Private Internet Access vs Proton VPN: Price, Privacy and Features

Private Internet Access and Proton VPN offer two credible approaches to a private internet connection. PIA emphasizes affordable long subscriptions, unlimited devices and detailed desktop routing. Proton combines a broad paid network with Secure Core, censorship-resistant connection options and an ongoing free service. Both publish app code and independent privacy assessments, so choosing between them requires more than a jurisdiction label or a speed score.

This guide compares PIA’s standard subscription with Proton VPN Plus, then separates Proton Free, larger Proton bundles and optional add-ons. It uses researched offers, app documentation and privacy evidence. We did not perform controlled speed, leak or streaming tests. Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Quick verdict: PIA for value and control, Proton for broader privacy tools

Provider overviews: what you are buying

Private Internet Access

PIA is a US-based service owned by Kape Technologies. Its standard subscription supplies the VPN network and supported app controls; optional Dedicated IP and antivirus purchases have their own pricing and scope. Public app code, a RAM-only fleet claim and repeated independent assurance are meaningful parts of its privacy case.

Strengths: household device flexibility, cost over a long term, desktop app and subnet routing, and supported forwarding. Tradeoffs: no comparable permanent free tier, fewer listed countries than Proton, and narrower mobile/TV feature parity. An advanced desktop menu does not imply the same tools exist on iPhone.

Our Private Internet Access review explains its everyday app controls and plan choices in more detail.

Check PIA’s current offer

Proton VPN

Proton VPN operates from Switzerland within the wider Proton ecosystem. VPN Plus adds location selection, paid streaming and P2P support, NetShield and Secure Core. Proton Unlimited and other bundles combine additional Proton services; their storage or email benefits should not be credited to a standalone VPN Plus subscription.

Strengths: more listed countries, public annual no-logs reports, Secure Core routing, Stealth and a usable Free plan. Tradeoffs: ten paid connections, a higher recorded renewal cost, and platform-specific restrictions aroundsplit tunneling and forwarding. Some newer Mac features remain experimental or early access.

See our Proton VPN review for a fuller explanation of Free, Plus and the broader bundles.

Compare Proton VPN plans

Pricing: compare the bill, covered months and renewal

PIA’s general USD purchase page confirmed its current offers. Proton’s dynamic pricing page returned incomplete numeric fields, including placeholder totals. The Proton amounts here are previously checked USD acquisition offers, clearly labeled rather than presented as a freshly confirmed cart. Taxes, currency, account status, bonus months and campaigns can change the result.

Proton’s recorded first payment is $7.24 smaller, but PIA’s covers fifteen more months. PIA therefore has the lower monthly equivalent for these long offers. The renewal columns annualize different billing cycles: PIA’s $26.33 is $79 divided by three years, while Proton’s recorded $83.88 is a one-year bill. The annualized difference is about $57.55; PIA is still charged $79 at renewal, not $26.33.

A longer discount is useful only if you keep using the service

Paying for three years can be sensible for a household that has already checked its apps and routes. It is less attractive if youneed a VPN only for a short trip or are unsure about compatibility. A monthly plan costs more per month but keeps the commitment small. Proton Free can establish whether the basic app works on your device, although it cannot establish Plus streaming or forwarding behavior.

Save the final checkout’s initial total, covered period, next billing date and renewal amount before purchasing. A displayed “per month” price on a long plan is an equivalent, not an installment arrangement. Keep bundle upgrades and add-ons separate when comparing costs; also check whether existing Proton services already supply the VPN entitlement you need.

Proton Free: useful protection with deliberate limits

Proton Free offers unlimited data, no advertising and one active VPN connection. It is supported by paid subscriptions rather than a short trial countdown. The app first selects the fastest available free server for your location; it does not let you freely choose any country from the paid network.

The current free-server guide lists the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Requesting a change selects another server randomly. The first change has a 45-second cooldown, followed by ten-minute intervals for additional changes. Repeated changes are not a dependable substitute for manual country selection.

Free is a good fit for ordinary browsing, public Wi-Fi and trying the interface without paying. For a particular streaming country, inbound P2P connections or Secure Core, evaluate Plus instead. PIA’s refund-backed paid purchase also differs from an ongoing free account: payment and a timely refund request are involved.

Protocols, kill switches and leak protection

Both services support established encrypted VPN protocols, but app menus differ by platform. PIA emphasizes WireGuard and OpenVPN, with more OpenVPN configuration options on desktop. Proton’s current apps broadly use WireGuard UDP/TCP, Stealth and Smart Protocol, while Linux and manual configurations retain additional OpenVPN paths. An old all-platform protocol list can be misleading.

Proton Protocols is a connection architecture, not a universal new cipher

Proton’s Windows release notes introduced Proton Protocols in stable version 5.1.5 in July 2026. Stable 5.1.8 in September included split-tunneling and IPv6 fixes. Some other support pages still use beta wording, so availability should follow the exact platform and release channel. Neither a new architecture nor a post-quantum roadmap establishes that quantum-resistant VPN protection has shipped everywhere.

Check protection during reconnection and everyday interruptions

A kill switch can block unintended traffic when the tunnel drops; stricter modes may also prevent browsing before the VPN connects. Check sleep/wake behavior, Wi-Fi-to-mobile switching, captive portals and restart behavior on the devices you actually use. PIA’s adjustable OpenVPN settings can help compatibility, but changing encryption without understanding the setting is unnecessary for most users.

IPv6 handling also depends on the app and route: a provider may tunnel supported IPv6 traffic or block it to avoid exposure. Native apps, browser extensions and manual configurations do not automatically share every DNS, kill-switch or routing safeguard. We have not established a leak-test winner from a marketing checklist.

Privacy: independent evidence, public code and legal context

Both providers have more substantial evidence than an unaudited no-logs slogan. PIA announced its third Deloitte Audit Romania engagement in February 2026, following earlier reviews in 2022 and 2024. It addressed infrastructure configuration, operational and incident processes, management systems and token-based Dedicated IP controls under ISAE 3000 (Revised). The full report is available publicly.

Proton’s June 2026 publication presents its fifth consecutive annual Securitum no-logs infrastructure assessment and links to the current and previous reports. Its production apps are open source, with separate client-security review history. PIA also publishes production app code. App inspectability and server-side assurance address different trust questions; one does not replace the other.

US versus Swiss jurisdiction is relevant to legal procedures and your threat model, but it is not a complete privacy ranking. PIA has disclosed prior court cases in which it could not supply activity logs and publishes transparency material. Proton’s current VPN transparency report likewise describes legally approved requests it could not fulfill with identifying connection records. These are historical evidence and provider disclosures, not promises about every future scenario.

A no-activity-logs commitment does not mean the provider has no account, subscription, payment or voluntarily supplied support information. A VPN also cannot erase cookies, account logins or browser fingerprints. The EFF’s VPN selection guidance explains why provider trust and the problem you want to solve matter. For browser identity questions, read our VPN, proxy and anti-detect browser comparison.

Speed, latency and gaming: route quality matters

There is no controlled Mbps or ping dataset behind this update. Both providers advertise high-capacity infrastructure, and both support modern protocols. A 10 Gbps server link is capacity shared across traffic, not a promise that your home connection will reach that throughput. ISP routing, server load, distance, protocol and your device can change results substantially.

Proton Plus offers Moderate NAT for peer-connectivity problems on supported desktop and mobile platforms. It reduces mapping randomization, which the provider describes as a small privacy tradeoff. It cannot be combined with Proton port forwarding and is not a universal guarantee of an “open” console NAT state. PIA’s forwarding helps only applications and eligible routes that can use the assigned port.

For a useful personal comparison, keep the device, connection type, destination and time window similar; measure without the VPN, then repeat with each ordinary route. Also reconnect after sleep and check the real game or video call. Our gaming VPN guide explains how to assess latency and connection features.

Server coverage: more countries versus detailed US choices

PIA’s current directory headline lists 104 countries and all 50 US states. Older graphics still show 91 countries, and its directory warns that recent expansion can leave the detailed table behind. We use the current headline with that limitation, rather than repeating the older figure or asserting a dependable total server count.

Proton’s checked directory lists 149 countries, 196 locations and 20,799 total servers, including 17,984 Plus servers and 125 Secure Core servers. Secure Core covers 68 exit countries. These figures move independently and should not be treated as counts of unique physical machines or directly comparable accounting units.

Proton has 45 more listed countries in these snapshots. PIA’s US state selection can be more useful if your actual need is a regional US endpoint. For either provider, confirm the particular city, feature and physical or virtual location of interest. Server quantity alone says little about congestion, redundancy, peering or the performance of your chosen route.

Streaming: paid plans, native TV apps and service rules

Both paid services support streaming use, but we have not verified a current success rate for Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video or any other catalog. Proton Free is not a substitute for Plus’s supported streaming locations. An exit that works for one app or region can behave differently elsewhere, and service restrictions can change.

Check Fire TV’s operating system before downloading

Amazon’s newer Vega OS devices are different from Android-based Fire OS models. Proton now documents separate installation paths, including its September 2026 Vega OS release. An Android APK is not installable on Vega OS. This makes the actual operating system a more useful compatibility check than the words “Fire TV Stick” alone.

Smart DNS and encrypted VPN access are separate

PIA offers a separate Smart DNS setup for compatible devices. It changes supported DNS behavior without supplying the encryption and IP protection of a VPN tunnel; device registration and service availability need checking. A router tunnel encrypts traffic leaving the router, but attached devices share its exit and router-level settings. Prefer a native app when it supplies the required features.

Netflix’s VPN viewing guidance says VPN viewing can be limited to globally licensed titles, with restrictions for ad-supported plans and live events. Review your service’s rules and assess your own device before committing. Our streaming VPN guide covers app and TV setup choices.

Torrenting and port forwarding: both have useful paid paths

For lawful P2P transfers, both providers offer supported paid routes and VPN-side forwarding. This is a closer comparison than PIA versus a provider that offers no ordinary forwarding. The deciding factors are your operating system, eligible region, client configuration and ability to keep the assignment active.

PIA’s current Linux script guide explicitly excludes US regions and warns that closing the script can let forwarding expire after fifteen minutes or less even while the VPN stays connected. Proton’s current guide supports Windows and Linux app workflows plus early-access macOS forwarding. Its manual configurations use NAT-PMP; a working tunnel alone does not establish a working inbound mapping.

Configure the client as carefully as the VPN

Enter the assigned port in your P2P client, update it after reconnection when needed, and bind the client to the VPN interface where supported. A kill switch adds protection during interruption, but correct interface binding helps prevent the client from selecting another network path. Proton specifically recommends disabling the torrent client’s router UPnP/NAT-PMP option to avoid conflicting automatic mappings.

An open port allows inbound traffic to the listening application, so keep that application updated and expose only what you need. A port checker can show “closed” when no application is listening even if the mapping exists. Forwarding may improve peer reachability; it cannot guarantee faster downloads or remove your responsibility for lawful use. See our torrenting VPN comparison for the broader feature checklist.

Advanced features: routing, filtering and specialized tools

PIA Multi-Hop and Proton Secure Core solve different routing problems

PIA’s supported desktop Multi-Hop pairs OpenVPN with a Shadowsocks or SOCKS5 proxy hop. Its documented outbound arrangement is device → proxy → VPN → internet. It is not two full VPN-server tunnels, and standalone SOCKS5 does not provide encryption by itself. The combined VPN configuration still uses a protected tunnel.

Proton Secure Core sends traffic through controlled entry infrastructure in Switzerland, Sweden or Iceland before the selected VPN exit. It is designed to reduce reliance on the exit alone in higher-risk situations. This extra route increases distance and can reduce throughput; it is unnecessary for ordinary browsing on a nearby server when that additional protection is not part of your threat model.

Split tunneling: read the platform column

Proton’s Mac exclusions require WireGuard or Stealth and a network extension. Safari and other WebKit apps can remain routed through the VPN or interact unexpectedly because networking processes are shared. Proton’s guide also says split tunneling conflicts with kill-switch modes on most platforms, with Windows an explicit exception. PIA has more documented desktop IP/subnet and DNS rule flexibility, but excluded traffic deliberately travels outside the tunnel.

MACE versus NetShield

Both are primarily domain filters for ads, trackers and known malicious destinations. PIA MACE requires an active supported VPN connection; its separate iOS Safari content blocker has different scope. Proton NetShield is included in paid plans and now matches subdomains as well as root domains. Android’s Private DNS can override NetShield, so its setting should be Off or Automatic when you want Proton’s filtering.

NetShield’s adult-content option is platform/build-dependent: current setup help describes Windows, while Android release notes also record adult-content filtering. Do not assume identical controls across every app. Neither NetShield nor MACE scans arbitrary downloads, removes every video advertisement or replaces device antivirus. A false positive may require temporarily changing filtering settings to complete a legitimate task.

Stealth, Tor routes and add-ons

Proton’s Stealth and Smart Protocol give supported apps additional options when a network blocks conventional VPN traffic. PIA’s proxy-assisted OpenVPN route and configuration controls can serve compatibility needs, but neither provider can promise access through every filtering system. Choose a supported route rather than assuming a protocol label applies to a router or browser extension.

Proton currently documents Tor over VPN on paid Tor-marked servers. It routes supported traffic into Tor but is slower and does not provide all Tor Browser’s browser-level defenses; the Tor path supports TCP rather than arbitrary UDP traffic. PIA’s Dedicated IP is a separate paid option for consistent-IP access, not proof of greater anonymity. A stable address and account logins can make activity easier to associate.

Apps, devices and everyday usability

Both cover major desktop and mobile systems with native apps, plus documented TV and manual/router paths. PIA’s unlimited simultaneous paid connections are the clear household advantage if you routinely exceed ten active devices. Proton Plus’s ten slots can be enough for most smaller setups; Free’s single slot is a different proposition. Installations are not the same as simultaneous connections.

Mac users should verify extension permissions and experimental-feature limits. Linux users should confirm distribution, architecture and official package availability; Proton’s current GUI split rules are not available in every unofficial package. PIA documents Linux desktop controls and manual scripts, while Proton now documents both GUI and CLI features. Headless and desktop setups require separate evaluation.

For local printers, casting and home media, check LAN access before assuming a broken app. A router can protect multiple attached devices, but all share its selected exit, and router support does not automatically reproduce native-app filtering or kill-switch behavior. Browser extensions protect browser traffic within their documented scope, rather than every application on the computer.

Support, cancellation and refund terms

PIA advertises 24/7 chat and email support alongside app/manual setup help. Proton documents priority support and live chat for paid accounts, with help-center and contact options for other users. We did not measure wait times or resolution quality, so an invented support-response chart would not help you choose.

Proton’s current general terms describe a full refund for an eligible initial purchase when both cancellation and the request occur within thirty days. They exclude cash/bank transfers and limit refund requests to once per user. This is different from prorated account credit when changing a paid plan; do not repeat older blanket claims that the initial guarantee only refunds unused days.

PIA’s checkout says the guarantee is for new subscribers, while its published terms also discuss initial purchases and/or renewals with exclusions. Confirm applicable eligibility instead of promising or excluding all renewal refunds. With either provider, identify your billing channel, save the invoice and submit an explicit refund request within the relevant window. Turning off automatic renewal alone is not a refund request.

What the charts establish—and what they cannot

The visuals compare recorded first payments, annualized renewal terms and advertised country coverage. They support specific conclusions: PIA’s checked long plan has a lower effective monthly cost, and Proton lists more paid countries. They do not establish a market-share ranking, a privacy score or a measured speed advantage. Unlimited devices are described in text rather than converted into a fabricated numerical bar.

Final verdict: choose for your real devices and routes

PIA is our value and customization recommendation. Its current long offer, unlimited connections and desktop rule flexibility fit large households and users who maintain their own network configuration. It also has substantial public privacy evidence. Its smaller advertised country footprint matters only if a missing or unsuitable location affects your use.

Proton VPN is our broader-country and specialized-privacy recommendation. Secure Core, Stealth, annual public assessments and Free are useful distinctions. Paid forwarding is also credible competition for PIA. Its higher recorded renewal and ten-device limit are practical costs to weigh, while newer Mac and TV features should be judged by their actual release status.

For another comparison with Proton’s privacy tools, see ExpressVPN versus Proton VPN. Our ExpressVPN versus Surfshark comparison adds another established unlimited-device alternative.

If you also want NordVPN’s specialty features, compare PIA versus NordVPN and Proton VPN versus NordVPN. Use the same device, budget and route requirements across each shortlist.

Frequently asked questions

Research methodology and sources

Offers and features can change by account, country, app build and purchase channel. Confirm the exact cart and current compatibility before paying. A VPN does not guarantee anonymity, reduced ping or access to a particular streaming catalog.