Private Internet Access publishes three terms and is unambiguous about what happens after each. One month is $11.95 and renews at $11.95 monthly. One year is $3.99 a month, billed $47.88, and renews annually at $47.88. Three years is $1.89 a month, advertised as 84% off with three extra months, and renews at $73.71 every three years. PIA states servers in 104 countries, a 30-day money-back guarantee, a no-logging position on browsing data, and optional add-ons for a dedicated IP and an antivirus scanner on Windows. PIA has been part of Kape Technologies since 2019, alongside other consumer VPN properties.
TL;DR
PIA is the cheaper of the two on paper: $1.89 a month billed for three years, with renewal at $73.71 every three years, plus a one-year option at $3.99 a month billed $47.88. NordVPN starts at EUR 3.89 a month on a two-year term and renews at EUR 139.08 a year, but its Complete and Ultimate Max tiers bundle breach monitoring, a password manager, storage and a dedicated IP. PIA is a VPN, deliberately; NordVPN is a security bundle with a VPN in it.
NordVPN prices by term as well, but its ladder reaches upward. Basic is EUR 3.89 a month billed as EUR 93.36 for the first 24 months against a list of EUR 278.16, renewing at EUR 139.08 a year. Complete is EUR 4.89 a month, EUR 117.36 for 24 months, renewing at EUR 219.48 a year, and adds antivirus-backed browsing protection, monitoring for email, phone, card and national ID data, an ad and tracker blocker, a password manager and 1 TB of storage. Ultimate Max is EUR 8.89 a month, EUR 213.36 for 24 months, renewing at EUR 338.28 a year, adding a dedicated IP and cyber insurance up to EUR 5,000. One-year terms are published at EUR 5.49 and EUR 6.49 a month for the first year. All plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. These were served in euros for an EU checkout.
The comparison splits cleanly once you ask what you are buying. PIA's three-year price is roughly a third of NordVPN's two-year entry, and it comes back at $73.71 every three years, which is a low steady-state cost for a household VPN. NordVPN's answer is not a cheaper VPN but a wider bundle: the same subscription that carries the VPN also carries breach monitoring, a password manager, storage and, at the top, a dedicated IP and an insurance-style benefit. If the extra services are things you would otherwise pay for separately, the gap narrows; if you want a VPN and nothing else, PIA's math is hard to beat.
| Feature | NordVPN | Private Internet Access |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest rate | $1.89 a month for 3 years, with 3 extra months | EUR 3.89 a month for 2 years (EUR 93.36), Basic |
| Shorter term | $3.99 a month for 1 year, billed $47.88 | EUR 5.49 a month for the first year, Basic |
| Month-to-month | $11.95 a month, renews at the same rate | One-month term published at the highest rate on the page |
| Renewal | $73.71 every 3 years, $47.88 a year on the annual plan | EUR 139.08 a year for Basic, EUR 219.48 for Complete |
| Mid tier | Same VPN at every tier; extras are add-ons | Complete, EUR 4.89 a month on 2 years, security bundle |
| Top tier | Dedicated IP and antivirus sold separately | Ultimate Max, EUR 8.89 a month, adds dedicated IP and cyber insurance |
| Server footprint | Servers in 104 countries | Large global estate operated by Nord Security |
| Bundled extras | Antivirus and dedicated IP as paid add-ons | Password manager, breach monitoring, 1 TB storage on Complete |
| Ownership | Part of Kape Technologies since 2019 | Nord Security |
| Money back | 30-day money-back guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee |
Pick NordVPN if
Choose Private Internet Access if the job is to encrypt a household's traffic and stay out of the way. $1.89 a month for three years is the cheapest rate in this comparison, and the published renewal of $73.71 every three years means the price does not surprise you in year four. Add the dedicated IP only if you have a specific reason, since it is charged separately.
Pick Private Internet Access if
Choose NordVPN if breach monitoring, a password manager and storage are things you would otherwise subscribe to separately. Complete at EUR 4.89 a month on the two-year term is where that bundle starts making sense, and Ultimate Max adds the dedicated IP and the insurance-style benefit. Price it against the renewal of EUR 219.48 a year, which is the real ongoing cost.
We did not collect an independent review corpus for this pair, so nothing above is user sentiment. PIA's figures were served in US dollars and NordVPN's in euros for an EU checkout, both on the dates shown at the top of this page.
Private Internet Access, by a wide margin on the currencies quoted here: $1.89 a month for three years comes to about $68, against NordVPN Basic at EUR 93.36 for two years and EUR 139.08 for the third year. NordVPN's cost buys more than the VPN, which is the next question.
PIA renews at $73.71 every three years on its three-year plan, and at $47.88 a year on its annual plan. NordVPN renews at EUR 139.08 a year for Basic, EUR 219.48 for Complete and EUR 338.28 for Ultimate Max. Both renewals are published on the vendors' own pricing pages.
No. PIA sells a VPN with optional add-ons such as a dedicated IP and a Windows antivirus scanner. NordVPN's Complete tier adds a password manager, breach monitoring and 1 TB of storage, which is a different product shape rather than a better VPN.
PIA has been part of Kape Technologies since 2019, a company that owns several consumer VPN properties. NordVPN is operated by Nord Security. Buyers who weigh vendor independence should factor that in alongside the price.
PIA states servers in 104 countries. NordVPN publishes a large global estate operated by Nord Security, and its plan pages focus on tiers and device counts rather than a country count. For a specific country, check each vendor's server list before buying.
Both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on their plans, per their pricing pages. That window covers the term you buy, so it is the practical way to test streaming compatibility and speeds in your own network before committing.
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