Private Internet Access (PIA) is a popular VPN service that offers high-quality connections at reasonable prices. AirVPN is one of the most popular alternative VPN services, and it’s also offered at a low price. In this comparison, we compare the performance of PIA and AirVPN to see which one is better for streaming Netflix or browsing the internet.
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are useful software elements that have a lot to offer.
These are excellent if you want to browse anonymously and don’t want to worry about having your traffic tracked by hackers.
Of course, selecting the ideal alternative may be challenging at times, particularly when you must choose between two or more incredible applications that seem to provide the same features.
Two of the most well-liked products on the market are access to a private internet and AirVPN. Our study, however, showed that many consumers struggle to choose between these two options.
Fortunately, we are here to assist you. Everything about PIA vs. AirVPN that you need to know will be covered in length in this article. Make sure you read everything all the way through so you can decide what is best for you when it is finished.
Comparing access to a private internet with AirVPN in general
access to a private internet, sometimes known as PIA, is a VPN provider with headquarters in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It was established in 2010 by American businessman Andrew Lee as a subsidiary of London Trust Media.
In 2019, Kape Technologies bought PIA and its parent business. This is an international privacy and security business with headquarters in London, UK. It also runs two rival VPN services, Zenmate and CyberGhost VPN.
The VPN service has already made a name for itself as one of the most well-known and reputable VPN companies available, as seen by the fact that it presently counts more than 100,000 customers worldwide.
access to a private internet is the best VPN for online privacy and security with more than 30,000 servers spread over 100+ locations in 78 different countries, a strict no-logs policy, and strong encryption features.
In 2010, a small group of activists, hacktivists, and hackers founded the VPN service AirVPN in Italy. As their slogan implies, they support net neutrality, privacy, and the struggle against Internet censorship.
Initially, AirVPN offered just free services, but later introduced a business component to the project to keep it financially viable and guarantee the team’s full commitment.
The service now has more than 200 high-bandwidth servers spread across 35 sites in 19 different countries on 3 different continents. Additionally, it is still run solely by attorneys, activists, and others who are concerned about security, privacy, and other related problems.
access to a private internet and AirVPN vary from one another while having several features in common that many other VPN providers also have. Therefore, we created a comparison based on the most important variables, which we believe will assist you in selecting a VPN.
The main differences between PIA VPN and AirVPN
access to a private internet
Simple and user-friendly interface
As you will see, access to a private internet has a minimalistic user interface (UI) which will provide a great user experience (UX) to the common user who is not required to be tech-savvy to use this VPN hassle-free.
The primary interface of the PIA VPN software enables you to instantly connect to a server, and the settings area allows you to customize your VPN in accordance with your preferences.
Dashboard
If you’re a Windows 10 user, you can easily launch your access to a private internet VPN application. You should first click on its icon, then go to the system tray (systray) and click on the PIA padlock icon.
Once the client has been opened, you may check your VPN connection’s status (whether you are connected to a server or not) or browse the list of available servers to choose a server to which you want to connect.
Additionally, you may enter the settings area, log out of your PIA account, or end the current session by clicking the three dots menu icon (or kebab menu).
After accessing the list of servers, you can simply navigate through the many nations that are offered, click on one of them, and choose your favourite server based on your requirements.
You will undoubtedly have a wide selection since PIA offers more than 30,000 servers in more than 100 locations spread across 78 countries. This is one of the most amazing aspects of PIA.
When you’ve decided on a server, click the power button to return to the main window, where you may rapidly connect to the server.
If the connection was successful, you will then see a Connected top bar with a green background, the name of the server you are now connected to, your ISP IP address, and the new IP address issued by the VPN.
Furthermore, you can obtain more details about your VPN server connection, account, and rapidly modify various options by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the aforementioned window.
Your current VPN server, IP address, and VPN IP are once again shown to you, along with some recommendations for QUICK CONNECT connections based on your prior connections.
The Performance section follows, where you can see your download and upload rates, connection status, and bandwidth use for both download and upload.
You may activate desktop notifications, MACE (we’ll talk about it a little later), forwarding ports, allow LAN, enable debug logging, and change your current theme under the Quick Options area. You can then select the three dots menu to access all settings.
You can view your Subscription and how many days are left until you need to renew it as you scroll down.
There are a few pieces of information about your connection under Connection, including the protocol, connection type, remote port number, data encryption, data authentication, and handshake, an encryption type that specifies the protocol used for security confirmation when the connection is made.
The last one is the VPN Snooze option, which momentarily disconnects the VPN and immediately re-connects it after the period expires.
Settings
You may opt to activate the PIA client at system startup, to connect immediately after launch, to display desktop alerts, to change your language, theme, tray icon style, and dashboard design by using the General page.
The Account page has choices to buy a subscription, manage your account, log out of your current account, and switch accounts. It also contains information about your login and subscription information (type and expiry date).
The Privacy page displays your privacy preferences, where you may enable or disable PIA MACE or VPN Killswitch.
OFF switch
The OFF switch is a great preventive feature that automatically disconnects your device from the internet until the VPN connection is resumed; therefore, there is no risk of your IP address being exposed, which will ensure your online privacy, anonymity, and security.
You have three options with the PIA OFF switch:
- Off: No traffic will be blocked; this setting is not advised since it will make your IP and traffic public.
- Auto: when the VPN is turned on, this prevents external traffic.
- Always: when the VPN is turned off, it also blocks all traffic.
Regardless of the browser you’re using, the MACE system helps to safeguard your privacy and security by banning domains that are used for advertisements, trackers, and malware.
If you’re worried about your online behavior being recorded, you may quickly switch on your PIA MACE since it is somewhat similar to an adblocker software/extension but is more effective.
Certain Network Preferences may be configured on the Network tab. For instance, you may modify your DNS by heading to Name Servers and selecting an option (you can use PIA DNS, the built-in resolver, your current DNS, or build a custom DNS).
Additionally, you have the option to Request forwarding ports, which will forward a port from the VPN IP to your device. However, not all locations enable forwarding ports, therefore the port will be chosen for you.
In order to get over the NAT firewall and prevent unauthorized access to your network, a VPN forwarding ports reroutes your traffic. Additionally, it may aid in accelerating extremely useful connection speed.
Under forwarding ports, you have the option Allow Lan Traffic which always allows traffic between devices on your local network, even when you’re using the OFF switch.
The last step is to turn on Splitting a tunnel by heading to Split Tunnel and checking it. Splitting a tunnel allows you to send part of your traffic via a VPN tunnel that is encrypted while sending the other data over an open network channel.
By selecting them from the relevant fields, you may decide which IP address or application will use Splitting a tunnel.
Once you’ve selected an application, you can either choose Bypass VPN or Only VPN, which restricts the app’s ability to connect unless while PIA is open and the VPN is active.
You may modify your Connection Preferences using the Connections tab to suit your unique requirements.
You may choose the VPN Protocol you want to use first. Currently, PIA provides two VPN protocols: WireGuard, which is more recent, more effective, and perhaps more performant than OpenVPN, which is dependable, stable, and secure.
You will be able to modify certain options based on the protocol you choose. For instance, if you pick the OpenVPN protocol, you may choose between UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and TCP as your Connection Type protocol (Transmission Control Protocol).
Next, choose your port number by going to Remote Port. There are four alternatives available. Since the program will choose the local port used at random, you shouldn’t worry about the local port.
Change your configuration method if you’re having connection issues; here, you may choose between DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and Static. You may, in other words, have a static or dynamic IP address.
You may specify your encryption type under Data Encryption by selecting between AES-128 (GCM) or AES-256 (GCM). You may connect to PIA via a proxy as well, giving you two choices: Shadowsocks or SOCKS5 Proxy.
Additionally, you may choose Use Small Packets to change the MTU (maximum transmission unit), which is a measurement in bytes of the maximum number of data packets that an internet-connected device can accept. Lower transfer speeds may result from this, however it may also fix packet loss problems.
Last but not least, the program will automatically switch the connection type and remote port until a connection is made if you tick the box for Try Alternate Settings.
You will learn about Connection Automation, a new PIA feature, under the Automation tab. When you choose it, it enables you to set up rules that will automatically join or detach the VPN once a certain network is discovered.
Following your choice, you must click Add Automation Rule, choose a network, and then choose an action (connect or disconnect). After that, your VPN will automatically connect or detach whenever you join the network for which you put up the rule.
Scrolling down to the Dedicated IP tab will take you to another access to a private internet great feature – the option to get a dedicated IP. When you connect to a VPN server, you share the same IP address with other users.
On the other hand, PIA will provide you a static IP address that is just yours to use and via which all of your data traffic will be routed if you request a dedicated IP.
Although having a dedicated IP might sometimes compromise your data privacy, it also has several benefits, one of which is that you’ll be less likely to get banned.
The Help page is the last settings tab. It contains information about the current version of your PIA, a changelog, a brief tour, beta updates, and a checkbox to display service communication messages.
Additionally, you may decide whether to enable debug logging, deactivate accelerated graphics, and include geolocated locations. Following that, you may either delete the PIA client or reinstall the Split Tunnel Filter, OpenVPN, and WireGuard network adapters.
Features
When it comes to the features offered, access to a private internet is certainly a great option for those who want to circumvent geoblocking while also maintaining their online privacy, anonymity, and security.
There are many excellent features offered, as you can see from our discussion of the PIA GUI (Graphical User Interface) above, making the service deserving of its ranking as one of the top VPNs available.
With PIA, you may connect up to 10 simultaneous connections and pick from more than 32,000 servers located in more than 70 different countries.
The UI is one of its most outstanding characteristics. If you’re a newbie, don’t worry about not being able to use it since this VPN has an excellent well-organized interface, as you can see in all the photographs below.
However, keep in mind that manufacturers provide 24/7 live chat customer assistance if you run into any associated issues. As a result, the knowledgeable personnel will always be happy to assist you.
It is a terrific alternative to share it with your family, friends, or coworkers since it enables you to make up to 10 simultaneous connections.
Take a look at some other great features of access to a private internet:
- OFF switch and PIA MACE anti-tracker.
- Splitting a tunnel and forwarding ports.
- VPN protocols WireGuard and OpenVPN.
- Included are shadowsocks and the SOCKS5 proxy.
- dedicated IP addresses and connection automation.
- P2P assistance and several VPN gateways.
- email breach detection.
- VPN security and WiFi encryption.
- Unmetered VPN transmission and premium VPN bandwidth.
Speed
Speed should be taken into account when evaluating and comparing VPN services since it affects the quality of all of your online activities, including basic browsing, streaming, gaming, and torrenting.
Our tests revealed that PIA maintains excellent, lightning-fast connection speeds without maintaining any traffic or request records.
We’ve already established a connection to a server location in Oradea, Romania, which was made available by the ISP before performing the Ookla Speed Test.
As you can see, we established a connection with a PIA server located in New York City, NY, USA.
AirVPN
Interface: good but not as user-friendly as PIA’s
Eddie GUI (Graphical User Interface) is the client used by AirVPN. Eddie is AirVPN’s official VPN client and was created by the company. It may be used with any VPN service that supports the OpenVPN protocol and has an intuitive user interface.
Main menu
When you run Eddie, the Overview page will appear. From there, you may see your connection status (connected or not), log in or out, connect to a suggested server, or enable network lock (more on this later).
Simply go to the Servers page, browse the list of several servers that are accessible, choose one, and click Connect to the chosen server immediately to establish a connection to an AirVPN server.
You may return to the Overview page to examine the connection status and other pertinent information if your connection was successful.
Your download and upload rates, the VPN IP, the duration of the connection, and the ability to disconnect are all shown together with the flag of your country and the name of the server to which you are connected.
The Countries page lists the current list of countries that AirVPN currently offers, along with the number of servers in each country, the percentage of server load, and the number of users that are currently connected.
The Speed tab, as you may have guessed, will display the download and upload rates along with a graph illustrating the fluctuations.
As its name implies, the Stats tab will provide you statistics about your current VPN connection (e.g. server name, latency, location, load, users, speeds, protocol, port, IP, DNS, etc.).
Debug log data is grouped by date and time under the Logs tab. In the event that your VPN malfunctions or fails, these records may be utilized for troubleshooting. The logs may be used by developers to identify what went wrong and when.
The Eddie OpenVPN UI’s general information, such as the version number, the AirVPN website, the links to the Eddie website, the manual, sources, and information about the license, libraries, and tools, are displayed in a window that opens when you click the About icon beneath the tabs described above.
You may see more details about the Eddie system and environment by selecting System Report (e.g. version, operating system info, application paths, etc.).
Settings
You must first click the Preferences button in the Eddie main window before you can access the settings area.
You may check off options like connecting at startup, running the client along with the system, turning on the network lock at startup, choosing a password to secure your data, and reverting the settings to their default defaults on the General tab.
You may see information about several IP protocols on the Protocols tab (UDB, TCP, SSH, SSL). The protocol name, port number, total IPs, and a brief explanation are all visible.
You may activate features like system notifications, exit confirmation prompts, UI main prompts, display tray icons, minimize in the tray, pick the data units, skip advertising messages, and more under the UI (User Interface) tab.
You cannot change protocols if the Automatic option is selected; however, if you deselect it, you may click on a specific protocol, then click on Save, and your protocol will change to the one you selected.
You have the option to configure a proxy by selecting the Proxy/Tor tab. When choosing between HTTP, socks, or Tor, you have three options: always, only for web requests, just for OpenVPN, or never.
The AirVPN server will see the Tor IP address rather than your own when you select the Tor connection method. Only the AirVPN client is compatible with this connection option. Additionally, if using Tor as a proxy, you must configure your actual proxy inside the Tor settings.
Have you considered if Splitting a tunnel is offered by AirVPN? The Routes tab enables you to define a specific IP address, a hostname, or a range of IP addresses that may be routed within or outside the VPN tunnel, and it does just that.
Although it’s not advised, you may modify your DNS settings using the DNS tab. Each VPN server manages its own DNS server, and AirVPN is no different.
Since the VPN’s anti-geolocation capabilities might prevent you from being subject to censorship, it is advised that you utilize its DNS servers. The DNS address may be modified, however, by selecting the Plus button and entering a new one.
You may change the settings for the IPv4, IPv6, and TCP/UDP protocols under the Networking tab. Unless you are highly experienced, leave them at the default levels.
What about the OFF switch, though? It doesn’t appear anywhere. Don’t worry, it’s here. The Network lock tab is all about the AirVPN OFF switch feature. The only difference – unlike other VPNs – is that AirVPN calls it network lock.
If you use the network lock option, any traffic that is not directed via the VPN tunnel is instantly disabled, preventing your true IP or DNS from being discovered if your VPN connection stops abruptly.
As a result, you may choose to block or let all incoming or outgoing traffic when your VPN is turned off, or you can add a list of certain IPs as exceptions.
Features
A VPN service worth considering is AirVPN, which offers a wealth of practical features while retaining a strong privacy, security, and anti-censorship emphasis.
If you like streaming and torrenting, the service’s usage of OpenVPN alone, robust encryption, and fast speeds might be quite beneficial.
AirVPN hosts over 240 servers in 22 countries, so considering this aspect we can strongly agree that it is best to choose access to a private internet instead because it is much more versatile.
Plus, AirVPN offers only 5 maximum simultaneous connections. In this matter, for those of you who are running a business or who just want to share the experience with all their closes ones, access to a private internet remains the better alternative.
Even if the user interface doesn’t appear as intuitive as PIA’s, you can always contact the AirVPN team’s live chat support, which is available around-the-clock.
Don’t forget that manufacturers enable you to submit a ticket via your account, enabling you to launch a 3-day Free test and evaluate AirVPN’s features.
Additional AirVPN features that you have to be aware of include:
- neither logging nor monitoring.
- Network lock (OFF switch).
- Routes (Splitting a tunnel).
- DDN and forwarding ports (Dynamic DNS).
- The only VPN protocol that is offered is OpenVPN.
- Tor integration and P2P assistance.
- time restriction and no traffic.
- without a top speed restriction.
- Free and unlimited server switching.
- No private information is necessary.
- Money-back guarantee of 30 days.
Speed
All three variables (ping, speed of download, and upload rate) are significant when doing a speed test since they have a significant impact on your online experience.
The connection was established from the same place in Romania as with PIA prior to the speed test.
Although it seems that the server is located in Secaucus, New Jersey, USA, we connected to an AirVPN server from New York City – as we previously did when we tested PIA’s performance – to present a comparison as realistic as possible.
How can I get and use PIA?
- Navigate to the access to a private internet download page.
- Click the Try PIA VPN Now button there.
- Select the strategy that best matches your needs.
- Select a payment method (Credit Card, PayPal or Cryptocurrencies).
- Enter the necessary information.
- Open the relevant folder after the software has been downloaded, then begin the installation procedure in accordance with the on-screen directions.
How can I access and use AirVPN?
- Visit the download page for AirVPN.
- On the Get AirVPN button, click.
- Make sure to Sign In if you aren’t already signed in.
- Choose to Create an account if you don’t already have one.
- The best plan for you should then be selected.
- In order to continue, you must download the OS-compatible version.
- To finish the installation procedure, adhere to the on-screen directions.
What information about PIA and AirVPN is useful?
As you’ve probably already seen, both VPN services are quite excellent at what they claim to be able to accomplish, which is to get around geo-restrictions, safeguard your online privacy, and provide secure browsing no matter what you do online.
Now that you’ve learned a lot about the two, we want to be even more helpful to you if you’re still unsure about which VPN to use. To that end, we’ve included the table below where you can compare the features of each VPN.
We hope that this will enable you to make an informed choice that takes into consideration your individual requirements and the aspects that are most important to you.
| Feature | PIA | AirVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 78 | 22 |
| Servers | 32,000+ | 240+ |
| greatest relationships | 5 | 10 |
| speed of download | 28.95 Mbps | 23.11 Mbps |
| upload rate | 71.60 Mbps | 64.06 Mbps |
| Ping | 119 | 117 |
| Protocols | OpenVPN & WireGuard | OpenVPN |
| Logs | u274c | u274c |
| OFF switch | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
| forwarding ports | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
| Splitting a tunnel | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
| P2P & torrenting | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
| Free test | u274c | u2714ufe0f |
| thirty-day money-back promise | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
| 24/7 live chat assistance | u2714ufe0f | u2714ufe0f |
As you can see, based on the specific feature comparison from above, which is also the result of testing, we do have a winner, and that is access to a private internet (PIA).
Before choosing which VPN to use, you may also consider additional aspects depending on your unique demands and available possibilities.
The fact that we examined both products makes it evident that PIA outperforms AirVPN in a few crucial areas despite the fact that AirVPN is a competent VPN service and can do its duties effectively (e.g. servers, speed).
We really hope that our PIA vs. AirVPN performance comparison tool was beneficial to you. Please post a remark in the space below if you have any more queries.