We put these VPNs to the test to find out which is the best!
Both of these VPNs are not standouts when it comes to speed. With that said, PureVPN and AirVPN are still fast enough for streaming content without any buffering, handling large downloads with relative ease as well. If you’re looking for something as fast as NordVPN or ExpressVPN however, you won’t get it here.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Download speed reduction | 63% (UK) | 40% (UK) |
| Upload speed reduction | 37% (FRA) | |
| Ping time to google.com | 222ms | 41ms |
| Average time to connect (sec.) | 23.6ms | 11ms |
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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.
PureVPN is one of the better VPNs for server choices, providing 140+ countries and 180 locations overall. AirVPN has a ways to go in this area, as they only offer 20 server countries, each with just one location.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Server Locations | 200 | 180 |
| Server Countries | 20 | 141 |
| IP Addresses | 219 | 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.
PureVPN’s main advantage in this instance is with its customer support. They have live chat available 24/7, an email ticketing system, and a large knowledge base on their site. AirVPN only offers email ticketing and social media responses at the moment, but they do have a very helpful user forum.
| VPN vendor |
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|---|---|---|
| Email Response Time | 9 | 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.
In terms of actually using AirVPN, it’s very effective in bypassing geo-blocks and censorship from different corners of the world including the US, UK and France. Its dedicated clients for Windows and MacOS are user-friendly, and can be easily setup without assistance. If you have several devices, you can easily connect up to five simultaneously with the same AirVPN subscription.
The experience with AirVPN is not entirely rosy. The service lacks dedicated applications for iOS and Android. As a result, non-technical users may find it daunting to manually configure it using the OpenVPN client.
For unblocking, AirVPN is very effective with most streaming services except for Netflix. It’s also proven to be successful when bypassing China’s firewall as well, but you may need to use SSH, SSL, or Tor connection options to do so.
PureVPN app is easy enough to be used by novice VPN users and offers enough settings to appeal to a seasoned player. The basic interface is simple and you just have to select a server and click on Connect. The default protocol is automatic but you can pick another option from the list. There are some tabs that let users change the settings and customize the app according to their needs.
PureVPN has apps for all major platforms, and has browser extensions as well. There is a large selection of servers and special servers for online streaming, sports streaming, anonymous file sharing, and data retention security. Or you can just connect to the fastest server of a particular country.
PureVPN works on mobile devices, and is generally successful accessing Netflix and Hulu, and definitely works in China.
