Bitdefender VPN vs NordVPN in 2023

Bitdefender VPN and NordVPN are both excellent VPN solutions that come with some similar features. However, NordVPN is among the best providers money can buy, while Bitdefender VPN is in the lower ranks. 

So, it’s no secret that one of the two providers is better, and it’s clear that the better option is NordVPN. It comes with robust privacy and security, great speeds, and strong content-unblocking capabilities.

But let’s find out if Bitdefender VPN can compete with this giant through our detailed NordVPN vs. Bitdefender VPN comparison!

Bitdefender VPN vs. NordVPN: specifications

NordVPN has an extensive server network, with over 5800servers in 60 countries. It comes with excellent security and privacy features and great speeds, thanks to its proprietary NordLynx protocols. In addition, it’s situated in Panama, a great location for privacy, and it has an independently audited no-logs policy.

On the other hand, we have Bitdefender VPN, which has a smaller server network – 1300+ servers in 25 countries. Also, it uses the Catapult Hydra protocol, which isn’t as good for staying anonymous as others. But the most notable feature missing is proof that Bitdefender VPN’s no-logs policy is audited. 

So, taking into consideration everything mentioned above, NordVPN is the clear winner in our Bitdefender VPN vs. NordVPN comparison. 

⭐Our rating	9.6 ⭐	5.8 ⭐
💸Current offer	Get NordVPN 69% OFF!	Get Bitdefender VPN 50% OFF!
💰Price starts from	$2.99/month	$2.92/month
💳Money-back guarantee	30 days	30 days
📖No-logs policy	Independently-audited	Not audited
🌐Servers	5800+ servers in 60+ countries	1300+ servers in 25+ countries
🔒VPN protocols	NordLynx, OpenVPN, IKEv2	OpenVPN, IKEv2, Hydra
🍿Streaming	Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, and more	Netflix

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

NordVPN vs Bitdefender VPN: pricing

When judged on pricing alone,  Bitdefender VPN is the better choice as it comes with much lower prices than NordPVN. However, it doesn’t have much features.

Other than that, the two services have some similarities when it comes to pricing. First off, both offer a 7-day free trial. However, the NordVPN trial is available on the Google Play Store, while you can grab the Bitdefender VPN trial practically anywhere. Additionally, both have a 30-day money-back guarantee on their pricing plans.

NordVPN pricing

NordVPN has three different subscription plans:

• $12.99/month for a monthly plan
• $4.49/month for a yearly plan
• $2.99/month for a two-year plan

As is common in the VPN industry, the short-term monthly plan costs the full price. Meanwhile, the long-term plans are discounted up to 69%. Plus, the lengthiest two-year plan also comes with three additional months for free.

NordVPN also has more payment options to choose from, including anonymous payment options in the form of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, there are various NordVPN coupons available that you can redeem for a lower VPN price.

Bitdefender VPN pricing

Bitdefender VPN keeps it simple and gives you a choice between two pricing options:

• $6.99/month for a monthly plan
• $2.92/month for an annual plan

The short-term plan isn’t costly, while the annual subscription has a 40% discount.

Furthermore, payment options are sparse and only include credit cards, PayPal, and bank transfers.

Speed comparison

In terms of speed, NordVPN completely wiped Bitdefender VPN, making it the clear winner of this category. 

Not only did NordVPN beat Bitdefender VPN, but it’s also one of the fastest VPNs on the market, mostly due to its proprietary NordLynx protocol that offers great speeds. The fact that it has more servers in more countries compared to Bitdefender VPN also helped NordVPN secure the win.

While Catapult Hydra is among the fastest VPN protocols on the market, it’s still not nearly as fast as NordLynx. Also, Bitdefender VPN has a more narrow coverage and fewer servers than its opponent, resulting in slower speeds and performance.

To make the best possible decision when buying a VPN, check the performance of some of the best providers by using our VPN speed test.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

NordVPN vs. Bitdefender VPN: which is more secure?

Once again, NordVPN emerges as the winner in yet another category in our Bitdefender VPN vs. NordVPN comparison. Both providers offer the following features:

• AES-256 encryption
• Kill switch
• DNS leak protection
• Split tunneling
• Ad/malware blocker

However, NordVPN goes above and beyond and offers some additional features, like IP and WebRTC leak protection on all devices, Double VPN, obfuscation, and SmartPlay.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Privacy

Both NordVPN and Bitdefender VPN belong to privacy-friendly countries. Namely, NordVPN has its headquarters in Panama, a country that isn’t a part of the 5, 9, or 14-Eyes Alliance. 

Bitdefender VPN is also headquartered in a country that isn’t a part of the 5, 9, or 14-Eyes Alliance – Romania. 

So, neither NordVPN nor Bitdefender VPN is obligated to collect, store, and share user data with any government. 

Logging

Every VPN can claim that it has a no-logs policy, but not many actually prove it. That can be said for Bitdefender VPN, which has a no-logs policy, but it isn’t audited, so there’s no proof to back up the claim.

On the other hand, NordVPN has an independently-audited no-logs policy, which gets frequently audited by trusted third-party organizations.

Server locations

The difference in these VPN providers’ server fleets isn’t drastic, but it’s still there. NordVPN offers more servers and covers more countries with its server network of 5800+ servers in 60+ countries. On the other hand, Bitdefender VPN has 1300+ servers in 25 countries.

Also, NordVPN uses RAM-only technology, which is great for privacy and security, while Bitdefender VPN doesn’t have any RAM servers. Therefore, the winner here is NordVPN again!

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Features comparison

As you can see, NordVPN once again beats Bitdefender VPN as it offers more features.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Smart DNS

SmartDNS is a feature that allows you to use VPNs on devices that don’t support them (don’t have native apps for VPNs).

NordVPN’s got you covered in this regard. It enables you to use a VPN on virtually any device and also boosts your security with an extra layer of encryption. Unfortunately, Bitdefender VPN doesn’t offer SmartDNS, limiting you to use it only on apps with native Bitdefender VPN support.

Split tunneling

NordVPN has split tunneling for Windows, Android, and Android TV, allowing you to choose which apps and sites will use the VPN and which won’t. Bitdefender VPN offers split tunneling on Windows, Android, and iOS.

Ad & malware blocker

Ad & malware blockers allow you to prevent malicious websites and ads from getting into your device. Luckily, both VPNs offer this feature, but NordVPN’s is slightly more powerful.

Specialized servers

NordVPN offers specialized streaming servers, which will improve your streaming experience. Also, it offers obfuscated servers, which you can use to hide that you’re using a VPN to surf the web. On the other hand, Bitdefender VPN doesn’t offer any specialized servers or obfuscation.

Other features

When it comes to features, NordVPN dominates the VPN market. It has a variety of benefits to offer, such as Double VPN (Multihop). This feature can route your connection through two different VPN servers and improve your security.

Another feature is Dedicated IPs. You can get a dedicated IP address that is available exclusively to you and won’t be shared with anyone for an additional price. There’s also a SOCKS5 proxy, which allows you to secure your torrent client with a proxy and hide your real IP address without a VPN connection.

Now, Bitdefender VPN is not the most feature-rich provider. In terms of additional features, it can only boat auto-connect. It allows you to choose under what circumstances the VPN software should connect automatically. Choices include P2P apps, connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi, and on start-up.

Netflix and streaming comparison

Another win for NordVPN is that it can clearly unblock many more streaming platforms than Bitdefender VPN.

NordVPN is the best VPN for streaming, as it unblocks all the popular streaming sites, such as Netflix US, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and others. The secret behind its efficient unlocking capabilities is SmartPlay, a feature that uses DNS technology to bypass restrictions.

On the contrary, Bitdefender VPN can only unblock Netflix US and some other of its libraries. It failed to give access to BBC iPlayer and other platforms, except for YouTube TV.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Device compatibility

Unfortunately, Bitdefender VPN is performing especially badly in the device compatibility category. It only has apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. There’s no mention of alternative platform support or even of a possibility for manual configuration. As such, the ten-device connection limit seems redundant unless you want to share the account with multiple people.

On the other hand, NordVPN is essentially the industry standard of what a valuable VPN service should look like. It has dedicated apps for mainstream platforms, including Linux. Additionally, it has dedicated apps for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. Furthermore, browser extensions are available for Chrome and Firefox.

Most importantly, you can manually configure your router with a VPN and reap the benefits of this service on practically any device. That way, you can enjoy more than the typical six-device connection limitation, as a NordVPN configured router still counts as one connection.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Desktop applications

NordVPN is compatible with the most popular operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Also, it has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and Opera.

NordVPN comes with visually appealing Windows and macOS apps. They are almost identical in design and feature great user experience and simple navigation.

You’ll find a map on the main screen that helps you quickly connect to a relevant location. The sidebar on the left will provide you with a full list in case you can’t find what you’re looking for. 

The overall design is very lightweight. You can find Threat Protection, Meshnet, stats, and settings on the left side of the app.

On the other hand, Bitdefender VPN supports only Windows and macOS and has no browser extensions. 

Bitdefender Windows app features a similarly lightweight design, which is simple to use. On the main screen, you’ll find a quick connect button and all relevant settings on the left sidebar. 

When it comes to the macOS app, the design looks quite similar, but it has another issue – a lack of features. Unfortunately, there’s no split tunneling and a lack of auto-connect options.

Mobile applications

NordVPN Android and iOS apps are equally visually appealing and almost identical in design.

It’s impressive that NordVPN has retained most of its features in mobile apps, too, as most providers often cut down on additional functions.

Andoird app has a Double VPN, split tunneling, and a kill switch. While there’s no split tunneling on iOS, you’ll get a kill switch and dark web monitoring.

Bitdefender’s Android and iOS apps don’t look much different from their desktop counterparts. The design is almost identical. The main difference is in the features. Android has fewer auto-connect features but other than that, it is very similar to Windows.

Meanwhile, the iOS app has even fewer features than macOS. However, we’re happy to see that the app has a kill switch, which is a rare find.

Torrenting

To be able to download torrents safely with a VPN, you need a provider that either supports torrenting or offers specialized P2P servers. Both NordVPN and Bitdefender VPN allows torrenting on all servers, but NordVPN has a slight edge over the other, making it the winner of this category.

Namely, NordVPN offers specialized P2P servers and an integrated SOCKS5 proxy. Also, it has an Onion over VPN feature, which is great for torrenting. 

On the other hand, Bitdefender VPN only supports torrenting but doesn’t come with an integrated SOCKS5 proxy or P2P servers.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

China

Here we have another clean sweep for NordVPN as it clearly wins over Bitdefender VPN when it comes to breaking through the Great Firewall of China. 

With NordVPN’s obfuscated servers, anyone can bypass the restrictions that China has in place. Also, the Onion over VPN feature is very helpful, as it adds another layer of security and protection if you want to engage in torrenting in China.

Meanwhile, Bitdefender VPN doesn’t offer obfuscation, which is crucial for bypassing the Great Firewall of China.

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

Customer support

After many attempts, Bitdefender VPN has finally managed to get a victory over NordVPN. 

Don’t get us wrong; both VPNs offer excellent customer support, including 24/7 live chat support, email, a knowledgebase, and useful guides.

However, Bitdefender VPN has the edge over NordVPN as it also offers phone support, while the other doesn’t.

NordVPN vs Bitdefender VPN – which is better?

After rigorous testing and examining both VPNs in detail, we have a clear winner – NordVPN! NordVPN shows that it’s better than Bitdefender VPN in almost all categories except for pricing and customer support. Other than that, it exceeded all expectations and proved why it’s one of the best VPNs money can buy!

In any case, choose Bitdefender VPN if your budget is tight. And for every other scenario – go with the king in the North – NordVPN!

Winner:

Visit NordVPN

9.6 /10

Best VPN 2023

The ultimate VPN choice by millions of users

Black Friday deal

69% OFF

Get the deal

9.4 /10

Inexpensive award-winning VPN with infinite connections

Black Friday deal

80% OFF

Get the deal

7.8 /10

New budget-friendly VPN from industry experts

Black Friday deal

85% OFF

Get the deal

You may also like to read:
NordVPN vs Surfshark
NordVPN vs ExpressVPN
NordVPN vs AVG
NordVPN vs Mozilla VPN
Bitdefender VPN review
Atlas VPN vs NordVPN
NordVPN review
Best VPN for crypto trading

FAQ

Is NordVPN better than Bitdefender VPN?

Yes, NordVPN is better than Bitdefender VPN. It offers more features, faster speeds, better security and privacy, and it is much better for streaming and torrenting than its opponent. 

Can you get Bitdefender VPN as a standalone app?

A free Bitdefender VPN is included with every security solution. However, it has a 200 MB daily traffic limit and doesn’t allow you to choose servers. Meanwhile, the premium VPN version has no limitations and allows you to choose from all server locations.

Which is faster – Bitdefender VPN or NordVPN?

NordVPN is faster than Bitdefender VPN as it has a wider server network and uses its proprietary NordLynx protocol, which speeds up your Internet connection even more.