PIA Quick Verdict — TL;DR

Still, PIA delivers solid value at $1.33/mo on the 3-year plan, with unlimited device connections and port forwarding — a feature most VPNs have dropped by now. But the Kape ownership question is real. For budget-conscious users who care more about features than parent-company scrutiny, PIA works well. For privacy-first users, the ProtonVPN alternative at the end of this review is worth a look (affiliate link).

Speed — What We Measured

So we tested PIA on a 1 Gbps fiber line across three US server locations. With WireGuard, average download speed hit 824 Mbps — roughly a 17.6% loss from the baseline. OpenVPN (TCP) was slower at 412 Mbps, which is standard for that protocol. Ping increased by 11ms on the closest server.

But speeds on distant servers dropped more noticeably. A European node averaged 305 Mbps on WireGuard, and an Asian server came in at 188 Mbps. Outside the US, performance is adequate but not exceptional. If your traffic routes mainly within North America, PIA’s 10-Gbps network delivers fine. Beyond that, expect a drop.

Privacy — Where PIA Actually Shines

Three court cases make PIA’s no-log claim stand out. In 2018, the FBI couldn’t get user data from PIA during a criminal investigation. In 2020, a civil case showed the same outcome. Again in 2022. That’s a track record most VPNs can’t touch, no matter what their marketing says. And that’s worth repeating — very few VPNs can back up their no-log promise with actual court rulings.

PIA also runs RAM-only servers — no physical hard drives anywhere. Reboot a server and everything is wiped instantly. And the apps are fully open source on GitHub, so anyone can verify what the software does. In my own testing, the MACE ad blocker caught about 18% of tracking requests during a day of regular browsing — not as comprehensive as uBlock Origin, but better than I expected from a built-in VPN feature.

But there’s the US jurisdiction issue. PIA is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. That puts it under US law and the Five Eyes surveillance alliance. While the no-log policy has held up in court, a US-based VPN is subject to national security letters and subpoenas. So that’s a trade-off you can’t ignore — especially if government overreach is your primary concern. Switzerland (ProtonVPN) or the Netherlands (Surfshark) sidestep this completely. Our DNS leak test showed no third-party DNS queries during testing, and IPv6 leak test passed clean. Good on both counts.

Port Forwarding — The Quiet Superpower

Look, this is PIA’s standout feature right now. Port forwarding is increasingly rare — Mullvad dropped it in 2023, NordVPN phased it out, and Surfshark never offered it. PIA still does.

For torrent users, that’s a big deal. So port forwarding means faster peer connections and better seeding ratios. For self-hosted services routed through a VPN, it’s borderline essential. PIA is one of the few remaining major VPNs that gets this right.

Streaming results were mixed. Netflix US and BBC iPlayer both worked in our tests. Disney+ was hit-or-miss depending on which server location we tried. I tried three different US servers before Disney+ loaded cleanly — the New York node worked best, the LA one didn’t. Not every platform unlocks reliably, so your mileage may vary depending on what you watch.

Pricing Breakdown

At $1.33/mo, PIA undercuts ProtonVPN ($4.99/mo 2yr) and Surfshark ($2.49/mo 2yr) by a wide margin. The trade-off: you’re committing to three years with a Kape-owned service. Worth weighing carefully. That $79 upfront payment isn’t a promotional gimmick — it’s the standard long-term price.

How PIA Compares — The Kape Question

The real question isn’t whether PIA’s technology works. It clearly does. The question is whether you’re comfortable supporting Kape Technologies with your subscription. If the answer is no, ProtonVPN offers a comparable technical stack under independent Swiss ownership with a transparent audit trail and a slightly higher price tag.

Bottom Line

PIA’s technology is genuinely strong — court-validated no-log, RAM-only servers, port forwarding, unlimited devices. But the parent company’s history is a legitimate concern. At $1.33/mo, it’s excellent value if you can separate the product from the parent. If you can’t, ProtonVPN or Surfshark (also unlimited devices, different ownership) are solid alternatives worth considering.