PIA vs Surfshark (2026): Which Is Better?
Both are cheap and both cover unlimited devices, so the price-and-household argument that usually decides a comparison is a draw here — $2.03 against $2.19. What separates them is what each is actually for. Surfshark is the better everyday VPN by a wide margin: 9.4 to 8.3 overall, 655 Mbps against 480, and 13 streaming services against 10. Private Internet Access has port forwarding, which Surfshark does not, and a no-logs policy that has been tested in court more than once and produced nothing — evidence no audit can match. Surfshark unless you seed; PIA if you do.
Who wins each category
- Privacy & securitySurfsharkPIA 9.0 · Surfshark 9.5
- SpeedSurfsharkPIA 8.0 · Surfshark 9.2
- StreamingSurfsharkPIA 7.8 · Surfshark 9.6
- Apps & easeSurfsharkPIA 8.4 · Surfshark 9.0
- ValueSurfsharkPIA 8.6 · Surfshark 9.7
Sub-scores from this month's tests; 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 we rate at $2.03/mo, with unlimited devices
Choose Surfshark if…
- 655 Mbps against 480, and 6 ms of added latency against 10
- 13 of 14 streaming services against PIA's 10 — the everyday VPN of the two
- Netherlands rather than US jurisdiction, and RAM-only servers audited by Deloitte in 2025
PIA vs Surfshark: the numbers
 PIA |  Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.3 | 9.4 |
| Rank · badge | #6 · Torrenting | #2 · Best value |
| 2-year price / mo | $2.03 | $2.19 |
| 1-year price / mo | $3.33 | $3.19 |
| Monthly price | $11.95 | $15.45 |
| Renewal | renews at the 1-year rate | renews at the 1-year rate |
| Money-back | 30 days | 30 days |
| Simultaneous devices | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Avg download speed | 480 Mbps | 655 Mbps |
| 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 | $2.03 | $2.19 |
| Then renews at / mo | $3.33 (+64%) | $3.19 (+46%) |
| First term, up front | $48.72 | $52.56 |
| Total over 3 years | $88.68 | $90.84 |
| True cost / mo over 3 years | $2.46 | $2.52 |
| Money-back | 30 days — refunded in 3 days | 30 days — refunded in 3 days via live chat |
| Check PIA price | Check Surfshark price |
PIA is cheaper both ways — lower to start and $2.16 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
Download on a 940 Mbps line, 3 runs per server, median reported. Highlighted cell = fastest.
| PIA | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| US East | 560 Mbps | 712 Mbps |
| UK | 520 Mbps | 690 Mbps |
| Singapore | 420 Mbps | 618 Mbps |
| Australia | 418 Mbps | 600 Mbps |
| Added latency | +10 ms | +6 ms |
Streaming, service by service
| PIA | Surfshark | |
|---|---|---|
| Unblocked | 10 of 14 | 13 of 14 |
| Netflix US | ||
| Netflix UK | ||
| Netflix JP | ||
| Netflix CA | ||
| Netflix AU | ||
| Prime Video | ||
| Disney+ | ||
| Hulu | ||
| Max | ||
| Paramount+ | ||
| Peacock | ||
| BBC iPlayer | ||
| ITVX | ||
| DAZN |
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?
Surfshark for almost everything — it is faster, unblocks more and scores 9.4 to 8.3. PIA wins on the narrow case that matters if it applies to you: port forwarding for seeding, and a court-tested no-logs record. They cost within sixteen cents a month of each other and both cover unlimited devices.
Does it matter that PIA is a US company?
It is the one real mark against it, and we score it a notch below the Swiss and Panamanian options for it. 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 rather than on a labelled subset, and covers unlimited devices so a NAS does not use up a slot. Surfshark is faster, which helps with downloading, but without a forwarded port your upload is limited to peers you found first.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Scores and the winner are decided by the tests before any commercial consideration. Disclosure