Private Internet Access is hard to beat on raw value: it starts from around €1.17/mo on its long plan, covers unlimited simultaneous devices on one subscription, runs a huge ~29,000-server network with P2P and port forwarding on every server, and ships open-source apps with granular settings most rivals hide. Its no-logs claim is not just audited but proven in US court cases where it had no data to hand over. The honest caveats are that it is based in the United States (a 5-Eyes country) and owned by Kape Technologies, which will deter the most privacy-anxious, and its Irish streaming is patchier than Nord's.
For most Irish readers we point to NordVPN as the safer all-round buy and our number one in the best VPN for Ireland ranking — faster, friendlier and more reliable for Irish TV. But if you are price-led, want to cover a whole household, love to tinker, or torrent heavily, Private Internet Access is the smarter spend and arguably the best value privacy VPN going.
Quick comparison
The short version, side by side — every figure from our hands-on testing in Dublin, the same data behind our best-VPN ranking. Green highlights show which provider takes each round.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 9.6 / 10 | 9.0 / 10 |
| Best for | Best all-rounder | Best for torrenting |
| Price from | €3.39/mo | €1.17/mo |
| Money-back guarantee | 30-day | 30-day |
| Avg Dublin speed | 455 Mbps | 420 Mbps |
| Netflix unblocking | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous devices | 10 | Unlimited |
| Servers | 7,400+ | 29,000+ |
| Countries | 118 | 91 |
| Works in China | No | No |
| No-logs policy | Yes | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | Panama | United States |
| Support | 24/7 live chat | 24/7 live chat |
Torrenting: PIA's port forwarding & SOCKS5
If you seed as much as you stream, this is the section that should sway you — and it goes to PIA. Private Internet Access supports P2P on every server with port forwarding, which lets your client accept incoming connections and can meaningfully lift download and seed speeds, something that genuinely matters given how Irish ISPs throttle and block torrent traffic. It also offers a SOCKS5 proxy you can point a torrent client at directly for low-overhead routing, plus its built-in MACE blocker to strip the ads on tracker sites.
NordVPN is no slouch here — it allows torrenting freely across its network and is the faster raw downloader on our Dublin line — but it does not expose port forwarding, and Nord leans on its general apps rather than a torrent-specific feature set. For a casual downloader either is fine; for a heavy seeder who lives in a torrent client, PIA's port forwarding and SOCKS5 are the toolkit you actually want.
NordLynx vs PIA on WireGuard: the Dublin speed gap
Both are quick, but NordVPN is the faster of the two on our Dublin connection. Its NordLynx protocol topped our local tests at around 455 Mbps and barely dented our base broadband on nearby servers, with PIA on WireGuard landing a little behind at roughly 420 Mbps. On long-distance routes the gap widens slightly, and PIA's upload speeds in particular are notably weaker — worth knowing if you back up to the cloud or seed torrents.
For everyday use you would struggle to feel the difference loading RTÉ Player or streaming Netflix in 4K — both leave ample headroom on a typical Irish line. But on raw download numbers and global consistency, NordVPN keeps its nose in front.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Dublin speed | 455 Mbps | 420 Mbps |
| Speed rating | 9.7 / 10 | 9.0 / 10 |
| Global speed loss | 8% | 9% |
Panama no-logs vs a US base and Kape ownership
This is the heart of the comparison. Both are independently audited no-logs providers (Deloitte for both) running RAM-only servers, so neither stores activity logs. The split is jurisdiction. NordVPN sits in Panama, outside the EU and the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances, with six independent no-logs audits — the deeper paper trail and the higher privacy rating we award.
Private Internet Access is based in the United States, a founding 5-Eyes member, and owned by Kape Technologies — both red flags for privacy purists. In its favour, PIA's no-logs claim is the rare one that has been tested in actual US court cases, where it genuinely had no user data to produce, and its apps are fully open-source so anyone can inspect them. So it comes down to trust model: Nord's safer jurisdiction versus PIA's court-proven, open-source transparency.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| No-logs policy | Yes | Yes |
| Independent audit | Deloitte (2025) | Deloitte (2025) |
| Jurisdiction | Panama | United States |
| Privacy rating | 9.7 / 10 | 9.4 / 10 |
PIA's open-source apps vs NordVPN's Threat Protection
You get the essentials on both: a kill switch, split tunnelling, AES-256 encryption and full P2P support. PIA pulls ahead for power users who like to tinker. It exposes far more granular settings than Nord — custom encryption levels, MACE ad-blocking, per-app rules — and ships fully open-source apps that anyone can inspect, which suits the truly cautious.
NordVPN answers with a broader protocol line-up (NordLynx, OpenVPN, IKEv2 and NordWhisper) and bundled Threat Protection, which blocks ads, trackers and malware at the app level — something PIA only partly matches with MACE. Two caveats are worth flagging up front: NordVPN drops split tunnelling on iOS and macOS, and if you plan to connect from inside China, both providers list it as unsupported, so neither is the tool to rely on there.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | AES-256 + ChaCha20 | AES-256 |
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes |
| Split tunnelling | Yes | Yes |
| P2P / torrenting | Yes | Yes |
| Protocols | NordLynx, OpenVPN, IKEv2, NordWhisper | WireGuard, OpenVPN |
PIA's ~€1.17/mo long plan vs NordVPN's €3.39 floor
PIA wins this comfortably on headline price. Its three-year plan drops to around €1.17/mo, undercutting NordVPN's €3.39/mo starting rate by a wide margin, and that buys you unlimited devices — so on a per-household basis the value gap is even bigger. Both offer a full 30-day money-back guarantee, and PIA adds a 7-day free trial on iOS and Android where Nord only has a 3-day Android trial.
NordVPN justifies the premium with faster speeds, more reliable Irish streaming, bundled Threat Protection and a more polished experience. One shared annoyance: both spike at renewal, so turn auto-renew off after buying. Note too that PIA bills in US dollars with no native euro checkout, while NordVPN prices directly in euro. If the lowest possible price drives the decision, PIA is the clear pick.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €3.39/mo | €1.17/mo |
| Free trial | 3-day (Android) | 7-day (iOS & Android) |
| Data cap | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Value rating | 9.2 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 |
PIA's ~29,000 servers vs NordVPN's 118 countries
These two networks are big in different ways. On raw count PIA runs the larger fleet — around 29,000 servers, versus NordVPN's roughly 7,400 — while NordVPN edges ahead on reach with 118 countries to PIA's 91. More servers can mean less congestion and more endpoints to choose from, so PIA owns the headline number; wider country coverage helps if you hop between specific regions, so Nord owns that one.
For an Irish user the detail that matters most is that both keep physical servers in Ireland, giving you a true Dublin IP rather than a virtual location — essential for RTÉ Player, Irish banking and Revenue from abroad. PIA highlights a 10 Gbps physical Dublin server; NordVPN runs 50+ physical Irish servers with a selectable Dublin location, tuned for speed.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Servers | 7,400+ | 29,000+ |
| Countries | 118 | 91 |
| Works in China | No | No |
RTÉ Player & BBC iPlayer: Nord's consistency vs PIA's patchiness
NordVPN takes this for Irish viewers. Both keep physical Dublin servers and both unblock Netflix, but Nord is the more consistent all-round streamer — it reliably gets you into RTÉ Player, Virgin Media Player, TG4, BBC iPlayer and Disney+, and adds Smart DNS for consoles and older smart TVs.
PIA can do Irish TV thanks to its Dublin server, but in practice it is hit-or-miss on RTÉ Player and Virgin Media — fine some days, blocked others — and that inconsistency is its weakest area against Nord. If watching Irish telly from abroad is a core reason you are buying a VPN, NordVPN is the safer bet. Both ship apps for Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix unblocking | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming rating | 9.6 / 10 | 8.6 / 10 |
| TV / streaming-box apps | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV |
PIA's unlimited devices vs NordVPN's 10-device cap
PIA wins this outright with unlimited simultaneous devices on a single plan, against NordVPN's cap of 10. For a busy household — phones, laptops, tablets, the TV box and a few smart devices — that difference is real, and it stacks with PIA's low price to make it the natural family or flatshare choice.
Ten connections is still plenty for most individuals and couples, and NordVPN covers the same platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux) plus Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV. But if you want to blanket every gadget in the house on one subscription, PIA is the clear pick.
| NordVPN | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous devices | 10 | Unlimited |
| Native platforms | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux |
| TV / streaming-box apps | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV |
Which should you choose?
It comes down to what you value most. Here's the quick way to decide.
Choose NordVPN if…
- check_circleYou want the fastest, most consistent speeds on an Irish connection
- check_circleReliable Irish streaming matters — RTÉ Player, BBC iPlayer and Netflix unblock more dependably, with Smart DNS for consoles
- check_circleYou prefer a Panama jurisdiction outside the major intelligence alliances, backed by six no-logs audits
- check_circleYou want a polished, beginner-friendly app with bundled Threat Protection ad-and-malware blocking
Choose Private Internet Access if…
- check_circleYou want the lowest price in the category, from around €1.17/mo on the long plan
- check_circleYou need to cover a whole household — unlimited simultaneous devices on one subscription
- check_circleYou torrent heavily and want port forwarding on every server plus a ~29,000-server network
- check_circleYou like deep configurability and open-source apps, and value a court-proven no-logs record over jurisdiction
Advertiser disclosure: we earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. This never affects our scores or the winner of each round.
