Windscribe vs. NordVPN

One of the things we love about VPNs is that oftentimes the playing field is level. That is, if a small VPN provider offers all the right features, it could be the better option compared to big brands like Express VPN and NordVPN.

Of course, there are more than just a few factors to consider when choosing a VPN, so on this page, we’re going to compare NordVPN and Windscribe. Who are they? Well, NordVPN is one of the biggest names in the VPN industry. It’s currently ranked first in our list of the top VPNs. Windscribe, on the other hand, is a Canadian startup.

NordVPN has the clear advantage at first glance, but we’ll zoom in and compare their features, pricing, speed, and results from our testing to help you see which is the better option for you. Let’s start!

The Similarities and Differences of the VPNs

Every VPN worth its salt will work to protect your activity from prying eyes when you’re online; whether that be from governments, ISPs, or hackers. But beyond that baseline, there is a world of difference in the features and performance of each individual VPN. Right off the bat, let’s take a look at the features the two services have in common, and the ways in which they’re different.

Here’s a handy chart that shows how the two stack up next to each other:

What They Have In Common

As we can see in the above chart, there are a number of feature overlaps, but there are also some distinguishing points between the two services. Let’s start by looking at some of their similarities.

Industry-Standard Data Policies

One common feature among many VPNs is that the service doesn’t log data; meaning, the websites we visit, the apps we use, and the files we stream or download weren’t stored anywhere. Both Windscribe and NordVPN are thankfully in this camp, with both of the VPNs promising privacy. In reality, both VPNs have some policy issues that give us pause, but generally speaking, the services offer industry-standard protection.

Windscribe, for instance, tracks the number of bytes we transferred in a 30-day period. While not as egregious as a service that logs or sells our data, there are definitely VPNs out there, (check out our ProtonVPN review for an example), with more strict privacy guarantees. NordVPN has a similar no-log policy as Windscribe, though they tour their bonafides even further, bringing in four independent auditing firms to verify their policy. Their service did mark timestamps of our activity, but overall NordVPN, like Windscribe, provides the privacy policies we’ve come to expect from VPNs.

Kill Switch

A kill switch, also known as network lock, is a failsafe feature designed to protect our data should the VPN fail. And having tested dozens of VPNs, we know for a fact that even the best VPNs fail at times.

The network lock, as the name implies, shuts down your device’s network connectivity in case of a failed VPN connection. For example, while in a public library and connected to the public Wi-Fi, our VPN app crashed, taking down our VPN connection with it. Without a kill switch, we would have continued using the public Wi-Fi, which is risky without a VPN. Thankfully, the kill switch immediately halted our network and refused to connect us to the internet until we finally got our VPN app in order.

Both NordVPN and Windscribe offer a kill switch.

Double-Hop and Data Encryption Methods

Double-hop, or multi-hop, is a method of encryption that runs our data through not one, but two servers, and sometimes more. By rerouting our data traffic through multiple sources, the VPNs made it harder to decipher and pinpoint our source location. All in all, one of the most important things that we value in VPNs is their ability to conceal our data, and both Windscribe and NordVPN did a good job at handling multiple layers of encryption. Let’s take a look at the protocols each use (for more detailed descriptions on how these encryption methods work, check out our individual Windscribe VPN review and our NordVPN review).

As we can see, both VPNs deploy multiple encryption methods, though Windscribe does offer a little bit more options. For example, it offers SOCKS which is a proxy protocol that disguises IP addresses but offers no encryption. That’s the main difference between proxies and VPNs. It also offers Stealth, which focuses on obfuscation (hides the fact that you’re using a VPN).

That said, NordVPN’s main advantage is that it offers OpenVPN, which is one of the best VPN protocols because of its impressive security (it works with AES encryption) and balanced speed. It also works great for unblocking websites, in our experience.

How the VPNs Are Different

Now that we’ve taken a look at what features Windscribe and NordVPN share, let’s go a little deeper on the distinguishing points of the two services.

Server Count

The number of servers a VPN offers is a big deal because it gives us the most options possible to connect at the fastest speeds (I mean, would you prefer to drive on a highway with 100 lanes or two?). NordVPN’s biggest claim to fame is its staggering server count. The VPN has more than 6,000 servers spread across 61 countries, with a footprint that covers most major regions including Africa and South America. By contrast, Windscribe offers a wide international footprint with servers in more than 60 countries but has a server count of a little more than 500, more than ten times less than what NordVPN offers.

Jurisdiction

Another sticking point for us when it comes to VPNs is where they’re headquartered. If a VPN is located in a jurisdiction that cooperates with international intelligence sharing collectives, there could come a time when they could be compelled to cooperate with governments and turn over data to support law enforcement. As we stated, both Windscribe and NordVPN claim to not log any of our data, but when a service is located in an intelligence-sharing country, all bets are off.

Windscribe VPN is headquartered in Ontario, Canada, which puts them in cooperation with the United States and other members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group.1 NordVPN, for its part, is located in Panama, and thus won’t be compelled to offer any of our data at any point.

Netflix Access

While the main focus of a VPN is to protect our Internet usage from prying eyes, there are some fun perks that come with the ability to virtually change the location of where our devices are. One of these perks is the ability to explore different countries’ versions of Netflix by choosing a server in a different host country and watching, say, eight seasons of Hausmeister Krause – Ordnung muss sein on German Netflix. Netflix and other streaming services have been cracking down on the use of VPNs to access their content,2 which makes VPNs with that ability increasingly valuable.

Windscribe VPN does work with Netflix based on our testing, though the only servers we could access were in the U.S and in the U.K. NordVPN was able to open up libraries from more countries, including the Netherlands and Japan. When placed side by side, NordVPN was definitely the better VPN for Netflix access, at least for us Americans.

Let’s Race: Comparing VPN Speed Tests

Now that we’ve gone over the major features of the two VPNs, let’s take a look at their speeds. Routing our web traffic to remote servers can slow down the rates of our Internet activity, and some VPNs become prohibitively slow in their uploads and downloads; this is why we run rigorous tests to ensure that the services provide security without limiting our activity to a crawl.

Speed tests are always a little tough to decipher, and they’re often variable based on the Internet service you have and where you’re using the VPN and on which device. We tested both VPNs in Brooklyn, NY on both Mac (a Macbook Air to be exact) and Windows (a Vivobook laptop).

The results were generally good for both services. Download speeds on both devices were generally faster using Windscribe; for example, we saw about a 20 percent slowdown on a Mac versus about a 50 percent slowdown on the same device with NordVPN running. As far as upload speeds are concerned, NordVPN was a little bit faster, especially on a Mac, seeing only a 25 percent reduction in speed where Windscribe saw a whopping 60 percent slowdown. Through two rounds, it’s neck and neck.

When comparing ping rates, NordVPN performed better on a Mac, only slowing the rate by 30 percent against Windscribe’s 40 percent. On a Windows PC, however, Windscribe had a better ping rate, slowing 25 percent versus NordVPN’s approximately 40 percent.

Overall, we were impressed with the speeds of these two VPNs, and with their varied strengths on different devices, it was pretty much a wash between the two. Generally speaking, however, we’d recommend Windscribe VPN a bit more for Windows users and NordVPN broadly for Mac.

How Subscriptions and Prices Compare

One major point of comparison when it comes to VPNs is how their prices and subscription plans stack up to one another. Both NordVPN and Windscribe offer multiple plans based on term limits. Let’s see how they look side by side:

As we can see, Windscribe VPN is the clear winner when it comes to pricing. The monthly rates are lower, and although the yearly rates are slightly higher, Windscribe offers a free version of their service with access to servers in some countries. It is important to note that while NordVPN doesn’t offer a free trial version, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee on the VPN, which acts as a de facto trial period but requires payment first.

Another differentiator in subscription plans is the number of devices we were able to use with the VPNs. Windscribe offered unlimited data and devices, in addition to some bonus perks like their R.O.B.E.R.T. feature, which provides additional ad and tracker blocking as well as malware protection. NordVPN’s plans cover six devices, which should be enough for most households, but the edge definitely goes to Windscribe when it comes to bang for your buck.

Which is the Better VPN: Windscribe or NordVPN?

Now that we’ve taken the VPNs to task on their various features, pricing plans and performance results, we’re ready to make our decision. Of course, there are some X factors to consider as well. For example, both services offer 24/7 live chat customer support as well as online forms or emails to contact the companies if we had any questions; and they were generally pretty comparable experiences. Both Windscribe VPN and NordVPN offer apps for Android and Apple, with NordVPN’s app garnering higher ratings among users.

We’ve taken a side-by-side look at NordVPN and Windscribe VPN; and from our testing we have concluded that NordVPN is the better of the two.

When it comes down to it, both services have a lot to offer, and Windscribe may be a better option for certain users, but NordVPN has the edge, in our humble opinion. If you’re still not sure, read our comparison of NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN, our top two VPNs overall.