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NordVPN VS PIA

Have you been trying to find the right VPN for yourself? Does it seem to be impossible to decide - NordVPN VS PIA or PIA VS NordVPN..? If that’s the case, let me tell you - you’ve stumbled upon the right comparison!

In this article, we’ll be comparing two of the higher-end VPNs in the current industry - NordVPN VS Private Internet Access. Quite frankly, we’ll lay down some specific criteria for our comparison, and then see how each of the aforementioned VPNs fair in accordance with those criteria.

NORDVPN PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS

Overall Score

9.8
8.5

Most Suitable For

All-round security Budget-friendly

Ease of Use

4.9 of 5.0

4.3 of 5.0

Latest Coupons

All NordVPN Coupons All Private Internet Access Coupons

Verdict

Industry leader. Super-safe, reliable and affordable. Safe and reliable. Good pricing.
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Table: NordVPN and PIA comparison introduction

Also, if you’d like a short, simple and to-the-point comparison of Private Internet Access VS NordVPN, you’ll be able to find one here, too.

NordVPN VS PIA: Comparison Criteria

So - as noted in the introductory part of this NordVPN VS PIA comparison, we’ll be comparing and contrasting the two VPNs in question in accordance with some specific criteria. But what’s the point of doing so, in the first place?

Well, it’s pretty simple, really. Thing is, depending on who it is that you ask, everyone is going to give you different answers as to which features of a “good” VPN are the most important ones. Some people will automatically respond with “data security” - others might lean towards torrenting and content streaming support, or server speed.

NORDVPN PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS

Number of Servers

5916 3266

Number of Countries

61 29

Simultaneous Connections

6 6

Offers OpenVPN

Speed

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very slow
average
very fast
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very slow
average
very fast
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Table: NordVPN and PIA features

While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, there are some specific feature groups that a (quote, unquote) “good” VPN should possess, no matter what. These feature groups are: transperant data logging policies, information leak protection, torrenting & content streaming, server speed & count, and ease of use. Let’s take a closer look at each one of them.

  • Data Logging Policies. In the world of VPNs, data logging is an unforgivable offense. No matter whether you’re reading NordVPN VS PIA comparisons or any others, this point will always remain the same. If a VPN logs your data, the company behind it can then sell that information, or hand it over to law authorities and governmental agencies - since you’re using a VPN, in the first place, you’d probably not want that happening. That’s exactly the reason why this is usually taken as such a serious offense.
  • DNS, IP and WebRTC Leak Protection. Data leaks are bad, but they are also not uncommon. That said, if you’re opting to go for the best VPN out there, naturally, you’d expect it to be leak-free. An information leak is something that happens when the security systems of a VPN fail, and your information gets spilled out (leaked) right into the hands of anyone willing to collect it. More often than not, that would be some sort of a hacker or online-based thief. Whatever the case might be, always make sure that the VPN you’re thinking about purchasing has the highest degree of security and data leak protection.
  • P2P File-Sharing and Content Streaming. In most cases, these two terms are understood as file torrenting and streaming Netflix USA from some other part of the world. Both of the features in question are very sought-after in the industry - many people actually ignore the security aspect of VPNs, and are searching for one simply because they want to watch the unrestricted version of Netflix in their own countries. That being said, a decreasing number of VPNs can actually provide these features to their customers - always do proper research on the matter before making a purchase!
  • Server Speed & Count. Server speed is extremely important for most people who are using a VPN. Whether it be this NordVPN VS Private Internet Access comparison or some other one, the fact remains the same - if you want to download and upload files, watch movies and videos, or simply stroll around the web without interferences, you’re going to have to possess a stable connection speed. A high-end VPN is going to provide you with just that. Naturally, server count is a huge, added bonus - the bigger the choice pool, the better are your options at finding something that works for you.
  • Ease of Use. Finally, any Nord VS PIA comparison would be lackluster without discussing both of the VPNs’ ease of use. A high-quality, top-rated VPN is always going to have some amazing user experience features, a smooth and stable interface, easily-accessible settings, quick server hop options, and so on. No matter what type of a comparison it is that you’ll be reading, always keep this in mind - if the VPN looks great, costs cheap and appears to work fine, there’s a pretty good chance that there’s a catch. More often than not, the catch is that you have to possess a Ph.D. in the fields of IT and network programming in order to set it up properly.

Now, those are the 5 feature groups that you should always keep in mind when trying to find the best VPN for yourself, be it in a NordVPN VS Private Internet Access comparison, or any other.

NordVPN VS PIA: The Comparison

So, with the core features out of the way, let’s start off this NordVPN VS PIA comparison right from the top, and see how both of the VPNs fair against each other when it comes to their data logging policies.

Data Logging Policies

As noted earlier, data logging policies should be the first thing that you check out when opting to purchase a brand new VPN, whether it be while reading a NordVPN VS PIA comparison, or else.

The one thing to keep in mind here, however, is that not all data collection is considered to belogging”. This is a pretty common mistake that many people make - they see that a VPN collects their billing information, and automatically discard it.

Billing info, technical parameters, login dates - these and other similar types of information are going to be important for a VPN provider to have in order to provide you with some assistance if you manage to bump into some issues while using the VPN.

NordVPN VS PIA: NordVPN front page features.

NordVPN has some pretty great data logging policies. The only information that the VPN “logs” is your billing data and email. Even so, if you use cryptocurrency to pay for the VPN, then even the billing info part can be discarded.

PIA is very similar - multiple user NordVPN VS PIA comparisons and reviews point out that Private Internet Access also keeps track of only the bare essentials, and does not log any sensitive information about its users. A great start for sure!

Latest NordVPN Coupon Found:

DNS, IP and WebRTC Leaks

When a DNS, IP or WebRTC leak happens, your information becomes compromised, and might fall into the hands of third-parties that could then use that data for malicious purposes. In essence, that is exactly what a VPN is supposed to protect you against - that’s why many people use these digital security tools, in the first place.

How does a VPN protect your information from leaking out, you may ask? Well, there are a few different ways. Most VPNs (at least those that are actually worth paying attention to) encrypt your information while you’re using them, so even if it does leak out, there will be no way to trace it back to you.

NORDVPN PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS

Data Logging

IP Leaks

DNS Leaks

WebRTC Leaks

Jurisdiction

Panama USA

Five/Nine/Fourteen Eyes

None Five

Strongest Encryption

AES-256 AES-256

Kill Switch

Anonymous Payment Support

Email Email

P2P File Sharing

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Table: NordVPN and PIA security features

Then there are features such as the kill switch - a safeguard that automatically terminates all of your processess upon losing connection to the VPN. It’s somewhat of an extreme measure, but it guarantees your personal privacy won’t be compromised. Naturally, there are various other leak protection options, too.

When it comes to this PIA VS NordVPN comparison, it’s frankly safe to say that both VPNs are similar here, too, in the sense that neither of them is going to leak your sensitive information. Doing research and stumbling upon user NordVPN VS PIA reviews, you might notice that both of the digital security tools use AES 256-bit encryption and OpenVPN, too - that’s definitely reassuring!

Compare VPNs Side by Side With Others

Did you know?

Have you ever wondered which VPNs are the best for your security & privacy?

See & compare TOP VPNs side by side

P2P File-Sharing and Content Streaming

As I’ve mentioned earlier on in the NordVPN VS PIA comparison, “P2P file-sharing” refers to torrenting, while “content streaming” - to watching Netflix’s restricted content. Now, of course, these two terms could mean other things, too - say, you could download files from elsewhere and not torrent them, or watch HBO instead of Netflix. Those are simply the most popular options.

Watching Netflix while using a VPN might sound like a pretty straight-forward process, but it’s actually more tricky than that. Netflix has been banning VPN servers all over the place, and it’s not too easy to find a VPN that would have plenty of working Netflix servers still available.

NORDVPN PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS

Netflix

Torrenting Support

Tor

Operating Systems

Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows
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Table: NordVPN and PIA P2P file-sharing and Netflix compatibility

Torrenting is a bit easier. While many VPNs aren’t going to come out and outright tell you that they support torrenting, they usually hint at it in some pretty obvious manners. Safe to say, if you see “P2P file-sharing” on a VPN provider’s official website, you’ll be able to torrent files with that particular VPN.

In regards to this Private Internet Access VS NordVPN comparison, both VPNs fully support and allow users to torrent files. When it comes to the topic of Netflix, though, NordVPN is usually seen as the better alternative - that’s mostly because it has more working Netflix servers than PIA, at least as of writing this Nord VS PIA comparison.

Server Speed & Count

First up, let’s talk about speed.

A fast VPN will allow you to use it and not feel like you’re stuck in an endless buffering cycle. The ideal scenario is that you wouldn’t even notice that you’re using a VPN - frankly, that’s not something that easy to achieve.

NordVPN VS PIA: PIA servers.

While there are many different factors that impact the speed of a VPN, when it comes to the PIA VS NordVPN comparison in question, Private Internet Access is actually amazing in proving users with some great speed parameters! Naturally, NordVPN is great, too, but that’s almost to be expected - it’s one of the top industry leaders, after all.

Now, when it comes to server count, though, Nord takes the lead - big time. While PIA has more than 3000 servers for you to pick from (that’s a lot!), Nord offers nearly double that - 6000 and counting!

Ease of Use

Reading through user reviews and from the feedback that we ourselves gathered while researching the VPNs for this NordVPN VS PIA comparison article, it would seem that NordVPN does, indeed, have some better stats in regards to theease of usefactor.

Now, don’t get me wrong - PIA isn’t “difficult” to use, by any stretch of the imagination. But the fact that the VPN still doesn’t even have live customer support is, well… Not ideal.

NordVPN VS PIA: Nord speed.

Also, Nord has a prettier interface, and is more intuitive to use, overall.

Price

Finally, all things being covered, let’s talk about the final factor when choosing a VPN out of the NordVPN VS PIA comparison - the price.

NORDVPN PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS

Money Back Guarantee

30 Days 7 Days

Cheapest Price

$2.99 $3.33

Free Trial

Free Plan

Number of Plans

4 3

Latest Coupons

All NordVPN Coupons All Private Internet Access Coupons
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Table: NordVPN and PIA pricing options

NordVPN’s price are:

PIA’s pricing plans look like so:

Truth be told, the pricing options are actually very similar! It would seem, however, that PIA is a bit more affordable than Nord, at least as of writing this Nord VS PIA article. The differences are quite minimal, though.

Conclusions

Now, after reading through the NordVPN VS PIA comparison, which VPN is going to be better?

Truth be told, while it’s a pretty difficult decision to make, it would appear as though NordVPN is a bit of a better option in regards to functionality and content streaming. The VPN has a huge pool of servers, and also a reputation that is simply undeniable - you can’t go wrong with NordVPN!

That being said, if you’re still not sure, do remember to check out our side-by-side Private Internet Access VS NordVPN comparison of both of the VPNs in question. Also, if you’re simply not certain about either of the products or brand names in this NordVPN VS PIA comparison, you could also check out our list of the best VPNs, overall - maybe you’ll find something that suits you there?

NordVPN VS PIA: PIA features.

All in all, I thank you for reading this NordVPN VS PIA article, and hope that it was informative and helpful to you. Cheers!

Leave your honest feedback

By leaving your honest opinion you can help thousands of readers to choose the best VPN. We accept genuine & helpful user feedback, either positive or negative. Have in mind that biased feedback will not be published. If you want to share your opinion, experience or advice, we want you to spill the beans!


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Rating
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Rating
4.9

Recent User Reviews

best option

If we consider the prices pretty much both VPNs are the same, so if we think about it a bit more thoroughly NordVPN is the best option!

Ad blocker

I'm looking for a good ad block for kids, a good comparison would be highly appreciated!

Privacy 100%

It is so important for me to be a ghost online and I hate websites keeping my data, looking for the best VPN but NordVPN doesn't seem like the option for me, perhaps Private Internet Access.

Lots of features

I recently made the jump to NordVPN and clearly is way better for support and number of servers to choose from.

ease of use!

NordVPN is so much easier to use compared to PIA.

Fast

The server of NordVPN is fast but Im curious if PIA would be better since I live in the US.

Amazing!

Other VPN dont even offer torrenting, cant believe it! It's great to see there are many options that take this seriously

Best VPN for NETFLIX

Nord it’s really the best Netflix VPN in the market.

Beware

If you travel for work check for a vpn that works overseas, this is NEEDED in the reviews, would appreciate if you add this!

working great

NORD is working great for me!

Clear Winner!

PIA might be ok for some regular browsing but NordVPN is the clear winner for me.

Amazing!

I've got a discount to use NordVPN and it's amazing, but Private Internet Access seems safer because it's based in the US

Free trial

If you are like me and don't wanna spend a penny unless you are sure Nord and PIA offer a free trial. I recommend.

For the fam

I thought about buying a vpn for me but then I use it on my kids phones for the adblocks, NordVPN is good if you look for a family plan.

Solid ;)

solid article. I’ve been with NordVPN for 3 years and never really had an issue.

PIA zero issues

I've generally had no problems with PIA, while NordVPN has been a little wonky for me.

Thx! :D

Thanks for this, I liked the insights and might give them both a quick try.

Choose PIA!?! ;D

Personally I'd choose PIA if you're for regular browsing/some torrenting.

Easy

I was using tunnelbear for free, considering better paid options now, I appreciate your comparisons!

Netflix please

I'm dissapointed a lot of vpns dont work with netflix, what's going on? Tried PIA and it took me a while to find a decent server

Cheap prices

Nord vpn user here ! So far one year being a happy customer but I would like to use a service in the US now.

Great prices

It's so hard to decide between these VPNs, but I would appreciate a discount count for PIA please, I can't find any

NordVPN

Checking all reviews some say Private Internet Access doesn't work to watch Netflix, any comments on this? If this happens, I wanna go straight with NordVPN.

It crashed

I was feeling great using PIA on my phone and computer. However, it did crashed the other day and didn't work, I'm worried this happens frequently.

A thousand research later...

After a few hours looking at which one is better between PIA VS NORD, my heart goes to nord because they have a lot of features compared to PIA

Want NETFLIX??

If you take into account that NordVPN works with Netflix USA you will surely forget about PIA ;)

Best one

PIA didn't help me with Netflix, there was an error or something, glad I was using the trial. I would like to check other options.

NordVPN = BEST

We all know that Nord is the BEST, but you can't ignore the fact that PIA is WAY cheaper.

It's ok

After trying out Private Internet Access, I wasn't able to enter Netflix and decided to use NordVPN instead.

Torrenting

I was using PIA in the past but whenever it comes to torrents it slows down, SO ANNOYING. Hope to switch to Nord soon

annoying captchas

PIA has lots of annoying captcha pop ups, it's just not as high quality a network compared to Nord.

Long time PIA user..

I've been using PIA for between 4 and 5 years and I've been really happy with it.

never trust PIA ! !

I’ve never trusted PIA, even if they seem legit.

NO Regrets

As a long time VPN user, I recently switched to NordVPN after a 3 day trial. No regrets!!

I love this!

VPNs are the best honestly! Trying NordVPN at the moment and its performance is over the top!

usefuul

This article was really useful, you guys rock! ;)

Thanks for info!

Hi, this review is really helpful.

See everything!

Love NordVPN, helped me see facebook and instagram and school, everyone asks but I don't tell my secret!

Reliable.

If you want the best service use a US product, PIA is reliable and doesn't break any rules!

Good Review

Good review and I more and more closer to the opinion that NordVPN is really the best solution.

FAQ

Which of the NordVPN VS PIA VPNs is better?

While both VPNs are industry-leading digital security tools, NordVPN is usually considered to be the better alternative. As you might have noticed from the NordVPN VS PIA comparison, Nord has better speed parameters, more working Netflix servers and a more fundamental reputation within the industry. Overall, while both VPNs are great, Nord should prove to be the better choice.

What are the main differences between NordVPN and PIA?

NordVPN has more servers, is easier to navigate and use, and has live customer support. PIA, on the other hand, is also a very fast VPN that does also possess a huge number of servers, but is a bit lackluster when it comes to the functionality aspect, and does not have live customer support.

How do you decide which provider offers the best VPN?

Deciding which provider has the top VPN is not an easy task, but it sure is fun! We have a dedicated team of professionals who test each VPN from start to finish, measuring all of the most important features. We buy all the VPNs ourselves, use machine learning & data science algorithms, get opinions from hundreds of real users, MIT professors, internet security experts and more. The top VPN services are decided by measuring all these important metrics, and never by the request of the providers.

Is VPN legal & safe?

VPNs are totally legal, well, at least in 97% of the world. Some countries only allow government-approved VPNs, like: China, Iran, Oman, Russia, Turkey & United Arab Emirates.
Nonetheless, it’s completely legal in most countries. Usually, top VPN providers are really safe too, but to make sure, look for the information logging & DNS leak topics in our best VPN reviews. If the provider of your interest logs your personal data & doesn’t pass the DNS leakage test, you should look for a more safer VPN.

What are the benefits of using a VPN?

What top VPNs do is mask your real IP address to hide your current location. If the VPN has great quality, it won’t leak or log your personal information. You can freely roam around the internet not having to worry about the exposure of your privacy and information. Also, you can access geo-blocked content on Netflix, or other censored types of information. A VPN can also give you an extra layer of safety for Peer-to-Peer sharing function while using torrents. Every VPN has different pros and cons, so be sure to check them in our in-depth best VPN reviews.

Can VPNs be used to unblock content?

Yes, it can. The most popular content platform for top VPNs to unblock is Netflix. Even though it’s available almost everywhere, USA users have a much bigger content variety. That’s why a lot of people use VPNs to view that kind of content via USA-located servers. If the content you want to view is geo-blocked, you can look up which servers (in which regions) the top VPN providers possess and which ones are right for you. You can easily find this information for each best VPN service in our VPN reviews.