We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
NordVPN is far much faster than PureVPN.
Choosing a VPN requires considering the speed factor, and NordVPN surpasses PureVPN in this aspect. The impressive server network of NordVPN is the primary reason behind its superior speeds. However, PureVPN offers the flexibility of increasing speeds by opting for AES 128-bit encryption instead of AES 256-bit encryption.
During our tests, we used OpenVPN AES 256-bit encryption on both VPNs for consistency. NordVPN only cut our download speed by 19%, and PureVPN has a larger effect of 40%.
| VPN vendor |
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| Download speed reduction | 10% (UK) | 40% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 14% (FRA) | 37% (FRA) |
| Ping time to google.com | 2ms | 41ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 9ms | 11ms |
| Unblock successful for |
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| Visit Site | Visit Site |
Speed determines how fast content uploads, so if you’re torrenting or streaming, you want the speed to be somewhat identical to your regular internet speed. Since a VPN encrypts your data, it usually takes a bit longer to send your data back and forth, which can slow down your connection. However, if your ISP deliberately slows down your connection (also known as throttling) a VPN might increase your internet speed. Testing a VPN is somewhat pointless because new servers pop up and affect speed. Your speed can also differ according to your location, so your speed test might not match ours. Having said that, we tested the speed in numerous locations to provide you with the average.
NordVPN has twice the number of PureVPN servers.
NordVPN is the VPN with the most servers in the industry, with a total of 5,200+ servers spread across 60 countries. Out of these, there are some special servers that can be used for tasks such as P2P, dedicated IP, double VPN, and onion over VPN.
PureVPN doesn’t lag far much behind either. First, they own and operate their whole server network. This network consists of 2,000+ servers spread across 180+ locations in 140 countries. Although the number of servers is less than half those of NordVPN, the VPN provides more locations and countries.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 60 | 180 |
| Server Countries | 60 | 141 |
| IP Addresses | 5,201+ | 750 |
| Dynamic Server Switching | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
The ratio of servers to countries is an important factor to look at when choosing a VPN. Only paying attention to location or number of servers can get you in trouble. More servers generally means faster speeds, but if VPN X has a few more servers than VPN Y but twice as many users, VPN X will typically have slower speeds. Ideally, you want a VPN that has a lot of servers in every location. This way you won’t have to worry that server/country that you want will be overburdened and running slow
The two support teams are equally amazing.
NordVPN and PureVPN both offer stellar customer service, with fast responses via 24/7 live chat. Both VPNs also provide comprehensive setup and troubleshooting guides for basically every platform out there.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 3 | 7 |
| 24/7 Support | ||
| Live Chat | ||
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Video Tutorials | ||
| Visit Site | Visit Site |
We personally test the customer support team of every VPN we review. This means asking technical question through the live chat feature (where applicable) and measuring the response time for email questions. Whether you need to connect to a specific server, change your security protocol, or configure a VPN on your router, finding a VPN with quality customer support should be important to you.
Signing up for NordVPN and setting up their VPN client should only take you a few minutes. From there, you’ll be able to connect easily just by picking a server from the map provided on the main screen.
You can also customize your connection by going to the settings. These are divided into General and Advanced features to make it easy to use. Available features include a kill switch, double VPN, Onion over VPN, CyberSec, Anti-DDoS, and DNS & IP Leak protection.
We didn’t experience any issues while using the desktop or smartphone apps, and we suppose you won’t either.
PureVPN is equally easy to sign up for and install. However, their desktop client isn’t the best to look at, and a lot can be changed to improve user-friendliness.
Nevertheless, you’ll have lots of options for customizing your VPN connection. Among many other features, you will have the option to choose the apps that you don’t want to encrypt under the split tunneling option.
Unfortunately, we experienced some functionality issues with some of the features like kill switch. While the features mostly work, they are not very reliable.
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