Avast VPN and NordVPN represent two notably different tiers of VPN service, as reflected in their overall scores of 22% and 88% respectively. While both providers share a common set of core features including WireGuard protocol support, a kill switch, split tunneling, and P2P/torrenting capability, the depth of their performance and supporting infrastructure diverges considerably across nearly every tested category.
On the privacy and security front, NordVPN holds a strong advantage with a privacy audit score of 85%, suggesting its claims have been subjected to meaningful independent verification. It also includes a bug bounty program among its key features, indicating a proactive approach to identifying and resolving security vulnerabilities. Avast VPN scores just 8% in the privacy audit category, which raises questions about the transparency and verifiability of its privacy practices. Avast is based in the Czech Republic, an EU member state, while NordVPN operates under Panamanian jurisdiction, which is generally considered more favorable for privacy due to the absence of mandatory data retention laws.
Performance is another area where the two providers separate sharply. NordVPN achieved a perfect 100% in the speeds category, pointing to consistently fast and reliable connections across tested servers. Avast VPN scored 20% in the same category, suggesting noticeably slower or less consistent performance. NordVPN also earned a perfect score in streaming, confirming its ability to reliably access geo-restricted content, whereas Avast VPN scored 0% in this area, meaning it failed to meet the tested streaming benchmarks entirely.
Customer support is an important consideration for many users, and here the gap is equally stark. NordVPN received a perfect 100% in customer support, while Avast VPN scored 0%, indicating that meaningful, accessible support was not available or did not meet the criteria evaluated. For the graphical user interface, NordVPN again scored 100% compared to Avast VPN's 20%, suggesting a more polished and user-friendly experience.
One area where Avast VPN stands out is ethics, where it scored a perfect 100% compared to NordVPN's 67%. This may reflect differences in how each company handles business practices, data monetization, or corporate conduct beyond the VPN product itself. For users to whom ethical business behavior is a primary concern, this distinction is worth noting. Both services were tested without current pricing data available, so direct cost comparisons cannot be made at this time. Based on the tested evidence, NordVPN outperforms Avast VPN in the majority of measurable categories, though Avast VPN's ethics score is a meaningful differentiator for a specific subset of privacy-conscious users.