NordVPN vs PureVPN: the bill, platform controls and trust records

The decision in practical terms

PureVPN costs less on every quoted line: $58.20 against NordVPN’s $94.23 for the same 27 months, and $47.95 against $139.08 a year at renewal. Both allow 10 simultaneous devices, and both document app split tunneling on Windows and Android but not on Mac or iPhone. The deciding differences are elsewhere:

• Choose NordVPN if you want documented kill-switch protection on iPhone (NordVPN calls it VPN bypass prevention), a Windows control that closes selected apps, or no-logs assurance from named firms (PwC, then Deloitte).
• Choose PureVPN if the bill comes first, if you want include-or-exclude app rules on Fire TV, or if you need port forwarding without buying a dedicated server.

The trust records differ in kind. NordVPN disclosed a 2018 breach of one rented server; PureVPN’s 2017 case involved records it was able to provide about a customer, according to an FBI affidavit as reported. Both are set out below.

This comparison uses official documentation and price quotes checked on 13 October 2026. We have not tested either service for speed, leaks, streaming or usability.

Selected plans and documented features; checked 13 October 2026

Compare
Selected plan	Basic	Standard
Initial payment · USD	$94.23	$58.20
Initial months	27	27
Monthly equivalent	$3.49 (upfront plan)	$2.16 (upfront plan)
Quoted renewal	$139.08 / 12 months	$47.95 / 12 months
Simultaneous devices	10	10
Split tunneling	Windows, Android and Android TV app rules; Linux port/subnet Allowlist. No documented Mac or iOS app splitting.	Windows app rules; include or exclude apps on Android, Android TV and Fire TV. No documented Mac, iPhone or Linux split tunneling.
Refund policy	30-day initial-purchase guarantee, with eligibility and purchase-channel conditions.	31-day initial-purchase guarantee; renewals, trial conversions, crypto and app-store purchases are excluded.
Details	NordVPN review Offer and sources	PureVPN review Offer and sources

USD quotes checked 13 October 2026, before applicable tax. Currency, campaign and checkout prices can vary. Monthly rates are equivalents of upfront payments. How pricing works.

First payment and the 39-month total

Both selected plans cover 27 months (2 years + 3 months), so the first bills compare directly: NordVPN Basic is $94.23 and PureVPN Standard $58.20, a difference of $36.03. The monthly equivalents are $3.49 ($94.23 ÷ 27) and $2.16 ($58.20 ÷ 27 = $2.156; PureVPN’s pages truncate it to $2.15).

Renewal widens the gap. NordVPN Basic renews at $139.08 a year and PureVPN Standard at $47.95, $91.13 less. Keep either through one renewal and 39 months cost $233.31 with NordVPN ($94.23 + $139.08) and $106.15 with PureVPN ($58.20 + $47.95), $127.16 apart. All amounts are USD before tax. NordVPN’s renewal table says its prices may be subject to testing, and PureVPN says it emails before charging a changed price, so read the renewal line at checkout.

Higher tiers add non-VPN services. For the same 27 months, NordVPN Complete ($121.23) and Prime ($202.23) add antivirus, a password manager and cloud storage; PureVPN Plus ($73.80) and Max ($95.85) add a password manager, then data removal and an eSIM. Compare only the extras you’d use.

Devices: 10 on each

NordVPN’s terms allow “a maximum of ten simultaneous connections per Account” on every plan, and its support says a router uses one slot while covering the devices behind it. PureVPN also allows 10 on every plan. One PureVPN help article adds “from the same country”, and a paid Multi Login add-on (“up to 50+ devices”) raises its limit.

Split tunneling and kill switches by platform

Neither provider documents app split tunneling on a Mac or iPhone. Beyond that, the differences worth knowing are:

• Windows modes. PureVPN’s guide routes only the apps you list through the VPN; an exclude mode isn’t documented. NordVPN warns that its Internet Kill Switch can take priority over split-tunnel exclusions, and that excluded apps can still use NordVPN’s DNS.
• Kill-switch scope. PureVPN documents its Internet Kill Switch for connection drops only; behavior after a manual disconnect and the default setting aren’t stated. NordVPN’s Windows App Kill Switch, which closes selected programs, is off by default.
• iPhone. NordVPN documents VPN bypass prevention on iOS; PureVPN’s iOS settings list “Reconnect on disconnect” and “VPN on Demand”, but no kill switch.
• Fire TV. PureVPN documents include and exclude modes there; NordVPN’s split-tunneling list covers Android TV but doesn’t name Fire TV.

Add-ons: dedicated IP, Dedicated Server and port forwarding

NordVPN sells a Dedicated IP on every plan: $99.63 added to the 27-month plan or $70.68 to the 1-year plan, and its renewal table lists $81.48 a year. The IP is linked to your email address, setup can take up to three business days, and it doesn’t support port forwarding. NordVPN offers port forwarding only with its Dedicated Server add-on, documented since April 2026: “your own virtual VPN server with dedicated resources, a static IP address, and port forwarding capability”, in Paris, Berlin, London, Phoenix and Boston.

PureVPN sells Port Forwarding at $1.49 a month ($35.76 for the 24-month add-on term on the 2-year plan) and a Dedicated IP at $71.76 on the 2-year plan, in 10 countries; a combined Dedicated IP and Port Forwarding add-on costs $95.76 for that term. PureVPN keeps an assigned dedicated IP on record for 25 days after a subscription ends, and its renewal table lists no add-on renewal prices. It also lists its own Dedicated Server at $15.00 a month.

For inbound connections on a standard plan, PureVPN’s port-forwarding add-on is the documented route; NordVPN requires the Dedicated Server.

Trust records

NordVPN cites six no-logs assurance engagements: by PwC AG Switzerland in 2018 and 2020, and by Deloitte for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The latest ran from 10 November to 12 December 2025 as a reasonable assurance engagement under ISAE 3000 (Revised), and NordVPN says Deloitte “concluded that NordVPN’s IT systems and supporting operations are designed and implemented in line with our no-logs statement”. The reports are open only to logged-in Nord Account users, and we haven’t read them. In October 2019, NordVPN disclosed that one rented server in Finland had been accessed in March 2018 through an insecure remote-management account the data center had added. NordVPN says the intruder found no user activity logs or credentials, and that the TLS keys taken had expired.

PureVPN: according to the FBI affidavit quoted by TorrentFreak in October 2017, “PureVPN was able to determine that their service was accessed by the same customer from two originating IP addresses”, the suspect’s home and his employer. PureVPN said it “acted precisely as per our existing Terms of Service and Privacy Policy”. It has since cited an Altius IT audit (placed by November 2019), a 2020 audit whose post is titled for KPMG but whose text now names only a “Well known audit firm”, and an assessment from 16 to 22 February 2023 that its page calls the “fourth successful” one; its Trust Center mentions a “fourth consecutive” assessment with no date or auditor given. Its privacy policy now says it doesn’t collect origin IPs, VPN IPs or connection times.

NordVPN’s incident was an intrusion into one server; PureVPN’s case shows what PureVPN could provide about a customer in 2017. The PureVPN review has the full timeline, and the NordVPN review covers NordVPN’s apps in more depth.

Refunds and cancellation

NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee covers eligible initial purchases, not renewals or repeat purchases after a refund, with local-law exceptions; purchases through Apple, Amazon or a retailer follow those sellers’ processes. Cancel renewal in Nord Account → Billing; access continues for the paid term.

PureVPN gives 31 days from the initial purchase. It excludes renewals, trial conversions, App Store and Google Play purchases, and crypto, CoinGate, PayGarden and gift-card payments; cards and PayPal are covered. Cancel renewal in the Member Area → Subscriptions → Cancel Subscription; PureVPN implies, but doesn’t state, that access lasts until the term ends. With both providers, canceling renewal and requesting a refund are separate steps.

Our recommendation by need

• Lowest bill now and at renewal: PureVPN, by $36.03 for the first 27 months and $91.13 a year after that.
• A kill switch on iPhone: NordVPN, which documents VPN bypass prevention on iOS.
• Closing selected Windows apps if the VPN drops: NordVPN’s App Kill Switch.
• Fire TV app routing: PureVPN, with include and exclude modes.
• Port forwarding: PureVPN’s $1.49-a-month add-on; at NordVPN it needs the Dedicated Server.
• Recent no-logs assessments by a named firm: NordVPN.
• Mac or iPhone app split tunneling: neither documents it; for Mac apps, see Surfshark vs PureVPN.

Before paying, check the full totals in the NordVPN offer guide or the PureVPN offer guide.

Common questions

Is PureVPN cheaper than NordVPN?

Yes, on the selected entry plans. PureVPN Standard is $58.20 for 27 months and renews at $47.95 a year; NordVPN Basic is $94.23 and renews at $139.08. Over 39 months that’s $106.15 against $233.31, before tax.

Do NordVPN and PureVPN allow the same number of devices?

Yes: 10 simultaneous connections each, on every plan. NordVPN’s support says a router uses one slot and covers the devices behind it, and PureVPN sells a Multi Login add-on for more.

Which has the better privacy record?

This page doesn’t rank them, but the documented records differ. NordVPN cites six assurance engagements by named firms and disclosed a 2018 single-server breach. PureVPN’s 2017 case, as reported from an FBI affidavit, showed it could link a customer to two IP addresses; apart from Altius IT, the assessments it has cited since don’t name the audit firm in their current text.