Private Internet Access

Name: Private Internet Access
Author: Private Internet Access

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

As of 29 August 2026, Private Internet Access starts at $11.99/month. VPN provider offering monthly, yearly, and multi-year plans, plus optional dedicated IP and antivirus add-ons. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity. Private Internet Access is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS.

Visit siteVisit Private Internet Access

Overview

What Private Internet Access does

Private Internet Access (PIA) is a VPN service offering encrypted connections through a large network of servers, with configurable monthly, six-month, one-year, two-year, and three-year subscription terms. It provides optional add-ons including a dedicated IP address and bundled antivirus protection, along with ad and tracker blocking, split tunneling, and a kill switch. A 30-day money-back guarantee is offered to new subscribers.

What people use it 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

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Private Internet Access

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

P
Private Internet Accessvs
W
Windscribe
Windscribe: Windscribe offers a free tier as a lower-commitment alternative to PIA's paid-only plans.
P
Private Internet Accessvs
M
Mullvad VPN
Mullvad VPN: Mullvad offers simpler flat-rate pricing versus PIA's tiered multi-year discount structure.

Pricing

What Private Internet Access costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Monthly

$11.99 /mo

Billed month to month
Full server network access
30-day money-back guarantee

1-Year

$3.1 /mo

Billed annually at $37.19
Full server network access

2-Year

$2.19 /mo

Lowest advertised rate, billed every 2 years
Full server network access

Capabilities

Features

Split tunneling
Routes selected apps or traffic outside the VPN tunnel while keeping the rest protected.
Kill switch
Blocks internet traffic if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly.
Ad and tracker blocking
Built-in MACE feature blocks ads, trackers, and malware domains.
Dedicated IP add-on
Optional static IP address for a consistent connection identity.
Bundled antivirus add-on
Optional antivirus protection bundled alongside the VPN subscription.

Keep looking

Where to go from Private Internet Access

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Compare Private Internet Access with

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Private Internet Access, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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