NordVPN vs CyberGhost Comparison 2023: Which VPN Should You Choose?

Key Takeaways: CyberGhost vs NordVPN

• The main difference between NordVPN and CyberGhost is that NordVPN is faster and more reliable at unblocking streaming services.
• NordVPN’s fast speeds ensure that you can stream HD movies, download large files quickly and play games without any lag.
• CyberGhost is a cheaper alternative in the long term, and its apps have a beginner-friendly design. 

If you’ve whittled down your VPN search to NordVPN and CyberGhost, you’re well on your way to finding a premium VPN service. Both VPN providers offer choice features, affordable pricing and excellent performance. However, there are subtle differences, as you’ll discover in this NordVPN vs CyberGhost comparison.

Our aim in this comparison is to show you which VPN is better suited for specific use cases, to help you make a decision. If you want the short version, we recommend NordVPN; it’s notably fast, provides complete online security and unblocks streaming platforms. CyberGhost is a cheaper long-term option and better suited for beginners. We delve deep into these VPNs in our review.

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How Did We Rate NordVPN vs CyberGhost

We came to our conclusions in this CyberGhost VPN vs NordVPN comparison by examining the VPNs feature by feature, noting their commonalities and differences — even the subtle ones. If you want to check out each of these VPNs further, we’ve taken the time to review each one. Read our CyberGhost review and NordVPN review for a deep dive into each service.

CyberGhost vs NordVPN: Similarities & Differences

	Visit NordVPN	Visit Cyberghost
	$3.59 / month(All Plans) 30-days money-back guarantee	$2.37 / month(All Plans) 45-days money-back guarantee
	Review	Review
General
Payment methods	PayPal, Credit card, Google Pay, AmazonPay, ACH Transfer, Cash	PayPal, Credit card, bitcoin, Amazon Pay
Accepts cryptocurrency
Simultaneous connections	6	7
Supports split tunneling
Unlimited bandwidth
Free trial available	7 days on mobile
Refund period
Worldwide server amount	5,000 servers in 59 countries	9861 servers in 91 countries
Desktop OSes	Windows, MacOS, Linux	Windows, MacOS, Linux
Mobile OSes	Android, iOS	Android, iOS
Browser extensions	Chrome, Firefox, Edge	Chrome, Firefox
Can be installed on routers
Streaming
Can access Netflix US
Can access BBC iPlayer
Can access Hulu
Can access Amazon Prime Video
Security
Encryption types	256-AES, ChaCha20	256-AES, ChaCha20
VPN protocols available	OpenVPN, IKEv2, NordLynx	OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard
Enabled at device startup
Allows torrenting
No-logging policy
Passed DNS leak test
Killswitch available
Malware/ad blocker included
Support
Live Chat	24/7	24/7
Email support	24/7	24/7
Phone support
User forum
Knowledgebase

Similarities

Let’s start by exploring what NordVPN and CyberGhost have in common.

Apps and Configurations

NordVPN and CyberGhost have apps designed for almost any platform. Both services have apps for Windows, Android, macOS, iOS and Linux devices, along with browser extensions for various browsers, including Chrome and Firefox.

Thanks to NordVPN and CyberGhost’s compatibility with routers, you can enjoy protection on any device connected to your home network. This includes smart TVs like Apple TVs and Samsung TVs, and gaming consoles, including the PS4, Xbox One and Wii. In fact, both VPNs make our best VPNs for routers list.

We noticed that some of NordVPN’s apps can be used on platforms they aren’t explicitly built for. For instance, the Linux app works well with Raspberry Pi. If you’re using a Chromebook, try out the Android app.

Split Tunneling

CyberGhost and NordVPN offer split tunneling. This feature lets you choose which apps are protected by the VPN and which ones are not. Using the split tunneling feature is a smart way to conserve your bandwidth and ensure fast speeds.

NordVPN’s split tunneling works on its Windows, Android and Android TV apps.

With NordVPN, on Windows 8.1 and later, you can select specific apps to go through the VPN tunnel. Inverse split tunneling, which encrypts your traffic on all apps by default and excludes ones on an allowlist, is available on Windows (8.1 and later), Android and Android TV. You can also exclude specific URLs on NordVPN’s browser extensions.

CyberGhost has app-based split tunneling on its Android app. This allows you to exclude or include applications in your VPN protection. On Windows and Mac, there’s a URL-based split tunneling feature known as “exceptions.” With this feature, you can protect specific websites that you visit.

Dedicated IP Address

Instead of using shared IPs with other VPN users, you can purchase a dedicated IP from NordVPN and CyberGhost. These are static IP addresses that you get all to yourself.

The problem with shared IPs is that, if a user abuses them, they can be blocklisted by websites. Plus, banks and sensitive websites might ask for repeated verification if they notice your account being accessed by different IPs. That’s why dedicated IPs are great for remote working, smooth and safe online transactions, and bypassing online restrictions.

Note that dedicated IPs are not automatically included in a VPN subscription with either provider; you’ll have to purchase one separately.

CyberGhost’s dedicated IPs start from $2.50 per month (billed every two years), and the available server locations are the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands and Canada. A dedicated IP from NordVPN is a little more expensive, costing $5.89 per month (billed yearly).

However, NordVPN offers all of CyberGhost’s dedicated server locations and more, including Italy, Spain and Japan. 

Privacy

In terms of privacy, NordVPN and CyberGhost are neck and neck. Both VPN providers indicate in their privacy policy that they won’t save your personal information or share it with advertisers. Their no-logs policies have both been independently audited and verified by Deloitte, one of the Big Four auditing companies worldwide.

Another privacy aspect we look at is the parent company. Oftentimes, the VPN might be bound by a strict no-logs policy but still share information with its parent company, which might not be bound by the policy. In our review, we didn’t find any such loopholes with either service.

NordVPN’s parent company is Nord Security, which also owns Surfshark, one of the best VPNs around. The company has not experienced any controversy as of yet, but NordVPN suffered a minor breach when a hacker got hold of a user’s credentials. NordVPN responded quickly by removing the account and auditing all of its servers.

CyberGhost is owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access (PIA) and ZenMate. Kape Technologies’ history is concerning. It was previously known as Crossrider and was involved in creating malware that infected at least one customer’s computer system.

While there’s no evidence that Kape Technologies was aware of the situation, the incident has made us wary of the company and its subsidiaries.

Both CyberGhost and NordVPN are located in privacy-friendly jurisdictions. CyberGhost is located in Romania, while NordVPN is based in Panama. Both locations don’t have mandatory data retention laws, so VPN services are not forced by the government to retain your data.

Kill Switch

A kill switch serves as a failsafe, disconnecting you from the internet if your VPN connection drops so that you’re never caught unawares browsing unprotected. NordVPN and CyberGhost offer kill switches on various devices, including Windows, macOS, Android and iOS devices. However, unlike CyberGhost, NordVPN’s kill switch is also available on Linux.

CyberGhost’s kill switch is automatically enabled across all devices, while you’ll have to manually activate NordVPN’s kill switch. There is no option to turn off CyberGhost’s kill switch on mobile devices.

CyberGhost’s kill switch is system-wide, meaning it will disconnect your device entirely from the internet if the VPN accidentally disconnects. Meanwhile, NordVPN offers app-level kill switches on Windows and Mac (when using the OpenVPN protocol). This means that on those devices, you can decide which applications need the extra protection.

Simultaneous Connections

NordVPN allows you to connect to six devices at the same time on one subscription. CyberGhost offers a little more: seven simultaneous connections. Both offers are good if you need to use your VPN on many devices at the same time. For instance, you can use a NordVPN or CyberGhost subscription on your phone, laptop, workstation and tablet at the same time.

That said, there are VPNs with better offers. For example, Surfshark doesn’t limit the number of devices you can connect to at the same time. You can learn more about this top provider in our Surfshark review.

Customer Support

Customer support is another area where both VPNs shine. If you hit a snag while using either of them, you can check out their knowledgebases, which have setup guides, FAQs and troubleshooting guides.

If the knowledgebase doesn’t help you, you can email or send a ticket to their customer support agents. For immediate help, each service has a live-chat feature. Thankfully, both NordVPN and CyberGhost’s support staff are kind, prompt and helpful.

Differences

Now, let’s examine the differences between NordVPN and CyberGhost — there are a fair few. 

Speed

When it comes to speed, NordVPN and CyberGhost are far apart. While NordVPN is a speed demon, CyberGhost offers inconsistent speeds across the board.

If you look at the graphs from our speed tests, you’ll notice that NordVPN offers download speeds near or at the top of the range. In our best fast VPN tests, NordVPN is second only to Surfshark with regards to U.S. download speeds. In contrast, CyberGhost’s download speed is lower than average. As a result, we recommend NordVPN if you intend to stream HD movies, download files or engage in P2P torrenting.

Concerning upload speed, CyberGhost matches NordVPN’s performance both worldwide and in the U.S. This pattern suggests that both providers are good picks if you often upload files — such as if you’re a YouTube content creator. However, we still recommend NordVPN over CyberGhost for uploading thanks to its more consistent performance.

For a seamless gaming experience, you need a VPN with low latency (ping). As you can see from the graphs, NordVPN’s average and day-to-day latencies are far lower than CyberGhost’s, making it the preferred choice for playing games.

Security

CyberGhost and NordVPN secure data using AES-256 encryption, which is just about as secure as it gets. Both VPNs offer OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec protocols. OpenVPN is the go-to VPN protocol, and it’s great for speed and security; IKEv2 is better suited for mobile devices because it’s able to reconnect quickly when you’re switching networks.

In addition to the protocols above, CyberGhost offers the WireGuard protocol. It’s an open-source, lightweight and generally fast protocol, which is excellent if you want fast speeds. NordVPN has its own take on the WireGuard protocol, called NordLynx. NordLynx is partly responsible for NordVPN’s consistently great showings in our speed tests.

Security-wise, NordVPN has the upper hand over CyberGhost because of security features like double VPN, which encrypts your traffic twice. There’s also a dark web monitor, which regularly checks the dark web and informs you if your personal data is compromised.

Prices

If you want either NordVPN or CyberGhost on a monthly rate, you’ll have to pay the same amount: $12.99. 

NordVPN has a yearly plan, which costs $4.99 per month. CyberGhost doesn’t have an annual plan, but it has a six-month plan priced at $6.99 per month. This is one of the cheapest six-month plans around. For comparison, ExpressVPN’s six-month plan costs $9.99 per month (see our ExpressVPN vs CyberGhost article for more info).

The real difference between NordVPN’s and CyberGhost’s plan pricing lies in their two-year plans. At $3.59 per month, NordVPN’s two-year offer is relatively expensive. CyberGhost’s two-year plan is a bargain plan, costing only $2.37 per month. Plus, it comes with three months free.

Unlike CyberGhost, NordVPN has a suite pricing plan. The Plus plan adds a cross-platform password manager and a data breach scanner to the VPN service, and it starts at $4.49 per month for two years. The Complete plan includes 1TB storage on top of that and costs $5.84 per month for two years.

If you would like to see a simpler pricing plan, check out our article on VyprVPN vs NordVPN.

Free Trials and Money-back Guarantee

NordVPN has a seven-day free trial on Android, while CyberGhost’s free trials vary by platform: There’s a three-day free trial for Android devices, a seven-day trial period for iOS and a 24-hour free trial for Windows and macOS desktop devices. You won’t need to enter your credit card details before accessing the free trial.

You can also use each VPN’s money-back guarantee, which is essentially a free-trial period. CyberGhost offers two money-back guarantees: 14 days for the monthly plan and a 45-day period for the six-month and two-year plans. The 45-day refund window is unique in the VPN space, since most VPN services, including NordVPN, offer a 30-day refund window across the board.

Server Locations

CyberGhost’s server count of more than 9,000 servers in more than 90 countries suggests that you’ll be able to find a nearby server regardless of your location. NordVPN’s server count is less, but not too far behind: over 5,000 servers in more than 60 countries.

We reviewed both VPNs’s server spread and confirmed our hunch that CyberGhost is better for providing a wide range of IP addresses. The bulk of NordVPN’s servers are in Europe and the United States, but CyberGhost’s are spread out better. For example, CyberGhost has VPN servers in 10 countries in Africa/The Middle East, compared to NordVPN’s count of four.

Streaming Performance

If you’re after a VPN for streaming, NordVPN is more reliable than CyberGhost. As you can see in our NordVPN review, NordVPN cracked every streaming service we pitted it against, including tough nuts like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and Disney Plus.

In our testing, CyberGhost was able to unblock all the streaming services mentioned above except Amazon Prime Video. However, we had to change servers a few times to get into Hulu and Disney Plus. The VPN opens Netflix on the first attempt, but if you hit a snag, be sure to read our guide on how to use Netflix with CyberGhost.

Cyberghost’s inability to open Hulu and Disney Plus gives NordVPN the edge over CyberGhost in terms of streaming.

CyberGhost has specialized servers optimized for streaming with the most popular streaming services, but also for lesser-known options like Paramount+, Peacock TV, ITV, DAZN, MolotovTV, YoutubeTV, Sky Go and France TV. Although NordVPN doesn’t have dedicated servers for such, any of its regular servers should get the job done just fine.

Ease of Use

In our experience, both NordVPN and CyberGhost are easy to install and use. However, CyberGhost keeps things simpler, making it easier to connect to a server right off the bat.

CyberGhost’s app homepage features a large power button, which allows you to connect to the fastest server automatically. Underneath, CyberGhost allows you to choose specific servers to connect to.

Our main issue when using NordVPN is its clunky server map, which takes up a lot of space on its app homepage. Unless you’re a geography buff, you might find the map tricky to use. Plus, it can be quite slow when switching between servers. We recommend using the server list instead, since it’s more straightforward.

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Which Is Better: NordVPN vs CyberGhost?

NordVPN or CyberGhost? It depends on your needs. NordVPN beats CyberGhost in many departments, but CyberGhost is usually not too far behind. NordVPN offers a few more security features, like multi-hop, threat protection and a dark web monitor.

NordVPN is also faster than CyberGhost. It has better download speeds and latency, making it the better choice for streaming movies and TV shows, gaming and torrenting. Although CyberGhost can unblock most streaming services, NordVPN is a more consistent performer. You can rely on it for access to the most stubborn streaming services, even Netflix.

That said, CyberGhost has a lot going for it. Its apps are designed with beginners in mind, so you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding your way around or understanding what the features do. You can also test it out for a longer period: 45 days instead of NordVPN’s 30 days. CyberGhost is great for traveling around the world, thanks to its large server spread and ability to bypass geoblocks.

We Recommend NordVPN If You Want…

• A fast VPN: NordVPN has exceptional download and upload speeds, making it the ideal choice for streaming, torrenting and gaming.
• A VPN for streaming: NordVPN is able to unblock any streaming service you throw at it.
• A secure VPN: NordVPN offers the strongest available encryption, protocols and security features, including a double VPN, a dark web monitor and obfuscated servers.

We Recommend CyberGhost If You Want…

• A beginner-friendly VPN: CyberGhost’s apps are well designed, well organized and easy to navigate.
• An affordable VPN: CyberGhost’s two-year plan is a killer deal, and you can connect to seven devices at once.
• A large server spread: CyberGhost has over 9,000 servers in more than 90 countries.

If You Want to Consider Other Services, Check Out…

The Verdict: Why We Think NordVPN Wins Overall

From our examination and testing, NordVPN edges CyberGhost out in the most vital departments. It has lots of extra security features to keep you out of harm’s way on the internet. Plus, its speed makes it the favored pick for streaming, gaming and torrenting.

CyberGhost is not a bad choice, mainly owing to its large server network. Its beginner-friendly apps are very nice and come with a very shallow learning curve. CyberGhost also allows you to connect to more devices than NordVPN, but since you can connect both VPNs to a router and enjoy unlimited protection, it’s not a huge advantage.

What did you think of our Cyberghost vs NordVPN comparison? Do you agree with our conclusion that NordVPN is the better choice overall, unless you’re looking for something more affordable or with a larger server spread? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

FAQ: CyberGhost vs NordVPN VPNs Compared

• Is CyberGhost Faster Than NordVPN?

  NordVPN is faster than CyberGhost on all counts. Its download speeds are faster, upload speeds more reliable and latency much lower.

• Is There a Better VPN Than NordVPN?

  ExpressVPN outshines NordVPN in many respects. It has a larger server spread, boasts obfuscation on all its servers and is much more user-friendly.

• What Is the Disadvantage of CyberGhost?

  CyberGhost has inconsistent download speeds. This makes it a less-than-ideal pick for streaming and downloading.

• Is CyberGhost the Fastest VPN?

  CyberGhost doesn’t rank among the fastest VPNs. That honor belongs to NordVPN, with runners-up including ExpressVPN and Surfshark.