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More affordable than most other VPNs, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN
Fast internet speeds and strict no-logs policy
Unblocks Netflix and other streaming services
All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a surprisingly solid VPN product given its very low prices. Starting at about $2 per month, you might expect a bare-bones VPN service that’s slow and barely gets the job done, but that isn't the case at all.
Our Private Internet Access review shows a high-quality service with loads of server locations and a strict no-logs policy that’s been tested in court.
We don’t love that PIA is based out of the U.S. (a known Five Eyes alliance country), but this doesn’t seem to have caused privacy issues so far. It also struggled during our speed tests.
Check out our PIA VPN review to dig into details about speed tests, Netflix compatibility, customer support, and more.
| Price | $2.03–$11.99/mo |
| Free version | No |
| Max # of connected devices | Unlimited |
| # of server locations | Unlisted in 91 countries and 50 U.S. states |
| VPN protocol | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPsec |
| No-logs policy | No logs |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Netflix access | Yes |
| Learn more | Get Private Internet Access |
We complete standardized hands-on tests for each VPN we review so we can put their claims to the test. This includes vigorous third-party testing by comparing our internet speed while connected to different servers, checking for DNS leaks, making sure the kill switch actually works, and more. We also make sure we can comfortably access popular streaming sites, like Netflix, and still do our day-to-day work without interruption.
Once we’ve completed the testing, our editorial rating is calculated by taking into account key features you’d expect from a good product. We score each VPN in the following categories and use a weighted average to calculate the final rating out of 5 stars: price, server count, speed, security, and features.
To learn more about how we test, check out our full VPN methodology here.
We last tested Private Internet Access on October 14, 2024.
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More affordable than most other VPNs, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN
Fast internet speeds and strict no-logs policy
Unblocks Netflix and other streaming services
We found Private Internet Access easy to set up. You can start by visiting the main product site and logging in to your account. From there, you can select your preferred operating system and start your download.
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We like that PIA has an option for a quick tour, which can be helpful for VPN beginners. It provided tips on how to customize your dashboard, download other apps, and more.
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The interface itself might fit better in the hands of a more experienced VPN user because of its customization options, such as moving widgets around in the display and setting up your home screen.
However, beginner users should still be able to navigate through the interface easily enough. It wasn’t difficult for us to find the server list or to connect to different servers. And the settings were straightforward and understandable.
Private Internet Access is a virtual private network (VPN) service based out of Denver, Colorado, that offers one of the cheapest VPNs on the market. But “cheap VPN” doesn’t necessarily mean lacking in quality.
Our tests show that PIA can offer fast speeds, high levels of privacy and security, and the opportunity to unblock regional streaming content. It’s especially helpful to know that the PIA no-logs policy has been tested multiple times in court without any user information being leaked — primarily because PIA doesn’t keep logs of user activity.
PIA VPN offers subscription plans for one month, six months, and two years. All plans come with the same features, so the only differences are the price and subscription length. Your overall monthly price goes with the longer subscription options.
The cheapest option for PIA VPN: Two-year plan for $2.03/mo (billed every two years)
The most expensive option for PIA VPN: Monthly plan for $11.99/mo
You might only need a VPN for a short period of time, including if you’re traveling abroad for a vacation and want a VPN for streaming purposes. But it’s typically the most expensive option to pay for a VPN one month at a time.
If you want to save money on a VPN, it’s often much cheaper overall to choose a longer subscription length. And with PIA VPN, you can get some dirt cheap prices.
Here’s how PIA VPN compares to other popular VPNs and their lowest monthly rates:
Private Internet Access costs the same or less than all the VPNs listed. And compared with ExpressVPN, PIA is four times cheaper. But remember that price isn’t everything and there are a few competitors that don’t cost much more than PIA.
For example, would it be worth it to pay about an extra $12 per year for NordVPN and its high-quality service and fast speeds?
It depends on your situation, but it’s important to realize that VPNs are generally inexpensive and you have plenty of options to choose from to meet your needs.
| 1 month | 6 months | Best Value 2 years |
|
| Price per month | $11.99/mo | $7.50/mo (billed every six months) | $2.03/mo (billed every two years) |
| Learn more | View plan | View plan | View plan |
PIA's payment methods include:
PIA makes a point of accepting crypto as a form of payment because they’re more anonymous options.
We primarily tested PIA using its Windows app, so our experience is generally based on the features available to the Private Internet Access VPN app on Windows. You might find that your PIA experience is slightly different depending on which app you use. But we found that PIA has loads of servers to choose from, a strict no-logs policy, and an app interface that’s fairly easy to use and navigate.
PIA's key features include:
PIA doesn’t release a list of how many servers it actually has, but it verified with us that you can connect to servers in 91 countries and every U.S. state. That’s a sizable number of server locations and likely more than enough for your average VPN user.
Here’s how PIA compares to other popular VPN providers with its number of countries with servers:
Although Private Internet Access offers a lower number of server countries than most popular VPNs, 91 countries is a decent number. This is important because more server locations mean more ways to use VPNs. For example, it could mean additional opportunities for you to unblock streaming services in different regions.
If you look at the PIA server list, you’ll see servers ordered by latency numbers. In general, latency is one way to measure your internet speed. So servers with lower latencies (depicted by a green color) are typically your fastest connection options based on your location.
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Servers with higher latencies (depicted by an orange color) are typically your slowest connection options based on your location.
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You might also notice some servers have a small globe symbol next to them. This means the server is in a “geo-located region,” which means it isn’t physically located in that country. But for all intents and purposes, connecting to one of these virtual servers still makes it seem like your connection is coming from the applicable country.
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PIA VPN has a strict no-logs policy and is headquartered in Colorado, United States. PIA doesn’t collect or store your data, including your internet protocol (IP) address, browsing history, DNS queries, bandwidth consumption, VPN session timestamps, or connection logs.
In general, PIA doesn’t store any data about your VPN usage or what you do while using its VPN. PIA’s no-logs policy has been tested multiple times in court without PIA releasing any relevant information. This is because PIA doesn’t track or store user information and has nothing to give, as outlined in its transparency reports.
PIA also had its no-logs policy independently audited in April 2024 by Deloitte. The report confirmed PIA’s no-logs policy because Deloitte couldn’t find any trace of user activity on PIA’s servers.
PIA uses RAM-only servers, which means data is frequently deleted and difficult to steal. And so far, the U.S. government hasn’t been able to force PIA to violate its no-logs policy. This is because of U.S. consumer protection laws, according to PIA.
But even though it hasn’t happened yet, that doesn’t mean PIA can’t eventually be forced to breach its own policies. The main fact pointing to this possibility is that Private Internet Access is U.S.-based. And the U.S. is part of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes alliances, which are global networks involved in mass surveillance, including within their own countries.
PIA has done an excellent job so far with its privacy initiatives, and we hope it continues to do an excellent job. But being located in a country that’s part of a global surveillance network might not be the best thing for maintaining user privacy.
Note that Private Internet Access was acquired by Kape Technologies in 2019. Kape Technologies owns other VPNs, including ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN. All VPNs under the Kape brand are believed to run independently of each other.
PIA VPN provides a kill switch feature located in the Privacy section of the app settings. A VPN kill switch is designed to prevent data leaks from happening if your secure connection is interrupted.
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You can choose between two different kill switch options:
Split tunneling is a feature that allows you to bypass the secure VPN connection with specific apps and IP addresses. PIA offers this feature in the app settings on the Split Tunnel tab.
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You might use the split tunneling feature if you don’t want an app to be slowed down by a VPN and you aren’t worried about security or privacy within that app. For example, you might allow an online video game to bypass the VPN connection so you can maintain fast speeds while gaming. In the meantime, your other online activities remain private and secure.
PIA lets you choose between AES-128-GCM or AES-256-GCM encryption. These are some of the strongest encryption algorithms available and are widely used by organizations worldwide.
You can find the encryption options in the Protocols tab of the app settings within the OpenVPN protocol section.
PIA offers multiple VPN protocols to help ensure your security while maintaining high levels of transparency. This includes the open-source WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols, as well as IKEv2/IPsec.
You can find the available protocols in your app settings in the Protocols tab.
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Note that Private Internet Access with OpenVPN and WireGuard were the only available options we saw on the Windows desktop app. But we did see all three protocols, including IKEv2/IPsec, were available in the iOS app.
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PIA Identity Guard is a feature that can help you see whether an email address has been part of a data breach. We found this feature in our online account using a Chrome browser.
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Selecting the Identity Guard tab brings you to a breach monitoring page on the PIA website. Here, you can enter an email address and PIA will check to see whether it’s been exposed.
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Smart DNS is a way to use a VPN on devices that might not typically have access to a VPN app. For example, your PlayStation, Xbox, Apple TV, or smart TV might not have an app store with the PIA VPN app. But you can still use the Smart DNS feature to set up different devices with PIA functionality.
You can find Smart DNS options in your online account in the Smart DNS tab.
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Note that Smart DNS won’t give your device a secure VPN connection, but it can change your device’s virtual location. For example, you can choose locations in the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., and the Netherlands. This can be helpful for accessing regional streaming content.
Multi-Hop is a feature within the PIA app settings in the Multi-Hop tab. This security feature routes your VPN connection through an additional server. This is often called “double VPN” on other VPNs.
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Multi-Hop is designed to offer more security with your connection by offering another layer of encryption. You can also hide that you’re using a VPN, which is called obfuscating your connection.
The PIA Multi-Hop feature offers the Shadowsocks and SOCKS5 proxies. SOCKS5 proxy servers, which include Shadowsocks, are designed to mask your true IP address by routing you through a server with a different IP address. They aren’t as secure or private as VPNs, but they can offer an additional layer of anonymity.
PIA MACE is a feature you can find in the app that blocks ads, trackers, and malware. It’s located in the app settings in the Privacy tab.
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We conducted a speed test and some leak tests to see how PIA VPN performed with maintaining reasonable internet speeds and overall privacy. We also tested whether PIA could unblock different Netflix content libraries.
These tests were run using the PIA Windows app on a laptop running Windows 11 from a physical location in the U.S.
How a VPN affects your internet speeds is often one of the primary concerns when choosing a VPN. We tested Private Internet Access by connecting to different servers around the world and measuring how it impacted our internet connection. While it's normal for a VPN to take up some bandwidth and reduce your internet speed, we were looking for unusual, significant dips in speeds.
We began our testing by establishing a baseline and measured our internet speed without PIA turned on.
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| Test type | No VPN | US to US | US to CA | US to EU | US to AU |
| Download speed | 321.73 Mbps | 262.86 Mbps | 2.1 Mbps | 139.23 Mbps | 112.93 Mbps |
| Upload speed | 374.15 Mbps | 226.17 Mbps | 6.5 Mbps | 109.01 Mbps | 78.56 Mbps |
| Latency (ping) | 12 ms | 7 ms | 64 ms | 120 ms | 208 ms |
| Download speed % difference | N/A | -18.30% | -99.31% | -56.72% | -64.90% |
| Upload speed % difference | N/A | -39.55% | -98.26% | -70.86% | -69.82% |
| Latency % difference | N/A | -42% | +433% | +900% | +1,633% |
Private Internet Access slowed our speeds considerably. The U.S. server dropping our download speeds by almost 20% and the other servers all dropping our download speeds by over 50%.
With the Canadian server, Private Internet Access almost completely killed our speed, though we didn't notice too much lag while browsing.
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The download speed dipped about 50% even though we still had a great internet connection. Our latency also increased to 900% above our baseline speed while connected to the U.K. and 1,633% while connected to Australia.
Increased latency is an issue for gamers who need a quick response for their playing. This may not impact you if you plan to only casually use your VPN, but is worth noting if you plan to use international servers.
The good news is that we didn't experience any issues or delays in connecting to any servers. You can easily connect to several different servers to find one with a speed that works for you.
Some people use a VPN to watch Netflix, but sometimes streaming apps block VPN usage. We conducted tests with Private Internet Access to see if we could watch Netflix while connected to different servers around the world.
PIA has streaming-optimized servers, so we tried them out for our Netflix tests if they were available. We connected to servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. After connecting to the server, we opened up Netflix to see if it would connect and then sampled a show to see if there were any lag issues.
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Although Netflix has detected PIA in the past, this time we seamlessly unblocked Netflix libraries from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia.
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| US to US | US to CA | US to UK | US to AU | |
| Did it work with Netflix? |
Note that Private Internet Access advertises it works with BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, YouTube TV, ITV, and other streaming services.
| Country | Streaming service |
| United States | Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, and more |
| United Kingdom | Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime UK, Sky Sports UK, Viaplay |
| Canada | Netflix CA, TSN, MLB.TV CA |
| Japan | Netflix JP, Amazon Prime JP, Abema, U-Next JP |
| Germany | Netflix DE |
| India | Netflix IN, Disney+ Hotstar |
| Italy | Netflix IT, Disney+ IT, RaiPlay, Amazon Prime IT |
| France | Netflix FR, Amazon Prime FR, 6play, Canal+, TF1 |
| Denmark | Netflix DK, Amazon Prime DK, HBO Nordic, DRTV (dr.dk) |
| Finland | YLE, Ruutu, C More, MTV FI, HBO Nordics |
| Sweden | Netflix SE, C More, tv4play, HBO MAX SE |
The domain name system (DNS) leak test reveals if a VPN is successfully masking your IP address, internet service provider (ISP), and general location. If it doesn't, it's leaking data. We used BrowserLeaks to conduct our DNS leak test.
Once we connected to Private Internet Access, we ran the DNS leak test. The VPN was able to hide our information and show the VPN server instead.
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A WebRTC leak occurs when there's a vulnerability in your internet connection and it doesn't successfully hide your information from third parties. Instead, it exposes your IP address and makes it easy for third parties to identify you.
Once again, we used BrowserLeaks to conduct the WebRTC leak test. Without the VPN on, we could see our real IP address. Then we connected to Private Internet Access. The leak test showed the VPN server IP address instead of our real IP address, so there were no WebRTC leaks detected.
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A kill switch is an essential feature for security. With a kill switch, your online activities should always be protected because it stops your internet connection if your VPN drops.
We tested the kill switch by starting with a server in Australia then opening ipleak.net. We swapped to a server in Guatemal to see if Private Internet Access would leak our true IP address. Luckily, PIA kept our real location a secret.
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You can set up the PIA VPN app on an unlimited number of devices, operating systems, mobile apps, and browser extensions, including:
You can find Private Internet Access download options in your PIA account on a web browser. We were able to find download links for the Private Internet Access Chrome extension and other apps in the Downloads tab.
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We noticed that PIA VPN had loads of excellent reviews and high ratings for both its iOS and Android apps. The PIA VPN app on Google Play has 4.4 out of 5 stars with more than 89,000 reviews. The PIA VPN app on the Apple App Store has 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 112,000 ratings.
Private Internet Access offers customer support through its support website, email, live chat, forums, and social media channels. You can also submit error reports through the PIA app (we were able to see this option on the Windows app) and fill out a contact form through the support portal.
The PIA social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. PIA also has a YouTube channel, but the last upload was more than a year ago. You can send an email to the PIA support team at support@privateinternetaccess.com.
Private Internet Access offers 24/7 live chat available to anyone on its website. We decided to see what the chat experience was like by asking a PIA representative a few questions. You can find the chat button in the bottom right corner of just about any page on the main PIA website.
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After starting the live chat, we were quickly (within a few seconds) transferred to a live agent to begin our conversation.
Our first question was regarding the issues we had while using the streaming-optimized servers. The representative was thorough about asking us our location, operating system, and how we were accessing Netflix. They provided us with tips to troubleshoot our connection.
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Overall, the customer support agent was polite, friendly, and understandable.
The PIA support portal provides loads of resources for PIA users or anyone who’s interested in learning more about this VPN. This includes guides, announcements, and a knowledge base area with FAQs.
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The news section of the support website is especially helpful because it provides updates about relevant events for PIA users. For example, an announcement about maintenance on a specific server gives you a heads-up that you won’t be able to use that server for a certain period of time.
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The section with different guides can also be helpful if you need a few tips on how to use PIA in different ways or how to set it up on certain devices. This could include installing PIA VPN on Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS devices.
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Private Internet Access has a lot to offer, but it struggled with some speed tests and is based in a Five Eyes alliance country. We've compiled some of our top alternatives that excel in speed, security, and more:
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| Price | $2.99–$17.99/mo | $1.99–$17.95/mo | $2.03–$6.99/mo |
| Max # of connected devices | 10 | Unlimited | 7 |
| # of servers | 6,800+ servers in 111 countries | 3,200+ servers in 100 countries | Unlisted in 100 countries |
| VPN protocol | NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | OpenVPN, IKEv2. WireGuard |
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM | AES-256-GCM | AES-256 |
| No-logs policy | |||
| Headquarters | Panama | The Netherlands | Romania |
| Netflix access | |||
| Learn more | Get NordVPN | Get Surfshark | Get CyberGhost |
Yes, PIA VPN offers fast internet speeds if you're connected to nearby servers but it may struggle with further locations. We ran internet speed tests before connecting to PIA VPN and while connected to servers in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia. Our biggest delays were with the Canadian and Australian servers.
NordVPN is likely the better option for overall features, quality, and reliability. It provides opportunities to unblock streaming services while maintaining fast internet speeds, all at an affordable price. PIA VPN costs less than NordVPN, but the user experience is slightly lacking with its app interface.
Yes, PIA VPN works for unblocking regional Netflix content libraries. We tested PIA with servers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia to see whether we could access Netflix without any issues. We only had problems connecting to Canadian and Australian servers and accessing its Netflix library, as the streaming-optimized servers didn't work for us.
If streaming U.K. content is important to you, you can view our list of the best VPNs for the U.K. for other options.
PIA VPN can’t be tracked. It has a strict no-logs policy, which means it doesn’t collect or store any of your data, including your IP address, browsing history, bandwidth consumption, VPN session timestamps, and connection logs.
The PIA VPN no-logs policy has been tested multiple times in court and was successfully reviewed by an independent third party in April 2024.
PIA VPN is one of the cheapest VPNs available. Here’s how much PIA costs per month on each of its three subscription plans:
You can choose to pay by credit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, or crypto.
Yes, Private Internet Access is a good VPN that does just about everything right. It’s fast, affordable, private, and secure. And you get plenty of server locations with opportunities to unblock regional streaming content. Even better, the PIA no-logs policy has been tested in court and successfully audited by an independent third party.
But the PIA headquarters in the U.S. is a tad concerning. Nothing has happened yet for PIA to breach its no-logs policy, but the U.S. is a well-known member of a global surveillance group of countries. It also had some mediocre speed test results on our most recent round of testing.
PIA has a lot going for it, including 24/7 customer service. If you're not sold on this service, see how PIA compares with other top VPNs:
More affordable than most other VPNs, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN
Fast internet speeds and strict no-logs policy
Unblocks Netflix and other streaming services
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