We whitethorn gain from vendors via affiliate links oregon sponsorships. This mightiness impact merchandise placement connected our site, but not the contented of our reviews. See our Terms of Use for details.
Discover whether NordVPN’s amended speeds and other features are worthy the cost, oregon if you’ll beryllium satisfied with PIA VPN’s much affordable pricing.
NordVPN is consistently ranked arsenic 1 of the champion VPNs, but it’s decidedly not the astir budget-friendly choice, which leads galore radical to research cheaper alternatives specified arsenic Private Internet Access VPN. In this review, I comparison NordVPN vs. PIA VPN head-to-head to assistance you determine if NordVPN’s amended speeds and other features are worthy the accrued outgo oregon if you’ll beryllium satisfied with PIA’s overmuch cheaper VPN.
- PIA VPN is champion for budget-conscious users who are looking for a inexpensive VPN and don’t caput inconsistent speeds and less features.
- NordVPN is champion for users who privation a faster VPN and much precocious features and are consenting to wage much for that other capability.
PIA VPN vs. NordVPN: Comparison table
| # of servers | Not disclosed | 6,355 |
| # of countries | 91 | 111 |
| # of devices | Unlimited | Up to 10 devices |
| No-logs policy | Yes | Yes |
| Starting terms for one-year plan | $3.33 per month | $4.59 per month |
| Starting terms for month-to-month plan | $11.95 per month | $12.99 per month |
| Free trial | 7 days | Not available |
PIA VPN vs. NordVPN pricing
Private Internet Access VPN pricing
PIA offers 3 elemental subscriptions for its standalone VPN product. It’s important to enactment that PIA does not hike prices aft the introductory period, and alternatively you volition beryllium capable to renew your subscription astatine the aforesaid price. The pricing for those plans is arsenic follows:
- 3 years + 4 months: $1.98 per month.
- 1 year: $3.33 per month.
- 1 month: $11.95 per month.
PIA VPN besides offers 2 paid add-ons, antivirus extortion for Windows PC and a dedicated IP address. Many different VPNs see these features with higher tier plans, truthful it’s important to crunch the numbers truthful that you’re getting the champion deal. Here’s however overmuch these add-ons from PIA volition outgo you:
- Antivirus for Windows PC
- 3 years: $1.00 per month.
- 1 year: $2.00 per month.
- 1 month: $4.50 per month.
- Dedicated IP address
- 3 years: $2.50 per month.
- 1 year: $4.25 per month.
- 1 month: $5.00 per month.
A escaped proceedings is disposable for PIA VPN, but lone done the App Store oregon Google Play Store. After you download the app and motion up for a subscription, you person 7 days to trial it retired for escaped earlier you’ll beryllium charged. The escaped proceedings is not disposable done the PIA store oregon for desktop apps. However, aft I signed up for the proceedings connected my iOS device, I was capable to download the Mac app connected my laptop and log successful with my credentials that way. PIA besides offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, truthful you tin inquire for a refund if you alteration your caput during the archetypal month.
For much information, work our full PIA VPN review.
NordVPN pricing
NordVPN offers 3 antithetic subscription lengths: 2 years, 1 twelvemonth and month-to-month. NordVPN besides offers 3 antithetic tiers of plans, with the much costly ones offering further features. The Basic program provides a VPN for up to 10 devices. The Plus program adds malware protection, a password manager, a tracker and advertisement blocker, and a information breach scanner. The Ultimate program includes everything successful Plus and 1 TB of encrypted storage. NordVPN does rise prices aft the introductory play ends, though sometimes it offers discounts (especially if you endanger to cancel your subscription altogether). The prices for those plans are arsenic follows:
- 2-year plan
- Basic: $3.09 per period + 3 other months.
- Plus: $3.99 per period + 3 other months.
- Ultimate: $5.99 per period + 3 other months.
- 1-year plan
- Basic: $4.59 per period + 3 other months.
- Plus: $5.59 per period + 3 other months.
- Ultimate: $7.59 per period + 3 other months.
- Month-to-month
- Basic: $12.99.
- Plus: $13.99.
- Ultimate: $15.99.
A escaped proceedings is not disposable for NordVPN. However, it does connection a 30-day money-back guarantee, truthful if you determine you don’t privation to support utilizing it during the archetypal month, you tin get a refund. I had antecedently signed up for a two-year NordVPN program for my idiosyncratic use, and arsenic a effect did not request a escaped proceedings successful bid to trial it.
For much information, work our full NordVPN review oregon cheque retired our comparisons for NordVPN vs. Surfshark and NordVPN vs. Express VPN.
PIA VPN vs. NordVPN: Feature comparison
Speed and performance
One of PIA VPN’s large drawbacks is its average-to-slow speeds. As soon arsenic I logged into the desktop app (Figure A) and connected to the closest server successful Atlanta, I noticed the lag immediately. A speedy velocity trial confirmed this: I got download speeds of 295.66 mbps and upload speeds of 75.23 mbps with PIA VPN moving successful the background. This is overmuch slower than NordVPN arsenic good arsenic different fashionable fund VPN pick, Surfshark. For reference, I got download speeds of 503.19 mbps and upload speeds of 330.90 mbps erstwhile investigating retired Surfshark past month.
Figure A: The expanded mentation of the PIA VPN desktop app. Image: PIANordVPN (Figure B) is much costly than PIA, but I recovered its speeds to beryllium overmuch faster during my two-year subscription. In fact, velocity was a large crushed wherefore I chose NordVPN successful the archetypal place. There would sometimes beryllium a small spot of a lag, particularly erstwhile connecting to a server acold away, but it was noticeably faster than PIA VPN connected average.
Figure B: The homepage of the NordVPN desktop app. Image: PIAKeep successful mind, however, that transportation velocity tin alteration a batch depending connected a multitude of factors, from however galore different radical are connecting to the aforesaid server to what media you’re trying to watercourse to your geographic location. For instance, chap TechRepublic writer Luis Millares experienced beauteous bully speeds and minimal lag erstwhile testing retired PIA VPN for his in-depth review. That’s wherefore I urge investigating retired PIA VPN vs. NordVPN for yourself to spot which 1 is faster astatine your location oregon business.
Streaming
Streaming contented was casual with some PIA VPN and NordVPN. I was capable to link to a server successful the UK to watercourse Studio Ghibli films connected Netflix and past switched to a server successful Canada to watercourse “The Office.” Even though I connected to PIA’s “streaming optimized” servers (Figure C), determination was a noticeable lag compared to NordVPN.
Figure C: A database of PIA’s presently disposable streaming optimized servers. Image: PIAWhen connected to PIA servers, I had to hold a portion for each Netflix leafage to load, and erstwhile I deed the “play” fastener it took betwixt 15 and 20 seconds for the contented to commencement streaming. After that archetypal pause, the video watercourse was wholly fine. That being said, I’d beryllium acrophobic astir utilizing PIA for larger tasks, specified arsenic uploading precise long, high-quality videos to YouTube oregon streaming analyzable games that necessitate a batch of computing power.
Ease of use
PIA’s assorted interfaces aren’t the astir intuitive VPN level I’ve tried, but they besides weren’t the worst. The iOS app was precise elemental successful design, and it lone took maine a mates seconds to find the portion selector instrumentality successful the near sidebar and link to the UK. However, the plan of the desktop app was a spot much confusing, particularly compared to the elemental mobile apps.
SEE: How to Start a Career successful Cybersecurity (TechRepublic Premium)
On a Mac, the PIA VPN desktop interface offers 2 views, condensed and expanded, and the dimensions of either can’t beryllium changed. The condensed presumption (Figure D) lone shows the connect/disconnect buttons and what server you presently person selected. The expanded presumption extends the toolbar vertically until the barroom covers the full tallness of the screen, which is simply a alternatively unusual plan choice. The expanded presumption gives you entree to much settings and metrics but hides the link fastener — you person to illness the model again to marque the fastener amusement up again.
Figure D: The condensed presumption of the PIA VPN desktop app. Image: PIAIn contrast, the NordVPN desktop opens successful a abstracted model that you tin resize and determination astir to your heart’s content. I personally similar this, truthful I tin support the VPN unfastened successful a model successful the inheritance portion I’m moving oregon streaming. I besides admit NordVPN’s representation that shows maine what server I’m connected to, though immoderate different users whitethorn find this diagnostic unnecessary oregon visually distracting. To entree different settings, simply click done the icons connected the near paper bar. The NordVPN mobile apps are arsenic elemental to navigate (Figure E), and they each travel a akin plan to the desktop, truthful it feels similar 1 cohesive system.
Figure E: The NordVPN iPhone app. Image: NordVPNSecurity and privacy
PIA offers galore information and privateness features that are present considered modular for VPNs, including AES 256-bit encryption, a termination power and multi-hop routing. Its apps are besides afloat unfastened source, which provides further transparency and enables anyone (including you) to analyse the root code. PIA VPN besides has a no-logs argumentation and an highly wide privateness argumentation that spells everything out, and it’s been independently audited by Deloitte to backmost up these claims.
The lone information quirk that mightiness springiness immoderate users intermission is the information that PIA has a U.S. jurisdiction, arsenic opposed to a state that isn’t portion of an intelligence-sharing alliance. In 2019, it was besides bought by Kape Technologies, which has been known to administer malware and adware successful the past. (PIA has asserted that it operates wholly autarkic of Kape itself.)
For astir mundane users similar myself, this U.S. jurisdiction and Kape ownership won’t beryllium a dealbreaker. If this is an contented for you, past you’ll beryllium gladsome to cognize that NordVPN is based successful Panama, which does not enactment successful the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes oregon Fourteen Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances.
NordVPN besides offers plentifulness of different information and privateness measures that are akin to PIA VPN. It besides uses AES 256-bit encryption, a termination power and multi-hop routing (which the level calls “Double VPN,” spot Figure F). NordVPN besides has a coagulated no-logs policy, which has been independently verified by Deloitte 4 antithetic times, with the astir caller 1 being the extremity of past year.
Figure F: NordVPN’s multi-hop routing is called Double VPN. Image: NordVPNPIA VPN pros and cons
Private Internet Access VPN pros
- Cheaper than NordVPN.
- No terms hikes aft the introductory period.
- Supports unlimited simultaneous connections.
- Many information features.
- Free proceedings disposable done App Store oregon Google Play Store.
Private Internet Access VPN cons
- Antivirus extortion and dedicated IP addresses are paid add-ons.
- May effect successful important velocity loss.
- Desktop app plan could beryllium improved.
- US jurisdiction whitethorn interest privacy-focused users.
NordVPN pros and cons
NordVPN pros
- Faster speeds than PIA VPN connected average.
- Panama jurisdiction is amended for information privacy.
- Desktop app tin beryllium resized and moved around.
- Advanced plans see further features similar malware protection.
NordVPN cons
- More costly than PIA VPN.
- Price increases aft the introductory period.
- Limited to 10 simultaneous instrumentality connections.
- No escaped proceedings available.
Should your enactment usage PIA VPN oregon NordVPN?
Whether your enactment should take PIA oregon NordVPN depends connected a assortment of factors. If you are looking for the cheapest standalone VPN and don’t attraction astir the inconsistent velocity oregon the U.S. jurisdiction, past you volition astir apt beryllium satisfied with PIA VPN. I particularly admit that it doesn’t hike prices aft the archetypal subscription, which is thing that astir each different fashionable VPN does.
If you are looking for accelerated and accordant speeds, privation amended privateness measures and are consenting to wage much for that, past NordVPN whitethorn beryllium a amended choice. Keep successful caput that if your concern besides needs further features similar malware extortion and a password manager, it whitethorn really beryllium cheaper to bundle it altogether with Nord than to bargain each merchandise separately.
If neither PIA VPN nor NordVPN seems similar a large acceptable for your needs and budget, past cheque retired our different picks for the top escaped VPNs.
Review methodology
To comparison PIA and NordVPN, I signed up for a escaped proceedings of PIA VPN. I had already subscribed to NordVPN antecedently for my idiosyncratic use. I tested some VPNs connected speed, streaming and easiness of use. I besides delved into their information and privateness measures to guarantee that they are some harmless and reliable VPN options.
Also Read
- 1Password Review (2024): Features, Pricing & Security
- Cisco Talos: LilacSquid Threat Actor Targets Multiple Sectors Worldwide With PurpleInk Malware
- Are Password Managers Safe to Use? (Benefits, Risks & Best Practices)
- International Malware Takedown Seized 100+ Servers
- Cybersecurity: More Must-Read Coverage
English (US) ·