Affiliate disclosure: VPN Vetted is reader-supported. Some links below are affiliate links (marked “sponsored”): if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We rank and recommend by published price, refund terms and audits, never by commission. Surfshark and NordVPN both belong to Nord Security; we hold them to the same criteria as Proton VPN.
NordVPN prices and offer terms checked October 22, 2026, at 22:01 BRT (9:01 p.m. ET), on the official US pricing page, in USD, before sales tax. Surfshark and Proton VPN prices checked the same evening on their official US pages.
Short answer
Yes — if you want a paid VPN with a recent Big Four no-logs assurance and you’re fine paying more at renewal. On the US pricing page today, NordVPN Basic is $3.49 a month billed as $94.23 for the first 27 months, then $139.08 a year. That intro price is solid for 10 devices and a Deloitte no-logs engagement issued December 12, 2025. It is not the cheapest first-term deal among the three we compared: Surfshark Starter is $67.23 for 27 months, and Proton VPN Plus is $83.76 for 24 months with a much smaller jump at renewal.
Skip NordVPN if you mainly want the lowest long-run bill, unlimited devices, or a no-logs report you can read without logging in. In those cases Surfshark or Proton VPN fit better on today’s numbers.
What you actually pay (intro vs renewal)
NordVPN’s own offer terms say the introductory price “is valid only for the first period of your subscription.” After that, the plan renews automatically at the then-applicable renewal price unless you cancel in your Nord Account. Yearly renewals are charged “up to 14 days before the renewal,” after an email notice for plans longer than one month. Sales tax may apply.
| Plan (2-year intro) | Price / month (advertised) | You pay upfront | First term | Published renewal | Refund window | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN Basic | $3.49 | $94.23 | 27 months (24 + 3 extra) | $139.08/year | 30 days | Oct 22, 2026, 22:01 BRT |
| NordVPN Complete | $3.99 | $107.73 | 27 months | $219.48/year | 30 days | Oct 22, 2026, 22:01 BRT |
| NordVPN Prime | $6.99 | $188.73 | 27 months | $296.28/year | 30 days | Oct 22, 2026, 22:01 BRT |
| Surfshark Starter | $2.49 | $67.23 | 27 months | $79.00/year before taxes | 30 days | Oct 22, 2026, 22:00 BRT |
| Proton VPN Plus | $3.49 | $83.76 | 24 months | $83.88/year | 30 days | Oct 22, 2026, 22:00 BRT |
Sources: nordvpn.com/pricing/, surfshark.com/pricing, surfshark.com/terms-of-service/pricing, protonvpn.com/pricing — US view, USD. “Published renewal” is the price each provider lists for the next term; taxes are extra where they apply.
The useful comparison is upfront total plus one year of renewal, because that is what most people end up paying:
- Surfshark Starter: $67.23 + $79.00 = $146.23 for 39 months (about $3.75 a month).
- Proton VPN Plus: $83.76 + $83.88 = $167.64 for 36 months (about $4.66 a month).
- NordVPN Basic: $94.23 + $139.08 = $233.31 for 39 months (about $5.98 a month).
- NordVPN Complete: $107.73 + $219.48 = $327.21 for 39 months (about $8.39 a month).
Our arithmetic from the prices above; taxes not included. Terms differ (39 vs 36 months), so compare the monthly average.
Monthly NordVPN Basic is $14.99 if you do not take a longer intro — the same page lists Complete at $19.99 and Prime at $29.99 per month.
Plans compared (Basic, Complete, Prime)
On the US pricing page today the plans are Basic, Complete and Prime. There is no plan labeled “Plus” on that page.
Basic ($3.49/mo intro, $94.23 for 27 months) includes the VPN itself, scam and phishing protection via NordVPN’s DNS filtering while connected, Dark Web Monitor for up to 5 emails, and 10 simultaneous devices. Renewal: $139.08 a year.
Complete ($3.99/mo intro, $107.73 for 27 months) adds next-gen antivirus (desktop), ad and tracker blocker (desktop), email protection for Gmail and Yahoo (desktop), call and message protection, a password manager, 1 TB encrypted cloud storage, Dark Web Monitor Pro, and bank transaction monitoring (US bank accounts only). Renewal: $219.48 a year — a much steeper jump than Basic.
Prime ($6.99/mo intro, $188.73 for 27 months) adds credit freeze assistance, identity theft insurance (up to $1,000,000) and cyber extortion insurance (up to $100,000) under Coveron for US residents except New York, plus 1-bureau credit monitoring and a TransUnion VantageScore 3.0. NordVPN says it is not a licensed insurance producer; benefits are under a master policy from HSB Specialty Insurance Company. Renewal: $296.28 a year.
All three list a 30-day money-back guarantee. Dedicated IP and Incogni are optional add-ons at checkout. The page also shows a Black Friday banner (“Get NordVPN with a next-gen antivirus”); the Basic/Complete/Prime cards themselves use the standard 2-year intro prices above.
Safety: audits and no-logs
NordVPN publishes a no-logs policy and invites independent assurance. On February 3, 2026, it announced its sixth no-logs assurance engagement. Deloitte Lithuania performed a reasonable assurance engagement under ISAE 3000 (Revised) between November 10 and December 12, 2025; the report was issued December 12, 2025. Deloitte reviewed multiple server types and concluded that NordVPN’s systems were designed and implemented in line with its no-logs statement. NordVPN does not publish excerpts publicly; the full report is available after you log in to a Nord Account.
That is a real, repeated Big Four check. The trade-off: non-customers cannot read the latest report without an account. Proton VPN publishes its Securitum no-logs reports openly (fifth consecutive annual audit, 2026 report public). Surfshark’s Deloitte assurance (June 16, 2025) sits inside a Surfshark account.
We did not run our own speed, leak or hands-on privacy tests. The audit facts above are only what each provider publishes.
Complaints people raise (with sources)
Two themes show up again and again: auto-renewal surprise and cancellation friction. Treat the court filings below as allegations in pending or filed class actions, not as proven findings.
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Auto-renewal and early charge. NordVPN’s pricing footer says yearly renewals are billed “up to 14 days before the renewal” and that you cancel auto-renewal in your Nord Account. Filed complaints argue enrollment and notice are hard to spot. Examples: Peterson v. NordVPN S.A. et al., D. Colo. Case No. 24 Civ. 3218; Kandeh v. Nordvpn S.A. et al., S.D.N.Y. Case No. 25 Civ. 2571 (both class action complaints). We found no FTC enforcement action against NordVPN in our October 22, 2026 search — absence of an FTC case is not a clean bill of health, only what we could verify.
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Renewal price vs intro. The page is clear that the intro rate is first-term only. Basic’s published renewal ($139.08/year ≈ $11.59/mo) is more than triple the $3.49 intro monthly figure. That gap drives many “not worth it” posts — and it is on the official page, not a rumor.
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Refund path. NordVPN says you must request a refund “within 30 days of initial purchase” through 24/7 support. Purchases through the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon must be refunded through those stores. If you buy on NordVPN’s site and cancel auto-renewal after the 30-day window, you keep access until the paid period ends; you do not get a partial refund under the terms we read.
Practical step: cancel auto-renewal in Nord Account as soon as you decide you might not continue, and set a calendar reminder before the 14-day advance charge window.
When NordVPN isn’t worth it
- You want the lowest first-term or long-run price. Surfshark Starter is $67.23 upfront and renews at $79.00 a year before taxes. Proton VPN Plus renews at $83.88 a year — almost the same as its $83.76 intro. NordVPN Basic’s $139.08 renewal is the highest of the three.
- You need unlimited devices. Surfshark’s FAQ says every plan allows unlimited simultaneous connections. NordVPN Basic/Complete/Prime each list 10 devices.
- You want a no-logs report without creating an account. Proton’s Securitum reports are public. NordVPN’s latest Deloitte report requires a Nord Account login.
- You only need one device and a free option. Proton VPN Free covers one device with servers in 10 randomly selected countries. NordVPN has no free plan on the pricing page we checked.
- You dislike automatic renewal. All three auto-renew. Mullvad-style prepaid (not in this comparison) is the usual alternative if you want no card on file — we did not re-check Mullvad for this article.
Alternatives
Surfshark
Same parent group as NordVPN (Nord Security merger, February 2022; brands say they stay autonomous with separate infrastructure). Starter is $2.49 a month, $67.23 for 27 months, then $79.00 a year before taxes. Unlimited devices. Deloitte no-logs assurance announced June 16, 2025. One plan carries a “Black Friday deal” label at the same $67.23 upfront and renews at $99.00 a year. Refund: ask within 30 days of signing up.
- Pros: lowest intro and renewal here; unlimited devices; audited no-logs claim.
- Cons: tax/VAT may apply; yearly renewals still jump from the intro monthly figure; Surfshark and NordVPN share ownership, so buying both does not diversify the parent company.
More detail in our NordVPN vs Surfshark comparison. Check Surfshark price
Proton VPN
Plus is $3.49 a month, $83.76 for the first 24 months, then $83.88 a year — the smallest renewal jump of the three. Free plan available. Securitum no-logs audit published openly (2026 report). 10 devices on Plus; 30-day money-back.
- Pros: renewal almost matches intro; public audit PDF; free tier.
- Cons: 24 months billed upfront on the pricing-page deal; Free is limited to one device and 10 random countries.
See also best cheap VPN for budget picks. Check Proton VPN price
How we evaluated
We read only official pages (pricing, offer terms, audit announcements, ownership posts) for NordVPN, Surfshark and Proton VPN, on US views in USD, and recorded date and time in BRT. NordVPN often blocks datacenter crawlers (HTTP 403); today’s NordVPN US prices come from a WebFetch capture of nordvpn.com/pricing/ that returned USD with “Sales tax may apply” at 22:01 BRT on October 22, 2026. The same URL from our Brazil-based browser showed Brazilian reais — that BR view was not used for any price here. Surfshark prices and renewals used a US proxy. We did not run our own speed or latency tests. Complaint citations are limited to court filings and NordVPN’s published terms, not anonymous reviews. General information, not legal advice.
FAQ
Is NordVPN safe to use?
NordVPN encrypts traffic between your device and its VPN servers and states a no-logs policy. That policy’s systems were independently assured by Deloitte Lithuania in an engagement ending December 12, 2025 (sixth such engagement). Safety still depends on how you use the app, which plan features you enable, and whether you cancel before renewal if you do not want another charge.
Is NordVPN legit or a scam?
It is a long-running commercial VPN brand under Nord Security, with published pricing, a 30-day refund window on the site, and repeated third-party no-logs assurance. Filed class actions allege unfair auto-renewal practices; those are allegations, not court findings we are restating as fact. Paying and then missing the cancel window is a common way people feel “scammed” even when the renewal price was listed on the checkout page.
How much does NordVPN cost after renewal?
On the US page checked October 22, 2026, Basic renews at $139.08/year, Complete at $219.48/year, and Prime at $296.28/year, before any sales tax. Monthly Basic is $14.99 if you never took a long intro.
Can I get a refund from NordVPN?
Yes, if you ask within 30 days of initial purchase through NordVPN’s 24/7 support (site purchases). App Store, Google Play or Amazon purchases must go through those stores. After the window, canceling auto-renewal stops future charges but does not refund the current term under the terms we read.
Is NordVPN worth it compared to free VPNs?
A free VPN with a published infrastructure no-logs audit (for example Proton VPN Free) can be enough for one device. NordVPN has no free plan on the pricing page we checked. You pay for more devices, “225+ locations,” and Complete/Prime extras. Whether that is worth it depends on whether you will use them before the $139.08 Basic renewal.
Verdict
NordVPN is worth it when you want a well-known paid VPN, 10 devices, and a recent Deloitte no-logs assurance — and you budget for $139.08 a year after Basic (or cancel inside 30 days). It is less worth it as a pure price play: Surfshark is cheaper upfront and at renewal, and Proton’s renewal barely moves. Same parent as Surfshark (Nord Security), so pick on price and features, not on “two different companies.”
Check Surfshark price · Check Proton VPN price · Check NordVPN price
Sources (official pages, checked October 22, 2026)
- NordVPN, pricing (US/USD view): https://nordvpn.com/pricing/ (22:01 BRT)
- NordVPN, sixth no-logs assurance engagement (Feb 3, 2026): https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-no-logs-assurance-engagement-2025/
- Surfshark, Compare plans & pricing (US view): https://surfshark.com/pricing (22:00 BRT)
- Surfshark, Billing Practices, Currency Policy & Renewal Prices (US view): https://surfshark.com/terms-of-service/pricing (22:01 BRT)
- Surfshark, merger with Nord Security: https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-merges-with-nord-security
- Surfshark, about us (ownership): https://surfshark.com/about-us
- Surfshark, Deloitte no-logs (June 16, 2025): https://surfshark.com/blog/deloitte-nologs-policy-verified-again
- Proton VPN, pricing: https://protonvpn.com/pricing (22:00 BRT)
- Proton VPN, no-logs audit (updated June 16, 2026): https://protonvpn.com/blog/no-logs-audit
- Peterson v. NordVPN S.A. et al., D. Colo. 24 Civ. 3218 (complaint PDF): https://www.classaction.org/media/peterson-v-nordvpn-sa-et-al.pdf
- Kandeh v. Nordvpn S.A. et al., S.D.N.Y. 25 Civ. 2571 (complaint PDF): https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kandeh-v-NordVPN-complaint.pdf