PureVPN vs Private Internet Access: Similarities
PureVPN’s Android and Windows apps are easy to use.
Platforms, Interface and Ease of Use
Both PureVPN and PIA offer versatile platforms for diverse user needs. PureVPN’s Android app has multiple server modes, split tunneling, port forwarding options and a choice of dark or light themes. It supports WireGuard, IPSec and IKEv2 protocols, and it has a clean and intuitive interface.
PureVPN and PIA are both compatible with an array of devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, smart TVs, Kodi, Amazon Fire TV Stick and gaming consoles. Both VPNs are compatible with routers, although PIA doesn’t encourage router-based configurations due to the potential impact on speed.
PIA has many useful security features, including its MACE malware blocker.
Security Features
Private Internet Access and PureVPN both use WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. The VPNs both offer DNS leak protection and a kill switch. PIA uses an ad, tracker and malware blocker called MACE that blocks unwanted elements at a DNS level, while PureVPN does not have an inbuilt ad blocker.
PIA and PureVPN also both offer multi-hop so users can channel traffic through an additional server, adding a layer of encryption and therefore increased security. Both VPNs allow users to activate port forwarding on selected servers to increase download speeds and improve torrenting performance.
PureVPN and PIA both unblock Netflix.
Key Features
Both PIA and PureVPN desktop and mobile apps are easy to use and intuitively designed. PIA even made it onto our list of best VPNs for beginners. Both VPNs have all the key features one might expect from a quality VPN, including the ability to unblock Netflix, split tunneling and a kill switch.
With three options, PIA has simple and straightforward pricing.
Plans and Pricing
PIA and PureVPN are similarly matched in terms of price. PIA offers monthly, yearly and three-year plans, and PureVPN offers monthly, yearly and two-year plans.
PureVPN offers competitive monthly rates compared to premium vpn services like ExpressVPN or NordVPN. Priced at $12.45 per month for the Standard plan, PureVPN is marginally cheaper than ExpressVPN ($12.95) but more expensive than PIA, which is $11.95 monthly.
The pricing for yearly plans is more competitive, with PIA costing $4.17 per month, while PureVPN charges $3.75 per month for its Standard plan.
PIA does not have a two-year plan, opting instead for a three-year-plus-four-months offering, which is $2.19 per month billed upfront at $79. PureVPN offers a two-year plan plus three months at $2.21 per month for its Standard plan, billed at $52.95 for the first 27 months.
PureVPN has a three-tiered pricing structure, with each tier having a monthly option as well as yearly and two-year plans. The Standard plan includes the full-featured VPN while the other two tiers are add-ons like file encryption and a password manager.
Private Internet Access vs PureVPN: Differences
PIA and PureVPN have a lot of standard VPN features in common, but they differ in many important ways. We’ll take a closer look at the ways these two providers differ.
Speed
PIA is part of our regular VPN speed tests, where it does very well with latency, keeping up with ExpressVPN and surpassing NordVPN and Surfshark. Its download speeds in the U.S. generally fall between ExpressVPN and NordVPN, while the upload speeds have remained consistently fast.
Since we don’t run automatic speed tests for PureVPN from the same environment, we also tested the speeds at the time of writing using an unsecured connection speed of 137 Mbps.
Servers Speed Performance
| Location | Ping ms |
Download Mbps |
Upload Mbps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unprotected | 11 | 146 | 143 |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 68 | 138 | 60.8 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 46 | 136 | 37.7 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 20 | 137 | 26.9 |
| 🇺🇸 USA (U.S. East) | 124 | 106 | 41.8 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany (Frankfurt) | 43 | 140 | 87.1 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan (Streaming Optimized) | 287 | 54.7 | 10.7 |
| Average | 98 | 118.62 | 44.17 |
PureVPN had some interesting results. It didn’t slow much with nearby servers, which is normal for VPNs — they usually trade a bit of speed for security. However, when we connected to faraway servers in countries like Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Singapore, PureVPN showed significant reductions in speed.
| Location | Ping ms |
Download Mbps |
Upload Mbps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unprotected | 7 | 82.12 | 25.09 |
| 🇺🇸 United States (NY) | 130 | 81.24 | 25.72 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 126 | 77.11 | 21.22 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 430 | 70.84 | 13.79 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 360 | 73.22 | 20.61 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa | 461 | 79.47 | 9.62 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 352 | 68.09 | 39.93 |
| Average | 310 | 75 | 21.82 |
While PureVPN has higher download rates in specific regions, such as the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil, PIA has a more consistent performance across server locations, particularly in terms of upload and latency.
Streaming Performance
PureVPN does well unblocking major streaming platforms, successfully unblocking Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+ and BBC iPlayer. However, despite its ability to get into a wider variety of sites, we had some issues with lag once it was in.
Both VPNs have some work to do concerning streaming
capabilities, but both can get into Netflix.
PIA was a mixed bag of results with streaming services. While it unblocks Netflix U.K. and Germany without noticeable lag while playing high-quality video, it didn’t work with other platforms. HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video played HD content smoothly, but Hulu and Disney+ remained inaccessible. BBC iPlayer loaded effortlessly when testing from outside the U.K.
The conclusion is that PureVPN is better at getting into streaming platforms, but PIA is better for actually watching the content once inside the service. If streaming is something you do a lot of, check out our full article on the best VPNs for streaming.
Customer Support
PureVPN offers 24/7 live chat support, but the initial interaction is with a bot and it takes several questions and responses to connect to a live representative. PIA also offers 24/7 live chat support, and we were immediately connected with a live representative.
Both PureVPN and PIA have a wealth of searchable information on their respective websites in the form of FAQs and knowledgebases.
Parent Company & History
PureVPN is owned by GZ Systems Ltd. and was founded in 2007, with its jurisdiction currently in the British Virgin Islands. GZ Systems was started in Pakistan by Uzair Gadit. PIA was established by entrepreneur Andrew Lee in 2010 under the parent company London Trust Media and was acquired by Kape Technologies in 2019.
PureVPN doesn’t have many servers in the Middle East.
VPN Servers and Locations
PureVPN has a large server network, with over 6,500 servers spanning more than 65 countries. However, despite the broad coverage, PureVPN’s server network is heavily concentrated in Europe, with 32 countries and 3,052 servers, and North America, with nine countries covered by 2,232 servers, potentially resulting in server congestion in regions like Africa, the Middle East and Central America due to fewer servers.
| Region: | PIA Countries | PureVPN Countries |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 6 | 9 |
| South America | 10 | 5 |
| Europe | 44 | 32 |
| Asia | 18 | 8 |
| Africa | 5 | 6 |
| Oceania | 2 | 1 |
| Middle East | 4 | 4 |
PIA has over 35,000 servers across 91 countries. Although PIA doesn’t provide detailed server information, the majority of its servers are in North America, followed by Europe, and with better representation in Asia and South America than PureVPN.
PureVPN and PIA both have large server networks, but PIA’s is massive.
Privacy
PureVPN is under the jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands, which is not part of any data sharing alliances, while PIA has its jurisdiction in the United States, which is a Five Eyes nation. Both VPNs have strict no-logs policies and both have been independently audited to ensure that they are not keeping logs.
PIA’s no-logs policy was audited by Deloitte, and the VPN has been subpoenaed for logs multiple times but each time it had none to share.
On the other hand, PureVPN was asked for logs by the FBI in 2017 and turned over data that helped the FBI in an investigation. Since then, PureVPN has updated its privacy policy, had independent audits that back up its no-logs claims and initiated an always-on audit wherein KPMG can conduct a surprise logs audit at any time.