Congratulations on narrowing your VPN choices down to just two! With all the information and similar services out there getting to this stage can certainly be a challenge.
However, you aren’t done yet. Luckily, we are here to help you make the final decision between PureVPN and PIA.
The good thing to know is that both of these VPNs are excellent choices. They both offer all the security, privacy and location benefits you have come to expect from a top VPN, although they also have a couple of differences that could sway your decision either way.
Want to ensure you choose the best possible VPN for you? Then please read on!
PureVPN Top Features
- Servers in 121 countries
- Choose from OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, IKEv2, PPTP
- Up to 5 simultaneous connections
- 256-bit encryption
- Automatic Protocol selection
- Can use P2P on certain servers
- Kill switch
- Unlimited bandwidth & Unlimited speed
PIA Top Features
- Servers in 25 countries
- Good protocol choice: OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec
- Up to 5 simultaneous connections
- 256-bit encryption
- Ad, tracker, malware blocker
- Can use with P2P
- Kill Switch
- Unlimited bandwidth & Unlimited speed
PureVPN vs PIA: Features In Common
Secure Protocols And Encryption
Both these VPNs offer a range of protocols to choose from, including OpenVPN. They also give you the option to encrypt your connection at the super secure 256-bit encryption rate.
PureVPN also gives you the added option of SSTP which can be useful if you have a Windows device and don’t want to use OpenVPN.
Absolutely No Logging
Neither of these VPNs log your data which means you know your browsing will stay private.
While it is rare for a VPN to collect usage logs (logs of the sites you browse, what you download, etc.), some do still take connection logs (when you use the VPN, how much you download, etc.).
Neither of PureVPN nor PIA take either connection or usage logs.
Connect Five Devices At The Same
Nowadays, it’s pretty rare for someone to browse the internet using just one device. You will likely have numerous devices potentially including a laptop, a desktop, a phone, and a tablet.
A good thing about both these VPNs is that they allow you to connect up to five of your devices at the same time. This means you can protect your browsing on all your devices without the hassle of installing a VPN on your router.
Another positive is that both VPNs provide apps for all the most popular operating systems meaning they are really easy to install and use.
Kill Switch
A kill switch is super important as it ensures that you never connect to the internet without first connecting to your VPN. Sometimes when you use a VPN your connection to the server can go down. If this happens it is possible that you will connect directly to the internet.
However, if your VPN has a kill switch, as both PureVPN and PIA do, then the VPN software will stop you from connecting to the net until you are once again connected to your VPN.
NAT Firewall
When you use a VPN, you lose the benefits of your router’s firewall which can directly expose you to malicious content. However, both these VPNs have an added NAT firewall which will keep you protected.
NAT firewalls are also advantageous when you connect to the internet using data on your phone. This is because unlike when you connect using a router, when you connect using data you normally don’t have a firewall by default.
DNS Leak Protection
When you connect to the internet your browser sends requests to a DNS server which is often run by your ISP. This means that your ISP can see all your browsing unless you use a VPN as it directs your traffic to an anonymous DNS server.
However, even when using a VPN sometimes these DNS requests can “leak” and be sent to the ISP’s DNS server. Luckily both VPNs mentioned in this article have DNS leak protection to stop this from happening.
Differences Between PureVPN And Private Internet Access
PIA Exclusive Features That We Like
>>> Click to learn more at Private Internet Access <<<
SOCKS5 Proxy
Using a SOCKS5 proxy is a way of getting some of the anonymity benefits of a VPN but without your connection slowing down too much. This is because when you use a SOCKS5 proxy, while you still connect to a server before your final destination, your connection isn’t usually encrypted. As encrypting data can take a (comparatively) long time, using a SOCKS5 proxy should be faster than a VPN.
SOCKS5 proxies are often used for P2P connections and they can also be used at the same time as a VPN for added security and privacy.
Competitive Pricing
PIA is one of the cheapest VPNs around and its monthly deal can be bought for as little as $6.95 for a single month (at the time of writing). This goes down to only $3.33 per month if you are willing to sign up for an entire year.
PureVPN Features That We Like
>>> Click to learn more at PureVPN <<<
Dedicated IP
Ever tried to log into a website from a new location only to be told that they don’t recognize your IP? Well a dedicated IP can stop this from happening.
With PureVPN it is possible to buy a dedicated IP for a small extra monthly fee. This is perfect for accessing websites that only allow certain IPs that they recognize such as internet banking or corporate networks.
By having a dedicated IP, these websites and networks will know you have permission to access them every time you use your dedicated IP address.
PureVPN Virtual Router In App
This is a really useful feature that allows you to turn your Windows computer into a virtual router. Much like a real router, your virtual router will allow other devices to connect to it and share its internet connection and other connected devices.
Servers Available
Both PureVPN and PIA have plenty of servers for you to connect to. This is useful when it comes to being able to access geo restricted content in a number of countries and also when it comes to ensuring that you have a server available in a location nearby.
However, of the two VPNs, PureVPN undoubtedly has by far the highest amount of server locations with 121 locations in comparison to PIAs 25.
Before you rush out and sign up to PureVPN while discarding PIA, it is worth remembering that servers are only useful if you actually use them. Before signing up to either of these VPNs it would be a great idea to consider the server locations that you are likely to need and compare it with the server locations that are available.
If there is a country that you know will be especially useful, it is also useful to see if there are multiple server locations within the country. This is because if one server location becomes congested and slows down, it is always good to have an extra server option available.
As well as this, ensuring that the VPN has a server nearby to your current location means that you will be able to reduce the amount your internet speeds slow down when using a VPN. This is because the further your data has to travel, the slower your connection will be.
Are There Speed Tests?
We won;t publish speed tests for either of those VPNs, as we believe that they won’t be especially useful for the reader and could even make one VPN seem deceptively faster than another.
This is because when it comes to using a VPN, there are simply too many variables at play that will decide the final speed you get. Things such as the distance between you and the VPN server, how congested the server is, the encryption you use, and your internet speeds without a VPN will make a difference to the final speed you receive.
Basically, what you need to know is that both these VPNs will slow your connection down a little and both of them will offer competitive speeds. If you really need to know, then the best thing for you to do would be to simply download the VPN and try it out for yourself.
Of course, if you really would like to see a speed test, please let us know in the comments section and we will try to do one in the future.
PureVPN vs PIA: Conclusion
Both these VPNs are great. Whichever one you choose will give you everything you need from a VPN.
PureVPN has a couple of nice extras such as the ability to use a dedicated IP (for a small fee) and the ability to set up a virtual router, while PIA has good security and privacy features and for a very low price.
If you do end up choosing one of these VPNs, we’d love to hear your experience in the comments section below.
Do you use either PIA or PureVPN? Let us know how they work for you below...