NordLocker Cloud Storage Review for 2025

Nord Security has been on a great run with its security suite. NordVPN marks a crucial chapter in the company’s reputation, with a privacy-built VPN whose popularity is trending upwards. We then have NordPass which we tested and came out utterly satisfied. After these two, the NordLocker review for 2025 had to happen.

We’ve been using NordLocker for quite a while. Our team appreciates its stringent privacy and security, especially when storing important documents. Simultaneously, NordLocker’s availability on all devices is a huge plus, paired with respectable performance on all of them.

After using NordLocker for more than a year, we’re ready to discuss our findings. NordLocker is by no means perfect and we feel the need to address its pros and cons for those interested in it. Our quick conclusion is below; for more info, read our comprehensive NordLocker review where we go into detail and examine every nook and cranny.

Ease of Use & Compatibility

This secure cloud storage offers apps for all platforms, which is important if you’re often switching them. NordLocker supports:

• Windows and macOS laptops and computers
• iOS and Android smartphones and tablets
• Browsers (any browser will do)

Let’s first review NordLocker’s browser app. This is one of our favorite web apps because of its simplicity. As you can see, it won’t blow you away with its looks but we like how intuitive and capable it is. For example, you can upload files and folders.

Moreover, NordLocker’s web app allows for a bit of tweaking. You can set it to auto-lock every 5 to 60 minutes or never. Additionally, the web app supports MFA, which is essential for privacy.

Our NordLocker review of its desktop app is positive too.

After installing it, NordLocker will “crouch” in your taskbar. You can open it to review recent activity. Double-clicking the icon will open your local NordLocker drive. You’ll locate your on-cloud files there. Simple stuff.

Install NordLocker on Your Devices

Of course, you can drag and drop your files to the drive to upload them. Conversely, dragging them from the drive will download them to your PC. The mobile app resembles the look of the web app. There are virtually no differences in features and looks.

Mobile and web apps can store and preview photos on the cloud. When trying to view videos, we had to download them and run them from our phone or computer, which is inconvenient. Other than that, compatibility and ease of use are pretty much spot-on.

NordLocker Features Review

If you’re buying this online storage for productivity or even multimedia options, let us deter you right away. The main appeal of this service lies in its revolutionary features. There aren’t many but those that are there are some of the best we’ve seen.

Zero-Knowledge Encryption

NordLocker’s selling point is encryption. We explained what we mean when we say encrypted cloud storage. Essentially, it’s a type of online that supports end-to-end encryption, also deemed zero-knowledge. What does this mean for the user?

It means files are encrypted end-to-end so that they require a decryption key to be accessed. Every time you log in to NordLocker, you need to unlock your files with a cloud key you’ve created beforehand. This is why the app locks itself; to prevent unauthorized access.

Only the person with the key can decrypt the files and use them. Zero-knowledge encryption also means NordLocker has no means of accessing your files. The encryption/decryption key is held by the end user. If he or she loses it, access to the cloud storage is lost as well.

This is a double-edged sword if you’re not careful enough. However, if you’re privacy-aware, this is an ideal feature that will keep your files intact. This is perhaps our favorite feature in this NordLocker review and the one that keeps us around after more than a year.

Encrypt Your Files With NordLocker

Secure File Sharing

File security and sharing are often connected. Sharing your files isn’t secure but if encryption and password protection are applied, the story’s different. NordLocker’s sharing options aren’t abundant compared to pCloud or, let’s say, Dropbox. They’re not bad either.

When selecting the folder, you can press Manage Access. From here, you’ll see yourself as the owner. However, the Share tab allows you to enter other people’s email addresses. For the sake of this NordLocker test, we entered one of our member’s addresses.

From here, that member went to his inbox, clicked the shared link, and could access the folder with the files right away. You can share individual files as well. Select the file, press Copy Link and NordLocker will generate one for you. There will also be a security code.

This code is used to access the file. It’s worth noting that NordLocker automatically sets an expiration date. We shared the file on the 14th of November and the expiration date was on November 28th, so you have two weeks to access the link. We sort of dislike this.

pCloud lets you set a custom expiry date and security code. In fact, pCloud’s file sharing is better realized, with an addition of custom branding for business users. Our pCloud analysis explains why we prefer it over NordLocker, at least in this regard.

Automatic File Syncing

NordLocker supports file syncing. We appreciate this feature and use it to have our files ready on all devices. That’s its main function. It ensures that when you upload the file on the cloud, it’s available on all devices you’re accessing your cloud storage from. Neat.

Now, there’s a catch. NordLocker doesn’t let you customize anything. There’s no selective sync, so everything you upload is synced. Useful? Perhaps. But then, you won’t need to sync every file. Some files you need on the phone, others on your laptop, for example.

It’s also worth noting that NordLocker doesn’t support block-level syncing.

This means every file is synced from the start when it’s altered, even if only a small portion is changed. In the case of documents, you can change one sentence but the entire document will be synced from zero. As a result, syncing speeds are unimpressive at times.

Multimedia Features

At the start of this review of NordLocker, we briefly mentioned multimedia features. While using NordLocker, we found it mostly handy for storing files. Their use after that depends on their “download” status. Most files can be previewed only when downloaded.

Photos are exceptions because they can be previewed in all apps. We tested NordLocker by uploading a small, 63 MB video. It couldn’t work. However, PDF and Word documents could be previewed without issues. There’s even an option to directly print the documents.

Sadly, you can’t edit documents, so you’ll have to download them to your device first. Also, we loved that you can listen to music and make your playlists in pCloud. NordLocker doesn’t let you preview audio files, so again, you have to get a dedicated music player instead.

This makes pCloud better in terms of file storage capabilities.

Features We’d Like to See in NordLocker

As the company whose sole focus is security, NordLocker’s cloud-related features are shallow. We’d love to see the following features:

• File versioning. NordLocker can’t save previous versions of your files, which is a huge downside compared to pCloud or Internxt which save hundreds of file versions for at least a month.
• Selective syncing. We’d love to see this one to be able to sync only specific files, and thus, save more space on the cloud.
• Document editing. A big miss if you’re collaboration-oriented. Plus, you won’t always have a document-editing tool on your device, so this lack can be very annoying.
• Cloud backups. NordLocker advertises this as a feature but lacks it. Uploading files on the cloud is like backing them up but there’s no dedicated backup option. pCloud, in comparison, lets you swiftly back up the entire drive and recover it at any moment.

In the end, NordLocker’s smaller number of features can be a letdown. It’s good to know that these few features are implemented well, and while singing the song of security and privacy; not productivity/utility, they’ll still impress most people.

After we examined Internxt, we concluded almost the same. Both are inferior features-wise to pCloud, Sync.com, and Dropbox.

NordLocker Transfer Speed Tests

In the world of VPNs, security somehow trumps speed, especially when using Multi-hop and obfuscation. NordLocker’s encryption shouldn’t impact the transfer speed because it takes place before you access your files.

Let us begin with our internet speed displayed below.

After all, your internet speed is the #1 dictator of the cloud storage transfer speed. We performed our speed test using the official Speedtest.net website and our Brave browser on Windows. In fact, the entire NordLocker test is performed on our Windows 11 PC.

We tested its web app because it’s the most popular. Using a 1 GB review file which we packed into a RAR archive, we uploaded and then downloaded the file. The goal was to measure the time it took for the file to end up on the cloud and back on our device.

So, we started to upload the file at exactly 13:31. The moment it landed on the cloud was exactly 13:45. To translate to an exact number, the total upload time was about 15 minutes. After that, we immediately downloaded the file back to our computer.

Our Brave browser displayed a download time of 3 minutes, which was respectable. After our speed test of NordLocker, we can conclude it performs well, although not as fast as you might’ve expected. Drawing from our experience, it’s way faster than Sync.com.

Simultaneously, NordLocker lost the race to pCloud, Internxt, and Dropbox. These three are the fastest online storage options in general. Being behind the three giants isn’t a bad result.

Transfer Files Quickly With NordLocker

Security & Privacy

We already mentioned that NordLocker uses zero-knowledge encryption. As the core pillar of its security, the company ensures this encryption is unbreakable. It’s based on 256-bit encryption with the xChaCha20-Poly1305 cipher. We won’t go too much into detail.

The thing you should know is that this is one of the most powerful ciphers. It would take millions of years to break it with brute force. No one lives millions of years; except turtles, these creatures are too stubborn to die. NordLocker also includes MFA; a good one.

It’s used to prevent unwanted access and verify your identity. A good indicator of NordLocker’s security is its periodic locking out. As said, the app will lock itself to deter other visitors. When it comes to privacy, NordLocker’s privacy policy will tell you volumes.

After inspecting it closely, we found no suspicious or vague sentences that would make us scratch our heads. NordLocker has minimal logging that involves certain usage statistics, app diagnostics, and time of the file upload and encryption. Nothing too alarming.

When using the app for the first time, the option to send NordLocker anonymous aggregated data is ON by default. You can disable it in Settings if you want to reduce the logging further. The only small – really small caveat – is NordLocker’s IP logging.

Don’t be afraid. This IP is stored only when you get a shared link. In general, NordLocker is one of the most secure online storage providers with an impressive track record. It’s on par with pCloud and way better than Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, and iCloud.

NordLocker Pricing Plans: How Much Does it Cost?

It’s time to review NordLocker and its subscription plan pricing. Actually, only the latter at this point. Flexibility isn’t NordLocker’s strong suit. You get three plans to pick from, and on the far left is the 3 GB free plan with end-to-end encryption and email support.

Pretty basic and underwhelming compared to MEGA with 20 GB of storage.

We then move on to the paid plans. The 500 GB option lets you save 40% through Gizmodo and pay only $2.99/mo for the annual version. A better deal is the 2 TB plan with 53% savings and a price of $6.99/mo or about $84 annually. These two have monthly versions.

Save 53% on NordLocker 2 TB

However, they have no discounts and cost $7.99 and $19.99 respectively. Looking at the monthly versions, NordLocker will be expensive but its annual plans are fairly inexpensive. pCloud and Dropbox are pricier. Internxt is way more inexpensive, for instance.

NordLocker’s Business plans will suit multi-user environments. There’s actually one Business plan at $29.99 a month or roughly $360 annually. It comes with an Admin Panel, secure file management, private sharing, and 24/7 priority, instead of email support.

All NordLocker’s plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pin that against pCloud’s 14-day money-back guarantee and you’ll see that the latter is a bit stingy.

Customer Support

Let’s finally review customer support before wrapping it up. NordLocker offers two levels of support. One is titled 24/7 priority support and is reserved for business users. We, mere mortals, can enjoy only email support. On paper, it sounds disappointing and slow.

In practice, we were surprised at the team’s willingness to help. After sending an email, we had to wait for about 10 to 15 minutes to get a response. Best of all, Nord Security’s team is always on point and quickly resolves any issues. Not that we had any; we were just chatting.

NordLocker’s on-site support is commendable. The Help Center offers a myriad of app-related guides, setup tutorials, account guidance, and much more. Live chat support isn’t necessary because the product functions well and you won’t have to beg for help.

After using it for more than a year, we encountered ZERO issues. That tells a lot.

NordLocker Review: Final Verdict

To finalize this NordLocker review for 2025, we have to give you our two cents, although this review was more than just a few cents. We have mad respect for NordLocker and its privacy and security features. If we had to pick one provider to keep our life savings intact, this one would be our first choice.

However, the provider has a few major letdowns that don’t rank it as the #1 cloud storage. Convenient functions like file versioning, file previews, drive backups, document editing, and Linux support are missing from its arsenal. Yet, they’re found in pCloud and Internxt.

pCloud, in particular, is pretty much an ideal alternative to NordLocker. It’s equally safe, offers zero-knowledge encryption, and comes with higher storage limits (up to 10 TB). At the same time, it’s more expensive and likely to be less attractive to those on a budget.

Our advice is the following. NordLocker is a worthy purchase if you opt for its most affordable 2 TB plan. If you can spend less, getting NordLocker is justifiable. If you spend a tad more, pCloud Lifetime plans will undoubtedly provide more in all aspects.

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