Surfshark review: the VPN that adapts to you

The VPN industry is overflowing with products and services making bold claims about their effectiveness in every possible way. Numerous up-and-coming providers proclaim they’re the best VPN on the market, even though they offer few features and hide various details about themselves. As such, subscribing to such products is a questionable decision at best.

Surfshark is unlike the VPNs I just described and is one of the most sensible services you can purchase. For example, it offers numerous features and clearly indicates how many servers it has. Moreover, it has annual activity reports, a warrant canary, and independent audits to emphasize its trustworthiness and reliability.

I’ve been using Surfshark VPN frequently for the past few years, and I’m happy to see how it evolved and improved during that time. Now, it offers a unique service combining advanced and standard VPN features to ensure effective and well-rounded digital protection. It has outstanding device compatibility and supports unlimited device connections, meaning anyone can utilize this VPN on every device they own. Plus, it’s pretty customizable, allowing you to tailor the VPN to suit your needs.

However, I don’t want you to think that Surfshark is a flawless service that will solve all your problems. While this VPN is excellent from a technical point of view, its subscription model has room for improvement. More precisely, its prices are initially affordable but increase after the introductory period. While this is a common practice among online subscription services, Surfshark should clarify that its excellent prices are temporary. Still, the renewal prices are pretty good and are still a bargain, considering Surfshark’s excellent feature package. Plus, it includes a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 7-day free trial to facilitate risk-free testing.

TL;DR: Surfshark is an excellent and effective VPN offering standard features and unique tools for added privacy and security. It’s well-performing and affordable, but its budget-friendly pricing is only available during the introductory period.

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How much does Surfshark cost?

One thing users usually first look at when choosing a VPN is its price. Surfshark is considered one of the most affordable premium VPN services on the market. Obviously, to enjoy low prices you need to choose a longer subscription, while a shorter commitment means higher cost.

The best part is that any plan you choose comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the service with peace of mind. Here’s a breakdown of all Surfshark VPN plans, prices, and subscription periods:

To get the lowest Surfshark VPN price of $2.19/month, you should subscribe to the Starter plan for 2 years. The same plan’s 1-month subscription price goes all the way up to $15.45/month. On the other hand, the most comprehensive, One+ plan, costs $4.29/month on a 2-year subscription and a whopping $17.95/month when you sign up for one month only. The middle plan, One, is the optimal one and offers the best value for money, in my opinion. While its monthly subscription price is $15.95/month, you can get it for as low as $2.69/month on a 2-year subscription – not much of a difference from the Starter plan, but you do get a lot more features.

As you can see, monthly plans are the most expensive, but this is normal practice among most VPN providers. My suggestion is to assess your needs – do you need the service for a short period, or will you use it long-term? Do you need just a basic VPN or a feature-rich security service? For beginners, I say try the basic plan at first to see if it fulfills your needs. For power users, go with the One+ subscription, where you get all the security features that Surfshark VPN has to offer.

I have to note that the prices will increase after renewal, but this is, again, normal practice. Just before the subscription ends, users get notified via email that their subscription is coming to an end and will be auto-renewed unless the user opts out. The new pricing will also be provided, so you’ll be able to decide whether it’s suitable or not. Currently, Surfshark allows users to renew for a month or a year. The Starter plan can be renewed for $15.45/month for one month or $4.98/month for a year. The One plan’s monthly subscription renews at the same price as was initially – $15.95/month. If you choose to renew for a year, the price will be $6.58/month. And finally, the One+ renewal prices start at $17.95/month for 1 month and $8.25/month annually. Keep in might that renewal prices are subject to change and Surfshark might offer individual deals for existing customers.

As with many other VPNs, Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with all its plans. That means you can request a refund during the first month of your subscription. According to our tests and user testimonials on Reddit, Surfshark honors this policy. However, remember that the process might be time-consuming, and you’ll encounter pushback from customer support agents.

Surfshark offers a 7-day free trial on the Google Play and Apple App Stores if you're not keen on the refund route. Naturally, these trials have some considerations as well. For example, you must share your credit card information to qualify for the trial. Moreover, you’ll be charged for an annual subscription if you don’t cancel in advance. Finally, these trials are provided by Google and Apple, respectively, which means their policies apply to the process, and Surfshark isn’t directly responsible for it.

Regarding payment methods, Surfshark accepts PayPal, credit or debit cards, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrencies via CoinGate. Thus, there are conventional and anonymity-centered payment methods to suit various customer needs.

Surfshark security: strong encryption, audits, and room for discussion

Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for security, but it has some potential issues that could discourage picky users. Personally, I think Surfshark is one of the best budget-friendly VPNs for security and privacy, but some could argue that it has room for improvement. Let's overview the details so you can decide for yourself whether Surfshark’s protection is top-tier.

Like most premium VPNs, Surfshark uses AES-256-GCM encryption to secure customer connections. If you’re using WireGuard, AES-256 is enhanced using ChaCha20 encryption. The hash function is SHA-512, while encryption keys use a 2048-bit version of RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman). Everything is solid from a technical standpoint; nothing else to comment on.

Surfshark’s jurisdiction is in the Netherlands, which isn’t ideal because the country is part of the Fourteen-Eyes alliance. On the other hand, the country doesn’t have any mandatory data retention laws and is part of the European Union, which requires GDPR compliance. So, while this aspect isn’t perfect, I wouldn’t consider this a deal breaker.

Additionally, Surfshark has conducted an independent audit of its no-logs policy, which further emphasizes its reliability. In 2022, Deloitte conducted a no-logs assurance report and confirmed that Surfshark sticks to its promises.

Besides that, Surfshark conducted two other external audits to check for potential security flaws. For starters, Cure53 audited Surfshark’s browser extensions and commended them for their robust security. Cure53 also conducted the other, and this time, it focused on Surfshark’s server infrastructure. So, these independent audits confirm that Surfshark is very secure and more reliable than VPNs without any external audits.

On the other hand, there are a few providers that have conducted more audits if you’re looking for VPNs with more third-party verification. For example, NordVPN went through 4 independent audits, while ExpressVPN conducted 18 as of June 2024.

Other non-technical security assurances include a third-party bug bounty program, frequent internal and external penetration tests, and a warrant canary. To learn more about the provider's numerous security and privacy measures, I recommend visiting Surfshark’s trust center. There, you will also find information on Surfshark's recently launched transparency report. Its main purpose is to boost reliability by detailing DMCA requests, warrants from any government organization, National Security letters, and more. Surfshark aims to increase user trust and privacy protection with this unprecedented step towards complete transparency.

Expert comment

Akvilė Tamašiūnienė

Content editor and security expert

If you have high standards when choosing a VPN, Surfshark is definitely one to consider. It stays at the top of the market amongst other leading VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN, by offering strong security features, customer-focused privacy practices, great usability, as well as additional features like MultiHop, Static IP, Alternative ID, Antivirus, and many more.

However, the most crucial factors why I choose Surfshark instead of other market-leading providers are its unlimited simultaneous connections and a very affordable price. Why choose something else, when you can get the same for a cheaper price and cover all your devices at once?

Surfshark feature overview

Surfshark VPN offers a number of useful features, the availability of which depends on the chosen plan. The Surfshark Starter plan offers the basics and is mostly suitable for beginners or those looking for a basic VPN service for a very affordable price. It also includes an ad and cookie pop-up blocker, which I find a nice addition.

To increase security, privacy-conscious users should go for the Surfshark One plan, offering a wide variety of tools, including those of the basic plan plus antivirus protection, credit card and ID breach alerts, webcam protection, and many more.

If you’re a digital nomad wanting all that Surfshark has to offer, then go with the One+ plan. It covers everything One subscription includes and adds data removal tools (Incogni) on top.

Lastly, all Surfshark plans now offer the Alternative Number add-on for $5/month, allowing users to generate a virtual phone number that avoids spam calls and protects their real number.

Here’s a brief overview of what each plan has to offer:

Visit Surfshark VPN

What I really like about Surfshark is that all of its 24-month plans give you up to 3 extra months and are fully refundable within 30 days.

What you get with the Surfshark Starter plan

Surfshark is well known for its many features, even on its most affordable plan. I’ll try to explain Surfshark’s most essential features and what makes them special without diving too deeply into technical details. Let’s begin with what’s available on the Starter plan, Surfshark’s cheapest subscription plan.

I believe CleanWeb is one of the best perks Surfshark customers receive. The feature blocks ads, trackers, and malware while the VPN is enabled. On PC and mobile, this feature appears as a simple option you can toggle on or off. However, an improved version is available on Surfshark’s extension. Even the app mentions this and recommends downloading it. With the extension, you get better results and more customization options. This feature is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

In total, Surfshark offers 3200 servers across 100 countries. The server numbers are excellent, considering the service’s affordable price, but I’m more impressed with the country selection.

As far as I know, only NordVPN has more connection options (servers in 111 countries), but that’s expected since it’s pricier than Surfshark. Meanwhile, ExpressVPN, which is significantly pricier than both, has servers in 105 countries. Unsurprisingly, Surfshark achieves this variety by employing virtual servers, which have potential performance issues. Still, I don’t think that’s a significant drawback considering the benefits of many country connection options.

Speaking of servers, Surfshark offers a few specialty options. One of the more exciting options is Static IP, which is self-explanatory. Essentially, you can connect to a few specific servers with unchanging IP addresses. At the time of writing, Static IP servers were available in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and the US. They’re a great option if you want to avoid the pitfalls of a constantly changing IP address, but I find the limited country selection pretty inflexible.

As mentioned before, MultiHop is one of Surfshark’s best features due to its added security, privacy, and customization. However, don’t forget that routing your connection through multiple servers will significantly impact your speed. Naturally, the speed loss will vary depending on your chosen servers, but that’s not a huge issue since you can create custom routes.

Alternative ID is another unique Surfshark tool for greatly improving your online privacy. It creates an alternative email address for use in new accounts, forwarding all communications to your primary email while keeping it hidden. Along with this, it generates an alternate persona, including a name, birth date, and address, helping you maintain anonymity. Combined with data removal tools like Incogni, this ensures that your personal details remain off the web and out of reach.

Building on this, Surfshark now offers the Alternative Number feature, which generates a virtual phone number to further protect your identity. For just $5/month, users can shield their real phone number, avoiding spam calls and receiving texts through the Surfshark app. This feature complements Alternative ID, providing even more robust privacy when sharing personal information online.

Diving deeper into Surfshark’s Settings menu highlights more features. You have all the standard features any worthwhile VPN has, such as the kill switch, multiple protocol options, and auto-connect. You can even set yourself to be invisible on LAN to prevent other devices from connecting to your own.

There’s also the unique Rotating IP feature, which, when enabled, will periodically change your IP address without interrupting your VPN connection. It’s a great way to improve anonymity without severe speed reduction, as with MultiHop. When enabled, the home page shows the time until the next IP rotation and your current IP address. However, after some iterations during testing, the feature showed N/A as the time until the next rotation, making me wonder if the feature works.

What you get with the Surfshark One plan

One is Surfshark’s second subscription tier, which is a significant improvement over Starter. It supplements the provider’s top-tier VPN with other cybersecurity perks for greater online protection.

Alert is a data breach warning system that monitors leaked databases for your information. Like NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor, it ensures your email address isn’t on any recently breached databases. However, with Surfshark, you can also add credit cards and IDs for monitoring, which adds extra security against identity theft. On a desktop, the feature opens the dashboard in a web browser, which is slightly inconvenient. Thankfully, the same doesn’t happen on the mobile version.

The second addition is the aptly named Antivirus. As expected, it deals with malware on your device, grants real-time protection against new threats, and provides custom scanning capabilities. We have a separate Surfshark Antivirus review if you want to know more about its technical capabilities and in-house testing performance. Overall, it’s pretty good but arguably not as feature-rich as other dedicated antivirus providers. Additionally, Surfshark Antivirus hasn’t been tested by independent labs like AV-TEST in the last couple of years, meaning the software’s actual performance lacks thorough analysis.

The last inclusion is Search, which is simply a privacy-focused web search engine. It performs search queries and returns unbiased results without ads, logs, or trackers. Moreover, it doesn’t leave any digital footprints that could expose your identity or affect future search queries. It works like any other search engine, so there’s not much to comment on regarding its usability. However, like with Alert, the search results are opened on your desktop web browser, while everything is done in the app on mobile.

What you get with the Surfshark One+ Plan

Surfshark’s priciest One+ plan has one extra perk, which is the Incogni data removal tool. On the one hand, it’s pretty disappointing that the top subscription tier has only one perk. However, it’s quite a bargain considering how expensive ($6.49/month) Incogni is by itself. But another downside is that Incogni isn’t available worldwide. The service is limited to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe (including Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland).

Incogni does everything for you, meaning its app is intended purely to monitor the service’s progress regarding your data removal. The expansive and thorough dashboard gives you plenty of details to overview. You can see what companies have your information and monitor the progress of data removal. The app also rates the sensitivity of the data companies have about you, allowing you to judge the severity of your situation.

Overall, the app is effective and intuitive, meaning anyone can use it to gain immense privacy gains. Our detailed Incogni review provides more information about this service.

Surfshark usability: easy to use across devices, but features vary by platform

It should come as no surprise that a long-standing VPN like Surfshark has almost no issues regarding usability. After all, it offers unlimited device connections per account, meaning you can easily protect every device you own without worry. However, remember that Surfshark’s terms and conditions prohibit sharing an account with other people.

My most-used devices are Windows PCs at home or work, and my personal Android Pocophone F1 (yes, I know it’s time to upgrade). Therefore, I’ll base most of my insights on Surfshark apps from these platforms. However, I’ve also asked for assistance from my colleagues who use Linux and Apple devices to get a more well-rounded picture of the service. Regardless of your device or OS, you can expect similar performance levels in speed and security, with the most apparent difference being feature availability.

Besides these platforms, Surfshark works with various other devices, such as smart TVs like Apple TV or FireTV, gaming consoles, and even Raspberry Pi. As expected, you can also set up the VPN on your home router to protect your entire household. Plus, there are extensions for the most popular web browsers to secure web traffic.

On Windows, Surfshark’s user interface is minimalistic but clear. It isn’t overcrowded with unnecessary graphics or other gimmicks that would detract from its overall functionality. Some could argue that the lack of a world map (like the one NordVPN includes) for picking server locations is a drawback. However, I think it’s an excellent omission because it keeps the app’s window small and to the point. Plus, the countries in the location selection menu are sorted alphabetically, making it easy to find your desired location. It also shows recent connections and allows saving favorite countries for greater customization.

Speaking of customization, one of Surfshark’s most standout features is Dynamic MultiHop. While Double VPN isn’t revolutionary among VPNs since providers like NordVPN and Proton VPN offer it, Surfshark improves the formula by allowing users to create custom connections. That means you can have whatever entry and exit locations you want. You can choose from a few predetermined connections on the app or create and save your own to suit your needs.

Most of Surfshark’s features are put into separate menus for easy navigation. The home menu is dedicated to the VPN, server locations, and specialty servers. The remaining menus also have straightforward names to clarify what they’re for. So, you’ll find Alternative ID, Alert, Antivirus, Search, and Settings.

If you want to customize your Surfshark connection using split tunneling, you must go to the settings menu. There, the feature is called Bypasser and it supports multiple customization options. Regarding apps, you can select Route via VPN or Bypass VPN methods, which are standard ways of controlling the feature. However, Surfshark goes a step further and allows you to pick websites and IP addresses that should bypass the VPN. Even NordVPN and ExpressVPN don’t have this option with their split tunneling features, but Proton VPN does.

The Android interface is pretty similar in its overall feel and functionality, making the transition between PC and mobile seamless. As expected, the interface includes fewer menus to fit everything comfortably on a smartphone screen, but it doesn’t feel like any significant compromises had to be made.

The home screen is practically the same and provides all the necessary functionality to establish a VPN connection. The remaining menus are Alternative ID, Products, and Settings. Alongside Alert, Search, and Antivirus, the Products menu includes VPN and Alternative ID pages, which is redundant because those are already within reach. On the other hand, it’s convenient to have all available tools in one place. Still, I think Surfshark could optimize this part to improve navigation.

For some (including myself), the Settings menu is the most interesting because it houses all the vital technical details. There, you can enable CleanWeb, the kill switch, customize Bypasser, and choose a preferred tunneling protocol. In short, this menu has the most impact on your VPN connection performance. The menu is straightforward, meaning anyone can customize the service without much effort.

On Apple devices (macOS and iOS), the experience is basically the same, albeit with fewer features. For example, Surfshark’s macOS version lacks Bypasser and the OpenVPN tunneling protocol. Similarly, the iOS app also lacks Bypasser and the override GPS location features. This lack of features can be attributed to technical limitations and Apple’s general restrictions on app development.

With Linux, Surfshark offers a unique perk that many other Linux VPNs can’t. More precisely, Surfshark provides a GUI Linux app, while many other providers only offer CLI implementation. As such, it may appeal to Linux newcomers unfamiliar with the command line interface.

You can install Surfshark on Linux quickly and easily using a single command provided on the service’s website. At first glance, the app is basically the same as on Windows and Mac, except that several features are missing. To be precise, Linux users don’t receive Alert, Antivirus, Search, Alternative ID, or even server categories. At least the Linux version has a kill switch and other essentials. I suppose Linux users are used to receiving the short end of the stick regarding VPN features since they occupy a small portion of the VPN service user base. Alternatively, it could be due to other technical limitations and the variety of Linux distributions.

The research team also recently tested Surfshark on the Amazon Fire Stick to evaluate its usability and overall streaming capabilities. The setup process was pretty straightforward because the service offers a dedicated app for the platform. Even better, the software includes CleanWeb 2.0 to block frustrating ads. Besides that, the streaming experience was smooth regarding speeds and geo-block bypassing, especially on Netflix and Disney+. Plus, you have the option of sideloading the VPN if your Fire Stick doesn’t support Surfshark’s app. Finally, Surfshark also has apps for other popular streaming devices like Android TV and Apple TV.

Surfshark speeds: impressive tech but real-world results can vary

All signs point towards Surfshark being one of the fastest VPNs on the market. It has a vast server fleet and the modern technology to maintain high-speed connections. Naturally, we conducted in-house speed tests to confirm these results. But first, let's overview the technology behind Surfshark’s speediness.

The most apparent factor leading to Surfshark’s incredible speeds is the modern and open-source WireGuard protocol. Many other speedy VPN providers, such as IPVanish, CyberGhost, and Proton VPN, use it to provide top-tier speeds. Even NordVPN, the fastest VPN on the market, used WireGuard as the foundation for its proprietary NordLynx protocol. So, since the protocol is so widespread, it’s vital to supplement it with something extra to give it the boost it needs to stand out.

With Surfshark, that boost is the one-of-a-kind Nexus technology. Essentially, it means all of Surfshark’s servers are connected to a single network, and all customers connect directly to it. In contrast, most services connect you to separate servers using VPN technology, which is inefficient and has potential privacy issues. Moreover, this technology enables many of Surfshark’s unique features like IP Rotator and Dynamic MultiHop.

Regarding speed tests, the Cybernews research team conducted numerous evaluations with Surfshark servers across various locations to get balanced results. In this article, I’ll highlight their latest findings by comparing our April and July 2024 speed test results. We tested Surfshark servers in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

As always, remember that various factors can influence VPN speeds and that our testing performance may not align with your experiences. For example, we conducted our tests from our offices in Lithuania on a MacBook Air laptop, making it very likely that European servers will have the best speeds. Conversely, distant countries will lead to slower speeds with no fault from Surfshark.

In a nutshell, Surfshark delivered better results in our earlier April speed tests. The overall average download retention rate was 93%, which is exceptionally good considering the various country locations we tested. The lowest rate was, unsurprisingly, in Australia, and it was still 86%. However, the average upload speed retention rate was relatively lower at 64%. We experienced the most significant slowdown in Singapore, where our upload speed dipped to a 15% speed retention rate. Conversely, the fastest upload speeds were in Sweden, with 90% retention.

Our latest August tests showed marginally slower speeds in comparison. For starters, the average download speed retention rate was only 75%, which is pretty good, but I was expecting more from Surfshark. This time, Australia dragged the average down with its 31% retention rate. Interestingly, the US yielded the fastest downloads and retained 90% of our original speeds. Regarding upload speeds, they were almost the same as before and slightly fell to 60%. This time, the slowest upload speeds were in Canada at 27% retention, while Sweden once again provided the best upload speeds at 91% retention.

Overall, our April testing results show that Surfshark can be extremely fast under the right circumstances. Additionally, it has the technical foundation for maintaining swift, secure, and reliable connections for many users worldwide. However, expecting such performance constantly is unrealistic because other factors outside of Surfshark’s control can negatively affect your speeds.

Video review

Check out our freshly updated Surfshark VPN video review for more visual insights and a better understanding of this VPN's capabilities.

Conclusion

Surfshark is definitely one of the best VPNs currently available. For starters, it has a robust technical foundation that guarantees top-tier security, privacy, and speed performance. Secondly, its base subscription is affordable and includes everything you need from a well-rounded VPN. If you need more, pricier tiers unlock even more excellent security measures without breaking the bank.

While the fact that Surfshark is based in the Netherlands (part of the 9-Eyes alliance) might be considered a drawback, it has proven its reliability with a no-logs policy, independently audited by respectable third-party companies.

Overall, I believe Surfshark is a worthwhile investment in the current digital landscape. It includes reliable security measures against malware and unique tools for preserving your anonymity online, which is crucial since your personal information is valuable to practically every company out there.

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