Surfshark VPN Quick information
Our score: 4.6 stars out of 5Pricing: Begins at $3.69 per monthKey options:Limitless simultaneous gadget connections.Quick VPN speeds.Servers throughout 100 international locations.
Surfshark VPN makes a compelling argument as a bang-for-buck VPN in 2024. It affords spectacular VPN speeds and quite a lot of security measures — all at pretty inexpensive costs with its long-term plans.
It additionally helps limitless simultaneous gadget connections, including much more worth for customers with a number of gadgets. Even with no devoted free model, there’s no denying Surfshark’s spectacular price-to-performance ratio.
Semperis
Staff per Firm Dimension
Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Massive (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+)
Massive (1,000-4,999 Staff), Enterprise (5,000+ Staff)
Massive, Enterprise
Options
Superior Assaults Detection, Superior Automation, Wherever Restoration, and extra
ESET PROTECT Superior
Staff per Firm Dimension
Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Massive (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+)
Any Firm Dimension
Any Firm Dimension
Options
Superior Risk Protection, Full Disk Encryption , Fashionable Endpoint Safety, and extra
Is Surfshark free?
No, Surfshark shouldn’t be free and doesn’t have a free model. There’s a seven-day free trial, however it is just accessible for Android, iOS, and macOS customers. Sadly, this leaves Home windows customers with out entry to the free trial — which I hope is resolved within the close to future.
SEE: Surfshark vs Norton Safe VPN (2024): Which VPN Is Higher? (TechRepublic)
Take observe that Surfshark’s seven-day free trial requires fee info to entry. So, you’ll have to present credit score/debit card, PayPal, or different fee information to check out Surfshark VPN.
For those who’re not eager on the free trial, Surfshark supplies a 30-day money-back assure for all its subscription plans, on all platforms. This allows you to refund your preliminary subscription inside a 30-day interval. If this feature is obtainable to you, I feel this can be a good technique to take a look at Surfshark’s service since you’ll be able to all the time refund your buy if it doesn’t suit your wants.
Surfshark VPN pricing
Surfshark has three subscription tiers: Starter, One, and One+. Every tier has a month-to-month, one-year, and two-year contract choice. Under is a rundown of pricing and have variations for every plan:
Surfshark StarterSurfshark OneSurfshark One+
Month-to-month$15.45 per 30 days$17.95 per 30 days$20.65 per 30 days
1 12 months$3.69 per 30 days$4.09 per 30 days$7.69 per 30 days
2 years$2.19 per 30 days$2.69 per 30 days$4.29 per 30 days
Characteristic differencesMain VPN service; advert blocker; cookie pop-up blockerAll Starter options plus real-time e mail breach alerts; personal search device; antivirus protectionAll One options plus information elimination from firm databases and folks search websites (solely accessible in US, Canada, UK, and EU)
By way of which subscription to go for, I like to recommend Surfshark One’s annual subscription. At $4.09 per 30 days, it affords a great stability between having additional options whereas not going overboard with a protracted contract.
SEE: AVG Safe VPN vs Surfshark (2024): Which VPN Is Higher? (TechRepublic)
It’s additionally very inexpensive in comparison with the competitors. For instance, NordVPN’s 1-year Plus plan is priced at $5.99 per 30 days, whereas ExpressVPN’s annual subscription fluctuates between $6.67 and $8.33, relying in your location.
For those who’re particularly searching for a month-to-month subscription, I recommend trying elsewhere. At $15.45 to $20.65 per 30 days, Surfshark’s month-to-month plans are on the costly aspect in the marketplace. My suggestion can be to contemplate both Proton VPN’s one-month Plus plan at $9.99 per 30 days or CyberGhost VPN’s month-to-month subscription at $12.99, particularly in the event you’re on a tighter finances.
One factor to look out for is Surfshark’s tough renewal pricing. Within the small print under its subscription costs, Surfshark states that costs will differ after the preliminary subscription interval.
I might have most popular if Surfshark had secure pricing, even after the renewal interval. This could make the buying determination much less complicated and make its inexpensive plans much more engaging.
To be honest, Surfshark isn’t the one VPN asking for a unique worth upon renewal. Nonetheless, it’s price looking at for the needs of this evaluation.
Safety: Is Surfshark VPN protected?
Sure, Surfshark VPN is a protected and safe VPN. It makes use of top-tier AES-256 encryption — well known as one of the safe encryption algorithms accessible.
For its VPN protocols, Surfshark carries WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN. I commend Surfshark for giving customers flexibility in having the choice between a security-focused tunneling protocol like OpenVPN and extra speed-oriented ones like WireGuard.
SEE: Surfshark vs IPVanish (2024): Which VPN Ought to You Select? (TechRepublic)
As well as, Surfshark has a no-logs coverage, which states that it doesn’t log any consumer’s on-line exercise comparable to looking historical past or information transfers. Whereas it’s simple to make guarantees, Surfshark’s no-logs coverage has been independently audited by Deloitte in December 2022.
In response to Deloitte, Surfshark’s “configuration of IT techniques and administration of the supporting IT operations is correctly ready, in all materials respects, in accordance with Surfshark’s description of its no-logs coverage.”
Surfshark additionally makes use of RAM-only servers for its server fleet, which implies that all information is wiped each time certainly one of their VPN servers is rebooted. This additional secures consumer information, lowering the chance of knowledge breaches and unauthorized entry.
SEE: Why Your Enterprise Wants Cybersecurity Consciousness Coaching (TechRepublic Premium)
One small nitpick I’ve is how Surfshark’s most up-to-date audit was revealed again in 2022 — which is already two years outdated. It will be excellent if Surfshark adopted swimsuit with different distributors, like NordVPN or ExpressVPN, whose most up-to-date audits are from 2023. Nonetheless, I don’t fault them an excessive amount of, particularly contemplating how different VPNs outright don’t have a third-party audit to talk of.
Key options of Surfshark VPN
On high of having the ability to encrypt your web visitors, Surfshark supplies a wholesome quantity of options that cater to varied wants and circumstances.
Dynamic MultiHop
A spotlight characteristic from Surfshark is Dynamic MultiHop. That is Surfshark’s double VPN characteristic that permits customers to attach through two VPN server places, including an additional layer of safety to your information. In essence, this hides your information and on-line exercise behind two servers — providing double the safety you’d in any other case get from a single VPN server.
I significantly like how Surfshark supplies concrete cases the place MultiHop could be a great tool. In response to the VPN supplier, MultiHop might be helpful for folks like political activists or journalists who need elevated on-line anonymity as they reside in additional restrictive areas of the world.
Whereas these are extra area of interest use instances, I applaud Surfshark for bringing distinctive options like this alongside its foremost VPN.
Surfshark Search
As a author who does a ton of on-line analysis, Surfshark Search is my private favourite amongst Surfshark’s options. It supplies a personalized search engine that robotically blocks all focused advertisements and trackers in your search outcomes.
SEE: Surfshark vs CyberGhost (2024): Which VPN Is Higher? (TechRepublic)
Usually, in the event you search one thing like “greatest password supervisor” on a search engine, you’re greeted with a ton of sponsored posts, like within the picture under.
With Surfshark Search, all of the sponsored posts and advertisements are faraway from the search outcomes totally. This supplies a a lot cleaner and fewer intrusive looking expertise. Under is a glimpse of me trying up the identical “greatest password supervisor” — however now utilizing Surfshark Search.
As soon as I clicked search, I used to be redirected to a Surfshark Search web page with a cleaner set of queries, all stuffed with extra natural posts and net pages.
I envision this to be helpful to those who do a variety of analysis and are uninterested in sifting by means of tons of advertisements to get to a top quality webpage.
Limitless gadget connections
With Surfshark, you get limitless simultaneous gadget connections that permit customers to attach a limiteless variety of gadgets to a VPN server on the similar time.
This enables households or small companies to attach as many gadgets as they need to a VPN server with out having to buy an extra subscription.
Whereas not the flashiest characteristic, I discover limitless gadgets to be a big value-add. That is very true in the event you use a lot of laptops, computer systems, and smartphones and want to join all of them to a safe VPN server.
Efficiency: How briskly is Surfshark VPN?
I used to be completely impressed with Surfshark’s VPN speeds, as they had been each quick and dependable throughout my testing. This concerned doing my common workflow as a author: having a number of tabs open for analysis, doing work on Google Workspace apps like Drive and Docs, and attending the occasional on-line video assembly.
Whereas related to Surfshark servers, I skilled nearly zero lower in real-world pace. Websites and webpages loaded rapidly and looking on-line felt snappy. I additionally didn’t encounter any drops in connectivity, as my VPN connection remained secure from begin to end.
The story was the identical when it got here to hurry testing. For downloads, Surfshark solely recorded a lower of about 12.5% in comparison with my web service supplier — which is superb since round a 20-30% drop is taken into account good. For uploads, Surfshark really offered sooner speeds, having a 49.6% enhance when in comparison with my ISP.
With this, in the event you want a fast-performing VPN that gives high pace and reliability, I’m assured Surfshark will do the job properly.
Surfshark VPN servers and places
In relation to VPN servers, Surfshark is available in with a strong 100-country server fleet of three,200+ servers. By way of the variety of servers, Surfshark’s 3,200-server community is above common in comparison with the competitors.
What’s extra fascinating to me is the variety of VPN server places or international locations. At 100 international locations, Surfshark stands on par with different high VPN suppliers in 2024. Simply to check, CyberGhost VPN additionally affords a 100-country server fleet, whereas NordVPN has servers throughout 111 international locations.
In 2024, having round 100 international locations in a VPN server community is trying to be the usual. Personally, I assist this pattern because it provides customers extra selection by way of unblocking geo-restricted content material. It additionally affords advantages by way of pace, because it will increase the probability of getting VPN servers nearer our location — lowering latency and rising general pace.
Thankfully, Surfshark supplies a publicly accessible abstract of all its lively VPN server places. This lets you verify if their VPN has the server places you intend to make use of.
Surfshark on-line server community overview. Picture: Surfshark
You possibly can go to the server listing right here.
Surfshark VPN app expertise
For in-app expertise, I had a principally constructive expertise with Surfshark’s utility. For this evaluation, I examined Surfshark’s desktop app for Home windows. Total, I discovered the Surfshark app to be well-designed and straightforward to make use of.
The app itself felt trendy, and I recognize the fashionable strategy it took by way of design. I additionally thought the whole lot was properly organized, as I had no points searching for options or necessary settings whereas testing.
One space of enchancment I’ve for Surfshark is that a few of its options had been a bit clunky at first use. Particularly, I had some hassle getting Surfshark’s Bypasser cut up tunneling characteristic to work for the primary time.
Bypasser permits you to select particular apps or web sites to route through the VPN or to bypass the VPN altogether.
Once I first tried Bypasser, it initially didn’t have Microsoft Edge bypass the VPN server as I supposed. Nonetheless, a fast restart of the app and Bypasser did the trick. I additionally had the identical expertise after I first used Surfshark’s Dynamic MultiHop characteristic, the place it appeared a bit clunky to make use of at the beginning.
Surfshark does inform the consumer {that a} restart of the connection or the app itself is required. Nonetheless, I selected to notice it right here because it form of breaks the in any other case seamless app expertise I had with Surfshark for many of my testing.
Surfshark VPN buyer assist
Surfshark VPN has a great quantity of buyer assist choices. It supplies e mail assist, a ticketing system, stay chat, an AI chatbot, and a information base with intensive guides and tutorials.
Once I tried Surfshark’s AI chatbot, it offered respectable solutions to easy questions pretty rapidly. Nonetheless, it did wrestle with extra difficult queries, so it’s important to set expectations when utilizing it to resolve a problem.
In different information, I discovered their assist articles to be legitimately useful. The content material and guides had been in-depth, they usually even supplied articles for particular working techniques and gadgets.
I personally recognize how the assist articles, just like the above relating to setup, had screenshots for every step — not assuming the technical information of the reader. It even has a video tutorial alongside the article, offering an impressively complete information.
Extra about Cloud Safety
Surfshark VPN professionals
Limitless gadget connections.
Very inexpensive long-term plans.
Intuitive and well-designed interface.
Quick and dependable VPN speeds.
Dynamic MultiHop double VPN.
Servers throughout 100 international locations.
Advert-free search engine device.
Surfshark VPN cons
Some options could also be clunky at the beginning.
Renewal pricing is a bit complicated.
No Home windows free trial.
Month-to-month plans are costly.
Who’s Surfshark VPN for?
Surfshark is for customers who need a value-laden VPN that gives nice efficiency and quite a lot of considerate security measures — at inexpensive costs.
To me, Surfshark’s spectacular VPN speeds are its most noteworthy characteristic. All through testing, it offered quick speeds and a secure connection throughout a number of VPN servers and places. For those who’re particularly searching for a fast-performing VPN, Surfshark is a good decide.
As well as, Surfshark is an effective selection for small groups that want a VPN that may accommodate a number of gadgets. With its limitless simultaneous gadget connections, Surfshark can deal with a lot of computer systems, smartphones, and different gadgets with out requiring an extra subscription for all of them.
Options to Surfshark VPN
Whereas Surfshark is a good VPN, there are different choices that supply totally different options you might need to think about. I’ve listed three VPN options you’ll be able to discover:
NordVPNCyberGhost VPNExpressVPN
Our score (out of 5 stars)4.74.34.6
Beginning worth$4.99 per 30 days (annual plan)$6.99 per 30 days (6-month plan)$6.67 per 30 days
Server network6,400+ servers in 111 countriesServers in 100 international locations, 126 locationsServers throughout 105 international locations
Standout featuresExtensive server community; built-in menace safety; included password supervisor subscription100-country server suite; 24-hour free trial with no fee information required; specialised servers for streaming, gaming, and torrentingIntuitive and well-designed app; quick VPN speeds; 18 impartial audits as of 2024
NordVPN
For safety fanatics, I recommend taking a look at NordVPN. NordVPN has constructed a fame for providing a variety of safety capabilities with its VPN. It contains built-in net safety towards trackers, advertisements, and malware; a singular encrypted file-sharing system; and a devoted darkish net monitor to maintain observe of leaked credentials.
To be taught extra, learn our full NordVPN evaluation.
CyberGhost VPN
For those who’re searching for optimized servers, I like to recommend CyberGhost VPN. CyberGhost VPN neatly categorizes its servers relying on what you’ll use them for — whether or not it’s for streaming, torrenting, or gaming. With its giant server fleet that spans 100 international locations, it’s a strong decide in case your major use for a VPN is unblocking geo-restricted content material on-line.
To be taught extra, learn our full CyberGhost VPN evaluation.
ExpressVPN
In relation to having a clean consumer expertise, I discover ExpressVPN to be top-of-the-line. It makes use of a clear UI that’s well-designed and straightforward to navigate. ExpressVPN additionally boasts a formidable quantity of third-party safety audits, exhibiting its dedication to providing high-quality safety to its customers.
To be taught extra, learn our full ExpressVPN evaluation.
Overview methodology
My evaluation of Surfshark VPN concerned a complete analysis of its options, value, and real-world efficiency. I had hands-on time with Surfshark VPN by means of a one-year Surfshark Starter subscription.
To evaluate Surfshark VPN, I scored it on the whole lot from its server community to pricing. Particularly, I took under consideration 5 foremost pillars, every having corresponding weights:
Pricing (20%).
Core VPN options (30%).
Ease of use (15%).
Buyer assist (30%).
Professional evaluation (5%).
From this rubric, Surfshark VPN acquired a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars. I additionally seemed into consumer testimonials and different respected evaluations to spherical out my remaining suggestions for this evaluation.
For pace and efficiency, I used Ookla’s public Speedtest to measure obtain and add speeds. I additionally ran Surfshark VPN by means of DNSLeakTest a number of instances to verify for any DNS leaks. Lastly, I took under consideration which kinds of companies or particular person customers would greatest profit from utilizing Surfshark VPN.
To be taught extra about how we evaluation VPNs, learn our full VPN Overview Methodology.