• Price: NordVPN costs $3.71/mo whereas TorGuard costs $9.9/month ($59.99/year).

A Quick Comparison of NordVPN and TorGuard

See the table below for a quick overview of NordVPN vs TorGuard comparison:

To compare other providers, check this comprehensive guide on VPN comparisons. Now we’ll compare NordVPN vs TorGuard in detail.

A Detailed Comparison

The detailed comparison takes into account various parameters to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both VPNs.

The short answer is: NordVPN is better than TorGuard and there are several reasons for that. These reasons will be elucidated in detail throughout this article. For an individual analysis of these VPNs, see in-depth NordVPN review and TorGuard review.

The following comparison is an in-depth evaluation of both VPNs and considers factors such as logging policy, speed, unblocking capabilities, and more.

1. Background & Jurisdiction: NordVPN vs. TorGuard

Result: NordVPN is located in the safer jurisdiction of Panama

NordVPN Jurisdiction

NordVPN is based in Panama, a country with no mandatory data retention law. Panama is also considered as one of the better places for digital security. This VPN service has been audited three times by third-party auditors to confirm its no-logs policy claims. Similarly, it is based in a safe jurisdiction that is outside the 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes alliances. 

NordVPN is part of a brand called NordSec, that offers other security products including NordPass, NordLocker, and secure cloud storage. In short, NordVPN is a verified no-logs VPN that is safe for users.

TorGuard Jurisdiction

In comparison, TorGuard is headquartered in the United States where internet privacy remains under constant threat from domestic surveillance and intelligence-sharing alliances such as the Five Eyes. It is owned by a company called VPNetworks LLC. Some of its products include TorGuard VPN, Private Email, and it also sells VPN routers that are compatible with TorGuard. Speaking of which, you can check some other VPNs that are compatible with the routers in a separate blog.

In 2013, TorGuard moved from the US to Nevis, West Indies. However, the company moved back to the US, and that is a huge drawback of this VPN, as it operates in a heavy surveillance country that is also a member of the Five Eyes. The United States of America is the worst jurisdiction for a VPN to operate in.

Logging Policy

Result: NordVPN has a much more transparent and privacy-affirming logging policy

Our comparison of the privacy policy of NordVPN and TorGuard revealed that both of these services do not store customer data. It does not record IP addresses, time stamps, bandwidth, or traffic logs of any kind. NordVPNs privacy policy is very reassuring because not many VPNs offer such privacy and security.

TorGuard lacks this level of transparency that you should expect from a VPN. The provider instead only gives a generic statement that they keep no logs without specifying anything else. This makes it difficult to judge the privacy stance of this VPN service. TorGuard also collects a lot of customer information as shown in the image below:

2. Pricing Plans: NordVPN vs. TorGuard

Result: NordVPN is cheaper than TorGuard and offers longer money-back guarantee

NordVPN’s service can be attained for 2 years by paying $3.71 a month. Even you can try NordVPN free trial for 30 days with a hack. NordVPN is cheaper than TorGuard, as its most expensive plan costs around $11.95/mo on a 1-month subscription. Its most affordable plan is its 2-year subscription with a price tag of $3.71/mo. 

Meanwhile, TorGuard’s anonymous VPN package costs $9.99 per month, which is very costly as compared to TorGuard. It offers three basic plans including Anonymous VPN, Anonymous VPN Pro, and Anonymous VPN + Free router. In comparison, NordVPNs pricing is very straightforward, and cheap.

3. Payment Methods: TorGuard vs. NordVPN

Result: In terms of payment methods, TorGuard has an edge over NordVPN since it accepts a wider range of payments.

You can purchase NordVPN’s subscriptions through most of the major credit card services as well as cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, NordVPN doesn’t offer PayPal which can be inconvenient for users that perform most of their online transactions through PayPal.

TorGuard, on the other hand, accepts credit card payments, cryptocurrencies, as well as PayPal. It’s great to see that both providers accept cryptocurrencies for safe and private transactions.

Refund Policy

Finally, NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all packages whereas TorGuard’s money-back guarantee is valid for 7 days only. You can easily cancel your NordVPN subscription and get a full refund. If you are new to either of these VPNs are considering trying one out, then a long refund period helps to test the VPN and see if you are satisfied with it.

While a 7-day refund period is better than none at all, NordVP’s 3o-day refund is much more convenient for the user. As such, not only does NordVPN have cheaper pricing but also offers longer refund periods than TorGuard.

4. Servers in Countries

Result: NordVPN has a larger server network than TorGuard

NordVPN has the most complete and extensive server list in the entire VPN industry. It provides 5,500+ servers in 59 countries.

TorGuard, on the other hand, has 3,000+ VPN servers across 55 countries. While these are not bad numbers at all, they are no match for what NordVPN is providing to the users.

5. Speed Test: NordVPN vs TorGuard

Result: NordVPN offers faster VPN speed than TorGuard

The speed for both VPNs was tested on a 30 Mbps internet connection using Ookla online speed test. You can check more details in our fastest VPN guide.

NordVPN measured a much faster average download (24.91 Mbps) speed than TorGuard (14.26 Mbps).

Speed Test #1 USA-Los Angeles Server

NordVPN gave a good speed of about 25.4 Mbps on its US server. Upload speeds were very high i.e. 29.7 Mbps, considering my base internet connection of 30 Mbps.

In comparison to NordVPN, TorGuard was very slow. On its US server, TorGuard managed to deliver a download speed of 18.79 Mbps and an upload speed of 22.3 Mbps. This is also the fastest TorGuard server in our testing.

Speed Test# 2: USA-New York Server

On its USA-New York server, NordVPN managed to deliver high download and upload speeds at 26.43 Mbps. It was faster than its speed on the Los Angeles server.

TorGuard served a download speed of about 14.26 Mbps on its New York server, with a very slow upload speed and higher pings. We recorded a ping of 225 ms for this speed test and it was very high.

Speed Test# 3: UK-Server

On the UK server, NordVPN gave somewhat similar speed as delivered on its USA server. It managed a decent speed of 25.9 Mbps with considerably fewer pings as compared to its US server pings.

TorGuard’s speed on the UK server was very slow, even in comparison to its USA-server speeds. It delivered a download speed of 15.81 Mbps with higher pings at 231 ms.

Speed Test #4: Australia Server

Next up, we have the server speed test on the Australian server. Here NordVPN managed to deliver a very good download speed of about 26.33 Mbps with extremely low pings of about 4 ms. This is no doubt a great server choice if you need a VPN for gaming with low latency.

On the Australian server, Torguard managed to deliver a download speed of 12.57 Mbps, very slow as compared to NordVPN. Pings were considerably lower as compared to other servers.

You can also check the in-depth NordVPN speed test, and TorGuard speed test on a 100 Mbps connection.

Why NordVPN is faster than TorGuard?

NordVPN supports the WireGuard VPN protocol, which is much faster than OpenVPN. Also, in our WireGuard vs OpenVPN speed test, we found out that Wireguard was almost 50% faster than OpenVPN. Due to this protocol, NordVPN manages to deliver high connection speeds.

TorGuard also claims to offer WireGuard but during our testing, we couldn’t connect to its WireGuard protocol. We tested on two different devices on separate connections, but the problem still persisted. In comparison, NordVPN gave amazing connection speeds and overall performance. 

6. Compatibility: NordVPN vs. TorGuard

Result: It’s a Tie! Both providers offer compatibility with a wide range of devices

Device compatibility is not an issue for NordVPN. The service works on all the popular platforms in the market. You can find dedicated VPN apps for most devices and operating systems. NordVPN supports up to 6 simultaneous connections with one subscription. 

As for Windows OS, NordVPN also supports older versions of XP and Vista including all the newer versions. Similarly, NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for iOS devices, because it works with older iOS versions as far as 9.0. If you are having trouble connecting NordVPN with your device, there are multiple ways to get it to work.

TorGuard too is available for Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, iOS, Android, Tomato, and DD-WRT routers. You can even use TorGuard on Kodi, FireStick, and various Linus distros including Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Mint, and CentOS. If you experience any connectivity issues, you can check out the discussion about TorGuard not working for troubleshooting tips and tricks.

7. Features: NordVPN vs. TorGuard

Result: NordVPN offers more features at no extra cost. 

Both of these providers try to stand out in the crowd through some additional features for greater online privacy. We have laid out these features below:

It is evident that both of these services have gone the extra mile to provide a safe browsing environment to the users. Deciding the winner of this comparison for extra features is not easy.

NordVPN Features

By incorporating features like DNS leak protection, CyberSec (ad/website blocker), DoubleVPN (multi-hopping), and Onion over VPN, NordVPN has equipped itself with robust security features. CyberSec feature blocks intrusive ads and malware and phishing websites offering protection to online users.

NordVPN also offers obfuscated servers that can bypass all kinds of censorship, making it a great VPN for China. These features can significantly boost your online privacy and security.

TorGuard Features 

TorGuard comes with a lot of features including Ad Blocking DNS and Dedicated IP. Adblocking DNS works differently as compared to NordVPNs CyberSec, as it blocks ads through DNS. With TorGuard you also get all the basic security features including a kill switch and leak protection. 

On its standard plan, TorGuard allows 8 simultaneous connections, more than NordVPN, as NordVPN supports 6 multi-logins. Its mobile apps for both Android and iOS are simple and easy to use. If you want extra features, you will need to pay more, which is a drawback as it gets more expensive.

8. Streaming: NordVPN vs. TorGuard

Result: Both providers are compatible with Netflix but NordVPN is the winner, as you can unblock geo-restricted sites on all subscription plans at a cheaper price. 

Netflix has imposed powerful VPN detectors to curb the practice of geo-dodging. However, many VPNs are bravely continuing their battle against the geo-limitations enforced by the streaming giant.

When you talk about a Netflix-compatible VPN, you talk about NordVPN. And for an extremely good reason. NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for Netflix. It provides dedicated servers for the streaming service. Currently, NordVPN supports 15+ Netflix regional libraries including Netflix US, UK, Canada, Japan, France, South Korea, and more.

Besides Netflix, NordVPN works with Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and other streaming services.

Netflix US testing with NordVPN

TorGuard and Netflix

TorGuard too provides dedicated Netflix servers but they come at additional cost. You can use TorGuard with Netflix and other streaming sites. However, the regular subscription might not work with other streaming sites like Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, and more. In order to unblock streaming sites like Netflix, you will have to subscribe to the TorGuards streaming bundle.

Only with the streaming bundle can you access geo-restricted sites with TorGuard, which makes it an expensive option for streaming. It does, however, provide users with dedicated IPs that are not shared so you don’t have to worry about Netflix proxy error, anymore. It also promises faster connection speeds for streaming. But, these streaming IPs cost an extra $7.99/ mo and these can only be used for streaming as no torrenting is allowed. 

Hence, in this comparison for Netflix capability, we are glad to learn both services provide access to geo-locked content on popular streaming sites. Nonetheless, NordVPN offers consistency in unblocking Netflix.

9. Torrenting Support: NordVPN compared to TorGuard

Result: NordVPN offers better security for torrenting as compared to TorGuard. It also delivers better torrenting speeds than TorGuard. 

NordVPN Torrenting: Both VPNs can be used to access torrents with no problem. However, owing to the safer jurisdiction of NordVPN, you’d be much better off using NordVPN for your torrenting needs. NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs in the industry with high-end encryption and security for safe torrenting. Owing to these features we rate it as the best VPN for torrenting.

TorGuard Torrenting: Since TorGuard is located in the US, the strict copyright infringement laws in the country can easily lead to a DMCA notice and hefty legal fines if agencies issue a warrant to the VPN to access information about you. With TorGuard jurisdiction is not the only problem, as you can see from the TorGuard torrent check below, it delivered extremely slow download speeds of just 26.1 Kbps.

10. Security and Encryption: NordVPN Compared to TorGuard

Result: NordVPN is the winner. 

Encryption Comparison

Both NordVPN and TorGuard offer various levels of encryption protocols:

NordVPN also offers other VPN protocols including OpenVPN and NordLynx (WireGuard protocol). 

TorGuard on the other hand support basic protocols including OpenVPN, IKEv2, IPSec, and several stealth protocols like OpenVPN Stealth, ShadowSocks, Stunnel, and AnyConnect (otherwise known as OpenConnect). It makes TorGuard a great VPN for UAE and Dubai where not all VPN services work. Owing to these features, you can also use TorGuard in China. But, keep in mind that you need to pay extra for these additional features.

Security Audits

This is where NordVPN takes the lead. NordVPN has undergone three third-party audits. A no-logs policy audit by PWC, a second in-depth audit again PWC, and lastly an app security audit conducted by VerSprite.

TorGuard on the other hand has not undergone any security audits therefore, we cannot be too sure about its security and privacy policies.

11. Which VPN provides the best Customer Support: NordVPN or TorGuard

Result: NordVPN is the winner, with 24/7 Live Chat support that actually works. TorGuard claims to offer Live chat but it doesn’t work. 

NordVPN is a maestro when it comes to customer support. The service has a comprehensive section that provides guides and information related to billing, connectivity, and general queries. To top it all off, a 24/7 live chat section is available to assist the customers on the go. To test the NordVPNs Live Chat feature, I asked them a question and they responded within 3 minutes. The response was not automated as can be seen in the screenshot below:

At the same time, TorGuard also does not lag behind in providing quality assistance to its customers. On their website, you will find a blog that is regularly updated with articles on cybersecurity, digital privacy, cryptocurrency, and other such prevailing topics.

However, TorGuard claims to support Live chat, but it is not available. Whenever you click on the chat button, it redirects you to the email page. If you go to their official, you will not be able to locate the live chat bubble option anywhere on the site. Therefore, I was very disappointed with the customer support.

Final Verdict: NordVPN is the winner!

It is time to pick a winner between NordVPN vs TorGuard. NordVPN differentiates itself from the rest of VPNs by setting up superior standards in digital security and online privacy.

TorGuard is a good VPN service itself. It provides a diversified package with fantastic security features. But as always, it is hard to beat the king.

With Netflix access, greater number of servers, and faster speed, NordVPN outshines its competition in all aspects. Hence, the winner of this competition is NordVPN.

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