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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.
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vpnMentor was established in 2014 to review VPN services and cover privacy-related stories. Today, our team of hundreds of cybersecurity researchers, writers, and editors continues to help readers fight for their online freedom in partnership with Kape Technologies PLC, which also owns the following products: ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access which may be ranked and reviewed on this website. The reviews published on vpnMentor are believed to be accurate as of the date of each article, and written according to our strict reviewing standards that prioritize professional and honest examination of the reviewer, taking into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users. The rankings and reviews we publish may also take into consideration the common ownership mentioned above, and affiliate commissions we earn for purchases through links on our website. We do not review all VPN providers and information is believed to be accurate as of the date of each article.

NordVPN vs Smart DNS Proxy 2024

Table of Contents

    Our Score

    Features 9.4/10
    Pricing 7.5/10
    Ease of Use 10.0/10
    Reliability & Support 9.5/10
    Features 6.7/10
    Pricing 9.5/10
    Ease of Use 8.0/10
    Reliability & Support 7.8/10

    Reviews

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Keira Waddell
    Keira Waddell

    Senior Writer

    Our Score: 9.4/10

    On the surface, NordVPN looks like a really impressive service. It claims to have a huge global server network, a speedy and reliable connection, and iron-clad security and privacy features. Plus, you can get it all for just $3.09/month. That all sounds great, but is there a catch? To find out, we did an in-depth analysis of NordVPN. The team and I tested its speeds and how well it performs whe...

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    Latest positive user review
    2
    210493Lu
    10.0/10
    The Best of The Best

    I simply tested all VPNs looking for cutting-edge online security, I tested the most expensive and the...  most talked about virtual anonymity, none made me as happy as NordVPN, it stands out for several reasons that the much more expensive ones it doesn't have, its double encryption, dedicated IPs, onion VPN, makes NordVPN unique, with almost 6,000 servers around the world and 12 million customers like me, you can see that NordVPN is not playing games with its customers and their online security , it always innovates to keep you more secure day after day, for a fair price in the long term and without sacrificing the speed of your connection, recently Nord is developing a new VPN protocol, Nordlynx a version still under construction derived from the Wireguard protocol, if you want to have a VPN of last security that think how it will make you more secure in the next month NordVPN is the right choice, I am completely thankful for being a customer and for finding what to me is the perfect VPN.More

    Latest negative user review
    S
    SAM
    2.0/10
    BUYER BEWARE!

    BUYER BEWARE! If you purchase NordVPN, it will throttle your interned speed/connectivity by 50%, like ... it did to mine. I pay $100/month to get speeds of nearly 600mbs. With NordVPN turned on, my speeds decrease to 250mbs. Nord’s “customer support” is useless and unprofessional, and, after nearly 3 weeks of endless “try this, try that”, they were unable to resolve the issue and blamed it on everything under the sun except their product, when it is OBVIOUS that, since I have zero speed issues with Nord turned off, and ONLY experience the issues with Nord turned on, it is NordVPN that is causing the issue. When I asked them for a refund of my one year subscription paid in advance and in good faith, they refused, and have now decided to ignore me. So, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. Their VPN will devastate your internet speeds, their “support” is ridiculous, they are in denial, and they will not refund your money, even if their product is a failure…More

    Review by our expert
    Author Image Ivana Sarandeska
    Ivana Sarandeska

    Cybersecurity Researcher

    Our Score: 6.7/10

    Smart DNS Proxy claims to offer a 3-in-1 service that includes a proxy, a VPN, and a SmartVPN. In reality, I found out it really only offers 2 services — the proxy and the VPN. The proxy claims to give you fast access to 400+ sites and services (by rerouting only your traffic to those specific sites), but doesn’t provide any online privacy or the option to change your IP address. The VPN encr...

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    Latest positive user review
    G
    Guy B
    10.0/10
    I'm happy with Smart DNS Proxy since 2016

    I have used Smart DNS Proxy since 2016 on my Firestick (UK Prime) from Malaysia. It allows me to acces... s all UK content, including BBC iPlayer, NowTV, ITVx, Britbox, 4, 5, and PrimeVideo and Disney+ (US). I had to give up Disney+ access when I got NowTV(UK) due to the Region setting. I had no trouble accessing Netflix USA until I stopped watching Netflix on my tv and just used the tab when I travel. I found their Customer Service to be ok. They certainly helped me set up my router settings when I first signed on with them. After 2 bi-annual subscriptions, I went all in and got the Lifetime subscription in 2020. I didn't know SmartDNS was acquired by another company till recent when I found out that they are now based in Turkey. They were based in Mauritius or was it Seychelles up to then.More

    Latest negative user review
    N
    Nareskar
    2.0/10
    It is horrible experience to work with Smart DNS Proxy VPN

    I have been using this Smart DNS Proxy from Malaysia to unblock Indian streaming content for the last ... two years. I found it was the cheapest VPN and worked reasonably well to unblock content for the first two years of my work. But for the last two months, this has become horrible to work. Most of the DNS servers in Asia don't work at all. If it starts to work after a couple of minutes it stops. The speed of the internet through this DNS is very slow and repeated stoppages make streaming a nightmare. Complaining to customer care yields no results. They give a lot of tasks, after doing all those with no improvement in results. This company is doing nothing to maintain its servers. People should stay away from buying this VPN.More

    Pricing

    Starting price $3.09/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 30 Days
    Number of devices per license 10 devices
    Starting price $2.48/month
    Money Back Guarantee (Days) 30 Days
    Number of devices per license 5 devices

    Best VPN by Category

    Best VPN Overall
    Best VPN for Torrents
    Best VPN for Windows
    Best VPN for Android
    Best VPN for Mac
    Best VPN for iOS
    Best VPN for USA

    The Bottom Line

    Author Image Keira Waddell
    Keira Waddell

    Senior Writer

    Final Verdict — A Fast and Extremely Secure VPN NordVPN has plenty to offer, from fast speeds to optimized servers and speedy, reliable connections for lag-free streaming of global content from anywhere. It offers excellent security features like AES 256-bit encryption and a strict no-logs policy to keep you safe online. It’s also easy to use, has an intuitive app interface, and is compatible with a wide range of devices. It’s one of the best Apple TV VPNs on the market, with a straightforward setup that lets you quickly and easily protect your gadget. And when it comes to support, NordVPN is helpful and friendly. Its biggest downfalls for me were that it didn't work with Sky Go and Amazon Prime Video and the difficulties while gaming on faraway servers, but that's expected from almost all VPNs. However, despite these slight downsides, NordVPN is great value for money. Fast speeds

    More Info

    Time to decide which one is best for you

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