--- title: "PIA Review: Private Internet Access VPN" description: "Read our PIA VPN review covering speed, privacy, pricing, server network and features. Compare plans and choose the right VPN for safer browsing today." url: "https://www.vpn.com/vpn/pia/" lang: "en" updated: 2026-08-01 alternates: "ar": "https://www.vpn.com/ar/vpn/pia/index.md" "bn": "https://www.vpn.com/bn/vpn/pia/index.md" "cs": "https://www.vpn.com/cs/vpn/pia/index.md" "cy": "https://www.vpn.com/cy/vpn/pia/index.md" "da": "https://www.vpn.com/da/vpn/pia/index.md" "de": "https://www.vpn.com/de/vpn/pia/index.md" "el": "https://www.vpn.com/el/vpn/pia/index.md" "es": "https://www.vpn.com/es/vpn/pia/index.md" "fa": "https://www.vpn.com/fa/vpn/pia/index.md" "fi": "https://www.vpn.com/fi/vpn/pia/index.md" "fr": "https://www.vpn.com/fr/vpn/pia/index.md" "ga": "https://www.vpn.com/ga/vpn/pia/index.md" "he": "https://www.vpn.com/he/vpn/pia/index.md" "hi": "https://www.vpn.com/hi/vpn/pia/index.md" "id": "https://www.vpn.com/id/vpn/pia/index.md" "is": "https://www.vpn.com/is/vpn/pia/index.md" "it": "https://www.vpn.com/it/vpn/pia/index.md" "ja": "https://www.vpn.com/ja/vpn/pia/index.md" "ko": "https://www.vpn.com/ko/vpn/pia/index.md" "nl": "https://www.vpn.com/nl/vpn/pia/index.md" "no": "https://www.vpn.com/no/vpn/pia/index.md" "pl": "https://www.vpn.com/pl/vpn/pia/index.md" "pt": "https://www.vpn.com/pt/vpn/pia/index.md" "ro": "https://www.vpn.com/ro/vpn/pia/index.md" "ru": "https://www.vpn.com/ru/vpn/pia/index.md" "sq": "https://www.vpn.com/sq/vpn/pia/index.md" "sv": "https://www.vpn.com/sv/vpn/pia/index.md" "th": "https://www.vpn.com/th/vpn/pia/index.md" "tr": "https://www.vpn.com/tr/vpn/pia/index.md" "ur": "https://www.vpn.com/ur/vpn/pia/index.md" "vi": "https://www.vpn.com/vi/vpn/pia/index.md" "en": "https://www.vpn.com/vpn/pia/index.md" "zh": "https://www.vpn.com/zh/vpn/pia/index.md" --- ## PIA: What Sets It Apart Private Internet Access is the most court-tested no-logs VPN on the market. Two separate law enforcement challenges in 2016, one FBI subpoena and one Russian government investigation, produced zero user data. Its apps are fully open source. Its network spans 35,000+ servers across 91 countries, the largest count we have tracked. PIA sits in an unusual position. It carries a proven privacy track record alongside two genuine concerns: US jurisdiction and ownership by Kape Technologies. Kape, formerly known as Crossrider, has a documented history in adware distribution. The company acquired PIA in 2019 for $127.6 million and has since added ExpressVPN and CyberGhost to its portfolio. The technical reality matters here. PIA's open-source codebase, logging architecture, and server infrastructure all predate the Kape acquisition. Nothing structural has changed. The court-tested no-logs record also predates Kape. Whether ownership concentration creates future risk is a fair question. The current architecture reflects PIA's original privacy-first design. ## PIA Speed and Performance PIA recorded 620 Mbps in our standardized speed lab, placing it 9th out of 22 providers tested. Latency measured 24 ms. Those numbers tell part of the story. Real-world performance depends on protocol choice, server distance, and what you are actually doing. WireGuard is PIA's fastest protocol by a clear margin. In our testing, WireGuard connections maintained roughly 85% of baseline speeds on nearby servers. OpenVPN dropped that to around 55-65%, which matches industry norms for the older protocol. PIA offers both options across all platforms, letting users trade speed for compatibility when needed. For everyday browsing and video calls, 620 Mbps is far more than anyone needs. The 24 ms latency keeps gaming viable on regional servers. Long-distance connections to servers 5,000+ miles away showed expected degradation, dropping to roughly 150-250 Mbps depending on the route. That still handles 4K streaming comfortably. Torrent users benefit from PIA's port forwarding support. Most VPN providers dropped this feature years ago. PIA maintains it, and the speed overhead stays minimal on WireGuard. Combined with the massive 35,000+ server count, congestion is rarely an issue. You can almost always find a lightly loaded server nearby. ## PIA Security and Privacy PIA operates under US jurisdiction. The standard privacy guidance says to avoid Five Eyes countries, and that logic has merit. The US can issue National Security Letters with gag orders that compel data production while prohibiting disclosure. PIA does not dismiss this concern. The counterargument rests on architecture, not geography. A genuine no-logs system makes jurisdiction largely irrelevant. If no data exists, no legal mechanism can extract it. The 2016 FBI subpoena tested that proposition directly. Investigators subpoenaed PIA for records tied to a criminal suspect. PIA produced nothing because it had nothing. The Russian government investigation that same year reached the same dead end. No other major VPN has survived two independent law enforcement challenges in a single year with its no-logs claim intact. This is not marketing language. It is documented court record. PIA completed a Deloitte audit confirming its no-logs claims. The audit verified that PIA's server configuration matches its privacy policy. Servers run in RAM-disk mode, meaning data does not survive reboots. This approach has become an industry standard, but PIA adopted it early. Encryption options are unusually flexible. Users can choose between AES-128 and AES-256 on OpenVPN, and configure handshake and authentication settings manually. WireGuard uses ChaCha20 by default. The kill switch works at both the application and system level. MACE, PIA's built-in DNS-level blocker, filters ads, trackers, and known malicious domains at the network layer. Every PIA client app is open source. The code sits on GitHub for public inspection. This is a meaningful transparency measure. Very few VPN providers expose their full client codebase. Open source does not guarantee safety by itself, but it allows independent verification in a way that closed-source apps simply cannot. ## PIA Streaming and Content Access PIA accesses Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video in our testing. It handles the major platforms reliably, though not flawlessly. Some sessions required switching between servers to find one that bypassed detection. This is normal across the VPN industry. PIA does not label servers by streaming platform, unlike some competitors. You select a country, connect, and test. This approach works fine for experienced users but creates friction for anyone who wants a one-click streaming solution. Providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer more guided streaming experiences. The 35,000+ server network helps with streaming consistency. When one server gets flagged by a platform, alternatives in the same country are usually available. PIA also supports Smart DNS configuration on devices that cannot run VPN apps natively, like certain smart TVs and gaming consoles. Streaming is not PIA's primary selling point. It works, and it works on the platforms most people care about. But users whose top priority is reliable, effortless access to geo-restricted content may find more polished solutions elsewhere. ## PIA Device Compatibility PIA supports unlimited simultaneous connections. That is a genuine differentiator. Most competitors cap connections at 5 to 10 devices. PIA removed the limit entirely, making it practical for households with dozens of devices. Native apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. The Linux client includes a full graphical interface, which is rare. Most VPN providers offer Linux users only a command-line tool. PIA's Linux app matches the feature set of its Windows and Mac counterparts almost exactly. Browser extensions exist for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. These are proxy-based and do not encrypt all device traffic, only browser sessions. Router support covers popular firmware including DD-WRT, Tomato, and pfSense. PIA provides setup guides and preconfigured router profiles. App quality is consistent across platforms. The interface is clean but utilitarian. It does not match the visual polish of ExpressVPN or Surfshark. Settings are accessible without being overwhelming. The quick-connect tile, server list, and protocol selector all work as expected. Advanced users can access encryption settings, split tunneling, and per-app kill switch rules without digging through menus. ## Who Should Use PIA PIA fits privacy-focused users who value transparency over brand polish. If open-source code, a court-verified no-logs record, and granular encryption settings matter to you, PIA delivers on all three. The unlimited device limit makes it excellent for families or anyone managing a mixed-device household. Torrent users gain meaningful advantages here. Port forwarding, a proven no-logs record, and 35,000+ servers create an ideal combination. Few competitors match this specific feature set for P2P use. Budget-conscious buyers benefit too. PIA's long-term plans rank among the cheapest we have tested. The 30-day money-back guarantee removes the upfront risk. PIA is not the right choice for everyone. Users who want a streamlined, one-click streaming experience will find better options with providers that offer labeled streaming servers. Anyone uncomfortable with US jurisdiction or Kape Technologies ownership has legitimate grounds to look at providers like Mullvad or Proton VPN instead. Those concerns are valid even if the current technical architecture is sound. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is PIA's ownership by Kape Technologies a privacy risk? Kape Technologies, formerly Crossrider with a documented adware history, acquired PIA in 2019 and also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. PIA's open-source codebase, RAM-disk server architecture, and no-logs policy all predate that acquisition and remain unchanged. The 2016 FBI subpoena and a separate Russian government investigation both predate Kape as well, so the court-tested privacy record isn't tied to current ownership. ### Does PIA's US jurisdiction expose my data to government requests? PIA operates under US jurisdiction, meaning it can legally receive National Security Letters with gag orders compelling data production. A genuine no-logs architecture makes jurisdiction largely moot, though: PIA was subpoenaed by the FBI in 2016 and investigated separately by Russian authorities that same year, and produced zero user data in both cases because none existed to hand over. ### What proof exists that PIA actually doesn't log user activity? PIA's no-logs claim has been tested in court, not just audited. In 2016, an FBI subpoena and a separate Russian government investigation both sought user records and came back empty. Deloitte also completed an independent audit confirming PIA's server configuration matches its stated no-logs policy, and servers run in RAM-disk mode so no data survives a reboot. ### What encryption and protocols does PIA use to secure a connection? PIA supports both WireGuard and OpenVPN, with WireGuard using ChaCha20 encryption by default. On OpenVPN, users can manually choose between AES-128 and AES-256 and adjust handshake and authentication settings, a level of manual control few competitors expose. A kill switch operates at both the app and system level, and every client app is open source and viewable on GitHub. ### How fast is PIA compared to other VPNs we've tested? PIA ranks #9 of 22 in our Speed Lab, aggregated from independent labs. Protocol choice matters more than the ranking alone suggests: WireGuard connections held roughly 85% of baseline speed on nearby servers in testing, while OpenVPN dropped to about 55 to 65%, consistent with that protocol's older architecture. WireGuard is the faster default for most users. ### Which streaming platforms does PIA actually access, and how do I find a working server? PIA accesses Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, among others. Unlike some competitors, PIA doesn't label servers by streaming platform, so you pick a country, connect, and test manually, sometimes switching servers if one gets flagged. Its 35,000+ server network across 91 countries means alternatives in the same country are usually available. ### What's the cheapest way to get PIA, and what do I get for it? PIA's lowest rate is from $2.03/month on its longest-term plan, among the cheapest rates we've tested across VPN providers. That price includes the full feature set: unlimited simultaneous device connections, access to the 35,000+ server network across 91 countries, AES-256 encryption, and a kill switch, with no features gated behind higher tiers. ### Can I get my money back if PIA doesn't work out for me? Yes, every PIA plan, including the discounted long-term tiers, is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. This applies regardless of which plan length you choose, so testing PIA on its cheapest long-term rate carries the same refund protection as the standard monthly plan. Contact support within that window to request a refund. ### How many devices can I actually run PIA on at once? PIA places no cap on simultaneous connections, an unusual policy since most competitors limit accounts to a fixed device count. Native apps exist for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, and the Linux client ships with a full graphical interface rather than the command-line-only tools most providers offer Linux users, suiting households running many devices at once. ### What does PIA's MACE feature actually block, and what else is bundled in? MACE is PIA's built-in DNS-level blocker that filters ads, trackers, and known malicious domains network-wide, not just in-browser. PIA also bundles multi-hop, which routes traffic through two servers for extra encryption, and obfuscation, which disguises VPN traffic to get past restrictive networks. Split tunneling and a dedicated IP add-on round out the advanced feature set. ### How do I set up PIA for torrenting with port forwarding enabled? Port forwarding is available on select PIA servers, a feature most VPN providers dropped years ago, and speed overhead stays minimal when paired with the WireGuard protocol. Enable it in the app's settings before connecting to a supported server, then configure your torrent client to use the forwarded port. Combined with PIA's no-logs record, this setup suits P2P use specifically. ### What should I do if a PIA server gets blocked by a streaming platform? Switch to a different server in the same country, since PIA doesn't label servers by streaming platform and detection varies session to session. With 35,000+ servers across 91 countries, alternatives are usually available quickly. If a whole region proves unreliable, PIA also supports Smart DNS configuration for devices like smart TVs and consoles that can't run a VPN app natively. ### How do I confirm PIA's kill switch actually stops traffic if the VPN drops? Connect to a PIA server, then disable your Wi-Fi or unplug ethernet mid-session. A working kill switch cuts all internet access instead of reverting to your unprotected connection, and testing during forced-disconnect scenarios found no leaks. PIA offers this at both the app level and the stricter system level, which blocks all device traffic if the tunnel fails.