Pros Unlimited simultaneous connectionsRarely seen multihop and split-tunneling toolsWell-designed appExcellent speed test scores.Cons High priceMust complete broader audits of its service One of our primary concerns when reviewing a VPN is what kind of value it offers.At the very least, a VPN should protect your privacy by routing all your web traffic through a remote server —the basic function of any VPN.The best services will do more, and Surfshark certainly meets that criteria.
It also places no limit on the number of devices that can use a single account, making it an excellent value—even if the asking price is a bit high.How Much Does Surfshark VPN Cost? Surfshark VPN’s subscription costs $12.95 per month compared to an average price of $9.96 per month among the services we’ve tested.This pricing puts Surfshark among the most expensive VPNs we’ve yet reviewed, far beyond the $5.54 per month asked for by Mullvad or the $4.99 per month for Mozilla’s VPN.Like many VPNs, Surfshark incentivizes long-term commitments with steep discounts.
Unlike most other VPNs, Surfshark has eliminated its annual subscription.Instead, it offers a six-month subscription for $38.94, and a two-year plan for $59.76.Note that the two-year plan will renew at that same price every year after the first two.While that’s a bit confusing, it’s still quite a bit less than the $72.33 average from across the VPNs we have reviewed.These plans will absolutely save you money, but we still recommend starting with the shortest possible subscription, to make sure it works for you, and then increasing to longer subscription terms if you decide you like the service.You can purchase a Surfshark subscription using major credit cards, Amazon Pay, PayPal, and a variety of crypto currencies.We appreciate that Surfshark allows semi-anonymous payments with crypto currencies, but it’s worth noting that services such as IVPN and Mullvad go so far as to accept cash payments.If that’s too rich for your blood, there are numerous cheap VPNs and even a few worthy free VPNs to consider.
ProtonVPN fits into both categories, and is especially notable because it is one of the only free VPNs that does not have a data limit.While expensive, Surfshark does offer excellent value for that money.For one thing, it lets you use an unlimited number of devices on one account, whereas most companies cut you off after just five simultaneous connections.Avira Phantom VPN, Encrypt.me VPN, Ghostery Midnight, IPVanish VPN, and Windscribe VPN are the only other VPNs we’ve tested that place no limit on simultaneous connections.
(Editors’ Note: Encrypt.me and IPVanish are owned by J2 Global, the parent company of Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag.com.) What Do You Get for Your Money? Surfshark’s real strength, however, are the rarely seen features it provides.Whitelister, for instance, is a split tunneling tool that lets you decide which apps and websites will use the VPN connection.This is handy since some sites block access from VPNs.Surfshark’s solution is very tidy, going beyond most of the competition.
Another oft-absent feature is MultiHop, which creates a VPN connection to a server and then bounces your traffic to a second VPN server for even greater security.Surfshark’s multi-hop connections are limited to the premade ones the company supplies, but IVPN will notably let you create a multi-hop connection between any two of its servers.One rare feature Surfshark currently does not offer is access to Tor via VPN, which is available through NordVPN and ProtonVPN.Notably, ProtonVPN also offers multi-hop and split tunneling.Note that you do not need a VPN to use Tor, but this kind of pushbutton access is convenient.Many VPN companies allow you to purchase add-ons to your base subscription.NordVPN and others offer private static IP addresses, which are useful any time you find your VPN connection blocked.Surfshark does not offer dedicated IP addresses for purchase, but it does allow customers to access Static Servers for free.
Most companies sell dedicated IPs to individuals—meaning that IP address is yours and yours alone.Anyone who uses a Surfshark Static Server shares its IP address with everyone else using the same server.Surfshark has built out several privacy tools that go beyond VPN protection: a custom DNS service that provides additional privacy called Smart DNS; an ad-blocker branded as CleanWeb; HackLock, which alerts you if your accounts have been compromised, similar to HaveIBeenPwned; and a privacy-respecting organic search tool called BlindSearch.Note that both HackLock and BlindSearch require an additional 99 cents per month.
It’s a good collection, but not particularly compelling given the high price of the core service.Hotspot Shield grants access to several third-party services for free with each subscription.While VPNs are powerful tools, they can’t solve all your privacy and security problems.There’s a wide range of ways to track you online.We recommend using the privacy tools built into most browsers and a stand-alone tracker blocker like the EFF’s Privacy Badger.Note also that the free Tor anonymization network makes it even harder to track your online activity.
We highly recommend creating unique and complex passwords with a password manager, enabling two-factor authentication wherever possible, and using antivirus software.Surfshark’s VPN Protocols There are many different ways to create a VPN connection.
Surfshark offers OpenVPN in its Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows apps.The excellent IKEv2 protocol is also available on all platforms (except Linux) and is default for macOS.We’ve preferred OpenVPN for years, as its open-source roots mean it has been picked over for potential vulnerabilities.The heir apparent to OpenVPN seems to be WireGuard.
Like OpenVPN, WireGuard is open source, but uses newer technology and is reportedly much faster than other protocols.
We were pleased to see that Surfshark deployed WireGuard for its Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps in late October, 2020.Surfshark Servers and Server Locations Geographic distribution matters because having lots of locations across the globe to choose from means you’re more likely to find one close to home or wherever you might be traveling, and it provides lots of options for spoofing your location.Surfshark covers 65 countries with its servers, which is above average.ExpressVPN leads the pack with servers physically located in a whopping 94 countries.Surfshark provides above-average coverage to South America and Africa, both regions often ignored by other companies.Surfshark also offers servers in countries with repressive internet policies, including China, Russia, Turkey, and Vietnam.Competitors would do well to follow Surfshark’s example.
Some VPNs make use of so-called virtual servers and virtual locations.Virtual servers are software-defined, meaning that a single physical server can play host to several virtual ones.Many companies use these to accommodate for surges in demand.Virtual locations are servers (virtual or physical) configured to appear somewhere other than where they are physically located.Neither is inherently problematic, but we prefer that companies be clear about where and how their servers operate.Surfshark told PCMag that all its servers are physical machines.We were pleased to see that the company’s website clearly labels its virtual locations (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Philippines, and South Korea).
A representative tells us these servers are physically located in Colombia, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands.More servers is a good thing, since it means more chances at getting a connection that works well for you.
It does not, however, guarantee better service.
For its part, Surfshark boasts over 3,200 servers, more than double the average we’ve seen across VPNs we’ve tested.CyberGhost still leads in this area, however, with more than 6,520 servers available.Surfshark says that it relies on “trusted third-party data centers.” In July 2020, the company completed its migration to RAM-only servers.This makes them effectively diskless, relying entirely upon the volatile RAM memory.This means that if someone were to physically remove the server to get at the data inside, the server would be immediately wiped.A blog post from the company also details how diskless servers prevent private encryption keys from being stolen from server configurations.
A few companies, such as ExpressVPN, made this change long ago.Your Privacy With Surfshark If a VPN provider wanted to spy on your traffic, monetize your activity, or turn over your personal information to law enforcement, it very easily could.That’s why it’s important to understand the company’s privacy policy and the legal framework the company operates under.From what we’ve seen, Surfshark appears to be doing a good job of protecting user privacy.That said, security only works with trust.If you feel you cannot trust a company, look elsewhere.Surfshark has an extremely readable Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, with break-out sections that explain concepts in plain English.TunnelBear has a similar approach and other companies would do well to emulate it.
In its policy documents, Surfshark stresses that it does not log IP addresses, browsing history, amount of bandwidth used, network traffic, or even connection timestamps.That’s exactly what you want to hear from a VPN company.The company does collect some information, including anonymized aggregate analytical data, as well as account information and billing history.The company also notes that it receives advertising IDs from third parties, citing Google Play as an example.
These are identifiers that you can reset yourself.Surfshark explained that these IDs are used to determine whether the company’s advertising is driving installations.The app does not have ads within it.I appreciate the disclosure in its documentation, but Surfshark should better contextualize how these IDs are used.Company representatives have told me that Surfshark is a highly decentralized organization, with offices in Cyprus, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Philippines, and the UK, as well as remote employees around the globe.I appreciate the company’s transparency on this point.Surfshark operates under the legal jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands.
The company says that this gives it wide latitudes to resist requests for information, and notes that the country does not have any data retention laws.The company has a live Warrant Canary on its transparency report.Most warrant canaries are a single line whose removal subtly indicates that the company has received a National Security Letter or similar request, which would prevent Surfshark from disclosing the existence of the letter.It’s the proverbial canary in the privacy coal mine.Surfshark includes its warrant canary along with a report that lists the number of requests for information the company has received.
If contacted by law enforcement for information, the company says it would be unable to identify an individual user.Many VPN companies have begun commissioning third-party audits to verify company statements about customer privacy and security.
Surfshark has commissioned one such audit of its Firefox and Chrome browser plug-ins in 2018, which earned a glowing review from auditors at Cure53.While an examination of the plug-ins is certainly valuable, I do not feel that it goes far enough to evaluate the company’s privacy practices nor the security and efficacy of its core VPN product.
Hopefully, future audits will provide that assurance.The company says it will release a new audit sometime in 2021.TunnelBear, by contrast, has committed to annual audits of its service.Hands On With Surfshark VPN for Windows Surfshark has Android VPN, iOS VPN, macOS VPN, and Windows VPN client apps.The company also offers an app for FireTV, which is a bit of a rarity.
There are Surfshark proxy plug-ins for the Chrome and Firefox browsers and a custom DNS resolver for Xbox and PlayStation.We tested Surfshark on an Intel NUC Kit NUC8i7BEH (Bean Canyon) desktop running the latest version of Windows 10.On Windows, Surfshark offers a small, stylish app with flat colors and smart design that expands and contracts to show more or less information.
I especially like that it has a clear, obvious way to immediately get online, and that it lets you select specific servers, and not just entire countries.It’s not quite as friendly as TunnelBear, but it’s very clean in the way that the best mobile apps are.
Interestingly, you can resize the window and the app will adjust its layout, similar to a responsive website.A smaller version of the app can be summoned from the system tray, and its available functions can be customized.You can select a server at the country or city level and can favorite a location for future use.It does not appear to be possible to choose between individual servers at the same location—an advanced feature which can be useful if you are having trouble accessing certain sites and services.
A kill switch prevents your computer from sending web traffic in the clear should the VPN become disconnected.
Also notable is the option to block or allow local network traffic, which is handy for streaming to other devices or accessing network printers.Surfshark offers a surprising number of advanced features.There’s Whitelister and MultiHop, as mentioned above.Whitelister is a bit more powerful than the average split tunneling tool.With it, you can require that an app’s traffic go through the VPN or outside the VPN connection.
Whitelister also works with URLs, but you can only set URLs to travel outside the VPN connection.Also of note is NoBorders Mode, which disguises your VPN traffic as normal HTTPS web traffic.Other VPNs include this feature under different names (TunnelBear calls it GhostBear, for instance), and it’s especially useful if you’re in a region that blocks the use of VPNs.Note that the company also offers obfuscated servers called Camouflage Mode.A concern with VPNs is that they may leak your DNS information or IP address.Using the DNS Leak Test tool, we confirmed that at least on the server we were using, Surfshark did not leak any DNS information and successfully hid our IP address.
During testing, we had no trouble streaming from Netflix while connected to a US VPN server.Keep in mind, however, that Netflix is locked in a cat-and-mouse game with VPN companies.A service that works today may not work tomorrow.Speed and Performance Using a VPN will, generally, lower your upload and download speeds while increasing your latency.To get a sense of that degradation, I calculate a percent change between batches of tests run with a VPN and those without, using the Ookla Speedtest tool.To read the nitty-gritty about how we test VPNs, be sure to read the aptly titled feature How We Test VPNs.
(Editors’ Note: Ookla is owned by PCMag’s publisher, Ziff Davis.) Despite using the WireGuard protocol in our testing, Surfshark did not show stellar performance.We found it reduced download and upload speed test results by 61.6% and 59.7%, respectively.That upload figure isn’t bad, but the download results leave much to be desired.We found that it also increased latency by 59.5%, just a smidge above the median results.
In the past, we ran speed tests on all the VPN services we reviewed back-to-back to get a birds-eye view of performance.This year, we’ve moved to a rolling model which should show fresher results faster.
This is also due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited our access to the PCMag Labs.The chart below shows the latest speed test results.Keep in mind that my results came from using this VPN at a particular time of day and at a particular place.Your results will surely differ, but this method does allow me to make a comparison between services while controlling for variables.Speed alone should never be the main concern when shopping for a VPN.Safe Surfing, for a Price Surfshark has a generous unlimited devices policy, letting you hook up as many devices as you like.
In addition to the VPN protection provided by its excellent desktop applications, it also provides rarely seen features such as split tunneling and multi-hop VPN.The company also deserves credit for its transparent policies, and its tamper resistant RAM-only servers.Overall, it’s an excellent product.Surfshark does have drawbacks.It’s expensive, and while it offers a lot of bang for its buck, it requires an additional fee for some additional, non-VPN features.It also must complete a more encompassing third-party audit.
It’s already a great product, and just a hair behind our top VPN picks.fwe.
