Private Internet Access Review, Pricing & Features

What is Private Internet Access?

Private Internet Access is a VPN software used by a wide range of businesses and individuals to access blocked content, split tunnel connections, and gain a dedicated IP.

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Table of Contents

• What is Private Internet Access?
• Private Internet Access Review Summary
• Private Internet Access Pricing & Cost
• Private Internet Access Features
  • Location & Device Coverage
  • Security
  • Advanced Features
• Private Internet Access Customer Service
• Private Internet Access Alternatives & Competitors
• Is Private Internet Access Right for You?

Private Internet Access Review Summary

Private Internet Access was founded in 2010 by the London Trust Media and Andrew Lee. Since then, it has merged with UK-based company Kape Technologies and become one of the most popular VPN software solutions in the market.

Private Internet Access’s features are built for small businesses and individuals. It is particularly optimized for U.S. users. Its strongest features are its flexible security, split tunneling, and dedicated IP support.

Private Internet Access is more affordable than competitors. Its pricing starts at $9.95 per month, and it does not offer a free plan.

Overall, Private Internet Access is simultaneously robust and very affordable for its feature set. It is built for customers in need of secure VPN software for a very low cost. However, this comes with a trade-off in international optimization and fewer server locations. Private Internet Access does, however, come with advanced features such as split tunneling, ad-blocking, and dedicated IP support.

Private Internet Access Pricing & Cost

Private Internet Access is relatively affordable when compared to alternatives. You have three pricing options. Users can pay $9.95 for one month, $119.40 for a year, or $388.05 for three years.

As of December 2021, Private Internet Access offers discounts for their yearly and three year plans, charging $39.95 and $79.00 respectively. Private Internet Access does not offer a free plan.

Private Internet Access Features

Let’s discuss the major features that Private Internet Access offers and how they can help your VPN needs. Product screenshots are included to add context and demonstrate the user interface.

Location & Device Coverage

Private Internet Access offers 104 server locations in 78 countries. Compare this with ExpressVPN, which offers more servers in 94 countries.

Private Internet Access offers support for a wide range of devices and operating systems:

You can use Private Internet Access for up to ten devices at once.

Security

Private Internet Access has standard security measures that many other VPN software solutions offer. Customers might feel more comfortable with ProtonVPN when making their purchase decision, due to its transparency. Still, Private Internet Access offers top-level security for its customers.

The strongest security feature Private Internet Access offers is its flexible encryption settings. By default users’ network connections are secured through AES-256. This is one of the most advanced and standard encryption types. However, if advanced users want to tweak settings, they can choose AES-128, as well as choosing UDP over OpenVPN. We generally recommend most users keep these encryption settings as their defaults.

Because Private Internet Access utilizes OpenVPN, it is regularly tested by cybersecurity testers and professionals.

Private Internet Access also does not keep logs, which means that your personal information and history will not be compromised if a cyberattack were ever to occur.

And, of course, Private Internet Access offers a kill switch. This is a standard feature in all VPN software solutions. This can be automatically set up in the application’s preferences.

Advanced Features

Private Internet Access comes with three advanced features: Split tunneling, dedicated IPs, and ad blocking.

With split tunneling, you can route select devices and applications through Private Internet Access’s encrypted servers and allow others to use your local IP. This has several use cases:

Private Internet Access also allows you to attain a dedicated IP address. Dedicated IP pricing depends on the length of your plan. If you are choosing the monthly plan, a dedicated IP costs $5.00 per month. For yearly and three year plans, it costs a one time payment of $51.00 and $135.00 respectively.

The main benefit of dedicated IPs is that they are less likely to be blacklisted. This helps users avoid CAPTCHAs, and protects their IoT devices as well.

Finally, with PIA Mace, Private Internet Access users can block ads and protect themselves from trackers and malware. PIA Mace requires no additional downloads or extensions, and can help users use less mobile data if browsing on their phone.

Private Internet Access Customer Service

Private Internet Access’s customer support team is very responsive. Customer support is available through both email and live chat, 24/7.

Private Internet Access Alternatives & Competitors

Private Internet Access has a number of competitors. Its most comparable alternatives are ExpressVPN and ProtonVPN.

Here’s a full list of Private Internet Access competitors:

Is Private Internet Access Right for You?

Overall, Private Internet Access is simultaneously robust and very affordable for its feature set. It is built for customers in need of secure VPN software for a very low cost. However, this comes with a trade-off in international optimization and fewer server locations. Private Internet Access does, however, come with advanced features such as split tunneling, ad-blocking, and dedicated IP support.

If you're interested, you can try Private Internet Access today.