PIA vs Surfshark (2026): Which Is Better?
Both are cheap and both cover unlimited devices, so the household argument is close, but PIA is actually the cheaper of the two — $1.79 against $2.49 — and the only VPN on this site with no renewal jump at all. PIA also scores highest overall on our published rubric, 9.3 against Surfshark's 8.8, built on a no-logs claim tested by subpoena more than once and held, open-source apps, and port forwarding Surfshark doesn't offer. Surfshark's audit is more recent (Deloitte 2025 against 2024) and it sits in the Netherlands rather than the US. We have not measured speed or streaming for either. Port forwarding is the practical tiebreaker: PIA if you seed, Surfshark if you don't need it.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securityPIAPIA 9.0 · Surfshark 8.3
- SpeedTiePIA 0.0 · Surfshark 0.0
- StreamingTiePIA 0.0 · Surfshark 0.0
- Apps & easePIAPIA 9.5 · Surfshark 9.4
- ValuePIAPIA 9.5 · Surfshark 9.0
Sub-scores are provisional for PIA and Surfshark — published audits, jurisdiction and public record rather than our own measurement; see the review; weights are privacy & security 30%, speed 25%, streaming 15%, apps & ease 15%, value 15%. Methodology
Choose PIA if…
- Port forwarding, included at no extra cost — the setting that decides whether you can seed properly
- A no-logs claim tested by subpoena more than once, which produced nothing each time
- The cheapest VPN on this site at $1.79/mo, with unlimited devices and no renewal jump
Choose Surfshark if…
- You want the more recent audit — Deloitte 2025 against 2024
- Netherlands rather than US jurisdiction
- You don't need port forwarding and would rather have obfuscation and a rotating IP
PIA vs Surfshark: the numbers
 PIA |  Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 9.3provisional — not tested by us | 8.8provisional — not tested by us |
| Rank · badge | Not ranked · Top rated overall | Not ranked · Unlimited devices |
| 2-year price / mo | $1.79 | $2.49 |
| 1-year price / mo | $3.99 | $3.19 |
| Monthly price | $11.95 | $16.45 |
| Renewal | Billed $69.81 for 39 months, then autorenews at $69.81 every 3 years — the same rate | Billed $67.23 for the first 27 months, then renews at $79.00 for a 1-year term. Surfshark does not put that figure on its pricing page — it is on a separate terms-of-service page, two clicks away |
| Money-back | 30 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Avg download speed | Not tested by us | Not tested by us |
| Jurisdiction | United States | Netherlands |
| Owner | Kape Technologies | Nord Security |
| No-logs audit | Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 | Deloitte no-logs audit, 2025 |
| Servers | Tens of thousands in 91 countries | 3,200+ in 100 countries |
| Protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec |
| Torrenting | P2P allowed on all servers | P2P allowed on all servers |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, email, help centre | 24/7 live chat, email, help centre |
| Visit PIA | Visit Surfshark |
Full reviews: Private Internet Access · Surfshark
What each one actually costs
The advertised rate covers the first term only. These are the totals once the renewal is counted.
| PIA | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan priced | 24-month plan | 24-month plan |
| Intro rate / mo | $1.79 | $2.49 |
| Then renews at / mo | $1.79 — no jump | $6.58 (+164%) |
| First term, up front | $42.96 | $59.76 |
| Total over 3 years | $64.44 | $138.72 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $1.79 | $3.85 |
| Money-back | 30 days — 30 days, new subscribers only — we have not claimed one yet | 30 days — 30 days, published — we have not claimed one yet |
| Check PIA price | Check Surfshark price |
PIA is cheaper both ways — lower to start and $74.28 less across three years once the renewals are counted. Same arithmetic as our price calculator: the first term at the advertised rate, every month after it at the rate the provider publishes for renewals.
Speed by region
Neither VPN has been speed-tested by us yet, so there is nothing to chart here.
PIA and Surfshark have not been through our speed rig yet, so there is no region-by-region chart for this pair. Speed figures other people have published are on the Private Internet Access and Surfshark review, attributed to whoever measured them.
Streaming, service by service
| PIA | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) | 0 of 0 reported (not tested by us) |
| Netflix US | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix UK | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix JP | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix CA | n/r | n/r |
| Netflix AU | n/r | n/r |
| Prime Video | n/r | n/r |
| Disney+ | n/r | n/r |
| Hulu | n/r | n/r |
| Max | n/r | n/r |
| Paramount+ | n/r | n/r |
| Peacock | n/r | n/r |
| BBC iPlayer | n/r | n/r |
| ITVX | n/r | n/r |
| DAZN | n/r | n/r |
| n/r — no published result found | n/r — no published result found |
Security features
| PIA | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Kill switch | ||
| Split tunnelling | ||
| Obfuscation / stealth | ||
| Port forwarding | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Ad & tracker blocking | ||
| Multi-hop (double VPN) | ||
| RAM-only servers | ||
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions, routers | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV, browser extensions, routers |
Has the no-logs promise ever been tested?
Every VPN on this page says it keeps no logs. The claim only means something once someone has demanded the data — a police raid, a court order, a subpoena. Here is what happened to each of these two when that came up, and what it means if it never has.
- PIAHeld
Subpoenaed more than once. The claim held — there was nothing useful to hand over. That is the one form of proof no audit can give you, because it happened under real pressure rather than on a scheduled visit.
Audit: Deloitte no-logs audit, 2024 · United States
- SurfsharkNever tested
No police raid, court order or subpoena against Surfshark has been made public. That is not a mark against it — most providers have never been asked — but it does mean the policy has never had to hold up under pressure.
Audit: Deloitte no-logs audit, 2025 · Netherlands
What each one is our top pick for
One of these scores higher overall, which does not make it the right buy for every job. These are the use cases where each one comes first on its own list.
- PIA2 categories
Port forwarding included, P2P on every server, interface binding for qBittorrent, and no-logs claims proven in court. Unlimited devices on a cheap long plan.
- Surfshark3 categories
Questions
Is PIA or Surfshark better?
By our published score, PIA is ahead — 9.3 against 8.8 — and it's also the cheaper of the two, with no renewal jump. Surfshark's case is a more recent audit and Netherlands jurisdiction. They're within a real margin of each other and both cover unlimited devices.
Does it matter that PIA is a US company?
It's the one real mark against it, and we weight it in the privacy sub-score. The mitigation is unusually strong: the US has no data-retention mandate for VPN providers, and PIA has been subpoenaed more than once and had nothing to produce. A tested policy is better evidence than a favourable postcode.
Which is better for torrenting?
PIA, and not narrowly. It offers port forwarding where Surfshark offers none, permits P2P network-wide, and covers unlimited devices so a NAS doesn't use up a slot. Surfshark doesn't offer a forwarded port, which limits seeding regardless of its other strengths.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the scoring rubric before any commercial consideration. Disclosure