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The VPN market moves seriously fast.

Our latest round of testing sawPrivate Internet Access(PIA) fall outside the top five in ourbest VPNrankings.

Private Internet Access A great pick for power users

Read on, and I’ll explain into why.

PIA’s open-source apps are available for all platforms, including Linux, and are massively customizable.

That’s great news for advanced users who want to tailor every aspect of their VPN experience.

An illustration of a laptop screen running a VPN service, accompanied by images of a padlock, globe, and a man using a tablet.

PIA has plenty of newbie-friendly tools, too, including akill switchthat’ll prevent accidental data leaks.

Take the provider for a test drive with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Fortunately, there’s an option to switch to a window view instead.

Wondering which VPN is the best pick for newbies?

Check out our guide to today’sbest beginner VPNs.

This info is all highly configurable.

you might add or remove each setting with a click or drag and drop them in your preferred order.

If youre seeking a more stripped-down and user-friendly app interface, youll be better off withExpressVPN.

These extra steps can negatively impact your connection speed, however.

Everyday browsing doesn’t require blazing-fast speeds but a lackluster VPN can slow your experience to a sluggish crawl.

This allows for seamless streaming in HD and even4Kresolution, all without having to contend with performance issues.

Unfortunately, PIA just isnt able to keep up with our other top VPNs when it comes to speed.

When using PIA via the WireGuard protocol, it averaged 436 Mbps.

With speeds like that, its little wonder that NordVPN is ourbest streaming VPN.

It was a similar story when we usedOpenVPN.

Its just that there are faster options on the market.

The problem in question was that PIA refused to connect with both the WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols.

However, this was all despite Mike explaining that he’d already gone through these steps to no success.

Its fair to say that the quality of customer support a VPN provides is relative to its subscription prices.

This is part of what makes ExpressVPN one of today’s best, and most reliable, VPNs.

Bottom line

PIA does a lot very well.

PIAs lack of responsiveness regarding our serious technical issue during recent testing shows that theres room for improvement.

Beginners may find the app’s offering a little overwhelming, too, with its mass of customizable options.