Norton VPN Review 2026: $39.99 First Year, Day-Level Connection Logs and VerSprite Audits

What Norton VPN is now

In July 2024 Gen Digital announced a lineup called Norton Secure VPN, Norton Ultra VPN and Norton Ultra VPN Plus, with up to ten devices in the top tier. Today the same product line is sold as Norton VPN Standard, Plus and Ultimate. Norton has not published a rename date, and its own brand FAQ (last modified September 8, 2026) still shows both names, Norton Secure VPN and Norton VPN.

Standard is the plain VPN. Plus and Ultimate bundle security extras from the Norton 360 side of the house, such as malware protection, a password manager and dark web monitoring. If you already pay for a Norton 360 plan, a VPN is included there too.

Pricing and renewal

Norton's US page lists only annual plans. There is no monthly price on the plan cards, and no two-year plan. All three prices below are first-year promotions.

• Standard, 5 devices: $39.99 first year (about $3.33 a month), renews at $79.99 a year.
• Plus, 5 devices: $49.99 first year (about $4.17 a month), renews at $109.99 a year.
• Ultimate, 10 devices: $59.99 first year (about $5.00 a month), renews at $129.99 a year.

The page is not fully consistent with itself. The comparison grid lists Norton VPN Standard at $79.99 with 0% off for the first year, while the plan card above it shows $39.99. Check the price in the checkout before you pay.

The Norton 360 alternative

Norton 360 Standard costs the same $39.99 in its first year and includes the VPN plus antivirus, scam protection and dark web monitoring, but covers 3 devices instead of 5 and renews at $94.99. Norton 360 Deluxe covers 5 devices for $49.99 in year one (renewing at $124.99), and Norton's VPN FAQ says 360 plans get city-level location selection, Double VPN, IP Rotation and Smart TV support. If you want antivirus anyway, a 360 plan can be better value than VPN Plus.

Standard vs Plus vs Ultimate

The VPN itself is the same across tiers. What changes is the bundle around it:

• Standard: the VPN, its privacy features and 5 devices.
• Plus: adds AI-powered scam detection, real-time malware and ransomware protection with Norton's 100% Virus Protection Promise, a password manager, dark web monitoring and 10 GB of cloud backup.
• Ultimate: everything in Plus, raised to 10 devices, with 50 GB of cloud backup, Parental Control, location tracking and Privacy Monitor.

Norton's features article confirms that Malware Protection, Dark Web Monitoring and Password Manager are available to Norton VPN Plus and Ultimate users only, and that Privacy Monitor is Ultimate only.

Logging: what Norton keeps and for how long

Norton markets a no-log VPN, and its product privacy notice (last updated September 25, 2026) lists what it does not collect: browsing history, traffic destination, the IP addresses of your devices, session duration and DNS queries.

That is a solid baseline, but it is not zero logging. The same notice says Norton records the day a connection is made, not the exact time, and which VPN location was used. Here is the retention schedule:

• Connection events (date plus server location): 12 months.
• Cumulative data transmitted, in MB: 18 months.
• Application events (OS version, language, error states, device name and type): 18 months.
• App usage metadata: 18 months.
• User-generated crash reports: 90 days.
• Account data: payment information and an email address for the license.

The app also uses Google Firebase and Crashlytics for third-party analytics. Norton says you have full control and can disable it, so it is worth switching off in settings.

One more inconsistency: the privacy notice says Norton publishes a quarterly transparency report, while the Norton VPN Privacy Center calls it a biannual transparency report.

Audits: VerSprite assessments, not a classic no-logs audit

Norton's no-log policy page names VerSprite as the firm that audits its no-log policy and lists three reports:

• Technical Privacy Impact Assessment (TPIA), August 2024.
• Technical Privacy Impact Assessment (TPIA), July 2025. The PDF's filename says Sep2025.
• Mimic Protocol Security Assessment, November 2025, which notes that the latest version supports quantum-resistant cipher suites.

These are privacy impact and security assessments by a security consultancy, not a Big Four style no-logs attestation, and only executive summaries are public. We found no assessment dated 2026. Still, this is more than AVG Secure VPN offers, which keeps 12-month connection logs with no audit, and more than Kaspersky VPN, which has no audit either.

Protocols and features

Norton VPN supports four protocols, and Norton says all four work on all server locations. Availability depends on the platform:

• Mimic: Norton's proprietary protocol, designed to make it look like you are not using a VPN and to withstand future attacks from quantum computers. Windows, Mac and Android.
• WireGuard: the fast modern default most rivals use.
• OpenVPN: Windows and Android.
• IPsec: Mac and iOS.

The feature list is longer than the old Secure VPN had:

• Kill Switch and Auto-Connect on public networks.
• Double VPN, which routes your traffic through two VPN servers.
• IP Rotation, which changes your IP address automatically every 30 seconds, plus Manual IP Refresh.
• Split tunneling, on Windows and Android only.
• Ad tracker blocking, and an ad blocker in the browser extension for desktop Chrome, Edge on Windows and Firefox only.
• P2P optimization, Pause VPN, a home-screen widget and Smart TV support.

Servers: Norton cannot agree on a number

Norton's own pages give at least four different server counts:

• The product comparison grid: 2,800 servers in 28 countries.
• The product page body: over 100 server locations, including 25 cities in 18 US states.
• A May 29, 2026 blog post: 130+ server locations in over 90 countries, after 25 new additions and 55 new locations in 2025.
• The server locations page: over 140 server locations, support for over 100 countries, 25 US cities and 5 UK cities.

The locations page looks like the most current source. Its table has about 141 rows, and about 39 of them are marked as not physical, meaning virtual locations where the server sits in another country from the IP address you get. That matters if you need traffic to physically stay in a specific country.

Some locations are marked streaming optimized and some P2P optimized. P2P-optimized rows include New York City, San Jose, Amsterdam, Madrid, Sydney and Tokyo.

Speed and torrenting

The most recent independent test we found is AV-TEST's comparative VPN test published November 12, 2025. Note that Kaspersky commissioned it. AV-TEST reported that Norton Secure VPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Kaspersky VPN and Kaspersky Premium recorded the lowest local latency values.

The same report excluded Avast SecureLine VPN and Norton Secure VPN from the torrent performance results because the tested servers did not support torrenting. Norton does advertise P2P-optimized locations, so torrenting works only if you pick one of them, not on any server.

Apps and platforms

Norton VPN has apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Google TV and Apple TV, and the plan cards also mention Amazon Fire TV. Windows support covers x86/x64 machines and Snapdragon X (Plus and Elite) ARM laptops.

There is no Linux app, no router support and no manual configuration option mentioned anywhere on Norton's pages, which rules it out for covering a whole home network or a games console.

The iOS app, Norton VPN - Fast & Secure, was at version 26.16.2 on September 29, 2026 and rated 4.45 from 120,801 ratings. The Android app was updated on September 18, 2026 and has more than 10 million downloads.

Free trial, cancellation and refunds

Norton offers a free trial of the VPN, but a payment method is required at sign-up and is charged when the trial ends unless you cancel first. Norton does not state the trial length on the product page.

Annual plans carry a 60-day money-back guarantee. Norton's refund policy goes further than most: each later annual renewal charge is also eligible for a full refund if you ask within 60 days of being charged. Monthly subscriptions get a full refund only within 14 days of the initial purchase, and later monthly charges are not refundable. When you cancel, Norton requires you to uninstall and delete the software from your devices.

Verdict: who should buy Norton VPN

Norton VPN is a reasonable pick for people who want an easy, mainstream VPN for public Wi-Fi, streaming and everyday privacy, especially if they already trust Norton for antivirus. Mimic, Double VPN, IP rotation and a 60-day refund window on every annual charge are genuine strengths, and the VerSprite assessments put it ahead of AVG Secure VPN and Avast SecureLine on transparency.

It is a weaker fit for privacy purists and power users. Day-level connection logs kept for 12 months, data volume kept for 18 months, roughly 39 virtual locations, no Linux or router support and renewals near $80 a year for the basic plan all count against it. If you would pay the renewal price anyway, compare it with Norton 360, which bundles the same VPN with antivirus.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Norton VPN cost?

Norton VPN Standard costs $39.99 for the first year and renews at $79.99 a year. Plus is $49.99 then $109.99, and Ultimate is $59.99 then $129.99. All US plans are annual.

Is Norton Secure VPN the same as Norton VPN?

Yes. The old Norton Secure VPN page now redirects to Norton VPN, and Norton's brand FAQ still lists both names. The product is now split into Standard, Plus and Ultimate tiers.

Does Norton VPN keep logs?

It keeps limited logs. Norton does not collect browsing history, traffic destination, device IP addresses, session duration or DNS queries, but it records the day of each connection and the server location for 12 months and total data transferred for 18 months.

Has Norton VPN been independently audited?

Yes, by VerSprite. Norton lists Technical Privacy Impact Assessments from August 2024 and July 2025 and a Mimic protocol security assessment from November 2025. No 2026 report had been published as of October 2026.

How many devices can I use with Norton VPN?

Standard and Plus cover 5 devices and Ultimate covers 10. Norton 360 Standard, which also includes the VPN, covers only 3.

Does Norton VPN work for torrenting?

Only on P2P-optimized locations. AV-TEST's November 2025 test, commissioned by Kaspersky, excluded Norton from torrent results because the servers it tested did not support torrenting.

Does Norton VPN work on Linux or routers?

No. Norton supports Windows (including Snapdragon ARM laptops), Mac, iOS, Android, Google TV, Apple TV and Fire TV, but offers no Linux app, router setup or manual configuration.

Can I get a refund on Norton VPN?

Yes, within 60 days on annual plans, and that window applies again to each annual renewal charge. Monthly plans are refundable only within 14 days of the first purchase.

Key takeaways

• Norton VPN is the renamed Norton Secure VPN, sold as Standard, Plus and Ultimate by Gen Digital.
• Standard costs $39.99 for year one and renews at $79.99; renewals can be billed up to 35 days early.
• No browsing, IP or DNS logs, but connection dates and server locations are kept for 12 months and data volume for 18 months.
• VerSprite assessments from 2024 and 2025 give it more transparency than AVG or Avast's VPNs, though none is dated 2026.
• Norton's server counts conflict across its own pages, and about 39 of roughly 141 listed locations are virtual.
• Every annual charge, including renewals, is refundable within 60 days.