How much does a VPN cost upfront and at renewal?

The four numbers to collect

Before comparing a VPN offer, write down the first payment, months included, renewal payment and renewal interval. Add the currency and applicable tax. A page showing only “from $1.79 per month” can’t tell you what a subscription costs: in PIA’s case, that rate stands for $46.54 paid upfront for 26 months, followed by a yearly renewal whose amount the deal page doesn’t print.

A genuine monthly plan charges each month. A long-term plan usually collects its full initial payment at checkout and advertises that payment divided by the covered months. Both can be described with a monthly figure, but they create different bills and commitments.

The five quotes on this site show the range. Before tax, NordVPN Basic is $94.23 for 27 months, Surfshark Starter $67.23 for 27 months, PIA $46.54 for 26 months, PureVPN Standard $58.20 for 27 months and PrivateVPN $72.00 for 36 months. They’re USD quotes checked on 13 October 2026, not a live price feed, and regional or affiliate offers can differ.

USD quotes checked 13 October 2026, before applicable tax. Currency, campaign and checkout prices can vary. Monthly rates are equivalents of upfront payments. How pricing works.

Monthly equivalent versus the bill today

The initial equivalent is full initial payment ÷ included months. For the five quotes:

• NordVPN: $94.23 ÷ 27 = $3.49
• Surfshark: $67.23 ÷ 27 = $2.49
• PIA: $46.54 ÷ 26 = $1.79
• PureVPN: $58.20 ÷ 27 = $2.1556, or $2.16 to the cent
• PrivateVPN: $72.00 ÷ 36 = $2.00

PureVPN’s own page shows $2.15 for that plan, because it cuts off the extra digits rather than rounding them. That’s why you should calculate from the total instead of multiplying an advertised rate: $2.15 × 27 is $58.05, which is 15 cents short of the $58.20 PureVPN bills. The difference is small, but the principle matters when you check a receipt against a marketing line.

Upfront cash and monthly equivalent answer separate questions. PrivateVPN’s $2.00 equivalent is lower than PureVPN’s $2.16 or Surfshark’s $2.49, yet PrivateVPN collects the most of the three today, $72.00, because its first term runs 36 months. Decide which constraint actually applies to you instead of assuming the top row of a rate-sorted table always costs you less.

Bonus months and commitment

A “two years plus three months” term covers 27 initial months; NordVPN, Surfshark and PureVPN sell their long plans that way. PIA’s deal adds two months to two years, for 26 in all, and PrivateVPN sells 12 months plus 24 months extra, for 36. Extra months lower the equivalent without lowering the payment due today. NordVPN’s $94.23 divided by 24 months instead of 27 would be $3.93 a month.

Bonus months usually belong to the first term. All five long-term plans here renew for 12 months at a time, so read the recurring line instead of assuming the bonus repeats. PrivateVPN shows the effect most clearly: its plan card says the $72.00 that bought 36 months is then billed every 12 months.

Also compare the months you expect to use. If you buy PrivateVPN’s 36-month plan and use it for three months, you’ve paid $24.00 for each month of use ($72.00 ÷ 3), while its 3-month plan costs $17.99 in total. A shorter plan can cost less overall even with a higher advertised rate. Check the refund terms before relying on that, though: PrivateVPN’s exclude orders under USD 45, including that 3-month plan.

Renewal is a new calculation

The renewal equivalent is renewal payment ÷ renewal months. At the quoted renewals:

• NordVPN Basic: $139.08 ÷ 12 = $11.59 a month
• Surfshark Starter: $79.00 ÷ 12 = $6.58 a month
• PureVPN Standard: $47.95 ÷ 12 = $4.00 a month
• PrivateVPN: $72.00 ÷ 12 = $6.00 a month

PureVPN’s is the only published renewal here that’s smaller than its first payment, $47.95 against $58.20, and only because the first payment buys 27 months and the renewal buys 12. Per month the renewal still costs more: $4.00 against $2.16. Surfshark’s renewal table lists its $79.00 figure and notes that displayed renewal prices may be subject to testing, so check the amount again at checkout.

PIA’s deal page says the 26-month plan renews yearly but prints no amount. We leave that blank rather than borrow another plan’s price, and the same rule applies to any quote you collect: a missing renewal is an unknown, not a zero.

To compare the first term plus one renewal, add both payments and divide by all the months covered. NordVPN’s figures give $94.23 + $139.08 = $233.31 across 39 months, about $5.98 a month before tax. The same sum gives $146.23 over 39 months for Surfshark (about $3.75 a month), $106.15 over 39 months for PureVPN (about $2.72) and $144.00 over 48 months for PrivateVPN ($3.00). These averages help with planning, but NordVPN doesn’t bill $5.98 a month: the schedule still contains two larger charges.

Calculate your own subscription quote

Enter the exact amounts shown in checkout, including tax and extras if you want to compare the final bill. The calculator opens with NordVPN’s Basic quote as an example. It doesn’t fetch prices and doesn’t treat a blank renewal amount as zero. Its combined figure covers the initial term and one renewal, not an indefinite subscription.

Taxes, currencies and add-ons

Providers can localize currency using location and payment information. The same-looking number in euros and dollars isn’t an interchangeable quote. Compare offers in a common currency only when you have a real conversion basis, and keep exchange fees or card charges separate if they apply.

Taxes may appear later in checkout, so an advertised pre-tax total can differ from the amount collected. Optional services such as a dedicated IP, port forwarding, identity protection or a security bundle can add their own payments and refund conditions. PureVPN, for example, sells port forwarding and dedicated IPs as paid add-ons. Review what’s actually selected rather than comparing only the base VPN rate.

A discount percentage can also hide the benchmark. A large “save” claim may compare a long-term promotion with repeated full monthly payments. It tells you less than the actual first and recurring amounts for the term you intend to buy.

Renewal cancellation and refunds

If you want only the first term, follow the provider’s auto-renewal cancellation steps after purchase and keep the confirmation. This normally preserves the access already paid for. Uninstalling the app doesn’t cancel the subscription.

Refund requests are separate and depend on the provider’s terms and purchase channel. A 30- or 31-day initial-purchase guarantee doesn’t automatically cover a later renewal or an app-store transaction, and some terms add their own limits, such as PrivateVPN’s exclusion of orders under USD 45. See the VPN refund guide before relying on a guarantee as a substitute for reading the bill.

A reusable buying checklist

1. Confirm the exact product and the settings you need on your operating system.
2. Write down the final first payment and the included months.
3. Read the recurring payment, billing interval and whether bonus months repeat.
4. Check tax, currency and any optional extras.
5. Compare the full payment with the period you expect to use.
6. Keep the receipt and renewal-cancellation confirmation if applicable.

Use the cheap VPN comparison to rank the five quotes by each measure, or compare by device features if cost is only one part of the decision.

Common questions

How much does a VPN cost per month?

For the five long-term deals checked here, the monthly equivalents run from $1.79 (PIA) to $3.49 (NordVPN Basic), but each is paid upfront, from $46.54 to $94.23. Month-to-month plans cost more: from $9.90 at PrivateVPN to $16.45 for Surfshark Starter’s default monthly price.

How much does a VPN cost per year after the first term?

The four published renewals run from $47.95 a year (PureVPN Standard) to $139.08 (NordVPN Basic), before tax. PIA’s deal page says the plan renews yearly but doesn’t show the amount.

Why does the monthly cost rise at renewal?

The first term carries an introductory price, usually with bonus months, while renewals are charged at the provider’s renewal price for 12 months at a time. Surfshark Starter, for example, goes from a $2.49 equivalent to $6.58 a month at renewal ($79.00 ÷ 12).