Private Internet Access review 2027

Private Internet Access (PIA) sells the cheapest long-term plan of the eight providers we track in our full VPN rankings: $2.03 a month for 39 months. It backs that up with three Deloitte no-logs audits, RAM-only servers, and unlimited device connections. The catch sits in two places: it is a US company, and its network is smaller than its own homepage says. Every spec above was checked against PIA’s pages on 23 Jul 2026.

How private is a US-based VPN?

PIA Private Internet Access, Inc. is a US company. Its terms of service run under Colorado law with a Denver venue, and its privacy policy lists a Denver address. The United States is a founding member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which is why many privacy-first buyers rule out US providers on principle. That address is the main reason privacy and trust scores 7.0 in our rubric — the lowest we could defend for a provider whose actual practices are this strong.

Those practices, from primary sources: PIA’s policy states it does not collect browsing history, user IPs, connection timestamps, bandwidth logs, or DNS queries, as PCMag’s review summarizes. Its network runs entirely on RAM-only servers that wipe data on every reboot. And PIA states its no-logs claim has held up in court — subpoenas produced no user data. That last point is the vendor’s own claim, but it is consistent with the audit record.

What do the Deloitte audits actually prove?

PIA’s no-logs setup has been audited three times by Deloitte Audit Romania — in 2022, 2024, and most recently 2025, under the ISAE 3000 (Revised) assurance standard. The 2025 engagement covered VPN configurations, management systems, and the token system behind dedicated IPs. The announcement was last updated on 24 Feb 2026.

Two details stand out. First, PIA publishes the report as a downloadable PDF. NordVPN and Surfshark, by contrast, show their Deloitte reports only to logged-in customers. Second, the cadence is regular: three audits in four years. An audit is still a point-in-time check of specific systems, not a permanent guarantee — how no-log VPN audits work explains what these engagements do and don’t cover.

PIA adds two more transparency signals: it has open-sourced its apps, per Bleeping Computer, and it publishes regular transparency reports, per Tom’s Guide. Transparency scores 8.5 rather than higher for one reason, covered below: PIA’s own pages contradict each other on basic numbers.

What does PIA really cost?

Three prices matter:

• Monthly: $11.95, renewing at $11.95. No monthly-plan trap.
• Long-term intro: $2.03 a month on the “3 Years + 3 Months” plan — about $79 for 39 months, under the 83% summer promotion running as of 23 Jul 2026.
• Renewal: $79 every 3 years after the intro term, which works out to about $2.19 a month.

That renewal is the most honest of any intro-priced plan in our dataset. Rivals typically double or triple the effective monthly price at renewal; PIA’s rises by 16 cents.

Intro vs renewal pricing on long-term plans, from each vendor's own pricing page

VPN	Intro price	Renewal price	Refund window
Private Internet Access	$2.03/mo (39 months, ~$79)	$79 every 3 years (~$2.19/mo)	30 days
CyberGhost	$2.19/mo (26 months, $56.94)	$56.94/year (~$4.75/mo)	45 days
Surfshark	$2.49/mo (27 months, $67.23)	$79.00/year (~$6.58/mo)	30 days
NordVPN	$3.49/mo (27 months, $94.23)	$139.08/year (~$11.59/mo)	30 days

Price honesty scores 8.5, not 10, for two reasons. PIA’s pricing page contradicts itself on the 1-year plan’s renewal — $49.99 in one line, $39.95 in another, on the same page. And the 30-day money-back guarantee carries fine print: it applies to new subscribers, app-store purchases are refunded through the store instead, and a new account bought within 3 months of a refund is ineligible.

There is no free tier. The refund window is the trial.

What do you get for the money?

The feature list is close to complete, which is why features scores 9.0 — the highest dimension in our rubric.

• Protocols. WireGuard and OpenVPN in every app, both open source. The server list also shows an IKEv2/IPsec column for iOS-style setups.
• Devices. Unlimited simultaneous connections. PIA dropped its old 10-device cap in early 2023, per PCMag.
• Kill switch. Included, with a multi-level option, per CyberInsider and Tom’s Guide. One caveat from independent testing: RTINGS found the kill switch failed after a reboot and could leak unencrypted traffic. If you depend on it, test the reboot case on your own machine.
• Split tunneling. Supported, per PCMag and Tom’s Guide.
• Port forwarding. Available on some servers, per Tom’s Guide and Bleeping Computer — a big part of why PIA features in the best VPNs for torrenting.
• Dedicated IP. A paid add-on in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany. CyberInsider lists it at $2.50 a month; TechRadar lists $5 a month, dropping to $2.50 on two-year terms. Expect the price to depend on your billing term.

Streaming, speed, and the 50-country question

PIA’s homepage advertises servers in 90 countries. Its server-list page and that page’s own FAQ say 50 — and the rendered list we counted on 23 Jul 2026 shows exactly 50 countries and territories. Some locations are virtual: India’s servers, for example, are physically in Singapore and the UK. Fifty real countries is a workable network, but it is a third of NordVPN’s 149, and the homepage number does not match PIA’s own list.

Speed sits mid-pack. Reported download-speed losses range from 4.84% to 27.8% across recent reviews by Tom’s Guide, PCMag, and Security.org. That is fine for browsing and torrenting, and unremarkable for anything else.

Streaming is the weakest area. Reviewers describe unblocking as inconsistent on regular servers and better on PIA’s specialized streaming servers. Yahoo Tech’s review is the most specific: only one Canadian server worked with Netflix, and servers in Peru, Taiwan, France, and Algeria failed to connect at all. That inconsistency, plus mid-pack speeds and the smaller network, is why streaming and use-case fit scores 6.5 — the lowest dimension in our rubric.

Pros and cons

Our verdict: 7.9 out of 10

Scores follow our standard rubric — each dimension is argued in the sections above, and the weighted sum rounds to 7.9.

Dimension	Weight	Score
Privacy & trust	30%	7.0
Features	25%	9.0
Price honesty	20%	8.5
Streaming & use-case fit	15%	6.5
Transparency	10%	8.5
Overall	100%	7.9

Who should choose something else

You want privacy from a non-US company, with the least data on file. Mullvad operates from Sweden, signs you up with a random account number instead of an email address, and charges a flat $5.71 a month (€5) with no intro games at all. The trade-offs run the other way: a 5-device cap and a 14-day refund window. Our Mullvad VPN review weighs it in full.

You want a bigger network and dependable streaming. NordVPN covers 149 countries — three times PIA’s list — from Panama, at $3.49 a month on its 2-year intro plan. Its renewal jump is the steepest in our comparison table above, so read our NordVPN review before committing to what that convenience costs.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Private Internet Access good in 2027?

Yes, as a budget pick. You get $2.03/month pricing on the 39-month intro plan, unlimited devices, RAM-only servers, and three Deloitte no-logs audits (2022, 2024, 2025). Independent reviews place its speeds mid-pack and call its streaming inconsistent, and it is a US company. We rate it 7.9 out of 10.

Does Private Internet Access keep logs?

PIA's policy states it does not collect browsing history, user IPs, connection timestamps, bandwidth logs, or DNS queries. Deloitte Audit Romania has audited the no-logs setup three times, most recently in 2025, and PIA states that court subpoenas have produced no user data.

How many devices can you use with Private Internet Access?

Unlimited simultaneous connections on one subscription. PIA removed its former 10-device limit in early 2023, per PCMag.

How much does Private Internet Access cost?

As of July 2026: $11.95 for one month, or $2.03 a month on the 39-month intro plan — about $79 total. It renews at $79 every three years, roughly $2.19 a month, one of the smallest renewal increases among discounted VPN plans. A 30-day money-back guarantee covers new subscribers.

Does Private Internet Access work for streaming?

Inconsistently. Reviewers report better results on PIA's specialized streaming servers than on regular ones, and Yahoo Tech found only one Canadian server that worked with Netflix. If streaming is your main use, a provider with a larger network is the safer choice.

Can you use Private Internet Access for torrenting?

Yes. PIA offers port forwarding on some servers, a kill switch, RAM-only servers, and unlimited connections, which is why reviewers rate it well for torrenting. Its speeds are mid-pack, so very large downloads may take longer than on the fastest rivals.

Does Private Internet Access offer dedicated IP addresses?

Yes, as a paid add-on in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany. CyberInsider lists the price at $2.50 a month; TechRadar lists $5 a month, dropping to $2.50 on two-year terms.