vpnMentor contains reviews that are written by our community reviewers, and are based on the reviewers' independent and professional examination of the products/services.
• Ownership
vpnMentor is owned by Kape Technologies PLC, which owns the following products: CyberGhost, ZenMate, Private Internet Access, and Intego, which may be reviewed on this website.
• Affiliate Commissions
While vpnMentor may receive commissions when a purchase is made using our links, this has no influence on the reviews content or on the reviewed products/services. We provide direct links to purchase products that are part of affiliate programs.
• Reviews Guidelines
The reviews published on vpnMentor are written by experts that examine the products according to our strict reviewing standards. Such standards ensure that each review is based on the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, and takes into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users, which may also affect the product's ranking on the website.
Private Internet Access vs
PureVPN vs
WiTopia VPN 2021
All three of these providers, PIA, PureVPN and WiTopia, offer great service to users at reasonable prices. PureVPN leads the way in terms of the number of server locations it has; more than double of PIA and WiTopia combined. However, in terms of actual servers, PIA is in a league of its own. Neither PIA nor Pure keep any user logs at all, while WiTopia does keep a trailing log of indirect data, but no data that can be used to identify users. All three services can be used on all major operating systems, however, for mobile WiTopia is limited depending on the mobile operator and hardware provider. All three have options that allow users to access geo-restricted content on streaming services such as Netflix, but only PureVPN and PIA support P2P Torrenting. While PureVPN and PIA can be accessed currently in China, this is one global area where WiTopia states it has difficulties accessing, along with some parts of Canada, Belize, UAE and Oman.
Features
9.7
Pricing
8.0
Ease of Use
9.6
Reliability & Support
9.8
Features
7.4
Pricing
9.1
Ease of Use
8.0
Reliability & Support
8.0
Features
7.0
Pricing
10.0
Ease of Use
7.8
Reliability & Support
7.6
Rating
Features
9.7
7.4
7.0
Pricing
8.0
9.1
10.0
Ease of Use
9.6
8.0
7.8
Reliability & Support
9.8
8.0
7.6
Reviews
Review by our expert
Katie Kasunic
Technology Researcher
9.2
Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs on the market. True to its name, this provider is best known for its strict no-logs policy and commitment to user privacy.
Is PIA truly as trustworthy as they claim when it comes to protecting user privacy and anonymity? How does it perform in other categories like streaming, torrenting, and safety?
We tested PIA ourselves to fin...
Best VPN Out on The MarketI like PIA VPN the best for the following reasons:
● It's a reliable and trustworthy policy; they don't record anything harmful to you; strict no logs.
● I've been using it for one month and there are specific times when it speeds up my internet speed (varies by internet)
● It's a distinctive feature of DIP (dedicated IP) - I think not many popular VPNs have this feature, I also purchased this feature to avoid getting the captcha verification and it never showed up ever since.
It's only been a month using this VPN but as I gain more experience with this client, I'm pretty sure I will find more good features and utilize them. Thanks for having read my review:)
Latest negative user review
Mark Chambers
2.0
Stopping working on my MacBook Air, terrible tech supportI used PIA on my MacBook Air, for about a year without a problem then, after an upgrade, a year ago, it blocked all traffic. The only way I could use it at all was with the "use existing DNS option" under network settings (which they directed me to use back in July). I didn't pay attention to the consequences until I installed PIA on a different MacBook Air and I had exactly the same problem - all traffic blocked unless I chose "use existing DNS. This time, I did a DNS leak test and it did leak. Tech support kept giving me the same advice over and over as if my problem could be solved by a couple of clicks. They didn't listen. When I got fed up and asked to cancel, they denied me any refund even though I was only 3 months into a 2-yr plan. I rated it highly when it worked, but they were totally unable/unwilling to solve my problem.
PureVPN is a premium service that operates 6,500+ servers in 140+ countries. It offers unlimited bandwidth, P2P compatibility, and high-end security features including military-level encryption and port forwarding.
Even better, it can unblock Netflix. But it's not as reliable as our top 10 recommended VPNs, since the speeds were slow and the quality was poor.
Streaming – Does PureVPN Work wi...
An excellent value, all things consideredWhile they will absolutely throttle p2p in most servers, it's easy to find and log into the p2p servers. They responded promptly when I had questions (although once it was basically to say "sorry, tough luck"). Overall though, I think I paid something like $20 for a year's subscription - I really can't complain. I'm sold on the service, although I think the fact that it's based out of HK is a bit spooky. 9/10
Latest negative user review
Eulalia
2.0
I agree with youPoorVPN is a better name than PureVPN you haves a good idea. Their product is real shit and does not work. I paid too much for this waste I should have paid more with concurrent, this would have been cheaper.
Endorsed by The New York Times and The Economist, WiTopia certainly does well in the first impressions stakes. Rebranded from the originally named Full Mesh Networks; WiTopia has been operating since 2003. Their aim has always been to supply "complicated and expensive security technology over the Internet as a set of managed services." They created their personalVPN in March 2005 to optimize their ...
Fast, Secure & Works!Works well and fast. Very easy interface and lots of different servers. I’ve used a few others and so far this one is my favorite. I use it on iPhone, iPad, and MacOS and it always works great without fail.
Highly recommend!
Latest negative user review
Anonymously
2.0
Constantly drops on my Mac, even worse on iPadI have been a Witopia user for at least 4 years. When I chose them they were the best rated and I liked their polices and ethics better than others. However, a persisting problem is that their connection drops, sometimes every few hours. When I first contacted support they blamed the issue on my ISP, saying that they were severing the connection between my Mac and the VPN server and they couldn't do anything about it. And discussions with support over the years have only ended with the company still claiming that a solution was out of their hands. What kind of tech company is this, so non-inventive.
Time passes and I can't find a VPN that I can trust. I purchase an iPad 6th gen a month ago, and setup the VPN. Unlike the experience on the Mac, the VPN drops sometimes in as little as three minutes and at other times remains connected for up to 30 minutes before dropping. I contacted Apple support, completed a diagnostic which found that the problem is not with the iOS, which only leaves Witopia as the problem.
The least that Witopia could do is develop a notification that alerts the user, telling them that the connect is about to drop. That way the browser(s), could be closed before the true IP address is revealed. My subscription expires soon and I won't be renewing.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs on the market. True to its name, this provider is best known for its strict no-logs policy and commitment to user privacy.
Is PIA truly as trustworthy as they claim when it comes to protecting user privacy and anonymity? How does it perform in other categories like streaming, torrenting, and safety?
We tested PIA ourselves to fin...
PureVPN is a premium service that operates 6,500+ servers in 140+ countries. It offers unlimited bandwidth, P2P compatibility, and high-end security features including military-level encryption and port forwarding.
Even better, it can unblock Netflix. But it's not as reliable as our top 10 recommended VPNs, since the speeds were slow and the quality was poor.
Streaming – Does PureVPN Work wi...
Endorsed by The New York Times and The Economist, WiTopia certainly does well in the first impressions stakes. Rebranded from the originally named Full Mesh Networks; WiTopia has been operating since 2003. Their aim has always been to supply "complicated and expensive security technology over the Internet as a set of managed services." They created their personalVPN in March 2005 to optimize their ...
Best VPN Out on The MarketI like PIA VPN the best for the following reasons:
● It's a reliable and trustworthy policy; they don't record anything harmful to you; strict no logs.
● I've been using it for one month and there are specific times when it speeds up my internet speed (varies by internet)
● It's a distinctive feature of DIP (dedicated IP) - I think not many popular VPNs have this feature, I also purchased this feature to avoid getting the captcha verification and it never showed up ever since.
It's only been a month using this VPN but as I gain more experience with this client, I'm pretty sure I will find more good features and utilize them. Thanks for having read my review:)
Rich
10.0
An excellent value, all things consideredWhile they will absolutely throttle p2p in most servers, it's easy to find and log into the p2p servers. They responded promptly when I had questions (although once it was basically to say "sorry, tough luck"). Overall though, I think I paid something like $20 for a year's subscription - I really can't complain. I'm sold on the service, although I think the fact that it's based out of HK is a bit spooky. 9/10
Anonymously
10.0
Fast, Secure & Works!Works well and fast. Very easy interface and lots of different servers. I’ve used a few others and so far this one is my favorite. I use it on iPhone, iPad, and MacOS and it always works great without fail.
Highly recommend!
Latest negative user review
Mark Chambers
2.0
Stopping working on my MacBook Air, terrible tech supportI used PIA on my MacBook Air, for about a year without a problem then, after an upgrade, a year ago, it blocked all traffic. The only way I could use it at all was with the "use existing DNS option" under network settings (which they directed me to use back in July). I didn't pay attention to the consequences until I installed PIA on a different MacBook Air and I had exactly the same problem - all traffic blocked unless I chose "use existing DNS. This time, I did a DNS leak test and it did leak. Tech support kept giving me the same advice over and over as if my problem could be solved by a couple of clicks. They didn't listen. When I got fed up and asked to cancel, they denied me any refund even though I was only 3 months into a 2-yr plan. I rated it highly when it worked, but they were totally unable/unwilling to solve my problem.
Eulalia
2.0
I agree with youPoorVPN is a better name than PureVPN you haves a good idea. Their product is real shit and does not work. I paid too much for this waste I should have paid more with concurrent, this would have been cheaper.
Anonymously
2.0
Constantly drops on my Mac, even worse on iPadI have been a Witopia user for at least 4 years. When I chose them they were the best rated and I liked their polices and ethics better than others. However, a persisting problem is that their connection drops, sometimes every few hours. When I first contacted support they blamed the issue on my ISP, saying that they were severing the connection between my Mac and the VPN server and they couldn't do anything about it. And discussions with support over the years have only ended with the company still claiming that a solution was out of their hands. What kind of tech company is this, so non-inventive.
Time passes and I can't find a VPN that I can trust. I purchase an iPad 6th gen a month ago, and setup the VPN. Unlike the experience on the Mac, the VPN drops sometimes in as little as three minutes and at other times remains connected for up to 30 minutes before dropping. I contacted Apple support, completed a diagnostic which found that the problem is not with the iOS, which only leaves Witopia as the problem.
The least that Witopia could do is develop a notification that alerts the user, telling them that the connect is about to drop. That way the browser(s), could be closed before the true IP address is revealed. My subscription expires soon and I won't be renewing.
PureVPN is a clear winner when it comes to these three providers. While PIA is comparable in terms of functionality and features; both have kill switches, and offer 7-day money back guarantees, PureVPN has more impressive encryption, split tunnelling and the option of using dedicated IPs. WiTopia offers the longer money back guarantee at 30 days, but the level of encryption that users get is dependent on the subscription package they buy, and the service lacks a kill switch. Both PIA and PureVPN packages differ in length of subscription, rather than content, but overall PureVPN offers the better value for money and security.
Interestingly, if you compare PureVPN with ExpressVPN, which is our top ranked vpn, you'll see that PureVPN can learn a lot from ExpressVPN. Compare PureVPN with ExpressVPN
Honesty and Transparency are two core values of vpnMentor. VPN Companies can't pay to change or delete reviews. When readers choose to buy a vpn service, we sometimes earn affiliate commissions that support our work. Here is an explanation of exactly what we do, and how to support our work.
