CyberGhost vs Private Internet Access

The short answer

CyberGhost and Private Internet Access (PIA) are sister brands. Both are owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns ExpressVPN. They don't share an evidence record, though. Each has had Deloitte check its no-logs claim three times. PIA also has two US court cases in which investigators asked for user data and it had no activity logs to give, and its app code is public. CyberGhost has neither of those.

Neither has a published third-party security test of its apps, which is why both sit at Good rather than Strong in our reviews. If you're choosing between these two, PIA has more evidence behind its privacy claims. CyberGhost may suit you better if you'd rather not use a US company.

Tunnelcheck hasn't tested either. The fact table above comes from our provider files; this page interprets it. See how we review and the sources below.

Ownership and jurisdiction

Kape bought CyberGhost in 2017, when Kape was still called Crossrider. Crossrider's platform for building browser extensions had been widely misused by adware makers; it left that business in 2016 and renamed itself Kape Technologies in 2018. PIA, founded in 2010 under London Trust Media, announced its merger into Kape on November 18, 2019. Kape then bought ExpressVPN in 2021 and was taken private by Teddy Sagi's company Unikmind in 2023. Kape also bought Webselenese, publisher of the review sites vpnMentor and Wizcase, in 2021.

The operating companies differ. CyberGhost's terms are a contract with CyberGhost S.R.L., a Romanian company; the terms say English law governs most disputes. PIA's terms are with PIA Private Internet Access, Inc., governed by Colorado law, which makes it subject to US subpoenas and warrants.

Choosing between them doesn't change who ultimately owns your VPN. If you want to avoid Kape, look outside this pair. See who owns your VPN.

Logging and audits

Both use Deloitte Audit Romania under ISAE 3000 (Revised), the standard for assurance on non-financial claims. The audit table above lists the dates.

• CyberGhost: 2022, 2024 (as of January 31, 2024) and 2025 (as of October 31, 2025). The 2025 scope covered its server network, configuration, change management, incident response and dedicated IP token system. Clubic reported that Deloitte found nothing calling into question the match between the observed setup and CyberGhost's description.
• PIA: 2022 (server configurations as of June 30, 2022), 2024, and 2025 (completed December 19, 2025). The 2025 scope covered VPN and distribution servers, configuration, access control, change and incident management, its RAM-disk server design and dedicated IP tokens. CyberInsider reported that nothing came to Deloitte's attention suggesting the setup was inconsistent with PIA's no-logs description.

The wording matters. The accountants' body ICAEW explains that "nothing came to our attention" is the negative form of conclusion used for limited assurance, while reasonable assurance gives a positive opinion that a claim is fairly stated. The summaries we read don't say which level these engagements used, so treat them as findings of no contradiction. Each report is pinned to one date. Both companies also publish quarterly transparency reports. PIA's for the fourth quarter of 2025 listed 30 legal requests, including 7 subpoenas and 1 warrant, and said it produced no logs. These are the companies' own figures. See VPN audits.

Track record

PIA has the stronger record. In a 2016 FBI case over false bomb threats, a subpoena to London Trust Media produced only that the IP addresses belonged to an East Coast server cluster, TorrentFreak reported. In a 2018 federal hacking case in San Jose, the company's general counsel told the court PIA keeps no logs of customer activity, and the conviction rested on other evidence. Both cases came before the Kape deal.

CyberGhost has no reported breach and no court case testing its claim that we found. Its evidence is the Deloitte series and its transparency reports. For more on how court cases differ from audits, see no-logs policies explained.

Features and protocols

• CyberGhost: WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, though not every app has all three. An automatic kill switch, on by default according to its guides. Seven devices at once on the purchase page, although its terms mention an "unlimited simultaneous devices" feature.
• PIA: WireGuard and OpenVPN, plus IKEv2 on iOS. An Advanced Kill Switch that blocks traffic whenever the VPN isn't connected. Unlimited simultaneous connections. Its app code is public on GitHub under the pia-foss account.

Open code is a different kind of check from an audit. It lets anyone read what the apps do, which is a real advantage for PIA. See kill switch, WireGuard vs OpenVPN and split tunneling.

Streaming and torrenting policies

Torrenting. Both allow it, with different rules. CyberGhost runs P2P-optimized servers in selected locations and says P2P isn't offered on every server. PIA says it supports P2P on every server and offers port forwarding, which helps torrent clients accept incoming connections, on selected servers. Both sets of terms forbid distributing copyrighted content you don't have rights to. A VPN hides your downloads from your internet provider. It doesn't make copyright infringement legal. See is torrenting illegal and our safe torrenting guide.

Streaming. Neither CyberGhost nor PIA controls whether a streaming service lets you in. Watching another country's catalog usually breaks the streaming service's terms of use, and services block IP addresses they link to VPNs, so what works one week can fail the next. We don't promise that either one gets anything unblocked. See why streaming services block VPNs and, for legal options abroad, streaming while traveling.

Price (checked 2026-11-13)

• CyberGhost: $2.19 a month on the 2-years-plus-4-months plan ($61.32 for the first 28 months), $6.99 a month on 6 months, and $12.99 for one month. Refunds within 45 days on plans of six months or longer, 14 days on one-month plans, for direct purchases.
• PIA: $2.03 a month on the 3-years-plus-4-months plan, labeled a limited early-access offer, renewing at $81.20 every 3 years; $3.99 a month on one year ($47.88); $11.95 for one month. A 30-day refund on the first purchase.

Long-term prices are close. CyberGhost gives more time to change your mind; PIA's long plan states its renewal price more clearly. Promotional prices change, so check the official pricing pages and our checked VPN prices.

Which should you pick?

• Pick PIA if you want the strongest evidence of the two, open-source apps, unlimited devices, or port forwarding for torrenting.
• Pick CyberGhost if you'd rather avoid a US-based company, want labeled torrent servers, or want a 45-day refund window.
• Pick neither if Kape's ownership is the problem. Alternatives outside Kape include Proton VPN and Mullvad.