Surfshark vs PIA (2026): Price, Renewal, Audits and Devices

Surfshark costs $2.49 a month on its 27-month Starter plan. Private Internet Access (PIA) costs $2.03 a month on a 40-month plan. Both allow unlimited devices, and Deloitte has examined the no-logs policies of both. So the choice comes down to four things the headline numbers hide:

• Where each company is based
• Whether you need port forwarding
• Whether you care that the app’s code is public
• What happens when the first term ends

Everything below is from data we verified on 5 November 2026. The table above comes from our data records for both providers.

Pricing today

PIA sells one tier. On 5 November 2026, its purchase page carried an “EARLY ACCESS: 83% Off” label. It replaced the Halloween sale we saw on 31 October. It listed three plans:

• A 3-year plan with 4 extra months, at $2.03 a month. It is billed $81.20 up front for 40 months and auto-renews at $81.20 every three years.
• A 1-year plan at $3.99 a month, or $47.88. It renews at $47.88 a year.
• A monthly plan at $11.95.

Surfshark’s pricing page showed a “Black Friday deal” badge on its One plan the same day. Its 24-month plans came with three extra months. Starter and One both cost $2.49 a month, or $67.23 for 27 months. One+ cost $3.99 a month, or $107.73.

The 12-month and monthly prices load in the browser, not in the page text. Our record reads them from the plan data built into the pricing page. The 1-year Starter plan also comes with three extra months: $44.85 for 15 months, or $2.99 a month. A single month costs $18.95.

PIA states its renewal amounts. If you keep the long plan, it renews at $81.20 every three years, about $2.26 a month. Surfshark’s pricing page says only that you will be charged “the applicable renewal price”. It adds that the 2-year plan is billed once and then every year. It does not say how much, so we record the renewal as not stated and do not guess. That makes PIA the only one of the two whose three-year cost you can work out before you buy. On monthly plans PIA is also cheaper, at $11.95 against $18.95.

Surfshark has the edge on payment, because it accepts cryptocurrency. It also takes cards, PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay, but crypto is not available from phones or tablets. It refunds crypto purchases in the same cryptocurrency. PIA’s help center lists no cryptocurrency option. PIA takes cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, plus Amazon Pay in some locations. For one-time purchases without a linked account, it also takes gift cards or prepaid Visa and Mastercard. That is its version of anonymous payment.

Both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first direct purchase. Both also have free trials. PIA offers one to first-time users of its iOS and Android apps. Surfshark gives 7 days on its 12- and 24-month plans. Its trial needs a card, PayPal or Apple Pay, and it turns into a paid plan. Our best VPN free trials page compares the terms. The full plan tables are on our PIA pricing page and Surfshark pricing page.

Privacy and audits

PIA’s company, Private Internet Access, Inc., is based in Denver, Colorado. Its terms are governed by Colorado law. The United States is a founding member of the Five Eyes alliance, a group of countries that share intelligence. PIA’s parent is Kape Technologies, which also owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.

Surfshark B.V. is registered in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, which is a Nine Eyes member. Since 2022 it has shared a holding company with Nord Security, the owner of NordVPN, while operating independently.

Both run RAM-only servers, which keep data in memory instead of on a disk. Both publish transparency reports. Neither keeps a warrant canary, which is a public statement that a company has not received a secret government order. PIA has a blog post explaining why it never kept one. Surfshark’s transparency report says it is moving away from its canary.

Both use Deloitte to check their no-logs claims under ISAE 3000, an international standard for this kind of independent check. PIA has had three engagements by Deloitte Audit Romania:

• The first found that its server configurations matched the no-logs policy as of 30 June 2022.
• The second was announced on 25 April 2024. Its report is available inside your account.
• The third was announced on 8 December 2025. Its report is published on PIA’s site.

Surfshark has two Deloitte no-logs reports, announced on 25 January 2023 and 16 June 2025. It also has these security audits:

• A Cure53 audit of its Dausos protocol, with a management summary dated 30 March 2026
• SecuRing penetration tests of its apps, with an attestation dated 9 June 2025, and of its infrastructure in December 2025
• Older Cure53 work on its servers in 2021 and its browser extensions in 2018

A penetration test is an attempt by hired experts to break into a system. Instead of app audits, PIA offers open code. All of its apps and clients are published at github.com/pia-foss, which Surfshark does not match.

PIA also has court evidence for its no-logs policy, which Surfshark lacks. In 2016, the FBI sent PIA a subpoena in a Florida bomb-threat case. PIA could say only that the addresses belonged to its US East Coast cluster. In a 2018 federal trial in San Jose, its general counsel testified that the company keeps no activity logs. PIA could not link the defendant to the addresses used.

PIA’s record has a third entry, a server seizure. Russian authorities seized several PIA servers in July 2016 without notice. PIA then removed all of its servers from Russia.

Surfshark has no documented incident. Its privacy policy was updated on 12 October 2026. It says connection details held for a short time on a server are deleted within 15 minutes after the session ends. It also says Surfshark keeps account, billing and aggregated diagnostic data. PIA’s policy, dated 3 November 2025, says it keeps no browsing history, user IPs, connection timestamps, bandwidth logs or DNS queries.

Security and protocols

A protocol is the set of rules a VPN uses to build its encrypted connection. PIA runs WireGuard and OpenVPN. Its OpenVPN uses AES-128-GCM encryption by default, with AES-256 as an option. The handshake, the step where the app and server agree on keys, uses RSA-4096. PIA’s WireGuard uses ChaCha20.

Surfshark runs WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, plus Dausos, its own protocol with AEGIS-256X2 encryption. When we checked, Dausos was available only in the macOS app. Surfshark switches post-quantum protection on by default for WireGuard and Dausos. Post-quantum encryption is designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. PIA documents no post-quantum protection.

Both have a kill switch on desktop and mobile. A kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN connection drops.

Split tunneling lets you choose which apps or sites skip the VPN, and it differs by platform. PIA offers it on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, but not iOS. Surfshark’s version, Bypasser, runs on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, but not Linux. On Windows it works with apps, websites and IP addresses. On Android it has a reverse mode.

Both also offer these features:

• Obfuscation, which disguises VPN traffic. PIA adds an SSL layer so traffic looks like ordinary web traffic. Surfshark has obfuscated servers and a NoBorders mode.
• Multi-hop, which sends traffic through more than one server. PIA’s Multi-Hop goes through an additional proxy. Surfshark’s version is Dynamic MultiHop.
• A dedicated IP, which is an address that only you use.
• An ad and tracker blocker: MACE at PIA and CleanWeb at Surfshark.

Port forwarding lets other devices reach yours through the VPN. For torrent users, it is the deciding feature. PIA offers it on selected servers. Surfshark confirmed on its blog on 9 September 2026 that it does not support it.

IPv6 is the newer type of internet address. PIA blocks it while you are connected and explains why. Surfshark’s security page says IPv6 leaks are blocked. But its help center says Surfshark does not support IPv6 and recommends disabling it on the device. Do that before you trust a leak test.

Surfshark adds Rotating IP and Everlink. PIA’s main extra is its open code.

Streaming claims

Both document Netflix support. We have tested neither, so treat the counts as claims. PIA’s streaming page lists six services: Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Prime Video and HBO Max. It has streaming-optimized servers in select locations. Surfshark’s streaming page lists seven: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu and Crunchyroll. It notes that results may vary and platform terms apply.

Smart DNS helps a TV or console without a VPN app reach streaming services. Neither has a usable smart DNS any more. PIA still offers one for smart TVs and consoles. But its help center says it no longer works with streaming services. Surfshark discontinued SmartDNS on 2 February 2026 and told users to restore their TVs’ original DNS settings.

Both have native Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV apps instead, so most televisions are covered. Samsung and LG sets without an app need a router setup with either provider. Read our best VPN for Netflix page before buying on a streaming claim.

Apps and devices

Both allow unlimited simultaneous connections. PIA’s download page lists apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and iPadOS. It also lists Chrome, Edge and Firefox extensions, Android TV, Apple TV and a Fire TV app in the Amazon Appstore. Smart TVs, consoles and routers are covered too, and all of PIA’s apps are open source.

Surfshark lists apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. It covers Fire TV, including the newer Vega OS devices, as well as Android TV and Google TV. Its Apple TV app needs tvOS 17 or later. It also offers Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions and manual router setup. No Surfshark app is published as open source.

Surfshark’s network has 4,500-plus servers in 100 countries and 130-plus locations. PIA publishes no server count. It states 180 locations in 113 countries, including all 50 US states, on a 10 Gbps network. Both use virtual locations for some countries. A virtual location is a server that appears to be in one country but sits in another. PIA gives the example of its India location, which runs on hardware in Singapore.

Support and refunds

Both run 24/7 live chat, email and a help center, and PIA also takes tickets. We have not measured response times for either. Both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first purchase made directly.

PIA’s terms add two limits. App-store, gift-card and third-party-deal purchases can only be refunded by the payment processor. A repeat purchase within three months of a refund is not refundable.

Surfshark’s policy covers purchases through its site and its billing partners Paddle, Google Play and Cleverbridge. It excludes renewed subscriptions and add-ons that cannot be refunded, such as the anonymous dedicated IP and Alternative ID. It sends App Store and Amazon Appstore purchases to Apple and Amazon.

Which should you buy?

Buy PIA in any of these cases:

• You torrent and need port forwarding.
• You want to read the code of the app you install.
• You want to know today what your renewal costs: $81.20 every three years.

Buy Surfshark in any of these cases:

• A US jurisdiction is a dealbreaker for you.
• You want post-quantum protection switched on now, not on a roadmap.
• You need a kill switch and split tunneling on an iPhone.
• You want to pay in cryptocurrency.

On price the two are close in the first term, at about $2.03 against $2.49 a month. After that, PIA is the clearer buy, because Surfshark does not publish what the second term costs. On streaming, both make similar claims, and we have tested neither. Skip both if you want a provider outside the Eyes alliances altogether. Neither PIA in Colorado nor Surfshark in Amsterdam offers that.

Alternatives

• NordVPN shares an owner with Surfshark. It offers Meshnet and six no-logs audits for more money. See NordVPN vs Surfshark and NordVPN vs PIA.
• CyberGhost is PIA’s sister brand under Kape. It has a 45-day refund and a renewal that stays at $61.32 a year. See CyberGhost vs Surfshark.
• Proton VPN is Swiss, open source and audited yearly, with port forwarding and a free tier. See Proton VPN vs Surfshark.

Every published pair is on the comparison hub.

How we compared them

Every row in the table comes from our data records for the two providers. We verified them against the official pricing, feature, server, policy and audit pages on 5 November 2026. Scores come from our published methodology. Speed is left out until our lab measures it. We recompute the scores whenever the data changes, so this page explains the differences instead of quoting the numbers. The full detail is in our PIA review and Surfshark review.