PrivateVPN and Windscribe At a Glance
PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN provides top-notch online security and privacy protection. However, its global server coverage and multi-platform app support could stand some improvement. If you’re looking for solid, basic, low-priced VPN protection, PrivateVPN may be the provider for you.
Windscribe
Windscribe offers comprehensive app support for numerous popular devices, excellent customer support, and an above-average-sized server network. The provider’s fast, well-protected connections keep you safe online.
How to Choose a VPN
When you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider to provide protection and enhancement for your online activities, you should research several features.
In this article, I’ll take a look at the performance of PrivateVPN and Windscribe in several feature categories, declaring a winner in each category. I’ll then calculate the scores and declare an overall champion.
By the time you finish this article, you’ll have the information you need to make an informed VPN subscription decision.
Features of PrivateVPN and Windscribe
Connection Speeds
No matter what online activities you enjoy, a fast internet connection is your friend.
I perform my periodic VPN connection speed tests following these steps:
- Tests are performed on a North American Windows server with a gigabit Ethernet connection.
- I use each VPN provider’s Windows app, configuring it to use the OpenVPN UDP connection protocol when available.
- Connections are made 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.
- I then use the Speedtest.net app to test each location’s connection speed, restarting the Speedtest app in between each test.
It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll see different download speeds than I saw in my testing. This is because download speeds can be affected by your unprotected connection speeds, your location, and the VPN server’s location.
Both VPNs provided enough bandwidth to handle most popular online activities.
Windscribe’s average connection speeds were 55 Mbps.
PrivateVPN’s average download speeds were 38.4 Mbps.
Average Connection Speed Winner: Windscribe
| Provider | Avg. Connection Speed | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 38.4 Mbps | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 55 Mbps | Visit Site
Read Review |
Pricing
Have you bought a dozen eggs lately? Unfortunately, eggs are not the only items sporting a ridiculously high price. While these inflationary times will cause most of us to look for a bargain, you should never subscribe to a VPN simply because it charges a rock-bottom price.
PrivateVPN’s monthly tariff comes out to about the same price as a corn dog and a small drink deal at your corner convenience store when you pay upfront for a three-year subscription. The provider offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Meanwhile, Windscribe’s monthly subscription rate comes in at somewhere close to triple PrivateVPN’s price of admission when you go for the annual deal. Windscribe offers a fleetingly short three-day money-back guarantee.
You won’t see actual prices listed in my articles, as VPN providers often change their pricing structures while also offering special deals on a regular basis. Current pricing can be found on each provider’s website.
Pricing Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Money-Back Guarantee Period | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 30 Days | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 3 Days | Visit Site
Read Review |
Privacy
There are plenty of groups out there that would love to take a look at the logs your ISP saves about what you do online. That’s why a VPN provider’s privacy protection features are an important consideration.
When considering a VPN provider’s privacy protection, consider this:
- Is the provider based in a privacy-respecting country?
- Does the provider save logs on its servers?
- Does the provider accept Bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrency?
Swedish provider PrivateVPN saves no user logs and also accepts cryptocurrency as a private form of payment.
Windscribe doesn’t log its users’ online wanderings, their real IP address, or their browsing history. However, it does record their usernames, the time of their connections, and how much data is used during their VPN sessions.
Privacy Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Privacy Ranking | Site |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 4.5 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Online Security
Anytime that you’re connected to the internet (and it’s an always-connected world), someone could be tracking your online activities. Whether it’s black hat hackers, advertisers, or the government, they’re all interested in following you around online.
A VPN keeps your online activities undercover by encrypting your connection and temporarily assigning a new IP address to your connected device. This keeps your internet travels in a protective tunnel of encryption, while also preventing anyone from tracking your activities back to your actual IP address.
PrivateVPN protects your connection with a secure tunnel of banking-grade encryption. Kill switch protection is also available. Connection protocols used by the provider include WireGuard, OpenVPN over UDP/TCP, L2TP/IPSec, IPSec, PPTP, and IKEv2. The provider’s proprietary “Stealth VPN” feature hides your VPN usage by disguising it as normal browsing activity.
Windscribe’s AES-256 encryption, IP/DNS leak prevention, and ad blocking keep your online travels private and secure. Available connection protocols include OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2.
Security Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | Overall Security Score | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 4.5 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Simultaneous Connections
If you own more than one internet-connected device, a VPN’s simultaneous connections limit is an important consideration.
PrivateVPN allows users to connect up to 10 devices at a time.
Windscribe has no limit as to how many devices customers can connect at once.
Simultaneous Connections Winner: Windscribe
| Provider | Simultaneous Connections Allowed | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 10 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | Unlimited | Visit Site
Read Review |
Streaming Support
85% of U.S. households subscribe to at least one video streaming subscription and 7% subscribe to six or more streaming services.
No matter how many streaming services you subscribe to, I guarantee that you’re not getting everything that you could be out of those subscriptions. This is due to the policies of most streaming services that restrict access to their content on a country-by-country basis. This means that you might not have access to all of the streamer’s content when you’re traveling or temporarily living internationally.
A VPN can help you get around this, as it temporarily assigns a new IP address to your device. This makes it appear as if you and your device are located in another country, allowing you to regain access to your favorite content.
PrivateVPN provides reliable access to numerous streaming services, including Netflix US, Netflix UK, Hulu, Disney+, and many others.
Windscribe doesn’t unblock any geo-fenced content, nor does it claim to. Instead, it prefers to focus on providing privacy and security services. Just to be thorough, I tested Windscribe with several popular streaming services around the globe and the provider failed to provide access to any of them.
Streaming Support Winner: PrivateVPN
| Provider | # of U.S. Streaming Services VPN Unblocks | # of International Services VPN Unblocks | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 9+ | 5+ | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 0 | 0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
BitTorrent Support
BitTorrent is a popular method of sharing files with other users over the internet. While file sharing is legal in most countries (many reputable organizations use the technology to share files among their employees, some users use it to share copyrighted content, including music and movies. This has led film studios and record companies to pressure ISPs to block or throttle all file sharing activity.
Luckily, a VPN can help you avoid this virtual blockade or slowdown. A VPN encrypts your internet connection, while also temporarily assigning a fresh IP address to your connected device. This hides your online activities in an encrypted tunnel, while also keeping your actual IP address a secret. Since the ISP can’t tell that you’re sharing files, it won’t block you.
While PrivateVPN allows BitTorrenting activity on its network, it recommends that users connect to its servers located in Sweden when engaging in file sharing.
Windscribe allows P2P activity on its entire global server network.
BitTorrenting Winner: It’s a tie
| Provider | # of Countries Where VPN Allows BitTorrents | Link |
| PrivateVPN | All of them | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | All of them | Visit Site
Read Review |
Global Server Coverage
If you’re looking to access geo-controlled content around the globe, you need a VPN provider with a large global server network. This opens up access to content you might normally not have access to. Also, I prefer a provider that has more than one server location in each country. Multiple servers help prevent a single server from being overloaded by too many users.
Windscribe’s network includes over 480 server locations in 69+ countries.
PrivateVPN has 200+ servers located in more than 63 countries.
Global Server Coverage Winner: Tied
| Provider | Server Count | Countries | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 200+ | 63+ | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 480 locations | 63 | Visit Site
Read Review |
Multi-Platform Support
Users with multiple connected devices will appreciate a VPN provider that offers native app support for a large number of popular devices.
PrivateVPN’s app support is somewhat limited, as it provides apps for only iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows devices. It also lacks any browser extensions. The VPN can be manually set up on Linux devices and select routers. (Pre-configured routers are available through Flashrouters.com for the non-technical among us.)
Windscribe app support includes options for the macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, Android TV, Huawei, and Amazon Fire TV device platforms. Linux devices can be manually set up to use the VPN. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browser extensions are also available. The provider can be used with DD-WRT and Tomato routers, along with its proprietary Invizbox VPN router.
Multi-Platform Support Winner: Windscribe
| Provider | Platforms Supported | Browser Extensions? | Router Support? |
Link |
| PrivateVPN | 5 | No | Yes – Manual setup. | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 8 | Yes (Chrome, Edge, and Firefox) | Yes – On DD-WRT and Tomato routers, as well as its proprietary VPN router. | Visit Site
Read Review |
Customer Support
Both PrivateVPN and Windscribe offer easy-to-use, reliable services. However, it’s likely that you will still have a question from time to time.
PrivateVPN offers a live messaging option (to which they usually reply fairly quickly), email support, and a non-searchable FAQ and “getting started” support section. Free remote help and installation are available, which I have yet to see from any other VPN provider.
Windscribe customer support offers 24/7 live support chat, a trouble ticket tracking system, a searchable support section, and “Garry” the support bot.
Customer Support Winner: Tied
| Provider | Customer Support Rating | Link |
| PrivateVPN | 5.0 | Visit Site |
| Windscribe | 5.0 | Visit Site
Read Review |
And The Winner Is…
Windscribe and PrivateVPN both provide excellent VPN protection and enhancement. However, one of these providers slightly outperformed its competitor.
PrivateVPN took the title this time around, nosing its competitor out at the finish line, thanks to its wins in the Pricing, Privacy, Online Security, and Streaming Support arenas.
Windscribe took wins in three categories, Connection Speeds, Simultaneous Connections, and Multi-Platform Support.
The competitors tied in the BitTorrent Support, Global Server Coverage, and Customer Support columns.
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit PrivateVPN.
