Private Internet Access Review (October 2026): Pricing, Audits and Ownership
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The verdict: Private Internet Access is one of the cheapest VPNs with a real paper trail. The 3-year plan works out to $2.03 a month, it allows unlimited devices, its apps are open source, and Deloitte Audit Romania has now reviewed its infrastructure three times (2022, 2024 and 2025). Two caveats decide whether it suits you. PIA is a US company owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, and Kape is controlled by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi. And the audits cover how PIA configures its service, not every claim it makes. Both are covered below.
Plans, prices, the privacy policy, the transparency report and the audit announcement were read on PIA’s own pages on October 9, 2026. Court, ownership and acquisition facts come from the sources linked beside them. We do not test VPNs ourselves, so this page makes no speed or streaming claims.
On this page
- PIA at a glance
- Pricing: three terms and one renewal catch
- What its privacy policy says it keeps
- Audits and court cases, and what they can’t tell you
- Who owns PIA
- What we like and what to watch out for
- PIA vs the alternatives
- What PIA can’t do
- Who should buy it, and who should skip it
- How we researched this review
- Frequently asked questions
PIA at a glance
Starting price: $2.03/mo on the 3-year plan (3 years plus 3 months free) · Devices: unlimited simultaneous connections · Server locations: 104 countries, some of them virtual · Protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec are listed on its server page · Servers: RAM-only · Refund: 30-day money-back guarantee for new subscribers · Company: PIA Private Internet Access, Inc., United States · Parent: Kape Technologies
See PIA’s current plans on its own site →
Pricing: three terms and one renewal catch
PIA sells one VPN product in three billing terms. The prices below were read on its order page on October 9, 2026, under a sports-themed discount banner, so the headline discount can change. The Antivirus and Dedicated IP add-ons are chosen at checkout; we did not find their prices on a readable PIA page, so we do not quote them.
| Term | Per month | What you pay up front | What it renews at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $11.95 | $11.95 | $11.95 monthly |
| 1 year | $3.99 | $47.88 | $47.88 a year |
| 3 years + 3 months extra (marked “83% off”) | $2.03 | $79 for 39 months | $79 every 3 years |
The unusual thing here is how mild the renewal catch is. Many VPNs charge a first-term price that more than doubles on renewal. PIA’s page states that the 1-year plan renews at the same $47.88, and the 3-year plan at $79 every three years, which is about $2.19 a month after the extra months are used up. The catch is different: the cheapest price requires a three-year commitment, and the refund window is only 30 days. If you pay $79 and change your mind in month 5, you are in the “use it or lose it” zone. The page says the guarantee is for new subscribers only, and subscriptions bought through Apple’s or Google’s app stores follow those stores’ refund rules instead.
PIA’s FAQ says the 2-year plan is the best value, but the 2-year plan was not on the order page when we read it. Treat that FAQ line as out of date.
Our rule on VPN terms: buy the 1-year plan first if you have not used PIA before. It costs $47.88, it still gets you the 30-day guarantee, and it lets you find out whether the apps suit you before committing $79.
What its privacy policy says it keeps
PIA’s privacy policy says it does not collect or store browsing history, connected content, user IPs, connection timestamps, bandwidth logs or DNS queries. Its no-logs page extends the list to the servers you connect to, the apps and services you use, search queries and session start and end times.
What PIA says it does keep:
- Your email address and payment data, needed to activate and bill the account.
- US state and ZIP code, for sales tax. The policy says PIA pays the tax itself for crypto payments so it need not collect your location.
- Anonymized product metrics (server uptime, bandwidth capacity, global user counts). Users can also opt in to send anonymized connection events and debugging information, and the no-logs page says you can opt out of usage data in the app settings.
- Website data: contact-form submissions, emails you send, and cookie identifiers.
The policy names Kape directly: it says that “neither PIA nor anyone at Kape Technologies” logs or stores substantive personal data, user browsing data or individual connection data. That is a company statement, and the audits below are the outside check on it.
PIA also states that all of its servers are RAM-only, so nothing is written to a hard drive and the data is gone when a server reboots. That is a design claim in its transparency report and no-logs page, and it was part of what the third audit reviewed, as described in the next section.
Audits and court cases, and what they can’t tell you
Deloitte audits. In a post on its blog (updated February 24, 2026), PIA says Deloitte Audit Romania completed its third independent review of PIA’s VPN infrastructure under ISAE 3000 (Revised), the international assurance standard. The post says the earlier audits were completed in 2022 and 2024. The third review looked at VPN configuration, management systems, incident-response practices and PIA’s token-based dedicated IP system, which separates account details from IP addresses. PIA links the full report from the post, and we did not read every page of it.
What an audit like this does and doesn’t say. An ISAE 3000 engagement checks the company’s own stated controls against how the systems are actually built and run. It is a real check, but it is commissioned by PIA, it describes a point in time, and its scope is whatever the engagement letter says. It does not prove that no log has ever existed anywhere. It also does not say anything about the app, the ownership or the business practices around the service.
Court cases. PIA’s pages claim a “court-proven” no-logs policy. The outside record backs the core of that. TorrentFreak reported on the trial of Ross Colby, which began May 29, 2018 in federal court in San Jose. PIA’s general counsel testified that PIA keeps no records of customers’ online activity and that the only thing the company holds is the email address used at sign-up. TorrentFreak called it the second public test of PIA’s no-logging claims. Two caveats: TorrentFreak noted that PIA was a sponsor of its site, and in 2018 PIA’s parent was London Trust Media, before Kape bought it. A court case from that era says nothing about what happens under the current owner. The audits are the more recent evidence.
Transparency report. PIA publishes a quarterly transparency report of legal requests. The page we read was last updated June 8, 2026 with Q2 2026 data. We could not read its counts from the page source, so we quote none. PIA’s statement is that it has had nothing to hand over.
Open source. PIA says its apps for all platforms are open source on GitHub, and that it uses the open-source OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols. Open code lets outside researchers inspect the apps. It does not tell you whether the servers run what the code says, which is the gap the audits are meant to narrow.
Who owns PIA
Kape Technologies. According to ProPrivacy’s November 2019 report, Kape agreed to buy PIA from its parent London Trust Media, with part of the deal being Kape paying off $32.1 million of London Trust Media’s debts. PIA’s own privacy policy now refers to “anyone at Kape Technologies,” which is consistent with that. Kape also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost; our ExpressVPN review covers the ExpressVPN purchase, and the CyberGhost review covers the third sister brand.
Who owns Kape. Globes reported on May 8, 2023 that Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi raised his stake in Kape from 54.8% to 87.6% through his holding company Unikmind and planned to delist it from London’s AIM market. That makes Kape a privately controlled company. We have not found a more recent ownership change and did not verify one.
Kape’s earlier name. Kape was called Crossrider until it renamed itself in 2018. CyberInsider reports that the Crossrider name is often associated with malware and adware, and quotes Kape’s CEO attributing the rename to the strong association with the company’s past activities. CyberInsider is a critical source and we link it for the history, not as proof of anything about PIA today. If you object to one company owning several competing VPN brands, that is a fair reason to look elsewhere. It is also worth knowing when you read any VPN comparison, including ours.
What we like and what to watch out for
What we like
- The 3-year price. $79 for 39 months is low for a provider that publishes audit reports.
- Unlimited devices on every plan, per PIA’s order page.
- Three Deloitte reviews over four years, with the latest report available for download.
- Open-source apps and open-source protocols, so outsiders can inspect the code.
- RAM-only servers, a design that limits what can be seized.
- A mild renewal. No big price jump after the first term, per the page.
Watch out for
- The cheapest price needs a 3-year commitment and the refund window is 30 days.
- US jurisdiction. PIA’s About page says it is based in the United States. It argues that is no problem because it keeps no logs, and its court record supports that, but a US company can be served with US legal process.
- Kape ownership, covered above. Shared ownership with ExpressVPN and CyberGhost is something to weigh if independence matters to you.
- Virtual locations. PIA’s server page says some countries are served from servers in a different country; it gives India (geo-located in Singapore and the UK) and Indonesia (Singapore) as examples. The “104 countries” figure includes them.
- Audit scope. The reviews examine configuration and controls; they are not a guarantee about every claim.
- Stale pages. The order page’s FAQ still refers to a 2-year plan, and its server page carried a notice that some locations may be missing from the table while network updates were underway. Check the live plan list before you pay.
Best for: price-sensitive buyers who want audited no-logs claims and unlimited devices. Skip it if: Kape’s ownership or US jurisdiction is a dealbreaker, or you want independent speed and streaming results, which this page does not provide.
PIA vs the alternatives
- ExpressVPN. Same parent, much higher price, and a longer public audit list. See our ExpressVPN review. A competitor with a different owner is covered in our PureVPN review.
- NordVPN and Surfshark. The mainstream rivals. See NordVPN, Surfshark and NordVPN vs Surfshark.
- Proton VPN and Mullvad. If ownership is your main worry, read Proton VPN and Mullvad.
- For torrenting. Our torrenting guide covers where PIA’s configurability fits.
- All the main brands side by side: best VPN in 2026.
What PIA can’t do
- It does not make you anonymous. It hides your traffic from your network and swaps your IP. It does nothing about the accounts you sign into or your browser fingerprint. See how to stay anonymous online.
- It cannot prove its own no-logs claim to you. You rely on the audits, the court record and the company’s word.
- It does not guarantee access to any streaming service. Services block VPNs, and we have no independent test to quote.
- It is not a data-removal tool. Brokers already hold your profile; see best data removal services.
- A free VPN is not the alternative. If the choice is PIA or nothing, read why free VPNs carry their own risks.
Who should buy it, and who should skip it
Buy it if you want low cost per month, many devices on one subscription, and a provider with outside audits and open-source apps, and you are comfortable with Kape ownership and a US company.
Skip it if you want a non-US, non-Kape provider, or independent speed and streaming results.
If you do buy, start with the 1-year plan, note the 30-day refund window, and compare the live prices against rivals before you commit to three years.
How we researched this review
We read PIA’s order page, antivirus page, privacy policy, no-logs page, About page, server page, transparency report, open-source page and audit announcement directly on October 9, 2026. Ownership, acquisition and court facts come from the ProPrivacy, Globes, TorrentFreak and CyberInsider pages linked above. We looked at 9 PIA pages and 4 outside sources. We could not read the full Deloitte reports, PIA’s transparency-report counts or its add-on prices, and we say so where it matters. RTINGS’s PIA review sits behind a paywall, so we quote none of its test results. We do not test VPNs ourselves; where a claim comes from PIA we say so. Prices and plans change often, so confirm them on the vendor’s page on the day you buy.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Private Internet Access cost?
On October 9, 2026: $11.95 for one month, $47.88 for one year ($3.99 a month), or $79 for three years plus three months ($2.03 a month). The 1-year plan renews at $47.88 and the 3-year plan at $79 every three years, per PIA’s order page.
Is there a free trial or refund?
There is no free tier on the order page. New subscribers get a 30-day money-back guarantee; app-store purchases follow the store’s refund terms.
Does PIA keep logs?
Its privacy policy says it does not store browsing history, user IPs, connection timestamps, bandwidth logs or DNS queries. It does keep your email, payment data and, for US customers, state and ZIP code for tax. These are company statements, backed by three Deloitte reviews and the court testimony described above.
Who owns PIA?
Kape Technologies, per ProPrivacy’s 2019 report on the acquisition. Globes reported in 2023 that Teddy Sagi held 87.6% of Kape after a take-private offer.
How many devices can I use?
PIA’s order page advertises unlimited simultaneous devices on one subscription.
Is PIA open source?
PIA says its apps are open source on GitHub and that it uses the open-source OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols.
Is Private Internet Access worth it?
For the price, with audits and unlimited devices, it is a defensible pick if you accept Kape ownership and US jurisdiction. If you want a non-Kape provider, look at Proton VPN or Mullvad first.
Bottom line
PIA earns its place on price and published evidence, not on any testing of our own: a low 3-year price, unlimited devices, open-source apps and three Deloitte reviews. Read the ownership section before you commit.
This page is for information, not legal or security advice.
About the author
Lennit Herrera is the founder and editor of Shielded Browsing. Every review here is researched and published by one named, accountable person. We do not run hands-on lab tests. Figures come from providers’ published material or named third-party sources, and each is dated. Corrections are welcome at hello@shieldedbrowsing.com. More about Shielded Browsing →
