Perfect Privacy vs. NordVPN

Perfect Privacy vs. NordVPN is a true David vs. Goliath matchup. NordVPN is consistently rated among the top VPNs we review, while Perfect Privacy didn’t even land in our top ten this year. Although this seems like a no-brainer, there are a few key differences between the two VPNs that made this comparison quite challenging. If you find yourself trying to decide between one of the biggest names in the VPN space and a small brand that is meticulous about privacy, this is the comparison for you.

Quick Overview

What unites NordVPN and Perfect Privacy are both companies’ commitments to customer security, and throughout all of our reviews, these two VPNs consistently scored highly on their commitment to keeping customer’s data locked down. Selecting the perfect VPN is about finding a service that both fits our needs and is highly trustworthy. In case you’re in a rush, we took the time to compile a quick overview of Perfect Privacy and NordVPN’s top features.

Security

After testing dozens of VPNs, we’ve come to learn that VPNs who didn’t lock down our information typically didn’t score highly elsewhere.

• Privacy Jurisdiction: One of the first elements we look for in a VPN is the country of origin. With all of the ways that our information could be exposed through international surveillance alliances like Five Eyes, Nine Eyes and 14 Eyes, we’re happy to see neither of these VPNs is subject to their rules. Both Perfect Privacy and NordVPN fall out of the jurisdiction of these international groups; Perfect Privacy is headquartered in Switzerland (although their tech is based out of Panama) and NordVPN is based in Panama, both non-member countries. Another VPN that’s based in a non-member country is ExpressVPN, based in the British Virgin Islands. Compare NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN.

• Encryption: Each of the VPNs encrypted our web traffic and surfing habits using AES-256 bit encryption. Not only is this the industry standard for VPNs, but it’s also the strongest and most robust encryption standard that is commercially available today.1

• Logging: Sure, there are plenty of VPNs that can protect you from outside forces trying to discover your web traffic, but even though some claim to have a zero-logging policy, they still record things like your email, device model, and payment information. We ran through both Perfect Privacy and NordVPN’s privacy policies and compiled this handy list:

On Perfect Privacy’s website, they claim that the protection of their client’s privacy is their primary concern, and after diving into our research, we are confident in their assertion. In terms of logging-based security, Perfect Privacy beats out NordVPN, but how does NordVPN do on the rest of the security head to head? Let’s find out.
• IP Addresses: Although we like to advocate for VPNs with dynamic IPs, the difference between a static and dynamic IP address is often a matter of personal preference. It is important to note that a dynamic IP makes it much harder to track a user online. NordVPN uses static IPs, however, they are shared with other NordVPN users, making any individual’s history difficult to track. On the other hand, Perfect Privacy uses dynamic IPs shared between users with occasional repetition when we would reconnect. Although, if we were willing to fork over $70, we could get our own dedicated IP address.
• Kill Switch: Both VPN services had kill switches, meaning even if the VPN failed for any reason we would automatically disconnect from the Internet, keeping our private information safe on public (and private!) networks.
• Multi-hop: While NordVPN boasts a double VPN to secure our connection, we were able to take advantage of a quadruple VPN to route our Internet destinations. Although we found that more severs equals a slower connection, it upped our privacy and protection dramatically.
• WebRTC Leaks and DNS Leaks: Both VPNs show zero signs of WebRTC or DNS leaks. We love to hop on the public WiFi at the coffee shop under our building when the office feels a little too stuffy, so having two options with no potential for leaks is ideal!

Essential Features

Occasionally, VPNs will have far too many bells and whistles, leaving the security lacking, but the best VPNs have a healthy combination of both. Let’s see how NordVPN and Perfect Privacy faired.

• Number of Servers: NordVPN is one of the largest VPN services in the world, so it makes a lot of sense that they have an absolutely massive index of servers at users’ disposal. We found that NordVPN had 5,246 servers over 62 countries, so if you ever felt the desire to stream Netflix from the perspective of someone in Croatia, NordVPN might be perfect for you! As a smaller company, Perfect Privacy’s server list pales in comparison to NordVPN. However, from Luxembourg to Latvia, Perfect Privacy has plenty of servers for an everyday VPN user.
• Customer Support: Although both VPNs offered customer support, NordVPN’s live chat puts it way ahead of Perfect Privacy. Both VPNs have online support in the form of FAQs; however, NordVPN was committed to getting us answers fast. We messaged both NordVPN and Perfect Privacy’s customer support claiming our kill switch wasn’t working, and NordVPN won that race by a longshot.

• App: Perfect Privacy and NordVPN both support apps for iOS and Android and while NordVPN is rated higher than Perfect Privacy on the Apple App Store, Perfect Privacy is rated higher on the Google Play store. Notably, NordVPN has an app for Android TV, which allowed us to stream anonymously from a smart TV. Although we preferred the NordVPN app overall, both are good enough to protect you on the go.
• Netflix: One of the biggest questions we get is around the best VPNs for Netflix and streaming. For this section, there’s a clear winner. NordVPN is one of the best VPNs for streaming on the market while Perfect Privacy is hit or miss. Netflix is constantly changing and banning ranges of IP providers, and often Perfect Privacy’s IPs are in that range. It’s more than likely that you won’t be able to stream Netflix while using Perfect Privacy. Considering that entertainment is the main motivator of VPN use,2 this is super important! In fact, NordVPN ranked second on our best VPNs for Netflix list.
• Torrenting: Perfect Privacy isn’t just perfect for privacy; it’s also perfect for torrenting. On most of their servers (except for the U.S and France), torrenting is easy and unrestricted on Perfect Privacy. NordVPN, on the other hand, has a restriction that only allows torrenting through their torrenting partner, uTorrent.
• Split tunneling: Split-tunneling is key if you need to search both publicly and on a VPN at the same time. NordVPN does not support split tunneling, but Perfect Privacy certainly does!

Speed

A VPN can be as secure as Ft. Knox, but if it takes five minutes to load an email or Twitter, it simply isn’t for us! We run rigorous tests for each VPN we review out of our office in Brooklyn using both Mac and Windows to be 100 percent sure we’re getting the most accurate speeds. Surprisingly, Perfect Privacy’s download speed with the VPN actually increased! We rarely see this with a VPN, but faster speeds are always welcome. Although Perfect Privacy had that one instance of improving download speeds on our Macbook, NordVPN was much more consistently fast across different devices.

Price

Simply put, NordVPN is the least expensive option of the two and has more flexibility in terms of cancelation. Although Perfect Privacy’s seven-day money-back guarantee should be plenty of time to check out their VPN, having 30 days is even better. For the value of what you get from NordVPN, it’s almost impossible to go with anything else.

Which One Is Best For Me?

Our research determined that this time David didn’t quite slay Goliath. Between the speed tests, and the ability to access Netflix, NordVPN seems like the best pick for both casual and advanced VPN users. It’s important to mention that Perfect Privacy won on their user protections with their top tier logging policy and split tunneling. In case your mind isn’t made up yet, we broke it down for you:

To dive deeper on either of these VPNs take a look at our NordVPN review and our Perfect Privacy review. If neither of these VPNs sounds perfect, we have a full rundown of the best VPNs, as well as our best VPN for Mac and our best VPNs for Windows. Check them out and let us know what you think!