In the world of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), understanding the differences between top contenders like Private Internet Access vs ProtonVPN is crucial. Each platform offers unique features and benefits that cater to various needs. This article aims to shed light on these aspects, helping you find the VPN that suits you best.
Overview
In this in-depth comparison, we’ll pit Private Internet Access (PIA) against ProtonVPN, two front-runners in the VPN world. We’ll delve into their security mechanisms, scrutinize their privacy policies, and test their speed capabilities. Whether you’re a privacy purist or a casual user, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each can help you make an informed choice. So, let’s dive in and explore how PIA and ProtonVPN stack up against each other in the quest for online anonymity and security.
Private Internet Access
Price: From $2.03/month
Trustpilot Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Refund Policy: Private Internet Access offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Official website: www.privateinternetaccess.com
Private Internet Access (PIA) is best for individuals who prioritize privacy and security while browsing the internet or conducting online transactions.
ProtonVPN
Price: From $4.99/month
Trustpilot Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Refund Policy: ProtonVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Official website: www.protonvpn.com
ProtonVPN is best for individuals seeking high-level privacy and security online, including those who frequently use public Wi-Fi networks or want to keep their browsing history private.
PIA stands out with its robust network and unwavering commitment to user privacy. The ad and malware blocker is a testimony to its user-centric approach. I have navigated the internet waters safely and swiftly, thanks to the high-speed servers it hosts globally. It isn’t just a VPN service; it is a fortress of solitude in the bustling city of the internet, rightfully earning a 5-star rating! – Diego Rodriguez
ProtonVPN, with its Swiss heritage, brings a remarkable level of precision and quality to the VPN landscape. Its focus on security and privacy is monumental, offering features such as Secure Core servers that go the extra mile in protecting user data. I have felt a sense of true online freedom and security while using this service, making it a bona fide 5-star VPN service! – Olivier
PIA has stood the test of time, offering a reliable VPN service characterized by a vast network of servers and strong security features. While the user interface could use a modern update, the service remains dependable, earning a sturdy 4-star rating. – Ji-Yong
ProtonVPN, backed by proven security experts, offers a secure and private VPN service, focusing on transparency and high-grade encryption. While it maintains a strong security posture, it comes at a premium price range, which might be a hurdle for some users. A reputable service warranting a 4-star review. – Hiro T.
Pros & Cons
This part delves into the pros and cons of these two VPN services.
Winner is:
PIA offers more servers worldwide and better pricing, while ProtonVPN excels in privacy with its Swiss jurisdiction. PIA supports P2P sharing, a plus for torrent users, but ProtonVPN has free version for testing. PIA's robust security, advanced configuration options, and higher performance give it an edge. While ProtonVPN offers strong privacy features, PIA's robust performance, affordability, and extensive server network make it the overall winner in this comparison.
Private Internet Access
Pros:
- Unlimited bandwidth and connections: PIA allows you to connect an unlimited number of devices to its VPN at the same time. This is great for families or anyone who wants to use the VPN on multiple devices.
- Strong security: PIA uses strong encryption and security features to protect your privacy. These features include 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection.
- Wide server network: PIA has a large server network with over 30,000 servers in over 78 countries. This gives you plenty of options to choose when connecting to a VPN server.
- Affordable pricing: PIA is one of the most affordable VPNs on the market.
- Good customer support: PIA has a good customer support team that is available 24/7. You can contact them via live chat, email, or a support ticket.
Cons:
- Speed: PIA's speeds are not the fastest on the market. This can be a problem if you are using the VPN for streaming or gaming.
- Not all streaming platforms work: PIA does not work with all streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Hulu.
- No split tunneling: PIA does not offer split tunneling, which allows you to choose which apps use the VPN and which apps do not.
- Based in the US: PIA is based in the United States, which is a privacy-unfriendly jurisdiction.
ProtonVPN
Pros:
- Strong security: ProtonVPN uses strong encryption and other security features to protect your privacy.
- No logs policy: ProtonVPN does not collect or store any logs of your online activity.
- Open-source software: ProtonVPN's software is open-source, which means that it can be independently audited by security experts.
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN has secure core servers that are located in privacy-friendly countries.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, making it even more secure.
- Ad blocker: ProtonVPN's ad blocker blocks ads and trackers, making your browsing experience more private and secure.
- Split tunneling: ProtonVPN's split tunneling feature allows you to choose which apps and websites use the VPN and which ones use your regular internet connection.
- Free plan: ProtonVPN offers a free plan that includes limited features and bandwidth.
- Good customer support: ProtonVPN offers live chat support, email support, and a knowledge base.
Cons:
- Speed: ProtonVPN's speeds can be slow at times, especially during peak usage hours.
- Limited server network: ProtonVPN has a smaller server network than some other VPN providers.
- No dedicated IP addresses: ProtonVPN does not offer dedicated IP addresses, which can be useful for some tasks, such as torrenting.
- Not available in all countries: ProtonVPN is not available in all countries.
Key Features
This section compares the overall features of Private Internet Access (PIA) vs ProtonVPN.
Private Internet Access (PIA) HQ and country of jurisdiction is United States, and Private Internet Access (PIA) supports Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS platforms. In addition, it also supports OpenVPN, routers, and has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
ProtonVPN HQ and country of jurisdiction is Switzerland, and ProtonVPN supports Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers robust security features, extensive server coverage, and supports P2P. ProtonVPN shines with its strong privacy policy and free version availability. However, PIA wins for its superior speed, server quantity, and unblocking capabilities, providing a more seamless and versatile user experience overall.
Private Internet Access
- Unlimited bandwidth and connections: PIA allows you to connect an unlimited number of devices to its VPN at the same time. This is great for families or anyone who wants to use the VPN on multiple devices.
- Strong security: PIA uses strong encryption and security features to protect your privacy. These features include 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection.
- Wide server network: PIA has a large server network with over 30,000 servers in over 78 countries. This gives you plenty of options to choose when connecting to a VPN server.
- Affordable pricing: PIA is one of the most affordable VPNs on the market.
- Good customer support: PIA has a good customer support team that is available 24/7. You can contact them via live chat, email, or a support ticket.
- Open-source apps: PIA's apps are open source, which means that anyone can inspect the code to make sure that it is not doing anything malicious.
- No logs policy: PIA does not keep any logs of your online activity. This means that your ISP, government, or anyone else cannot track what you do online.
- Ad blocker: PIA includes an ad blocker in its VPN apps. This blocks ads, trackers, and malware, which can improve your browsing experience and protect your privacy.
- Split tunneling: PIA allows you to choose which apps use the VPN and which apps do not. This can be useful if you want to use a streaming service that does not work with VPNs.
ProtonVPN
- Swiss privacy: ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, a country with strong privacy laws. This means that ProtonVPN is not legally required to keep any logs of its users' activity.
- No logs policy: ProtonVPN has a strict no-logs policy, which means that it does not collect or store any information about its users' online activity, including their IP addresses, browsing history, or traffic data.
- Open-source software: ProtonVPN's software is open-source, which means that it can be independently audited by security experts to ensure that it is secure.
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN's secure core servers are located in privacy-friendly countries, such as Switzerland and Iceland. This helps to protect your privacy by preventing your traffic being intercepted by third parties.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, making it even more secure.
- Kill switch: ProtonVPN's kill switch feature will disconnect your internet connection if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address being exposed.
- P2P support: ProtonVPN supports P2P file sharing, so you can download and share files without fear of being tracked or monitored.
- Ad blocker: ProtonVPN's ad blocker blocks ads and trackers, making your browsing experience more private and secure.
- Split tunneling: ProtonVPN's split tunneling feature allows you to choose which apps and websites use the VPN and which ones use your regular internet connection.
- Easy to use: ProtonVPN is easy to use, even for beginners. It has a user-friendly interface and is available for all major platforms.
Security Features
This section looks at important security features of Private Internet Access (PIA) and ProtonVPN such as encryption methods, protocols, split tunneling, kill switch, and more.
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers robust security features such as OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, IP address/DNS leak protection, ad blocking, and a strict no-logging policy. It also supports split tunneling, a kill switch, and private DNS. ProtonVPN, on the other hand, offers similar features, but lacks ad-blocking and has fewer protocol options. It does, however, offer Onion over VPN and double VPN options. Despite ProtonVPN's unique offerings, PIA's comprehensive feature set and enhanced customization options make it the superior choice for VPN security.
Private Internet Access
- 256-bit encryption: PIA uses 256-bit encryption, which is the strongest encryption available. This means that your data is scrambled into gibberish that cannot be read by anyone, not even PIA.
- Kill switch: The kill switch is a feature that cuts off your internet connection if the VPN connection drops. This prevents your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: DNS leak protection prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties. This ensures that your browsing activity remains anonymous.
- No logs policy: PIA does not keep any logs of your online activity. This means that your ISP, government, or anyone else cannot track what you do online.
- Open-source apps: PIA's apps are open source, which means that anyone can inspect the code to make sure that it is not doing anything malicious.
- Ad blocker: PIA includes an ad blocker in its VPN apps. This blocks ads, trackers, and malware, which can improve your browsing experience and protect your privacy.
- Split tunneling: PIA allows you to choose which apps use the VPN and which apps do not. This can be useful if you want to use a streaming service that does not work with VPNs.
- Encryption protocol: PIA supports two encryption protocols: OpenVPN and WireGuard. OpenVPN is a more mature and established protocol, while WireGuard is newer and faster.
- Encryption cipher: PIA uses the AES-256-GCM cipher, which is the strongest cipher available. This means that your data is scrambled into gibberish that cannot be read by anyone, not even PIA.
- Handshake: PIA uses the RSA-4096 handshake, which is the strongest handshake available. This ensures that your connection to the VPN server is secure.
- Data authentication: PIA uses the GCM authentication method, which ensures that your data is not tampered with during transit.
ProtonVPN
- Strong encryption: ProtonVPN uses strong encryption to protect your data, including AES-256 encryption and the OpenVPN protocol.
- No logs policy: ProtonVPN does not collect or store any logs of your online activity, including your IP address, browsing history, or traffic data.
- Open-source software: ProtonVPN's software is open-source, which means that it can be independently audited by security experts to ensure that it is secure.
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN's secure core servers are located in privacy-friendly countries, such as Switzerland and Iceland. This helps to protect your privacy by preventing your traffic being intercepted by third parties.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, making it even more secure.
- Kill switch: ProtonVPN's kill switch feature will disconnect your internet connection if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: ProtonVPN's DNS leak protection feature prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- IPv6 leak protection: ProtonVPN's IPv6 leak protection feature prevents your IPv6 traffic being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- Ad blocker: ProtonVPN's ad blocker blocks ads and trackers, making your browsing experience more private and secure.
- Split tunneling: ProtonVPN's split tunneling feature allows you to choose which apps and websites use the VPN and which ones use your regular internet connection.
- Secure handshake: ProtonVPN uses a secure handshake to authenticate the connection between your device and the VPN server. This helps to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Hardware security modules: ProtonVPN uses hardware security modules (HSMs) to protect its encryption keys. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to your data.
- External audits: ProtonVPN's security has been audited by independent security experts. This helps to ensure that ProtonVPN is secure and reliable.
- AES-256 encryption: ProtonVPN uses AES-256 encryption, which is considered to be one of the most secure encryption algorithms available.
- ChaCha20 encryption: ProtonVPN also supports ChaCha20 encryption, which is a newer and more efficient encryption algorithm.
- OpenVPN protocol: ProtonVPN uses the OpenVPN protocol, which is an open-source and well-respected VPN protocol.
- IKEv2/IPSec protocol: ProtonVPN also supports the IKEv2/IPSec protocol, which is another secure VPN protocol.
- WireGuard protocol: ProtonVPN recently added support for the WireGuard protocol, which is a newer and faster VPN protocol.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, making it even more secure.
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN's secure core servers are located in privacy-friendly countries, such as Switzerland and Iceland. This helps to protect your privacy by preventing your traffic being intercepted by third parties.
Privacy Features
This section looks at the privacy features of ProtonVPN vs Private Internet Access (PIA) in terms of country of jurisdiction (five-eyes surveillance) no-logging policy, independent auditing, and more.
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) and ProtonVPN both offer robust privacy features. PIA has a proven no-log policy, independently audited, and supports crypto payments. It's based in the US, part of the Five Eyes alliance, but its no-log policy mitigates this risk. ProtonVPN, based in Switzerland, also has a no-log policy and supports crypto payments. It benefits from Switzerland's strong privacy laws but lacks independent auditing. Both provide private browsing. While both are strong contenders, PIA's independent auditing gives it the edge in terms of privacy assurance. Winner: Private Internet Access (PIA).
Private Internet Access
- No logs policy: PIA does not keep any logs of your online activity. This means that your ISP, government, or anyone else cannot track what you do online.
- Open-source apps: PIA's apps are open source, which means that anyone can inspect the code to make sure that it is not doing anything malicious.
- Kill switch: The kill switch is a feature that cuts off your internet connection if the VPN connection drops. This prevents your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: DNS leak protection prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties. This ensures that your browsing activity remains anonymous.
- Split tunneling: PIA allows you to choose which apps use the VPN and which apps do not. This can be useful if you want to use a streaming service that does not work with VPNs.
- Ad blocker: PIA includes an ad blocker in its VPN apps. This blocks ads, trackers, and malware, which can improve your browsing experience and protect your privacy.
- Torrenting: PIA allows torrenting on all of its servers. This means that you can download and upload files anonymously without fear of being tracked.
- Double VPN: PIA offers a double VPN feature that encrypts your traffic twice. This provides an extra layer of security and privacy.
- Tor over VPN: PIA allows you to connect to the Tor network through its VPN. This can help you to further anonymize your traffic and protect your privacy.
- No connection logs: PIA does not keep any logs of your VPN connections. This means that they cannot see which servers you connect to, how long you are connected for, or what websites you visit.
- No traffic logs: PIA does not keep any logs of your internet traffic. This means that they cannot see what websites you visit, what files you download, or what data you send and receive.
- No DNS logs: PIA does not keep any logs of your DNS queries. This means that they cannot see which websites you try to visit.
- No payment logs: PIA does not keep any logs of your payment information. This means that they cannot see how you paid for your subscription or your credit card number.
ProtonVPN
- No logs policy: ProtonVPN does not collect or store any logs of your online activity, including your IP address, browsing history, or traffic data. This means that ProtonVPN cannot track your online activity or share your data with third parties.
- Open-source software: ProtonVPN's software is open-source, which means that it can be independently audited by security experts to ensure that it is secure. This also means that anyone can review the code to see how it works and make sure that it is not doing anything malicious.
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN's secure core servers are located in privacy-friendly countries, such as Switzerland and Iceland. This helps to protect your privacy by preventing your traffic being intercepted by third parties.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, making it even more secure.
- Kill switch: ProtonVPN's kill switch feature will disconnect your internet connection if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: ProtonVPN's DNS leak protection feature prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- IPv6 leak protection: ProtonVPN's IPv6 leak protection feature prevents your IPv6 traffic being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- Ad blocker: ProtonVPN's ad blocker blocks ads and trackers, making your browsing experience more private and secure.
- Split tunneling: ProtonVPN's split tunneling feature allows you to choose which apps and websites use the VPN and which ones use your regular internet connection.
- Secure handshake: ProtonVPN uses a secure handshake to authenticate the connection between your device and the VPN server. This helps to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
- Hardware security modules: ProtonVPN uses hardware security modules (HSMs) to protect its encryption keys. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to your data.
- External audits: ProtonVPN's security has been audited by independent security experts. This helps to ensure that ProtonVPN is secure and reliable.
- No connection logs: ProtonVPN does not record any information about your VPN connections, including the time and date of your connection, the IP address of the VPN server you connected to, or the amount of data you transferred.
- No traffic logs: ProtonVPN does not record any information about your online activity, including the websites you visited, the files you downloaded, or the apps you used.
- No DNS logs: ProtonVPN does not record any information about your DNS queries, which are the requests your device makes to resolve domain names into IP addresses.
- No payment logs: ProtonVPN does not store any information about your payment methods, such as your credit card number or PayPal account.
Speed Features
This section explores the speed features of Private Internet Access (PIA) and ProtonVPN when it comes to server technology for download/upload speeds for streaming and torrenting.
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) and ProtonVPN both offer impressive speeds, but third-party speed tests reveal some differences. PIA consistently shows higher download and upload speeds, owing to its robust server network. Both VPNs can unblock streaming sites, but PIA's superior speed provides a smoother streaming experience. While ProtonVPN supports torrenting, its speeds can be inconsistent. In terms of server speed, PIA edges out with its extensive network and optimized servers. Thus, considering the overall speed and performance, Private Internet Access (PIA) emerges as the clear winner.
Private Internet Access
- Over 35,000 servers: PIA has over 35,000 servers in over 78 countries. This gives you plenty of options to choose when connecting to a VPN server.
- P2P-optimized servers: PIA has dedicated P2P-optimized servers for torrenting. These servers are designed to provide fast and reliable connections for torrenting.
- Dedicated streaming servers: PIA has dedicated streaming servers for popular streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. These servers are designed to bypass geo-blocks and provide you with access to your favorite content.
- Obfuscated servers: PIA has obfuscated servers that hide the fact that you are using a VPN. This can be useful in countries where VPNs are blocked or restricted.
- Tor over VPN servers: PIA allows you to connect to the Tor network through its VPN. This can help you to further anonymize your traffic and protect your privacy.
- Double VPN servers: PIA offers double VPN servers that encrypt your traffic twice. This provides an extra layer of security and privacy.
- 10 Gbps servers: PIA's servers are all equipped with 10 Gbps connections, which means that they have the potential to offer very fast speeds.
- Multiple protocols: PIA supports multiple VPN protocols, including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2/IPsec. Each protocol has its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of speed.
- Automatic server selection: PIA's automatic server selection feature can help you to connect to the fastest server available.
- Bandwidth throttling protection: PIA's bandwidth throttling protection feature prevents your ISP throttling your VPN connection.
- No data caps: PIA does not have any data caps on its VPN service. This means that you can use as much data as you want without having to worry about being throttled or charged extra.
ProtonVPN
- Secure core servers: ProtonVPN's secure core servers are located in privacy-friendly countries, such as Switzerland and Iceland. This helps to protect your privacy by preventing your traffic being intercepted by third parties.
- Double VPN: ProtonVPN's double VPN feature encrypts your traffic twice, by routing it through two VPN servers. This makes it even more difficult for third parties to intercept your traffic.
- P2P servers: ProtonVPN has dedicated P2P servers that are optimized for file sharing. This can help you to get faster speeds when downloading and uploading files.
- Tor over VPN: ProtonVPN supports Tor over VPN, which allows you to use the Tor anonymity network through the ProtonVPN service. This can help you to protect your privacy even further.
- Obfuscated servers: ProtonVPN has obfuscated servers that are designed to hide the fact that you are using a VPN. This can be useful in countries where VPNs are blocked or restricted.
- High availability: ProtonVPN has a large network of servers that are located in over 60 countries. This ensures that you will always be able to find a server that is close to you and that is not overloaded.
- No IP leaks: ProtonVPN uses a number of features to prevent IP leaks, such as DNS leak protection and IPv6 leak protection. This helps to ensure that your real IP address is never exposed.
- VPN Accelerator: ProtonVPN's VPN Accelerator is a technology that can improve the speed of your VPN connection by up to 400%. It does this by optimizing the way your data is routed through the VPN network.
- Fast servers: ProtonVPN has a large network of fast servers located in over 60 countries. This gives you a lot of options when choosing a server location, which can help to improve your connection speed.
- Automatic server selection: ProtonVPN's automatic server selection feature will automatically connect you to the fastest server available. This can help to ensure that you are always getting the best possible speed.
- WireGuard protocol: ProtonVPN recently added support for the WireGuard protocol, which is a newer and faster VPN protocol. WireGuard is still under development, but it has been shown to be significantly faster than other VPN protocols.
- No bandwidth or data caps: ProtonVPN does not apply any bandwidth or data caps to any of its plans. This means that you can use ProtonVPN as much as you want without worrying about your speed being throttled.
Streaming & Torrenting Features
This section compares the streaming and torrenting features and capabilities provided by Private Internet Access (PIA) versus ProtonVPN.
Popular Streaming Services
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Disney+
- HBO Max
- Paramount+
- Hulu
- Apple TV
- Starz
- ESPN+
- Peacock
- Canal Plus
- Discovery Plus
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) provides strong performance for both streaming and torrenting with an extensive server network. However, it struggles to unblock some streaming platforms. ProtonVPN, on the other hand, has fewer servers but excels at unblocking major streaming services. Both support P2P torrenting, but ProtonVPN provides a more consistent speed. While PIA has a slight edge in terms of server numbers, ProtonVPN wins due to its reliable unblocking capabilities and better performance in torrenting.
Private Internet Access
- Works with popular streaming platforms: PIA works with popular streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+. This means that you can use PIA to bypass geo-blocks and access your favorite content anywhere in the world.
- Dedicated streaming servers: PIA has dedicated streaming servers for popular streaming platforms. These servers are optimized for streaming and can help you to get the best possible streaming experience.
- No bandwidth caps: PIA does not have any bandwidth caps on its VPN service. This means that you can stream as much as you want without having to worry about being throttled or charged extra.
- No buffering: PIA's VPN servers are designed to provide fast and reliable connections. This means that you should not experience any buffering when streaming videos.
- Easy to use: PIA's VPN apps are easy to use and have a simple interface. This makes it easy to connect to a streaming server and start watching your favorite content.
- Allows torrenting on all servers: PIA allows torrenting on all of its servers. This means that you can download and upload files anonymously without fear of being tracked.
- P2P-optimized servers: PIA has dedicated P2P-optimized servers for torrenting. These servers are designed to provide fast and reliable connections for torrenting.
- No bandwidth caps: PIA does not have any bandwidth caps on its VPN service. This means that you can torrent as much as you want without having to worry about being throttled or charged extra.
- No IP leaks: PIA has a strict no-logs policy and does not keep any records of your torrenting activity. This means that your IP address is never exposed, even if there is a leak.
- Kill switch: PIA's kill switch is a feature that cuts off your internet connection if the VPN connection drops. This prevents your real IP address being exposed.
- Ad blocker: PIA includes an ad blocker in its VPN apps. This blocks ads, trackers, and malware, which can improve your torrenting experience and protect your privacy.
ProtonVPN
- Streaming-optimized servers: ProtonVPN has a number of streaming-optimized servers that are designed to unblock streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
- No bandwidth or data caps: ProtonVPN does not apply any bandwidth or data caps to any of its plans. This means that you can use ProtonVPN to stream as much as you want without worrying about your speed being throttled.
- Kill switch: ProtonVPN's kill switch feature will disconnect your internet connection if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: ProtonVPN's DNS leak protection feature prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- IPv6 leak protection: ProtonVPN's IPv6 leak protection feature prevents your IPv6 traffic being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- P2P servers: ProtonVPN has dedicated P2P servers that are optimized for file sharing. This can help you to get faster speeds when downloading and uploading files.
- No bandwidth or data caps: ProtonVPN does not apply any bandwidth or data caps to any of its plans. This means that you can use ProtonVPN to torrent as much as you want without worrying about your speed being throttled.
- Kill switch: ProtonVPN's kill switch feature will disconnect your internet connection if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP address being exposed.
- DNS leak protection: ProtonVPN's DNS leak protection feature prevents your DNS queries being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- IPv6 leak protection: ProtonVPN's IPv6 leak protection feature prevents your IPv6 traffic being leaked to your ISP or other third parties.
- No logs policy: ProtonVPN does not collect or store any logs of your P2P activity, including the files you download or the IP addresses of the peers you connect to.
Support Features
This section looks at what kind of customer support you can expect from ProtonVPN versus Private Internet Access (PIA).
Winner is:
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers 24/7 live chat support, a comprehensive knowledge base, and email support, making it accessible and responsive. ProtonVPN offers email support, a detailed FAQ section, and a blog, but lacks live chat support. This is crucial as immediate help improves user experience, especially during technical difficulties. Thus, with its broader range of support options, Private Internet Access (PIA) is the clear winner in providing the best customer support.
Private Internet Access
- 24/7 live chat: PIA offers 24/7 live chat support. This means that you can get help a real person at any time of day or night.
- Email support: PIA also offers email support. This is a good option if you have a question that is not urgent.
- Knowledge base: PIA has a comprehensive knowledge base that covers a wide range of topics. This is a good place to start if you have a simple question.
- Social media: PIA is also active on social media. You can reach out to them on Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit.
- Forum: PIA has a forum where users can help each other. This is a good option if you are looking for help someone who has been in your shoes.
ProtonVPN
- Live chat: ProtonVPN offers live chat support, which is available 24/7. This is a good option if you need help quickly.
- Email support: ProtonVPN also offers email support. This is a good option if you have a more complex issue that requires a longer response time.
- Knowledge base: ProtonVPN has a comprehensive knowledge base that covers a wide range of topics. This is a good option if you can find the answer to your question yourself.
- Support forum: ProtonVPN also has a support forum where you can ask questions and get help other users. This is a good option if you want to get help other users who have had similar problems.
- Help center: ProtonVPN has a help center that provides information on a variety of topics, such as how to set up ProtonVPN, how to use the different features, and how to troubleshoot problems.
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