Bitdefender VPN vs. NordVPN

It can be challenging to compare VPNs. They don’t all have the same features or use the same security technology. So, if you see ChaCha20 listed as a feature and think it’s a TikTok dance move, then you might end up picking the wrong one. You could just subscribe to NordVPN. It’s been our top-ranking VPN for several consecutive years. But maybe it’s not the best choice for your needs. Maybe you like Bitdefender.

Bitdefender came onto the cybersecurity scene in 2001 as an antivirus company, but just as consumer VPNs were becoming mainstream, it added VPN features to its highly-rated antivirus software. Now, it also offers the VPN as a standalone product.

We’ve taken an in-depth look at Bitdefender VPN and NordVPN to see which is better in terms of security features, prices, and server locations. We even considered where each company is located. After all that, we feel pretty confident that we’ve come up with a conclusive answer to the question of who’s best – and it’s NordVPN. Read on to find out why.

Price Comparison

Let’s start the comparison by looking at the price. We’re all interested in the bottom line, and it turns out it’s one of the most important factors in deciding between Bitdefender and NordVPN.

If we’re looking at price alone, Bitdefender is the clear winner. When it comes to single-month subscriptions, Bitdefender costs just $6.99. NordVPN is almost twice as much. When it comes to annual subscriptions, Bitdefender wins again. Per month, an annual Bitdefender subscription runs $2.92 a month, while an annual plan from NordVPN costs $4.59 per month. NordVPN offers a two-year subscription and Bitdefender doesn’t, but Bitdefender’s annual price is still less than NordVPN’s two-year price.

Head-to-Head Pricing

Before you run off half-cocked, ready to sign up with Bitdefender, it’s worth keeping in mind that price is just one factor when considering which VPN is right for you. It’s a compelling factor, to be sure, but it’s still just one among many. Plenty of free VPNs, for instance, are willing to sell your personal data to the highest bidder.

We would expect Bitdefender to be the cheaper option, since it’s the newcomer. The big question is whether Bitdefender can protect you for that relatively lower price. Let’s find out.

Safety Issues

Let’s break this comparison down into two basic categories — two standards by which to compare VPNs — and see how they measure up.

Security

The whole point of using a VPN is to keep hackers and spies from gaining access to your information. A VPN, or virtual private network, is a secure tunnel connecting you to a remote server. That server then issues you an anonymous IP address to make sure no one can track your online movements.

Does Bitdefender keep you just as safe as NordVPN?

• Encryption methods: Our experts’ gold standard for VPN encryption is 256-bit AES. It’s the same type of encryption the U.S. military uses for covert transmissions and for keeping secret files safe. It’s also the encryption standard for both NordVPN and Bitdefender. So here, the two VPNs are equally impressive. Additionally, NordVPN offers ChaCha20 as an option. It’s just as secure as AES, but more agile and lightweight. That’s why it’s what we recommend for smartphones and tablets. So if those are the main devices you’ll use a VPN on, we’d say go with NordVPN.
• Kill switch: A kill switch shuts down your internet activity any time you lose your VPN. It may be inconvenient, but it also keeps your browsing activity hidden. When your VPN goes down – as they all do from time to time – your traffic becomes exposed. The kill switch is a way for VPNs to notify you that you’re not connected anymore, and protect you from unknowingly browsing without encryption. Once again, both VPNs offer this feature.
• Location: If you’re new to VPNs, you may never have heard of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes. They’re alliances between countries that have agreed to trade surveillance information with one another, including surveillance information about their own citizens. The best VPNs are located outside those allied countries. Bitdefender is located in Romania. That’s not an alliance country. NordVPN is located in Panama. That’s not an alliance country either.

Looking at those three security criteria, we can conclude that Bitdefender is just as secure as NordVPN. NordVPN has additional benefits that Bitdefender doesn’t offer, like multihop and obfuscated servers. But Bitdefender has extra strengths, too. Not to worry, we’ll get to those later. For now, let’s look at the third comparison point – convenience.

Convenience

Job No. 1 for a VPN is security. Both NordVPN and Bitdefender do a pretty good job on that front, but what other benefits do the two companies offer?

• Plenty of servers: The more servers a VPN has and the more locations where those servers can be found, the more likely you’ll be able to get a fast signal no matter where in the world you happen to be. NordVPN’s server network is rapidly growing. It now has over 6,700 servers located in 111 countries. That’s significantly larger than Bitdefender’s 4,000 servers in 50+ countries.
• Fast speeds: We regularly test and compare VPN speeds, and one thing we can say is that NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs. Our speed barely slowed down while connected to NordVPN, whereas Bitdefender slowed our download speed down by 18 percent. That’s not too bad – 40 percent is our maximum threshold – but it wasn’t faster than NordVPN.
• Lots of streaming options: Lots of servers and fast speeds make streaming a breeze, so it’s no surprise both VPNs offer a ton of streaming options. Both unlock Netflix, Hulu+, Disney+, Max, and many more. That means you can log in to your U.S. account no matter where you’re traveling, and you can access content from locales as exotic as Japan, Germany, and Canada when you’re back home in the U.S.

NordVPN Strengths

These two VPNs are different enough, and it’s worthwhile to dig a little deeper into their differences. After all, it’s the differences that will help you make your decision.

NordVPN has an awful lot of bonus features that Bitdefender — and, frankly, every other VPN — just can’t match.

• Multihop: NordVPN offers multihop technology that helps you hide from hackers and government agencies. Basically, when you have multihop turned on, NordVPN routes your internet connection through at least two different servers. Each server uses its own encryption method, which means you’re at least doubly encrypted. It’s hard to imagine how you could get much safer.
• OpenVPN: NordVPN also employs the industry-leading protocol OpenVPN. A VPN’s protocol tells all the bits and pieces when to do what, and no protocol has been more tested and verified than OpenVPN. Bitdefender offers a proprietary protocol known as Hydra Catapult, and, as its name suggests, it’s fast. Independent audits have found no vulnerabilities, but it lacks obfuscation capabilities.1 This means some services like Netflix might see that you’re using a VPN.
• Obfuscation servers: While we’re on the topic of obfuscation, NordVPN can hide the fact that you’re using a VPN. Obfuscated servers add an extra layer of privacy while also letting you bypass VPN detectors on streaming services or in countries that monitor VPN traffic. Looking at you, China.
• Split tunneling: NordVPN offers another handy feature known as split tunneling, which lets you log on to the regular internet at the same time you’re logged on to the VPN. You may be wondering why you’d need to do that. Here’s why: Not everything you do online needs to be encrypted. No one is spying on you to see what’s on your Spotify list. Use the VPN for the tasks you need to and route more mundane tasks through less secure networks.
• A more complete privacy policy: Last, but certainly not least, NordVPN’s privacy policy is just a bit tighter than Bitdefender’s. A privacy policy tells you what data a company is keeping about you and your online activities. NordVPN’s is pretty bulletproof. The company doesn’t keep anything related to your online activities — no IP addresses, no record of your browsing, no time stamps. Unfortunately, Bitdefender can’t say the same. It hangs on to your IP address, and hackers and government agencies can use that data to reconstruct everything you do online.

Bitdefender Strengths

Bitdefender is no slouch. It has its own strengths, but perhaps not as many as NordVPN.

• 30-day free trial: Bitdefender is a known quantity when it comes to antivirus, but it still has some work to do to build its reputation with VPNs. One way to do that is to give everyone a chance to try the VPN for free and see what they think. To that end, Bitdefender offers a free 30-day trial of its VPN as part of its Internet Security and Family Pack packages. The trial is for the full version of the software — no data limits and no speed limits. NordVPN only offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, for which you have to pay first and then cancel and request a refund to try out.
• Dynamic IP addresses: NordVPN offers shared dynamic IP addresses, which are pretty secure. Basically, lots of users share one address, so it’s difficult to know which user is doing what at any given time. Bitdefender, though, offers dynamic addresses, which are a bit safer. Dynamic addresses change at regular intervals, so you never have the same address for more than a few minutes.

The Bottom Line

This matchup played out pretty much the way we expected. There’s a reason NordVPN is at the top of our list of best VPNs. Packed with security features such as multihop technology and obfuscation, it’s the safest VPN on the market. It also offers access to all the best streaming services, and it’s fast enough that you won’t notice you’re running it.

That’s not to say Bitdefender isn’t a good deal. It certainly has the requisite security features to keep you safe in most circumstances, such as AES-256 encryption and a kill switch. We worry about the fact that it records IP addresses, but it’s located in a country outside the reach of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes, so the information is probably safe enough. Bitdefender also offers its VPN at a very competitive price point.

Ultimately, we have to go with NordVPN, but Bitdefender is a solid choice if you’re looking to save a little money. If you want to dig deeply into these two VPNs, you can always check out our Bitdefender VPN review and our NordVPN review.

Get NordVPN if:

• You want top-of-the-line security
• You prefer no one to know you’re using a VPN
• You’re looking for an iron-clad privacy policy

Get Bitdefender if:

• You need to save a little money
• You like the added security of dynamic IP addresses
• You want to test out the VPN before committing to a subscription