Streaming is a source of pride for NordVPN, which credits its SmartPlay DNS with much of its success. Netflix: USA, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Japan, France.If you stick to the most popular VPN locations, you can’t go wrong with either VPN. Each has its weak points – NordVPN, Southeast Asia PIA, South Asia and Africa – but both perform solidly overall. Otherwise, speeds are nearly identical between the two providers. NordVPN wins this race by a hair, thanks to its occasional 1% local speed reductions. But speeds in Asia are unpredictable for both VPNs, sometimes dropping up to 80%. Both providers are able to hop the pond without losing more than 40% of your base speed. Some longer-distance connections, like USA-Europe, are staggeringly fast as well. However, NordVPN hits slightly higher highs – in some cases, local connection speeds drop just 1%. If your base connection is halfway decent, you shouldn’t even notice any speed loss. What’s more, they both hit all the right numbers, with local speed reductions of no more than 10%. NordVPN and PIA perform very similarly in speed tests. Users outside of North America and Western Europe may struggle to find a nearby server. PIA performs admirably in terms of sheer numbers but falls behind when it comes to distribution. But even in other regions, like Asia, there are more than enough servers to please everyone. Distribution is a little lopsided, with most servers concentrated in Europe and North America. NordVPN’s massive server count gives it the upper hand in this contest. All servers are bare-metal and located exactly where they claim to be. Asia’s four locations are split fairly between East, Southeast and South Asia. Africa and South America each have just one server location the Middle East has two. Nearly half of PIA’s servers are located in the USA, with Canada, Australia and Western Europe housing most of the rest. It may pale in comparison to NordVPN’s 5,500, but it’s still a very respectable figure. But that’s hardly unusual – many providers fall behind in these regions. If you’re in Africa or the Middle East, your choices are more limited. The vast majority of servers, though, are found in Europe and North America. With over 5,500 servers strewn throughout the world, you’re never too far from a fast connection. Not many providers can even come close to NordVPN’s server count. Weakest Coverage: South America, Africa.Strongest Coverage: North America, Western Europe, Oceania.Number of Locations: 52 locations in 32 countries.Strongest Coverage: Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia.It’s got something for everyone, whether you’re a speed demon, hobby programmer or average user. PIA’s ultra-customizable UI, always-available latency stats and open-source codebase also win it major points. Extensive router support only adds to the versatility factor. As one of the few VPN providers to offer a full Linux GUI, it’s got seriously widespread appeal. Though NordVPN’s router applet, Android TV support and beautiful apps are truly stellar, PIA has the edge here. The Favorites list lets you view only your preferred servers for quick and simple selection. Server selection is done via a list, where you can view countries, cities and ping times. You can customize your app’s home screen with your most-used settings, useful stats and easy-access functions. The desktop apps are open-source, so you’re free to take a look under the hood if you wish. PIA’s proxy browser extensions work on Chrome, Firefox and Opera. Routers must be manually configured, but PIA provides guides for many different brands and firmwares. Though the Linux app only runs on four distros, it’s got a full GUI and all the features of the other apps. PIA’s apps run on the four main OSes as well. Browser Extensions: Chrome, Firefox, Opera.App Support: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux (GUI), routers (manual config for DD-WRT, Tomato, Merlin, AsusWRT, LEDE, pfSense, LibreCMC).Unfortunately, no server stats, like latency or load, are shown. You can also apply a Specialty filter to view servers that support P2P, Double VPN and other NordVPN features. A Favorites function allows for easy access to your most-used servers. Server selection can be done via a map or a traditional list interface. Though the apps aren’t open-source, they’re attractive and intuitive. Proxy browser extensions are available for Chrome and Firefox. There’s also a full DD-WRT router applet if you don’t want to manually configure your router. The Android app is remote-optimized, so you can use it hassle-free on your Android TV. Apps are available for all the main OSes and a command-line interface is available for eight Linux distros. NordVPN’s platform support goes above and beyond the norm. App Support: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux (CLI), Android TV, routers (DD-WRT).
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