Here’s our winner for each category:
Security: NordVPN Speed: A Tie Privacy: NordVPN Price: CyberGhost Ease of use: NordVPN Customer service: NordVPN
In our opinion, NordVPN beats CyberGhost in most categories. It just feels like a better-polished product overall. CyberGhost remains a solid choice, but NordVPN is a clear winner in our book. During our tests, we started by judging NordVPN and CyberGhost on their own merit. We then compared their essential aspects and drew our conclusions. If you’re stuck choosing between these two VPN giants, take a look at our full comparison below.
NordVPN vs CyberGhost: Functionality, Features, and Other Options
CyberGhost vs NordVPN: Which VPN Is More Secure?
Security is the most important factor to keep in mind when choosing a good VPN. We face more threats than ever — from hackers and spying agencies to meddling internet providers. They all have their reasons for trying to get their hands on your data, for example, to control you or sell it to the highest bidder. Your VPN has to keep you safe in this increasingly harsh landscape. Here’s what we found out while comparing the security setups of NordVPN and CyberGhost.
Connection protocols
CyberGhost and NordVPN support very similar VPN tunnels, with the only difference being that CyberGhost uses pure WireGuard while NordVPN swaps this for a proprietary protocol. Here are the VPN protocols supported by these two providers:
OpenVPN (TCP-UDP): This open-source protocol is known for its speed, stability, and security. It can be used on any TCP or UDP port, which allows it to bypass restrictive firewalls. Note that the TCP connection is slower, but more resilient. UDP is faster, but easily blocked. IKEv2/IPsec: This is considered the most stable protocol, as it won’t drop connection during network switches, making it ideal for mobile users and people who travel a lot. Note that CyberGhost’s site lists this protocol as just “IKEv2”, without the “IPsec” part. This may cause some confusion, since the two usually work together. This is also the case for CyberGhost. They simply chose to use a more compact (and slightly less accurate) name for it. WireGuard (CyberGhost) or NordLynx (NordVPN): WireGuard has a much smaller codebase than OpenVPN, which gives hackers fewer potential targets. NordVPN’s proprietary protocol NordLynx is based around WireGuard and takes the protocol’s amazing speeds while eliminating its privacy problems.
This is a stellar roster of VPN protocols with WireGuard and especially NordLynx being the best option, in our opinion. This protocol somehow manages to maintain blazing speeds without sacrificing your security. This makes WireGuard/NordLynx ideal for anything from streaming Netflix in HD to online gaming with a VPN. Its tiny codebase makes it easier to develop, maintain, and troubleshoot. We honestly believe that WireGuard (and its offshoots) are the future of VPN technology.
Encryption and extra features
Both NordVPN and CyberGhost scramble your traffic with 256-bit encryption. OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec use the AES cipher while WireGuard uses ChaCha20. By international standards, this is the highest level of security offered by VPN services. Both VPNs come with an automatic kill switch that prevents data leaks if the client disconnects for whatever reason. NordVPN recently launched a feature called “Threat Detection,” which allows you to block malware, ads, and trackers from your VPN client. CyberGhost has a special Security Suite for this, which is billed separately from their VPN. So, we have to give the edge to NordVPN here. NordVPN also offers some great features you won’t get with CyberGhost:
Obfuscated (or stealth) servers: These servers will mask your VPN traffic to look like regular browsing. This will help you unblock Netflix US and bypass internet censorship. If a VPN filter “thinks” you’re not using a VPN, you don’t have to worry about being blocked. Double VPN (or multi-hop): This feature lets you route your traffic through more than one VPN server. If someone manages to crack the first tunnel, they will just hit the second VPN server (instead of your device and real IP address). The use of multi-hop is only recommended in censorship-heavy countries like China. Two encrypted tunnels will affect your speed considerably, so do not use this feature unless you have to.
Conclusion: the most secure VPN
Both NordVPN and CyberGhost are very secure and feature-rich. However, CyberGhost uses “vanilla” WireGuard, which we consider inferior to NordLynx, and doesn’t quite match NordVPN’s list of security tools. That’s why we have to give the win to NordVPN. Most secure VPN: NordVPN
NordVPN vs CyberGhost: Which VPN Is Faster?
To compare the speed of these VPNs, we conducted speed tests for both. We first had to set our benchmark speed by testing our connection without a VPN. This is our “control” value. We then tested NordVPN’s and CyberGhost’s local and international servers. The results are provided in the table below, with the best scores highlighted in bold. During daily use, we didn’t notice any speed drops with either NordVPN or CyberGhost. Nevertheless, each VPN has its strengths. CyberGhost had better downloads and pings on local servers. However, NordVPN scored better on international locations. In addition, NordVPN also seems to get much higher local upload speeds. Having said all that, both providers still leave you with plenty of speed for all your favorite tasks. This includes streaming in full HD, online gaming without lag, torrenting, and anything else you can think of. Since the differences between the two providers are so minimal in this category, we have to declare a tie for speed. Fastest VPN: Tie
NordVPN vs CyberGhost: Which VPN Protects Your Data Better?
In our opinion, you can’t have good security without bulletproof privacy. All the security features in the world mean very little if your personal data ends up in the wrong hands, anyway. The only way to ensure complete anonymity is a true zero-logging VPN. Let’s see how NordVPN and CyberGhost handle your personal information.
NordVPN’s privacy details
NordVPN is located in Panama, which is considered a VPN-friendly location. This allows VPN providers to implement true zero-logging policies. All you need to create your NordVPN account is a viable email address. You can pay with Bitcoin. Although not 100% anonymous, BTC payments are still lightyears ahead of credit cards when it comes to privacy. NordVPN has undergone an independent audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG (one of the “Big 4” auditing firms). This was the first logging audit of such magnitude and it showed that NordVPN doesn’t keep any harmful logs. NordVPN’s diskless servers can’t store data permanently. These are also known as “RAM-only” servers, since they don’t have any hard drives to write on. NordVPN’s Smart DNS service allows you to browse the web without anybody logging your DNS queries. Without this, your ISP can see and record every site you visit. Usually, they’re even obligated to keep those records for years and hand them over when requested to do so by the government.
CyberGhost’s privacy details
CyberGhost is headquartered in Romania, which has no mandatory data retention laws. To create an account, you just need to provide your email address. You can pay with Bitcoin for your CyberGhost subscription. Note that add-ons such as CyberGhost Security Suite and dedicated IPs don’t support BTC payments. CyberGhost regularly publishes a “transparency report” that states how often they receive requests to release data. To date, CyberGhost has never complied with such requests. The company underwent an independent audit performed by QSCert. However, this audit only gauged the internal safety processes, not the information logging practices. The company records some anonymous data to improve its service. This involves keeping track of server loads, recording anonymized IPs and approximate locations (country only), transaction information, and billing methods.
NordVPN has a better privacy infrastructure in place. It runs on RAM-only servers and has a logging audit under its belt. With that in mind, we have to give the win to them. Most privacy-minded VPN: NordVPN
NordVPN or CyberGhost: Which Provider Is Cheaper?
CyberGhost has a slightly cheaper offer than NordVPN for its long-term subscription plan. Over the last few years, we’ve noticed that these two providers vary little in price. They’re both usually around the $2.00 to $3.00 per month mark. On a monthly subscription, however, CyberGhost is $1 cheaper at the moment. Below you’ll find a complete overview of NordVPN’s and CyberGhost’s monthly costs. Please note: With long-term subscriptions, you usually pay once for the entire subscription period. Therefore, you would be billed per subscription period and not per month. Prices also tend to change. We try to keep our pricing table up-to-date, but always check the VPN provider’s website for their current prices. The cheapest VPN: CyberGhost
CyberGhost or NordVPN: Which App Is Easier to Work With?
All good VPNs are very user-friendly. When comparing them, it’s usually more about personal preference than strict superiority. Nevertheless, we tested both clients to find clear distinctions between NordVPN and CyberGhost.
Differences between NordVPN’s and CyberGhost’s appearance
NordVPN provides a more visual representation of its global servers. It gives you a world map where you can select the country you wish to connect to and has a “Quick Connect” button. This is very intuitive and a nice addition to the traditional server lists. With NordVPN, you can also choose to display a standard server list. CyberGhost opts for the standard list view. Furthermore, it has a start screen with a clear “on/off” button. Another difference is that CyberGhost remains locked on the taskbar, by default. NordVPN’s client can be moved around, which is our preferred option. Also, you can “pause” the VPN for a couple of minutes when using NordVPN, an option not provided by CyberGhost.
Regarding the desktop and smartphone applications, we found that there is little difference between NordVPN and CyberGhost. NordVPN does feel a bit sleeker and more streamlined, though.
Installation process
NordVPN’s and CyberGhost’s installation processes are almost identical. You log in to their websites, navigate to the tab where you can download the VPN, and choose your operating system. An executable (.exe) file is then downloaded to your desktop. You open the file and go through the steps on the screen to install the VPN. All that’s left to do is open the software and log in. You do this by using the same login details you used to create your account. On smartphones, you can download the VPN app from the provider’s website, or you can install it from the App Store or Google Play. If you’re going with the latter option, make sure you’re downloading the right VPN. They feature plenty of apps that imitate these two giants and you don’t want those on your device. Since NordVPN offers a slightly better design with more intuitive options, we have to give the win for this round to them. However, both providers are very user-friendly and great options for both experienced and new VPN users. Most user-friendly VPN: NordVPN
Customer Service: How Well Are Users Supported?
In addition to ease of use, customer service is also a very important factor. Good customer support is the difference between solving your problems now or in a week. So, let’s see how NordVPN and CyberGhost handle user queries. Based on these results and the fact that NordVPN has the most up-to-date and accurate information on their website, we gave them the win. VPN with the best customer service: NordVPN
NordVPN or CyberGhost: Which VPN Is Better?
NordVPN and CyberGhost both offer stellar VPN services. You can see that Nord is a bigger company, however. Everything feels more streamlined and polished to perfection. Still, picking between the two is by no means an easy task, especially when we introduce your personal preferences as a variable. Let’s take a look at our winners for each category:
Security: NordVPN Speed: Tie Privacy: NordVPN Price: CyberGhost Ease of use: NordVPN Customer service: NordVPN
We would say that NordVPN scores better in the most important categories. Even when it loses, the differences are very small. Consequently, we recommend going with NordVPN. Having said that, CyberGhost remains a solid choice as well. Do you want to know how some other fantastic VPN providers hold up against NordVPN and CyberGhost? Check out our other VPN vs VPN articles to find out which VPN is the best choice.
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