There has been much technological development since the introduction of the internet, and data privacy over the internet has increasingly become a concern as a result. Websites will collect data for a variety of reasons, and if someone gets ahold of an IP address it could easily give someone a way to find your location in real life.
One way to assist in maintaining anonymity is to use a Virtual Private Network. Popular VPN businesses like “NordVPN” or “Private Internet Access” provide a more private internet connection as a paid service, but despite the similarities between these services, there are still a few things you should take into consideration when comparing NordVPN vs PIA.
When discussing the different businesses, it might be helpful to look at their price points for reference while you consider their other features. NordVPN is more expensive than PIA, but this may very well be a case of “getting what you pay for.” NordVPN appears to have a greater number of servers that they run across a greater number of countries. Both companies also provide larger discounts for larger purchases of their respective services, but the discounts work slightly differently for each company as well. The “Best Value” advertised by Private Internet Access is a purchase for one year of service, which contrasts with NordVPN’s maximum service time of three years for an approximately similar cost per month. NordVPN is still more expensive in every case, however, and purchases are in lump sums; although the cost per month may be comparable for the largest advertised purchase of each service, you will always pay more for a single payment to NordVPN as a result of how they schedule the payment for their services.
Central to the service being provided is the level of anonymity that you should expect to attain while using these services. Although NordVPN and PIA have many other differences the level of privacy does appear to be comparable between the two services. The most information about a particular user that either of these VPN services will keep is the email address associated with the registration of a particular account and nothing else. Additionally, they both accept payment through cryptocurrency. It should be noted that PIA does accept a wider variety of cryptocurrencies than most VPN services, but whether or not this is a benefit is for the user to decide.
The live support of a VPN is also important. Working with a VPN can turn into a complex issue if something goes wrong, so if you encounter an issue that you cannot work out by yourself, having customer support resources to fall back on can be helpful. Both VPN services have support libraries and online support ticket systems, and NordVPN additionally features a real-time text chat system for customer support use. PIA does appear to have lower-rated customer service overall, but if you are aware of the potential shortcomings that existing resources might still be helpful enough for what you might be trying to accomplish.
In the end, it is always best for the consumer of a product to do their research and come to their conclusion when deciding between two products. Money is ultimately the limiting factor in many situations, and there are many circumstances where the cheaper option is the better one. Additional factors like a VPN’s connection speed or operating system compatibility should be taken into account, amongst other highly personalized factors. NordVPN is often considered to be the superior service when directly compared to Private Internet Access, but whether this is true is for you to decide.
