Private Internet Access are a very longstanding, reputable VPN provider, having been around since 2010. In fairness, their Premium plans are already excellent value, but one obvious question is whether there is also some kind of free trial or free version of their product. Is there a way to use PIA for free?
All Private Internet Access plans are paid and there is no limited free version.. However, a 7 day trial is available for mobile if you enter payment details, and they have a 30 day money back guarantee that can allow you to effectively use their product for free for 1 month.
And that’s really it. The basic model for PIA really follows exactly the same as ExpressVPN and NordVPN in that they don’t offer a separate limited free version of their product, but there are still roundabout ways to get temporary access to their Premium service effectively for “free”.
Getting a 7 Day Free Trial of PIA On Mobile (Details Required)
Although it’s tucked away on their website and not heavily promoted for obvious reasons, Private Internet Access do offer a 7 day trial of their Premium product for Android and iOS users:
Here’s how you get this free trial:
- Go to the App Store or Google Play Store depending on your device.
- Find and download the Private Internet Access app
- Select the Free Trial option
- Enter your details to start using for free for 7 days (credit card details required).
- Remember to cancel before the end of the trial if you don’t want to pay.
How To Effectively Use Private Internet Access For Free For 1 Month (Upfront Payment Required)
Another way to get “free” access to PIA is to just take advantage of the 30 day money back guarantee they have along with all the major VPNs:
These 30 day refund guarantees are usually “no questions asked”, so you don’t need a reason. Just start the process with their Customer Support within the 30 day window, claim back the upfront payment you’ve made, and you can effectively use their product for free.
Do You Need A Credit Card To Get Private Internet Access?
Some users would rather not use credit or debit cards to pay for VPN subscriptions. Therefore most top line VPN companies are providing more flexible options to pay, and PIA are no exception.
Here are some alternative methods of payment accepted:
- Paypal
- Amazon Pay
- Bitcoin
- Litecoin
- Bitpay
Be aware that refunds are sometimes more complex if you use these alternative payment methods.
Overview Of Private Internet Access
Here’s some rapid fire, need-to-know details on PIA:
- Based in: USA
- Zero logs policy – Yes
- Devices allowed – Unlimited
- Servers in 91 countries (full list here)
- Money back guarantee – 30 days
- Streaming support – Some
- Devices supported – all major devices
- Protocols offered – Wireguard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, PPTP/IPSec
- 1 year subscription – $3.33/month
- Full review of the service here.
Check current plans and pricing
Some Good Free VPN Services
Much like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, PIA aren’t really the way to go if you’re wanting easy access to a free VPN. However, there are some other great free VPN options that offer some free server locations and decent performance, and don’t need upfront payment details to be used.
Check the table for some of these options.
| Provider | Free Server Locations | Data Limit | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProtonVPN | 3 (USA, Amsterdam, Japan) | Unlimited | See here |
| AtlasVPN | 3 (USA East, USA West, Amsterdam) | 5 GB/month | See here |
| TurboVPN | 4 (USA, Germany, Singapore, India). | Unlimited | See here |
| ZoogVPN | 5 (USA, UK, Netherlands) | 10 GB/month | See here |
| Hide.me | 5 (Netherlands, USA, Germany, UK, Canada) | 10 GB/month (random server selection) | See here |
| PrivadoVPN | 10 (USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand) | 10 GB/month | See here |
| Windscribe | 10 (USA, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Romania, Denmark). | 10 GB/month | Visit site |
| Tunnelbear | 49 | 500 MB/month | Visit site |
Bottom line – ProtonVPN have unlimited use even on the free version, and PrivadoVPN offer the best free server choice.
