Suppose you walk away from your computer without locking it or logging out. Just how much secret information could a snoop discover? If you’ve carefully encrypted your most important files, that snoop may leave empty-handed. NordLocker, from the makers of NordVPN, stores all your sensitive data in an encrypted cloud locker. The current version has dropped the option to encrypt files and folders directly on your local disk. However, the service remains extremely easy to use, and its secure sharing is more flexible than most. Even so, our Editors’ Choice apps for encryption remain AxCrypt Premium and Xecrets Ez Premium. These two are 100% compatible with each other, which is no surprise, as they have the same author. Xecrets costs less, while AxCrypt has more corporate polish.

How Much Does NordLocker Cost?

What you pay for NordLocker depends on what you want from it. For no cost and without the need to register a credit card, you can obtain a free account with 3GB of cloud storage for your confidential files. Upgrading to a Personal account raises your storage to 500GB and adds priority tech support. That’ll cost you $4.99 per month billed annually, for a list price of $59.88 per year. AxCrypt costs a little less, about $45 per year, and the premium edition of Xecrets Ez is just $15 per year.

If your cloud-stored files approach the 500GB maximum, you can opt for the Personal Plus plan instead. For $14.99 per month ($179.88 billed annually), you pump up your storage to a full 2TB. This antivirus-style subscription model is less common in the world of encryption products. Cypherix Cryptainer PE, Cypherix SecureIT, Folder Lock, CryptoForge, and others are available for a one-time fee ranging from approximately $30 to $60. Of course, these products don’t have the ongoing expense of maintaining servers to hold your stored data.

Even if you don’t choose a free account for yourself, the existence of that free tier is important. Sharing files requires that both you and the recipient have NordLocker installed. Free users don’t have a huge amount of cloud storage, but folders shared by others don’t count against the total.

What Is Encryption?

Let's take a step back for a moment before we delve into how NordLocker implements encryption and provide some background on what encryption is. Since the dawn of communication, people have sought ways to conceal their messages. Simple substitution ciphers go back to the days of the Romans, and before. Such ciphers are easy to crack using techniques such as checking letter frequency and identifying common patterns. More recent, but also historical, is the one-time pad, a totally uncrackable encryption system. Really!

The concept is simple. You and your associate both have access to a random, unique key that's at least as long as the message to be encrypted. You use a simple, reversible XOR algorithm to combine the message with the key, then send the encrypted message. Your associate applies the key again to decrypt the message. And then—this is important—you both destroy the key. Picture tearing the top sheet from a pad of keys and burning it. For the next message, you use the next key.

With each key unique and at least the length of the plaintext, no analysis could discern letter frequency or find common patterns. It's truly uncrackable. It's also a pain to implement.

In the modern world, we need encryption that can be applied rapidly and efficiently. It doesn't have to be impossible to crack, just difficult enough that it can't be done in a reasonable time. That describes the official encryption algorithm of the US Government, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Bruce Schneier's Blowfish algorithm is another widely used and robust method.

What's New in NordLocker?

Until recently, one major draw for NordLocker’s free edition was the ability to create as many local lockers (encrypted storage containers) as desired. However, the designers removed the local locker feature as of July 1, 2025, giving customers ample time to remove their files from those lockers.

When you install the NordLocker app under Windows, it looks quite different from its previous incarnation. The tall, skinny window displays a list of recent activities, such as uploading and downloading files. Across the bottom are three icons titled Open files, View in browser, and Profile.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

Clicking Profile allows you to adjust a few settings, primarily related to security. Selecting View in browser opens the main online NordLocker dashboard, which I’ll discuss below. As for Open files, it displays the contents of your cloud locker in Windows Explorer, as if they were local files. It’s super easy to manipulate your protected files in this view, and moving items into and out of cloud protection is no different from moving them between ordinary folders.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

As for macOS support, it’s not quite ready. If you try to download NordLocker for Mac, you’ll see that it’s labeled “Coming soon.”

Encryption Technology

You can rest assured that NordLocker uses top-notch encryption, specifically AES-256, supported by a comprehensive suite of technology to enhance and secure the process. Fortunately, you don't have to know what xChaCha20-Poly1305 or Ed25519 are. NordLocker is super easy to use.

Most of the products we've reviewed either rely strictly on AES256 or offer it as an option. Intercrypto's Advanced Encryption Package lets you choose from AES or 16 other encryption algorithms, which may leave your head spinning. AxCrypt relies on AES for encryption and uses public key cryptography for secure sharing. With CryptoForge, you can use up to four different algorithms, each taking the encrypted output of the previous one as input.

Getting Started With NordLocker

Anyone can create a free NordLocker account and start using encrypted cloud storage immediately. In addition to an overall account password, you separately define a key that opens your lockers. By observation, these can be the same. NordLocker rates the strength of your account password as you type, but unlike AxCrypt, Folder Lock, and several others I've reviewed, it doesn’t rate the strength of the key that opens your lockers. Be sure to choose a strong NordLocker Key, something that you can remember but that others cannot guess.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

If you do manage to forget that key, all is not lost. During setup, NordLocker generates a 25-character recovery key, composed of numbers and capital letters, and advises you to store it in a secure location. I'd suggest printing it out and putting it in your fireproof lockbox. Do you have a fireproof lockbox, by any chance? Note that changing your master password, perhaps to make it more secure, requires the use of this recovery key. To complete account creation, you must check a box acknowledging you’ve been warned that if you lose both the master password and the recovery key, you will be irrevocably locked out of your files.

With local lockers no longer available, NordLocker is now a strictly secure cloud storage service. The NordLocker online dashboard has a layout that will be familiar to most users. A column near the left lists your cloud locker and the folders it contains. A large central panel displays the contents of the selected folder. Details about the selected file or folder appear on the right. Simple!

A slim menu at the far left offers a handful of choices: Profile, My Files, and Shared. My Files, selected by default, gets the list of files and folders that I just described. Choosing Shared brings up a list of files shared with you; I’ll discuss sharing below. On the Profile page, you can drill down for settings or adjust your security.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

Most file encryption apps work in one of two ways. Either they allow you to encrypt individual files and folders, or they create encrypted storage folders that can be locked to prevent access to their contents. NordLocker’s local lockers used to be an example of the latter, but, as noted, that feature has been removed.

Folder Lock, Steganos Safe, Cryptainer, and CryptoExpert can also create encrypted storage folders. Folder Lock, Steganos, and CryptoExpert create multiple containers that appear as drives or folders when opened, whereas Cryptainer treats the first volume you create as primary, requiring you to remember the filenames for secondary volumes.

Files, Folders, and the Locker

With the old NordLocker, you could create multiple lockers, both local and in the cloud. In the new system, the cloud locker is the only locker. However, top-level folders within the cloud locker get special treatment, and the help even refers to them as lockers in places.

Similar Products

Our Current Picks for The Best Encryption Software for 2026

AxCrypt Premium

4.5 Outstanding

Read Our Review

Xecrets Ez

4.5 Outstanding

Read Our Review

NordLocker

4.0 Excellent

Best DealSave 53%on NordLocker Premium

Buy It Now

NordLocker

Save 53%on NordLocker Premium

Read Our Review

I mentioned that you can open NordLocker in Windows Explorer. When you do that, you can treat it like any other drive or file location. Drag a file in, and it will be copied to the cloud locker. Previously, if you moved an item into the NordLocker locker, It would securely delete the original, foiling forensic recovery. Secure deletion is no longer present. My Nord contact explained, “Users can then choose to delete the originals (we leave this decision, and the choice of method to delete, to the user, so that they are always in control).”

When you launch a document from within NordLocker, it syncs a local copy for you to work on, then syncs your changes to the cloud when you’ve finished. As with similar services, you can recover local disk space by marking some files or folders as cloud-only.

Simple Secure Sharing

To share a file or folder, you start from your cloud locker, not from the Windows Explorer view. Just select the item and click the share icon that appears above it. If you’ve chosen a top-level folder, you’ll get three choices: Manage, Share, or Copy link. When you choose Share, you get the option to list email addresses for one or more invitees and determine whether each will merely get the option to view shared files, or whether they’ll have editorial rights to add, edit, and organize files.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

There’s one small catch. The recipient must already have a NordLocker account; otherwise, the sharing system will reject the email as “non-existent.” Once you have your recipients prepped and ready with a free account, you can easily share top-level folders. But why not just send the email and include a note about setting up a free account?

As the folder's owner, you can manage the access of all others, changing their status from viewer to editor or vice versa, and revoke sharing privileges when they are no longer needed.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

There’s another folder sharing option that doesn’t require the recipient to install NordLocker. You can select Copy link in the access management box to generate a link to an encrypted copy of the folder, along with a decryption key. For items other than top-level folders, this sharing method is the only option available. You simply share the link and the code with your desired recipient. Naturally, you’ll share the two parts using different communication media, perhaps one via email and one via Signal.

When the recipient follows the link, a NordLocker window opens, proclaiming “You’ve got new items.” Entering the security code unlocks the link and permits downloading the shared file or folder. Note that, unlike with full folder sharing, the shared item is just a copy—it retains no connection to the original. Links shared in this way expire after two weeks. The recipient’s one option is to download a local copy of any file in the shared folder. There’s no editing or even direct viewing.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

If you share a folder giving full Editor privileges, the recipient can edit files in the folder, add new files, and generally take full control. New since my last review, there’s another form of sharing that lets you receive files even from contacts who don’t use NordLocker. This feature specifically works with top-level folders in your cloud locker. When you click the Request files icon, located right next to the sharing icon, NordLocker generates a special link and security code, just as it does when sharing a file link.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

The recipient does not need to be a NordLocker user. Upon connecting with the link and entering the code, the recipient is presented with a drag-and-drop target for sharing files with the requester. It’s a one-way connection.

Advanced Multi-Factor Authentication

Unlocking the files in your cloud locker already requires two passwords, one for your Nord Security account online and one specific to your encrypted locker. Yes, these two can be the same, but for maximum security, they shouldn’t be.

You can optionally verify your access to the cloud locker using a feature called phone unlock. This involves installing the NordLocker app on your phone (if you haven’t already done so) and configuring it for biometric authentication. Now, you can unlock your encrypted files by confirming a code and tapping the app.

Since gaining access to those files requires you to know your Nord account password and have the app installed on your phone, you now have a form of multi-factor authentication (MFA). But in fact, NordLocker also offers more traditional MFA. As with Steganos and a few others, you use Google Authenticator or any compatible authenticator app for the second factor. With CryptoExpert, you configure a USB drive to act as the second factor. Advanced Encryption Package also boasts USB-based authentication, though it didn’t work in testing.

You enable MFA from the NordLocker online console. Enabling MFA involves an additional verification step, where a code is sent to the email address associated with your account. After that, setting up app-based MFA is a straightforward process of scanning a QR code and following the instructions.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

NordLocker’s enhanced security doesn’t stop there. You can also configure it to authenticate using a hardware security key or, with some configurations, a passkey. NordLocker recommends setting up app-based MFA as a backup first.

Mobile Apps

I’ve mentioned NordLocker’s desktop app for Windows and the temporarily absent macOS app. Mobile apps are also available for iOS and Android. The Android app matches most of the features found in the cloud and desktop editions; the iOS app lacks a few of these.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

Once you install NordLocker on your Android and log in, you have full access to all your cloud-based lockers. You can access files, share a locker, add local files, and do just about anything you can do from a desktop or from the web. You can preview some file types in the app or download those for which there’s no preview. It’s a fine mobile experience.

Getting started with the iPad app is the same as with the Android app, and the two mobile apps are more similar than ever. The differences mostly involve features not found in iOS, although I did notice that the iOS edition supports previewing more file types than Android does.

I found I could manage and initiate the sharing of top-level folders in the iOS app. For example, I could remotely revoke a user’s access or promote them from Viewer to Editor. But the option to share a copy of a file using a link and an access key isn’t present, nor is the option to request files. And you can’t change MFA settings in the iPhone app.

(Credit: NordLocker/PCMag)

What's Next for NordLocker?

When I last evaluated NordLocker, I finished with a section about promised features coming soon. The developers planned to allow recipients of a shared folder to edit the contents of that folder, and they also had a "Request files" option waiting in the wings. Using your mobile device to verify your identity and unlock the cloud was a pending enhancement.

Now, though, all of those new features have been integrated into the app. The only in-the-works feature that hasn’t yet been implemented is a virtual bin for files deleted within your cloud locker, something that would allow recovery the way the Windows Recycle Bin does.