We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
Editor's Note: We value our relationship with our readers, and we strive to earn your trust through transparency and integrity. We are in the same ownership group as some of the industry-leading products reviewed on this site: ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Private Internet Access, and Intego. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.
As you can see, NordVPN does a better job than PIA in every major category. We got these results after putting both VPNs through multiple tests and comparing how they performed under identical circumstances.
While PIA is a solid VPN, the results speak for themselves and you can get a better VPN for a better price when you go with NordVPN.
While PIA can consistently maintain high speeds, it doesn’t come close to NordVPN which is one of the fastest VPNs that we’ve tested. This is due to the number of servers that NordVPN has around the world. The speed is not only great for browsing, but is perfect for streaming US Netflix (which you can’t do through PIA).
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| Download speed reduction | 10% (UK) | 35% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 14% (FRA) | 39% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 2ms | 35ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 9ms | 10ms |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you're torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
Both NordVPN and PIA have an impressive number of servers worldwide. PIA currently has 3,302 servers in 25 countries while NordVPN maintains over 4,400 servers in 60 countries. Neither VPN will allow you to choose a specific server or city to connect to, rather you will be be connected to the server that is best optimized for you. A big advantage that NordVPN has over PIA is that they offer dedicated servers for downloading torrents and P2P files.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 60 | 30 |
| Server Countries | 60 | 30 |
| IP Addresses | 5,201+ | 3,236+ |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow
When it comes to customer support NordVPN is the clear winner. With a 24-hour live chat option you can get instant answers to your questions day or night. PIA has an e-mail ticket systems, but the response time is, on average, a less than impressive 36 hours.
| VPN vendor |
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| Email Response Time | 3 | 24 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes from when you buy NordVPN to when you can securely browse the internet. Once the download is complete you can log in with your username and password and you’re all set. It comes with OpenVPN preconfigured and the system will recommend specific servers should the need arise (i.e. torrenting). The mobile app is also very easy to use and won’t take up too much space on your phone.
PIA is a lightweight VPN software, this means that it will download quickly and not take up too much space on your computer. Whether you’re using it on a PC, Mac, Linux, or for a mobile device, the process is quick and easy. They do offer some helpful guides that will explain some of the more technical aspects, such as choosing the best protocols, but you shouldn’t need them for basic use.
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