Surfshark Review 2024 – VPN Scored 9.2/10 in the Test

by Vít Nováček

✅ Fact-checked by Petr Novák ​

updated April 8, 2024 (Report a bug)

1. Surfshark: The Best VPN for Unlimited Devices

   • The entire application is not third-party verified.

   • Lots of advanced features.
   • Unlimited number of connected devices.
   • Excellent range of servers.
   • Infrastructure audit and browser extensions.
   • Outstanding value for your money.

   Surfshark is one of the leading VPN providers. It offers several advanced features, fast connections, and a good selection of sites and servers for a reasonable price.

   Surfshark allows you to unblock many streaming libraries, and the app offers it on all the necessary devices. Furthermore, the level of security and privacy is high with Surfshark, and it provides WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN TCP, and OpenVPN UDP protocols.

   In addition to VPNs, Surfshark also offers an antivirus, an anonymous search engine, and data leak protection. These services, including VPN, can be purchased as part of a Surfshark One subscription.

   The only complaint is the lack of verification of the entire VPN application by an independent company, such as NordVPN. In the first audit by Cure53 in 2018, Surfshark only had browser extensions verified. In 2021, Surfshark underwent another audit from Cure53 focusing on VPN servers and associated infrastructure.

   Overall, Surfshark is a great choice, partly due to its good price-to-performance ratio. Surfshark is a good choice for beginners and power users as a VPN for Netflix and streaming services, but of course, it also protects your privacy.

   

2. Surfshark Subscription: Discount Code, Free Trial, Money Back Guarantee…

   • Your Price: $15.01​86% off  $2.14 /mo (999 devices)
   • Money Back Guarantee: Yes (30 days)
   • Free Trial: Yes (7 days)
   • Cryptocurrency payments:
     Yes

     Bitcoin :Yes
     Dash :No
     Ethereum :No
     Ripple :No

   

   9.2

   ★★★★☆

   Top-notch VPN excels in its security, speed, and wide range of servers. With one subscription, it can be used on an unlimited number of devices simultaneously.

   $2.14 /mo Free 7-day trial ​30-day money back guarantee

   Get this VPN 86% cheaper

   Surfshark offers a 7 days trial period but requires a payment method upon setup. It also provides a money-back guarantee in case of dissatisfaction within 30 days of purchase. You can make payments by credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or anonymously with cryptocurrencies.

   For a refund under Surfshark’s satisfaction guarantee, contact support via email or chat on the Surfshark website. You do not need to provide a reason for your request, but support will likely ask for service improvement purposes. Surfshark support is around the clock.

   You can also purchase Surfshark as part of the Surfshark One package, which also offers an antivirus, Surfshark Search anonymous search engine, and Surfshark Alert data leak protection.

   You receive a 7-day trial in the Android, iOS, and macOS platform stores. Payment information is required to use it. If you do not cancel your subscription, you will be charged the annual subscription price after the trial period.

3. Surfshark and Supported Devices: Android, iOS, macOS…

   • Device limit: Unlimited

   Platforms supported

   • Android:
     Yes

     Android is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Android TV:
     No

     Android TV is supported by 36 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Apple TV:
     No

     Apple TV is supported by 18 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Fire TV:
     Yes

     Fire TV is supported by 43 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromebook:
     No

     Chromebook is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Chromecast:
     No

     Chromecast is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • iOS:
     Yes

     iOS is supported by 99 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Kodi:
     No

     Kodi is supported by 21 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Linux:
     Yes

     Linux is supported by 61 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Mac:
     Yes

     Mac is supported by 98 % of reviewed VPNs
   • NAS:
     No

     NAS is supported by 24 % of reviewed VPNs
   • nVidia Shield:
     No

     nVidia Shield is supported by 14 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Playstation:
     No

     Playstation is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Raspberry Pi:
     No

     Raspberry Pi is supported by 17 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Roku:
     No

     Roku is supported by 16 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Router:
     Yes

     Router is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Windows:
     Yes

     Windows is supported by 100 % of reviewed VPNs
   • xBox:
     No

     xBox is supported by 20 % of reviewed VPNs

   Browser Extensions

   • Brave :
     Yes

     The Brave browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Chrome :
     Yes

     The Chrome browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Edge :
     Yes

     The Edge browser add-on is offered by 21 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Firefox :
     Yes

     The Firefox browser add-on is offered by 34 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Opera :
     Yes

     The Opera browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Safari :
     No

     The Safari browser add-on is offered by 0 % of reviewed VPNs.
   • Vivaldi :
     Yes

     The Vivaldi browser add-on is offered by 43 % of reviewed VPNs.

   Surfshark offers unlimited connected devices under one license.

   VPN apps are available for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Fire TV, Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers that can install extensions from the Chrome store.

   You can connect other devices with no Surfshark app to the VPN using the VPN settings on the router. Only some routers support VPN connections, so first, check if your router is one of them. For installation, you can use your router’s how to set up a VPN.

4. Surfshark App: User-friendliness, whitelist, server selection…

   • App Languages: 🇺🇸 English +15 more🇩🇪 German 🇪🇸 Spanish 🇫🇷 French 🇵🇹 Portuguese 🇮🇹 Italian 🇨🇳 Chinese 🇷🇺 Russian 🇰🇷 Korean 🇵🇱 Polish 🇯🇵 Japanese 🇫🇮 Finnish 🇹🇷 Turkish 🇦🇪 Arabic 🇮🇳 Hindi 🇺🇦 Ukrainian
   • Whitelisting:
     Yes

     Whitelisting is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs

   Surfshark offers a Bypasser whitelist feature on both desktop and mobile, where you can set sites and apps you do not want to use the VPN on. There is also a blacklist, where you can choose sites and apps that always use the VPN connection. The only difference is that the desktop app does not offer the option to select specific sites for the blacklist.

   Surfshark allows you to set up an automatic connection to the VPN server of your choice when you boot up your device. You can choose between a specific country, the fastest, or the closest location.

   In the country selection, you will again find the option to choose the fastest or closest server. You will also find a quick connect button on the main screen. In the application settings, as with the automatic connection, you can choose between the fastest or closest location or a specific country.

   The apps are available in 16 languages. The application is easy to use, and the user interface of the applications is intuitive. It offers both light and dark modes.

   Like all paid VPNs, Surfshark has no limit on the amount of data transferred.

   You can use the Surfshark app for other products offered as part of the Surfshark One subscription. Surfshark One also provides an antivirus, an anonymous search engine, and data leak protection as part of the package.

5. Surfshark Connection Speed: Upload, Download & Latency

   • Traffic limit: Unlimited

   Download speed

   Higher is better. The average download of all tested VPNs is 115 Mb/s.

   Upload speed

   Higher is better. The average upload of all tested VPNs is 81 Mb/s.

   Server latency

   A lower value is better. The average response rate of all tested VPNs is 48 ms.

   Connection initiation was fast, and the measured connection speed was also high (155 Mb/s), with minimal slowdown. Therefore, the connection speed of the Surfshark is sufficient for watching 4K content for a recommended speed of at least 50 Mbps.

   You will significantly benefit from the above-average upload of 84 Mb/s if you upload large amounts of data to the internet. Also, with response of 10 ms, Surfshark ranks among the top VPNs.

6. Surfshark Server Locations

   • Number of servers:
     3,200

     The average number of servers for the reviewed VPNs is 1699.
   • Number of countries:
     97

     The average number of countries available for the reviewed VPNs is 41.

   Europe	🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇩 Andorra 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇲🇪 Montenegro 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇲🇨 Monaco 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇮🇲 Isle of Man 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇦🇹 Austria 🇷🇴 Romania 🇬🇷 Greece 🇲🇰 Northern Macedonia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇺🇦 Ukraine
   North America	🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇧🇿 Belize 🇬🇱 Greenland 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇵🇦 Panama 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico 🇺🇸 USA
   South America	🇦🇷 Argentina 🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇵🇪 Peru 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇻🇪 Venezuela
   Asia	🇦🇲 Armenia 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 🇧🇹 Bhutan 🇧🇳 Brunei 🇵🇭 Philippines 🇬🇪 Georgia 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇱 Israel 🇯🇵 Japan 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇰🇭 Cambodia 🇱🇦 Laos 🇲🇴 Macao 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇲🇲 Myanmar 🇳🇵 Nepal 🇵🇰 Pakistan 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan 🇻🇳 Vietnam
   Africa	🇩🇿 Algeria 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇬🇭 Ghana 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇳🇬 Nigeria
   Oceania	🇦🇺 Australia 🇳🇿 New Zealand

   Surfshark offers 97 countries through which you can connect to a VPN. Some competing VPNs have a significantly higher number, but Surfshark‘s offering is sufficient.

   Some servers are virtual only, especially in developing countries such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, or Myanmar. Virtual servers differ from physical ones in that they are in a different country than the one you are connecting to. For example, your virtual location may be Egypt, but your physical server is in Greece. Virtual locations are for faster connection speeds and a wider range of countries. All virtual locations are marked with a “v” at the top right of the flag in the country overview in the Surfshark app.

   With 3,200 servers, Surfshark is one of the leading VPN providers, although for example CyberGhost VPN has 9,264. However, the number of servers at Surfshark is fully sufficient, as evidenced by the measured speeds.

   All offered protocols and features are on all servers except the multi-hop feature.

   Surfshark also offers servers in countries with high Internet censorship, such as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and India.

7. Surfshark Security Features: DNS Leak Protection, Kill Switch…

   • DNS leak protection :
     Yes

     DNS leak protection is offered by 92% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Kill Switch:
     Yes

     Kill Switch is supported by 87% of the reviewed VPNs.
   • Multi-Hop:
     Yes

     Multi-Hop connection is offered by 20 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Tor:
     No

     Tor support is offered by 19 % of the reviewed VPNs.

   Along with DNS protection and a kill switch feature, Surfshark also offers malware protection, multi-hop, and multi-connection.

   Surfshark‘s private DNS servers provide DNS protection. Surfshark DNS servers also apply leak protection to protect even IPv4 devices that may be at risk of leakage. A kill switch will cut your connection in the event of an outage, ensuring that your data is not exposed.

   Multi-hop routes your VPN connection through two VPN servers for even more security. Surfshark offers 12 pairs of servers that you can use for multi-hop. You will use multi-hop when you need to be as protected as possible. However, it is unsuitable for regular use, especially because of the reduced speed.

   You receive two-factor authentication for the Surfshark account through email or the 2FA app. In addition, for all Alert users, the Data Leakage Protection feature provides enhanced security for sensitive data.

   Surfshark offers WireGuard, IKEv2, OpenVPN TCP, and OpenVPN UDP protocols, all of which are popular among VPNs and are considered secure. The protocols are available on all platforms except IKEv2, which is no longer available for Windows devices. We advise less experienced users to leave the protocol selection preset to auto-select based on the most stability and speed.

   The protocols use secure AES encryption with 256 and 128-bit cipher options and ChaCha20.

8. Surfshark & Streaming: Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime…

   • Amazon Prime:
     Yes

     Amazon Prime streaming is supported by 52 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Disney+:
     Yes

     Disney+ streaming is supported by 53 % of reviewed VPNs
   • HBO:
     Yes

     HBO streaming is supported by 57 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Hulu:
     Yes

     Hulu streaming is supported by 49 % of reviewed VPNs
   • Netflix:
     Yes

     Netflix streaming is supported by 67 % of reviewed VPNs
   • YouTube:
     Yes

     YouTube streaming is supported by 97 % of reviewed VPNs

   We measured the speed of streaming for a server in the USA. The measured values were some of the best, with values above the 50 Mbps threshold necessary for 4K video playback.

   Surfshark boasts the ability to use VPNs with many streaming services. That is why we tested it, and as part of the test, we could watch content on all the services we tested. We tested Surfshark with Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube.

   You will use the same servers for streaming as you would for regular VPN use; connecting to any special streaming server is unnecessary.

   Streaming services often try to detect and block connections through VPNs, as VPNs allow users to watch content destined for other countries. Connecting to streaming services may not always work, or it is usually a temporary problem, and you need to reconnect to the VPN, which will change the IP address.

   As one of the biggest VPN providers, we can only recommend Surfshark if you want a VPN for Netflix and other streaming services.

9. Features of Surfshark: AdBlock, Static IP…

   • Blocks Ads:
     Yes

     Ad blocking is offered by 44 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Malware:
     Yes

     Malware blocking is offered by 33 % of the VPNs reviewed.
   • Blocks Trackers:
     Yes

     Trackers blocking is offered by 38 % of the VPNs reviewed.

   Surfshark offers many added features: ad blocking, tracker blocking, or camouflage mode to hide your VPN connection. It is beneficial in countries where you want to hide your VPN usage.

   You receive the camouflage mode automatically when you select the OpenVPN protocol when connecting via TCP and UDP. As a result, the VPN masquerades the connection as a regular one, making the connection over a virtual network harder to detect. This mode is helpful when the VPN connection is blocked.

   You receive the Blocking of ads, trackers, and malware through the Cleanweb feature, which is available directly in the application settings. Therefore, there is no need to download any browser extensions, ads will no longer pop up, and tracking your activities will be more complex.

   Additionally, if you access an unsafe site, you will receive a notification before you access it.

   Blocking banner cookies, on the other hand, requires a browser extension that can block cookie pop-up notifications even without a VPN connection. So, save time by rejecting cookies on every page.

   You can hide your device to increase security and anonymity within your local internet network (e.g., Wi-Fi). For example, on Android devices, you can display your device’s GPS location at the location of the VPN server you are connecting to.

   Another feature that increases the level of security is the automatic IP address change Rotating IP. This periodically changes your VPN IP address within your connection to the VPN server while the location remains unchanged. This way, your activity is split between multiple IP addresses within a single continuous VPN connection, making it even more challenging to monitor user activity.

   With a Surfshark subscription, you also get a static VPN IP address. When you connect to a server with a static IP address, you get the same IP address every time. But you share this IP address with other users, so it is not only yours. Static servers are the way to go if you only need a fixed IP address. There are 30 locations with static IP addresses, including Germany, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the USA.

   All Surfshark plans offer the option of a dedicated IP address at an additional cost. Users can select from several locations, including the US, UK, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Japan, and Germany. Additional locations will be incorporated over time. A unique feature of a dedicated IP address is that it’s exclusive to each user.

   Since it’s linked to a user’s email address, it’s not ideal for maintaining anonymity. Instead, it’s best used for services sensitive to IP address changes, such as streaming platforms or corporate networks. This feature also mitigates the risk of the in-use IP address getting blacklisted due to inappropriate activities by other users.

   Users can subscribe to a dedicated IP address through their account on the Surfshark website.

   In addition to the VPN, you can also get Surfshark Antivirus, Surfshark Alert, and Surfshark Search for an additional fee – all as part of your Surfshark One subscription:

   • Surfshark Antivirus checks your device for malicious viruses and safely removes them if necessary.
   • Surfshark Alert will alert you if your sensitive data, such as passwords, emails, or credit cards, are leaked to the internet.
   • Surfshark Search is a private search engine that does not track your searches, unlike Chrome’s private search.

10. Surfshark‘s CPU usage and App Performance

    The load when using Surfshark was average; VPNs generally do not put too much strain on devices. After closing the app, the program still runs in the background and consumes the same power as when the app is running.

    If you do not want the app to take some of your power, you can turn Surfshark off via the icon on the taskbar. Also, possibly turning off auto-connection when you start your device will give you control over the app’s running.

11. Surfshark Torrenting Servers

    • Torrenting servers:
      Yes

      Torrenting support is offered by 89 % of the reviewed VPNs.

    Surfshark supports the use of VPNs for torrenting on all its servers. In addition, optimized torrenting servers are offered, including not only all servers with a static IP address but an additional 45 servers. You can search for all optimized servers by typing “P2P”.

    Among the locations for torrenting, you will find the USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

12. What is the country of origin of Surfshark?

    • VPN Provider: NordVPN s.a.
    • Country of origin: 🇳🇱 Netherlands

    Surfshark is a product and brand of Surfshark B.V.

    The company’s headquarters is in Netherlands. The country offers a jurisdiction friendly for not storing logs, as no law requires their collection and storage. Because Surfshark does not store logs, it cannot even release any information, for example, upon police request.

    The Netherlands is part of the European Union and is thus subject to GDPR conditions for user protection. In addition, the Netherlands belongs to the Nine Eyes group, an agreement between countries to share information between intelligence agencies within the group. This agreement does not affect the country’s laws and, therefore, does not affect the retention of logs and user data.

    The company was previously in the British Virgin Islands.

13. Surfshark and Privacy: Logging Policy, Security Issues…

    • No-Logs Policy:
      Yes

      The No-Logs Policy is followed by 78% of reviewed VPNs.

    Surfshark says it does not store or monitor any activity information. Thus, no IP addresses, search history, connection information, amount of data transferred, connection times, or other similar data is stored.

    VPN servers store the user ID and connection time but delete this information within 15 minutes of disconnection. No information about the sites visited is stored.

    When using the website and the Surfshark app, anonymous usage analytics data is collected to improve the service. In addition, it uses the collection of advertising IDs from third parties (Google Play).

    The only information that Surfshark stores are account information, email address, and payment information for refund requests.

    Surfshark is transparent about requests from police, intelligence agencies, government bodies, or court-ordered data releases. It publishes information about these on its website and updates it regularly.

    VPN servers use RAM memory only; it writes nothing to the hard drives. The advantage is that RAM memory does not allow data to be restored and read after it has been shut down or overwritten, which adds to the security.

    Surfshark has undergone two audits from Cure53: a 2018 audit on browser extensions and a 2021 audit on VPN servers and infrastructure. The audits did not reveal any major security vulnerabilities, and all vulnerabilities discovered were fixed immediately.

    Overall, we rate Surfshark‘s privacy as good.

14. Surfshark Support: Chat, e-mail…

    The in-app support center and website provide tutorials and solutions for common problems.

    If you do not find an answer here, you can contact support via the Surfshark chat, the contact form, or directly by emailing support@surfshark.com. Support is available around the clock.

15. Surfshark FAQ

    Is Surfshark a good VPN?

    Surfshark is one of the best VPNs on the market. Its biggest advantages are high speed, a good price/performance ratio, and an unlimited number of connected devices. Users also praise several advanced features, Netflix support, and the availability of the kill switch feature.

    Is Surfshark a trustworthy VPN?

    Surfshark is very trustworthy. The company is in the Netherlands, does not store logs, offers DNS protection, allows multiserver connections, automatic IP address changes during VPN connections, and many other privacy-oriented features. Surfshark has also undergone two independent security audits.

    Is Surfshark better than NordVPN?

    Surfshark and NordVPN are among the leading VPN providers, although NordVPN offers more servers than Surfshark. On the other hand, Surfshark leads in country offerings. For streaming, both are suitable due to their ability to unblock content and high speeds. Surfshark does not limit the number of connected devices, whereas NordVPN only offers 6 connected simultaneously. The VPNs are similar in pricing, with current discount promotions making the difference. NordVPN and Surfshark offer additional privacy services in addition to VPNs. Neither VPN can be said to be the “better” of the two. You certainly would not go wrong if you choose Surfshark or NordVPN.

    Is Surfshark a Chinese company?

    Surfshark is not a Chinese company. The company is in the Netherlands. In February 2022, Nord Security and Surfshark officially merged under Nord Security, which is in Panama.

    Is Surfshark free?

    The free Surfshark is only during the 7 days trial period. After that, Surfshark offers two-year, annual, and monthly subscriptions. The subscription price starts at $2.14 per month.