PureVPN vs Private Internet Access 2024 Comparison

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.