Private Internet Access is a VPN divine service that promises to protect your secrecy on all your devices and let you hide your location to release message at very low-priced prices . That sounds like a win combination .
Intrigued by the pass , I decided to test out the amphetamine and reliability of thisleading VPN servicing . For the saki of brevity , individual net Access abbreviates its long name to PIA . In my review , I ’ll cover PIA ’s subscription pricing , usability , feature , customer service , and more .
Tiers and pricing
It ’s $ 12 monthly , $ 40 per annum , or $ 80 for three long time . You get a courteous reward if you ’re quick to make a long dedication . Subscribing for a year trend the average price to $ 3 per month , while the three - class plan cuts that to $ 2 . You also get three incentive month with the longest design .
If you hear a month of PIA and keep it for three calendar month , you might as well go for the one-year architectural plan . After six calendar month , you ’ve almost paid for a three - yr subscription .
Every PIA plan supports unlimited connection so you may use it on all your phones , tablets , computers , and other attached equipment . That ’s why it order high on our list of thebest VPNs for multiple devices .
Design
As PIA was downloading , the webpage gave me instructions to set up the app . The process is simple but it ’s never a bad idea to cater help during setup .
The same is on-key of the installer , giving a ready tour along the elbow room . For example , PIA reminded me of all the support platform so I could expend the VPN on all my equipment .
After induction , the app shrinks to a tiny window docked to the system tray at the bottom right of my screen . I opened the preferences and come up the option to make it a movable windowpane .
The main window has an pointer at the bottom to flesh out and show more selection , but it ’s still a little , narrow jury that feels strangle . That said , PIA manages to pack several quick toggle , best-loved server , and information in a small blank space so it could figure out well for notebooks with small screen .
The preferences window contract a more modernistic approach with tabs in a left sidebar for easy access to various VPN and app choice .
Features
A good VPN should propose first-class seclusion and security system without sacrifice too much internet speed . I found PIA to link up quickly , but performance was quite ho-hum , reaching just 172 Mbps when plug in to a nearby U.S. host .
I ’m just across the border in Canada with a 900 Mbps Ethernet connection . tight , streaming VPNs likeExpressVPN , yield SpeedTest results over 700 Mbps , so I dug into the configurations to see if I could improve PIA ’s download speed .
I mark it defaulted to OpenVPN , so I change over to WireGuard which is usually faster . I also take a different server . That made a immense divergence , increasing download rate to 555 Mbps , about median for my organisation when using a VPN . Upload speed was also goodly , reach out 51 Mbps with a ping of 36ms .
I tried several server in Canada but the good I could get is 92 Mbps down and 26 Mbps up with a Ping River of 41ms . Perhaps PIA ’s Canadian waiter are overcharge . Latency was about the same as the U.S. server but the speed lagged far behind .
remote connectedness are always slower but I was disappointed to get just 15 Mbps for France and 19 Mbps for the UK . I switch to OpenVPN and that helped significantly . UK speed increase to 88 Mbps and France skyrocket to 426 Mbps .
That gave me enough hope to strain far - flung Australia . The 122 Mbps download rate was reasonable for range down under . Germany break the cast for overseas connections , posting its undecomposed download speed of 348 Mbps on WireGuard .
During testing , my internet stopped working . The difficulty was a bad VPN connection , but PIA still protected my privacy thanks to its default putting to death switching that draw a blank internet access in pillow slip the VPN drops . That ’s a jolly vernacular feature among VPNs , but VPN host issuing are rare . I interchange to a unlike waiter and reconnected with no further issue .
PIA also include blocker to preclude malware , ads , and tracker . I tested its malware detection by visiting Wicar , a web site that host online cybersecurity psychometric test . PIA embarrass 10 of the 13 menace , which is n’t very telling .
The skilful antivirus softwareblocks all dangerous downloads , scans for existing malware , and secures your browser app from know exploits , so I ’d recommend a seperate tool for that tariff .
Support
When I visited PIA ’s avail center , I saw the usual options to search or browse support papers and drug user forums or contact PIA for help . The contact release took me to a web form to open a ticket for email livelihood .
I require to chat , so I enter and saw a chat button at the bottom right . I filled in my electronic mail computer address and reason for contacting support , and a bouncy federal agent get in in moment . The response came quickly yet were quite helpful . I got the sense I was speak with someone familiar with VPNs who was eager to help .
When I involve which protocol was quickest , the factor correctly identify WireGuard . I followed up with a enquiry about why OpenVPN gave better swiftness sometimes . The broker clarify that there were many variable star , but OpenVPN servers could have less load than WireGuard , resulting in truehearted downloads even though the communications protocol is n’t as effective .
Privacy and security
PIA ’s privacy insurance policy clearly posit the company wo n’t apportion , deal , rent , or trade your information to third - party advertizer . It uses your account information solely to provide the military service you ante up for .
exit further , PIA accumulate only what ’s command for your account : your email address and payment info . The company has regular independent audits to verify that PIA ’s security measures is full and user browse bodily process is not log . All data use destruction - to - end encryption so even bug data would be undecipherable .
Is PIA right for you?
PIA is a downcast - cost VPN with thousands of servers in 91 countries , providing access to international capacity that would otherwise be geo - blocked . It also includes dark web CAT scan for your email address to protect your identity , and basic malware and advertizing blocking .
If you want a single - subscription answer , Surfshark is a top - rated VPNthat also includes verycomplete and effective antivirus feature .
While it ’s not the fast VPN , I measure good speeds in most locations . In some cases , I had to exchange protocols from WireGuard to OpenVPN . Some VPNs , likethe fast and popular NordVPN , offer three or more protocols .
Overall , PIA is a solid choice for an inexpensive VPN that supports unlimited twist connections . The narrow user user interface is n’t my front-runner , but it could be a good solvent for a diminished notebook computer with limited screen space .
