Surfshark VPN Review 2026: Great Value, But is It Safe? [Tested]

Surfshark is the best value VPN we've tested. It matches premium rivals on speed and streaming, and it's the cheapest VPN we rate five stars.

In our May 2026 testing, Surfshark boosted download speeds by 15% on a U.S. server and unblocked Netflix libraries in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia with no errors. It passed our DNS leak, WebRTC leak, and kill switch tests, and Deloitte audited its no-logs policy in June 2025. You also get unlimited simultaneous connections, whereas most VPNs cap at 10.

Antivirus and breach monitoring aren't included in the entry-level Starter plan. And Surfshark's low prices are introductory, so every plan renews at full price.

Overview

Price	Starts at $2.49/mo
Free version	No
Max # of connected devices	Unlimited
# of servers	4,500+ servers in 100 countries
VPN protocols	OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, Dausos
No-logs policy	Yes, no-logs policy audited by Deloitte in June 2025
Learn more	Get Surfshark

Surfshark prices and plans: 5/5

Surfshark offers three plan tiers and three subscription lengths, with plans ranging in price from $2.49–$21.85/mo.

Features	Surfshark Starter	Surfshark One	Surfshark One+
Starting price	$2.49/mo	$2.79/mo	$4.49/mo
Surfshark VPN
Surfshark Alternative ID
Surfshark CleanWeb
Surfshark Alert
Surfshark Search
Surfshark Antivirus
Incogni
Learn more	View plan	View plan	View plan

Most VPN providers lower the overall cost of their services on the longer subscription plans. Surfshark follows the same pricing strategy.

• The cheapest option for Surfshark: Two-year plan for $2.49/mo
• The most expensive option for Surfshark: One-month plan for $16.45/mo

You can dig into the value this VPN brings even more in our review of Surfshark's prices.

Paying under $3.00/mo is one of the cheaper options available for top VPN apps. For example, ExpressVPN gets as low as $2.99/mo for a two-year subscription. NordVPN is cheaper than ExpressVPN, but it's still more expensive than Surfshark with a starting price of $3.49/mo.

Surfshark offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its paid services. This means you can claim a refund within 30 days of purchasing a Surfshark subscription. It also offers a seven-day free trial on supported platforms.

Surfshark payment options include:

• Credit or debit card
• PayPal
• Google Pay
• Cryptocurrency through CoinGate (bitcoin, ethereum, and more)

Server network: 4,500+ servers in 100 countries

Surfshark offers thousands of servers across 100 countries, which is likely more than enough to satisfy your needs. For example, if you want to use Surfshark to stream content from another country, you have plenty of servers and countries to choose from.

A larger server count matters when a VPN has many users — more servers mean less congestion and faster speeds. As more people connect to a server, the slower it might run, potentially affecting your connection speeds.

Surfshark has several unique server types, including:

• MultiHop: Servers that connect you to the Surfshark VPN through two countries for an extra layer of security
• P2P: Enables peer-to-peer (P2P) software to work
• Static IP: A server that assigns you the same fixed IP address every time you connect
• Dedicated IP: An IP address that is exclusive to you and not shared with others

Surfshark has also added 100 Gbps servers to its arsenal. Based in Amsterdam, these servers offer 10 times the capacity of the 10 Gbps standard. That means more users can connect to the same server without overcrowding it, less buffering during gaming and video calls, and high-quality streaming.

Speed tests

• Speed test results: Surfshark improved download speeds on three out of four test routes, with only long-distance (US to AU) connections slowing down.

We run speed tests to determine whether a VPN connection significantly slows internet speeds on a device. We tested internet speeds with Surfshark by first running an internet speed test without the VPN, then running tests while connected to different VPN servers worldwide.

These tests were run using a laptop running Windows 11 from a physical location in the U.S.

Test type	No VPN	US to US	US to CA	US to UK	US to AU
Download speed	513.60 Mbps	592.34 Mbps	516.70 Mbps	546.10 Mbps	380.45 Mbps
Upload speed	426.99 Mbps	400.66 Mbps	424.47 Mbps	4.21 Mbps	357.72 Mbps
Latency (ping)	23 ms	30 ms	51 ms	123 ms	298 ms
Download speed % difference	N/A	+15.33%	+0.60%	+6.33%	-25.92%
Upload speed % difference	N/A	-6.17%	-0.59%	-99.01%	-16.22%
Latency % difference	N/A	+30.43%	+121.74%	+434.78%	+1,195.65%

Surfshark's download speeds held up well across most server locations. First, we connected to the Fastest Location option, which opted for a Houston server. This server actually boosted downloads by 15%, which likely reflects server-side optimization or favorable routing.

The Canada and U.K. connections also barely impacted our download speeds. Australia was the exception, dropping downloads by about 26%, which is expected given the physical distance involved.

However, the U.K. connection had an abnormally large impact on our upload speeds. We ran multiple tests and got consistent results, so this isn't a fluke. That's a significant finding for anyone who uploads large files or works with cloud storage through a European server.

Latency increases are expected with any VPN, and the jumps with the North America servers (30% and 122%) are normal for encrypted tunneling. The U.K. increase of 435% sounds alarming but translates to 123 ms, which is acceptable for streaming and browsing, though competitive gaming may feel the difference.

Netflix tests

• Netflix test results: Surfshark successfully unblocked all the Netflix libraries we tested.

VPNs are often used to stream Netflix from other countries. We tested Surfshark to see whether we could use its VPN to access Netflix content libraries in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

	US to US	US to UK	US to CA	US to AU
Did it work with Netflix?

We could access Netflix with Surfshark in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia without any errors, buffering, or lag. Despite not having any servers dedicated for streaming, Surfshark is a top choice for watching movies and television without the barriers of geo-restrictions.

No-logs policy and headquarters

• Surfshark logs policy: No logs
• Audited no-logs policy: Yes, audited by Deloitte in June 2025
• Surfshark headquarters: The Netherlands (formerly the British Virgin Islands)

Surfshark has a strict no-logs policy, which means it doesn’t track (or keep logs of) your online activity in any way. It’s important for VPNs to have such policies in place, as one of the primary reasons for using a VPN is to keep your online traffic private and secure.

You can tell whether a VPN is able to follow through on its no-logs claims by looking at two pieces of information:

1. A third-party independent audit of a no-logs policy
2. The headquarters location of the VPN company

An independent audit by a third-party organization helps ensure the legitimacy of a no-logs policy. The organization conducting the audit should have no affiliation with the VPN provider, so any reports remain unbiased. Surfshark completed a no-logs audit by Deloitte in June 2025.^[1]

However, Surfshark is headquartered in the Netherlands. This is important because different countries have different laws regarding data retention, meaning one country might require VPNs to keep logs, whereas another might not.

The Netherlands doesn’t have any obligatory data retention laws, so VPNs located there aren’t required to keep logs of user activity. But the Netherlands is part of the Nine Eyes alliance, which shares intelligence with other member countries.

Given the Netherlands' data retention laws, this likely isn't too concerning, but you might prefer a VPN located in a country that isn’t part of a surveillance alliance. For example, NordVPN is located in Panama, which isn’t part of the Eyes alliances.

Security features

Surfshark backs up your traffic with strong encryption, rotates your IP address, adapts to restrictive networks, and blocks common leaks that could expose your identity. Here's how each piece works.

Kill switch

• Kill switch test results: Surfshark passed its kill switch test.

Surfshark provides a kill switch feature for automatically disconnecting your device from the internet if your device loses its secure VPN connection. The purpose of a kill switch is to prevent any of your online traffic from traveling through an unencrypted connection.

You can find the Surfshark kill switch feature in the VPN settings part of the app.

We tested by starting with a connection to a server in Italy. Then, we switched to a server in Ireland. The ipleak.net site only displayed DNS addresses in Italy and Ireland, meaning the kill switch successfully prevented our real location from being revealed.

Bypasser

Surfshark offers a split-tunneling feature called “Bypasser,” which let us choose which websites, IP addresses, and apps we didn’t want to use a VPN for. That way, we could secure most of our online activity while potentially improving our internet connection (by freeing up bandwidth) for specific programs or apps.

Find the Bypasser options in the VPN settings of your app.

Encryption and VPN protocols

Encryption is what actually scrambles your data so no one else can read it. Surfshark uses AES-256, the same standard banks and governments rely on, for OpenVPN and IKEv2. WireGuard uses a cipher called ChaCha20. Both are considered extremely hard to break, even with today's most powerful computers. 

When it comes to protocols, Surfshark offers OpenVPN and WireGuard, which are considered to be two of the most secure protocols available. Surfshark also supports IKEv2, a protocol designed for mobile devices.

Finally, Surfshark has created its own protocol, Dausos. Dausos uses AEGIS-256X2 encryption, which is both extremely secure and can deliver up to 30% faster speeds than other standard protocols. Just note that it's exclusive to macOS.

With the Dausos protocol enabled, each user receives their own dedicated traffic tunnel. Most VPNs put all their users in shared lanes, where your data mixes with everyone else's. Dausos gives every user their own dedicated lane, so their data never crosses paths with anyone else's. That means better privacy and less interference.

Surfshark recommends keeping your VPN protocol settings on Automatic (where Surfshark will choose the best protocol for you). But you can manually select your protocol in the VPN settings.

Rotating IP

If you’re worried about using the same IP address with your VPN all the time, use Surfshark’s rotating IP feature. This feature automatically changes your IP address every five to 10 minutes while keeping your location the same.

When we tested this feature, it worked exactly as described. Our IP address was switched at regular intervals while the country location stayed the same (though the city changed).

Find Rotating IP in the VPN settings of the app.

NoBorders

NoBorders mode automatically turns on when Surfshark detects that you’re in a location that may have VPN restrictions. Having NoBorders on provides a list of specific servers that perform better if there are network restrictions.

NoBorders is set to work automatically, but we could also manually turn it on or off in the VPN settings.

This feature brings up an important question: is Surfshark legal to use everywhere? Not exactly, but you shouldn’t have to worry about using Surfshark in most countries. Be sure to check VPN laws and regulations for different countries before traveling.

Leak protection

• DNS leak test results: Surfshark passed its DNS leak tests.
• WebRTC leak test results: Surfshark passed its WebRTC leak tests.

A domain name system (DNS) leak could show some of your online activity, even if you’re supposed to be protected by a VPN. We used the DNS Leak Test service from BrowserLeaks to test whether we had DNS leaks before and after using Surfshark.

Before connecting to the Surfshark VPN, it was easy to see our IP address, internet service provider (ISP), and location. After connecting to the VPN, this information was successfully masked.

Your IP address could also be exposed through WebRTC leaks, which are vulnerabilities that can occur in certain web browsers and applications. We used the BrowserLeaks website to test for WebRTC leaks before and after connecting to the Surfshark VPN.

When we ran the test without connecting to the VPN, we could see our real IP address. After connecting to the VPN, our real IP address was successfully masked.

Surfshark One features

You can get Surfshark VPN as part of the Surfshark One bundle. The secure VPN, CleanWeb ad blocker, and Alternative ID features are included in all three plans: Surfshark Starter, Surfshark One, and Surfshark One+. 

Additional cybersecurity features, like Surfshark Alert, Surfshark Search, and Surfshark Antivirus, will cost you a couple of dollars more, depending on your term length. 

CleanWeb

Surfshark CleanWeb is an ad and tracker blocker, which earned a 4.8 star rating. It works in two forms: 

• A basic version inside the Surfshark app (which blocks only malicious ads and requires an active VPN connection)
• A standalone browser extension known as CleanWeb 2.0, which blocks all ads, and adds a cookie pop-up blocker, data breach alerts, and malware warnings.

In testing, CleanWeb scored 96/100 on AdBlock Tester and a perfect 3/3 on Can You Block It. Note that YouTube ad-blocking only works through the CleanWeb 2.0 browser extension, not the mobile or desktop VPN app.

See our full review of Surfshark CleanWeb here. 

 

Alternative ID

Surfshark Alternative ID is an identity theft prevention feature that masks your email and provides you with faux online personas.

Basically, it’s a way to keep your identity incognito and protect against hackers, spam, and data brokers. You provide the specs, and Surfshark generates a new online profile with a valid email address for you to use instead of your real information.

You can create as many online personas as you need and store up to three different alternative email addresses.

Surfshark Alert

Surfshark Alert acts as a threat monitor. It automatically monitors the information you feed it, including your emails, credit cards, and personal IDs.

Surfshark Alert can also scan for breached databases and alert you if it finds any leaks of your personal info.

Surfshark Search

We were intrigued by Surfshark Search because we weren’t exactly sure what its purpose was or why we might use it over, say, Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode.

Surfshark Search is advertised as a way to browse the internet in complete privacy. This means ad-free search results and no data storage or tracking. We tested this feature by launching it directly from the Windows desktop app.

Surfshark Antivirus

Surfshark Antivirus is an antivirus tool that's only available through the Surfshark One or One+ bundles. It earned a 17/18 protection score from AV-TEST on Windows in June 2025 and passed our in-house real-time malware and drive-by download tests. It's compatible with Windows, macOS, and Android, but not iOS or Linux.

Bonus features include webcam protection, a spyware and malware shield, and CleanWeb for phishing protection.

Incogni

Incogni is our top data removal service, which automatically requests that your personal information be removed from 5 data broker sites, with recurring follow-ups every 60 to 90 days to make sure brokers stay compliant. It includes full data broker coverage on every plan tier, with unlimited custom removals reserved for the Unlimited tier.

Removals are independently verified by Deloitte, which gives some third-party assurance that requests are actually being sent and completed. Note that Incogni isn't a Surfshark product outright, but it's available with the Surfshark One+ plan.

See our full review of Incogni here. 

 

Surfshark compatibility: 5/5

	Compatibility
Windows
macOS
Linux	Yes — Ubuntu 20.04+, MINT 20+, Debian 11+
Android
iOS
Routers
Browser extensions	Yes — Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge
Smart TVs	Yes — Apple TV, Fire TV

You can set up Surfshark on an unlimited number of devices, with support for a range of operating systems, browser extensions, and mobile apps. There's also a Smart DNS feature if you're trying to  accessing regional streaming libraries with a smart TV, console, or another device that doesn’t support VPNs.

With Smart DNS, we didn’t have to install a VPN on every device. Simply activate the feature in your app and follow the instructions for your device. Note that Smart DNS isn’t the same as a VPN and doesn’t provide the privacy and security of a VPN.

Surfshark customer support: 5/5

Support type	Surfshark
Email or live chat
Phone
Online guides or forums

Surfshark offers customer service options through its help center, by submitting feedback, using its chatbot, or speaking with a live representative. There’s no phone number to call, but you can email the Surfshark support team at support@surfshark.com.

The Surfshark chat function is available at any time from just about any page on the Surfshark website. The chat button is located in the bottom-right corner of most pages.

We reached out via live chat to ask whether it’s necessary to connect to a specific server to get a specific streaming service to work. Or in other words, if there were dedicated Surfshark servers that users should use for spoofing their location and accessing different streaming platforms.

The agent was very responsive, easy to understand, and helpful. The live chat is advertised as being 24/7, which is incredibly useful.

Surfshark Help provides links to many helpful resources, including setup guides, troubleshooting tutorials, and educational articles. The “Common topics and questions” area also has quick solutions to frequently asked questions.

In addition, Surfshark maintains a presence on various social media channels and platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Pinterest. Through these channels, you can interact with Surfshark representatives and receive important updates.

Surfshark user reviews

• Apple App Store rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
• Google Play Store rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
• Trustpilot rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Surfshark is highly rated on both mobile app stores. All the featured iOS reviews gave Surfshark five stars, mentioning that the app is fast, reliable, and provides great value for money. On the Google Play Store, reviews mention that the app works well, though some mention connectivity issues.

Surfshark also has good Trustpilot reviews, with 75% of reviewers giving it five stars. Trustpilot reviews praise Surfshark's customer service for being friendly, helpful, and quick to respond.

Surfshark usability: 5/5

Every step of using Surfshark is easy, thanks to its user-friendly setup and interface. Once we installed Surfshark, it walked us through how to set up the virtual private network (VPN), antivirus, alternative ID, and other features included with our Surfshark One subscription.

From the main dashboard, we could connect to the VPN, select recommended servers, and view specialized server options.

We selected the Fastest Location for Surfshark to optimize our connection, but we could also pick the nearest country or the fastest server for several other countries. It keeps a list of recently used locations, and we could search for locations with the search bar at the top.

Surfshark also lists its specialty servers (Static IP, MultiHop, and Dedicated IP) at the top of the VPN app if you're looking for a more specialized connection.

Mobile usability

We also test VPN mobile apps to see how well they work across devices. After downloading the Surfshark app onto our Android device, we found a near-identical interface, making it seamless for anyone to swap from one device to another.

Note that Surfshark recommended we turn off the battery optimizer setting on our phone, as it can slow down our speeds and cause stutters. Even though we kept the battery optimizer turned on, Surfshark averaged a 34% reduction in download speeds.

We appreciate that Surfshark includes several of its main features on the mobile app too. We could enable CleanWeb to block ads and trackers, bypass the VPN connection from the settings, and select multi-hop servers.

Top alternatives

If you’ve read through our Surfshark review and still aren’t sold, there are several strong alternatives to consider. We've compiled a list of tested VPNs to consider if Surfshark isn't checking all the boxes.

Surfshark vs. NordVPN

If Surfshark's main draw is value, then NordVPN's is scale. NordVPN runs a larger server network (8,400+ servers in 160+ countries vs. Surfshark's 4,500+ servers in 100 countries) and is headquartered in Panama, outside the intelligence-sharing alliances that cover Surfshark's Dutch base, giving it a slight edge on privacy. 

NordVPN also tends to edge out Surfshark on speed in our testing, but they're neck and neck. Where Surfshark pulls ahead is price and value: it starts cheaper and allows unlimited simultaneous device connections, while NordVPN caps at 10. 

Both share strong fundamentals, audited no-logs policies, kill switches, split tunneling, and reliable Netflix access. Learn more in our Surfshark vs. NordVPN comparison.

Surfshark vs. Proton VPN

Proton VPN's strength is its commitment to privacy. It's based in Switzerland, offers a much larger server network (20,000+ servers in 145 countries), and includes a Stealth protocol built to disguise VPN use altogether. These advantages are aimed at users who want maximum security.

Surfshark counters with better everyday value: it's cheaper on a long-term plan, allows unlimited device connections against Proton's 10-device cap, and delivered faster speeds in our most recent tests. 

Both include ad and tracker blocking and have passed independent no-logs audits. Learn more in our Surfshark vs. Proton VPN comparison.

Bottom line: Is Surfshark a good VPN?

Yes, Surfshark is one of the best VPNs available because it has lots of useful and user-friendly features without compromising on privacy or security. And with 4,500+ servers in 100 countries, there are plenty of options for establishing secure VPN connections.

Surfshark also launched Dausos, its own proprietary VPN protocol. It gives each user a dedicated traffic tunnel and uses AEGIS-256X2 encryption, which Surfshark says delivers up to 30% faster speeds than standard protocols. That's a meaningful differentiator if speed and privacy are your top priorities.

Surfshark VPN is an excellent choice for a VPN service with fast speeds, good usability, and serious security. It’s also cheaper compared than other top VPN providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN. But its location in the Netherlands — which is part of the Eyes alliances — may be unappealing for users seeking top privacy standards.

Learn more about how Surfshark compares to other top services:

• Surfshark vs. ExpressVPN
• Surfshark vs. CyberGhost
• Surfshark vs. PrivadoVPN
• Surfshark vs. Private Internet Access
• Surfshark vs. IPVanish
• Surfshark vs. Bitdefender VPN
• Surfshark vs. Total VPN

Star rating summary

Change logs

Test date	Changes
May 27, 2026	U.K. server dropped upload speeds by ~99%, likely a server-specific anomaly
March 2, 2026	New no-logs policy audit updated to June 2025; speeds solid, slight drop on AU server only
November 14, 2025	Server count increased from 3,200 to 4,500; U.S. server dropped download speeds by ~11%; passed kill switch test
August 7, 2025	U.S. server boosted speeds by ~21%; failed kill switch test, real location showed up when switching servers
April 1, 2025	U.S. server dropped download speeds by under 1%; U.K. server dropped upload speeds by ~76%
October 10, 2024	U.S. server dropped download speeds by ~11%; AU speed and latency noticeably worse
May 13, 2024	Minimal impact on speeds with U.S. server, AU server caused notable download drop; unblocked Netflix U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia; passed all leak tests; passed kill switch test

Surfshark FAQs