CyberGhost vs. NordVPN: Which is the Ideal Choice?

How do these compare?

Both providers offer a top-notch product with apps for every device, thousands of servers across the globe, incredible customer support, excellent security protocols, zero-logs privacy policy, etc. In short, both are comparable. 

However, if measured on a virtual scale, one is better than the other in some aspects. Which ones and how? Let’s find out.

CyberGhost vs. NordVPN: Features

The kind of features and the need for features a VPN provider offers can differ. Hence, it can be a deciding factor if only one has the feature you need. In addition to that, having the standard features such as kill switch and quick connect is also vital.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost offers almost all features without giving any fancy names to it. The package includes the following features (as they title it on official site):

• Unblock streaming services
• Access restricted content
• Torrent anonymously
• Automatic kill switch
• OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard® protocols
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Online tracking blocking
• Ads & Malware blocking
• Tor compatible

Overall, CyberGhost offers all the primary set of essential and non-essential features.

NordVPN 

NordVPN has been the features-king throughout our comparisons, reviews, and listicles. It has all the features any commercial VPN has. We mentioned “fancy names” in the previous section because NordVPN markets the same features with different titles. 

Here are the features:

• OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard protocols
• Cybersec to block ads, malicious sites, and unsafe connections.
• DoubleVPN to hop your traffic through two encrypted servers, essentially making it extra secure & private.
• Obfuscated Servers to bypass network restrictions and internet firewalls. With this server, it can go around the great firewall of china.
• P2P servers for torrenting.
• Smartplay for secure and smooth streaming of restricted content.
• Kill Switch to stop the internet activities in case the VPN gets disconnected. NordVPN has two versions of this- apps-only kill switch & internet kill switch.
• Onion over VPN to pass you traffic from a VPN server into an “Onion network” for anonymity.
• Leak Protection from IP or DNS leaks.
• Split Tunneling- a feature that lets selected apps to run on the local servers/ISP or public network, while others use the VPN tunnel. It wasn’t a feature on NordVPN a year or so ago, and it still is only accessible via mobile device and browser extensions.
• SmartDNS “to set up unrestricted access to streaming content on your smart TV and other devices”.
• 30-day money-back guarantee.

All in all, that’s the list of features NordVPN offers. Alternatively, we can say it’s a list of features all the VPN providers select from & integrate into their product.

Verdict

Though NordVPN and CyberGhost offer fantastic features, NordVPN wins it because of its obfuscated servers that can bypass China’s firewall. Moreover, CyberGhost doesn’t have a multi-hop VPN option, while NordVPN has Doube VPN.

Winner: NordVPN

CyberGhost vs. NordVPN: Ease of Use

Both VPNs have apps for all major devices, including iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, FireTV,  Linux, and smart TVs. Moreover, Chrome and Firefox extensions are also available. These options make both VPN easily accessible, and it’s a significant part of “ease of use”. 

However, how easy all these apps are to use will determine the winner of this user-friendliness factor.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost’s UI is minimalistic and compact. They have chosen to fit as little as possible on its dashboard. Therefore, when you launch the app, there’s only one connect/disconnect button in the middle, which will connect you to a random server.

To choose a specific server, you will need to expand the UI. There, you can either search for the server of your choice, or filter the servers depending on the activity- torrenting, streaming, or surfing.

Overall, we really like the effort put into categorizing servers for activities. However, the “minimal” design that demands an extra step to choose a server of choice can be a dealbreaker for some.

NordVPN

NordVPN’s design is a bit bulky but more practical compared to CyberGhost. Once you log in, all the connection options are right there.

• You can quickly connect to a random server.

• You can filter the server depending on the activity & requirements- P2P, DoubleVPN, etc.

• You can search for a server via the country & servers list on the left.

• Also, you can select the server from the map UI. It has all the servers/locations marked. 

All in all, we love NordVPN’s practical approach to UI instead of making a fancy interface. This makes for great user experience, in our opinion.

Verdict

Both NordVPN and CyberGhost have their way of looking at UI/UX. A layperson can easily understand either interface. However, two main differences make NordVPN a more user-friendly option for us:

1. NordVPN has a map-view which CyberGhost doesn’t. Firstly, it makes selecting a server a little easier. But more importantly, if you fail to connect to a server, you can simply pick a nearby server from the map directly.

2. CyberGhost’s minimal UI sacrifices its UX a bit. Whereas, NordVPN’s dashboard looks full but is practically better.

Winner: NordVPN

CyberGhost vs NordVPN: Pricing

From the average users’ perspective, the cost of the VPN is important. There’s a budget, and anything beyond that ⁠— no matter how good ⁠— is simply unaffordable. 

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is one of the top low-cost VPNs in the market. The 18-month plan costs a mere $2.75/month! With this plan, you can connect up to seven devices. In short, it’s super-affordable.

NordVPN

NordVPN is also economical. You can buy the 2-year plan for $3.71/month. This plan supports up to six devices connections simultaneously! 

Verdict

NordVPN is cheaper compared to Cyberghost in Monthly plan Section. However, both VPNs are bang for the buck. For the extra cost, NordVPN offers the additional value in form of better speed & features. Still, for this section:

Winner: NordVPN

Cyberghost vs NordVPN: Conclusion