Surfshark vs. Private Internet Access – At a Glance
Surfshark
Users on a budget in search of reliable VPN services should take a close look at Surfshark. The provider delivers excellent app and router support, the largest global server network I’ve seen, and well-protected connections, all for a bargain price.
Surfshark also offers additional protective services for a small additional fee, including antivirus protection, truly private search, and alerts when your personal information is exposed in a data breach.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a well-established VPN provider that provides comprehensive online protection. The provider’s above-average sized global server network provides reliable access to geo-fenced content around the globe.
The provider also offers native app support for many popular device platforms and its services can be had for a reasonable price.
How to Choose a VPN
When you’re in search of a quality Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, there are several service categories you should mull over.
In this article, I’ll be comparing two well-known VPN providers (Surfshark and Private Internet Access). The two will go head-to-head in each service category and a winner will be declared in that category. At the end of the article, the overall score will be tallied for the competitors and a winner will be declared.
By reading this article, you should have plenty of information, allowing you to make an informed VPN buying decision.
Surfshark vs. Private Internet Access – Features
Connection Speeds
If you’re like me, you do way too much gaming online, while also streaming loads of video and music. This means a fast connection is a must.
I regularly test the connection speeds of the VPNs I cover. The speed tests are performed as follows:
- All tests are performed using a North American-based Windows server using a gigabit Ethernet connection.
- I perform speed tests using the Windows version of the VPN providers’ app. I use the OpenVPN UDP connection protocol when available.
- I connect to VPN servers located in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong. I connect at three different times of day, over the course of three days.
- Once a connection is made, I run the Speedtest.net app to test the connection speeds. The Speedtest app is closed between each test.
Please keep in mind that you’ll likely see different download speeds than I did. That’s because there are multiple factors that can affect your test results, these can include your usual ISP-provided connection speeds, where you’re located, and which VPN server you connect to.
Private Internet Access and Surfshark both deliver fast connections. However, one provider delivers much more bandwidth than the other.
Surfshark delivered average speeds of 323.6 Mbps in testing.
Private Internet Access delivers an average download speed of 70.0 Mbps.
Those connection speeds make both providers excellent choices for users that enjoy streaming, online gaming, file sharing, and other popular online activities. With Surfshark, you shouldn’t notice much slowdown, if any at all. PIA’s connections could slow things down a bit, but the provider can still likely handle all of your favorite online pastimes.
Average Connection Speed Winner: Surfshark
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| Surfshark | 323.6 Mbps | Visit Site |
| Private Internet Access | 70.0 Mbps | Visit Site |
Pricing
In today’s economy, pricing is an important consideration. However, you should never opt for a VPN simply because it is cheap.
Surfshark and Private Internet Access are both reasonably priced, with just 66 cents separating their monthly subscription rates.
Surfshark takes the pricing crown in this battle.
You may notice that I don’t include specific pricing in my articles. That’s because many providers change their pricing on a regular basis and also run special deals periodically. Visit the providers’ websites for their current pricing.
Pricing Winner: Surfshark
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 30 Days | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | 30 Days | Visit Site |
Privacy
When you’re online, you may rightfully feel as if someone is watching you. Whether it’s your ISP, law enforcement, advertisers, or hackers, they’d all like a look at your online activities. That makes a VPN provider’s privacy protection features an all-important feature.
A VPN service’s privacy protections should be considered according to the following:
- Is the provider’s location in a privacy-respecting country?
- Does the provider save any user activity logs?
- Are privacy-protecting payment options, like cryptocurrency, available?
Surfshark is located in the online privacy-respecting British Virgin Islands and never saves user logs, while also accepting cryptocurrency to protect your payment privacy.
Surfshark runs all of its servers 100% from volatile RAM. All data is securely wiped when a Surfshark server is rebooted or shut down. Unfortunately, as we’ll see in the customer support section, Surfshark involves a third party in its support tools, meaning it introduces a privacy concern into the mix.
Private Internet Access is located in the United State, which is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance. The five member countries of this alliance share information among their intelligence agencies.
PIA saves no user logs on its servers, meaning there is likely nothing that could be shared, and the provider also accepts multiple types of cryptocurrency, providing payment privacy.
Privacy Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| Private Internet Access | 4.5 | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | 4.5 | Visit Site |
Online Security
Let’s face it, if you’re online, someone could be tracking you. The government, hackers, and even your internet service provider are all nosy about what you’re doing online.
This makes a VPN’s protection for your internet connection an important factor to consider. These providers’ well-encrypted connections keep your personal and business-related online travels undercover.
Surfshark provides strong online protection, using government-grade encryption, with OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IPSec/IKEv2 protocols. The provider also offers kill switch protection, as well as “Camouflage Mode,” which makes VPN traffic appear to be normal browser activity.
Private Internet Access also provides comprehensive online security, using banking-grade encryption, a kill switch, and DNS/IP leak prevention. Protocols the provider uses include Wireguard, PPTP, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPSec.
Security Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Simultaneous Connections
I expect that most of my readers own multiple internet-connected devices. This makes a VPN provider’s simultaneous connection allowance an important consideration. This is also an important consideration for users with large families or small businesses.
PIA allows a user to concurrently connect up to 10 devices to their servers.
Surfshark allows its customers to simultaneously connect an unlimited number of devices to its servers.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: Surfshark
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| Surfshark | Unlimited | Visit Site |
| Private Internet Access | 10 | Visit Site |
Streaming Support
According to a recent report, 85% of all U.S. households subscribe to at least one video streaming service, while 60% of households have at least one paid music streaming subscription. 7% of Americans subscribe to six or more streaming services.
Unfortunately, many streamers put geographic restrictions on most content, meaning you likely won’t have access to some of your favorite content when you’re outside of your home country.
A VPN has the ability to temporarily provide an IP address located inside of another country. This provides access to geo-fenced content that might normally be unavailable to you by making it look as if you’re inside of the country in question.
Surfshark also delivers access to quite a few streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, ITV Hub, All 4, Hotstar, HBO, Sky, and other streaming services.
Private Internet Access provides reliable access to Netflix in the US and the UK, while also providing access to BBC iPlayer in the UK. Other streaming services were hit-and-miss.
Streaming Support Winner: Surfshark
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| Surfshark | 9+ | 5+ | Visit Site |
| Private Internet Access | 2+ | 2+ | Visit Site |
BitTorrent Support
P2P file sharing via BitTorrent is a popular online activity. Even though sharing non-copyrighted files is perfectly legal in most countries, several ISPs block or throttle the activity out of hand. Pressure from movie studios, record companies, and other copyright holders has caused ISPs to knuckle down on file sharing. Happily, a VPN provider’s encrypted connections can effectively hide your P2P activity.
Private Internet Access allows file sharing on its server network.
Surfshark also allows P2P file sharing on its server network.
BitTorrenting Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| Private Internet Access | All of them | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | All of them | Visit Site |
Global Server Coverage
The size of a VPN’s global server network directly affects the amount of geo-restricted content you’ll have access to. Ideally, you’ll want a VPN provider with servers spread among a large number of countries. A provider should also have multiple servers located in the countries it serves. This helps ensure that a single server won’t be overloaded with users.
Surfshark has 3,200+ servers located in 100+ countries around the world.
Private Internet Access has 3,300+ servers, located in 80+ countries around the globe.
Therefore, both VPN providers provide reliable access to geo-controlled content around the globe.
Global Server Coverage Winner: Surfshark (more countries)
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| Surfshark | 3,200+ | 100 | Visit Site |
| Private Internet Access | 3,300+ | 80+ | Visit Site |
Multi-Platform Support
Do you own more than one internet-connected device? If you do, a VPN provider’s native app support becomes quite important.
Surfshark has most popular device platforms covered, with app options for iOS, macOS (with native M1/M2 Mac support), Android, Android TV, Windows, Linux, and Amazon Fire TV devices. Support for the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browser platforms is also available, as is comprehensive router support. Pre-configured routers are available through Flashrouters.com.
PIA’s native app support options include offerings for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, and Amazon Fire TV device platforms. Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browser extensions are also available. Support is available for select routers and pre-configured routers are also available through Flashrouters.com.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: It’s a tossup
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router Support? |
Link |
| Private Internet Access | 7 | Yes (Chrome, Opera, Firefox) | Yes – Manual setup. Also includes Flashrouter options. | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | 7 | Yes (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) | Yes – Manual setup. Also includes Flashrouter options. | Visit Site |
Customer Support
Surfshark and PIA both offer easy-to-use and reliable VPN services. However, you may still have an occasional question about their services. That’s when customer support becomes an important consideration.
PIA’s 24/7 customer support is made up of business hours only live chat, email support, and a searchable support library.
Surfshark offers 24/7 live chat, email support, and a searchable troubleshooting library. Unfortunately, Surfshark loses half a point from its score due to the provider’s use of third-party contractor Zendesk for its chat feature. Anytime a third party is involved in a service, you put customers’ privacy at risk.
Customer Support Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 4.5 | Visit Site |
| Surfshark | 4.5 | Visit Site |
And The Winner Is…
While both Private Internet Access and Surfshark provide reliable and comprehensive VPN protection, only one of the two can be named the champion in this virtual one-on-one.
Surfshark is the top dog, thanks to its coming out on top in the connection speeds, pricing, simultaneous connections, global server coverage, and streaming categories.
The companies came up even in the privacy, online security, BitTorrent, multi-platform support, and customer support categories.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit Surfshark.
