Purely on features and performance, Surfshark is among the best VPN solutions on the market. Until now, the company has also kept prices very low since the cheapest offer is around €2.50 per month.
Most VPNs limit the number of devices that can be connected to the service at the same time, which can be problematic if you share your subscription with several people. Not so with SurfShark since the service offers unlimited simultaneous connections. An argument that alone could convince some.
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Surfshark, on the other hand, is a little slower than its big brother NordVPN, with which it merged this year. Otherwise, it ticks all the right boxes: it’s safe, fast and reliable.
Feature of SurfShark VPN
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Servers : More than 3,200 -
Country : More than 65 - Price : From €2.49/month with a 2-year subscription
- Free try : 7 days, 30 days money back guarantee
- Platforms : Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon FireTV. Android-TV
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Simultaneous connections : Unlimited -
Speed : 28% discount - Logs : No logs
- DNS leaks : No leaks
- Features : split-tunneling, kill switch, MultiHop connection, ad and tracker blocker.
How much does Surfshark VPN cost?
Surfshark has standard pricing with one-month, one-year, and two-year subscriptions. You’ll have to shell out a starting fee for long subscriptions, but that translates to a significantly lower average monthly cost.
- Average monthly cost : 1 month: €12.95 / 1 year: €3.99 / 2 years: €2.49
- Upfront payment : 1 month: €12.95 / 1 year: €47.88 / 2 years: €59.76
All Surfshark VPN subscriptions also offer the possibility of subscribing to the Surfshark One service for €1.49/month (payable in full and in advance for the one- and two-year plans). This pack gives you access to Surfshark’s antivirus software, ad and tracker blocking, and a data leak alert tool.
All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving you time to test the tools to see if they’re right for you. You can also get a 7-day free trial if you subscribe on mobile or macOS. Be careful though, once the free trial is over, you may be automatically subscribed to the one-year plan, which is more expensive than the two-year subscription.
You can pay for Surfshark VPN with credit card, debit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, or even cryptocurrencies.
How fast is Surfshark VPN?
In our speed tests, Surfshark performed pretty well. For three days, we tested Wi-Fi and wired download speeds on a variety of devices. On average, Surfshark reduced download speeds by 28%, on more than a dozen tested servers (physical and virtual) in almost as many countries. An honorable performance that more or less corresponds to what NordVPN offers, one of the fastest VPNs we tested.
One thing to note though: anecdotally, connection times seem slower with Surfshark than with other solutions. It doesn’t happen often, but about 5% of the time it took more than one attempt to connect to a server and SurfShark took longer to establish a connection than other VPNs we’ve used. It’s only a matter of seconds, and we’ve never had any issues once connected, though. You might have a different experience depending on your internet service provider or the device you are using.
Applications and server locations
Surfshark currently has over 3,200 servers in over 65 countries, although a number of them are virtual servers, clearly marked as such on the various apps. I didn’t notice any difference in performance or speed between virtual and physical servers.
Unlike many other VPNs, Surfshark allows an unlimited number of simultaneous connections, making it a great option for large families. Whatever devices you have, you should be able to install Surkshark, since the service works with all major OSes, including:
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- android
- linux
- Android-TV
- Amazon Fire TV
There are also Surfshark extensions for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
If you’re looking for a VPN to use for streaming, Surfshark might fit the bill. We were able to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ – on mobile and desktop – with the VPN on. The latter can cause some blockages, but nothing that a deactivation and then a reactivation cannot solve.
Additional Features
Surfshark has a “kill switch” option to protect your information if your VPN connection drops out unexpectedly. This feature prevents accidental data leakage by cutting off the internet connection if the VPN becomes unresponsive. You will also be able to use a built-in blocker for ads, trackers and malware. There’s also a customizable split-tunneling tool to route connections from specific apps or websites through your direct connection (no VPN). However, this function is not available on macOS or iOS.
Thanks to the MultiHop option, it is possible to route your VPN connection via two servers. This will impact your download speed, but will give you an extra layer of security. Although there is no dedicated IP option, you can access a static IP address on a few dozen servers in six different countries.
Android users also have access to GPS override with Surfshark. If you have enabled this feature, when you are connected to the VPN, your geo location will be set to the location of the VPN server. But before relying on this feature to unlock specific functions on an application or game, you will have to test it for yourself. The operation with a game like Pokémon Go for example is quite random.
Is Surfshark VPN Worth It?
All in all, Surfshark’s deal is a bargain if you’re willing to take out a two-year subscription to take advantage of the lowest prices. Do not hesitate to test the service for 30 days to ensure that it meets your needs, even if it means getting your money back afterwards.
Surfshark has all the standard features you’d expect from a VPN, and in our speed tests the service performed just fine. It’s hard to complain about a service that performs as well as the competition for a third of the price.
Alternatives to consider
ExpressVPN: If you’re looking for a particularly fast and reliable VPN that works on just about every platform imaginable, look no further. This quality of service has a cost, since the cheapest offer currently amounts to €8.45 per month.
NordVPN and SurfShark may have reached a takeover agreement earlier this year, but they each operate as separate companies. Although Surfshark is cheaper, if you’re looking for slightly more reliable performance, you can try NordVPN.
Atlas VPN is particularly inexpensive with subscriptions at €1.62 per month.
Source: “ZDNet.com”