VPN Deal of the Week: Private Internet Access drops to $1.75 per month – and it's an expert's dream

Private Internet Access on a Macbook — (Image credit: Future)

Private Internet Access (PIA) has been around for a long time. It's an industry veteran, and considered one of the best VPNs.

Its cheap price has always been a big selling point, usually sitting around $2 per month. But for a limited time, you can grab PIA for even less, and it's one of the best VPN deals around at the moment.

PIA's plans

2 Years + 2 months FREE: $1.75 per month ($45.55 upfront)
6 months: $3.75 per month ($45 upfront)
1 month: $11.95

Customizable and expert focused

Private Internet Access protocol settings — (Image credit: Future)

PIA's biggest selling point is its customization and technical focus. Beginners can use it easily enough, but experts will reap the full benefits of its features.

When selecting your desired protocol, you can customize the level of encryption, ports, network drivers, and packet size. There's a regular and advanced kill switch, and its split tunneling feature is the most comprehensive out of any major VPN.

Desktop apps give you more network and DNS controls, and PIA offers P2P and port forwarding support – seeing it named as our top torrenting VPN. An independently audited no-logs policy, and open-source apps enhance its privacy credentials.

PIA uses secure RAM-only servers, and offers one in every US state. It doesn't give an overall server count, but it's rumored to be over 10,000. It has 152 server locations in 91 countries worldwide.

Its app UI is simple and boasts a giant on/off button in the middle of the dashboard – similar to its fellow Kape owned VPNs, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. There's no difference in mobile and desktop app design, and an unlimited device connection policy means you don't have to worry about any registration limits.

Some major drawbacks

Private Internet Access on a Macbook and iPhone — (Image credit: Future)

Speed and performance is arguably PIA's biggest weakness. Its speeds are significantly slower than the fastest VPNs and it can't match the best streaming VPNs either.

Our last speed test saw it measure a peak WireGuard speed of 621 Mbps. This certainly isn't slow. But considering its rivals are all capable of exceeding 1,000 Mbps, it's disappointing.

Its streaming service unblocking power is so-so, and despite having streaming-optimized servers, it struggled in our tests. It failed to unblock US Amazon Prime Video, and it took a few attempts to see success with US Disney+, and UK Netflix. It's not terrible, but some hiccups, combined with a lack of speed make other VPNs a more suitable streaming option.

However, its focus on experts, and super cheap price, makes it a good choice for some users.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.