PIA vs NordVPN 2026: NordVPN Wins 5 of 8 Rounds

PIA is the budget VPN in this matchup, and NordVPN is the one with more tools. NordVPN won five of our eight rounds, PIA won on price, and two rounds ended in a draw. NordVPN was faster on every server we tested and opened all 14 streaming services, while PIA opened 8. PIA still has clear strengths: a lower renewal price, unlimited devices, port forwarding, and the better ad blocker. Its standard kill switch let unencrypted traffic out after a restart, but the Advanced Kill Switch blocked it.

PIA vs NordVPN Side by Side

	NordVPN	Private Internet Access
Our current ranking	#1	#4
Starting price	$3.49 a month	$1.99 a month
Renewal	$139.08 a year	$46.54 a year
Money-back guarantee	30 days	30 days
Free version/free trial	No / 3 days on Android	No / 7 days on Android
Logging/jurisdiction	No logs / Panama	No logs / United States
Protocols	NordLynx, NordWhisper, OpenVPN, IKEv2	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2
Servers	9,000+ in 152 countries	Not published, 91 countries
Specialty servers	Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, obfuscated, dedicated IP	Multi-Hop, streaming, dedicated IP
Ad blocking on d3ward	76%	96%
RAM-only servers	Yes	Yes
Streaming services opened	14 of 14	8 of 14
P2P	Every server	Every server
Port forwarding	Paid Dedicated Server add-on only	Yes, outside the US
Simultaneous devices	10	Unlimited

How We Tested

Our September 2026 tests used one Windows 11 PC on a wired home connection in Europe. Without a VPN, it measured 190.36 Mbps down, 19.37 Mbps up, and a 10 ms ping. Speed tests used UK, US, and Japanese servers, three times a day for three days. NordVPN was connected on NordLynx and PIA was connected on WireGuard. For ad blocking, we used d3ward’s test, which checks 135 domains.

Leak checks used ipleak.net and browserleaks.com. Streaming covered 14 services, with the cache and cookies deleted before each session. We paid for both with PayPal and asked for refunds over live chat.

Speed: NordVPN Was Faster on Every Server

Server	NordVPN (NordLynx)	PIA (WireGuard)
UK	184.73 Mbps	181.15 Mbps
US	181.50 Mbps	175.68 Mbps
Japan	160.47 Mbps	141.61 Mbps
Average download	175.57 Mbps	166.15 Mbps
Download loss	7.8%	12.7%
Upload loss	5.5%	7.5%

NordVPN’s ping was lower at all three locations: 41 ms for the UK, 134 ms for the US, and 215 ms for Japan, compared to 48, 150, and 270 ms on PIA. NordVPN also averaged 172.31 Mbps on OpenVPN, which is higher than PIA’s WireGuard result. NordVPN’s download average matched ExpressVPN to two decimal places on the same connection.

On Android and iPhone: NordVPN Lost Less Speed

Phone test	NordVPN	PIA
Galaxy S26 Ultra, download loss	20.3%	29.2%
iPhone 17 Pro, download loss	13.6%	24.2%
Battery used, Android	5%	5%
Battery used, iPhone	4%	5%

We repeated the UK, US, and Japan tests on a Galaxy S26 Ultra and an iPhone 17 Pro, on home Wi-Fi measuring 54.7 Mbps. Both VPNs used WireGuard, in its NordLynx form on NordVPN. PIA’s largest shortfalls were on the Android US server, at 37.7 Mbps compared to 46.5, and the iPhone’s Japanese server, at 34.42 Mbps compared to 42.29. Battery figures come from a 20-minute 1440p YouTube video at full brightness.

Security: More Tools on NordVPN, a Stronger Blocker on PIA

Neither VPN leaked an IP address, DNS request, or WebRTC connection in our tests. PIA’s Windows app defaults to AES-128 on OpenVPN, and AES-256 is one change away in Settings. NordVPN also adds post-quantum encryption, which PIA doesn’t offer yet.

Kill Switch: PIA’s Standard Mode Leaked on Restart

We tested each kill switch three ways: unplugging the Ethernet cable, closing the VPN process in Task Manager, and restarting the PC. NordVPN passed all three, with its kill switch set to block the internet while the VPN is off. It also has an app-level mode that closes the apps you choose if the VPN disconnects.

PIA passed the first two tests. With its standard kill switch on, unencrypted traffic left the PC during the restart, which could expose your IP address at startup. We didn’t expect that from a VPN that puts privacy at the center of its marketing.

PIA’s Advanced Kill Switch passed the restart test. It blocks all internet access while the VPN is disconnected, startup included.

Ad Blocking: PIA’s MACE Blocked More

Feature	NordVPN Threat Protection Pro	PIA MACE
Domains blocked on d3ward	76%	96%
Scans downloaded files	Yes	No
Works with the VPN off	Yes	No
Plans that include it	Complete and Prime	All plans

MACE’s lead is NordVPN’s clearest weakness compared to PIA, and the Basic plan doesn’t include Threat Protection Pro.

Threat Protection Pro also scans downloads for malware and keeps working when NordVPN is disconnected. PIA sells antivirus separately for Windows, at $1.45 a month.

Multi-Hop: Double VPN Loses Less Speed

Double VPN sends traffic through two NordVPN servers. On the UK server, it was 2.9% slower than a direct connection and added 4 ms of ping. PIA’s Multi-Hop pairs a VPN server with a Shadowsocks or SOCKS5 proxy, with proxies in six countries. PIA’s US Missouri server, connected through the Dutch Shadowsocks proxy, lost 20.1% of its direct-connection speed and added 122 ms of ping.

Features Only NordVPN Offers

Onion Over VPN sends traffic into the Tor network for accessing the dark web privately. Meshnet connects as many as 60 devices you own through encrypted links, so you can unblock websites through a home computer or move files between devices.

Privacy: Panama Jurisdiction or a US Court Record

Both VPNs have audited no-log policies that exclude browsing activity, DNS queries, and the IP address you connect from. NordVPN is registered in Panama, which has no data retention law and belongs to no Eyes alliance. PIA is based in the United States, a founding Five Eyes member.

PIA’s policy has been tested in US courts. Subpoenas in 2016 and 2018 asked for connection records, and PIA had none to provide. Deloitte audited the policy in 2022 and 2025, and PIA publishes the source code of its apps. PIA is part of Kape’s VPN group with ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, and it commissions its own audits. Strong US-based VPNs do exist, and PIA’s court record shows it.

NordVPN’s case rests on audits: six no-log engagements since 2018, the first two by PwC and the other four by Deloitte. The latest report, issued in December 2025, included the Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, and obfuscated servers. NordVPN stores the time of your last session for about 15 minutes, which it uses to count devices toward the ten-device limit. Its transparency report lists a Panamanian warrant, which NordVPN answered with payment details and confirmation of an email address.

Streaming and Torrenting: NordVPN Opened 6 More Services

Streaming service	NordVPN	PIA
Netflix US	Opened	Opened
Netflix Canada	Opened	Opened
Netflix Japan	Opened	Blocked
BBC iPlayer	Opened	Opened
ITVX	Opened	Opened
Channel 4	Opened	Opened
Now TV	Opened	Opened
Pluto TV	Opened, occasional blocks	Opened
Peacock	Opened	Opened
Hulu	Opened	Blocked
HBO Max	Opened	Blocked
Prime Video	Opened, occasional blocks	Blocked
Disney+	Browser extension only	Blocked
JioHotstar	Opened	Blocked

Disney+ blocked both desktop apps, as it did every VPN app in our streaming VPN rankings. NordVPN streamed it through its Chrome extension with location spoofing enabled, and PIA had no working method.

PIA’s results were strongest on British TV, with BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, and Now TV all working on the first try, every time.

Torrenting: PIA Has Port Forwarding

Both VPNs allow P2P traffic on every server. NordVPN retired its separate P2P category in 2026, and both include a SOCKS5 proxy for torrent clients, which hides your IP address without encrypting traffic.

PIA includes port forwarding, and NordVPN offers it only with its paid Dedicated Server add-on. An open port accepts incoming peer connections, which private trackers reward with a better upload ratio, as our torrenting VPN guide explains. PIA’s app shows the option as unavailable on US servers, and it works on Canadian and European ones.

Restricted Networks: Obfuscation Compared

Our obfuscation tests measured speed only, and neither VPN has been tested in China. NordVPN offers two methods. Obfuscated servers disguise OpenVPN TCP traffic, and NordWhisper is a protocol built for networks that block VPNs, such as hotel, school, and office Wi-Fi. NordWhisper cost 12.8% of download speed on the UK server. Its loaded ping was far higher: 180 ms on download and 808 ms on upload, next to 42 ms at idle.

PIA has no obfuscation protocol. It relies on the Shadowsocks proxy built into Multi-Hop. Our China VPN guide tracks which VPNs currently work there.

Servers: NordVPN Covers 61 More Countries

	NordVPN	PIA
Countries in the app	152	91
Server count	9,000+	Not published
US states covered	All 50	All 50
Dedicated IP locations	51 in 32 countries	26

PIA’s site describes 10 Gbps, RAM-only servers without giving a total. Both VPNs cover every US state, which helps with regional sports blackouts on services such as ESPN Plus. NordVPN labels several of its state locations as virtual.

Apps, Devices, and Extensions

Each VPN has apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, and Fire TV, and supports routers. PIA’s Fire TV app supports Fire OS 6 and newer, and it doesn’t support Vega OS. PIA’s desktop apps were our least favorite. The Windows and macOS layouts look dated, and the settings menus are crowded. PIA connected in 3 seconds on WireGuard.

NordVPN’s app is more polished, with a map and a server search, and it connected in 2 seconds on NordLynx. On Windows, it sometimes wouldn’t connect while another VPN was installed, even with that VPN idle. NordVPN’s diagnostics tool and an app restart fixed it, but the restart signed us out.

PIA allows unlimited devices on one subscription, and NordVPN allows ten. In Chrome, NordVPN’s extension blocked 52% of d3ward’s domains, and PIA’s blocked 8% with MACE on. PIA’s extension also requests control over camera, microphone, and location access on every site, and it has no verified publisher badge in the Chrome Web Store.

Price: PIA Is the Cheaper VPN

Plan	NordVPN	PIA
Longest term	$3.49 a month for 27 months	$1.99 a month for 26 months
Renewal	$139.08 a year	$46.54 a year
Shorter term	$5.49 a month for 1 year	$7.50 a month for 6 months
Monthly	$14.99	$11.95
Higher tiers	Complete $4.49, Prime $7.49	None
Dedicated IP, 2-year term	$4.19 a month	$2.50 a month

PIA, one of the lowest-priced VPNs in our cheap VPN rankings, sells one plan with every feature included. NordVPN sells three. The Basic plan is the VPN alone. The Complete plan includes Threat Protection Pro, the NordPass password manager, and 1 TB of NordLocker cloud storage. The Prime plan bundles Coveron identity protection for US subscribers.

Double VPN comes with every NordVPN plan. NordVPN’s monthly plan also increases to $21.99 in its second year. A dedicated IP costs $5.89 a month on NordVPN’s annual plan and $8.99 on its monthly one. Both include a 30-day money-back guarantee. NordVPN refunded our PayPal payment in 10 minutes, and PIA took about 2 hours. Both refunds arrived the same day.

PIA vs NordVPN: Round-by-Round Results

Round	Winner
Speed	NordVPN
Security	NordVPN
Privacy	Tie
Streaming and torrenting	NordVPN
Restricted networks	NordVPN
Servers	NordVPN
Apps, devices, and extensions	Tie
Price	Private Internet Access

NordVPN vs Private Internet Access: Final Verdict

• NordVPN is the stronger VPN overall, and the extra $1.50 a month buys differences we measured. It lost 7.8% of download speed to PIA’s 12.7% on the PC, kept more speed on both phones, and unblocked six more streaming services. Our NordVPN review has the full test results.
• PIA makes more sense for large households, private-tracker users, and budget-focused subscribers. MACE also blocked more tracker domains than NordVPN’s paid blocker. Streaming is its weak area. Privacy-focused users should switch PIA to its Advanced Kill Switch setting, which blocks traffic through a restart.

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