NordVPN outpaces competitors in independent tests, with top marks for speed and malware protection

• NordVPN’s antivirus blocked 99.1% malware in latest West Coast Labs test
• Artifact Security ranked NordVPN first out of five providers for performance
• The tests confirm connection times of just 1.8 seconds and zero data leaks

Users looking for the best VPN want the perfect balance of security and speed. According to two newly released independent evaluations, NordVPN is currently delivering exactly that on a global scale.

Over the summer, testing firm West Coast Labs (WCL) awarded NordVPN’s built-in antivirus tool its highest AAA certification. Back in June, London-based Artifact Security crowned the vendor as the fastest and most reliable provider in a comprehensive global performance test, proving NordVPN continues to score all-positive results on independent audits.

For everyday users, these results are incredibly reassuring. It means you don’t have to sacrifice your browsing speeds to stay safe online. The evaluations simulated real-world conditions, proving the app can swiftly block malicious sites and high-severity threats and handle high-speed downloads without breaking a sweat or leaking your personal data.

Top-tier malware protection

Under its WCL Validated methodology, West Coast Labs threw 934 malware samples at NordVPN’s next-gen antivirus. The software successfully detected 926 of them, achieving an impressive 99.1% detection rate, well above the 95% threshold required for certification.

This latest achievement builds on the tool’s previous successes, having already aced independent testing for its high phishing block rate in past assessments.

Crucially, the testing evaluated the product using its default configuration, meaning no custom tuning or vendor-supplied exclusions were used to artificially boost the score. NordVPN passed all 22 Core and 12 Augment lifecycle requirements across six stages, including deployment, functionality, and removal.

Because a single Core failure results in instant disqualification, this sweep earned NordVPN the highest available AAA certification rating.

“These results tell us the product is doing its job where it matters,” said Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN. “What we’re most proud of is that this was tested under default configuration with no exclusions applied. That’s how most users actually run it, and that’s the standard we hold ourselves to.”

Unmatched speed and reliability

Security is only half the battle; a VPN must also be fast. Artifact Security’s 2026 VPN Performance World Tour evaluated five major VPN providers (NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, and Mullvad) across five origin regions (Germany, Singapore, US West, US East, and the UK) spanning 55 route-pinned highways.

NordVPN dominated the field, finishing first with an overall score of 91 and taking home the test’s only Platinum award. On its Windows VPN, the provider led the pack with an average download speed of 271.9 Mbps and a peak download median of 568.4 Mbps. It also proved highly responsive, averaging just 1.8 seconds to establish a working tunnel with a 98% success rate.

Most importantly for privacy advocates, all tested providers, including NordVPN, passed every standard and advanced leak scenario. Across IP, DNS, IPv6, WebRTC, server-switch, and split-tunneling tests, no traffic escaped the encrypted tunnel.

“Performance testing at this scale is a much harder standard to meet than a single-location benchmark,” said Briedis. “Coming out first overall and winning three regions outright gives us confidence that the infrastructure improvements we’ve been making are translating into something users can actually feel, regardless of where they connect from.”