CyberGhost vs PIA: audits tie, renewals don't

Three numbers decide this matchup, and none of them is an audit finding. Renewal price: once the intro terms end, Private Internet Access bills $79 every three years — about $2.19 a month — while CyberGhost bills $56.94 every year, about $4.75. Devices: PIA puts no cap on simultaneous connections; CyberGhost covers seven. Jurisdiction: CyberGhost operates from Romania, outside the 5, 9, and 14 Eyes alliances; PIA is American, under Colorado law, and the US belongs to Five Eyes.

The audits themselves cannot split the pair. The same firm, Deloitte Audit Romania, completed its third no-logs engagement for each service in 2025, on the same 2022–2024–2025 cadence, under the same ISAE 3000 (Revised) standard. That symmetry is rare, and it moves the whole decision onto price, devices, and the map. Figures below come from the two providers’ own pricing, legal, server, and audit pages as of 23 Jul 2026; streaming and torrenting calls are credited to the outlets that made them. The wider field is ranked in our full VPN rankings.

CyberGhost vs PIA at a glance

CyberGhost vs PIA, from each vendor's own pages, as of 23 Jul 2026

	CyberGhost	Private Internet Access
Monthly plan	$12.99	$11.95
Best intro rate	$2.19/mo — $56.94 for 26 months	$2.03/mo — about $79 for 39 months
Renewal after the intro term	$56.94/yr (about $4.75/mo)	$79 every 3 years (about $2.19/mo)
Simultaneous devices	7	Unlimited
Server countries	100	50 on its server list; homepage says 90
Protocols	WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2	WireGuard, OpenVPN (both open source)
RAM-only servers	Yes	Yes
Latest no-logs audit	Deloitte Audit Romania, 2025 — its third	Deloitte Audit Romania, 2025 — its third
Audit report access	Downloadable in full	Public PDF download
Jurisdiction	Romania	United States (Colorado) — a Five Eyes member
Money-back window	45 days (14 on the monthly plan)	30 days, new subscribers only
Free trial	24 h desktop, 3 days Android, 7 days iOS — no card	None — refund window only

What will you pay once the promos end?

Less with PIA, at every stage. Month to month it charges $11.95 to CyberGhost’s $12.99. The long deals sit close together: CyberGhost’s “2 Years + 2 Months” plan bills $56.94 for the first 26 months, or $2.19 a month, and PIA’s “3 Years + 3 Months Extra” plan runs at about $79 for the first 39 months, or $2.03 a month — both under 83% summer promotions as of 23 Jul 2026. Renewal is where they separate. CyberGhost’s plan autorenews at $56.94 per year, so its effective rate roughly doubles to about $4.75 a month. PIA’s autorenews at $79 every three years; the rate barely moves.

Put plainly: PIA’s permanent price is CyberGhost’s promotional price. The $2.19 a month CyberGhost charges only for its first 26 months is what PIA charges from renewal onward, indefinitely.

Cost	CyberGhost	PIA
Rolling monthly plan	$12.99/mo	$11.95/mo
Long deal, first term	$56.94 for 26 months ($2.19/mo)	about $79 for 39 months ($2.03/mo)
Renewal rate	$56.94/yr (about $4.75/mo)	$79 every 3 years (about $2.19/mo)
Three years at renewal prices	$170.82	$79

Two fine-print items. PIA shows two different renewal figures for its 1-year plan on the same pricing page ($49.99 and $39.95), so confirm the middle tier at checkout. And CyberGhost’s headline rate rides a rotating promotion; the durable number is the $56.94-a-year renewal on its buy page.

Does the same auditor make the privacy call a tie?

On paperwork, close to it. Deloitte Audit Romania has examined CyberGhost’s no-logs setup three times — 2022, 2024, and 2025 — and PIA’s three times, in the same three years. Both 2025 engagements ran under ISAE 3000 (Revised). Both scopes covered server infrastructure and configuration management, and both extended to the token systems behind each provider’s dedicated-IP add-on. Both reports are downloadable without a customer login; even the two announcement pages were last updated on the same day, 24 Feb 2026. Add matching RAM-only fleets — all data held in volatile memory, wiped on every reboot — and the operational privacy columns cancel out. What an ISAE 3000 engagement does and does not prove is covered in no-log VPN audits explained.

What remains is geography, and there the two diverge. CyberGhost S.R.L. is based in Romania — outside the 5, 9, and 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances, with no mandatory data-retention law for VPNs, per its no-logs page — and it publishes quarterly transparency reports. PIA Private Internet Access, Inc. is American through and through: a Denver address in its privacy policy, Colorado law in its terms, Five Eyes membership at the national level. PIA’s counterweight is history rather than geography — it states its no-logs policy has been proven in court, with subpoenas producing no data to hand over.

So the tie-breaker is a judgment call. If legal environment weighs most, CyberGhost takes this section. If demonstrated behavior under subpoena weighs most, PIA holds the only courtroom evidence in this pair.

How far does each network reach?

CyberGhost lists servers in 100 countries. PIA’s own pages disagree with each other: the server list shows 50 countries and territories while the homepage still claims 90, and the list is the number to trust. Both networks include virtual locations, where the IP registers in one country and the hardware sits elsewhere — CyberGhost flags them on its public server list, and some PIA locations work the same way, with India served from Singapore and the UK. The 50-country gap is real, but it only decides the matchup if it includes a place you need; check both live lists before paying.

Protocols will not separate them. CyberGhost’s apps switch between WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2; PIA’s switch between WireGuard and OpenVPN, both open source, with an IKEv2/IPsec column on its server list for manual setups.

Devices will. PIA’s homepage puts no number on it — one subscription, unlimited simultaneous connections on compatible devices; CyberGhost protects seven devices per subscription. That makes PIA both the cheaper option and the uncapped one — an unusual combination, since unlimited devices is normally the premium feature.

Who streams better, who torrents better?

The vendor pages settle neither question, so these calls belong to the outlets that made them. On streaming, vpnMentor and Cybernews both favor CyberGhost, crediting its servers optimized for specific streaming platforms. On torrenting, the same coverage leans PIA — Cybernews cites port forwarding among the reasons — while describing CyberGhost as workable but less flexible for P2P; the best VPNs for torrenting cover that use case across the market. On everyday use, vpnMentor and Forbes Advisor describe CyberGhost’s apps as the more beginner-friendly and PIA’s as the more configurable.

None of these outlets publishes test conditions detailed enough to predict your connection. The only speed test that settles it for you runs on your own line, inside a refund window — which the next section prices.

What if you change your mind?

The windows differ by more than length. CyberGhost gives 45 days on plans of six months or longer, but only 14 on the monthly plan. PIA gives 30 days for new subscribers, and a renewal can also be refunded within 30 days of the charge under its terms; app-store purchases refund through the store, and an account opened within three months of a prior refund is ineligible.

Weigh the windows against the commitments. PIA’s best deal asks for 39 months with 30 days to back out; CyberGhost’s asks for 26 months with 45. CyberGhost is also the only one of the two you can try without paying anything: a full day on Windows and macOS, 3 days on Android, 7 on iOS — no card required. PIA offers no trial — its pricing FAQ points buyers at the guarantee instead. Neither has a free plan.

Choose CyberGhost if

• Jurisdiction is your deciding privacy factor: Romania, outside the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances, against a US provider.
• Streaming drives the purchase: vpnMentor and Cybernews both favor its streaming-optimized servers.
• You want time to decide: 45 days to refund on long plans, plus no-card trials on every platform.
• You need IPs in more countries: 100 listed, against the 50 on PIA’s server list.

Check current terms at CyberGhost, or start with our CyberGhost review.

Choose PIA if

• You will keep it past the first term: renewals run $79 every three years, about $2.19 a month against CyberGhost’s $4.75.
• You connect more than seven devices: unlimited simultaneous connections on one subscription.
• Court-tested matters more to you than map-tested: PIA states subpoenas have produced no data to hand over.
• You torrent: Cybernews’s comparison sides with PIA, citing port forwarding.

See current plans at Private Internet Access, or begin with our Private Internet Access review.

Frequently asked questions

Is CyberGhost better than PIA?

Only for specific jobs. vpnMentor, Forbes Advisor, and Cybernews all split this matchup by use case: CyberGhost for streaming and easier apps, PIA for configurability and torrenting. On the durable numbers — renewal price ($79 every three years against $56.94 a year) and devices (unlimited against seven) — PIA leads; CyberGhost's edge is Romanian jurisdiction and a 45-day refund window.

Which is cheaper, CyberGhost or PIA?

PIA, at every stage as of 23 Jul 2026: $11.95 a month against $12.99, $2.03 a month against $2.19 on the long intro deals, and about $2.19 a month at renewal against about $4.75. Three years at renewal prices cost $79 with PIA and $170.82 with CyberGhost.

Does PIA really allow unlimited devices?

Yes. Its homepage puts one subscription on every compatible device you run at once — no connection cap. CyberGhost protects seven devices per subscription on every plan.

Are CyberGhost and PIA audited by the same firm?

Yes. Deloitte Audit Romania completed its third no-logs engagement for each provider in 2025, both under the ISAE 3000 (Revised) standard, after auditing both in 2022 and 2024. Both reports are downloadable without a customer login. The engagements examined each infrastructure separately, but the assurance framework behind the two no-logs claims is the same.

Which is better for streaming, CyberGhost or PIA?

Third-party comparisons favor CyberGhost: vpnMentor and Cybernews both credit its servers optimized for specific streaming platforms. Its no-card trials — 24 hours on desktop, 3 days on Android, 7 days on iOS — let you confirm a given service works before paying.

Which has the better money-back guarantee?

CyberGhost on long plans: 45 days on subscriptions of six months or longer, against PIA's 30. The catches: CyberGhost's monthly plan gets only 14 days, while PIA limits its guarantee to new subscribers and excludes accounts opened within three months of a prior refund.