Windscribe vs NordVPN (2026): Prices, Audits and Features

Windscribe and NordVPN are priced for different buyers. NordVPN’s 27-month Basic plan costs $3.49 a month and renews at $139.08 a year. Windscribe charges a flat $69 a year that never changes. Only Windscribe has a free plan.

Beyond price, on data we verified on 31 October 2026, NordVPN has the bigger published network, the no-logs audits and live chat. Windscribe has unlimited devices, post-quantum WireGuard switched on and port forwarding. Its 7-day refund is the shortest we track. The table above comes from our data records for both providers. The sections below explain what the rows mean.

Pricing today

We loaded NordVPN’s pricing page on 31 October 2026, during a Black Friday promotion. It listed three tiers, Basic, Complete and Prime, on three terms:

• 27 months, with three extra months included: $3.49, $3.99 and $6.99 a month. That is $94.23, $107.73 and $188.73 billed up front.
• 15 months: $4.99, $5.99 and $8.99 a month. That is $74.85, $89.85 and $134.85 up front.
• Monthly: $14.99, $19.99 and $29.99.

NordVPN states its renewal prices on the pricing page. Basic renews at $139.08 a year, Complete at $219.48 and Prime at $296.28. The 1-year plans renew at the same yearly prices as the 2-year plans. Monthly plans are billed every month.

Windscribe’s upgrade page showed no promotion. Pro costs $9.00 billed monthly, or $69 billed every 12 months, which works out to $5.75 a month. Both renew at the same price. Its Build a Plan option sells single locations at $1.00 each per month. The minimum is $3, and you can add up to 7 locations. Each location adds 10 GB to the monthly allowance. Static IPs are a yearly add-on: $24 for a datacenter IP or $96 for a residential one. A static IP stays the same each time you connect.

Thirty-nine months of NordVPN Basic, the intro term plus one renewal, costs $233.31. That is about $5.98 a month. Windscribe Pro costs $5.75 a month on yearly billing, or $207 for three years. NordVPN is cheaper for its first 27 months and more expensive from then on. Every later year costs $139.08 against $69, so the gap widens every year you stay. Month to month, Windscribe’s $9.00 is far below NordVPN’s $14.99.

Both accept cryptocurrency and cash. NordVPN sells prepaid cards in retail stores. It takes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and stablecoins among a dozen payment methods. Windscribe lists cards, PayPal, crypto, local payments and cash.

The refund rules are very different. NordVPN gives 30 days on the first purchase. Windscribe gives 7 days, provided you have used less than 10 GB, and its terms say 7 business days. Neither refunds a renewal. The plan tables and price histories are on our NordVPN pricing page and Windscribe pricing page.

Privacy and audits

NordVPN is run by nordvpn S.A. under Panamanian law, outside the Eyes alliances. These alliances are groups of countries that share intelligence. NordVPN’s parent company, Nord Security, is based in the Netherlands. Windscribe Limited is registered in Ontario, Canada, which is a Five Eyes member. Windscribe is independent, self-funded and led by its founder.

Both run RAM-only servers, which keep data in memory instead of on a disk. Both publish transparency reports. Windscribe also publishes a warrant canary, a public statement that it has not received a secret government order. NordVPN phased out its canary in October 2024 and publishes quarterly reports instead.

NordVPN has the longest audit record of any provider we track. It has had six no-logs assurance engagements, in which an outside firm checks whether its systems match its no-logs promise. PwC Switzerland did the ones in 2018 and 2020. Deloitte Audit Lithuania did those in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The sixth took place between 10 November and 12 December 2025. NordVPN also cites Cure53 assessments of its apps and infrastructure in 2022, 2024 and 2025, and a VerSprite app audit in 2019. The assurance reports are available only to logged-in customers.

Windscribe has no published no-logs audit. Its three audits cover these areas:

• Its desktop apps, by Leviathan Security Group in September 2021
• Its Android and iOS apps, by Leviathan in March 2022
• Its FreshScribe server stack, by Packetlabs in June 2024

Instead, Windscribe states exactly what it keeps. Its privacy policy, updated 30 July 2024, says it stores the total bytes transferred in the last 30 days. It also stores the date, but not the time, of your last activity. It stores nothing about sessions, source IPs, assigned IPs, timestamps, DNS queries or sites visited.

NordVPN’s help center says it keeps encrypted login credentials and the order ID for refunds, and no activity data. Its full privacy policy loads only with JavaScript, so we could not read it on the day we checked.

Both have incidents on record. NordVPN has two:

• In March 2018, someone got into a server NordVPN rented in a Finnish datacenter. They used a remote-management account that the datacenter had added. NordVPN disclosed it in October 2019.
• In October 2024, the Panamanian prosecutor issued a binding warrant, and NordVPN provided the user data it held. Its transparency report records that one order resulted in disclosure.

Windscribe has three:

• In June 2021, two of its OpenVPN servers in Ukraine were seized. Their disks were not encrypted and held a server certificate and private key. Windscribe then replaced its certificate authority and moved every server to RAM-only operation.
• A Greek criminal case against founder Yegor Sak, over activity traced to a Finnish server, was dismissed in April 2025.
• In February 2026, a server in the Netherlands was seized. Windscribe says it held a stock Ubuntu install and no user data.

NordVPN’s warrant shows that a no-logs provider still holds account data that a court can demand. Windscribe’s seizures show why RAM-only servers matter.

Security and protocols

A protocol is the set of rules a VPN uses to build its encrypted connection. NordVPN’s default is NordLynx, its version of WireGuard with an added double-NAT layer. It also offers OpenVPN over UDP or TCP, and IKEv2/IPsec for manual setups. Its obfuscated servers now run NordWhisper, for networks that block VPNs. Obfuscation disguises VPN traffic so that such networks are less likely to spot it. NordVPN’s post-quantum key exchange is a setting you switch on, and it works only with NordLynx. Post-quantum encryption is designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers.

Windscribe runs WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2. For obfuscation it adds two options:

• Stealth, which wraps OpenVPN in TLS, the encryption that secure websites use
• WStunnel, which wraps OpenVPN in WebSocket frames on port 443

Its WireGuard handshakes use hybrid X25519MLKEM768 post-quantum protection, with no setting to switch on. The handshake is the step where the app and the server agree on keys.

A kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN connection drops. NordVPN’s kill switch varies by platform:

• Windows: an internet kill switch and an app kill switch
• Linux and Android 8 and later: system-wide protection
• macOS and iOS: what NordVPN calls “VPN bypass prevention”, in the App Store versions
• Fire TV Stick: none

Windscribe’s kill switch is the always-on Firewall in its Windows, macOS and Linux apps. It fails closed, which means it blocks traffic rather than let it leak. On Android and iOS, Windscribe points you to the operating system’s Always-On VPN setting instead of an in-app switch.

Split tunneling lets you choose which apps skip the VPN. NordVPN offers it on Windows, Android and Android TV. Windscribe offers it on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.

Multi-hop sends your traffic through two servers instead of one. NordVPN’s Double VPN and Onion over VPN run on dedicated servers. Windscribe’s Double Hop needs the desktop app plus the browser extension.

NordVPN adds Meshnet, which links your own devices, and Threat Protection Pro. It also sells a paid dedicated IP add-on, which is an address that only you use. Windscribe sells static IPs instead, either datacenter or residential, and each one is shared by a handful of users. It refuses to sell dedicated IPs on privacy grounds.

Port forwarding and IPv6 favor Windscribe. Port forwarding lets other devices reach yours through the VPN. NordVPN has no port forwarding on standard servers, only through its separate Dedicated Server add-on. Windscribe offers port forwarding of up to 10 ports per device with a static IP, plus ephemeral ports, which are temporary. IPv6 is the newer type of internet address. NordVPN’s help center says it does not support IPv6 yet, and no official statement says whether the apps block it. Windscribe routes IPv6 through the tunnel.

Both run their own DNS resolvers with leak protection. A DNS resolver turns website names into addresses. Both also bundle a blocker that works at the DNS level. NordVPN’s is Threat Protection. Windscribe’s is R.O.B.E.R.T., which on the free plan is limited to the malware and ads lists.

Streaming claims

We have not tested streaming with either provider. What follows are their documented claims. NordVPN’s VPN pages make no promise for any single service. They note that services such as Netflix may limit VPN connections. Its SmartDNS help article lists six services in our record. They are Netflix Originals, Paramount+, Peacock TV and the US versions of Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and MAX.

Windscribe’s pages claim ten services, several with hedges:

• Netflix US, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ US, HBO Max and ESPN+
• Prime Video, with the note “not every VPN is consistent”
• DAZN, with the note “consistent access can’t be guaranteed”
• Peacock and Paramount+, named only in lists

For TVs, NordVPN has native Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV apps. It also has SmartDNS, built into SmartPlay, for TVs that cannot run an app. Smart DNS helps such devices reach streaming services without a VPN app. Windscribe has Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV apps but no smart DNS product. Its Flexible DNS is a settings feature, not a streaming service.

Our best VPN for Netflix page explains how to read these claims. It also explains why a refund window is the real test. That is where Windscribe’s 7-day and 10 GB refund limits hurt most.

Apps and devices

NordVPN’s help center lists apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV and Apple TV. On Linux there is a command-line app and a graphical app. It also lists Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions and manual router setup. Its Fire TV app is in the Amazon Appstore, but it does not run on first- and second-generation Fire TV Sticks. NordVPN allows 10 simultaneous connections on every tier. Its Linux app is open source, and the rest are closed.

Windscribe lists apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iPhone, plus Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions. It also covers Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Huawei devices, and offers an F-Droid build. Router setup is in its knowledge base. Windscribe allows unlimited connections on every plan, including the free one. It publishes the source code of its desktop and mobile apps on GitHub.

On network size, NordVPN publishes 7,242 servers in 150 countries and 225 locations. Its public API agreed within a few servers on the day we checked. Windscribe publishes no server count and describes “hundreds of servers”. Its features page lists 69 countries and 135 cities. Its server-list page lists over 85 countries and 190-plus locations. Windscribe does not explain the difference. It does label its three virtual locations as fake. A virtual location is a server that appears to be in one country but sits in another.

Support and refunds

NordVPN runs 24/7 live chat, email and a large help center. Windscribe has no human live chat. Its 24/7 chatbot escalates to support tickets, with a 24-hour reply target and priority for paid users. We have not measured response times for either.

NordVPN gives refunds for 30 days after the first purchase. You can ask through live chat or use a refund button in your account. Apple handles App Store purchases, and Amazon handles Amazon purchases. Windscribe gives 7 days, or 7 business days in its terms, if you have used less than 10 GB. It does not refund renewals.

Which should you buy?

Buy NordVPN if you want any of these:

• The no-logs audit record
• The biggest published network
• TV apps, with SmartDNS as a fallback
• Meshnet
• A dedicated IP
• Live chat when something breaks

Set a reminder for the renewal, because $139.08 a year is more than three times the intro price.

Buy Windscribe if you want any of these:

• A price that does not move
• Unlimited devices
• Port forwarding
• Post-quantum WireGuard by default
• A free plan to test with
• A provider that will never sell you a dedicated IP, on principle

Accept that nobody has audited its no-logs claim, and that support is a chatbot and a ticket queue.

Skip NordVPN if you need port forwarding or IPv6. Skip Windscribe if you need an audited no-logs policy or a refund window longer than a week.

Alternatives

• For NordVPN against its closest rivals, see NordVPN vs Surfshark, where the two share an owner and Surfshark allows unlimited devices. Also see ExpressVPN vs NordVPN and NordVPN vs Proton VPN, which covers open-source apps and a free tier.
• For Windscribe against the other free-tier provider with audits, see Proton VPN vs Windscribe.
• For a flat price from a privacy-first company, see Mullvad vs NordVPN.

Every published pair is on the comparison hub.

How we compared them

Every row in the table comes from our data records for the two providers. We verified them against the official pricing, feature, server, policy and audit pages on 31 October 2026. Scores come from our published methodology. Speed is left out until our lab measures it. We recompute the scores whenever the data changes, so this page describes the differences instead of quoting the numbers. The full detail is in our NordVPN review and Windscribe review.