Norton VPN review: a solid VPN, as long as you watch the renewal price
Norton rebuilt its old Secure VPN into a much stronger product. Here's what you get on each plan, what it really costs after year one, and who should pick something else.
The short version
Norton VPN is a fast, easy-to-use VPN with an independently audited no-logs policy and genuinely helpful 24/7 phone support. It's held back by a device limit instead of a connection limit, weaker Mac and iPhone apps, and a renewal price that doubles after the first year.
A good fit if you
- want a VPN from a well-known security brand
- mainly use Windows or Android
- stream from other countries
- value phone support you can actually call
Look elsewhere if you
- have lots of devices in the house
- use mostly Mac or iPhone
- need Linux or router support
- want the lowest long-term price
What Norton VPN costs
Norton sells three VPN plans on its website, all billed yearly. The price you see is for the first year only. After that, the subscription renews automatically at the standard rate.
| Plan | Devices | First year | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 5 | $39.99 | VPN, ad blocker and tracker blocker |
| Plus | 5 | $49.99 | Standard, plus malware protection, password manager, dark web monitoring and 10 GB cloud backup |
| Ultimate | 10 | $59.99 | Plus, with 50 GB cloud backup and parental controls |
The real cost of the Standard plan
Standard is the plan most people need. Here's what you'd pay if you keep it for three years without switching or cancelling:
Three-year total: $199.97. Renewal prices for all plans are listed on Norton's pricing page and at checkout. Check the checkout page for the current figure, since Norton changes its offers often.
Two things work in your favor. Norton's 60-day money-back guarantee is twice as long as most VPNs offer, and there's a 7-day free trial, though it needs a card and only covers one device. You can turn off auto-renewal right after buying from My Account → My Subscriptions and still keep your full year.
About devices: Norton counts devices you've installed it on, not how many are connected at once. With 5 devices on Standard, a household with two phones, two laptops and a tablet is already at the limit, and adding a sixth means removing one first. Many rivals only limit simultaneous connections, or have no limit at all.
What Norton VPN does well
Privacy you can check
Norton's no-logs policy has been independently audited, most recently by the security firm VerSprite in 2025, and Norton publishes a quarterly transparency report on government data requests. Connections use current standard encryption, and the proprietary Mimic protocol adds post-quantum protection and disguises VPN traffic on networks that try to block it.
Fast, good at streaming
In Tom's Guide's hands-on testing, Norton VPN averaged around 1,000 Mbps over WireGuard on a nearby server, far more than you need for 4K streaming. The same testing found it unblocked US, UK, Canadian, Australian and Japanese Netflix libraries, plus Disney+, Prime Video and BBC iPlayer.
Real people on the phone
Norton offers 24/7 live chat and 24/7 phone support. Most VPNs, including big names like NordVPN and Surfshark, don't offer phone support at all.
The features you'd expect
- Kill switch on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone (on iPhone only with the Mimic protocol)
- Split tunneling on Windows, Mac and Android
- Double VPN (multi-hop) on four fixed routes, such as US–Canada and UK–Germany
- IP rotation in six countries, which changes your IP address while you're connected
- Auto-connect on unsecured Wi-Fi
- Ad blocker in the Chrome, Edge and Firefox extensions
- Apps for TV devices: Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV
Where it falls short
- The renewal price doubles. Standard goes from $39.99 to $79.99 a year.
- Device limits. 5 devices on Standard and Plus, 10 on Ultimate, counted by installation rather than active connections.
- Mac and iPhone are second-class. No OpenVPN on Apple devices, no split tunneling on iPhone, and testers have reported more bugs there.
- No Linux app and no router setup. Norton doesn't provide configuration files, so you can't install it on unsupported devices.
- Limited torrenting. Only five P2P servers, and no port forwarding.
- It won't run alongside Norton 360 on Windows. You have to uninstall Norton 360 first, which matters if you already use Norton's antivirus.
- US jurisdiction. Norton's parent company, Gen Digital, is co-headquartered in Arizona. The audited no-logs policy reduces the concern, but privacy purists may prefer a provider based in Switzerland or Panama.
- Not RAM-only. Many privacy-focused rivals now run servers that wipe all data on reboot. Norton doesn't yet.
- Some upselling. The Windows app promotes other Norton products, even on paid plans.
Norton VPN at a glance
| Servers | 3,400+ servers in 140 locations across 102 countries |
|---|---|
| Protocols | WireGuard (all apps), Mimic (all apps), OpenVPN (Windows, Android), IPSec (Mac, iPhone) |
| Apps | Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV; extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox |
| Not supported | Linux, routers, manual setup |
| No-logs audit | Yes, VerSprite, 2025 |
| Owner | Gen Digital (also owns Avast, AVG and LifeLock) |
| Money-back | 60 days |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and phone |
Pros and cons
- Audited no-logs policy
- Fast speeds in independent tests
- Strong at unblocking streaming
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- 24/7 phone support
- Renewal price doubles
- Device limit, not connection limit
- Weaker Mac and iPhone apps
- No Linux or router support
- Conflicts with Norton 360
Alternatives worth comparing
If the device limit or the renewal price puts you off, Surfshark has no device limit, Proton VPN has a usable free plan, and NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer more server locations. We compare all four with Norton, including their two-year prices, on our Norton VPN alternatives page.
Questions people ask
Is Norton VPN the same as Norton Secure VPN?
Norton Secure VPN was the older product, and Norton VPN replaced it. It still appears under the old name on some pages and in some Norton 360 bundles, but the standalone product reviewed here is the newer, rebuilt version.
Does Norton VPN come with Norton 360?
Norton 360 plans include a VPN feature, but the standalone Norton VPN app has more features and, on Windows, won't run while Norton 360 is installed. If you already pay for Norton 360, try its built-in VPN before buying a separate one.
How do I cancel Norton VPN?
Sign in to your Norton account, open My Subscriptions, and choose Cancel Subscription Renewal. You don't need to call. If you're within 60 days of purchase, contact Norton support for a refund.
Does Norton VPN work in China?
No. Norton says its products are unavailable in China, and it has no Chinese servers.
How we put this review together
This review is based on Norton's published plans, pricing and privacy documents, its independent audit, and hands-on testing published by established reviewers, which we link to where we use it. Speed and streaming results come from that independent testing, not from us. We update the page when Norton changes its prices or features. More about how we work.