Private Internet Access and Windscribe At a Glance
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a well-known and respected VPN service, providing fast, private connections for most popular internet-connected devices. The provider’s large server network delivers reliable access to content around the globe.
Windscribe
Winscribe’s fast, well-protected connections are a hallmark of its service. The provider protects you against being followed around on the internet and offers support for a large number of connected devices from a decent-sized server network.
How to Choose a VPN
When you’re shopping for the right Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider, always carefully consider several important features.
In this article, I’ll compare two top-notch VPN providers (Private Internet Access and Windscribe) in several feature categories. I’ll take a look at how well the VPNs perform in each category, declaring a winner in each one. I’ll then tally the overall score and declare a head-to-head champion.
By the time you finish this article, you should have plenty of information to make an informed VPN buying decision.
Features of Private Internet Access and Windscribe
Connection Speeds
No matter what you enjoy online – be it streaming, sharing files, or playing your favorite online game – a fast connection is your friend.
I regularly perform VPN connection speed tests using the following steps:
- I use a Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection, located in North America.
- I use the VPN providers’ Windows app, configured to use the OpenVPN UDP connection protocol when available.
- I connect to VPN servers located in New York City, London, and Hong Kong. I connect to all three cities at three different times of day, over the course of three days.
- Once a connection is made, I use the Speedtest.net app to test each location’s connection speed. The Speedtest app is shutdown after each location is tested.
You’ll likely experience different download speed results from what I saw. Download speeds are affected by your usual connection speeds, your physical location, and the location of the VPN server you’re connected to.
Both providers delivered sufficient bandwidth for your favorite online activities, with both of them delivering speeds within less than 20 Mbps of each other.
Private Internet Access provided an average download speed of 73.3 Mbps.
Windscribe delivered average protected connection speeds of 55 Mbps.
Average Connection Speed Winner: PIA
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 73.3 Mbps | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 55 Mbps | Visit Site
Read Review |
Pricing
Today’s inflationary economic situation means the price of a VPN subscription is an important consideration. However, you should never subscribe to any VPN simply because it charges a low price.
PIA and Windscribe both offer excellent value for the money.
A month of Private Internet Access is about the price of a small or medium coffee when you subscribe to the provider’s annual plan. PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Meanwhile, Windscribe’s annual subscription rate averages in at a monthly average of somewhere around a coffee and a donut or two.
PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, while Windscribe offers a quite limited three-day money-back guarantee.
I don’t include actual pricing in my articles, as VPN providers change their pricing on a regular basis. A quick visit to a VPN provider’s website will tell you about its current pricing.
Pricing Winner: PIA
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 30 Days | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 3 Days | Visit Site
Read Review |
Privacy
There are several nosy groups out there that would love to know what you’ve been up to online. That’s why a VPN provider’s privacy protection is an important thing to research.
When researching a VPN service’s privacy protections, consider the following:
- Is the provider located in a privacy-respecting country?
- Does the provider save user activity logs?
- Does the provider accept cryptocurrency?
U.S.-based Private Internet Access does not save user logs on its servers and accepts cryptocurrency to protect your payment privacy. (Use a disposable email address to subscribe for extra payment privacy.)
Windscribe does not record your online activity, your real IP address, or your browsing history. However, it does record your username, the time you connect, and the amount of data you used during a session. While this data is wiped at the end of your VPN session, there is a slim chance that a VPN server could error out during a session, leaving information on the hard drive.
Privacy Winner: PIA
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| Private Internet Access | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 4.5 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Online Security
If you’re online, there is a good chance that someone is monitoring you. Whether it’s the government, bad guys, or even your own internet service provider – someone is trying to follow you around online.
Luckily, a VPN has the ability to encrypt your internet connection, keeping your online activities hidden from nosy types.
Private Internet Access protects your connection with banking-grade encryption, a kill switch, and DNS/IP leak prevention. The provider uses the Wireguard, PPTP, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPSec connection protocols, depending on the app.
Windscribe uses military-grade encryption to keep your online travels undercover. Several connection protocols are available, including OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2. IP/DNS leakage prevention is also available. Ad blocking is another available service.
Security Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Simultaneous Connections
I’m betting that most of you have more than one internet-connected device. Computers, smartphones, tablets – the list of connected devices continues to grow. This is why a VPN provider’s simultaneous connection policy is an important thing to keep in mind.
PIA allows up to 10 simultaneous connections at once.
Windscribe places no limit on concurrent connections.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: Windscribe
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 10 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | Unlimited | Visit Site
Read Review |
Streaming Support
85% of U.S. households subscribe to at least one video streaming service and 60% of households have at least one paid subscription to a music streamer. 7% of Americans subscribe to six or more streaming services.
Even if you subscribe to every available streaming service, you’re not getting everything you could be from those subs. This is because most streaming services geographically restrict access to their content, so you will not be able to access all of your favorite streaming content when you’re traveling or living abroad.
A VPN helps you get all that you can out of your subs, as it has the ability to temporarily assign a fresh IP address to your device, located in another country. This makes it look like you’re located in another country, providing access to content that might normally be unavailable in your current location.
Private Internet Access delivers reliable access to the US, UK, Japanese, Denmark, Germany, and Swedish Netflix content. BBC iPlayer, CBC, Hotstar, 9Now, 10play, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, and many other streamers.
Windscribe does not claim to unblock any geo-fenced content and lives up to that “no-billing.” The provider couldn’t access any of the streaming services I tried it with.
Streaming Support Winner: PIA
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 8+ | 25+ | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 0 | 0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
BitTorrent Support
P2P file sharing via BitTorrent is a popular way to share files and documents with other internet users. While it is legal in most countries to share non-copyrighted materials, it is illegal to share copyrighted content, like music and movies. This has led many ISPs to block or throttle the activity whenever it is detected, due to the pressure they receive from the movie industry, record companies, and other copyright holders.
Happily, you can hide your P2P activity, by using a VPN, which encrypts your internet connection and temporarily assigns a new IP address to your connected device. This keeps your online activities undercover, while also hiding your real IP address.
Private Internet Access allows file sharing on its entire server network.
Windscribe allows P2P activity on its entire global server network.
BitTorrenting Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| Private Internet Access | All of them | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | All of them | Visit Site
Read Review |
Global Server Coverage
Traditionally, the larger a VPN’s global server network is, the more geo-fenced content you’ll have access to. Also, a provider with more than one server location in the countries it serves helps prevent any one server from being overloaded with too many users.
Windscribe’s network has over 480 server locations in more than 69 countries.
Private Internet Access has 3,300+ servers, located in 80+ countries around the globe.
Global Server Coverage Winner: PIA
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 3,300+ | 80+ | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 480 locations | 63 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Multi-Platform Support
Users that own multiple connected devices will want to find a VPN provider that offers native app support for as many of their devices as possible.
PIA’s native app support includes options for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, Linux, and Amazon Fire TV device platforms. Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browser extensions are also available. The provider is compatible with select routers. (Pre-configured routers are also available from Flashrouters.com.)
Windscribe provides apps for Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Android TV, Huawei, and Amazon Fire TV devices. Linux devices can be protected with a bit of manual set up. Browser extensions for the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox platforms are also available. The provider offers compatibility with DD-WRT and Tomato routers, as well as its own proprietary VPN router.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: Windscribe
| 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 |
| Windscribe | 8 | Yes (Chrome and Firefox) | Yes – On its proprietary VPN router. | Visit Site
Read Review |
Customer Support
Both of these providers offer reliable VPN services and I did not experience any issues while testing them. However, you may still have an occasional question.
PIA’s 24/7 customer support offers business hours live chat, email support, and a searchable support library.
Windscribe offers 24/7 live support chat, a trouble ticket system, a searchable knowledge base, and a support bot that is named “Garry.”
Customer Support Winner: Windscribe
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| Private Internet Access | 4.5 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
And The Winner Is…
Windscribe and Private Internet Access both offer comprehensive VPN protection and services. However, one provider performed the best in numerous categories, adding up to an overall win.
Private Internet Access was the overall victor, thanks to its victories in the Connection Speeds, Pricing, Privacy, Streaming, and Global Server Coverage columns.
Windscribe scored best in three categories; Multi-Platform Support, Simultaneous Connections, and Customer Support.
The VPNs tied in the Online Security and BitTorrent Support arenas.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit Private Internet Access.
