ZoneBlade vs NordVPN

The short answer

For a VPN in Chrome or Edge, ZoneBlade is the better choice. It's free for good, with unlimited data in 6 countries and no account, and it can give each tab its own country, which NordVPN's extension can't. NordVPN has no free plan: its extension needs a paid subscription and moves the whole browser to one country at a time. NordVPN makes sense if you need a VPN for every app on your phone or computer.

Checked against NordVPN's own website and store listing on . Every claim about NordVPN links to its source.

Side by side

ZoneBlade and NordVPN, row by row.

Numbers link to their sources at the bottom of the page.

FeatureZoneBladeNordVPN logoNordVPN
Free planYesNo17-day trial, payment details needed
Works without an accountYesNo2
Free dataUnlimitedNo free plan1
Countries on the free plan6No free plan1
No ads on the free planYesNo free plan1
Doesn't sell your data or share your connectionYesYes3
A different country in each tabYesNo4
The same site in two countries at onceYesEach country keeps its own cookiesNo4
Countries1801501
Apps for your whole deviceNoChrome and Edge onlyYes5
Price, month to month$5.99Premium, monthly$14.996
Lowest price a month$4.00Premium, $47.99 a year$3.496First 27 months, introductory
NordVPN: who runs it
nordvpn S.A., based in Panama, part of the Nord Security group [3]
NordVPN: devices
10 at once on one subscription [6]
NordVPN: refunds
30-day money-back guarantee [6]
NordVPN: Chrome Web Store
4.4 stars from 9,100 ratings, 15 million users [2]
NordVPN: no-logs audits
Six assessments by Deloitte, the latest in late 2025 [7]
NordVPN: security incident
One rented server in Finland was accessed in 2018; NordVPN disclosed it in 2019 [8]

Free against paid

NordVPN's Chrome extension is free to install but does nothing without a paid NordVPN subscription. There's no free plan: the closest is a 7-day trial on its longer Ultimate Max plans, for new customers, and it asks for a card or PayPal first.

ZoneBlade Free costs nothing and stays free. There's no account to make and no card to give, and it has unlimited data in 6 countries with no ads. Premium is there if you want every country; its price, and NordVPN's, are in the table above.

A country in every tab

NordVPN's extension connects your whole browser to one location. Its split tunnelling lets chosen sites skip the VPN, but every other tab shares the same country.

ZoneBlade's Each tab mode works with Chrome's tab groups: name a group “DE Germany” and every tab in it browses from Germany, while a “JP Japan” group browses from Japan. Each country keeps its own cookies, so the same shop or search engine can be open in two countries side by side without one seeing the other. That's useful for comparing prices, checking search results or seeing how a site looks abroad.

Privacy

Both say they don't sell your data. NordVPN, run from Panama, has had its no-logs policy assessed by Deloitte six times. In 2018 one of its rented servers in Finland was accessed without authorisation; NordVPN said no activity logs were on it.

ZoneBlade, run by a UK company, keeps no record of the sites you visit. It counts how much data each device uses, by country, to run its allowances, and nothing more. Neither VPN makes you anonymous: sites still know you when you sign in.

Countries and devices

NordVPN lists 150 countries and has apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, covering 10 devices at once. ZoneBlade Premium covers 180 countries, 15 GB a month in any of them and then unlimited in Free's 6, and works in Chrome and Edge only.

When NordVPN is the better pick

Choose NordVPN if you want one subscription that protects every app on up to 10 phones and computers, not just your browser. Its no-logs policy has also been through six independent assessments; ZoneBlade's hasn't been audited yet.

The verdict

For private browsing in Chrome or Edge, ZoneBlade wins. It's free without a trial or a card, has unlimited data in 6 countries, and does what NordVPN's extension can't: a different country in each tab, with cookies kept apart. NordVPN is a paid VPN for your whole device. If what you need is a VPN in your browser, you don't need to pay for one.

Questions

Is there a free version of NordVPN for Chrome?

No. NordVPN's Chrome extension needs a paid subscription. It offers a 7-day trial on some longer plans for new customers, with payment details. ZoneBlade is free for good in Chrome and Edge, with unlimited data in 6 countries and no account.

Can NordVPN give each tab a different country?

No. Its extension connects the whole browser to one location. ZoneBlade's Each tab mode gives every tab group its own country, each with its own cookies.

Does ZoneBlade protect apps outside the browser?

No. ZoneBlade covers Chrome and Edge. For other apps on your computer or phone you need a device VPN such as NordVPN.

Which has more countries, ZoneBlade or NordVPN?

NordVPN lists 150 countries. ZoneBlade Premium covers 180, and ZoneBlade Free covers 6.

Sources

  1. 1https://nordvpn.com/risk-free-vpn/
  2. 2https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/fjoaledfpmneenckfbpdfhkmimnjocfa
  3. 3https://my.nordaccount.com/legal/privacy-policy/
  4. 4https://support.nordvpn.com/hc/en-us/articles/20322621196945-What-is-a-NordVPN-browser-extension
  5. 5https://nordvpn.com/download/
  6. 6https://nordvpn.com/pricing/
  7. 7https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-no-logs-assurance-engagement-2025/
  8. 8https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/21/nordvpn-confirms-it-was-hacked/

Try ZoneBlade before you pay for NordVPN.

Free for good: unlimited data in 6 countries, a country in every tab, no account, no ads. Ready in a minute.

Add to ChromeIt's freeAdd to EdgeIt's free