Get an account before you connect

The NordVPN apps are free to download, but you need an active subscription to connect. As of November 4, 2026 new customers can try NordVPN in two ways:

  • A 7-day free trial on 1-year and 2-year plans, for new users in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and ten other European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). You must pay by credit card or PayPal, and the plan starts automatically unless you cancel before day 7.
  • A 30-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase. You request the refund through live chat. Renewals aren't covered.

You sign in with a Nord Account. One subscription works on up to 10 devices at the same time. Current plans and prices are on the NordVPN listing.

Windows

The current app needs Windows 10 (64-bit, version 1607 or later) or Windows 11. NordVPN still offers a legacy app for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and 32-bit Windows 10.

  1. Download the Windows app from nordvpn.com.
  2. Open your Downloads folder and double-click NordVPNInstall.exe. Click Yes when Windows asks for permission.
  3. Click Next, tick or untick the optional NordPass and NordVPN browser extensions, then click Install.
  4. Click Launch NordVPN when it finishes.
  5. Click Log In. Your browser opens the Nord Account page, where you sign in with your email and password, Google or Apple ID. When the browser asks to open the NordVPN link, click Open or Allow.
  6. Click Secure my connection. The status changes from "Not connected" to "Connected".

If the installer won't start, right-click the file and choose Run as administrator.

Mac

The current Mac app needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Older Macs back to macOS 10.15 Catalina get legacy support on older app versions.

  1. Download the app from NordVPN's macOS page and find NordVPN.pkg in your Downloads folder. Keep the file on your Mac rather than in a cloud-synced folder such as Dropbox.
  2. Double-click the file, click Continue, then Install, and enter your Mac password or use Touch ID.
  3. Open NordVPN (press Command + Space and type NordVPN), click Log In and finish signing in on the Nord Account page in your browser.
  4. Click Secure my connection.

iPhone, iPad and Android

Search for NordVPN in the App Store or Google Play and install it. Open the app, choose your privacy and notification settings, then tap Log In or Sign up. Once you're in, tap Secure my connection. The iPhone and iPad app needs iOS 17 or later. The Google Play app needs Android 9 or later; NordVPN offers a sideloaded app for Android 7 and 8.

Linux

NordVPN has a native Linux app with a graphical version and a command-line version. It officially supports Debian 12 or newer, Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, Linux Mint 21 or newer, Fedora 43 or newer and Raspberry Pi OS, with GNOME and KDE desktops. Other distributions may work, but NordVPN offers only limited help with them.

To install the command-line app, open a terminal and run NordVPN's install script:

sh <(curl -sSf https://downloads.nordcdn.com/apps/linux/install.sh)

Add -p nordvpn-gui to the end of that command to install the graphical app instead. NordVPN is also in the Snap Store. After installing, log in to your account and connect.

Fire TV and Fire TV Stick

Check your model first. NordVPN says the first-generation Fire TV Stick doesn't allow VPN connections, and the second-generation stick and the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition run Android versions that are too old for the app. Other Amazon Fire devices work.

  1. On the home screen, open the apps menu and then the Amazon Appstore.
  2. Search for NordVPN and select Get, then Download.
  3. Select Open when it finishes installing.
  4. Select Log in, or Sign up if you're new. The TV shows a QR code to scan, or a number to confirm on your phone or computer, so you don't type a password with the remote.
  5. Accept the Fire OS warnings about VPN connections. They're the system's standard messages.
  6. Select Quick Connect, or scroll to the country list and pick one.

Newer Fire TV Sticks that run Amazon's Vega OS are missing some NordVPN features for now, according to NordVPN.

Apple TV, Android TV and Nvidia Shield

Apple TV. Install NordVPN from the App Store on the Apple TV. It needs tvOS 17 or later. NordVPN also offers a SmartDNS setup for Apple TV as an alternative to the app.

Nvidia Shield and other Android TV devices. Install NordVPN from Google Play on the TV, or download the Android TV app from NordVPN's site. Log in with the QR code or confirmation number, accept Android's VPN warning, then select Quick Connect.

Kodi

NordVPN doesn't offer a Kodi add-on, and its support center says VPN add-ons don't currently work on Kodi. Install the NordVPN app on the device that runs Kodi (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android or iOS), click Secure my connection, then open Kodi. A manual OpenVPN or IKEv2 connection works too.

Roku, smart TVs and game consoles

Roku OS doesn't support NordVPN, so you can't install the app on a Roku. NordVPN gives two options: set up NordVPN on your router, or create a VPN-protected Wi-Fi hotspot from a computer and connect the Roku to it. The same two options cover Chromecast, Samsung TVs, Xbox and PlayStation. For a Nintendo Switch, NordVPN suggests a mobile hotspot from a phone, laptop or tablet connected to NordVPN.

Routers

A router running NordVPN protects every device on your network and counts as one of your 10 devices. The router must support the OpenVPN client; routers supplied by your internet provider usually don't.

NordVPN publishes setup tutorials for ASUSWRT, ASUSWRT-Merlin, DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato, pfSense, OPNsense, GL.iNet, TP-Link, MikroTik, DrayTek, EdgeRouter and others. If you'd rather skip the setup, NordVPN's partner FlashRouters sells routers with NordVPN preinstalled, including the Privacy Hero, which supports NordVPN's NordLynx protocol. NordVPN also keeps a list of routers that don't support it, so check that before you buy.

If the app won't connect

Make sure you finished the Nord Account sign-in in your browser and allowed it to open the app. On Windows, try the installer again with Run as administrator. On a Fire TV Stick, confirm your model isn't one of the older sticks above. NordVPN's support center has troubleshooting guides for each app. Its live chat runs 24/7 and starts with an AI chatbot, which hands you to a person if it can't fix the problem.