PureVPN Vs. Private Internet Access (PIA): In-Depth Comparison (2020)

Selecting a VPN means more than just looking at the costs. You need to be sure you have access to features of a premium service. Luckily, PureVPN manages to do quite well in this regard.

In comparison to PIA, the British Virgin Islands-based provider goes the extra mile in offering users a huge list of advanced features. You get more accessibility through native applications for all platforms/devices.

For security and torrenting, users have available the “Split Tunneling” feature, which is missing with PIA’s applications. As an addition, you have a malware scanner, ad-blocker, and even an official Kodi Add-on.

PureVPN also offers a unique set of tools, which I will be discussing below for your convenience below. All these features position the VPN higher than PIA and others in the marketplace.

If we talk about “unblocking”, there is no better option than PureVPN. All of its servers utilize strong encryption and security technologies that allow for instant bypassing of geo-restrictions.

This enables users to unblock all versions of Netflix, along with other hit platforms like Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and now even Disney+, whereas PIA fails at offering the same accessibility.

Not to mention, PureVPN is the only provider in the marketplace that allows for the unblocking of all popular VoDs directly through its browser extensions on Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

You have a “popular websites” option available that lists all famous sites you may want to access. Upon choosing the one you want to unblock, PureVPN instantly redirects you to the local version, minus the hassle.

China 

Since PureVPN has its headquarters in British Virgin Islands, it works better for both: Chinese expats and those residing in the country. In fact, it also offers 12 Chinese servers.

This is something that not even the best providers in the marketplace manage to offer. A lot of VPNs claim to work in China, and while they do, they forget to cater to the “expats” market.

For instance, PIA does not offer any Chinese servers and neither does it have a dedicated Chinese page for users to download their apps. As a result, PureVPN definitely seems like the better option.

PureVPN sets itself apart from other providers in the marketplace by offering incredibly user-friendly and easy-to-use apps across multiple platforms/devices, including Android/Apple TVs and Firestick.

The Windows/Mac version boasts a neat and clean outlook with plenty of configurable options available for the tech-minded individuals. At the same time, you have “direct” options available for rookies.

Meanwhile, the mobile apps utilize a “darker” appearance, but one that is equally impressive. You have specialty server listings for all your VPN related needs, along with access to Dedicated IPs as well.

PIA’s apps still need work and improvement in the overall UI. Their desktop versions sit in the task-bar with most features accessible directly by right-clicking the icon. This is nice, but also poses some hassle.

Since the app hides itself the second you minimize, it becomes a major annoyance for those trying to follow a setup or configuration guide, as you constantly need to click on the icon to open the app again.

It’s mobile apps are nicely designed though and tend to be clutter-free. All options are listed neatly and connecting takes barely a few seconds, which is quite remarkable.

PureVPN adds PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN (TCP and UDP), SSTP and IKEv2, to the list of supported protocols. SSTP is mostly used on Windows devices and IKEv2 is a useful addition for mobile devices.

It utilizes AES-256-CBC cipher with HMAC SHA1 hash authentication for the data channel and AES-256-CBC cipher with  HMAC SHA384 hash authentication and RSA-4096 handshake encryption for the control channel.

If we talk about security overall though, PureVPN definitely tends to be stronger. It offers enhanced security options like Double VPN and Split Tunneling, NAT Firewall, and DDoS Protection.

PureVPN gains an edge over PIA, thanks to its strategic British Virgin Islands location, which is away from the prying eyes of the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes Alliances (indulging in data retention and mass surveillance)

PIA has its headquarters in the US, which is literally the epitome of all invasive activities both: online and offline. As such, if we talk about “trust factor”, PureVPN definitely seems to be a more private option, considering they are a no logs service too. .

With regards to payment methods, where PIA supports Mint, BitPay, 32 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, PureVPN adds more to the list by including PaymentWall inc into their sign up.

In terms of configuration, PureVPN once again gains an upperhand over PIA. This is because the US-based provider only supports a shared infrastructure with dynamic IPs available.

PureVPN, on the other hand, offers more incentive to its users, supporting both; a shared and static infrastructure. They have dedicated IPs available in more than 7+ countries worldwide.

It is important to mention though that dedicated IPs are available as an add-on with separate pricing. If you opt for DDoS protection, you may even have to pay higher for the dedicated IP.

The best kind of customer support is through the live chat support option because its much more personal, easy to use and techy than email support which is cumbersome.

And if this is the metric for adjudging best customer support, then PureVPN is providing excellent customer hands down as compared to PIA. It offers an incredibly proactive live chat system.

On the other hand, PIA is still stuck in the mid 2010s with its email based support. PIA’s customer support method is not relevant in today’s world, so we will recommend it to upgrade itself.

However, since email support is still an option for both providers, I decided to put them to the test. Below are details regarding the response times from each provider on email support.