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Asked why it had never published an audit, PrivateVPN’s support reportedly told a reviewer there was nothing to audit, because it keeps no logs. NordVPN has taken the opposite approach, with six published no-logs audits by PwC and Deloitte. That difference sits at the centre of NordVPN vs PrivateVPN.
On almost everything else, PrivateVPN is surprisingly competitive. It costs around $2 a month on its longest plan, includes port forwarding, gives one plan a free dedicated IP, and streams well. The question is how much verification is worth to you.
NordVPN vs PrivateVPN: The Short Answer
Choose NordVPN for privacy you can check. It rates 4.8 in our NordVPN review, with six published audits, a far larger network and 2.9% speed loss in CNET’s testing.
Choose PrivateVPN for price and extras, if you accept an unaudited provider. It rates 3.2 in our PrivateVPN review, with port forwarding at no charge and strong streaming reports.
Both allow ten devices and give 30 days to claim a refund.
Audited Against Nothing to Audit
PrivateVPN’s answer inverts the purpose of an audit. A no-logs claim is an assertion, and an audit checks whether it holds, so saying there is nothing to audit restates the claim rather than proving it. The same reviewer was told PrivateVPN’s servers are disk-based rather than RAM-only.
NordVPN’s claim has been checked six times, by PwC and Deloitte, and its servers run from RAM. Our audit tracker and our no-logs guide explain why that difference matters more than any policy wording.
⚠️ None of this makes PrivateVPN dishonest. No incident has ever been attached to it in seventeen years. It simply offers the weakest available form of evidence: a claim, with no verification and no architecture behind it.
| Provider | No-logs audits | Auditor | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 6 | PwC, Deloitte | Panama |
| Surfshark | 2 | Deloitte | Netherlands (9 Eyes) |
| ExpressVPN | 3 | KPMG (28 security reports in total) | British Virgin Islands, Kape-owned |
| CyberGhost | 3 | Deloitte | Romania, Kape-owned |
| PureVPN | 4 | KPMG | BVI, operated from Pakistan |
| IPVanish | 2 | Leviathan, Schellman | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| Windscribe | 1 | Packetlabs, production infrastructure | Canada (Five Eyes); Greek case dismissed, no data to give |
| Proton VPN | 5 | Securitum | Switzerland, moving infrastructure to EU |
| Private Internet Access | 3 | Deloitte | United States (Five Eyes), Kape-owned |
| Mullvad | 10+ | Cure53, Assured AB | Sweden (14 Eyes) |
| TunnelBear | Annual since 2017 | Cure53 | Canada (Five Eyes), US parent |
| Norton VPN | 2 | VerSprite | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Hotspot Shield | 0 | protocol audited, policy not | United States (Five Eyes) |
| AirVPN | 0 | none — the client is open source instead | Italy (14 Eyes) |
| IVPN | 8, annual since inception | Cure53 | Gibraltar (status disputed) |
| Hide.me | 1 modern, in 2024 | Securitum, though one source names Altius IT | Malaysia (outside the alliances) |
| PrivadoVPN | 0 | none in six years of operation | Iceland (moved from Switzerland, 2026) |
| TorGuard | 0 | none; settled a lawsuit without disclosing records | United States (Five Eyes) |
| FastestVPN | 1, in 2023 | Altius IT | Cayman Islands (outside the alliances) |
| StrongVPN | 0 | none in over two decades | United States (Five Eyes), Ziff Davis-owned |
| VyprVPN | 1, in 2018 | Leviathan Security, before the 2023 sale | United States (Five Eyes), Certida-owned since 2023 |
| PrivateVPN | 0 | none; support says there is nothing to audit | Sweden (14 Eyes), ownership disputed |
| ZoogVPN | 0 | none; support describes one as planned | Greece (outside the alliances), run from Ukraine |
| Malwarebytes Privacy VPN | 1, in 2026 | X41 D-Sec, white-box over two months | United States (Five Eyes), runs AzireVPN infrastructure |
| Astrill | 0 | — | Disputed: Seychelles or Liechtenstein |
Jurisdiction and Ownership
NordVPN operates from Panama, outside the intelligence-sharing alliances, and belongs to Nord Security, which also owns Surfshark.
PrivateVPN operates from Sweden, inside the Fourteen Eyes arrangement. Sweden is also Mullvad’s home, where a 2023 police search found nothing, but PrivateVPN has had no comparable test. Sources also disagree on its owner: most name Privat Kommunikation Sverige AB, while one reports that the hosting group Miss Group bought it in 2022. Our ownership guide records both.
Price
NordVPN Basic costs $94.23 for 27 months, then $139.08 a year. Our NordVPN pricing page covers every plan.
PrivateVPN costs around $2 a month on its three-year plan, among the cheapest reputable options our review found. Check the renewal figure at checkout before committing to three years, since it decides the long-term total, as our renewal price table explains.
Features Where PrivateVPN Leads
Port forwarding: PrivateVPN includes it, along with SOCKS5 support; NordVPN offers neither port forwarding on standard plans. Our port forwarding guide lists who still does.
Dedicated IP: one PrivateVPN plan includes a free dedicated address. NordVPN sells one as an add-on. Our dedicated IP guide explains who needs one, and why a static address works against anonymity.
Streaming: reviewers report Netflix, iPlayer, Disney+ and Prime Video working reliably on PrivateVPN. NordVPN ranked first for Netflix in VPNpro’s 2026 comparison, so both are strong here.
Where NordVPN Leads
Network and speed. PrivateVPN runs around 200 servers in 63 countries, concentrated in the UK and US, and speed reports range from 300 Mbps to losses of 35 to 50%. NordVPN’s network is many times larger, and its loss in CNET’s testing was 2.9%. Our speed guide explains the figures.
Apps and support. PrivateVPN’s interface draws consistent criticism as dated, and live chat is not staffed around the clock. NordVPN’s apps are among its strengths.
Torrenting and Restrictive Networks
For seeding, PrivateVPN has the better toolkit. It permits torrenting with port forwarding and SOCKS5 support, a combination fewer providers offer each year. NordVPN allows P2P on dedicated servers but forwards no ports. Our torrenting guide explains when port forwarding matters. ExpressVPN vs PrivateVPN covers the same choice from another angle.
Both offer obfuscation. PrivateVPN has a Stealth mode and NordVPN has obfuscated servers and NordWhisper. Neither provider’s mode is independently tested in a way that settles which works better, as our obfuscation guide notes. Astrill vs PrivateVPN covers the same choice from another angle.
Protocols are similar. Both support WireGuard-based connections and OpenVPN, so the protocol choice will not decide between them.
Which One
NordVPN if verified privacy, speed and a large network matter, and you plan around its renewal.
PrivateVPN for a low price with port forwarding and a free dedicated IP, if you are comfortable relying on an unaudited claim. PrivateVPN against Mullvad sets it against a Swedish provider that publishes audits, and our cheap VPN guide covers other budget options.
How We Research
NordVPN’s prices come from its pricing page, read on 25 September 2026, and its audits and speed from our tables and review. PrivateVPN’s support answers, price, features, network and the disputes over its ownership and speed come from our PrivateVPN review, which names its sources. We do not run our own tests. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
NordVPN vs PrivateVPN FAQ
For verified privacy, speed and network size, yes. NordVPN rates 4.8 against PrivateVPN’s 3.2 in our reviews, with six published audits against none. PrivateVPN’s advantages are price, port forwarding and a free dedicated IP on one plan.
No. Its support reportedly told a reviewer there was nothing to audit because it keeps no logs. It also runs disk-based rather than RAM-only servers.
PrivateVPN, at around $2 a month on its three-year plan. NordVPN Basic costs $94.23 for 27 months, then $139.08 a year.
PrivateVPN does, at no extra charge. NordVPN does not on its standard plans.
Reviewers report Netflix, iPlayer, Disney+ and Prime Video working reliably. NordVPN is also strong for streaming and ranked first in VPNpro’s 2026 Netflix comparison.
The Verdict
NordVPN is the better choice for privacy, speed and scale. Six published audits and RAM-only servers are exactly what PrivateVPN’s support answer lacks.
PrivateVPN earns its place as a budget streaming and torrenting option, with port forwarding and a free dedicated IP. Choose it knowing that its no-logs claim has never been checked.