# NordLayer review (2026): is it worth $8 a month per user, billed yearly? > Business VPN and network access control from Nord Security Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. NordLayer is a business VPN and network security service sold per user to teams. It covers encrypted internet access through shared gateways, plus dedicated-IP gateways, access rules and device checks on the higher plans. Admins manage users and gateways from a central control panel. - **Category:** VPNs - **Made by:** Nord Security - **Website:** https://nordlayer.com - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you are one person, as every plan has a 5-user minimum. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, NordLayer is a paid product, starting at $8 per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Paid - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Lite | $8 per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly) | Shared gateways in 40+ countries, web protection and download protection. 5 users minimum. | | Core | $11 per user / month, billed yearly ($14 billed monthly) | Adds private gateways and network access control. Needs a dedicated-IP server at $40 a month on yearly billing. 5 users minimum. | | Premium | $14 per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly) | Adds more granular network segmentation and site-to-site connections. Dedicated-IP server at $40 a month on yearly billing. 5 users minimum. | | Enterprise offer | $6 per user / month and up, billed yearly | For teams of 200 or more seats, starting from Lite capabilities; price varies with plan and features. Sold through sales. | Read from https://nordlayer.com/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with NordLayer before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Save up to 22% with yearly billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page shows yearly billing at a lower per-user rate than monthly, labelled as saving up to 22%. Source: https://nordlayer.com/pricing/ ## Key features - **Shared and private gateways:** Lite connects through shared gateways in 40+ countries; Core and above add private gateways with a dedicated IP address that only your team uses. - **Network access control:** Higher plans add IP allowlisting, a cloud firewall and device posture checks to limit who and what can reach company resources. - **Threat prevention:** Web protection blocks malicious domains and download protection scans new files for malware; DNS filtering by category starts on Core. - **Protocols and always-on mode:** NordLynx, which is WireGuard-based, plus OpenVPN over UDP or TCP. Always On VPN and auto-connect are included on every plan. - **Single sign-on and provisioning:** Sign in with Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, Google or JumpCloud. Automatic user provisioning with Entra ID and Okta is an add-on. - **Site-to-site connections:** Premium can link office networks and devices to a private gateway through encrypted tunnels. ## Good for - Teams of five or more that need one admin panel for VPN access - Companies that want a dedicated IP for allowlisting - Businesses connecting remote staff to cloud networks ## Worth knowing - Every self-serve plan has a 5-user minimum; the Enterprise offer starts at 200 users. - Core and Premium require a dedicated-IP server, listed at $40 a month on yearly billing ($50 monthly). - Split tunneling, custom DNS and the browser extension are not part of Lite. - Each account allows up to 6 simultaneous connections; user provisioning and device posture monitoring are add-ons. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. NordLayer is a business VPN sold per user, with shared gateways at $8 a seat and access control on higher plans. Every plan has a 5-user minimum, the dearer plans need a $40 a month dedicated-IP server, and there is no free plan or trial on record. - **Value for money: D.** Lite is $8 a seat but five seats is $40 a month, and Core and Premium also need a $40 a month dedicated-IP server, so a five-person team pays about $19 a seat for the useful parts. - **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan and no trial on record, only a demo. - **Features: C.** Gateways in 40+ countries, access rules and threat prevention, but split tunneling and custom DNS are not in Lite, and provisioning and posture checks are add-ons. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and an admin console with gateways, SSO and rules takes setting up. - **Platforms and integrations: A.** Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and a browser extension, with Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace and other integrations. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Nord Security's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among VPNs - NordLayer's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 3 of the 50 other VPNs we grade, and level with 5. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 46 of 50) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $8 a month for each person, against a middle price of $4.99 for the category: 32 of the 40 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 10 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/vpn ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace NordLayer you would be making servers in dozens of countries, kept fast and private. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 42 of the 50 other VPNs grade higher. It costs $96 a year. - You could not: Servers in dozens of countries, kept fast and private. - You could not: An engine that recognises new malware as it appears. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Okta, Entra ID and OneLogin among them. - You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: single sign-on. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Okta, Entra ID, OneLogin, JumpCloud, Google Workspace, SentinelOne, Jamf Cloud, AWS **Tags:** VPN, Malware protection ## Alternatives - [NordVPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nordvpn): Subscription VPN with threat protection and Meshnet device links. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nordlayer-vs-nordvpn) - [OpenVPN](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openvpn): Open-source VPN protocol plus business VPN products built on it. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nordlayer-vs-openvpn) - [Firezone](https://toolgpa.com/tools/firezone): WireGuard-based zero-trust remote access for teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/firezone-vs-nordlayer) - [WireGuard](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wireguard): Free, open-source VPN protocol and tunnel software. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nordlayer-vs-wireguard) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://nordlayer.com/pricing/ - https://nordlayer.com/terms-of-service/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/nordlayer Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).