Proton VPN vs PIA: what the price gap buys

One thing makes this matchup simpler than most: both companies let you read their no-logs evidence before you pay. Proton VPN publishes all five of its Securitum audit reports in full; Private Internet Access offers its Deloitte report as a public PDF download. With the trust paperwork a wash — an unusual tie in a market where these reports often sit behind customer logins — the decision compresses to an address and a renewal bill: Geneva at $83.88 a year, or Denver at $79 every three years.

The secondary gaps sort the same way. PIA covers unlimited devices to Proton VPN’s 10 and costs roughly a third as much to keep once the intro terms end. Proton VPN reaches 148 countries to the 50 on PIA’s server list, undercuts it month to month at $9.99 against $11.95, and is the only one of the two you can start using without paying. Figures below come from the vendors’ own pricing, server, and legal pages as of 23 Jul 2026; reviewer calls carry the name of the outlet that made them. For the whole field, start with our full VPN rankings.

Proton VPN vs PIA at a glance

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

	Proton VPN	Private Internet Access
Rolling monthly price	$9.99 (VPN Plus)	$11.95
Best intro rate	$2.99/mo — $71.76 for 24 months	$2.03/mo — about $79 for 39 months
Renewal after the intro term	$83.88/yr ($6.99/mo)	$79 every 3 years (about $2.19/mo)
Simultaneous devices	10	Unlimited
Server countries	148 (20,677 servers)	50 on its server list (homepage says 90)
Jurisdiction	Switzerland	United States (Colorado) — a Five Eyes member
Protocols	WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth	WireGuard and OpenVPN, both open source
RAM-only servers	No — encrypted disks by design	Yes
Latest no-logs audit	Securitum, 2026 (fifth annual)	Deloitte Audit Romania, 2025 (third)
Audit report access	All five published in full	Public PDF download
Money-back window	30 days, every paid plan	30 days (new subscribers only)
Free plan	Yes — 1 device, no data cap	No

Which costs less?

That depends on whether you commit — the two price lists cross. Month to month, Proton VPN is the cheaper service: $9.99 for VPN Plus against $11.95, with neither price rising at renewal. Commit for years and PIA runs away with it:

Cost	Proton VPN Plus	PIA
Rolling monthly plan	$9.99, renews at $9.99	$11.95, renews at $11.95
Long plan, billed upfront	$71.76 for 24 months ($2.99/mo)	about $79 for 39 months ($2.03/mo)
Renewal after the intro term	$83.88 a year ($6.99/mo)	$79 every 3 years (about $2.19/mo)
Three years at renewal rates	$251.64	$79

Both long-term rates are intro pricing, but they age differently. Proton VPN’s advertised $2.99 a month more than doubles to a $6.99 equivalent when the 24-month term ends. PIA’s $2.03 barely moves: the “3 Years + 3 Months” deal — an 83% “Sizzling Summer” promo running as of 23 Jul 2026 — renews at $79 every three years, about $2.19 a month. From the first renewal on, one year of Proton VPN Plus costs more than three years of PIA.

Fine print, briefly. PIA’s pricing page gives the 1-year plan two different renewal numbers — $49.99 in one line, $39.95 in another — so trust your checkout screen over either. Its 30-day money-back guarantee covers new subscribers only; app-store purchases go back through the store, and accounts opened within three months of an earlier refund don’t qualify. Proton VPN’s pricing FAQ promises that a refund is granted on request inside the first 30 days on every paid plan — and it holds a card PIA doesn’t have: a permanent free plan with 1 device, medium speed, no data cap, and servers in 10 randomly selected countries.

Does privacy come down to the address?

Mostly, yes — because the paperwork ties. Proton VPN’s 2026 Securitum engagement is annual no-logs check number five, with every report from 2022 onward published openly and all of its apps open source. PIA’s 2025 engagement with Deloitte Audit Romania is its third since 2022, run under the ISAE 3000 assurance standard and covering its VPN configurations, management systems, and dedicated-IP token system. Each side adds evidence from the legal system: Proton states the policy has survived more than 400 legal cases with nothing to hand over; PIA states court subpoenas have produced no user data. What engagements like these do and don’t establish is covered in how no-log VPN audits work.

What doesn’t tie is the address. Proton AG operates from Geneva and maintains that current Swiss law imposes no logging requirement on the company. PIA Private Internet Access, Inc. is a US company — Denver address, Colorado law — and the United States belongs to Five Eyes. With both operational records public and current, jurisdiction carries almost the entire privacy argument on its own: pay roughly triple at renewal for the Swiss address, or take the US one with the public paper trail at a third of the price.

Server hardware splits on philosophy, not evidence. PIA runs a RAM-only network that wipes on every reboot; Proton VPN deliberately doesn’t, arguing encrypted bare-metal disks with off-site keys answer the same seizure threat — our Proton VPN review walks through that reasoning.

How far does each network reach?

Proton VPN’s live server page held 20,677 servers across 148 countries and 191 locations on 23 Jul 2026. PIA’s server list shows exactly 50 countries and territories, Hong Kong and Macau included, and some locations are virtual — its India IPs are served from Singapore and the UK.

The telling detail: both companies’ marketing disagrees with their own live pages, in opposite directions. Proton VPN’s marketing rounds down to “140+ countries” while its live counter reads 148; PIA’s homepage still claims 90 countries while its list shows 50. Trust the live lists, and if one specific country decides your purchase, search both before paying. On reach itself the verdict is short: nearly three Proton VPN countries for every one of PIA’s.

What do reviewers make of this pair?

They split, and the split is informative. vpnMentor’s head-to-head picks PIA overall, on price, server count, and streaming-optimized servers. RTINGS’ comparison of the two ranks Proton VPN higher — and flags something concrete on the other side, reporting that PIA’s kill switch can leak traffic if the device crashes. That finding is theirs, and the vendors’ own pages don’t address it; if fail-closed behavior matters to you, what a VPN kill switch does covers what to check in the app. On speed, the write-ups around this pair disagree and rarely publish methodology, and both services default to WireGuard, so no quoted percentage deserves much weight. On streaming, they report both handling Netflix, Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer, sometimes with the caveat that reliable access needs paid plans or streaming-specific servers — and none publish failure rates by region.

Two facts settle more than any of those write-ups. Proton VPN’s free plan is a permanent, no-card way to test its apps and speeds on your own connection. PIA’s 30-day window covers a paid trial of the rest. For torrenting specifically, TickTechTold’s comparison leans PIA — P2P allowed on every server plus port forwarding, where Proton VPN routes P2P through designated servers; the best VPNs for torrenting cover that use case market-wide.

Does the 10-device cap matter?

For one person, rarely. Proton VPN Plus secures 10 devices at a time; the free plan covers 1. PIA’s homepage sets no ceiling: one subscription, unlimited simultaneous connections on compatible devices. The cap bites in households — phones, laptops, TVs, a console — and stacked on the renewal gap, it makes PIA the default family pick.

Choose Proton VPN if

• Jurisdiction filters first: a Swiss company against a US provider in a Five Eyes country
• You need places, not just servers: 148 countries to the 50 on PIA’s list
• You won’t commit: $9.99 month to month beats $11.95, and the free plan never expires
• You connect from networks that block VPN traffic: Stealth, its obfuscation protocol, exists for exactly that

Check plans at Proton VPN — every paid plan carries the 30-day guarantee.

Choose PIA if

• The cost of keeping it decides: $79 every three years at renewal, against $83.88 every year
• One plan must cover every device in the house: unlimited connections against 10
• Torrenting leads your list: the comparisons credit it with P2P on all servers and port forwarding
• RAM-only servers are your bar for what a seized machine could reveal

See current terms at PIA — our Private Internet Access review has the full breakdown.

Frequently asked questions

Is Proton VPN better than PIA?

For privacy posture and reach, yes: Switzerland instead of a US address in a Five Eyes country, 148 countries instead of 50, five published audits, and a permanent free plan. For cost of ownership, no: PIA renews at about $2.19 a month against Proton VPN's $6.99 equivalent and covers unlimited devices. Pick by which of those lists describes you.

Which is cheaper, Proton VPN or PIA?

Month to month, Proton VPN: $9.99 against $11.95. On commitment, PIA at every step: $2.03 a month for the first 39 months against $2.99 for 24 months, then $79 every three years against $83.88 every year once the intro terms end — per both vendors' pricing pages, as of 23 Jul 2026.

Which is faster, Proton VPN or PIA?

No dependable answer exists in print: the comparisons around this pair disagree and rarely publish their test conditions, and both services default to WireGuard, which matters more than the brand name. Proton VPN's free plan lets you measure its speed on your own line at no cost; PIA's 30-day guarantee covers the same test on its side.

Which is better for privacy, Proton VPN or PIA?

Both publish current third-party evidence: five open Securitum reports (2022 through 2026) and open-source apps for Proton VPN; three Deloitte engagements (2022, 2024, 2025) with a public report PDF, plus subpoenas that produced no data, for PIA. The deciding difference is jurisdiction — Proton AG is Swiss, while PIA is a US company and the US is a Five Eyes member.

Which has more servers, Proton VPN or PIA?

By each vendor's own published pages, Proton VPN: 20,677 servers in 148 countries on its live list as of 23 Jul 2026. PIA's pages conflict — its server list carries 50 countries and territories even as the homepage claims 90 — and some of its locations are virtual, such as India served from Singapore and the UK. The list is the number to trust.

Does Proton VPN or PIA have a free plan?

Proton VPN does, permanently: 1 device, no data cap, no ads, medium speed, and servers in 10 randomly selected countries. PIA has no free plan; its pricing FAQ points buyers to the 30-day money-back guarantee instead, which applies to new subscribers only.

Which is better for torrenting, Proton VPN or PIA?

The comparison write-ups lean PIA: TickTechTold's, among others, credits it with P2P allowed on every server plus port forwarding, while Proton VPN routes torrenting through designated P2P servers. PIA's unlimited connections and lower long-term price fit the use case as well.