PrivateVPN vs Avast Secureline At a Glance
PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN offers reliable online protection. However, it comes up short in a few important service areas. That said, if you’re looking for good, basic VPN protection, PrivateVPN could be the right provider for you.
The provider struggles in the global server coverage and multi-platform app support arenas. However, it does deliver well-protected connections.
Avast Secureline
Panama-based Avast Secureline takes advantage of its privacy-friendly location and offers comprehensive online security and privacy protections.
While Avast provides comprehensive online protection, its connection speeds and global server network could stand a bump.
Choosing a VPN
It pays to carefully investigate how well a VPN provider performs in each service category before laying down your hard-earned cash.
I’ll be rating two VPN providers, PrivateVPN and Avast Secureline. I’ll rank both VPNs in each service category, then I’ll add up the scores and declare a victor.
After it’s all over, you’ll have plenty of information available to make an informed decision.
PrivateVPN vs Avast Secureline Features
Let’s take a look at the VPN features you should consider before buying a VPN subscription.
Connection Speeds
No matter your favorite online pastimes, a fast connection makes them better. Whether that’s streaming video, playing games online, or downloading and sharing files.
I perform VPN connection speed tests on a regular basis. Here’s how I do it:
- All speed tests are performed on a North American Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection.
- I connect to VPN servers located in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong, at three different times of the day.
- The Windows version of the VPN providers’ apps is used for testing and is configured to connect using the Wireguard protocol when available.
- I run the Speedtest app after connecting to each VPN server location, exiting the Speedtest app following each speed test.
While both providers delivered more than adequate speeds, one provider delivered triple the speeds of its competitor.
PrivateVPN’s were reasonably fast, coming in at 40 Mbps.
Avast Secureline delivered average download speeds of 32.6 Mbps.
While those speeds can handle most online activities, you may see some extended buffering before viewing high-definition videos.
Please keep in mind that your connection speeds will differ from mine, as speeds depend on your usual ISP-provided connection speeds, your location, and that of the VPN server you select.
Average Connection Speed Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 32.6 Mbps | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 40 Mbps | Visit Site |
Pricing
It seems like the prices we pay for groceries, fuel, and other necessities are rising every day, so we’re all looking for ways to save money. When you’re looking for a VPN, this may lead you to concentrate only on the price. However, you’ll find that super cheap VPNs may not provide all of the protection and features you need. This makes it important to calculate a provider’s true value.
A month of PrivateVPN will cost about the price of a corn dog and a small Big Gulp at your local convenience store when you opt for the three-year plan. The provider offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Avast Secureline is a bit more than double PrivateVPN’s asking price per month when you subscribe for two years (the longest subscription available from Avast).
I never post exact VPN prices in my articles, as VPNs change their pricing on a regular basis, so pricing info quickly becomes outdated. Visit the VPN providers’ websites to find out their current pricing.
Pricing Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 30 Days | Visit Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 30 Days | Visit Site
Read Review |
Privacy
When you venture online without a VPN, you’re leaving evidence behind that allows nosy types to determine what you’ve been up to online. This makes a VPN’s privacy features an important thing to consider.
Consider the following when researching a VPN’s privacy protections:
- Is the provider located in a privacy-friendly country?
- Does the provider save any user activity logs on its servers?
- Does the provider accept cryptocurrency as subscription payment?
Sweden-based PrivateVPN logs no type of user traffic data or browsing activity, and accepts cryptocurrency to keep your subscription payment info private. (For added privacy, use a disposable email address to sign up.)
Avast Secureline VPN is based in the privacy-conscious Czech Republic. Avast keeps no logs of its users’ internet activities. However, they do record their users’ real IP address, the IP address they’re assigned for their VPN session, the start and stop times of a VPN session, and the amount of data used during the session.
Avast Secureline VPN also does not accept Bitcoin or other privacy-protecting payment types.
Privacy Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 4.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Security
If you’re online without a VPN, bad guys, government types, and other nosy folk love to track you in real-time while you use the internet. A VPN provider’s connection protection and ability to temporarily assign a fresh IP address to your connected device can keep your current travels incognito.
PrivateVPN uses military-grade encryption to protect your online travels from being monitored. Its connection protocols include OpenVPN over UDP/TCP, L2TP/IPSec, IPSec, PPTP, and IKEv2. Kill switch protection is also available, as well as a “Stealth VPN” feature that disguises your VPN usage as normal browsing traffic.
Avast Secureline uses government-level encryption and uses OpenSSL libraries on IPSec and OpenVPN with UDP. Kill switch protection is an option, as is DNS leak and IPv6 leak protection.
Security Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
Simultaneous Connections
It is likely that most of my readers own more than one connected device, and that they use more than one device at once. This is why it is important to find a VPN provider with a large simultaneous connections allowance.
Both PrivateVPN and Avast Secureline limit users to 10 simultaneous connections at a time. While this may be a bit limiting for large families or small businesses, most users will likely find the allowance to be more than enough.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 10 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 10 | Visit Site |
Streaming Support
Subscriptions to multiple streaming services is another thing many of us have. Without a VPN, we’re not getting all that we could be out of our streaming subscriptions, because streaming services restrict their content to viewing in designated countries. This is where a VPN proves useful.
A VPN temporarily assigns a new IP address to your internet-capable device. This makes it appear to the rest of the internet that you and your device are connecting to the internet from another country, opening up access to content that might normally be limited to viewers in that country.
PrivateVPN delivers access to a good number of streaming services, including Netflix US, Netflix UK, Hulu, Disney+, and more.
Avast Secureline has servers located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany that are designated for streaming. They worked well unblocking Netflix in those three countries. Unfortunately, servers in other countries didn’t work with Netflix. The provider did not offer access to the other streaming services I tried.
Streaming Support Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 1 | 2 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 9+ | 5+ | Visit Site |
BitTorrent Support
BitTorrent is a great way to share files with other internet users. However, while file sharing is legal in most countries and many reputable organizations use P2P to share files among employees, many ISPs will throttle or block your internet connection if they see that you’re engaging in file sharing.
This is because it’s illegal to share copyrighted materials, such as movies, music, and games, so the entertainment industry puts pressure on ISPs to prevent P2P file sharing. This means ISPs will throttle or block file sharing, whether the sharing is legal or not.
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, while also temporarily assigning a new IP address to your internet-connected device. This means your ISP can’t see that you’re sharing files or trace your BitTorrent activity back to you.
Avast Secureline allows P2P action on eight “P2P” servers in six countries.
PrivateVPN allows BitTorrenting activity on its network, although it recommends that P2P users connect to its Swedish servers.
BitTorrenting Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 6 countries | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | All of them | Visit Site |
Global Server Coverage
As previously mentioned, due to the contracts they sign with TV and movie producers, streaming services limit access to their content to certain countries. This is where a VPN with a large global server network comes in handy.
You should also look for providers with multiple servers stationed in each country. This helps ensure that a single server won’t be overloaded by too many users connecting at once.
Avast Secureline VPN has 700+ servers in nearly 35 countries.
PrivateVPN has 200+ servers stationed in 63+ countries.
Global Server Coverage Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 700 | 34 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 200+ | 63+ | Visit Site |
Multi-Platform Support
You probably have multiple connected devices, and I’d wager that they’re all likely running different operating systems. That’s where a VPN provider’s multi-platform app support comes in handy.
PrivateVPN’s device support is a bit lacking, as its native app support is limited to the iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows device platforms. It also lacks any type of browser support. The service can also be manually set up on Linux devices and select routers.
Avast Secureline offers support for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Android TV devices. They also offer browser extensions for the Chrome and Firefox platforms. No support for Linux or routers.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: Avast Secureline
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router Support? |
Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5 | Yes (Chrome, Firefox) | Nope | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 4 | No | Yes – Manual setup.
|
Visit Site |
Customer Support
While both of these VPNs are reliable and easy to use, you’ll likely still have an occasional question or two.
Avast Secureline offers (for paying customers only) email support, a searchable support library, and a user forum. Avast Secureline also offers a “Total Care” phone support number, which is unusual in the VPN industry.
PrivateVPN’s customer support options include a live messaging option (not 24/7), email support, and a non-searchable FAQ support section.
Customer Support Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| Avast Secureline VPN | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
And The Winner Is…
Both Avast Secureline and PrivateVPN provide excellent VPN services, offering top-notch online security and privacy protections. However, in a “versus” article we must name an overall winner.
PrivateVPN is the champion this time, thanks to coming out on top in the Connection Speeds, Pricing, Privacy, Streaming Support, BitTorrent, and Global Server Coverage arenas.
Avast Secureline proved to be the victor in the Multi-Platform Support column.
It was a tie when it came to Security, Simultaneous Connections, and Customer Support.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit PrivateVPN.
