Abang Tech: PIA VPN review: Has it got what it takes to be up there with the best?

PIA VPN – short for “Private Internet Access VPN” – styles itself as the world’s most trusted VPN service. These claims are backed up by a wide range of recommendations from respected US media outlets and an impressive list of features and specs. The good first impressions don’t end there; the apps are slick and customisable, with some powerful features and more configuration options than on many rival VPNs.

Plus, with over a million paying customers, it has to be doing something right. Yet, this is a highly competitive market, and PIA is going up against some of the biggest names in the business, including ExpressVPN, NordVPN and CyberGhost. But has PIA got what it takes to put it above our other leading VPN services?

PIA VPN review: What you need to know

PIA was founded in 2010 and now has over 3,335 servers across 30 countries. Its biggest selling points include dedicated apps for nearly every major platform, along with support for 10 simultaneous connections, which is great because most VPNs only go as far as five. You can download clients for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android and Linux, while there are extensions for the Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers and instructions are provided for sideloading the app onto an Amazon Fire device.

A quick look at the Guides page of the website also throws up instructions for router installation. Like most VPNs, PIA has its servers concentrated in North America and Europe, but there are locations in the Middle East, Australasia and Asia; only Africa and South America seem underserved. While we’ve seen other VPNs with a wider global reach, at least you’ve got a decent set of options spread across the U.S, and even three different locations in the UK.

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PIA VPN review: Setup and basic use

PIA is unusual in that you don’t sign up with your preferred username and password. Instead, you sign up for the service and get your log-in details emailed to you. It’s also worth mentioning that you can pay by PayPal, credit card or Amazon Pay, or using a range of digital and cryptocurrencies. It’s easy to find and download the app after you sign up, and we liked that the service is up and running only a few minutes after you install it.

With its Windows client, PIA has found a good balance between advanced features, speed and ease-of-use. It launches as a system tray applet; to connect all you need to do is click the massive amber button that occupies almost the entire top half. Once connected, you can see your original IP address and virtual IP address or – with a click on the down arrow – a whole mass of additional information and options, including shortcuts for favourite locations, speed and usage meters and a bunch of quick settings to, say, switch between light and dark themes or turn notifications on or off.

To change locations you just click the panel below the connect/disconnect button, which takes you to a list of the available locations, organised by country. You can favourite locations you use regularly, and there’s a Ping speed listed to give you some idea of latency and connection speed. It might not be obvious which one you need for P2P or streaming, but other than that everything is clear.

For some users, PIA is going to score high for the range of its technical options. You can set the app to launch on startup or connect on launch, but it goes further than most other VPN offerings. For example, there’s a configurable killswitch, and even an advanced PIA Mace feature that blocks domains used for ads, trackers and malware.

You can also set up split-tunnelling, where you can select certain apps to connect either inside or outside the VPN, and configure almost every aspect of the VPN connection – from the type to the encryption level and the network ports. For extra security, PIA also allows you to connect through an additional proxy location, giving you an extra layer of obfuscation. You don’t have to use any of this stuff if you don’t want to, but if you do, PIA goes further than most other VPNs.

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PIA VPN review: Privacy and security

One of PIA’s selling points is that it keeps no traffic logs and it doesn’t collect or log any traffic that uses its network. What’s even more commendable is that US authorities have demanded their log data twice only to be sent away empty-handed. PIA’s own privacy policy states that while it will comply with valid subpoena requests, its legal team will scrutinize each one to check that it falls both within the letter and the spirit of the law. Over and above that, they may even go back and attempt to narrow the scope of the subpoena or give the user involved an opportunity to object.

What’s more, PIA publishes a bi-annual transparency report that tells us that during the last six month period it received six subpoenas, but no logs were produced. This is a good thing, as PIA is based in the US, which would normally have set alarm bells ringing over attitudes to online privacy and the US’s leadership of the FiveEyes intelligence alliance. If you’re really concerned about state scrutiny then you might want to opt for a VPN provider outside US territory, but for most of us, PIA should be absolutely fine.

There’s certainly little to gripe about when it comes to privacy protection; our tests revealed no inconsistencies in terms of IP address, location or DNS queries, and websites behaved as if we were located at the VPN’s exit point. What’s more, PIA gives you so many options to configure its connection settings, including a choice of OpenVPN and the new WireGuard protocol, which is designed to balance high levels of security with speed. You can even ramp up the encryption levels and security during the initial handshake. Few other VPNs go into so much detail.

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PIA VPN review: Performance

PIA is one of the fastest VPNs around. With the default quick connect location download speeds dropped by just 3.89%, while upload speeds dropped by 4.57%. Even more impressively, the download/upload reduction on a link to the Netherlands was just 0.13% and 3.65% respectively. Even connecting from the UK to Germany, we saw speeds drop by only 4.68% and 4%. Other VPNs have done better in one or other of these locations, but PIA seems consistently fast.

At longer distances, it’s not quite as speedy as HMA! Pro, though the latter is a bit sneaky in using virtual locations. Connecting to a US East coast server we saw download speeds reduced by 30.63% and upload speeds by only 3.37%. Connect to Singapore or Australia and you’ll take a greater hit, with download speeds going down by 67% to 79%, but that’s hardly unusual. You’ll be happy to know that even with the drop both connections were still entirely usable for anything bar Full HD or 4K video streaming – and even there we’re talking occasional pauses to buffer, not a slideshow. It’s also good to report that PIA currently unblocks both Netflix US and the BBC iPlayer without any fuss.

PIA VPN review: Mobile apps

PIA has done a great job of developing a signature style across its apps, and the Android and iOS versions maintain the same high-tech, expert feel as the Windows client. The Android app doesn’t have all the in-depth settings, but it still allows you to set the VPN to turn on or stay off for different apps, and you can turn on a kill switch or turn port forwarding on for your device. Again, there’s a feeling that PIA is aimed at expert users who want more control over their VPN.

Usually, at this point, I’d bemoan the lack of options in the iPad version, but even here there’s a nice surprise. PIA has a killswitch, a choice of network protocols and even a choice of encryption levels. It also includes a Safari ad and tracker blocker and plug-ins for Siri to connect and disconnect via voice. If you’re looking to use a VPN on your iPhone or iPad, this is one of the most fully-featured options.

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PIA VPN review: Support

PIA provides support through a mix of knowledgebase articles, guides, contact forms and email, with no phone or live chat support, which is a real shame considering most of our top VPN services provide 24/7 customer support. You can find most of the info you’re looking for in the articles and guides, which are clearly written and very comprehensive, covering both basic usage and in-depth configuration.

It’s a bit of a slog to fill in a contact form just to get an email reply, and the reply took a few hours to arrive (though we’ll cut PIA some slack for this at the moment). Thankfully, the replies were really informative and gave clear explanations of technical issues and company policy, so they were worth the wait.

PIA VPN review: Price

Like most VPNs, PIA is at its most expensive if you pay monthly; you’re looking at £9.99/mth. Pay yearly and that price drops to £32.49/year, which is huge drop, amounting to just £2.71/mnth. However, its cheapest plan is the two-year deal, which costs just £56.99 every two years.

This amounts to just £2.19/mnth, making PIA VPN one of the cheapest reliable VPNs currently on the market. And if that’s not enough, you even get two extra months completely free.

All subscription plans come with a 30-day moneyback guarantee and cover you for 10 devices, which makes a lot of sense if you have multiple PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones to protect.

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PIA VPN review: Verdict

In terms of features, design, performance and general ease-of-use, PIA is one of the best VPNs around. It’s fast and secure enough to use with confidence, and it gives you more options to tweak and configure your connection than the vast majority of other VPNs. It’s also good value, coming in at a lower cost than most high-end rivals while beating most of the competition at this price point on features.

In fact, the only reason not to recommend PIA is that it’s based in the US, but because PIA has a strong record with its privacy and logging practices, even that’s not a massive issue. If you’re looking for something simple to secure your laptop while networking then there are other equally-good choices, and the same goes for specialist applications like P2P, but PIA goes right up there with ExpressVPN and NordVPN as a great high-end VPN service.

PIA VPN review: Quick facts

Details	PIA VPN
Based in:	USA
Price:	£2.19/mnth for 2 years
Money-back guarantee:	Yes, 30 days
Devices:	10 simultaneous
Servers:	3,000+
Speed:	Good
24/7 customer support:	No
Netflix and Disney+:	Yes
BBC iPlayer:	Yes
Torrenting allowed:	No
Killswitch:	Yes
Multihop:	No
DNS leak:	No
Activity logging:	No