VyprVPN vs Private Internet Access in 2024
Everyone in the VPN industry has heard of VyprVPN and PIA (Private Internet Access). They are everlasting veterans in the security industry, reliable, and filled with great features. Each VPN is an excellent choice for your needs. But it can’t be all perfect, right? What details emerge when we have a closer look at these two services?
So, what exactly do these two VPNs offer? If you’re impatient to find out, stick with us and check out our thorough VyprVPN vs. Private Internet Access comparison!
VyprVPN vs PIA: specifications
VyprVPN comes with a quite small server fleet of 700+ servers in 64+ countries. Also, it utilizes the strong WireGuard protocol and its unique Chameleon protocol. But the best part is that VyprVPN headquarters is in Switzerland, outside government surveillance.
On the other hand, PIA offers the largest server fleet on the market, with thousands of servers in 90+ countries. This VPN works with various VPN protocols, such as WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, but it is not the fastest. Unfortunately, it’s located in the USA, which causes doubts among people.
After a lot of testing and comparing, the overall winner is VyprVPN. However, the battle was tough, so let’s get a clearer image!
VyprVPN | Private Internet Access VPN | |
⭐ Rating: | ||
🥇 Overall rank: | #43 out of #240 | #35 out of #240 |
🖥️ Servers: | 700 + servers in 64 countries | 29,300 + servers in 90 countries |
📖 No logs policy: | Independently-audited no-logs policy | Independently-audited no-logs policy |
💵 Price: | - | - |
🔥 Coupons: | - | - |
🔒 VPN protocols: | WireGuard, Chameleon, OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPSec | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 |
🍿 Streaming services: | - | - |
🖥️ Platforms: | - | - |
📥 Simultaneous connections: | 30 | Unlimited |
💁🏻 Support: | 24/7 |
VyprVPN vs PIA: pricing
Plans and payments | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
Free trial | No | No |
One month | $10.00 | $11.95/month |
One year | $5.00 | $3.33/month |
Three years | – | $2.03/month |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
Payment options | Credit/debit card, PayPal | Credit card, PayPal, cryptocurrencies |
Both VPN services are straightforward with their pricing plans – short plans are expensive, while longer subscriptions are cheaper. Additionally, both lack free versions or free trials and instead have 30-day money-back guarantees. Ultimately, PIA has lengthier subscription plans for a significantly smaller price tag. Therefore, PIA is the winner in this category.
VyprVPN pricing
VyprVPN has two subscription plans, which are:
- $10.00 for 1 month
- $5.00 for 12 months
However, VyprVPN could improve payment options by adding some anonymous alternatives. Currently, only credit cards and PayPal are available.
Apart from the typical VPN solution, there’s also VyprVPN for Business Cloud Solutions. It’s a service that offers dedicated VPN servers that are compatible with various business apps and cloud storage solutions. Unlike the VPN for consumers, this business solution has a 7-day free trial. After that, pricing starts at $349 per year.
Private Internet Access Pricing
PIA has three subscription options:
- $11.95/month for one month
- $3.33/month for one year
- $2.03/month for three years
The difference here is that the monthly plan isn’t as expensive, yet the two-year plan isn’t as cheap as the longest VyprVPN plan. However, PIA has a greater selection of payment methods, including anonymous options via cryptocurrencies. Plus, a variety of coupons for PIA can be discovered online.
It’s worth mentioning that a dedicated IP is available for $5 per month.
Speed comparison
If you’re wondering who would win in a VyprVPN vs Private Internet Access drag race, you’re in luck. I used our in-house speed testing tool to put them both to the test.
The results are revealing – on average, PIA is faster than VyprVPN. However, keep in mind that these results shouldn’t be taken as a definitive answer. Many variables can influence connection speeds, and your experience with these VPNs may differ.
VyprVPN vs PIA: which is more secure?
VyprVPN | PIA | |
Encryption | AES-256 | AES-256 |
Jurisdiction | Switzerland | USA |
Logging | Independently-audited no-logs policy | Independently-audited and court-proven no-logs |
Kill switch | Yes | Yes |
Leak protection | DNS, IPv6, WebRTC | DNS, IPv6, WebRTC |
RAM servers | None | All |
Let’s start with the similarities – both VPNs utilize AES-256 encryption to secure your online activities. VyprVPN and PIA also have a kill switch, no DNS or IP leaks, and independently-audited no-logs policies.
But judging which one is safer is tough. While VyprVPN is based in Switzerland and has a spotless reputation regarding respecting user privacy, there’s a lack of RAM-only servers. PIA, on the other hand, hails from the US, which is a red flag in itself. But it does everything to mitigate this by having a court-proven no-logs policy and a server fleet running solely on RAM technology. As such, it’s a tie.
Privacy
From the perspective of their location, VyprVPN seems more trustworthy than Private Internet Access. Although PIA’s clear no-logging policy was put to the test several times and came out unscathed, they are still based in the USA, which brings to mind the DMC, government as well as corporate surveillance, and the infamous Five Eyes Alliance.
Alternatively, VyprVPN is based in Switzerland, which has no data-retention laws and does not participate in any Eyes or related intelligence-sharing groups.
Logging
Regarding the no-logs policy, both VPNs adhere to them. VyprVPN has an independently-audited one, while PIA has independently-audited plus a court-proven no-logs policy. As a result, they guarantee that your data and confidential information are safe with them.
Servers location
Server specification | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
Servers | 700+ | N/A |
Countries | 64+ | 90+ |
Physical servers | Yes | Yes |
Owns all servers | Yes | No |
VyprVPN has a wide server reach by covering 64+ countries, yet a more modest server selection – 700+ servers. PIA, on the other hand, doesn’t disclose how many servers it has anymore, which isn’t exactly the best practice.
However, VyprVPN has the advantage of owning each and every node in their VPN network. This means that they can directly optimize the hardware architecture of each location to yield better speeds. If that wasn’t the case, the discrepancy between each provider’s performance would be far more pronounced.
Features comparison
Features | VyprVPN | PIA |
Smart DNS | ❌No | ✅Smart DNS |
Ad & malware blocker | ✅Yes | ✅PIA MACE |
Split tunneling | ✅Yes | ✅Bypass VPN |
Specialized servers | ✅Yes | ✅Yes |
The next round of our Private Internet Access vs. VyprVPN comparison is about the additional features that enhance your VPN usage. In this round, we have another PIA win.
Smart DNS
The Smart DNS feature is crucial for accessing and using your VPN on any device you want, as not all devices support VPN software. It’s especially great when you want to bypass geo-blocks on streaming peripherals.
Luckily, Private Internet Access offers Smart DNS, while VyprVPN still hasn’t implemented it.
Ad & malware blocker
If you want to protect your device from adware and malicious links, then you should search for a VPN with an ad & malware blocker. This feature detects any suspicious behavior and immediately blocks the link or website you’re trying to access. And it disables advertisements.
The best part is that you will get this feature with both of the VPN providers, so the choice is yours. VyprVPN offers Malicious Site Blocker, while PIA has the proprietary PIA MACE feature.
Split tunneling
Next is the split tunneling feature that reduces the pressure on the VPN. More precisely, this feature allows you to route the traffic through particular apps you’re using and avoid unnecessary VPN usage that may only overwhelm the provider. VyprVPN and PIA offer split tunneling, so there’s nothing to consider here.
Obfuscated servers
To bypass online censorship, you need a VPN with obfuscated servers. This is because they hide the fact that you’re using a VPN by masking encrypted VPN traffic as regular HTTPS. Fortunately, you will get obfuscation with both VyprVPN and PIA. Private Internet Access has the Obfuscation feature, and VyprVPN achieves this with the Chameleon tunneling protocol.
Other features
PIA also has streaming-optimized servers, a SOCKS5 proxy, and the Multi-Hop feature. VyprVPN additionally offers VyprDNS for bypassing network restrictions on the DNS level, public Wi-Fi protection, and dynamic server switching.
Netflix and streaming comparison
Streaming platforms | VyprVPN | PIA |
Netflix US | ✅Yes | ✅Yes |
Other Netflix libraries | ✅Yes | ❌No |
Amazon Prime Video | ✅Yes | ❌No |
Hulu | ❌No | ✅Yes |
HBO Max | ✅Yes | ❌No |
Disney+ | ✅Yes | ❌No |
BBC iPlayer | ✅Yes | ❌No |
YouTube TV | ✅Yes | ✅Yes |
As you may be aware, one of the most frequent VPN usage is streaming. So, if you have an intention to use the VPN for unblocking your favorite streaming content, you should go with VyprVPN.
VyprVPN and PIA unblock all popular streaming platforms. It works with Netflix US, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube TV. We only ran into issues when trying to access Hulu, but that wasn’t surprising since this service has notoriously good VPN detection measures.
However, PIA is more restricted when it comes to other Netflix libraries. It doesn’t unblock most of them, and struggles with other streaming services, as well. We only managed to get a hold of Hulu and YouTube TV, while others detected VPN usage right away.
Device compatibility
Device support | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
Major dedicated apps | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
Other dedicated apps | Routers applet | – |
Browser extensions | Chrome | Chrome (and other Chromium-based browsers), Firefox |
Manual setup | Linux, Kodi, Apple TV, Roku | Routers, consoles, smart TVs |
Simultaneous devices | 30 | Unlimited |
Although VyprVPN is the cheaper VPN of the two, it also has a larger array of supported devices. It supports fewer simultaneous connections, but you can solve this problem with a router. Setting up a VPN on a router sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite easy. Plus, greater versatility is always an advantage. Thus, VyprVPN wins this round once again.
Desktop applications
Private Internet Access and VyprVPN have applications for Windows and macOS. Both take a simplistic, streamlined design approach, so using them isn’t a hassle and is quite easy, in fact.
VyprVPN’s clients are pretty tight in terms of security no matter which operating system your computer is running on. What pleasantly surprised us is that the macOS application is more feature-rich than Windows. Apple users benefit from split tunneling and the Malicious Site Blocker feature.
PIA, meanwhile, keeps the clients uniform both in terms of security and features. And you can tinker with additional features from the settings screen.
Mobile applications
In terms of mobile apps, both providers come with a native app for iOS and Android devices. The designs remain similar to their desktop counterparts, so there won’t be any confusion when switching between PC and mobile.
VyprVPN takes a different approach from the desktop clients by offering more features on Android. Only it comes with the Malicious Site Blocker and split tunneling. On the other hand, the IKEv2 tunneling protocol is only available on iOS.
PIA sticks to its guns by yet again keeping the mobile apps identical. You can expect to get the same experience feature and security-wise whether you’re on Android or iPhone. But split tunneling is only exclusively available on the desktop apps.
Torrenting
P2P specifications | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
Allowed on | ✅All servers | ✅All servers |
Free SOCKS5 proxy | ❌No | ✅Yes |
Split tunneling | ✅Yes (Android, macOS) | ✅Yes (Windows, macOS) |
Port forwarding | ❌No | ✅Yes |
In the past, VyprVPN wasn’t a big supporter of torrenting. Nowadays, the situation is different, with P2P traffic allowed on all servers. And yet, there is a clear lack of features for this specific purpose. Only split tunneling is available, and even then, it’s only on Android and macOS.
On the other hand, Private Internet Access has pretty much everything that you would need while torrenting. P2P is possible on all servers, a SOCKS5 proxy is available, port forwarding can be enabled, and split tunneling is supported on Windows and macOS.
China
Specifications | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
Works in China | ✅Yes | ❌No |
Stealth VPN | ✅Yes (Chameleon) | ✅Yes (Obfuscation and Shadowsocks) |
Tor over VPN | ❌No | ❌No |
The good news is that VyprVPN is one of the best services you can use to access restricted content. Their founding philosophy and the current mission are to help facilitate freedom of speech and a digital medium where users can keep their anonymity. To ensure that on a technical level, VyprVPN has the proprietary Chameleon tunneling protocol. It masks your OpenVPN traffic and makes it undetectable with DPI.
Alternatively, PIA lacks the strong security features that you would need against the Great Firewall of China. It has Obfuscation and Shadowsocks, but they are not as effective as they should be, as many users note.
Customer support
Support options | VyprVPN | Private Internet Access |
24/7 live chat | ✅Yes | ❌No |
Phone line | ❌No | ❌No |
✅Yes | ✅Yes | |
Knowledgebase | ✅Yes | ✅Yes |
Last but not least, we end our VyprVPN vs. Private Internet Access with another win for VyprVPN. When it comes to customer support, it offers 24/7 support via live chat, email, knowledgebase, and other written guides. Therefore, you’ll get assistance with all of your issues.
PIA, on the other hand, lacks any sort of live chat, which will be a problem whenever you need a response ASAP. The email ticketing system is fine, but it’s not speedy enough for bigger issues.
VyprVPN vs Private Internet Access – which is better?
VyprVPN🥇 | PIA🥈 | |
Pricing | Loses❌ | Wins✔️ |
Speed | Loses❌ | Wins✔️ |
Security | Tie🤝 | Tie🤝 |
Servers | Wins✔️ | Loses❌ |
Features | Loses❌ | Wins✔️ |
Streaming | Wins✔️ | Loses❌ |
Device compatibility | Wins✔️ | Loses❌ |
Torrenting | Loses❌ | Wins✔️ |
China | Wins✔️ | Loses❌ |
Customer support | Wins✔️ | Loses❌ |
Total wins | 5 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 |
It’s been quite an intense VyprVPN vs PIA competition, but ultimately VyprVPN emerged victorious. This VPN offers privacy and reliable streaming across a wide range of devices. And if you’re ever traveling to restrictive countries, VyprVPN has your back.
Alternatively, PIA has the advantage of a large server infrastructure and better connectivity. Furthermore, it has more general security features, plus some extras for torrenting.
Whichever VPN you end up choosing will depend on your priorities. However, keep in mind that there are better services out there.
You may also like to read:
PIA vs NordVPN
PIA vs Windscribe
PIA vs Mullvad
VyprVPN vs NordVPN
VyprVPN vs IPVanish
FAQ
Is VyprVPN better than PIA?
Yes, VyprVPN is slightly better than PIA. It is located in a security-friendly country, unblocks various popular streaming platforms, and works in internet-restrictive countries. In addition, it is compatible with a wide range of devices.
Which is faster – VyprVPN or PIA?
Private Internet Access is faster than VyprVPN. While both have the speedy WireGuard tunneling protocol, PIA benefits from a larger server network, which prevents congestion.
Is VyprVPN a good VPN?
VyprVPN is definitely a good VPN. It’s cheap, privacy-respecting, and secure. Although it has a small number of servers, they are all physical and owned by the company. Plus, its Chameleon protocol is great at getting around censorship.