Mozilla VPN vs NordVPN Review 2024

Mozilla is a trusted name behind the widely-used Firefox browser. Since it’s new to the VPN industry, it raised many questions for me. I wanted to see if Mozilla VPN lives up to its brand reputation and can compete with leading players like NordVPN.

I compared NordVPN and Mozilla VPN across 13 categories to determine the better performer. NordVPN came out on top in almost every aspect. However, Mozilla VPN exceeded my expectations and almost tied with NordVPN in many categories.

Despite being a bit costlier, I recommend NordVPN as it’s a complete privacy suite with tons of extra features like dark web monitoring, a built-in password manager, and a malware blocker. What’s more, you can try NordVPN risk-free as it’s backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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No Time? Here’s a 1-Minute Summary

Pricing	Has cheaper options for monthly, annual, and 2-year subscriptions	Has fixed monthly and annual plans
Streaming	Works with popular sites like Netflix in at least 15 countries, Hulu, and Max	Works with Netflix in at least 6 countries and 9Now. It can take multiple attempts to sign in to Disney+ and Max
Servers	6,300+ servers in 110 countries with P2P, Onion over VPN, and Double VPN specialty connections	500+ servers in over 30 countries with special MultiHop connections
Speed	Local servers dropped baseline speeds by 9% while distant servers reduced connections by 15%	Local servers dropped baseline speeds by 13% and distant ones reduced them by 19%
Security	Includes military-grade encryption, Meshnet, LAN Invisibility, proprietary NordLynx protocol, leak protection, Double VPN, and RAM-only servers	Includes military-grade encryption, built-in leak protection, WireGuard protocol, MultiHop connections, and RAM-only servers
Torrenting	Offers special P2P servers for ultra-fast torrenting	Doesn’t have P2P servers but all servers support torrenting
China	Doesn’t work in China but has obfuscated servers that work in mildly restrictive locations	Doesn’t work in China and lacks obfuscated servers
Gaming	Offers an average ping of 45ms on distant servers	Provides an average ping of 58ms on distant servers
Device Compatibility	Supports 10 simultaneous connections and works on a wider range of platforms	Supports 5 simultaneous devices and works on a handful of platforms like Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android
Company Jurisdiction	Based in Panama and isn’t subject to data retention laws	Located in the US, part of the 5-Eyes Alliance of intel-sharing countries
Privacy Policy	Doesn’t record data and its no-logs policy is audited by PwC	Temporarily records your IP address, device type, and connection stamps, and it doesn’t have an audited no-logs policy
Payment and Refundss	Accepts many payment types and allows for anonymous sign-up using cryptocurrency	Only accepts credit/debit cards and PayPal
Customer Support	Provides support via live chat, email, and an extensive knowledge base	Doesn’t have live chat, and email support is relatively slow

13 Categories of Comparison for Mozilla VPN vs NordVPN

NordVPN outperformed Mozilla VPN in almost all categories. It gave me faster speeds while including many useful extra features to protect online privacy. Here’s the breakdown of what I looked for in each VPN across the following various categories:

1. Pricing — compared each VPN’s plans and pricing and assessed which provides better value for money.
2. Streaming — tested as many servers as possible with platforms like Netflix, Max, Hulu, and more to evaluate if there are sufficient working IP addresses.
3. Servers — looked at each VPN’s server count, spread, and its ability to secure you in different countries as a reliable travel companion.
4. Speed — measured connection speeds on nearby and distant servers to determine if they’re fit for data-intensive tasks.
5. Security — checked for advanced security features like encryption, security protocols, and leak protection required for online protection.
6. Torrenting — assessed each VPN’s P2P-supported servers and their performance on multiple servers while downloading large files.
7. China — analyzed if either VPN works in China and has obfuscated servers for protection against deep packet inspection.
8. Gaming — examined each VPN’s ping and server stability to see its performance while playing online games.
9. Device Compatibility — reviewed how easy it is to set up, the interface across different apps, and the number of devices you can use simultaneously.
10. Company Jurisdiction — verified the headquarters location of each VPN to check if they’re subject to any data-retention laws.
11. Privacy Policy — read the VPNs’ privacy policies to understand what user data they collect and if they’ve undergone audits.
12. Payments and Refunds — explored the available payment methods, ease of getting a refund, and how long the money-back guarantee periods last, if any.
13. Customer Support — tried all the available support channels and judged each VPN on response times and helpfulness.

1. Pricing — NordVPN Offers a More Affordable Long-Term Plan

NordVPN is more affordable than Mozilla VPN if you get its 2-year + 3 months plan. Mozilla VPN’s longest plan is for 1 year and doesn’t provide a 2-year plan. Take a look at this detailed breakdown to compare prices:

Each NordVPN’s plan has 3 tiers — Basic, Standard, and Advanced. ‘Basic’ comprises secure file sharing and dark web monitoring. ‘Standard’ tops that with malware, ad, and tracker blockers, while ‘Advanced’ gives you dedicated IP addresses.

Mozilla VPN is good if you’re looking for affordable monthly VPN plans as it’s cheaper than NordVPN’s. Although NordVPN’s 2-year + 3 months plan offers the best value for money, its price increases dramatically when you renew it for the next term. So it might make sense to switch to Mozilla after your initial subscription expires.

2. Streaming — NordVPN Works With All Popular Platforms and Provides Lag-Free Streaming

NordVPN is much better for streaming than Mozilla VPN. Mozilla only works with Netflix and 9Now but it takes multiple attempts with Disney+, Max, and Hulu on local servers, as these sites are good at detecting and blocking VPN traffic. Neither VPN has a specialized network, but you can try CyberGhost with its streaming-optimized servers. NordVPN works with:

My international team of testers found that NordVPN works with 13 different Netflix libraries, including Netflix US. Mozilla VPN is also one of the reliable VPNs to watch Netflix US and other libraries in the UK, Brazil, Japan, Spain, and Australia. With Mozilla VPN, I had a few instances where MKBHD’s YouTube videos buffered for over 10 seconds initially but this wasn’t an issue with NordVPN.

NordVPN’s SmartPlay lets you watch 400+ channels on various media consoles. However, this only spoofs your location and doesn’t encrypt your data. In contrast, you can’t use Mozilla VPN on incompatible platforms like PlayStation, which restricts your streaming freedom.

Overall, NordVPN’s streaming performance is better than Mozilla VPN’s. If you’re not an avid streamer and don’t mind a few extra seconds of video buffering, Mozilla could be a reasonable option.

3. Servers — NordVPN’s Network is Bigger and Covers More Countries

NordVPN has a more extensive network than Mozilla VPN. With 6,300+ servers in 110 countries, you get ample flexibility to protect yourself online. Meanwhile, Mozilla VPN’s server count and spread are comparatively limited as shown below:

Besides having better global reach, NordVPN has 100+ obfuscated servers in 16 countries. Obfuscation hides the fact that you’re using a VPN, disguising your traffic as regular data and making it less vulnerable to firewalls and other network restrictions. NordVPN also has these specialty servers:

• Double VPN (MultiHop) — routes your data through 2 different servers to encrypt it twice, making your online activities nearly impossible to trace.
• Onion over VPN — lets you route your traffic through the TOR network after encrypting it through the VPN to enhance online privacy.
• P2P servers — are located in torrent-friendly countries and optimized to provide fast speeds for legal P2P downloads.

Mozilla VPN contracts its network infrastructure from Mullvad VPN. Like NordVPN, all its servers run on volatile RAM and can’t log your data. It also lets you block IPv6 traffic to prevent potential data leaks, but I had to toggle it on manually. Unfortunately, Mozilla VPN doesn’t have any specialty connections except for MultiHop servers with double encryption.

Overall, NordVPN has a more extensive network and offers a variety of specialized servers. While Mozilla VPN’s network suffices for most use cases, I’d rather get a more extensive network for the same price. For that reason, I give this round to NordVPN.

4. Speed — NordVPN Is Faster on Nearby and Distant Servers

NordVPN held a slight edge over Mozilla VPN in my speed tests. However, the latter wasn’t slow at all. With both VPNs, I watched a few in-depth smartphone reviews on MKBHD’s YouTube channel. Despite the UHD video quality and distance from my location, there was no noticeable buffering.

In my tests, NordVPN averaged 88Mbps on distant servers in the US, Canada, and Australia — that’s just a 12% drop from my baseline speeds. Mozilla VPN held up pretty well with its 83Mbps average. In both cases, I had a video-conference with my colleagues for an hour without any quality drops or connection issues.

NordVPN offered the best speeds with its NordLynx protocol, which is built around the WireGuard protocol framework. Mozilla VPN also uses WireGuard, which partly explains the similar test scores. I’d pick NordVPN because it offers other protocols like OpenVPN so that you can set it up on your router. That’s not possible with Mozilla due to its limited protocol support.

In conclusion, NordVPN clinches the win in the speed category due to its slightly faster servers and the addition of a custom-built protocol. NordLynx, a modified version of WireGuard, minimizes packet loss over large distances, ensuring more efficient data transfers.

5. Security — NordVPN Has More Security Features Than Mozilla VPN

NordVPN edges out Mozilla VPN with advanced offerings like dark web monitoring, which alerts you if your data has leaked onto the dark web. Similarly, LAN invisibility hides you from others on a shared local network. Mozilla VPN has all the necessary features but doesn’t go above and beyond like NordVPN.

With Mozilla VPN, you can set a custom DNS configuration to block malicious domains and ads. However, NordVPN has a built-in password manager to protect your credentials. Its Meshnet lets you create a private network of up to 50 devices for sharing files remotely and securely. In summary, NordVPN’s security extras make it the better option.

6. Torrenting — NordVPN’s Specialized P2P Servers Torrent Files Faster Than Mozilla VPN

Both NordVPN and Mozilla VPN support torrenting, but NordVPN is better for P2P downloads as it has dedicated servers. Just scroll down to the bottom of the dashboard and click the 3 horizontal dots next to ‘P2P’ to find a suitable torrenting server. I appreciate that NordVPN has a ‘Quick Connect’ feature for these special connections.

I torrented multiple public-domain, copyright-free movies from The Pirate Bay and recorded the download times with each VPN. I used NordVPN’s P2P servers and Mozilla VPN’s regular network. The results showed that NordVPN was 20-35% faster than Mozilla — that’s a significant difference, especially if you’re downloading large files.

Both VPNs lack port forwarding, which enables faster downloads by ensuring peers can directly connect to your torrent client, even if you’re behind a router or firewall. However, NordVPN partially redeems itself with its SOCKS5 support — this improves speeds by eliminating encryption but still hides your real IP address from peers.

Overall, NordVPN has a clear torrenting advantage over Mozilla due to its download speeds and SOCKS5 support. Note that downloading copyrighted material is illegal, and I don’t condone using a VPN to break the law.

7. China — Neither VPN Works Reliably in China but NordVPN Has Obfuscated Servers

Unfortunately, NordVPN and Mozilla VPN can’t guarantee consistent access in China as a strong firewall blocks non-approved VPN services. The Great Firewall of China uses advanced techniques like Deep Packet Inspection to restrict online activities in the country. Only ExpressVPN is advanced enough to work in China consistently.

NordVPN’s obfuscated servers make it more suitable in mildly restrictive locations like Turkey. These servers use packet re-writing technology to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN and make your data appear like regular internet traffic. This also helps get past anti-VPN detectors on networks and sites.

Mozilla VPN’s website offers mixed information on whether it works in China. While some FAQs suggest you can use it if you downloaded the app before entering China, its live chat support agent told me otherwise. Despite reaching out to their customer support, I received no clear response. In summary, I can’t recommend either VPN for China, so this round is a draw.

8. Gaming — NordVPN Provides Lower Latency for Ultra-Smooth LAN Play

After extensive testing, NordVPN was my preferred VPN for playing fast-paced online games. Ping is the time your data takes to travel from your device to a server and back. Low ping means quicker response time, which is what you want when gaming.

With NordVPN, my baseline ping of 34ms increased to 45ms on a server in Germany, which is excellent even for pro gamers. That’s why NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for playing fast-paced games like Call of Duty: Warzone.

Mozilla VPN also ensured lag-free gaming sessions on my PC. Throughout my 2-hour-long CS:GO session, I never missed a single headshot due to lag. Although Mozilla averaged a slightly higher ping, the difference of a few milliseconds was barely noticeable.

NordVPN’s scores were better, but the gaming experience was equally good with both VPNs. However, the Meshnet feature is NordVPN’s winning feature in this round. Meshnet creates a virtual LAN network between you and your friends for hassle-free gaming. This direct peer-to-peer connection is encrypted and protected from DDoS attacks.

9. Device Compatibility — NordVPN Is Compatible With a Wider Range of Platforms

Using both VPNs was pretty straightforward due to their beginner-friendly interfaces. However, I’d give more points to NordVPN because it supports 10 simultaneous connections compared to Mozilla’s 5. Plus, you can set up a VPN connection on a smart TV and a range of platforms. Here’s a list of devices you can use the VPNs with:

Installing each VPN on my 5 devices took less than 10 minutes. Mozilla VPN’s interface is less overwhelming, but you can’t set up Mozilla on devices that don’t natively support VPNs like a router, smart TV, and media consoles. In contrast, NordVPN works well with routers supporting OpenVPN configuration and wins this round due to its wide-ranging platform support.

10. Company Jurisdiction — NordVPN Has a More Privacy-Friendly Location

NordVPN wins this round because it’s based in Panama, which isn’t a part of the 14 Eyes Alliance that practices internet surveillance. In contrast, Mozilla VPN is headquartered in California. Since the US is a 5 Eyes member, Mozilla VPN is subject to data retention and is obliged to provide user data to authorities if requested.

NordVPN has a warrant canary, which are regular statements confirming that it hasn’t received government requests for user data. You can find this statement updated daily on its website. Mozilla VPN on the other hand, doesn’t provide this statement.

Overall, NordVPN wins this category because it’s headquartered outside any intelligence-sharing group. Therefore, it’s not subject to any data retention laws or liable to share any data with any third party, including authorities.

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11. Privacy Policy — NordVPN’s Privacy Policy is More Transparent

NordVPN has a more robust privacy policy compared to Mozilla VPN. NordVPN’s no-logs policy is backed by two independent audits, ensuring your data remains private. In contrast, Mozilla VPN, while transparent, lacks this level of third-party verification.

NordVPN’s privacy policy has undergone two independent audits by PwC, confirming its no-logs claim. These audits verified that NordVPN does not store connection timestamps, session information, used bandwidth, traffic data, IP addresses, or browsing data.

Mozilla VPN logs account details, device specs, and usage patterns. It also shares data with Mullvad and Stripe to manage its servers and payments, respectively. While both companies are committed to protect this data, it’s risky to have them in more places than one. Despite the Cure53 audit, there’s no mention of whether Mozilla practices its no-logs policy.

If you’re someone who prioritizes verified privacy claims and wants the assurance that comes with independent audits, NordVPN is your go-to for trusted privacy. For casual users less concerned about the depth of privacy verification, Mozilla VPN is still fine.

12. Payments and Refunds — NordVPN Supports Anonymous Payment Options Through Crypto

While both VPNs have a 30-day money-back guarantee, I give more points to NordVPN for supporting more payment options. You can sign up anonymously using a fake email address and pay through Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible with Mozilla VPN. Here’s a list of payment channels accepted by each VPN:

Claiming a refund with NordVPN was slightly smoother than Mozilla VPN. I submitted a request via its live chat customer support — the agent offered me an extended trial but confirmed my request when I refused. I got a confirmation email immediately, and my money was returned in 5 business days.

With Mozilla VPN, I had to submit a form in the ‘Contact Us’ section on the website under the ‘Payment and Billing’ menu. I had to provide a reason for leaving and wait for the billing team to get back to me. However, my refund was processed automatically, and I got my money back in 8 days.

In summary, NordVPN’s refund process was smoother and faster. However, both contenders offer a 30-day buffer period, so you can try them risk-free.

13. Customer Support — NordVPN Offers More Support Options and Faster Response Times

I found NordVPN’s customer support faster and easier to access. Unfortunately, Mozilla’s customer support leaves much to be desired. There’s no live chat or telephone support, and its support email address is hard to locate on its site. After submitting an email ticket, I had to wait 2 days for a response.

I had a better customer experience with NordVPN, as the live chat agent resolved all my queries. While the initial live chat responses felt canned because it was from a bot, asking follow-up questions provided the clarity and specific information I needed.

NordVPN’s email support team responded to my queries within 2 hours, even when I reached out with an unregistered address. This is very fast compared to how long email replies took Mozilla. If you’re using Mozilla VPN, I recommend scanning its FAQ guides as it has answers to most basic queries. But overall, NordVPN is the winner of this round.

And the Winner Is… NordVPN

NordVPN did better than Mozilla VPN in nearly all categories. The only exception was accessibility in China, as both VPNs don’t work there. However, NordVPN’s obfuscated servers allow it to work in mildly restrictive locations like Turkey. Its extra features, like dark web monitoring and even a password manager, make NordVPN a good choice for online privacy.

• Pricing: NordVPN
• Streaming: NordVPN
• Servers: NordVPN
• Speed: NordVPN
• Security: NordVPN
• Torrenting: NordVPN
• China: Tie
• Gaming: NordVPN
• Device Compatibility: NordVPN
• Company Jurisdiction: NordVPN
• Privacy Policy: NordVPN
• Payments and Refunds: NordVPN
• Customer Support: NordVPN

That said, Mozilla VPN isn’t a bad VPN. In my speed and streaming tests, it was only marginally behind NordVPN and ensured lag-free streams and fast downloads. If price is a major concern, Mozilla VPN’s annual plan is a good buy. You can try it risk-free for 30 days with its money-back guarantee.

Overall, NordVPN offers better value for money despite being costlier and ranks high among the top VPNs in 2024. I suggest getting the 2-year + 3 months plan for a 74% discount. You’ll have 30 days to try it risk-free and check if it suits you. I can personally vouch for its refund guarantee, as I got my money back in 5 working days after submitting a request via live chat.

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Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and Expressvpn are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company.