Software · alternatives
Alternatives to Private Internet Access
2 software tools sit alongside Private Internet Access in this directory. Below is what separates each from Private Internet Access on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 2
- With a free tier
- 1
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Private Internet Access starts at
- $11.99/month
Why people look past Private Internet Access
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Private Internet Access entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Private Internet Access carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 1 of the 2 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
VPN and firewall service with a generous free data tier and a customizable Build-A-Plan option
- Can be used without paying; Private Internet Access cannot.
- Starts $8.99 a month cheaper, at $3/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Privacy-first VPN with one flat price and no email required to sign up
- Starts $6.99 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
- 1 tier to Private Internet Access's 3.
Every Private Internet Access alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private Internet Access (this page) | $11.99/month | Subscription | 3 | |
| WindscribeWindscribe offers a free tier as a lower-commitment alternative to PIA's paid-only plans. | Free, then $3/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Private Internet Access |
| Mullvad VPNMullvad offers simpler flat-rate pricing versus PIA's tiered multi-year discount structure. | $5/month | Subscription | 1 | vs Private Internet Access |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Private Internet Access badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (1)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Windscribe , Free, then $3/month
Cheaper than Private Internet Access (2)
Entry price under Private Internet Access's $11.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Windscribe , Free, then $3/month
- Mullvad VPN , $5/month
What you would be giving up
Private Internet Access is most often brought in for encrypting traffic on public wi-fi with a kill switch, blocking ads and trackers network-wide via mace, maintaining a consistent connection identity with a dedicated ip add-on, committing to a long-term plan for a lower effective monthly rate. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Private Internet Access is broadly right and the question is cost, the Private Internet Access pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the full directory lists everything.
Private Internet Access runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Private Internet Access alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Private Internet Access?
- 2 other software tools are listed in this directory, led by Windscribe, Mullvad VPN. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Private Internet Access?
- 1 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Windscribe.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Private Internet Access?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Private Internet Access's $11.99/month: Windscribe at Free, then $3/month, Mullvad VPN at $5/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Private Internet Access?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Private Internet Access?
- Private Internet Access is most often brought in for encrypting traffic on public wi-fi with a kill switch, blocking ads and trackers network-wide via mace, maintaining a consistent connection identity with a dedicated ip add-on, committing to a long-term plan for a lower effective monthly rate. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Private Internet Access?
- None of the software tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Private Internet Access alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Software, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Private Internet Access against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Private Internet Access covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every software tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Software category, 2 tools beside Private Internet Access. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.