Private Internet Access
Top-rated VPN service with open-source software
About Private Internet Access
There’s a reason Private Internet Access chose its name. A VPN service for accessing blocked content and hiding your IP address, Private Internet Access is known to be the most anonymous VPN around. With a strong emphasis on privacy, Private Internet Access gives you anonymity, safe online browsing, ID protection, and more. Add to that a tremendous network of servers, and Private Internet Access blows the competition clear out of the water.
PROS
- 20K servers in 70+ countries
- Strongest privacy protection anywhere
- Zero-logging policy
CONS
- No freemium plan or free trial
- No specific servers for Netflix
Private Internet Access Overview
Private Internet Access has a lot of fantastic features that we'll look at in a minute. But it's real claim to fame is in its privacy and protection. The extent Private Internet Access goes to protect your identity and data is pretty impressive. Of course, this VPN has the usual military-grade WiFi encryption, but it goes a lot further than that. Private Internet Access uses multiple VPN gateways for further encryption. Private Internet Access will block ads, malware, and pernicious trackers, too. And it's even got a SOCKS5 proxy included with every plan.
Private Internet Access also supports PPTP, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPSec, so you can have your pick of the litter when it comes to protocols. This allows you to decide the level of protection you want. But probably our favorite privacy feature to highlight is the leak tests. Private Internet Access has DNS, IPv6, and email leak tests that you can run right on the website. That’s some serious protection.
Oh, and we forgot to mention Private Internet Access’s privacy policy. This VPN service doesn’t collect any of your information. It’s a total no-logs policy, so you never have to worry about your information being passed onto anyone else because there’s no information to pass on. We also like that you can see the Private Internet Access transparency report. This is a snapshot of government demands for user data and how many requests were complied with (spoiler alert: it’s none).
Key Features
Private Internet Access comes fully loaded with more features than you’ll likely know what to do with. To start with, Private Internet Access offers unlimited bandwidth, so you’ll never get throttled and have to deal with buffering blues. Private Internet Access also has more than 20,000 servers to work with. So, your speed is going to be super fast and downloads smooth.
What’s more, Private Internet Access allows you up to 10 simultaneous connections with a single subscription. That’s unbelievable! There’s also a feature called Mace, something that will block domains that are used by third-party advertisers.
We also like the warning displays Private Internet Access provides. You will see a warning sign whenever you’re about to do something that can compromise your data security (like choose the no data encryption setting). There’s also ephemeral key usage, so you are really super safe.
Some other features we thought were impressive include:
- Kill switch
- DNS leak protection
- IP leak protection
- Handshake encryption
- Data authentication
- Integrated firewalls
Pricing
Private Internet Access has an expensive monthly plan. But if you choose to sign up for the 2-year plan, you save a whopping 78% and get 2 months free. So, if you're signing up for this site, it makes sense to get the 2-year plan. Here's a look at the Private Internet Access pricing plans available:
Reviews
The Private Internet Access VPN provides exactly what its name implies: private access to the internet.
With some VPNs, private browsing on the internet isn't truly private, but that's not the case with Private Internet Access. It didn't log any of our browsing data, so we could surf the web freely, watch Netflix, and torrent files.
Private Internet Access is a longstanding veteran in the VPN industry — but a lot has changed in the past few years.
Private Internet Access may be cheap, but it still does not offer much value. On a positive note, it does have good VPN apps that are secure and user-friendly.
Best Low-Cost Annual VPN Plan
Private Internet Access is near the top of our rating, offering a full-featured VPN at a competitive price. It includes access to a global network with good speed, privacy and security features most users want like a kill switch and DNS leak protection, and a malware blocking add-on.
A high value VPN with a pile of interesting features
Speeds aren't the best, but otherwise this is a likeable VPN which gives you plenty for your money: loads of features, apps which run almost everywhere, some very useful expert-level tweaks, plus it unblocked almost every streaming service we tried.
An Affordable VPN Great For Work And Play
Commonly referred to as PIA, Private Internet Access stands out as our top-rated VPN service due to its large number of available servers across 77 locations and competitive pricing. A dedicated IP address add-on (for a small additional monthly fee) and the ability to use 10 devices simultaneously give small businesses and remote workers much to love as well.
A refined and powerful VPN service
Private Internet Access offers a robust VPN service with advanced network settings, an excellent app interface, and strong speed test scores. It boasts features beyond VPN protection, but it needs to undergo a third-party audit.
Rated #8 out of 53 VPNs
If you use a VPN more to protect your privacy and less for streaming, PIA is a solid choice. It’s great for torrenters, Linux users, and securing unprotected wi-fi hotspots. I wouldn’t recommend it for people who want access to a lot of different streaming services or those living in China.
Deceptively simple and highly customizable, PIA’s user experience is what you make of it.
Aside from winning the “Most Literal Name on the Planet” award, Private Internet Access VPN deserves recognition for its strong security posture and its depths of customizability.
This veteran VPN remains a consistently reliable provider
PIA is an excellent VPN service that offers some unusual features not often seen in run-of-the-mill providers. While speeds are fairly average, power users will appreciate its great privacy, torrenting tools and all the added extras, while its capable Netflix unblocking is the cherry on top.
