NordLayer Reviews

Nowadays, having a VPN service is necessary, especially if you’re a company with remote workers. NordLayer lives up to expectations, delivering well-rounded software with all the essential features.

From the autostart option to the user-friendly control panel, NordLayer has it all covered. More expensive plans unlock additional sets of features, such as dedicated servers, a next-generation cloud firewall, and device posture security.

Organization at its finest

NordLayer lets you easily assign and manage your team members’ connections. Its customizable control panel is perfect for creating and distributing teams to different servers using private gateways.

Additionally, the admin dashboard allows you to check your team members’ login status, server load, and the devices they’re using. In case of personnel changes, you don’t need to worry about losing a user license, as NordLayer lets you transfer the old account to the new team member. In this control panel, admins can also force users to use security settings, such as SSO, kill switch, ThreatBlock, among others.

NordLayer's device posture security is based on the Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) model, treating all devices as suspicious until they prove to be trustworthy. Admins can define security rules for team members’ devices and monitor network access to accounts by non-compliant devices, with the ability to grant or block access as needed. This way, companies have full visibility and control over who has access to their network.

Desktop and mobile extensions

The desktop and mobile apps (available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS) are lightweight and intuitive to use – when we opened them, a list of available servers popped up, and we just had to click on the one we wished to connect to. That’s not all – the apps also provide access to the kill switch, auto-connect, and ThreatBlock.

Furthermore, you can set up a list of trusted Wi-Fi networks that may not need a VPN. There’s also the ‘smart access’ tab, which allows connections between two endpoints when using the same server.

Although remarkably alike, the service’s mobile app still differs from its desktop counterpart by automatically connecting to the nearest available server. Additionally, users can share diagnostics, which comes in handy when contacting customer support.

NordLayer VPN is a great VPN that covers locations all around the globe. The list of over 30 countries also features less common options, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

As for servers, even though the exact quantity is undisclosed, the company’s support team claims it’s in the thousands. There are, however, dedicated servers with a fixed IP address for extra network security against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

When it comes to testing servers’ speed across different countries, the results are remarkable. We got the best results in Europe, where the ping was surprisingly low, and speeds were almost as high as they were with NordLayer turned off. Results were also impressive on more distant servers, where we didn’t notice any significant drop-off in speeds.

Even with locations further away, like Hong Kong, speeds were more than decent, with ping increasing slightly. It’s clear that NordLayer provides a fast, stable, and consistent experience across the globe. Additionally, there were no problems regarding DNS leaks during the test.

Like fellow service NordVPN, NordLayer is tough to beat in privacy protection and overall security. For starters, it uses AES-256-bit. Plus, the security protocols available are among the safest – OpenVPN (TCP and UDP), IKEv2, and NordLayer's own tech, NordLynx, a protocol built around WireGuard.

NordLayer's infrastructure helps businesses transition to SASE architecture. As a centralized orchestra of security policies, NordLayer's SASE offers cloud-native security components, network service groundwork, and ZTNA. Plus, beyond its hardware firewall, NordLayer provides an agile, scalable, and low-maintenance cloud firewall.

On the user side, we recommend always turning on the kill switch and activating the two-factor authentication, biometrics verification, and single sign-on (SSO), since these features are great for further protecting your login data. Finally, you can enable ThreatBlock to automatically block harmful websites to avoid malware and other cyberthreats.

NordLayer has standard compatibility across all operating systems, as it runs on Windows 10 and macOS 12 onwards. Linux users are well covered, with the software working on anything from Ubuntu 20.04, Fedora 40, and Debian 11. As for mobile support, customers with Android 12 or iOS 15.0 or later can install and use the app.

Although it doesn’t support smart TVs, it can be configurated on a wide variety of routers, including D-Link, NetGear, Cisco, Linksys, and Asus. In addition, there are browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edgem, and Brave. These provide on-the-go encryption, adding an extra layer of convenience. When it comes to simultaneous connections, NordLayer allows up to six connected devices.

Services tailored for businesses are often more expensive since they offer a more complete and secure package. This is the case for NordLayer, which is considerably more expensive than other VPN services but does offer all the essential features from the basic ‘Lite’ plan upwards.

All plans cover a minimum of five users. Monthly subscriptions for Lite start at $8 per user per month with annual billing, and choosing these longer subscriptions results in at least 20% off any plan. With this longer commitment, the Core package costs $11 per user per month and brings extra features and prioritized customer support, as well as dedicated servers with fixed IP addresses for $40 per month.

Premium plan users benefit from the best NordLayer has to offer. For $14 per user per month with annual billing, they can feel extra protected with the added security that a cloud firewall, device posture security, and smart remote access bring. Finally, businesses can create a custom plan tailored to their needs by speaking with the sales team.

Unfortunately, there’s no free trial to test this VPN service, but the company provides a 14-day money-back guarantee for all plans. A great feature is NordLayer's centralized billing, which lets you handle all expenses easily – you will only receive one invoice for all users. Payment methods include Visa, MasterCard, Bitcoin, and direct bank transfer.

You’d expect the technical support of such a reputable company to be outstanding, and the fact is that NordLayer delivers. In addition to the standard email option (by submitting a request), there is live chat available 24/7. The latter proved to be an excellent method to get in touch with NordLayer – even for non-customers – as we had all our questions answered quickly and courteously.

From the Core plan onwards, customers get a dedicated account manager, and Premium subscribers have access to priority support with faster response times and better guidance. Additionally, NordLayer has a blog with thousands of expertly written articles and keeps an active presence on Facebook and X, even though these mainly function as business platforms.

NordLayer's centralized, user-friendly control panel allows managers to easily monitor the entire network system from one single dashboard, and its mobile and desktop apps are straightforward and intuitive to use.

Considering this, we have no complaints about the elevated price, as the company offers discounts with longer subscriptions and provides a 14-day money-back guarantee. The fact is that NordLayer shines as a B2B VPN service solution, with unbreakable encryption and excellent customer support.