Private Internet Access Pricing 2026: Monthly, Yearly and 3-Year Costs

Private Internet Access (PIA) costs $11.95 a month on the monthly plan, $3.99 a month on the 1-year plan (billed $47.88) and $2.03 a month on the 3-year plan, billed $79 for 3 years plus 3 extra months. Unlike most VPNs, PIA's longer plans renew at the same price they start at, every year or every three years. Prices in US dollars, read on PIA's plan page on 27 October 2026.

That renewal detail is the reason PIA belongs on a security team's shortlist when the budget owner looks past year one. Rivals such as ExpressVPN and Proton VPN advertise a deep first-term discount and then renew at roughly two to three times their first-term yearly rate (our arithmetic). PIA's checkout prints a renewal price equal to the first charge, so the cost you approve today is the cost you will see at renewal, unless PIA changes its fees with notice.

Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 37 VPN tools as of 26 October 2026, and 57% of them are free, freemium or open source. PIA is a paid-only service, with a refund window in place of a free tier. See the Toolradar VPN ranking and the PIA profile on Toolradar.

PIA plans and prices at a glance

Every plan covers unlimited devices on one subscription, and servers in 113 countries including all 50 US states. The plan you pick changes the term and the price, not the coverage. PIA labels the 3-year plan as 83% off the monthly rate, and the 1-year plan works out to about 67% off, which is our arithmetic.

A sale banner was running. On 27 October 2026 the plan page carried a limited-time Halloween sale banner above these cards. The prices in the table are the ones the cards showed under it, with their printed renewal lines. If you read this after the sale, recheck the cards before you buy.

What PIA costs over one, three and four years

The real comparison is cash out of pocket over the time you expect to keep the VPN. All totals below are our arithmetic on PIA's printed prices and assume today's renewal prices still apply.

The takeaway: the 3-year plan costs less than two years of the 1-year plan, and its renewal works out to about $2.19 a month (the same charge spread over 36 months, our arithmetic). Paying monthly for four years costs more than three and a half times the 3-year route. The only reason to pick the monthly plan is a short project, such as a single trip or a contractor engagement of four months or less.

PIA against ExpressVPN and Proton VPN over four years

A first-term price says little about what a VPN costs once the promotion ends. This table runs the same 48-month horizon on each vendor's entry plan, using the renewal prices each pricing page prints.

Totals are our arithmetic: Proton is $83.76 plus two yearly renewals, ExpressVPN is $83.72 plus two yearly renewals, and PIA's 3-year plan is two identical charges. Prices were read on 27 October 2026 on Proton VPN's pricing page and ExpressVPN's pricing page.

What it means: PIA's long plan is the cheapest four-year option here by a wide margin, and the gap widens every year after the first term. ExpressVPN Basic renews at $99.95 a year, or about $8.33 a month, and Proton VPN Plus at $83.88 a year, about $6.99 a month (both our arithmetic). PIA's 3-year renewal stays near $2 a month. Surfshark's Starter plan opens at $67.23 for the first 27 months, but check its renewal price on Surfshark's site before you compare, and see our Surfshark price breakdown.

The steelman for the others: Proton has a free tier and sells a bundle with Proton Mail, Pass and Drive, and ExpressVPN's higher tiers add extras of their own. If your team wants those, the extra renewal cost buys something. If you need an encrypted tunnel on many devices at the lowest multi-year cost, PIA wins this comparison.

Add-ons and costs outside the plan price

• Dedicated IP: $5 a month on top of the VPN. PIA's dedicated IP page prices it as an extra $5 a month, added at signup or later from your account. Over a year that adds $60 (our arithmetic), more than the 1-year VPN plan itself. PIA pitches it for fewer CAPTCHAs, getting past blocklists and reaching IP-sensitive services such as online banking.
• Antivirus: priced at checkout. PIA sells its antivirus as an add-on picked on the checkout page, so check its current price on PIA's site.
• App store purchases. A plan bought through Apple's App Store or Google Play follows that store's billing, renewal and refund terms, not PIA's own.

Renewal, cancellation and refund rules

PIA's terms of service say every plan renews automatically on the payment method used at purchase unless you cancel or turn off auto-renewal before the renewal date. PIA can change its fees with advance notice, and a change applies at the next renewal, not to the term you already paid for. That is the one caveat on the "same price at renewal" promise: it holds until PIA announces otherwise.

The money-back guarantee page gives new users 30 days to request a full refund through live chat or email. Two limits matter. You must be a new user who bought within the past 30 days, and you cannot have requested a refund in the previous three months. Purchases made through an app store are refunded under the store's rules.

For a security team, the practical advice is simple to apply. Buy the 3-year plan directly from PIA, not through an app store, so the 30-day refund applies, and put the renewal date in your vendor calendar.

Which PIA plan to buy

• Pick the 3-Year + 3 Months plan if you will use a VPN for more than a year. It is the cheapest per month and renews at its starting price.
• Pick the 1 Year plan if your budget is approved annually or you want to re-evaluate vendors each year. It still renews at its starting price.
• Pick the monthly plan only for a stay or engagement of four months or less, since a fifth monthly payment takes the total past the 1-year price.

For small teams that need central user management rather than personal VPN accounts, compare business tools in best VPN for small business. For PIA's features and weaknesses, read the Private Internet Access review.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Private Internet Access cost in 2026?

PIA costs $11.95 a month on the monthly plan, $47.88 a year on the 1-year plan ($3.99 a month) and $79 for 3 years plus 3 months on the long plan ($2.03 a month). All three renew at those same prices, as printed on PIA's plan page on 27 October 2026.

Does PIA raise its price at renewal?

Not on the printed terms. The 1-year plan renews at its starting charge each year, and the 3-year plan at its starting charge every three years. PIA's terms allow fee changes with advance notice, applied at the next renewal.

Is there a free version of Private Internet Access?

No. PIA is paid-only and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead, open to new users who bought in the last 30 days and have not requested a refund in the previous three months.

How much is a PIA dedicated IP?

An extra $5 a month on top of any VPN plan. It can be added at signup or later from your account.

Is PIA cheaper than ExpressVPN and Proton VPN?

Over four years on each vendor's entry plan, yes. PIA's long plan costs $158 for 48 months, against $251.52 for Proton VPN Plus and $283.62 for ExpressVPN Basic, our arithmetic on the renewal prices each vendor prints.

How many devices does one PIA subscription cover?

Unlimited devices on one subscription, on every plan. The plan length changes the price, not the device count.

Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Private Internet Access Pricing 2026: Monthly, Yearly and 3-Year Costs", November 2026.

Sources and method

Prices, renewal lines, device count and server coverage were read on PIA's plan page on 27 October 2026. The dedicated IP price comes from PIA's dedicated IP page, the refund rules from the money-back guarantee page and renewal and fee-change rules from the terms of service, all read the same day. Competitor prices come from Proton VPN pricing, ExpressVPN pricing and Surfshark pricing. Multi-year totals and per-month renewal figures are our arithmetic on those printed prices. Toolradar figures come from the Toolradar VPN ranking, updated 26 October 2026, with profiles for ExpressVPN and Proton VPN.

Related reading: cheapest VPN, VPN pricing index 2026, ExpressVPN pricing, Proton VPN pricing, VPN free trials and best free VPNs.

Cyberpresso follows security tool prices and the renewal fine print behind them in its newsletter at cyberpresso.com.

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