What is NordLayer — and why does it belong on a privacy compliance site?
NordLayer is a cloud-based business VPN and network security platform built by Nord Security — the same company behind NordVPN, but a completely separate product designed for teams rather than individuals. Where NordVPN protects personal browsing, NordLayer protects the connections between your employees, your systems, and your customers’ data.
The reason it appears on PrivacyComply is simple: GDPR Article 32 requires “appropriate technical and organisational measures” to protect personal data — and that obligation extends to how your team accesses that data, not just how you collect consent for it. A perfectly configured cookie consent banner does nothing to protect customer records if a team member is pulling them over an unencrypted coffee-shop Wi-Fi connection.
NordLayer fills that gap. It encrypts team traffic, enforces access controls, and produces the audit documentation you need to demonstrate compliance to regulators.
NordLayer vs NordVPN — what’s the difference?
| NordVPN | NordLayer | |
|---|---|---|
| Target user | Individual consumers | Business teams |
| User management | ✗ None | ✓ Centralised dashboard |
| SSO / SAML | ✗ | ✓ Google, Azure AD, Okta |
| Network segmentation | ✗ | ✓ Business plan |
| Zero Trust (ZTNA) | ✗ | ✓ Business plan |
| ISO 27001 | ✗ | ✓ Certified |
| SOC 2 Type II | ✗ | ✓ Audited |
| HIPAA controls | ✗ | ✓ Available |
| Starting price | $3.99/mo (personal) | $8/user/mo (team) |
Plans and pricing
| Plan | Price (annual) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $8/user/mo | Small teams needing basic encrypted access + SSO |
| Teams | $11/user/mo | Growing businesses — adds dedicated servers and device posture |
| Business | $14/user/mo | Full ZTNA, network segmentation, advanced threat protection |
| Enterprise | Custom | Large organisations with custom infrastructure requirements |
Pricing is per user per month, billed annually. There is no minimum seat count — a two-person team can use NordLayer from $16/month on the Lite plan. Monthly billing is available at a higher rate. A 14-day free trial covers all plans.
Key features
Encrypted remote access
All plans include encrypted tunnels for remote team members connecting to business systems. NordLayer supports IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN protocols, with a proprietary NordLynx protocol (based on WireGuard) available for faster connections. Traffic between your team members and your business infrastructure is encrypted end-to-end regardless of the network they’re on.
Centralised user management and SSO
Administrators manage all users, permissions, and access policies from a single web dashboard. SSO integration is available with Google Workspace, Microsoft Azure AD, Okta, and OneLogin — meaning you can enforce company authentication policies rather than relying on individual employees to manage their own VPN credentials.
When an employee leaves, you revoke access in one place. This is directly relevant to GDPR: personal data access must be limited to authorised personnel, and that authorisation must be revocable.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) — Business plan
Zero Trust means no device is trusted by default, even if it’s on your corporate network. NordLayer’s Business plan adds ZTNA controls that verify device health, user identity, and location before granting access to specific resources. This limits the blast radius if credentials are compromised — an attacker with stolen login details still can’t reach systems they’re not explicitly authorised for.
Network segmentation
The Business plan lets you divide your network into separate zones — for example, your finance team can reach payroll systems but not customer databases, while your support team can reach the CRM but not payment infrastructure. This enforces the GDPR principle of data minimisation at the network level, not just the application level.
Device posture checks — Teams and above
NordLayer can verify that connecting devices meet your security standards before granting access: OS version is current, antivirus is active, disk encryption is enabled. Devices that fail checks are blocked or quarantined. This prevents compliance gaps from employee devices that are out of date or unmanaged.
Threat protection
All plans include DNS-based malware and phishing protection that blocks malicious domains before a connection is established. The Business plan adds deeper threat intelligence and anomaly detection. This is relevant for businesses worried about data exfiltration via malware on employee devices.
Compliance certifications
- ISO 27001 — International standard for information security management systems. Demonstrates NordLayer has systematic controls for protecting information assets.
- SOC 2 Type II — Independent audit confirming NordLayer’s security, availability, and confidentiality controls operate effectively over time (not just at a point in time).
- HIPAA-ready — NordLayer’s infrastructure meets the technical safeguard requirements of HIPAA, relevant for healthcare businesses or those handling health-related data under other regulations.
- GDPR-aligned — NordLayer processes team data under EU data processing agreements and stores data within jurisdictions you control. The platform itself is not a GDPR compliance tool, but it helps you meet Article 32 technical safeguard obligations.
What we liked
- ISO 27001 + SOC 2 Type II at SMB pricing. These certifications usually appear on enterprise platforms at enterprise prices. NordLayer makes them accessible from $8/user/month.
- No minimum seat count. A two-person startup can deploy a properly certified business VPN for $16/month — there’s no “minimum 25 seats” barrier.
- SSO out of the box. Google Workspace and Azure AD integration means you can use your existing identity provider rather than managing a separate credential set.
- Multi-platform clients. Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android — covers every device type a distributed team might use.
- Clean management dashboard. User reviews consistently highlight the dashboard as straightforward even for non-technical administrators.
Where it falls short
- ZTNA requires the Business plan. The most powerful compliance features are gated behind $14/user/month — the Lite plan is encrypted access only, which may not satisfy stricter regulatory requirements.
- Not a cookie consent tool. NordLayer does nothing for GDPR consent obligations, policy generation, or visitor-facing compliance. You still need a separate CMP like CookieYes or iubenda.
- Per-user pricing scales steeply. A 50-person team on the Business plan costs $700/month — meaningful for SMBs that grew quickly.
- No on-premises deployment option. NordLayer is cloud-only. Businesses with on-premises infrastructure requirements need a different solution.
Who NordLayer is for
- Remote-first businesses where employees access customer data from personal or home networks
- Any business subject to GDPR that handles personal data across distributed teams
- Companies in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal) needing documented network security controls
- Digital agencies whose staff access client data, CRMs, or analytics platforms remotely
- SaaS companies needing to demonstrate Article 32 technical safeguards to enterprise customers or auditors
Who should look elsewhere
- Solo operators or single-person businesses — a consumer VPN is sufficient and far cheaper
- Businesses where all staff work on-site on a managed corporate network — the risk NordLayer addresses doesn’t apply
- Anyone looking for visitor-facing cookie consent — see our cookie consent tool comparison
The verdict
NordLayer earns a 4.7/5 for doing one thing very well: making enterprise-grade network security accessible to businesses that aren’t enterprises. ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, SSO, and Zero Trust from $8/user/month is genuinely strong value, and the lack of a minimum seat count means there’s no barrier to entry for smaller teams.
The important caveat: NordLayer is a complement to privacy compliance tools, not a replacement. A complete GDPR-compliant stack for a remote business typically looks like iubenda or CookieYes (visitor-facing consent) + NordLayer (team data access security). Neither alone is sufficient.
NordLayer — protect the data your team accesses
ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, Zero Trust, and SSO for distributed teams. From $8/user/month with a 14-day free trial.