Private Internet Access (PIA) Review 2024

Private Internet Access VPN bills itself as “a VPN you can trust.” Our VPN experts agree that PIA boasts an impressive roster of features, including a strict no-logs policy, an extensive server network, and fast speeds.

We put PIA through the wringer to verify these claims and determine its security, privacy features, usability, and server network. This detailed Private Internet Access VPN review is an exhaustive tell-all to help you discover if the VPN is worth your money.

Limited offer: Save up to 81% on Private Internet Access!

PIA: Pros and Cons

Our PIA review revealed that this VPN is a great choice for users who require fast speeds, whether that’s for streaming, gaming, or torrenting. You should also get PIA if you need a variety of IP addresses, as its wide server network of 35000 servers spans 91 countries.

Privacy is also a strong suit for PIA. If you want to block ads, avoid trackers, and secure your online data, then this is an excellent VPN to consider.

We highly recommend PIA for all your browsing, downloading, and streaming needs. It’s a great all-arounder that doesn’t break the bank.

Visit Private Internet Access to learn more about this provider.

Specifications Private Internet Access (PIA)

💵 Price	From $ 1.99 a month
📱 Operating systems	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux
💻 Connections	Unlimited
💳 Payment methods	PayPal, Cryptocurrency, Credit card, Other
🔒 Protocols	OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP/IPsec
📅 Money-back guarantee	Money-back guarantee, 30 Days
📋 Logs	Zero logs
🌎 Servers in English	United States, Canada, India, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia
📥 Torrent options
🍿 Netflix
🏠 Website in English
📲 App in English
🎧 Customer Service in English
🎬 Works with

Deal

Grab PIA for just $ 1.99 per month ( 81% off!)

Visit Private Internet Access (PIA)

How Much Does PIA Cost?

PIA’s best-value plan in 2024 is its three-year plan, which costs only $ 1.99 per month and comes with an additional two months free. This plan offers the most savings and comes with the full arsenal of privacy and security tools you expect from a big-name VPN.

PIA also offers a yearly plan and a one-month subscription, though we recommend you go for the three-year option. Private Internet Access offers one of the cheapest three-year plans on the market, making it one of the more affordable VPNs. For comparison, the leading VPN service, NordVPN, costs $ 3.39 per month, while ExpressVPN has a $ 6.67 per month price tag.

Check out below for the PIA prices of its subscription plans.

Pricing plans

• Private Internet Access (PIA) 2 Years + 2 Months $ 1.99mth Deal View offer
• Private Internet Access (PIA) 6 Months $ 7.50mth View offer
• Private Internet Access (PIA) 1 Month $ 11.99mth View offer

You can pay for your PIA subscription through the following methods:

• PayPal
• Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
• Amazon Pay
• Cryptocurrency (Bitpay, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin)
• Gift cards

PIA offers a variety of payment methods, but we recommend using cryptocurrency. Paying through crypto is the most anonymous method of purchasing a VPN, as it doesn’t require you to provide personal details (unlike paying with a credit card, which requires your name, card number, and address).

Do you get your money’s worth with PIA?

Yes, you absolutely get your money’s worth with PIA. We’ve tested 80+ VPNs, and PIA is firmly in our top five VPNs — and value-for-money is one of the reasons why PIA offers premium features at a very affordable price, making online privacy more accessible for all.

Does PIA Work With Streaming?

PIA can unblock all major streaming services except Hulu, and it does so consistently and reliably. For this PIA review, we tested the VPN with different streaming sites, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus.

Here’s a summary of our findings, showing how PIA performed at unblocking streaming services:

Overall, we were impressed by PIA’s unblocking performance. All we had to do was connect to a server abroad, and then we could immediately access international catalogs, such as Netflix’s US catalog of movies and shows.

PIA and Netflix

PIA is a champ at circumventing Netflix’s VPN blocks. We only had to connect to a US server and log into Netflix, and we were able to see Netflix’s US catalog.

We tried watching Supernatural, a US-exclusive series, and it was a seamless experience with little to no buffering, thanks to PIA’s fast server speeds.

In fact, PIA is one of the best VPNs for Netflix because it can easily bypass its geo-blocks.

PIA and Prime Video

We were able to unblock Prime Video with PIA on the first try.

The VPN also works with Freevee, Amazon’s free streaming service.

Torrenting With PIA

PIA is one of the best VPNs for torrenting, as all PIA servers are optimized for torrenting. Other providers only designate select servers as P2P servers, but PIA will let you use any of its servers for torrenting without having to worry about losing precious download speeds.

We can confirm that you can torrent seamlessly using PIA. During our PIA review, we were able to download files from the popular torrent repository The Pirate Bay and encountered no issues while doing so.

When performing torrenting tests, we always check if a VPN leaks our IP address. We used IP Leak and found that PIA successfully hides our IP address while torrenting. This means your ISP or government won’t be able to connect your torrenting activities to your IP address.

PIA Servers and Locations

Private Internet Access has 35000 servers in 91 countries. By comparison, Surfshark only has 3200+ servers, while CyberGhost has 11700+ servers.

Here’s a list of PIA’s server locations:

• Americas: United States, Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
• Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom
• Asia Pacific: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam
• The Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia: Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates

Private Internet Access VPN servers only store data using RAM rather than HDD/SSD storage. This means sensitive user data is completely wiped every single time a server is restarted or shut down. This is a huge advantage when it comes to privacy and applies to PIA’s desktop and mobile apps by default.

Dedicated IP address

PIA offers dedicated IP addresses from Australia, Germany, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, the US, and the UK. You can purchase this add-on for only $5 per month (in addition to your VPN subscription).

A dedicated IP address is an IP address that’s exclusive to you. This is useful for unblocking streaming sites since services like Netflix can detect and block VPN use based on you using too many different IP addresses.

Another benefit of a Private Internet Access dedicated IP address is that you encounter fewer CAPTCHAs when browsing online since the websites you visit also flag when you’re using a variety of IPs.

Most recently, PIA made dedicated IP available for Android TV.

How Fast is PIA?

PIA excels at speed, and our overall experience with our PIA VPN tests was positive. During our Private Internet Access review we observed blazing-fast download and upload speeds and a comparably low ping, which makes it a great option for gamers.

Speed test results for PIA

We conducted our PIA speed tests from our headquarters in The Netherlands. We started by recording our download speeds, upload speeds, and latency (ping) without a VPN. Next, we checked PIA’s speeds in at least one country on every continent and compared the speed drop-offs.

The table below is a summary of the results.

As you can see from the speed tests, PIA has great speeds. In fact, Private Internet Access is one of the fastest VPNs on the market, and the table above confirms this.

The fast PIA VPN download speeds suggest that this provider is a good choice for activities like streaming HD movies and downloading large files.

Here are some of our conclusions regarding PIA speeds:

• The fastest PIA server maintained about 95% of our original download speeds, rubbing shoulders with the likes of NordVPN. In our recent testing circuit, NordVPN and Surfshark’s fastest server also gave us around 95% of the initial download speeds.
• Equally impressive is the fact all the PIA servers we tested in Europe (the U.K., Germany, and France) kept at least 93% of our download speeds. Our speeds did drop in the U.S., but not significantly.
• In terms of upload speed, PIA did well in nearby locations. However, in distant servers, such as the U.S. and Brazil, the speeds did drop.

Overall, PIA’s latency is within the ballpark of the top VPNs, indicating that it’s a handy option for tasks like gaming.

Is PIA Safe?

We analyzed PIA’s security features during our Private Internet Access review and concluded that it offers excellent security for its users. PIA has a strict no-logs policy that’s been tested in court, plus it has a built-in kill switch, a variety of VPN protocol options, and more.

Does PIA leak your data?

PIA will not leak any of your data. We connected to PIA servers and checked whether we would suffer any IP leaks while using the service.

First, PIA changed our IP address as expected and didn’t reveal our original IP. It didn’t suffer from IPv4/IPv6 leaks.

We also tested for DNS leaks, and PIA passed that as well. That means that PIA doesn’t send DNS requests directly to your ISP.

Finally, we ran a WebRTC leak test. Such leaks usually happen when you attempt to establish a video or audio connection with another person. PIA didn’t expose your IP address through WebRTC leaks.

Can you sign up to PIA anonymously?

Yes, you can sign up to PIA anonymously. PIA only requires the following to create an account:

• Email address
• Payment information

To remain anonymous, simply register a new email address specifically for PIA so that it can’t be traced back to you. You can also pay for the VPN anonymously with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, so you don’t have to submit your details for payment processing.

Logging policy

There are concerns over PIA being headquartered in the US, a Five Eyes country. The Five Eyes is a global data-sharing alliance that many privacy advocates consider to be a threat to individual privacy.

Thankfully, PIA maintains a strict no-logging policy. We combed through PIA’s privacy policy and can confirm it is airtight. PIA doesn’t store personally identifiable information and user data.

User browsing data is never stored on hard disks but on a special null device. This is a virtual device that automatically pretends as if any data sent through it doesn’t exist. Once the information has been written to the null device, it becomes unable to be retrieved. This is how PIA can guarantee its zero-logs policy.

PIA’s no logs policy was recently audited by Deloitte, one of the best auditing firms. The exhaustive audit confirmed that PIA doesn’t store logs that can be traced back to users.

This is also apparent in PIA’s Q2 transparency report: despite the fact that there were several warrants and subpoenas ordered, PIA was not able to hand over any data.

ioXt certificate

Another testament to Private Internet Access’s serious approach toward transparency and security is that their Android app was ioXt-certified.

ioXt (Internet of Secure Things) is an alliance comprised of over 100 large companies, including Google, Amazon, Comcast, and more. This alliance works together to make the internet more secure and privacy-oriented.

Protocols and encryption

Private Internet Access VPN encrypts your traffic with 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption. This kind of encryption will take millions of years to break.

In terms of VPN protocols, PIA offers the following:

• OpenVPN
• WireGuard for Windows, Android, and Linux. 
• IPSec (IKEv2)

We recommend using OpenVPN since it offers the best combination of speed and security. If you want fast speeds, choose the lightweight WireGuard protocol. OpenVPN and WireGuard are considered the best VPN protocols today.

Kill switch

During our PIA review, we also tested the kill switch that is built into its app, and we were happy to see that it worked as intended.

Every time you switch between VPN servers, you’re in danger of having your IP address leaked. A kill switch prevents your data from leaking by “killing” your internet connection whenever you’re not connected to a VPN server.

PIA also offers an advanced kill switch, which prevents your data from leaking even when your VPN is off. You can access both of these options in your PIA app. Simply go to “Settings > Privacy.”

PIA MACE

PIA offers a built-in ad blocker called PIA MACE. This feature blocks ads, trackers, and malware at the DNS level.

We tested PIA MACE and found that it successfully blocked ads on every website we visited. However, make sure you’re connected to a VPN server; otherwise, the ad blocker won’t work.

In the screenshots below, you’ll see a comparison of the speedtest.net website before and after we used PIA MACE to block ads.

Multi-Hop and obfuscation

We tested PIA Multi-Hop and were happy to see it worked like a charm. Multi-Hop lets you connect to a proxy server after connecting to a VPN server, adding another layer of encryption to your online traffic. This feature ensures that hackers or other spies can’t connect the traffic exiting your VPN server back to your device.

Multi-Hop is also ideal for circumventing censorship, especially in countries that have stringent online restrictions. Say you want a US IP address, but your government blocks all traffic to US websites and VPN servers. What you can do is connect first to a different VPN server (in Mexico, for example) and then use Multi-Hop to connect to a US server.

When you enable Multi-Hop, you also activate obfuscation, which hides the fact that you’re using a VPN from your ISP and government and from the websites you visit. This is especially useful for unblocking Netflix and other streaming sites, as these services have advanced tech for detecting regular VPN use.

You can enable the Multi-Hop and the Obfuscation settings in the PIA app by going to “Settings > Multi-Hop.” PIA offers proxy servers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Japan.

Split tunneling

We also tested PIA’s split tunneling during our Private Internet Access review, and we observed that it worked well. Split tunneling lets you whitelist apps and programs so their traffic doesn’t route through your VPN server.

VPNs can slow down your secure VPN connection speed because of the encryption. Split tunneling lets certain apps avoid this issue. For example, you can use split tunneling to whitelist the Skype app so your speeds don’t have to suffer when you’re on a video call.

Is PIA Easy to Use?

After downloading and using the Private Internet Access VPN apps, we can conclude that PIA is user-friendly. Its website is very informative, and the software itself is easy to navigate, although it sometimes takes a while to connect to a server.

PIA website and installation process

PIA’s website is clean, organized, and easy to navigate. All the important menus and information are available on the homepage.

The website is available in 28 languages, including Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and French. To switch languages, simply click on the globe icon at the top right corner of the homepage.

PIA has native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. There are also extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, plus you can use PIA on consoles, routers, and smart TVs (including, since recently, Android TV).

PIA on Windows

The PIA VPN download and installation process on Windows was straightforward and quick. We installed PIA’s Windows app in less than a minute, which is one of the reasons this VPN is one of the best for Windows.

Below, we’ll walk through the steps to sign up for and install PIA on your device. We’ll use the Windows app as an example, but the process is similar for macOS.

1. Click the “Get PIA VPN” button on the PIA homepage. Doing so will take you to the pricing page.
2. Hover over your preferred plan and click “Select Plan.”
   
   
3. Choose a payment method and fill in your details. You can add PIA’s antivirus and dedicated IP at extra charges. Review your order to ensure you’re only paying for what you want.
   
   
4. PIA will email you confirming your purchase and ask you to create a password.
5. Download the PIA Windows app from the website and follow the installation prompts.
   
   
6. Log into the Private Internet Access app and connect to a server to enjoy VPN protection.
   
   

PIA offers a quick tour when you open the app for the first time. The tour involves a handful of tips to help you find your way around the app.

The ‘piactl’ command

If you are using PIA on your desktop, you may find the “piactl“ command quite handy. It lets you write scripts for the app to execute, and you can use it for various functions, like allowing the kill switch to remain active, preventing the VPN from disconnecting, logging in and out of the VPN, selecting the VPN protocol you want to use, etc.

This is a nifty feature that not many VPNs offer and users with more advanced skills in VPN software may find it useful as they can perform certain functions a lot quicker. We certainly found it quite handy during our PIA review.

PIA on Android

PIA’s Android app, like its Windows version, was easy to use and navigate. We recommend this for beginners or users who don’t want a complicated VPN.

Here’s how to install PIA on Android:

1. Find the PIA app on the Google Play Store.
2. Download the app to your device.
3. Log into your PIA account.
   
   
4. Connect to your server of choice!
   
   

Customer Service

If you have questions about Private Internet Access VPN, the knowledge base is a good place to start. It contains helpful articles, installation guides, updates, and FAQs.

If PIA’s database doesn’t have answers, get in touch with support agents by filling out the contact form on the website or sending an email to [email protected]. The main drawback of the contact form is that you have to fill in several mandatory fields.

For immediate assistance, use the live chat feature. During this review, we reached out to live chat agents multiple times, and on every occasion, they provided prompt and helpful answers.

PIA’s money-back guarantee: How to get a refund

Private Internet Access VPN offers one of the best VPN free trials. You can test PIA’s features for a whole month through its 30-day money-back guarantee which applies to all its plans.

To request a refund, send an email to [email protected]. Be sure to include the following details:

• The email address you used to sign up
• The complete PIA Order number from your payment confirmation email

For this PIA VPN review, we tested PIA’s money-back guarantee and received our money back, no questions asked.

Comparisons With Other VPNs

PIA is one of the best VPNs around, but how does it compare to other big-name VPNs? Check out our comparison table below:

		Editor’s Pick
VPN
Score	8.6	9.3	9.0	8.8	8.8
Operating systems	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux
Compatibilities
Netflix
Servers	Thousands	5000+	3000-5000	Thousands	5000+
Torrent options
Connections	Unlimited	10	Unlimited	8	7
Protocols	OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP/IPsec	OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard	OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard	OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPsec, Lightway	OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard
Logs	Zero logs	Zero logs	Zero logs	Zero logs	Zero logs
Payment methods	PayPal, Cryptocurrency, Credit card, Other	Sofort, Cryptocurrency, Credit card, Other	PayPal, Cryptocurrency, Credit card, Other	Sofort, MINT, UnionPay, PayPal, Bitcoin, iDeal, Cryptocurrency, Credit card	PayPal, Cryptocurrency, Credit card, Other
Money-back guarantee	Money-back guarantee, 30 Days	Money-back guarantee, 30 Days	Money-back guarantee, 30 Days	Money-back guarantee, 30 Days	Money-back guarantee, 45 Days
Price	$ 1.99	$ 3.39	$ 2.19	$ 6.67	$ 2.19
	Visit Private Internet Access (PIA)	Visit NordVPN	Visit Surfshark	Visit ExpressVPN	Visit CyberGhost

If you’re looking for direct head-to-head comparisons between PIA and some of the best VPNs out there, check out one of our articles below:

• PIA vs NordVPN
• PIA vs Surfshark
• PIA vs ExpressVPN
• PIA vs CyberGhost

Do We Recommend PIA?

We were impressed with PIA VPN’s features and performance during our PIA review. It offers high-level encryption and abides by a strict no-logs policy, which is ideal for privacy-conscious users.

PIA’s unblocking ability and fast speeds make it a great choice for streaming movies or downloading torrents. Plus, it’s a good VPN service for beginners, thanks to its user-friendly apps.

Overall, PIA has earned its spot in our top five VPN services. We recommend PIA if you want a beginner-friendly VPN with a proven dedication to user privacy and security — all for an extremely affordable price tag.

Interview With Private Internet Access VPN

We had the opportunity to ask some questions to the people behind the scenes at Private Internet Access. We talked about the safety and privacy of their service and the way they manage their servers.

This valuable input for our Private Internet Access review helps shed light on important features of the software. Find out below what our questions were and the answers that PIA had for us.

1. Do you keep logs that would allow you to link an IP address to a certain user?

“No, we don’t keep any logs.”

2. Could you tell us a little more about the data retention laws you must abide by?

“At the moment, there are no laws in the US that oblige VPN providers to store data.”

3. What tools do you use to monitor and combat improper use of your services?

“We don’t monitor or log the activities of our users. Sometimes, this can lead to problems when our servers are abused, because we cannot identify the user who is breaking the rules. We do list in detail what is and isn’t allowed in our terms of use.

Occasionally, a customer will contact us because they need help with technically violating our rules (for instance, because they mean to hack, phreak, or perform another illegal activity). We always terminate those accounts.”

4. What happens when you receive a DMCA takedown notice or the European equivalent of it?

“DMCA takedown notices are handled by our Legal Department. However, it’s impossible for us to link information to a certain user, as we don’t keep logs.”

5. What steps are taken if a court order for tracking down a particular user is issued? Has this ever happened before? Would you be able to identify a user in such a case?

“Court orders are handled by our Legal Department. But since we don’t log anything, we cannot hand over any data.”

6. Are BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic allowed on all your servers?

“Yes, torrenting is allowed on all our servers, although downloading and sharing illegal material isn’t permitted by law. Every now and then, there are providers who will block the portals used for torrents. That is why we have a couple of servers that permit port forwarding, so we can bypass these blocks.”

7. Do you have your own DNS servers?

“Yes, we do have our own DNS servers. These prevent possible DNS leaks. Our PIA applications automatically use these DNS servers.”

8. Do you have physical control over all your servers?

“At the moment, we have 35000 servers in over 91 countries. That is why we are forced to use a number of external data centers and suppliers, all of which are bound by strict agreements that are in accordance with the values of Private Internet Access.

We also continuously monitor the status and regulations of the countries in which our servers are located. If there are any changes in the regulations, we determine whether the “costs and benefits” still meet our requirements. In some unique cases this will lead to suspending our services in a certain country (such as in Russia in 2016).”

What Our Experts Think About PIA

“A Fast, Safe, and Cheap VPN”

8.6

Wisdom Sablah

Tech Journalist

I thoroughly enjoyed using PIA. First of all, I was able to easily install it without any complications. I was also able to connect to a server in the US to read various news sites and watch Netflix US and Tubi TV — two of my favorites. While at it, I didn’t experience any lags. Perhaps, the only challenge was the dashboard disappearing unannounced. However, I was able to change that in the settings page. PIA is a VPN I recommend to anyone!

Deal

Grab PIA for just $ 1.99 per month ( 81% off!)

Visit Private Internet Access (PIA)

From $ 1.99 a month