Before you switch, check whether what you’re missing already exists somewhere inside Nord.
NordVPN isn’t one product. It’s a core VPN, a Dedicated IP add-on, and a separate Dedicated Server add-on, and they don’t all do the same things. So “NordVPN doesn’t do X” can mean three different situations. Sometimes the capability exists, just in a different Nord product than the one you checked. Sometimes it genuinely doesn’t exist anywhere in Nord’s lineup, and another provider solves it. And sometimes it doesn’t exist anywhere yet, on any consumer VPN tested.
Treating those three as the same kind of problem is how readers end up switching providers when they didn’t need to, or expecting a fix the market doesn’t currently offer.
Find your reason below.
Quick answer
| If you need… | Best-supported path | Leave Nord? | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary dynamic VPN-tunnel forwarding | Proton VPN Plus | Yes | Dynamic only; supported desktop platforms |
| A stable, static assigned IP (no forwarding needed) | Nord Dedicated IP | No | Email-linked; protocol and device restrictions |
| Static IP, dedicated resources, and configurable forwarding | Nord Dedicated Server | No | Separate add-on and cost; specialist limits |
| Native macOS include/exclude app routing | ExpressVPN | Yes | No forwarding; different account relationship |
| True iOS/iPadOS app-level routing | No clean substitute established | — | Open gap among the VPNs investigated, not a Nord-specific failure |
| 11 to 14 simultaneous connections | ExpressVPN Advanced/Pro | Yes | Irrelevant if 10 or fewer is enough |
| Standing free access | Proton Free | Yes | One connection; no Plus features |
| Fewer account identifiers, flatter relationship | Mullvad | Yes, if that’s the priority | Real capability losses (devices, forwarding, dedicated IP) |
NordVPN isn’t one product
NordVPN sells three distinct things that tend to get discussed as if they were one.
There’s the core VPN app, on every plan. There’s Dedicated IP, a paid add-on that assigns a fixed IP address. And there’s Dedicated Server, a more specialized add-on that combines a static IP, dedicated hardware, and configurable port forwarding.
Each has its own capabilities and its own limits. So a feature missing from the core VPN isn’t necessarily missing from Nord altogether. It might live one layer up.
That’s the check worth running before you compare NordVPN to anyone else: does Nord already sell this, just not in the product you looked at? The sections below are built around that question. Each one states your requirement, tells you whether Nord already covers it, and only then names another provider if Nord genuinely doesn’t.
You need port forwarding
Port forwarding isn’t one feature. It’s worth separating two things that get lumped together.
Ordinary dynamic port forwarding, the kind used for torrenting, hosting, or remote access, isn’t available on core NordVPN or on Nord Dedicated IP. Neither opens an inbound port for you.
Chosen or configurable forwarding, where you need control over the external port rather than accepting a dynamically allocated one, is a different and more specialized requirement. That combination lives in a separate Nord product entirely.
If your need is the first kind, ordinary forwarding inside a normal VPN connection, Proton VPN Plus is the direct fix. Its paid Plus plan supports dynamic port forwarding using NAT-PMP on supported desktop platforms. It solves ordinary forwarding and nothing more: no static or chosen forwarding, no consumer Dedicated IP, and it won’t close the iPhone or iPad routing gap covered later in this article. If ordinary forwarding is genuinely your only reason for leaving Nord, this is a narrow fix, not a reason to treat Proton as a general Nord replacement.
If what you actually need is a static IP, dedicated hardware, and your own configurable forwarding rules, that combination already exists inside Nord. It’s called Dedicated Server, and it’s a separate add-on on top of a standard NordVPN subscription. It includes a static dedicated IP, dedicated resources, configurable port forwarding, and runs on NordLynx only. It starts at $11.99 a month for the add-on, on top of the base subscription, with a 4 TB monthly allowance before speeds are throttled, at four fixed locations. It excludes browser extensions and tvOS.
Nord hasn’t published independent assurance evidence specific to Dedicated Server, and how reliably forwarding rules persist across account changes and lifecycle events isn’t confirmed, along with the exact renewal terms. Worth weighing if those specifics matter to your setup. But for readers whose actual requirement is the specialist combination above, staying inside Nord and adding Dedicated Server is the better path, not switching providers.
You need a static or dedicated IP
If all you need is a fixed, stable IP address, not forwarding, not dedicated hardware, you may not need to leave Nord at all. Its Dedicated IP add-on already provides one.
It comes with constraints worth knowing. The IP is linked to your account email, it carries protocol and device restrictions, and Nord’s own materials contradict each other on whether it supports browser extensions. None of that removes the core function, a stable assigned IP, but it’s worth factoring in if any of it matters to your setup.
ExpressVPN also offers a Dedicated IP, built on a different model. The company describes it as using a blinded-token, zero-knowledge allocation process rather than linking the IP to your account email. That claim is provider-described and hasn’t been independently verified. It’s included on the Pro tier, available as an add-on on Basic and Advanced, depends on the Lightway protocol, and comes at a fixed location. It doesn’t include forwarding.
This is worth considering only if the account model itself is what you want, not simply because you want a stable IP, which Nord’s own Dedicated IP already provides.
You need full app-level split tunneling on Mac
Split tunneling doesn’t mean the same thing across providers, so a simple supported-or-not comparison misses the point. What matters is the workflow you actually need.
NordVPN currently has no native app-level split tunneling on macOS. ExpressVPN supports both including and excluding specific apps, plus IP and subnet rules. Mullvad supports excluding apps only. Proton’s macOS implementation is experimental and exclusion-only.
If you specifically need full inclusion-and-exclusion app routing on macOS, not just excluding a couple of apps but controlling exactly which traffic goes through the VPN, ExpressVPN is the strongest established option here. Switching for this reason doesn’t bring port forwarding with it, and it means a different account relationship than the one you have with Nord. If macOS routing is your only reason to switch, weigh that trade before committing.
You need split tunneling on iPhone or iPad
No clean substitute was established for genuine app-level split tunneling on iOS or iPadOS among the consumer VPNs investigated here.
This isn’t a Nord-specific shortfall. NordVPN, Proton, ExpressVPN, and Mullvad all lack true app-level routing on iOS and iPadOS. ExpressVPN’s IP-address exclusions come closest in name but work differently and aren’t equivalent to choosing which apps use the VPN. A targeted check of an additional consumer candidate didn’t turn one up either.
That makes this a gap among the VPNs reviewed here rather than proof that Apple’s platform makes app-level routing impossible. Apple’s own documentation shows per-app VPN routing exists in managed-device deployments. But for an ordinary consumer setup, right now, there isn’t a clean fix on any provider covered here, Nord included.
You need more than 10 simultaneous connections
NordVPN supports up to 10 simultaneous connections. If that’s enough, this isn’t a reason to switch.
If you need more, ExpressVPN’s Advanced tier supports 12, and its Pro tier supports 14, both at a higher cost than the base tier. This only matters if your real requirement is 11 to 14 devices at once. It isn’t a general reason to prefer ExpressVPN over Nord on devices.
You want free, ongoing VPN access
NordVPN has no standing free tier. Every plan is paid.
Proton offers a genuinely free tier with no time limit, which solves this specific requirement. It comes with real limits: one connection at a time, no port forwarding, and none of the P2P or custom-server capabilities on Proton’s paid Plus plan. Proton Free is a fix for persistent no-cost access, not a general substitute for a paid NordVPN plan.
You want fewer account identifiers or a flatter relationship
Mullvad is worth considering if what you actually want is a narrower relationship with your VPN provider: fewer conventional account identifiers, and a single flat entitlement instead of tiers and add-ons.
Mullvad uses a numbered-account system that doesn’t require an email address or password the way most providers do. That’s a genuinely different account model, not a smaller version of the same one.
It comes with real losses: a 5-device ceiling, lower than Nord’s 10, no port forwarding, no Dedicated IP option, more limited conventional account recovery, no iOS app-level split tunneling, and an unresolved question over its current written P2P policy.
Mullvad fits readers who specifically value that account model and are willing to accept those trade-offs. It isn’t a fix for any capability Nord lacks, and it shouldn’t be read as more private overall or as an anonymity guarantee. It trades one set of identifiers for a different set of constraints.
When you don’t need to leave NordVPN
A lot of what’s above points back into Nord rather than away from it. Worth stating plainly when staying is the stronger fit.
Staying with NordVPN, as is or with an add-on, makes sense when: you need P2P but not port forwarding, since standard NordVPN servers already support P2P on their own; ten simultaneous connections is enough, since the higher-device alternatives only matter above that number; you need a stable assigned IP but not dedicated resources or forwarding, since Nord Dedicated IP already covers that within its own constraints; your requirement is genuinely the combination of static IP, dedicated resources, and configurable forwarding, since Nord Dedicated Server already covers that under its own cost and limits, without a new provider relationship; you value Nord’s broader product range, including plan tiers and Meshnet, and switching would mean giving that up for one narrow improvement; app-level routing on Mac or iOS sounds useful in theory but isn’t something you’ll actually use; or inconsistent streaming results are your only complaint, since no provider covered here offers a general guarantee either.
None of this means NordVPN is the right fit for every reader. It means the reason to leave should be a specific, real requirement, not a feature that turns out to already exist somewhere inside Nord.
Streaming, speed, and assurance: what this comparison can (and can’t) tell you
Streaming results for every provider here, Nord included, are tied to a specific service, region, and test date. None currently supports a works-for-everything claim, and switching won’t remove that uncertainty on its own.
Speed depends on protocol, platform, and test conditions, and isn’t comparable across providers as a single number. Treat any speed claim, including ones in this article, as bounded to its specific test.
No-logs and security assessments differ in scope across providers: what was tested, which systems were covered, and when. None currently offers continuous, whole-infrastructure verification. If assurance is your reason for considering a switch, start by identifying the exact claim you want stronger evidence for, rather than comparing how many audits each provider has had.
Conclusion
NordVPN’s apparent gaps aren’t all the same kind of problem. Some exist because you’re looking at the wrong Nord product: the core VPN, when Dedicated IP or Dedicated Server already covers what you need. Some are genuine and external, and a specific competitor closes them: Proton for ordinary port forwarding, ExpressVPN for macOS app routing or for more than 10 connections, Proton again for standing free access. One, app-level routing on iPhone and iPad, had no clean substitute among the consumer VPNs investigated here, Nord included.
There’s no single best NordVPN alternative, because there’s no single reason readers are looking for one. Match your specific requirement to the row in the table at the top of this article, check whether Nord already covers it, and only then decide whether switching actually gets you something you don’t already have.
The STACK View
A capability can technically exist and still fail the reader if it lives in the wrong place. Nord doesn’t put configurable forwarding in the core VPN. It puts it inside Dedicated Server, a separate add-on starting at $11.99 a month on top of the base subscription. Nord’s stable IP isn’t missing either. It’s already sitting inside Dedicated IP.
“Does NordVPN have X?” is often the wrong question. The better one is where X lives: in the core service, in an add-on, in a specialist product, in another provider entirely, or nowhere yet established. Sometimes the answer is another Nord product layer rather than another provider.
FAQs
Does NordVPN support port forwarding? Not in the ordinary sense, on the core VPN or Dedicated IP. Its Dedicated Server add-on supports configurable forwarding alongside a static IP and dedicated resources, which is a different and more specialized setup.
What’s the difference between Nord Dedicated IP and Dedicated Server? Dedicated IP gives you a stable assigned IP on top of a normal subscription. Dedicated Server is a separate, more specialized add-on that adds dedicated hardware and configurable port forwarding alongside a static IP.
Which VPN has port forwarding instead of NordVPN? For ordinary dynamic forwarding, Proton VPN Plus supports it on supported desktop platforms. For configurable forwarding combined with dedicated resources, Nord’s own Dedicated Server add-on may already cover it.
Does NordVPN support split tunneling on Mac? Not natively at the app level currently. ExpressVPN supports both including and excluding apps on macOS. Mullvad supports excluding apps only.
Does NordVPN support split tunneling on iPhone or iPad? No, and neither does any other provider covered in this comparison. It’s currently an open gap among the consumer VPNs investigated here, not a Nord-specific limitation.
Which VPN supports more than 10 devices? ExpressVPN’s Advanced tier supports 12 simultaneous connections, and its Pro tier supports 14. NordVPN supports 10.
Is there a free alternative to NordVPN? Proton offers a genuinely free tier, though it’s limited to one connection and doesn’t include the port forwarding, full P2P, or custom-server features on Proton’s paid plan.
Is Mullvad more private than NordVPN? Mullvad uses a different account model, a numbered account rather than an email-based one, which reduces conventional identifiers. That’s a different trade-off, not a straightforward privacy upgrade: it comes with a lower device limit, no forwarding, no Dedicated IP, and an unresolved current P2P policy.
Do I actually need to leave NordVPN? Only if your specific requirement isn’t already covered by Nord’s core VPN, Dedicated IP, or Dedicated Server. Check the table at the top of this article against your actual use case before assuming you need a different provider.
Continue your research
An alternatives list helps you see what sits around NordVPN. The next step is deciding whether those alternatives are genuinely better for your priorities — or simply different.
Go deeper on NordVPN
- NordVPN Review
- Is NordVPN Worth It?
- Is NordVPN Private?
- Is NordVPN Safe?
- Who Owns NordVPN?
- NordVPN Features
Compare NordVPN directly
If NordVPN is still on your shortlist, move from broad alternatives into direct comparisons: