Why is that some VPN is several times the monthly fee vs. others?

Happy Hopping

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
7,822
expressvpn.com is 4X the monthly fee vs. Surfshark.com

what do I get from the extra money?

Expresvpn charges a 1 time x 15 month package. But who's to say they'll be around in 15 mth.?

Where can you get some unbias recommendation on the top 10 VPN and have been in business for at least 10 years?

What are the deciding factor when it comes to VPN

I only need VPN for 1 desktop PC.
 
You get more VPN servers in more countries for that money, as well as wider device compatibility and app support.

For instance, I use Express VPN because it has an Android TV client for me to use on my Shield TV to use in conjunction with streaming services that are only available in the US while I'm working overseas. Most other smaller VPN services don't have their own app/client for all platforms/devices like that for easy switching between locations and servers. It's not uncommon for a service to detect my VPN connection and cut me off, so I have to go select one of the other many servers available in the US and then I'm good to go afterwards. I don't want to VPN my whole network at my router either, as I like to have the versatility to use different servers/locations at different devices or not run VPN at all on some devices.

My coworker uses Surfshark as well because like you; he only needs it for one Windows box and he doesn't stream on it like I do. So different needs and use cases.
 
Private Internet Access. Been using them for years, never had a problem with them. They don't keep logs of your activity, they have tons of worldwide servers to connect to, they have WireGuard, a beautiful VPN client, and even dedicated IPs to use.

Well worth the money, and they seem like they'll be around for a long time.
 
Between DNS over TLS and nearly everything else being encrypted with HTTPS I really don't see the value in commercial VPNs. I *may* subscribe to one in the future to see if I can get star trek shows from Europe in the future that are on paramount plus here. That being said, what I do find a ton of use for is rolling my own IPSec VPN through my pfsense server. I use it on my phones, tablet, on public wifi. Works kinda awesome for that, and free to boot.
 
okay, supposed I do streaming TV at home (1 TV), would Private Internet Access or SurfShark does the job?

the other thing I really want to understand is:

w/o VPN, I'm at 1.4MB/sec from my local ISP

if I subscribe to any of these VPN, is my internet speed depends upon these VPN services? Or is it still SOLELY based on my local ISP?
 
okay, supposed I do streaming TV at home (1 TV), would Private Internet Access or SurfShark does the job?

the other thing I really want to understand is:

w/o VPN, I'm at 1.4MB/sec from my local ISP

if I subscribe to any of these VPN, is my internet speed depends upon these VPN services? Or is it still SOLELY based on my local ISP?

Your speed will always be set by your ISP, unless you're doing things that your ISP throttles you over. They're not supposed to, but a lot of ISPs do it. So for example, if they realize you're streaming a lot of video, they might lower your overall speed, or if they know you're acting as a server with people downloading from your computer, etc. VPNs mask what you're doing, so ISPs can't figure out what your downloading or uploading. So if that scenario was what was happening to you, yes, it might increase your speed.

As far as lowering your speed, you might lose a small, insignificant amount of bandwidth using a VPN, or sometimes the server you're connected to might temporarily overloaded, but you can easily switch to another server, and Private Internet Access's client shows the latency / ping of all their servers, which makes it easy.

EDIT: As far as using a VPN directly on a TV... it's possible, but generally a headache.
 
Nord has been pretty good for me. Decent enough speeds for my use. They have some good specialty servers like P2P, double vpn, netflix. Stability is good too. I can be connected to the same server for a few days without interruptions. Mobile is a little flakier but eh

I was with cyberghost before Nord and they were good too. Based in Germany, they've built some good will with me because I subbed to Nord without remembering that I had a recurring sub to cyberghost. When my subscription was charged by cyberghost a few days after I signed up for Nord, I asked the cyberghost folks for a refund and they agreed without any hassle. Very cool on their part
 
EDIT: As far as using a VPN directly on a TV... it's possible, but generally a headache.
how come? As I plan to use a VPN on a router, most router has a VPN setting that I can add, and then connect Ruku to the router. What kind of headache would that cause?
 
how come? As I plan to use a VPN on a router, most router has a VPN setting that I can add, and then connect Ruku to the router. What kind of headache would that cause?

A router should be simple enough, I meant adding it directly the the SmartTV OS.
 
A router should be simple enough, I meant adding it directly the the SmartTV OS.
my LCD is 9 yr. old, it doesn't have smart TV OS. What I am planning is, get a new router w/ VPN, put Private Internet Access on it. And connect to the TV
 
I second this, I always get full speed across PIA on my 500/500 connection.
so I sign up w/ PIA today. They are not that user friendly.

1) how do you get a list of their IP addr. of their server for pinging / latency purpose?

2) I'm new to VPN, I just want to confirm: once I load the OVPN file in my VPN client of my router, does that mean the router, from that day on, is running under the new IP addr. that I pick from PIA?

3) for survey purpose, do you people buy the 1 year or the 3 year?
 
1) So you run that green icon software from PIA, and pick your software and pipe it thru that PIA software?

2) what about people who does run the OVPN file thru the router though, am I right that everything will go thru the new selected server thru PIA?

3) you use speedtest.net, did you get the same speed, before and after
 
I have 2 questions:

1) for the Block Option, there is 2 settings under "Redirect Internet Traffic Through Tunnel"

a) Yes To ALL
b) VPN Director (Policy Rules)

which one did you have on your router?

2) I APPLY the new Open VPN file, but my internet is still w/ my local ISP, speedtest.net doesn't show my new IP addr. What else do I have to do? Shut down the router and turn it back on? because it says Apply already
 
this PIA is not remotely user friendly at all

I was looking for a step by step guide to add a roku box as a device on the merlin page. PIA just don't have it.

Also, is it normal to have:
PPTP VPN Server: running
OpenVPN server 1, 2 : stopped,
OPen VPN client 1: connected
 
Last edited:
People still use paid vpn services after all the times nearly every one of them has been caught iether selling user data or handing it all over to the feds at the drop of a hat?
 
I second this, I always get full speed across PIA on my 500/500 connection.

PIA is pretty much rated the worst VPN provider around, mainly because they were bought by a advertising firm that has done some shady things in the past, you can bet all of your data is being sold to who ever wants it.

NordVPN I think is still king.
 

Yea, but all you have on them is their word, and their parent company being a shady advertising company, can you really trust their word? If Google gives out a free VPN, would you trust them to not harvest your data despite saying they won't?
 
okay,
PIA is pretty much rated the worst VPN provider around, mainly because they were bought by a advertising firm that has done some shady things in the past, you can bet all of your data is being sold to who ever wants it.

NordVPN I think is still king.
okay, exactly what would they do? Are you saying they'll store my bank information, my password, etc., and sell it to a 3rd party? They'll scan my email looking for juicy information?

Or are they just store the information going thru their VPN services, say the website I go to?
 
okay,

okay, exactly what would they do? Are you saying they'll store my bank information, my password, etc., and sell it to a 3rd party? They'll scan my email looking for juicy information?

Or are they just store the information going thru their VPN services, say the website I go to?

Most basic would be stealth IP logging, then URLs, then use that to build a profile of who you are, then use that data to enable persisent, profile-based, tracking advertising for every other platform you use on the planet.

Which defeats the purpose of a VPN in the first place, and essentially you're paying them to collect data on you easier.
 
I found only one VPN that gave me close to my 1 Gbps connection speed fully when using it.
 
Back
Top