Private Internet Access vs Windscribe — Australia 2026

Private Internet Access vs Windscribe for Australian personal-VPN buyers. AUD vs USD billed cash, 39-month prepaid vs yearly, free plan, inspectable audits and unknowns. Not a ranked winner or speed test.

Last verified 2026-09-12

Decision guidance

No ranked winner — choose on billed currency, prepaid term, free-plan limits and inspectable report scope

Both are personal VPNs with advertised Australian city exits that are not data residency. On 12 Sep 2026 Private Internet Access printed AUD in an AU Chrome session: 3 Years + 3 Months EXTRA billed AU$97.11 for 36+3 months. Windscribe printed USD on the same day: no-promo Yearly Plan billed US$69 for 12 months. Those intros are charged in full inside a 12-month cash horizon. Native currencies stay separate; 9711 AUD cents versus 6900 USD cents is not an Australian-dollar ranking. A same-day Windscribe homepage EDUMCATE yearly of US$39 is a second public intro and is not mixed into the cash table. Windscribe documents a free plan whose ten countries do not include Australia. PIA has no public free plan. PIA’s 2024 and 2025 Deloitte ISAE 3000 PDFs were opened; the 2022 Deloitte engagement is announcement-only. Windscribe’s Packetlabs PDF was opened (marked CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL; the vendor published the Drive link) and the Leviathan desktop and mobile PDFs were opened. GST is unknown on both. Checkout totals, speed, leak tests and streaming-unblocking results are unknown. Neither product is business remote access.

Personal VPN pair. Not a ranked winner list. Not a numeric security score. Apps were not run.

Private Internet Access review Windscribe review Personal VPN category Subscription cash outlay VPN categories How we test

Evidenced differences

Billed currency on the public grid. Private Internet Access’s AU-locale buy page on 12 Sep 2026 printed “All amounts are shown in AUD.” The same three cards fetched without an AU locale printed USD — currency localisation, not a second AUD grid. Windscribe’s AU Chrome session stayed on USD at /upgrade. Checkout was not started, so the charged currency on an Australian card remains unknown. Do not treat the USD billed total as an Australian-dollar amount. The two intros are not ranked without a dated HTTPS FX quote, and that quote would still not be checkout.
Introductory billed total and covered months. PIA 3 Years + 3 Months EXTRA billed AU$97.11 for 36+3 months (Fall Sale teaser AU$2.49/mo). Hand check 249×39=9711. That teaser is not the cancellable monthly price (AU$19.79). Covered months are 39, so 12-month, 24-month and 36-month cash each equal 9711 AUD cents — the 39-month prepaid is billed in full inside those horizons. 249×12=2988 is not 9711. Printed renewal is AU$97.11 every 3 years without another extra three months. Windscribe no-promo Yearly Plan billed US$69 for 12 months (teaser US$5.75/mo). Hand check 6900/12=575. 575×12=6900 because covered months are 12. That teaser is not the cancellable monthly price (US$9.00). 900×12=10800 is not the 6900 yearly intro. Columns stay in native currency. A same-day EDUMCATE / homepage yearly of US$39 (3900/12=325) is a dual public intro and is not this cash column. Build A Plan (US$3 minimum for three locations) is a different SKU.
Free plan and Australian exits on it. Windscribe documents a genuine no-card free plan: 2 GB/month without email, 10 GB/month with a confirmed email, ten countries only (US, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Romania). The 12 Sep 2026 serverlist API marked every Australian group pro=1. Providing an email for the 10 GB cap is permission to send promo mail; unsubscribing drops the account to the basic free plan. PIA has no free plan on the public site. Terms mention an optional free trial at PIA’s discretion; it was not on the 12 Sep 2026 pricing grid. PIA’s 30-day money-back window is a paid-purchase refund, not a free tier.
Documented in-app IKEv2. Windscribe documents IKEv2 alongside WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth and WSTunnel on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. The Linux in-app list omits IKEv2 (WireGuard, OpenVPN, Stealth, WSTunnel). PIA’s stored Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux app rows list WireGuard and OpenVPN only. Current iOS change-protocols help lists those two plus Automatic — IKEv2 is not in that live in-app list. PIA’s servers API still advertised IKEv2 endpoints; that is not the same as the current iOS in-app list. This is vendor documentation, not an app test and not a speed result.
Kill switch behaviour on current iOS. PIA’s iOS Privacy Features kill switch blocks internet while reconnecting, not on a manual disconnect. Leak Protection is documented as currently unavailable with WireGuard and OpenVPN — the two in-app protocols on that help article. Windscribe’s Firewall page tells iOS users to use OS Always On VPN and describes that as the same effect as the desktop Firewall. Split tunnel is not documented on iOS for either product. Both document a kill switch on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. This is help-centre copy, not an app test and not a leak-test result.
Inspectable report scope. PIA’s Deloitte Audit SRL ISAE 3000 limited-assurance PDF as of 31 Jan 2024 (report 17 Apr 2024) and the CON-003 PDF as of 31 Oct 2025 (signed 19 Dec 2025) were downloaded over HTTPS and read. Both are limited assurance, point-in-time, restricted use. The 2022 first Deloitte engagement is a vendor blog; guessed /audit/DeloitteNoLogsAudit2022.pdf returned 404. Windscribe’s Packetlabs Ltd. retest PDF dated 26 Jun 2024 was downloaded from the public Google Drive link on the vendor audit KB and read. It is marked CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL; Windscribe published the link. Original finding 4.2.1 was protocol logging; the 24 Jun 2024 retest marked those findings remediated on the in-scope node. That is one node, not operating-effectiveness evidence after 24 Jun 2024. Leviathan desktop (24 Sep 2021) and mobile (4 Mar 2022) source-review PDFs were also opened; those are app reviews, not a no-logs ISAE. A public PDF is not a numeric security score and not proof of zero retained account data.
Legal entities and Five Eyes. PIA’s contract is with PIA Private Internet Access, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, United States. Privacy policy names Kape Technologies. ExpressVPN is a sister consumer brand under the same parent and is not this listing. The United States is Five Eyes yes on that stored field. Windscribe’s contract is with Windscribe Limited, registered in Ontario, Canada (abuse mail 555 Richmond St West, Toronto). About copy says self-funded. Canada is Five Eyes yes on that stored field. Both jurisdictions are Five Eyes members. Neither is Australian data residency. Account/control-plane data is not described as stored in Australia on either record.
Money-back window on website payments. PIA documents 30-day money-back for new users who have not had a refund in the previous three months. Excluded: Apple App Store, gift cards, third-party deal sites. No prorated refunds. Windscribe documents 7 days and under 10 GB on the initial payment only, via a technical-issue ticket. Renewals are excluded. Apple and Amazon refunds go through those stores. Crypto refunds are Bitcoin-only above US$10. Neither window is a free plan.
Advertised Australian city exits. On 12 Sep 2026 both public Australia pages advertised Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. PIA also printed a Streaming Optimized Australia row; that is a vendor label, not a streaming-unblocking test by this site. PIA’s servers API listed those six AU regions, geo=false, 91 country codes. geo=false is vendor metadata, not independent physical-versus-virtual proof. Windscribe’s serverlist API listed ten AU groups, all pro=1, and 74 locations / 71 country codes including Fake Antarctica. Marketing the same day also printed 69+ countries / 112 cities, 69+ / 135+, 190+ locations and “over 85 countries” — dual public counts, left unresolved. An Australian exit IP is not data residency.
Physical versus virtual locations on the stored record. Windscribe’s locations KB says servers are physically in the advertised country except Fake Antarctica (Toronto). That is vendor documentation, not a traceroute. PIA’s stored physical_versus_virtual field is unknown; geo=false on the servers API is not treated as proof. Neither record is a site visit.
Simultaneous connections on the compared SKUs. Both stored limits rows are unlimited devices / unlimited concurrent connections. PIA terms allow limiting abuse of unlimited devices (resale / non-personal use). Windscribe upgrade footer and terms prohibit account sharing. We did not measure how many tunnels actually stay up. Dedicated IP and antivirus on PIA, and R.O.B.E.R.T. customisation on Windscribe, are extras and are not mixed into the cash columns.
Consumer versus business products. This pair is personal VPN only. Do not infer SSO or private-resource access from a consumer tier. PIA Teams / business SKUs are not this listing. Windscribe is not a ZTNA or SASE overlay.

Buyer scenarios

Australian buyer who wants the public grid printed in AUD

On 12 Sep 2026 PIA’s AU Chrome session printed AUD billed totals. Windscribe’s AU Chrome session stayed USD. Checkout was not started, so the charged currency on an Australian card is still unknown. GST is unknown on both. Native currencies differ; do not rank 9711 AUD cents against 6900 USD cents.

On the documented record this scenario points to Private Internet Access. That is not a page winner.

Buyer who wants a documented no-card free plan before paying, knowing Australia is not on that free list

Windscribe documents 2 GB/month without email and 10 GB/month with a confirmed email on ten countries that do not include Australia. The 12 Sep 2026 API marked every Australian group Pro-only. PIA has no public free plan. The free plan is not the 7-day paid refund. Apps were not run.

On the documented record this scenario points to Windscribe. That is not a page winner.

Current-iOS buyer who needs IKEv2 documented in the vendor app

Windscribe’s iOS feature page lists IKEv2 among six protocols. PIA’s current iOS change-protocols article lists WireGuard and OpenVPN plus Automatic — IKEv2 is not in that list. This is help-centre copy, not an app test and not a protocol speed result.

On the documented record this scenario points to Windscribe. That is not a page winner.

Buyer who will only pay after opening an ISAE 3000 no-logs PDF

PIA’s 2024 and 2025 Deloitte limited-assurance PDFs were opened from public HTTPS URLs and read. They are point-in-time configuration opinions with restricted use, not reasonable assurance and not a 2026 production census. Windscribe’s opened Packetlabs PDF is a May/June 2024 node retest that includes a no-log policy review; it is not an ISAE 3000. Leviathan PDFs are 2021–2022 app source reviews. If an ISAE 3000 no-logs PDF is a hard requirement, the stored Windscribe audit rows do not fill that slot. A PDF is not a numeric security score.

On the documented record this scenario points to Private Internet Access. That is not a page winner.

Buyer who wants a 12-month prepaid rather than a 39-month billed intro

Windscribe’s compared SKU is a 12-month USD prepaid (US$69). PIA’s compared SKU bills 39 months in one charge (AU$97.11). PIA also lists a 1 Year card at AU$71.88; that SKU is not the cash table. The EDUMCATE US$39 yearly is a dual public intro and is not used here. Native currencies differ. Checkout was not started.

On the documented record this scenario points to Windscribe. That is not a page winner.

Current-iOS buyer who wants Always On VPN documented rather than a reconnect-only kill switch

Windscribe documents OS Always On VPN on iOS as the Firewall equivalent. PIA documents an iOS kill switch that blocks internet while reconnecting, not on manual disconnect, and documents Leak Protection as unavailable with WireGuard and OpenVPN. This is vendor documentation, not a leak test. Split tunnel is not documented on iOS for either product.

On the documented record this scenario points to Windscribe. That is not a page winner.

Australian organisation that needs private-resource access, SSO or device posture

Neither listing is a business remote-access product. A consumer VPN tier does not document SSO or private application access. Use the business remote-access collection instead.

Unsuitable for both products on this pair.

Reproducible prepaid cash example

Horizons are cash charged, not prorated service. A 24-month prepaid is billed in full inside 12 months. Australian checkout totals stay unknown. Open the same plans in the cost tool

Native currencies differ (AUD vs USD). Columns are not converted. Which billed total is cheaper in Australian dollars is unknown.

Cash item	Private Internet Access 3 Years + 3 Months EXTRA	Windscribe Yearly Plan
Introductory billed total	A$97.11	USD 69.00
Covered months (term + bonus)	39	12
Effective monthly average (not cash)	A$2.49	USD 5.75
12-month cash	A$97.11	USD 69.00
24-month cash	A$97.11	USD 138.00
36-month cash	A$97.11	USD 207.00
GST / VAT on the listed amount	GST unknown	GST unknown
Australian checkout total	Unknown	Unknown

Hand checks: 9711/39=249; 249*12=2988 ≠ 9711; 6900/12=575; 575*12=6900.

Cash outlay counts billed charges when they are taken. A 24-month prepaid is billed in full inside a 12-month horizon.
The effective monthly figure is an average of the introductory billed total over covered months. It is not the cash charged each month.
Australian checkout totals are unknown. Checkout was not started. Card FX fees are omitted.
GST treatment is unknown on at least one listed total. Those figures are not GST-inclusive Australian checkout prices.
Native currencies differ. Cash columns stay in the billed currency. Do not treat the smaller number as cheaper. An Australian-dollar ranking of these billed totals is unknown without a dated HTTPS FX quote, and that quote would still not be an Australian checkout total.

Unknown on this pair

Australian checkout totals (checkout was not started; GST unknown on both listed amounts; PIA “shown in AUD” is not a printed AU GST line)
AUD equivalent of Windscribe USD billed totals (no dated HTTPS FX quote is attached; card FX fees omitted)
Whether an Australian card is charged in AUD, USD or another currency at Windscribe checkout
Which Windscribe yearly total a given visitor is shown (US$69 no-promo versus US$39 EDUMCATE / homepage; dual public intros stay unresolved)
Which Windscribe country/location count is current (API 74/71 versus marketing 69+/112, 69+/135+, 190+ locations, over 85 countries)
Physical versus virtual Australian exits (Windscribe KB is vendor copy; PIA geo=false is vendor metadata; neither is a site visit)
Account and control-plane data residency (data_hosting remains unknown on both)
Independent speed, leak-test or streaming-unblocking results — not tested, including PIA’s Streaming Optimized Australia label

Original conclusions from the record

On the stored 12 Sep 2026 cards, PIA 3 Years + 3 Months EXTRA 12-month cash is 9711 AUD cents and Windscribe Yearly Plan 12-month cash is 6900 USD cents. Covered months are 39 versus 12. 12-month cash equals those intros. 9711/39=249 and 249×12=2988 ≠ 9711 because the 39-month prepaid is billed in full inside 12 months. 6900/12=575 and 575×12=6900 because covered months are 12. 36-month cash stays 9711 AUD cents on the PIA SKU (covered 39 ≥ 36). 36-month cash on the Windscribe yearly SKU is 6900+6900+6900=20700 USD cents if the documented yearly rate is taken again. Native currencies differ, so the smaller number is not cheaper in Australian dollars. GST is unknown on both; charged Australian totals stay unknown.
PIA’s cancellable monthly option is 1979 AUD cents. 1979×12=23748 is not the 9711 three-year intro. Windscribe’s Pro monthly is 900 USD cents. 900×12=10800 is not the 6900 yearly intro. The AU$2.49 and US$5.75 teasers are averages, not month-to-month prices. That is listed-price arithmetic, not checkout.
Do not put the EDUMCATE US$39 yearly into this cash table. It was a second public intro on the same day as the US$69 list. Dual public intros stay unresolved.
Documented in-app IKEv2 favours Windscribe on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. PIA’s stored app rows are WireGuard and OpenVPN. Windscribe’s Linux in-app list still omits IKEv2. Apps were not run.
Documented iOS kill-switch shape differs: Windscribe points at OS Always On VPN; PIA documents reconnect-only and unavailable Leak Protection with the two in-app protocols. That is help-centre copy, not a leak-test result.
Inspectable report scope differs: PIA’s 2024 and 2025 Deloitte ISAE 3000 PDFs were read; 2022 is announcement-only. Windscribe’s Packetlabs PDF was read (CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL; published Drive link; one-node retest) plus 2021–2022 Leviathan app PDFs. That is a report-scope difference, not a claim that one product is more secure.
Windscribe documents a free plan; Australia is Pro-only on the stored API snapshot. PIA has no public free plan. Both advertise the same five Australian cities. An exit IP is not data residency. Both legal entities are Five Eyes yes.
The documented simultaneous-connection cap on the compared SKUs is unlimited versus unlimited, with abuse/account-sharing caveats in each vendor’s terms. We did not count live tunnels.
This is not a ranked winner, not a numeric security score, and not a speed or streaming result. Business private-resource access is out of scope for both consumer listings.

Sources

Calculation clock 2026-09-12. Product research dates stay 2026-09-12. Changing the evaluation time does not rewrite those checked dates.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Private Internet Access	Windscribe
Ownership jurisdiction	United States	Canada (Ontario)
Five Eyes jurisdiction	Yes	Yes
Logging policy	Vendor no-logs claim	Vendor no-logs claim
Retained service data	Documented retained service data	Documented retained service data
Australian exit advertised	Advertised — not proof of Australian data residency	Advertised — not proof of Australian data residency
Exit location evidence	Advertised	Advertised
Physical vs virtual locations	Unknown	Physical
Account / control-plane hosting	Overseas	Overseas
Account data residency	Unknown	Unknown
Device limit	Unlimited	Unlimited
Concurrent connections	Unlimited	Unlimited
Free tier	No free tier	Available
Month-to-month price	$19.79 AUD	9.00 USD
GST treatment	GST unknown	GST unknown
Native currency	AUD	USD
Independent audit	Independently inspected	Independently inspected

Pricing Comparison (native currency, GST labelled per plan)

Compare subscription cash outlay

Private Internet Access Plans

1 Month

$19.79 AUD / mo month-to-month

AU headed Chrome 12 Sep 2026: 1 Month AU$19.79/mo, autorenews at AU$19.79 monthly. This is the cancellable month-to-month option. Disclaimer: all amounts shown in AUD. Australian GST was not printed. Checkout was not started. A curl fetch without an AU locale printed USD $11.95 for the same card.

AUD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: $19.79 AUD
Term: 1 month
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: $19.79 AUD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: $19.79 AUD / 1 month
Month-to-month option: $19.79 AUD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

1 Year

$71.88 AUD billed / 12 months

Printed billed at AU$71.88 first year then autorenews annually at AU$71.88. Teaser AU$5.99/mo. Hand check 7188/12=599. That equivalent is not the cancellable monthly price (AU$19.79). GST unknown. Checkout was not started.

AUD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: $71.88 AUD
Term: 12 months
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: $5.99 AUD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: $71.88 AUD / 12 months
Month-to-month option: $19.79 AUD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

3 Years + 3 Months EXTRA

$97.11 AUD billed / 36 months

Fall Sale 87% off card 12 Sep 2026: AU$2.49/mo teaser, autorenews at AU$97.11 every 3 years. Intro period is 36+3 months. Hand check 249×39=9711. The AU$2.49 equivalent is not a cancellable monthly price. Renewal is the printed AU$97.11 / 36 months, without another extra three months on the card. GST unknown. Checkout was not started. Select Plan was not clicked.

AUD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: $97.11 AUD
Term: 36 months
Bonus months: 3 bonus months
Effective monthly equivalent: $2.49 AUD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: $97.11 AUD / 36 months
Month-to-month option: $19.79 AUD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

Windscribe Plans

Monthly Plan

9.00 USD / mo month-to-month

AU headed Chrome 12 Sep 2026 on /upgrade with no promo: Monthly Plan billed US$9.00 USD every month. This is the cancellable month-to-month Pro option. Renews automatically, cancel anytime. GST not printed. Checkout was not started. Buy Now / Continue / Select Payment Method were not clicked.

USD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: 9.00 USD
Term: 1 month
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: 9.00 USD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: 9.00 USD / 1 month
Month-to-month option: 9.00 USD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

Yearly Plan

69.00 USD billed / 12 months

No-promo upgrade grid: billed US$69 USD every 12 months, teaser US$5.75/mo, MOST POPULAR. Hand check 6900/12=575. That equivalent is not the cancellable monthly price (US$9.00). Homepage copy: the price you signed up for is the price you pay forever. GST unknown. Checkout was not started. A same-day EDUMCATE promo printed US$39/year — dual public yearly totals, not mixed into this SKU.

USD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: 69.00 USD
Term: 12 months
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: 5.75 USD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: 69.00 USD / 12 months
Month-to-month option: 9.00 USD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

Yearly Back to School (EDUMCATE)

39.00 USD billed / 12 months

Homepage banner 12 Sep 2026: Get Pro for $39/year, SALE ON NOW, ENDS SEPT 14TH, 43% off $69. Promo URL printed SAVE 64% 1 Year Cheaper Pro Subscription billed US$39.00 USD every 12 months, teaser US$3.25/mo. Hand check 3900/12=325. The US$3.25 figure is not a cancellable monthly price. Dual public yearly with the US$69 list. Buy Now was not clicked. GST unknown.

USD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: 39.00 USD
Term: 12 months
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: 3.25 USD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: 39.00 USD / 12 months
Month-to-month option: 9.00 USD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

Build A Plan (3-location minimum)

3.00 USD / mo month-to-month

Billed US$1.00 per location per month. Location picker: each location US$1/mo and adds 10 GB; US$3 minimum; maximum 7 locations (full Monthly Pro is cheaper beyond that). The US$1/location figure is not a cancellable US$1 monthly price. Stored cents and price_monthly are the US$3 minimum for three locations — that minimum is this SKU's month-to-month, not the US$9 Pro monthly. Unlimited data + R.O.B.E.R.T customisation is an add-on on this SKU. GST unknown. Build / payment was not started.

USD · GST unknown

Introductory billed total: 3.00 USD
Term: 1 month
Bonus months: None
Effective monthly equivalent: 3.00 USD effective monthly equivalent — not a cancellable monthly price
Renewal: 3.00 USD / 1 month
Month-to-month option: 3.00 USD

Checked 2026-09-12

Pricing source

Pros & Cons