Private Internet Access vs. NordVPN

NordVPN and Private Internet Access, otherwise known as PIA, are two of our favorite VPNs, so matching them up against one another was a real doozy. But, it’s our absolute duty to get in the weeds, pay attention to details, and give our readers all the information they need to make a very important decision. Below, we’ll go through each company in detail, their similarities and differences, and we’ll wrap things up by recommending a VPN based on what matters to you most. Let the games begin!

Private Internet Access and NordVPN: Similarities and Differences

We’re about to get real down and dirty with both of these VPNs, so here’s a chart that we put together for you for a quick snapshot of what we’ll be looking at today.

Similarities

First, let’s take a look at what the two VPNs have in common.

• Torrenting: We were living our truths being able to share our favorite 90’s playlists among our friends and colleagues by directly sending files across the office.
• Kill switches: Regardless of what VPN we were on, we were protected by kill switches. A kill switch is always a good thing to have in our back pockets because it essentially kicks in on the off chance that our VPN connection fails. This would be especially bad if we were on a public WiFi network.1 In that case, the kill switch would close out of all our activities so that our personal business is never exposed, not even for a split second.
• Split tunneling: Neither VPN has the ability to do split tunneling, so no matter which VPN we were on, we weren’t able to use both public and private Internet connections at the same time.
• Customer service: Both services offered 24/7 live chats that were speedy in answering our questions about the companies’ logging policies. They both also had a thorough database of past user questions that we could easily search to find information and solutions.

Differences

And now, onto the more interesting part. Below, we’ve laid out the key differences among these two formidable VPN foes.

• IP addresses: When using Private Internet Access, our IP addresses were dynamic and randomized, meaning that we were assigned a new IP address each time we logged on to the VPN. However, when using NordVPN, we shared our assigned IP address with other users, which made it hard for hackers or anyone else who might be trying to spy on us to track us down. We also could get a dedicated IP from NordVPN, but it would have cost us an additional $70 per year.
• Number of servers and countries operated In: Private Internet Access has 12,335 servers across 74 countries, while NordVPN has 5,246 servers spanning 62 countries. While Private Internet Access has an edge here, NordVPN’s expansive global presence is nothing to sneeze at.

• Number of devices connected: While NordVPN allowed us to connect six of our devices at the same time, Private Internet Access capped us at 10. Additionally, Private Internet Access allows unlimited devices to be connected under just one subscription, so if we reached our ten device cap, we could have just swapped devices in and out. NordVPN limited us to six devices, even if they weren’t connected at the same time. Now that we’re spending more time at home, it’s important to make sure we have everyone in our household’s devices protected.2

• Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes Membership: These are surveillance alliances that countries can participate in. If a country is involved, it’s possible that the government can force the VPN company to surrender user data, and that’s a big no-no for us. NordVPN is based in Panama, so we’re in the clear there, but Private Internet Access is based in the U.S., meaning that they fall under these agreements.
• Speed: While VPNs impact speed, we never want that impact to be too significant, so we test each service out to see exactly what the tradeoffs are. On our Macbook Air, though Private Internet Access performed slightly better on ping, NordVPN did much better with download and upload speeds. You can see the full speed tests in our NordVPN review and our Private Internet Access review.

On our Windows Vivobook, Private Internet Access had the edge, especially in ping and upload speed. So, if you’re a Windows user, you might want to go with Private Internet Access, and Mac users would be better off with NordVPN, from a speed perspective at least.

• Information logged: While both companies boast a no-logging policy, NordVPN does log some information, for example, our names, usernames, email addresses, and payment information. While that’s pretty standard across VPN companies, NordVPN also kept track of our device model, browser type, days connected to the VPN, and what country we’re in. Private Internet Access did not keep track of any information pertaining to our browsing activity, but they did collect personal information such as our name, mailing address, ages and email addresses. Additionally, the company’s privacy policy states that they also tracked our IP address, files accessed, browser type, referring URL and access time when using the site. We’ll chalk that up as another win for Private Internet Access, but since both services log some data beyond just name and payment information, it’s not a huge victory.

When it comes to the bottom line, Private Internet Access is the more affordable option. And, just in case we wanted to take Private Internet Access for a test drive, they offered us a two-month free trial, giving it a sure competitive edge over NordVPN. We’ve got additional details on payment methods on our Private Internet Access cost page.

NordVPN did offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, we would need to incur a charge on our cards and then request a refund to get our money back. We’d prefer to try the service without giving them payment information, but were assured that if we wanted a refund, there would be no questions asked.

Additionally, NordVPN offered a 15 percent student discount when opting for their three-year plan. All we’d have to do is prove our student status through Student Beans, Youth Discount, or Descuento Estudiante, and we’d unlock even more cost-savings. While unfortunately, our glory days are behind us, we love helping out those broke college students in whatever small way we can.

The Bottom Line

After going through all the details, it was certainly a tough call, however, we believe that ultimately, NordVPN has the edge over Private Internet Access. Both companies offer secure access to the Internet, where our browsing activity would be encrypted and protected; however, there are a couple of considerations that made NordVPN a more attractive option, like their exclusion from Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes surveillance jurisdiction. Additionally, if you’re a Mac person, there are significant speed advantages compared to Private Internet Access.

Private Internet Access had a leg up due to their randomized IP addresses, wider global reach, and the ability to connect more devices simultaneously. If you’re more cost-minded, they’re also the cheaper option, but not by much.

If neither of these VPNs speaks to you, have no fear. We’ve got a ton of other resources to help you get closer to making your decision, and would recommend you start by checking out the overall best VPNs. If you’re looking for something a bit more specific, we also put together our recommendations for the best VPNs for the Fire TV Stick and the best VPNs for Windows. Finding a VPN is a big task, so be patient, and we’re confident that you’ll find the perfect fit for what you’re looking for.