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Developer Tools · head to head

Earthly vs Private Internet Access

Earthly logo

Earthly

Developer Tools

Engineering guardrails for the AI era

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
P

Private Internet Access

Cybersecurity

Long-standing VPN service with a large server network and flexible multi-year plans

From
$11.99/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Earthly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Earthly pricing model not published; requires sales contact; Private Internet Access monthly plan is priced noticeably higher than the discounted multi-year commitments, penalizing short-term users.
  • They diverge on capability: Earthly covers Policy as code, Private Internet Access covers Split tunneling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Earthly and Private Internet Access actually diverge.

Attributes where Earthly and Private Internet Access differ
AttributeEarthlyPrivate Internet Access
Starting priceFree$11.99/month
Pricing modelNo pricing published on websitesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CLIwindows, mac, linux, ios, android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Earthly

  • Policy as code
  • Multi-stage enforcement
  • AI agent governance
  • Repository-wide policies
  • Incident response automation
  • Compliance management
  • Earthfiles build tool
  • Satellites

Only in Private Internet Access

  • Split tunneling
  • Kill switch
  • Ad and tracker blocking
  • Dedicated IP add-on
  • Bundled antivirus add-on

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Earthly

  • Enforcing engineering standards across AI and human developersnot Private Internet Access
  • Automating incident response procedures across all repositoriesnot Private Internet Access
  • Embedding compliance requirements into development workflowsnot Private Internet Access
  • Standardizing build processes with Earthfilesnot Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access

  • Encrypting traffic on public Wi-Fi with a kill switchnot Earthly
  • Blocking ads and trackers network-wide via MACEnot Earthly
  • Maintaining a consistent connection identity with a dedicated IP add-onnot Earthly
  • Committing to a long-term plan for a lower effective monthly ratenot Earthly

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Earthly

  • Pricing model not published; requires sales contact
  • Earthly Lunar is a recent launch (2025) with limited track record
  • Primarily GitHub-focused; limited integration with other platforms
  • No public documentation on pricing or feature tiers

Private Internet Access

  • Monthly plan is priced noticeably higher than the discounted multi-year commitments, penalizing short-term users.
  • Dedicated IP and antivirus are paid add-ons rather than included features.
  • Headquartered in a jurisdiction whose privacy reputation some competitors market against, despite audited no-logs claims.
  • App interface is less streamlined than some higher-priced premium VPN competitors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Earthly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Earthly review.

Private Internet Access

$11.99/month
  • Monthly$11.99/month
    • Billed month to month
    • Full server network access
    • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • 1-Year$3.1/month
    • Billed annually at $37.19
    • Full server network access
  • 2-Year$2.19/month
    • Lowest advertised rate, billed every 2 years
    • Full server network access

Which should you pick?

Choose Earthly if

  • You need policy as code.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want multi-stage enforcement.
Earthly review

Choose Private Internet Access if

  • You need split tunneling.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want kill switch.
Private Internet Access review

Questions people ask

Is Earthly or Private Internet Access better?
Neither clearly leads. Earthly starts at Free and Private Internet Access at $11.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Earthly or Private Internet Access?
Earthly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Earthly and $11.99/month for Private Internet Access.
Does Earthly or Private Internet Access run on more platforms?
Earthly runs on Web, CLI. Private Internet Access runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
Can I use Earthly for free?
Yes. Earthly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Private Internet Access starts at $11.99/month.
What is Earthly best used for?
Earthly is most often used for enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers, automating incident response procedures across all repositories, embedding compliance requirements into development workflows, standardizing build processes with earthfiles. Of those, enforcing engineering standards across ai and human developers and automating incident response procedures across all repositories are not what Private Internet Access is typically brought in for.
What can Earthly do that Private Internet Access cannot?
Earthly covers Policy as code, Multi-stage enforcement, AI agent governance, Repository-wide policies. Private Internet Access covers Split tunneling, Kill switch, Ad and tracker blocking, Dedicated IP add-on.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Earthly: What is the difference between Earthfiles and Earthly Lunar?

Earthfiles is an open-source build tool that reached 12,000 GitHub stars and is used by companies like NVIDIA, Intel, and Databricks. Earthly Lunar is a separate governance platform launched in 2025 for enforcing standards across development workflows.

Source
Earthly: How does Earthly Lunar enforce standards?

Lunar converts engineering standards, compliance requirements, and processes documented in AGENTS.md files, wikis, and incident postmortems into enforceable guardrails that apply consistently across repositories and development stages.

Source
Earthly: What is the pricing for Earthly Lunar?

Pricing is not published on the website. Interested customers should contact Earthly's sales team for current pricing and feature tiers.

Source
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