I have been using Private Internet Access VPN for three years, and I recently moved to WindScribe, now that I have used both companies I can make a fair comparison, I don´t use AI anywhere in this blog.
Both companies PIA and WindScribe have strong no logs privacy policies and are based in countries involved with mass surveillance, The Five Eyes, this does not put me off if you trust their no logs claims but it concerns me that the UK free speech laws are some of the most limited in the Western world, the UK is know to arrest people posting nationalist British views in social media, this is the main reason why I moved to WindScribe but since I moved I also discovered that WindScribe not using virtual servers considerably reduced the number of captchas and wrong IP locations I get. It is also noteworthy that WindScribe engages with the community in Reddit, something PIA does not despite having an official subreddit too, and WindScribe does not have any affiliate program that could buy them good reviews like PIA VPN does.
Even though WindScribe is more expensive than PIA, this is to be expected when you only use real servers and I decided to keep WindScribe as my VPN provider, but avoiding what I consider unsafe locations like India and Hong Kong (China), countries where unregistered VPNs are not legal or demand them to keep logs, that is the only regard where PIA VPN has done better by refusing to do business in those countries instead of renting a server and hoping for the best. On the other hand if you need a real VPN server in Russia, WindScribe is one of the few VPN providers able to provide it, what I consider a handicap could be a blessing for others, overall, so far I am really happy with WindScribe.
| PIA VPN | WindScribe | |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths | Very cheap if you pay yearly Audited no logs | They only use physical servers They engage with the community in Reddit They don´t own any other VPN company and are transparent about ownership They have real servers in exotic locations They have no affiliate program to pay VPN top lists and influencers Free generous plan to try the VPN without payment |
| Drawbacks | Owned by Kate Technologies with headquarters in the UK Parent company owns other big VPN companies like ExpressVPN and CyberGhostVPN Parent company owns VPN review site VPNMentor where they recommend their own VPN (conflict of interests) They have many virtual locations and it is difficult to find out where the real physical server is located There is no community engagement in Reddit or any other place There are lots of fake reviews in VPN top lists due to their affiliate program | Headquarters in Canada Non serious marketing communications full of jokes for children They have servers in countries where no logs VPNs are not legal like India and Hong Kong (China) |
