Private Internet Access sits just behind at 9.0, but it is no runner-up where its strengths lie. PIA is the most configurable VPN in this price bracket: it offers port forwarding and P2P on every server, fully open-source apps you can inspect yourself, a vast network of around 29,000 servers, and a no-logs policy that has been proven in a US court. On the longest plan it is also the cheapest VPN here, from roughly €1.17/mo.
The honest catch on PIA is jurisdiction: it is based in the United States, a Five Eyes country, and owned by Kape Technologies — facts that will deter the most privacy-anxious despite its court-tested record. Both VPNs cover unlimited simultaneous devices, so that is a genuine tie. Buy Surfshark for the better all-round Irish experience; buy PIA for torrenting, open-source transparency and rock-bottom pricing. Both rank among our wider best VPN for Ireland picks.
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.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 9.3 / 10 | 9.0 / 10 |
| Best for | Best value | Best for torrenting |
| Price from | €1.99/mo | €1.17/mo |
| Money-back guarantee | 30-day | 30-day |
| Avg Dublin speed | 440 Mbps | 420 Mbps |
| Netflix unblocking | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous devices | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Servers | 4,500+ | 29,000+ |
| Countries | 100 | 91 |
| Works in China | No | No |
| No-logs policy | Yes | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | Netherlands | United States |
| Support | 24/7 live chat | 24/7 live chat |
Two unlimited-device VPNs: how they actually differ
Start with what these two share, because it is the headline both brands lean on: unlimited simultaneous devices. Every phone, laptop, tablet, Fire TV and Apple TV in an Irish home runs on one Surfshark plan or one PIA plan, with nothing to count and nothing to disconnect. That genuinely is a tie — neither out-points the other on device limits, so it cannot be your deciding factor.
What the device count hides is two opposite philosophies. Surfshark spends its effort on polish: clean apps, reliable Irish streaming and CleanWeb ad-blocking baked in for the household that wants to connect and forget. PIA spends its effort on control: open-source apps, port forwarding for torrents and a 29,000-server network to rotate through, wrapped in a denser, more technical interface. So the real question is not "how many devices?" but "do you want the tidier all-rounder or the configurable specialist?"
Dublin speeds: Surfshark’s 440 Mbps vs PIA’s 420
Surfshark is the quicker of the two in our Dublin testing, averaging around 440 Mbps on nearby servers against roughly 420 Mbps for PIA. The gap is modest, and both are comfortably fast enough for 4K streaming, gaming and large downloads on a typical Irish fibre line. Surfshark also carries the marginally higher speed rating overall.
PIA is genuinely fast for everyday use and you would never feel short-changed streaming or browsing on it, but it has notably weaker upload speeds than Surfshark, which can matter for video calls or seeding torrents. For the snappier all-round connection, Surfshark holds a small but real edge.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Dublin speed | 440 Mbps | 420 Mbps |
| Speed rating | 9.3 / 10 | 9.0 / 10 |
| Global speed loss | 17% | 9% |
RTÉ Player: Surfshark’s 54 Dublin servers vs PIA’s one
Surfshark is clearly the stronger streamer. It runs 54 physical servers in Dublin for a genuine Irish IP and reliably unblocks RTÉ Player, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video, which is exactly what the Irish diaspora and homebound bingers want. That earns it the higher streaming rating of the two.
PIA has a physical Dublin server too and handles Netflix well, but its Irish streaming is inconsistent — RTÉ Player and Virgin Media can be hit-or-miss from session to session, which is the single biggest reason it trails Surfshark here. If watching Irish TV reliably is a priority, Surfshark is the safer pick.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix unblocking | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming rating | 9.4 / 10 | 8.6 / 10 |
| TV / streaming-box apps | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV | Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV |
PIA’s €1.17 three-year plan vs Surfshark’s €1.99 Starter
Both are among the cheapest premium VPNs you can buy, but PIA wins the headline number on its longest commitment, opening at about €1.17/mo on the three-year plan versus Surfshark’s €1.99/mo Starter two-year plan. PIA’s two-year option lands near €1.92/mo, so on a like-for-like term they are extremely close.
Surfshark still carries the slightly higher value rating because it bundles unlimited devices, faster speeds and CleanWeb ad-blocking at its price, while PIA counters with unbeatable long-term cost and its own ad/tracker blocker. Note PIA checks out in US dollars with no native euro pricing, and both renew higher after the intro term — so switch auto-renewal off the moment you buy.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €1.99/mo | €1.17/mo |
| Free trial | 7-day (Android, iOS, macOS) | 7-day (iOS & Android) |
| Data cap | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Value rating | 9.7 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 |
PIA’s port forwarding vs Surfshark’s set-and-forget kill switch
This is PIA’s home turf. It allows P2P on every server and crucially offers port forwarding — which can meaningfully improve torrent connection speeds and is genuinely useful given some Irish ISP throttling. Its apps are also deeply customisable, letting you tweak encryption, protocols and a built-in MACE ad-blocker far more than most rivals.
Surfshark supports P2P and ships a solid kill switch and split tunnelling, but it does not match PIA’s port forwarding or the same depth of granular control. Both use strong AES-256 encryption with WireGuard and OpenVPN. For seeders and tinkerers, PIA is the clear specialist; for set-and-forget security, Surfshark is more than enough.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM | AES-256 |
| Kill switch | Yes | Yes |
| Split tunnelling | Yes | Yes |
| P2P / torrenting | Yes | Yes |
| Protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 | WireGuard, OpenVPN |
US court-tested PIA vs Netherlands-based Surfshark
PIA holds the higher privacy rating and the stronger track record: its no-logs policy has been proven in US court on more than one occasion, it runs on RAM-only servers, and its apps are fully open-source so anyone can audit the code. The catch is jurisdiction — PIA is based in the United States, a Five Eyes member, and owned by Kape Technologies.
Surfshark counters with a cleaner location: the Netherlands, under Nord Security, with repeated Deloitte no-logs audits. It is not strictly zero-logs, as it holds a temporary session IP for up to 15 minutes. So the trade is real proof and open code (PIA) versus a friendlier base and ownership (Surfshark) — both are well beyond what most Irish users actually need.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| No-logs policy | Yes | Yes |
| Independent audit | Deloitte (2025) | Deloitte (2025) |
| Jurisdiction | Netherlands | United States |
| Privacy rating | 9.0 / 10 | 9.4 / 10 |
PIA’s 29,000 servers vs Surfshark’s 100 countries
On raw scale PIA dwarfs Surfshark, running roughly 29,000 servers across 91 countries against Surfshark’s 4,500 servers — though Surfshark edges the country count at 100. More servers can mean less crowding and more IPs to rotate through, which is exactly what heavy torrenters value about PIA.
For Irish readers, the part that matters is local presence, and here it is closer than the numbers suggest: PIA runs a single physical Dublin server while Surfshark runs 54 of them, both real rather than virtual, so each gives you a genuine Irish IP for RTÉ Player, Irish banking or Revenue from abroad. The depth of Surfshark’s Dublin presence is part of why it streams Irish TV more reliably.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Servers | 4,500+ | 29,000+ |
| Countries | 100 | 91 |
| Works in China | No | No |
Surfshark’s clean apps vs PIA’s dense, configurable desktop
Surfshark is the friendlier daily driver. Its apps are clean, modern and consistent across every platform, with CleanWeb ad-, tracker- and malware-blocking baked in, so beginners can connect and forget. It earns the higher ease-of-use rating for good reason.
PIA is powerful but its desktop interface is dated and dense — all that configurability can overwhelm a first-time user who just wants a quick connection. Both run genuine 24/7 live chat, so help is always a click away. The gap is one of polish: Surfshark for simplicity, PIA for control.
| Surfshark | Private Internet Access | |
|---|---|---|
| Ease-of-use rating | 9.4 / 10 | 8.7 / 10 |
| Native platforms | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux |
Which should you choose?
It comes down to what you value most. Here's the quick way to decide.
Choose Surfshark if…
- check_circleYou want reliable Irish streaming — it unblocks RTÉ Player, BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Disney+ from its 54 Dublin servers.
- check_circleYou want the faster, snappier connection on a Dublin line — around 440 Mbps.
- check_circleYou prefer clean, modern apps and a friendlier Netherlands jurisdiction.
- check_circleYou like bundled extras such as CleanWeb ad-, tracker- and malware-blocking.
Choose Private Internet Access if…
- check_circleYou torrent regularly and want port forwarding plus P2P on every server.
- check_circleYou value open-source apps and a no-logs policy proven in US court.
- check_circleYou want the lowest long-term price — from about €1.17/mo on the three-year plan.
- check_circleYou want deep configurability and a huge 29,000-server network to rotate through.
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.
