Surfshark VPN
MSRP $15.45
“Surfshark is a fast streaming VPN that let me connect an unlimited number of devices, making it a great choice to protect privacy and unblock worldwide streaming for the whole family.”
Pros
- Quick, reliable server connections
- Plenty of fast servers worldwide
- Easy-to-use design
- Fast, helpful live chat support
- Supports unlimited devices
Cons
- No free version
- Two-year plan reverts to annual upon renewal
Surfshark might sound dangerous, but it’s actually a VPN that protects your privacy, quarantines malware, and hides your location and online activity from intrusive trackers.
As one of the leading streaming VPNs, Surfshark is known to maintain fast speeds, but I wanted to find out just how fast it was and if there were any gaps in performance.
In my review, I also tested the antivirus protection included with a Surfshark One subscription, checked up on prices, and tested customer support.
Tiers and pricing (free, trial, subs)
Surfshark is one of only a few VPNs that support an unlimited number of devices, adding extra value if you share the account with family members and close friends.
You can try Surfshark free for seven days before paying and the 30-day money-back guarantee gives you even more time to decide whether it’s worth the subscription cost.
If you’re looking for a completely free solution, check out our guide to the best free VPNs that protect your privacy with a few restrictions.
Surfshark Starter costs $15.45 monthly, but the savings start when you subscribe for one or two years. The annual plan costs $45 and includes three free months. It renews at $60 per year, which is about average for a good VPN.
The two-year plan at $59 is a great bargain, plus you get three months for free. After 27 months, the renewal reverts to an annual plan at $60. Still, that beats the price of some top competitors. For example, NordVPN is an excellent VPN, but the subscription cost more than doubles when you renew.
Surfshark also offers cybersecurity bundles. Surfshark One includes malware protection for less than a dollar more each month. Surfshark One+ costs $2 to $3 more monthly and protects your privacy with ongoing requests to remove your personal information from data brokers.
If you’re looking for a better VPN deal, there are usually sales and promotions that can help you save more. Just make sure you keep an eye on renewal dates so you aren’t caught off guard when prices go up.
Design
I tested Surfshark One, which I thought sounded like the sweet spot. Installation was quick, with helpful tips to install the apps and browser extensions.
The Windows app is well-designed, with a panel on the right showing at-a-glance confirmation of whether or not the VPN is enabled, which features are on, and which server I’m connected to.
On the left, I get a list of worldwide servers with quick links to recommended, recently used, and favorites at the top of the list. I can also search for a location and filter the list to see only static IP addresses or multi-hop servers.
It’s easy to use the basics without understanding advanced features, yet fine-tuning is a click away whenever you want.
A toolbar on the far left lets me change settings for the VPN connection, access my account, get help, and explore features like antivirus protection and identity alerts.
The browser extension is convenient since that’s where I’m most likely to want to change VPN settings. However, the app has more settings.
Features (reliability, speed, location hidden, cross-plat, special)
Beyond protecting privacy, I want a VPN that is fast and reliable. To test Surfshark, I connected to several servers located around the world. The results were impressive.
With Surfshark’s Windows app and browser extension, I enjoyed quick connections that never dropped and good speeds worldwide. My ISP delivers 900 Mbps download speeds over Ethernet. Most streaming VPNs cut that in half even when I select a nearby server.
With the nearest Surfshark VPN server, I measured 728 Mbpson the SpeedTest website, one of the fastest I’ve ever recorded for a VPN. Upload speed was 38 Mbps and ping was around 44 ms both ways. I’m in Nova Scotia, Canada, on the East Coast and the closest Surfshark server was in Montreal, over 700 miles away.
Great speed within the country is nice, but I often use a VPN to browse worldwide like I was a local, so the real challenge is maintaining good bandwidth across the border.
Surfshark continued to deliver blistering speed with 667 Mbps down, 17 Mbps up, and a 75 ms ping with a U.S. server. Upload speeds and ping always drops overseas, and that was true for Surfshark, but downloads were very fast with 579 Mbps for the U.K., 651 Mbps for France, and 630 Mbps for Germany.
The first significant drop showed up with an Australian server that managed 306 Mbps downloads. The 5 Mbps uploads and 100+ ms ping of European servers fell to 2Mbps uploads and 244 ms ping Down Under.
Overall, Surfshark outpaced speedy VPNs like ExpressVPN and the fast and cheap TorGuard. While Surfshark was consistently fast, the other two performed well with nearby servers, but fell behind when connecting to more distant locations.
Surfshark One includes a virus scanner and real-time protection for up to five devices. Surfshark’s antivirus earned a perfect score in a June 2024 evaluation by independent cybersecurity lab AV-Test.
In my spot-check of Surfshark One’s CleanWeb feature, it didn’t block any of Wicar’s malware tests. That’s because Surfshark’s blocking is reputation-based. That means it won’t block and alert you to dangerous websites or downloads unless they are in its database.
After downloading the EICAR malware test file, I ran Surfshark One’s antivirus scanner and it quickly identified and quarantined the threat. Although Wicar.org is safe, more advanced antivirus software detects browser exploits and malicious files, preventing the potential threat before it’s downloaded to your computer.
Support
Some VPN providers have good, but slow support since answers come via email. Surfshark has 24/7 live chat support so you can get help all day, every day.
I tested it by asking about CleanWeb, Surfshark One’s blocking feature. An AI chatbot was helpful, offering several buttons to narrow down my questions and pointing me to relevant support documents.
When I stumped the bot, I asked for a human and was immediately transferred. I learned that the Surfshark browser extension is for convenience, but you get the same VPN and antivirus protection from the app.
Privacy and security
Surfshark makes its privacy policy easy to understand by getting to the most important details first: minimal data is collected, only what’s needed to provide the service you’re paying for. Surfshark requires your user ID or IP address and time stamp while browsing, but deletes that data within 15 minutes of your session ending.
I couldn’t find any record of Surfshark security breaches, and the privacy policy checks out. While Surfshark is located in a Nine Eyes country, it’s audited no-log policy indicates the company won’t have any data to share even if there are official requests.
Surfshark doesn’t sell or share your email to third-party advertisers.
Is Surfshark right for you?
Surfshark has a well-designed app, great customer service, and one of the fastest streaming VPNs with plenty of servers around the globe. The unlimited device support makes it hard to go wrong with this service, particularly if you subscribe for one to two years.
For less than a dollar extra each month, Surfshark One includes a good malware scanner and dark web monitoring. That’s a tempting offer, but it offers limited browser protection. You’ll want to keep your dedicated antivirus software active to block viruses. Surfshark Starter is the best pick for most people.
I was impressed with Surfshark’s speed, reliability, and depth of features. The quick support makes it easy to get help or learn more about how to use Surfshark’s apps and extensions.
I recommend Surfshark as one of the best VPNs with excellent speed, good privacy protection, easy operation, and great value.
